Chapter 14
Ash in the Archive
Adrian told Mara to leave.
She went toward the fire.
The archive corridor had filled with smoke. Sprinklers burst overhead. The first row of shelves had already collapsed.
“You are not going inside,” Adrian said.
“The records are mine.”
“The records are burning.”
“Then move.”
He wrapped his jacket around her shoulders and kicked the archive door open.
The metal cabinets had been forced open. One remained closed. Its label read Q-17.
Adrian tore the door from its hinges.
Inside was a metal case wrapped in black tape.
Something moved behind the shelves.
A man in a maintenance uniform appeared through the smoke. A silver Mercer Crown badge gleamed at his collar.
“Give me the case.”
Adrian stepped in front of Mara.
“Who sent you?”
The man raised a small device.
The lights went out.
Glass exploded above them.
Adrian shoved Mara down and went after the man.
Mara crawled toward the case. The metal burned her palm.
She pulled it beneath her dress.
Adrian returned with blood on his knuckles.
“Where is the case?”
“Tell me what Q-17 means.”
“Not here.”
A burning beam fell between them. Adrian crossed the distance and pulled her against his chest. The beam struck the floor where she had stood.
His hand shielded her head while sparks fell through the water.
“You’re hurt,” she said.
“Not badly.”
“Your hand is bleeding.”
“Keep moving.”
Outside, cold rain struck Mara’s face.
Adrian looked toward the smoke-filled archive.
“Q-17 is the code my brother used for the last person he was protecting.”
“Who?”
His silence lasted too long.
“I don’t know,” he said.