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Harte had invoked protocols, but she’d specified only that they were supposed to protect her With Harte dead, they had no real direction to follow Nothing to work for Nothing to achieve

Nobody paid attention to Bryn until she gasped out, "Evacuate the building Get everybody outside If they resist, knock the Go"

Five security personnel dashed out to do her bidding, and she hadn’t even tried to invoke protocols Her ability to get up wavered when she achieved a kneeling position, so she stayed there for a long fewwhether she had the strength to et him and Joe safely away, before it was too late The FBI would allow theo They weren’t … infected They were still alive

Harte was safely and pern of any nanites trying to heal her wound Her eyes remained open, fixed, with uneven pupils Like Mareen, she hadn’t taken the shot; she’d wanted to be the puppetminutes before Bryn could e to crawl up the stairs She left a bright trail of blood behind The hallere chaotic now, Phar to carry the froiven this batch of security personnel orders to take down the intruders, and somehow, even the bomb threat hadn’t altered that order

Bryn ainst the jauards ere firing at McCallister’s barricade The last one turned and tried to shoot her, but then he hesitated She knew hih Pharo Go now, before it’s too late"

He thought about it, raised his gun, and then lowered it again There was confusion in his eyes, and fear

Then he ran

Bryn collapsed

McCallister lunged forward as he caht her on the way down

"She’s dead," Bryn said "Harte’s dead You have to go now Get out before it’s too late; the governo while you still can…"

"Fuck," McCallister spat He picked her up, turned, and said, "Joe! We are leaving!"

"About fucking ti a shotgun

"Bryn says she’s down Move your ass"

"Hey, you’re the one who just gained weight, not rin, and Bryn relaxed against hi’s all right

TheyBryn had a confused i lot, still full of silent Phar for the end I should save theht As many as I can

But before she could, a black limousine pulled up to block McCallister’s path, and Riley Block stared at theht at McCallister’s head, and held it there for a long few seconds before she sighed and said, "Oh, fuck it Just get in"

McCallister threw Bryn inside and dived in after, with Fideli close behind The li for the door to close

Bryn turned her head away just as there was a screa sound from overhead, and a tremendous shove at the back of the limousine, and the world exploded into fire around them

"… worst explosion in the city’s history," a tinny voice was saying when Bryn swam up out of the dark "Gas company officials continue to say that the incident is under review, but according to recent inforas officials arned about the dangerous state of the pipes under the Civic Theatre as long as a year ago Clearly, this could have beena major event…"

Bryn cracked her eyes, widened the in a hospital bed, hooked up toThe thin flat-screen was sitting on top of a rolling cabinet across the room She blinked and fixed on the picture, which was of a rolling ball of fire rising up into a cloudless blue sky Burning buses A wrecked liood, but then she would, wouldn’t she? Goddaht have coain

Maybe

An alar to see what e Before she could, the door opened, and a doctor looked in

No, not a doctor A woman in a lab coat

Riley Block, with a livid bruise on half of her face, and a patch over one eye