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He heard a huff in his head, but there was no more chitchat

Mace crept up to the doors of the security hub and listened He could hear the huh-frequency communication and the low murmur of voices But he needed more He needed to know exactly how many people were in that roo in there would be a death sentence

He opened his h-pitched echolocation pulses that were beyond the nor The sounds spread out in front of hied their frequency and duration, irainy black-and-white photo, the iave him plenty of useful information They told him there were five people in the rooh to indicate breathing Of the living, two sat in front of a wall—the security screens, he presumed A fifth

person was pacing, carrying a large object From the dimensions, Mace would say it was a rifle like the one he held in his hands

He continued his echolocation until he’d mapped the entire security hub He knew that to Keiko itat the doors She, like the people inside the roo, and no doubt she’d grill hiet to share more about his freaky life

Don’t forget to look up The bat had obviously beenMace’s efforts

Although the flying rodent irritated hiant he’d dismiss the advice of a sonar expert He sent sound waves up toward the ceiling of the roolad he’d listened to the advice There was some sort ofup there, aruard One he would have missed if he hadn’t listened to the bat And that was not so to share with it

I’m in your head, the bat helpfully reminded him You’re welcome

Gritting his teeth, Mace did one more sweep of the room Once he was sure he had itbreath This hat he was built for, trained for This ho he was Who he’d been destined to be from birth—a cold, calm killer, just like his father But, unlike his father, Mace wasn’t evil, despite what his grandfather said Arh the door with only one objective

Four men

Four shots

Eliminate the threat

It was over in seconds And all four members of Freedom lay dead on the floor He supposed he should have felt solad that it was them instead of him He poked his head out of the door and su wide-eyed at the security hub

To her credit, she didn’t hesitate—she just ran toward hione? Is it safe?”

He nodded “There are bodies Be prepared”