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Because of our raid, perhaps? But even so, it was odd that an employee who’d been working here for a while—someone whom they intended to dissect—would come under the umbrella of any security upgrade. Were they simply ensuring that there were no mistakes, and that I went precisely where I was supposed to go?
Or did they, perhaps, suspect I wasn’t Sharran?
The elevator doors opened and I was marched into the personnel department. The older woman who’d tended to me after the attack looked up as we entered, and something close to sympathy crossed her face. It quickly disappeared as she gathered up a scanner, then rose and walked toward us.
“You’re feeling better, I hope?” She stopped on the other side of the counter and started flicking through the scanner’s screens.
“Yes, thanks.”
“Good, good.” Her voice was absent. “I’m sure these gentlemen have informed you that you’re being promoted. I just need you to sign off from your current position and then they’ll take you upstairs.”
“I don’t suppose you know why this is happening?” It was a question Sharran probably would have asked. “I mean, I’ve haven’t been here as long as some of the other guards.”
“I’m afraid I just process the orders, dear. Sign here, please.” She pointed to a line, then handed me the screen.
Just for a moment, I froze. I had no idea what Sharran’s signature looked like. I’d never thought it would be necessary to learn.
“Hurry up,” one of the guards growled. “We ain’t got all day.”
I hastily scrawled Sharran’s name, and must have got close enough to the real thing, because the screen beeped in approval. The woman grunted and gave me a smile that held little in the way of sincerity. “Good luck with the new position.”
You’re going to need it. She might not have said those words, but they seemed to hover in the air between us. It made me wonder how much she knew about the events on the upper floor, or if it was simply awareness that those who ventured up there were never seen again.
I was led back into the elevator. As the doors began to close, one of the guards ran his RFID chip over the security scanner, then growled, “Twenty-nine.”
That’s the floor where they’re dissecting people, Cat said.
Yes. I watched the floor numbers flash by and tried to keep a lid on the tension twisting my stomach into knots.
I do not think it would be a good idea for you to get dissected, Bear said.
I couldn’t help the slight smile that tugged my lips. With that, I wholeheartedly agree.
Then what is the plan?
I don’t know yet, Bear. We’ll have to play it by ear once we’re up there.
Which was a dangerous ploy, but our only option right now. I could probably take the two guards out, but I doubted I’d get much farther than this elevator; there were cameras in the ceiling, and undoubtedly men or women behind them, watching our every move. This place would become my tomb the minute we reached the twenty-ninth floor.
The elevator came to a smooth halt and the doors silently
opened. The hallway beyond was bright and sterile, and the air devoid of any scents or sounds. There were no signs on the pristine walls, nothing to indicate where we were or what might be going on beyond the corridor’s walls. I knew, but only because my ghosts had previously investigated.
But there was also absolutely no place to go beyond the door at the far end. It reminded me of the races livestock were herded into before they were either transported or killed.
The first guard stepped out of the elevator, but I didn’t immediately follow. Not until the second guard gave me a light nudge.
“What is this place?” My tone was hushed but seemed extraordinarily loud in the calm, cool hallway. “I thought we were going to another personnel section?”
“We have to go through processing first,” the man behind me said. “I’m afraid everyone has to be screened and sanitized before proceeding into the main work areas.”
Our footsteps echoed as we walked down the hall, a sound as sharp as my pulse rate. “Sanitized? What does that involve?”
“Nothing more than stripping, going through a purification chamber, and getting an injection.”
Which would undoubtedly render me unconscious. I clenched my fists against the sudden urge to knock these two out and run. Running would be pointless. Besides, I had to keep playing the game until I was alone; only then could I risk tracking down Sal’s body. Though how I was going to destroy it, I wasn’t entirely sure.
The front guard paused, ran his RFID chip across the scanner to the left of the door, and then, when it opened, continued on. The next corridor was shorter, and this time the murmur of conversation could be heard.
