Page 191 of Silent Target

Then an explosion strikes the sealed door ahead.

The steel bulges inward.

Once.

Twice.

A shaped charge tears through the hinges.

The door collapses into the corridor.

Three armed figures enter through the smoke.

Maverick takes down the nearest turret.

Rogue fires into the second weapon’s control housing.

Reef throws a flashbang through an open firing panel.

White light fills the wall cavity.

Every remaining turret goes silent.

Maverick grins beneath his helmet.

“Took you long enough.”

Falcon laughs. “I was about to say the same thing.”

The reunion lasts two seconds.

The mountain shakes.

This impact is deeper than the gunfire.

A crack races across the ceiling.

Mac looks up.

“No.”

I catch his arm. “What?”

A new warning appears on Fathom’s tablet.

FACILITY DEMOLITION SEQUENCE INITIATED.

Ten minutes.

Rogue stares at the timer. “Can you stop it?”

“Not from here,” Fathom answers.

Mac looks toward the control room.

“The demolition system is independent of the purge. Victor must have activated it from the vault.”

The countdown begins.