“Stand back,” he says.
I watch as he slowly runs the ball over the surface of the door in what looks like the supervillain version of Tai Chi.
Then he stands back and admires his work.
Which, as far as I can tell, is nothing more than a big scorch mark.
Nitro tilts his head at Dante. “Would you?”
With a flick of his fingers, Dante sends a gust of wind at the doors. The area inside Nitro’s scorch mark sails into the elevator shaft, leaving a door-sized opening in the carbon steel.
“Nice,” I tell him with a grin. “Now what, Jer?”
“Now,” he replies, “you climb.”
Draven steps up to the opening and waves me forward. “Ladies first.”
He says it casually, but there’s gravity to his words. Under the guise of chivalry, he’s making sure I get out first. There’s no time to argue about gender politics right now, and besides, going first means I get to lead the way. And fend off trouble, if there is any. I step through the opening and pull myself up the service ladder that runs up the side wall.
“How far?” I ask.
“All the way,” Jeremy says. “There is an exhaust vent that opens onto the roof. The building locks down from the bottom up, so I can still disable that alarm.”
“Great,” I say as I start to climb.
“But you need to hurry,” he replies. “They’ve almost got sub-level two completely locked. You need to get up and out before they get to the top floor.”
There is no more talking as the four of us climb as fast as we can. Now I really wish I had argued gender politics with Draven. I’m the slowest of the bunch and I’m holding them back. If they get caught because of me, I’ll never forgive myself.
The thought of being responsible for us being captured—for them being tortured like Deacon—paralyzes me with fear. But I can’t let it. Instead, I use it to motivate me to push my body as hard as I possibly can.
We are exhausted by the time we reach the top floor. My arms and legs are shaking and even Draven looks a little worse for wear.
“We’re here,” I gasp.
“The vent is above you,” Jeremy explains. “In the center of the shaft.”
I look up. The elevator shaft is at least twenty feet across, which means the vent is ten feet out in the open. The elevator car is now four stories below us. That’s not the kind of fall that someone can survive.
“Can you call up the car, Jer?” I ask. “Then we could stand on the roof to get to the vent.”
“Can’t,” he says. “It’s locked on sub-level one.”
“I’ve got this,” Dante says.
A powerful wind fills the shaft. I have to struggle to hold on to the ladder.
My apprehension must show. He smiles. “Trust me.”
There’s a lot of trust going around tonight.
I bite my lips, close my eyes, and exhale. It’s easier to let go of the ladder than I thought. I just relax my fingers and then…I’m floating.
I feel myself moving away from the wall. Forcing my eyes open, I look up—not down, never down. The vent is right above me. I reach for the grate, but it’s screwed to the frame.
“I can’t,” I say. “It’s—”
“Move her,” Nitro says.
The wind shifts, and I float to the other side of the shaft. Nitro shoots a series of flaming red, bullet-sized balls. The grate falls with a clang on the elevator car below.
Before I can say a word, Dante shifts his wind again and I float through the opening into the night, then drop in a squat when the wind leaves me.
Nitro flies through a moment later.
When Draven doesn’t immediately follow, I peer into the elevator shaft. He and Dante are at a stand-off.
“Now is not the time, dude,” Dante says.
Draven’s entire body is rigid. Tense…with fear.
Right. When Rebel suspended us in the air in my kitchen, he’d looked nervous. Now he looks downright freaked out. It’s weird, considering he’s always been so fearless about everything else.
Everyone has a weakness and I’m not letting him give in to his, not when we’re so close to freedom.
“Hey, Draven,” I shout, intent on distracting him.
He looks up, his eyes wild.
“You’re not chickening out now, are you? I mean, even Jeremy could do this.”
“Hey!” Jeremy exclaims. “I heard that. And maybe you’ve forgotten since it’s been a while, but there’s a lot I can do, Kenna.” His voice is rife with innuendo and Draven growls. He actually growls. Which works for me. This jealousy is exactly what I’m trying to play up right now. If nothing else, it will distract him.
“Shut it, geek boy,” Draven snaps.
Dante waves his hand and Draven slowly starts to rise. He’s seething at the taunts so he doesn’t notice until he’s two feet away.
I reach out and grab him before he can look down.
“Come on,” I say. “Let’s get out of here.”
Seconds later, Dante flies through the vent.
“You need to get to the south edge of the roof,” Jeremy tells us. “From there you can—oh shit.”