Page 168 of Silent Target

Rook speaks over everyone else. “Status?”

“Kane escaped.”

Mac’s voice becomes sharp. “Victor Kane?”

“You know him?” I ask.

“I know what he is.”

“What?”

“The Warden.”

Caleb and I look at each other.

Mac continues.

“Warden is his title. He commands the Inner Guard, protects the Chairman, and executes anyone who tries to leave the First Circle.”

The panel in front of us unlocks.

Caleb raises his pistol.

The door slides open.

Rook stands on the other side with his weapon ready.

He takes one look at Caleb’s blood and my bruised throat.

“We need to move.”

“The Warden escaped through a hidden passage,” Caleb says.

Mac studies the wall.

“He’s going to the Chairman’s vault.”

“Why?”

“To destroy everything before we reach it.”

A deep rumble moves through the bunker.

The countdown flashes on Fathom’s tablet.

Six minutes.

Forty-two seconds.

Cobra checks the demolition pack against his shoulder.

“Then let’s beat him there.”

37

CALEB

The hidden corridor curves around the vault.