Stolen

But could I? Could I abandon a child here, knowing something could happen to her before I returned? Granted, that child might be capable of evil, but through no fault or will of her own. She was i

We pla

I spent the early part of the evening resting in bed. Of course, I didn't really rest-not mentally, at least. I lay awake worrying about everything that could go wrong. Before the guards arrived, I would pick off the scabs on my torn knee, inducing it to bleed again, then use this distraction to kill them and get free. What if the bleeding-knee trick failed to incite the guard's concern? What if I wasn't fast enough, if the second guard pulled his gun while I killed the first? I had to kill them. I couldn't risk them recovering consciousness before we escaped-

Whoosh.

I froze, recognizing the sound before my brain registered it. My cell door had opened. Instead of jumping up to see who was there, I lay still, tensed and waiting. What time was it? Nine-twenty. Too late for Matasumi. Too early for my snack. Xavier was gone. That left Winsloe. Please, no. Not tonight. I stayed still, listening and smelling the air, hoping I'd misheard the noise.

A full minute passed with no word of greeting, no scent of an intruder, no whoosh of the door closing. I lifted my head from the pillow and turned toward the door behind me. No one was there. I shifted onto my elbows for a better look. The door was closed. No, wait. Not closed. Open a half-inch, maybe less. Again, I braced myself. Was Winsloe in the hall, giving last-minute instructions to Ryman and Jolliffe? Yet I heard and smelled nothing. I counted off sixty seconds, then eased my legs over the side of the bed, and crept to the door. Leaning toward the open crack, I inhaled. Only old scents answered. How was that possible? Someone had opened the door only minutes before. Why couldn't I smell him?

Shifting into a semi-crouch, I edged the door open an inch, then another, then a full foot. I stretched my hamstrings, rolled onto the balls of my feet, and peered out the door. Someone was in the hall. I jerked back, then realized who I'd seen and leaned out again. Bauer stood outside her cell, looking one way, then the other. When she saw me, she straightened.

"Did you-?" she whispered.

I shook my head and stepped into the hall. Before I could say anything, a door opened at the opposite end of the hall and Sava

"What happened?" she asked.

I motioned for silence and beckoned her closer. Since I couldn't smell anyone else in the hall, the doors must have opened automatically, some kind of mechanical malfunction. Too coincidental? Maybe, but I wasn't going to ignore the opportunity. Yes, it could be a trap, but to what purpose? To see whether we'd try to escape? That would be more of an intelligence test-anyone who'd stay in prison when the doors were open clearly lacked a few brain cells. It could be one of Matasumi's research experiments, like when he'd put me in that room with Patrick Lake. Worse yet, it could be another of Winsloe's sick games. So should I sit in my cell and do nothing? Maybe I should, but I couldn't. If this was real, I had the chance to save the three people whose safety concerned me most: Sava

"We're leaving," I whispered, leaning down to Sava

"We're going now?" Bauer whispered.

"We're out, aren't we?"

As Sava

"Just grab your shoes," I said.

Bauer nodded and reached for the door handle. She turned it, frowned, glanced over her shoulder at me, then jiggled the handle, and pushed against the door. It wouldn't open. Prodding her aside, I wrenched the handle and slammed my shoulder against the door. It didn't budge.

"It should open," Bauer said, panic creeping into her voice. "It has to open. There's no external lock."

"I can't get back in my cell," Sava

"So is this one," I said. "I guess if a mechanical malfunction can open them, it can jam them shut, too. We'll have to leave as we are."

"What about Leah and Mr. Zaid?" Sava

"If we can."

We couldn't. I started with Curtis Zaid. The Vodoun priest lay huddled atop his bedcovers, fast asleep. His door was shut tight.

"Jammed," I said.

Sava

"They'll have to stay behind for now," I said. "Sondra, the exit by Sava

Bauer nodded.

"Good."

I headed for the exit on Sava

"That's the guarded one," she said.

"I know."

"But you can't-we can't-they'll shoot us!"

I disengaged her hands from my arm and met her wild eyes. "We discussed this, remember, Sondra? Both doors link to a common hall with the elevator at the midpoint." I chafed at the extended explanation, but I knew this was what Jeremy would do, how he'd calm Bauer's mounting hysteria. "If we go out the camera-monitored door, the alert will notify the guards. They'll see us through the camera and meet us before we can get on the elevator. With the other door, the guards will be right on the other side. They'll have only seconds to react before I burst through. They won't have time to call for help. I'll ki-disable them and we can sneak upstairs."

I nudged Bauer forward and motioned for Sava

"Just a lightbulb," Sava

As Bauer recovered, I glanced up. Overhead was a row of six bulbs, the first now only an empty socket. A tiny squeak caught my attention, and I noticed the second bulb in the line move. As I watched, the bulb twisted slowly, unthreading from the socket.

"Wow," Sava

Crack, crack, crack! The whole row of lightbulbs smashed to the floor, plunging us into darkness. Bauer yelped.

"It's okay, Sondra," I said. "Your eyes will adjust. You have night vision now. The light from the security door will be enough. Move toward it and-"

Sava