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“Then beat them to death,” Ashford said “Your h for us to fire the laser, we still win After that, I want Bull and his allies killed Anyone who’s there that isn’t actively fighting alongside you, count as an eneainst us”

“Yes, sir”

“Sir!” one of the men at the controls said

“What?”

“I think we have someone in the external elevator shaft, sir”

“Assault force?”

“No, but theyit”

Clarissa turned away

In the security station, the newsfeed was still spooling Wounfire Ashford’s men hadn’t taken the station yet She wondered whether he’d let his un down Monica Stuart and Anna on a live feed where everyone could see it Then she wondered how he’d prevent it fro even if he wanted to It wasn’t like there would be any consequences If they won and blew the Ring, they’d all die here one way or another A few pre the way should be neither here nor there When what ca had consequences

Except that everyone always dies You’re distracting yourself fro

Cortez floated in the security booth itself His face lit from below by the entle and cal,” she said

“Good That’s very good”

“—on the Corvusier,” a brown-skinned wo “You knowis that you shut down the reactor for a few hours and pull the batteries froet out of here”

“They value their own lives so much,” Cortez said “They don’t think about the price their survival brings with it The price for everybody”

“They don’t,” Clarissa agreed, but so itched “Do you believe in rede inthat fully reh soh”

“—if we can just co in toward the camera A lock of red hair had coether, we can solve this”