“Why not just let me be? Is it so bad that I exist?”
“Like I said before, you’re like gravity. You’ll slowly pull energy toward you until you yourself throw off the balance just by being you. You’re dead already. It’s just whether you go alone or take everything down with you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“You’re right. And there’s nothing I can do about it anyway.”
“Then why bring me here? Why didn’t you just kill me?”
“If only. I would’ve shot you in the garage if it were that easy. I can’t. I’ve tried. But if I can’t get rid of you, at least I can use you to get rid of Malokin.”
We’d finally come to something we could agree upon.
“What do you want me to do?”
I was slammed none to gently back in bed as if the meeting with Fia had never happened, Fate staring at the place I’d just appeared.
“What just happened? You flashed in and out of sight for a second.”
“A second?” Time warp, that was interesting.
“Yes.”
“I know how to get rid of Malokin.”
Chapter ThirtyThree
The office building stood before me. I put the key into the rusty lock and left it open as I continued on towards the office.
Fate, Angus, Lars, Cutty and Bic were in the room directly above me and had been camped out there since the previous evening, in preparation for this meeting. We had to take every measure possible to make sure Malokin thought I was alone.
Everyone else had stayed behind. If it went bad, at least there would be staff to try and carry on.
We needed to get Malokin as close to the retirement door as possible. That door was the only way to strip him of the energy he’d accumulated on this Earth and dissolve what he was back into the natural balance.
This part was mine to play, much to Fate’s aggravation. The larger the entourage, the less likely we’d get him near enough. We’d thought of many different scenarios but Fate finally had to concede that we were right. It had to be me and I needed to be alone.
It was a lot easier said than done. I still had to get him in the vicinity and then hopefully, between us all, we could force him through the door. Lars had set up a trip wire of sorts that would alert them as soon as Malokin’s energy entered the inner office.
I walked over and settled down at my table, waiting with ankles crossed and my heels resting on its surface. The clock struck noon just as he appeared in the doorway, alone.
He needed to cross the room to me, where I was closer to Knox’s office. He strolled in a couple steps with his usual swagger but then stopped.
“Why are we meeting here?” he asked but didn’t seem overly worried about being in the den of his enemy.
“Because this is the place they’re most vulnerable.”
He was so calm that I wondered if I was the one missing something about what was going on here. It wasn’t like I’d expected him to show nerves. That wasn’t Malokin. He wasn’t the type to ever seem weak, but to be this calm?
“That was what you said when you called but why would I believe you want to help me?”
“If you didn’t, why’d you come?” Why had he come? Something about this felt very wrong.
He looked down at his wristwatch. “Slow afternoon?”
And now he was joking. I’d never heard him joke, ever. Under the calm veneer, he seemed almost…happy?
“The four who run everything are starting to see me as a threat. It’s coming down to them or me.”
He stood barely inside the doorway, taking in my relaxed position while I tried to maintain it. I’d been so concerned about keeping him at ease and now I had to force it for myself. The guys were one floor above me. I needed to keep that in mind and proceed with the plan. It wasn’t as if I were truly alone.
I dropped my feet and headed toward Knox’s office, praying he’d come closer and follow me in. I heard his steps behind me and tried not to tense at having him at my back. The masquerade of calm was easier once he was beside me and in sight again.
The interior office felt even smaller with him in there and I took a step closer to the opposite side. We both looked toward the door. The light was blaring underneath, and if Fia were true to her word, when I opened it, the heart of the Universe’s power would be blazing in all its glory.
I thought back to what Fia had explained to me. “That door is a mainline. If we can destroy it, it cuts the head from the beast. Upper management can add another connection but not quickly. It buys time to gain strength.”
He walked closer to the door and let a few fingers trail over the surface. I knew it didn’t look like much, just your average interior door—except for the light of the Universe blazing behind it. “Are there more of these?”
“Mainlines to the heart of the Universe? Not that I’m aware of.” I guessed there were but Fia had only told me the bare minimum. Not that I would’ve passed the information on.
He tucked his hands in his pockets. “How do we do this?”
I’d just walked him up to the key to his victory and he acted like I’d handed him a brunch menu. I had to play this hand though and see the plan out.
“I was hoping you would help me figure that out.” While I open it and kick you through it. It had been at least several minutes since he’d come in the office. The guys should be here soon.
Malokin eyed me. “Nice try.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“No.”
“You wanted to recruit me. You really don’t think I can do this?”
“I wanted you for what you could become, not what you were.”
“I’ve got a reason to help you.”
He took a couple of steps back. “Open it.”
Get him in here and open the door if possible. That was the plan, but all of a sudden I didn’t want to do it. I was being silly. I needed to do this. I’d have the door wide open, the guys would come and a simple shove and this part of the nightmare would be over. As far as what Fia said about me being a problem, if we could fix this, we could fix that. As long as I made it that far.
I stepped forward and swung the door open and immediately had to turn my head. It was as if I were staring at the sun, ten feet from its surface. The room was almost blinding in its brightness and I had to squint to keep my eyes even partially open, trying to not lose track of him.
All the feelings of dread finally made sense as I heard footsteps approaching that heralded disaster. Fate and the guys wouldn’t announce their approach. I wouldn’t have known they were here until they’d been at the door.
“Your friends aren’t coming. I’m not the one being destroyed today.”
I couldn’t see his face well but the gloating in his voice was more than clear. I cursed myself as all sorts of stupid. Fia had betrayed me. I wanted to curse him as well but I couldn’t let my anger get the best of me. It would feed him like it had on the beach. Plus, I needed the silence to listen to how many sets of feet were approaching. It was five at minimum.
My window of opportunity was closing quickly. I had one shot to get this done myself and only if I acted quickly. There was no time to contemplate what would come next.
I zeroed in on his location, pivoted and rammed into his midsection with every ounce of strength I possessed. His feet left the ground with an umph. My momentum had us across the office and into the door before we were stopped short. His hands had grabbed the door jamb as we flew through it, halting us at this critical point. Every part of him, down to the tip of his pinky, had to be past the threshold.
“You’re never going to make it out of this,” he said as we struggled, his calm finally shattered.
“I promise you, I won’t go down alone.” I directed all my energy to pushing, digging my heels into the cheap carpet of the office trying to find more leverage.
The footsteps of his people were getting closer. I had seconds left, if that.