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I drive uard, and he stu for balance, and Evan’s bullet tears into his fully huun before he hits the floor, and I have one chance, one shot through the hole I had made earlier If Ion him even as I turn on him

But I had an excellent instructor One of the best marksmen in the world--even when there were seven billion people in it

It isn’t exactly like shooting a can from a fence post

It’s actually a lot easier: His head is closer and a heck of a lot bigger

Sauy’s body hits the floor I pull hi at us, at the dead Silencer, at the other dead Silencer, at the gun inup at the grate

"We’re clear!" I call up to hiet it at first, and then I laugh

Let’s establish a code for when you want to go all creeper on me One knock hing so hard, it’s starting to hurt "You can come in" I’m about to pee myself with relief that we’re all alive, but mostly because he is

He drops into the roo on the balls of his feet like a cat I’m in his arms in the timy name and the words, "My mayfly"

"How did you find us?" I ask hi his yu arms and his soft lips for the first time

"Easy Somebody was up there ahead of me and left a blood trail"

"Cassie?"

It’s Sa a little uy falling fro with my sister?

"This must be Sammy," Evan says

"This is Sammy," I say "Oh! And this is--"

"Ben Parish," Ben says

"Ben Parish?" Evan looks at me That Ben Parish?

"Ben," I say, h and crawl under the counter at the same time "This is Evan Walker"

"Is he your boyfriend?" Sammy asks

I don’t knohat to say Ben looks totally lost, Evan completely amused, and Sammy just damned curious It’s my first truly aard h h school," I mutter

And Evan corrects me, since it’s clear I’ve lost h school"

"She’s not uess I kind of remember her…" Then Evan’s words sink in "How do you knoho I am?"

"He doesn’t!" I fairly shout

"Cassie told ives me a look like What?

"Maybe we can chat about how everybody knows one another later," I plead with Evan "Right now don’t you think it would be a good idea for us to leave?"

"Right" Evan nods "Let’s go" He looks at Ben "You’re injured"

Ben shrugs "A couple of torn stitches I’un into my eh the hole in thearound when I get back, Ben and Evan sly, inaround for?" I ask, my voice harsher than I’d intended I scoot the chair beside the Silencer’s body and rate "Evan, you should take point"

"We’re not going that way," Evan says back He takes a key card froh the door lock The light flashes green

"We’re walking out?" I ask "Just like that?"

"Just like that," Evan answers

He checks out the corridor first, then motions for us to follow, and we step out of the execution room The door locks behind us The hallway is eerily quiet, feels deserted

"He said you were going to cut the power," I whisper, pulling the gun from my holster

Evan holds up a silver object that looks like a flip phone

"I aht now"

He hits a button, and the corridor plunges into darkness I can’t see anything My free hand shoots into the dark, searching for Saripsat h my belt loop

"Ben, hold on to me," Evan says softly "Cassie, hold on to Ben It isn’t far"

I expect a slow shuffle of this ruh the pitch dark, but we take off fast, nearly tripping over one another’s heels He must be able to see in the dark, another catlike quality We don’t go very far before we’re clustered around a door At least I think it’s a door It’s smooth, not like the textured cinder-block walls Soainst the smooth surface and there’s a puff of fresh, cold air

"Stairs?" I whisper I’ht be the saot here

"Halfway up you’re going to hit some debris," Evan says "But you should be able to squeeze through Be careful; it et to the top, head due north Do you knohich way is north?"

Ben says, "I do Or at least I kno to figure it out"

"What do youwith us?"