“The first!” Melanie shouted over thecacophony.
He hit the button, and Melanie bit her lip asthe elevator lurched into motion. They had to get out of herebefore someone sounded the alarm.
However, it might already be too late.
“What’s the plan?” he asked.
“You’rethe plan,” Lucy said.
He’d hoped for a little bit more, but hecould handle it. “All right; I’m the plan. What can I expect whenthe doors open?”
“The first floor is aboveground,” Lucy said.“When the doors open, there are two guards in the building; bothare armed. Outside the building, there are half a dozen moreguards; all of them are armed. The fence is twelve feet high; itgoes all the way around the facility and is topped with barbedwire. There’s a garage behind the main building with vehicles init; I don’t know if we can get to it, but weneedavehicle.”
“Where is this place located?”
“The boonies of New Hampshire. Hundreds ofacres of woods surround the facility.”
“So, we either get a vehicle or we rough it,”he said.
“Yes, and we’ll have to climb the fenceinstead of crashing it. And we’re not going to be able to do that,or at least the two of us won’t. It will slice us to pieces.”
“When the doors open, the two of you to stayhere and out of the way of any gunfire.” He clasped Melanie’s faceand turned it toward him. “Can you hear me?”
The ringing in her ears had died down, andher head was clearing, though her temple throbbed from the guard’sblow. “Yes.”
“I can handle being shot, but you have tostay out of the way.”
“They use wooden bullets,” Melanie said.
“Shit,” he muttered and shifted his gaze tothe doors. “It doesn’t matter. Stay in here. I’ll take care of theguards. Is the elevator the only way out?”
“No,” Lucy said. “A set of stairs leads tothe first floor, and another set exits behind the building.”
“So they could already be exiting thebuilding,” he said.
“Yes, but it’s unlikely. The elevator movesfaster than they climb, but I’m assuming they heard some of whatwas happening below, and they’ll be coming soon.”
He’d have to move fast. The more time hetook, the better chance their enemies had of grouping together tocome after them.
“How many people are in this place?” heasked.
“About a hundred,” Lucy answered. “Andthere’s more than enough guns for all of them.”
“Are you going to be okay to do this?”Melanie asked. “The drugs—”
“Are wearing off fast,” he assured her.
And they were. His head already felt a lotclearer. Being outside of that cage with its drugged air andreunited with her caused his system to clean out fast.
Which was a good thing as the elevator dingedand the doors opened.
CHAPTER 32
Gunfire erupted beforehe could rush out of the elevator. Melanie and Lucy cried outbefore going silent. He wrapped his arms protectively around themas the back wall of the elevator dented beneath the impact of theonslaught of bullets.
He didn’t have time to wait for a reprievethat might never come. Instead, he kissed Melanie’s temple andstarted to pull away. She grasped his bicep to hold him back, buthe squeezed her fingers and pried them off.
“Kyle, no!” she cried.
