Jay POV
The control booth door stood in front of us.
Locked.
Of course it was locked.
Felix kicked it.
The door didn't move.
"Solid," he said.
Ci-N examined the keypad.
"Electronic lock."
Keifer glanced at the timer.
01:50
"Break it."
Yuri tried again.
Still nothing.
Then something dropped behind us.
THUD
Everyone spun around instantly.
I raised my weapon.
Ready.
Then the figure straightened.
Messy hair.
Bruised face.
Annoyingly familiar smile.
Hex.
Felix blinked.
"…You have terrible timing."
Hex grinned weakly.
"Miss me?"
Relief spread through my chest so suddenly it almost hurt.
"You're supposed to be tied to a chair I sure ."
"Was," he said.
Keifer crossed his arms.
"You look awful."
"Thanks."
Then Hex pointed at the timer.
01:40
His tone changed instantly.
"Whole building is wired to explode."
"We know," I said.
"Then we need to move faster."
He pulled a keycard from his pocket.
Swiped it across the panel.
The door unlocked with a beep.
Keifer shoved it open.
Inside the booth was a wall of control screens.
Explosive circuits.
Wiring maps.
Detonation triggers.
I stepped inside.
Then froze.
One line on the screen flashed red.
MANUAL OVERRIDE ACTIVE
Meaning someone could still trigger everything.
From somewhere else in the warehouse.
Right on cue Kaiser's voice echoed again.
"Congratulations."
We all looked up at the speakers.
"You found the control room."
He paused.
Then laughed softly.
"But you're still inside my game."
The timer dropped again.
01:15
And falling.
Fast.