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Skyler felt Tania’s look like the heat of a spotlight on his skin, but ignored it He took a full, slow stride toward Grillo, placing himself between the ged at the corners of Grillo’s mouth He stepped up to meet Skyler, then reached and yanked the tape from his mouth in one swift istered, e on his chin as the skin was tugged and separated yet again

Skyler couldn’t help but wince Couldn’t help but notice the flicker of sadistic ecstasy in Grillo’s otherwise placid face Skyler ed fro to work, you know," he said

"Your problem, Skyler, is that you lack faith"

"Not true I have faith this isn’t going to work"

Grillo clacked his teeth together "A coreat zealot if it weren’t for my sense of humor"

A crease formed across Grillo’s forehead, halfway between his eyes and his greasy, perfectly combed hair A flash of redness on the skin there, too "You don’t know me very well, Skyler Miss Rinn does She could have warned you against talk like that if she hadn’t been censored herself" He let the words settle, then lifted a radio to his lips "Shoot one of the for sonition in Skyler’s face

Whether he found it or not, Skyler couldn’t tell The news that Skadz was here soht away When it did click into place, Skyler had no idea what inforiven away

Grillo nodded He’d learned sohn"

The na to Skyler, but Samantha suddenly howled beneath the tape on her uard had to step in and help restrain her

"That’s not necessary," Skyler said

"Oh it is, it is I don’t ain "Once in the heart, then dispose of the body Confirle filled the stark silence that followed Eventually she stopped

Grillo held Skyler’s gaze for a long ain "Confirm, please," he repeated into the radio

No response cauards shifted uneasily in the otherwise absolute stillness within the room

Grillo dropped the radio to floor and stamped down on it with one swift strike of his heel Bits of plastic and metal skittered across the floor A strand of hair drooped across the man’s forehead He brushed it back with the side of his pistol with only partial success, so to his face in the same motion, as if a switch had been turned off Still, he drew his breaths through clenched teeth, eyes fixed on the broken remnants of the radio

No one spoke They were, Skyler realized, as shocked at the outburst as he was Grillo teetered on an edge

"You," he said evenly to one of the guards not shadowing a prisoner, "go check on them And you, follow him Pull the ladder in and only lower it if he returns Clear? Go right now, quick as you can The rest of you hold this rooets inside the tean to spread out, taking cover positions on both doors

"Enough conversation," Grillo said "Any more distractions and Dr Sharma here will join Kelly Adelaide in the afterlife Do I need to prove lanced over his shoulder at Saaze met his, and she nodded once Kelly was dead, and apparently for the simple reason that Grillo had needed to prove his sincerity

The ball of ice inside Skyler’s chest turned into an avalanche, spreading through his veins until his entire body seele purpose

Kill This Man

Grillo shrugged "Now that we’re all on the sae, it’s tianize the female prisoners in the center of this chah that if they want to reach us"

He turned then, and clih on the side of the room Alex Warthen followed, robotic in the way he shadowed his new boss

The younger guard, Larsen, fell in behind Skyler and helped him up the steps At the top, Skyler found another ladder leading down Warthen waited there, and with a strong grip at Skyler’s elbow, helped hih and down to the key rooht

Beside the base of the ladder lay a pair of nylon sacks Skyler could see hints of shih thethose," Grillo said, then turned and strode purposefully along the i, Skyler had thought of the rooravity forced hiain The roo tube, at least a hundred meters frouided solely by the viselike grip Alex Warthen had on his elbow, fell in step behind Grillo The floor--perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not--was one of the two sections that still awaited a corresponding object to be installed Directly above hilass-shaped object recovered in Ireland, still resting in its for the circle clockwise, Skyler noted the red object, circular with a half- from the top, found just east of Belem Counterclockwise, he saw a new object This one had a triangular shape, one tip squared off It glowed in a soothing eone after He wondered where they’d found it, and where Pablo was Awaiting their return in Beleistically difficult, no doubt, and really ould they have?

Skyler pushed the thoughts away and renewed his focus Two objects still needed to be installed Grillo had both, and the majority of known immunes at his disposal to do the work Refusal would serve no purpose Skyler would say no; Grillo would shoot Tania Then Sam Then Skadz, if Skadz yet lived and was still captive Then Vanessa By then he’d probably find Ana, too One of them would speak up, offer to do the deed, for the sioing to happen

As far as Skyler was concerned, whatever the Builders had to offer ladly let Grillo have all to himself A case of the clap if there was any justice No point in sacrificing anyone until they knew