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As their conversation goes on, I realize she must have muted her line to Maxwell, because the guy is sitting there completely unaware that she’s just managed to call in an air strike on his location.
“Jack.” Jessa’s sad voice shatters my soul, and I know in my heart I will never get over this. “I love you. I wish there was another way. I’m glad I got to see you again. I—”
Maxwell cuts off whatever else she was going to say, and she takes an unsteady step to the side.
The gas is doing its thing.
“JESSA!” At the sound of Maxwell’s voice, a second wind fills her, and she spins to stop him from speaking again.
“NO. You don’t get to order me around. It ends now. Your servers are dumping everything into Logan and Jack’s servers. Link, you’ll be back online in fifteen minutes.”
“Thank fuck.” Link’s relief is obvious.
Jessa’s chest rises and falls more deeply, and I’m thankful she’s taking Link’s advice. The gas is disorienting her, and she’s become unfocused.
My reality sinks in as she slowly sways from side to side.
She doesn’t feel anything anymore.
She’ll pass out shortly, and once she hits the ground, she’ll be dead within a couple of minutes. We didn’t fuck around when we chose to use cyanide.
There has to be something. Not again.Thoughts rage through me as I move to test the door, then try twice to push it open. It’s futile, I know this, but there has to be something.
I catch her expression. For a brief moment, I wonder if the gas is working as clarity crosses her face and she lifts her head toward the screen on the wall.
“We all make choices, Maxwell. You chose wrong.” Lifting her arm, Jessa gives Maxwell the finger in a final go-fuck-yourself.
Maxwell bares his teeth, then opens his mouth to respond, but everything abruptly goes dark. The strike was successful.
I want to be relieved, but instead, despair rages through me when Jessa turns on her shaky legs to look at me, dropping her arm back to her side.
There are no tears running down her face now. Her pain is dulled by the gas.
It’s her time.
“I’m sorry, Jack. I love—”
Her beautiful life leaves her. Her body sways, then succumbs to its end as my entire body goes limp. But the floor doesn’t greet me as it does her.
Logan grabs each arm and holds me up.
A ghostly silence fills the room as we stare at Jessa’s lifeless body. I want to hold her, but we still have too many minutes before Link will regain control of our servers.
Until then, she’s by herself.
She’ll be gone before we can get to her.
“Link, priority is on shutting off the gas and opening this door. There’s an antidote kit on the wall in this room, and we can still it use on her, but time is running out.” Logan is all business. He knows one word of sympathy in my direction will cause a breakdown, and I don’t want him to sedate me again like he had to ten years ago.
“Where’s the kit?”
I follow his line of sight to where our emergency pack has sat attached to the wall for the last six years. But I only find the faint outline of where it should be.
“Logan. My system shows the gas is currently being flushed from the room on its own. We’re working to cut the delay down, but it still won’t be enough to get to her in time. I’m so sorry, Jack.”
My world crumbles all over again as my life slips away from me, and Logan stands still beside me as we wait to hear Link confirm he has access.
Seconds feel like an eternity as we stand in limbo.
