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He couldn't wheel the cart out into the parking lot. He would have to carry him. Vladik spotted the knotted-up bags of laundry and got an idea. He undid the ties holding the laundry bag in the cart and tied them into a sack.
Zori?He reached out to her.
I'm here,she touched back instantly.
I have him. Can you text Kaspian to meet me in the parking lot?
Onto it.Zori pulled back from his mind, and Vladik let himself smile. She was so damn perfect.
With an inspired thought, Vladik found a pen and some paper at a folding station and wrote an Out of Order sign before sticking it on top of the washer.
He lifted the bag with his brother inside and slung it over his shoulder before grabbing another full bag from the line of them, next to the dryers.
Vladik walked out of the laundry room, his shoulders burning. His brother had lost so much weight, but he wasn't exactly tiny. He was a gargoyle and that meant bones of stone.
"Where are you going with those?" a man in a guard's uniform demanded.
Vladik froze and shifted the bag's weight. "Outsourcing the laundry. The washer is fucked again, and we can't get the fix it guys out until morning."
"We weren't made aware of that change," the guard said.
"Look, man, I'm just doing what I was told. I have a bag of vomit sheets stinking up my clothes right now," Vladik complained.
The guard's nose wrinkled as the smell hit him. "Yeah, okay. Settle down. I had to ask."
"No problem. Mind getting the door? I have a delivery van about to arrive," Vladik said, his heart racing. The guard opened the doors for him and waved him through. "Thanks, I appreciate it. It's been a fucking night."
"Just get it out of here before it makes me throw up," the guard complained.
Vladik walked out into the loading dock as Kaspian backed his van up. Vladik lowered the light bag before opening up the back doors.
Vladik?!Zori's voice had him almost dropping Misha.
I'm here. What's wrong?
I’ve just heard the guard on my floor on his radio. The lab has reported that Misha is missing!
"Fuck," Vladik growled. "Get ready to drive, Kas. We got trouble." Vladik put the laundry bags inside the van. He hadn't planned on leaving with Kaspian. He wanted to maintain the cover.
Zori must've sensed his hesitation.I'll create a distraction. Just go!
Thank you, Zori. Vladik managed to get in before she tore free from his mind. He jumped into the back of the van just as the fire alarms started to scream overhead. "Drive, Kaspian!"
Kaspian didn't hesitate. He just put the van in gear and tore out into the icy streets. Vladik pulled open the bag that held Misha. He was still unconscious.
"You're okay, big brother. You're going to be okay," Vladik said. He found the bag he'd packed into Kaspian's van earlier that night and pulled the talisman from its pouch. "I'll see you at home."
He placed the necklace over Misha's head and said the incantation. Kaspian swore as magic exploded through the van, and with a flash of light, Misha disappeared.
"You little prick. If the high priestess asks, I was never fucking here tonight," Kaspian growled. Vladik slumped against the wall of the van and put his head in his hands. He'd done it. He'd finally saved his brother.
14
The fire alarms were still going off, the warnings to evacuate blaring through the speakers in English and Russian.
Zori scratched at her arms, the heat and itching too unbearable to ignore. She stepped out into the hall just as Anton came out of the elevator. He lifted the radio up. "Yeah, I see her."
Zori tried to stop scratching, but she couldn't. She must have looked like a junkie. She tried to smile at Anton as he closed in on her.
