Page 101 of The Phantom's Vice

However, when we take a stairwell to a higher level, three Reapers step around the corner to block the next stairwell, and I know the entire building is about to be alerted to our presence.

“What the…?” The mask in the middle reaches for the gun at his waist a moment too late, and Maverick's bullet sails through his forehead. Two more shots ring out, and the masks at his side slump on top of his body, utterly dead.

I give Maverick an appreciative nod and follow him up three more levels, where we’re met with another couple of Disposers. However, these guys were looking for us, so we don’t have the element of surprise. While Kain fights the one on the right, Maverick goes to the left, leaving me with the two in the center.

The dark-haired one charges at my middle, and I twist out of his reach just in time to downswing my dagger into the center of his back. As he howls inagony, I turn my attention to the other, barely having enough reaction time to duck before his blade pieces my jugular. I sweep my leg under his feet, and the giant man falls to the floor like a felled tree. I use my momentum to roll to the side, grabbing the knife from the first’s back and leaping to my feet.

I flick my knife between the first guy’s eyebrows, a demented smile lighting my face as it hits home with a sickeningschunk,then leap forward, pulling my gun from my waist midair and firing off two rounds into the second Mask’s chest. His body jerks as each bullet hits home, and when I land, I add one for between his brows for good measure.

When I realize Kain and Maverick have handled their opponents as well, I retrieve my dagger from the first Mask’s forehead and hurry after them down the hall, my movement slowing for some strange reason.

I shake my head, forcing my legs to move faster despite the fuzziness growing in my mind. I only stop when Kain yells out, looking down in horror at the large trail of red I’ve left behind me.

“Shit,” I murmur, looking down at my pant leg saturated with my blood and dripping rubies onto the carpet. “Fuck, he must have clipped an artery.”

Maverick rushes over, pulling another silver syringe from his pocket. “Here. It’ll only hold for an hour or so, but you’ll bleed out in a fucking minute otherwise.”

I raise my brows, but still take the thing and jam it into the large gash situated on my inner thigh. “Don’t suppose you have any more of these?”

Maverick shakes his head. “Just the two.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to do this quickly.” I sigh, waiting until the room stops spinning to continue down the hall. We move as fast as we can through the rest of the levels, taking out Reapers and Disposers whenever we come into contact with them.

but it doesn’t stop us from charging through the last door. Unlike the last corridors, this one is bathed in rich, red stone—the gold sconces illuminating a series of pictures situated every couple of feet along the length of the passage, though I’m in too much of a rush to see what they depict.

The three of us come to a halt before a plain red wall, and Kain lets out a curse as I inspect the seamless slab of stone. “Don’t suppose there's any chance that little beetle thing can bore through stone, is there?”

I sigh, shaking my head. “Maverick?”

Maverick puts his hand on my shoulder, pushing me to the side as he steps up to the wall. Like he’s done it a thousand times before, he raises his wrist to an inconspicuous spot on the stone, pressing the flesh flush against it. A moment later, a section of the wall slides back and to the side, giving way to a small golden tunnel.

“Ghost didn’t just need me for backup, you know,” Maverick murmurs, patting Kain on the shoulder before stepping forward into the confined space. “You coming?”

Kain murmurs something unintelligible under his breath as he follows, and I have to stifle a laugh despite the gravity of the situation.Find the silver lining, I say. Or in this case—gold.

We wind through a series of small tunnels, each stretch veering off to the left or right every couple of yards, disorienting me and bathing me in claustrophobia as we navigate through the maze. We take the next left, and a spot of light appears at the end of the tunnel, brightening my chest with something like hope.We’re almost there. We almost made it?—

WAH… WAH… WAH… INTRUDERS… INITIATE EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN SEQUENCE… WAH…WAH…

“Come on!” Maverick yells, charging aheadtoward that little light. Shadows appear in the center a moment after he says it, their Reaper-shaped frames blocking out most of the light. Maverick raises his weapon, firing off two rounds into the head Reaper’s chest. He collapses, his massive shoulders creating a kind of roadblock for all the other Masks trailing. Maverick fires off three more rounds as the Reapers try to clamor over their fallen brother, ultimately collapsing on top of him and making the problem worse.

Maverick stops a few yards away, leaving enough room for Kain and me to squeeze past him as he lines up his shot. Two more rounds whiz past my head, landing square in the chest of the unfortunate Reaper, who happened to clamber over the pile. He falls to the ground a few feet away from the others, one hand clutching his chest as the blood bubbles past his fingers.

Kain leaps over the fallen Mask like he’s a damn track star, barrelling headfirst into the next wave of Reapers appearing to block our escape. With a mighty roar, he raises his dagger and begins slashing wildly, incapacitating the Masks just long enough for me to jump in and finish them off.

I’m in the middle of dragging my dagger across the third Reaper's throat when screechingmetal fills the hall, and I jerk my head up in alarm. At the end of the tunnel, I can make out the Madam's elaborate golden door—but more importantly, I can see the thick metal slab sliding into place.

“Ghost, you need to go!” Kain yells, twisting his hands and snapping the neck of the Mask between his palms. Sensing my hesitation, he rolls his eye and physically pushes me toward the exit. “We got it from here! Go! Now!”

I make the mistake of looking back toward Maverick only to see a swarm of white-masked Reapers emerging from the shadows of the tunnels we just came through. My feet are frozen as two masks descend on Maverick, who, out of bullets, tries to smash the butt of the handle against the first Reaper's skull. He dodges the blow easily and bends low, sweeping a leg under Maverick’s feet and sending him crashing to the ground.

“Maverick!” I yell, about to rush as help when Kain swings an arm out, holding me in place.

“I’ll help him,” he grumbles, jerking a thumb in the direction of the disappearing golden door. “You need to fucking go! Like yesterday.”

A third Reaper rushes past Maverick, his dagger poised to strike. With a murderous growl, Kain rushes forward, easily overpowering the Mask andquickly maneuvering him into a headlock. Over his shoulder, three more Reapers descend onto Maverick, their own weapons drawn and ready to end his life.

“Go now, Boy!” Maverick yells, sensing my gaze—the fact that I can’t fucking leave him there to die like that. I look helplessly from the door to Maverick to Kain, who is too busy fending off his own opponent to help Maverick in time. I have to make a choice, and I have to make it now. Kill the Madam or save Maverick.

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