Page 317 of Scars of Fate

“And he hasn’t fired.”

Not yet.

Kane looked into the camera.

“Twenty seconds.”

I turned toward the screen.

“You won’t kill him.”

Kane’s smile disappeared.

“You’re very confident.”

“No. I’m paying attention. You’ve had dozens of opportunities to kill those civilians, and you haven’t. Why?”

He didn’t answer.

“They aren’t only hostages. They’re witnesses. You need their deaths to look like part of something larger.”

“A biological attack,” Adam said.

“Yes.”

I kept my eyes on Kane.

“If you kill them before the Geneva attack, their deaths become executions. Investigators look for a shooter.”

“But if they die after Geneva…” Lucas began.

“They become casualties of a coordinated attack,” I finished.

Kane lowered the gun slightly.

I had guessed correctly.

Samir was still in danger.

But not within thirty seconds.

The real threat was a clock.

Not a trigger.

“Captain Aras,” Kane said through the aircraft speakers. “Proceed.”

A warning alarm sounded.

The cabin-pressure display flashed red.

Hawk looked toward the ceiling.

“He’s depressurizing the aircraft.”

The pressure dropped.

My ears popped.