Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [138]
‘Damn. We need the password,’ he said as the key-card ejected.
‘Do you have it?’
Everett shook his head.
The sound of boots on the stairwell tapped double time. Grayson glanced below and spotted the troops sprinting up the steps—a moving blockade with their riot shields and batons. ‘I think I might know someone who does.’ He yelled above the explosions and shouts, ‘Rosette! A little help with the door?’
He didn’t hear an answer but felt an overwhelming impulse. He grabbed Everett and jerked him forward, dragging him up one flight of stairs. He crouched, shielding his face, waving for Everett to do the same. ‘Get down.’
‘If you think they won’t notice us here in plain sight…’
‘Everett, cover your eyes.’
‘Why?’
Grayson pulled him to the ground. A blast knocked them both back into the wall. When the sound subsided, Grayson scrambled to his feet, hoisting Everett as well. They charged down the steps to the landing. There was a hole in the wall where the door had been, exposed wires sticking out like a burnt claw, sparks zapping from the raw ends. Grayson raised his eyebrows at Everett. ‘Not the exact password, but effective, don’t you think?’
Twisted metal littered the floor, radiating heat and smelling of solder. He picked his way through the rubble. The hall was dim, lit only by flickering orange lights. They had to step over the remains of the door. It had been thrown several metres from the entrance and was folded over itself.
‘How did you do it?’ Everett asked, pulling his hand back from a smoking beam.
‘Rosette.’
Everett frowned. ‘I feel like I’m going mad. How can you know it’s Rosette?’
‘Subtlety’s not one of her strong points,’ Grayson said without further explanation. He winced as a palpable wave of energy swiped the back of his neck. ‘It’s true, and you know it.’ He turned behind him, sending his words to the general area where he felt Rosette hovering.
‘I didn’t say it wasn’t,’ Everett replied.
‘I was talking to Rosette.’
Everett shook his head. ‘This is a bad dream.’
Grayson held his finger to his lips. ‘They’re behind us,’ he whispered.
The sound of the troops on the landing rang out, like hammers on tin. Everett started to run, but Grayson stopped him, shaking his head and signalling again for silence.
‘They’ll be onto us,’ Everett whispered. His eyes were black in the orange light.
‘She’s taking care of it.’ Grayson crouched against the wall. ‘Trust me.’
‘You’re delusional,’ Everett whispered, as he hunkered down beside him. ‘I don’t know how you planted the explosives but you can’t really think a dead woman did any of this.’
The sound of the troops rushing up the steps shot past. Soon it was silent again except for the distant rumbles.
‘What just happened?’ Everett’s face twisted.
‘Not a bad glamour, don’t you think?’ Grayson smiled.
‘I don’t know what to think. You aren’t making sense. None of this is making sense.’
‘It will in time. Can you get us out of here?’
Everett rose to his feet, his hands shaking. ‘This way,’ he said, heading down the hallway. ‘The service entry is this way.’
Grayson followed him through a warren of twists and turns.
‘I hope you have a plan for when we hit the street,’ Everett said.
‘It’s forming. Can we get back to Rosette without attracting any attention? Back to the hospital?’
Everett stopped in front of another door, glancing at Grayson before swiping his key-card. This lock was not password protected. They stepped through into a small alcove with two elevators.
‘We’ve put ourselves on every security screen in the city,’ Everett said, shaking his head. ‘We couldn’t attract more attention than this if we joined a circus.’
Grayson chuckled, glad Everett had found his sense of humour. ‘Then we can’t wait. We have to get Rosette’s body out of that deepfreeze now.’
‘You’re not suggesting we blast more walls, are you?’
They both ducked at the sound of another round of explosions.
He shook his head.
‘What, then?’
‘Rosette has