Page 20 of The Last Strike

James stood at the entrance to the Marble Hall. He had to get through there and down to the cells. Asher prayed the map they had was correct.

The palace was still dark, but Asher knew it was only a matter of time before the power was restored and Samuel didn’t think he’d be able to short the circuit again.

“Keep moving, James,”Samuel said, as if reading Asher’s mind.

“Copy,”he said, stepping into the Marble Hall.

Asher squinted as he saw a light at the end of the hall and quickly realized it was a soldier with a flashlight.

James darted from one pillar to the next, using them to hide.

Asher didn’t breathe as the soldier walked straight past James, his flashlight beaming an arc over the Marble Hall as he walked. Once James was past the soldier, he sprinted forward.

Asher’s foot tapped nervously on the floor and his jaw locked together.

The next hallway was empty, and the next. Asher didn’t know if this was good or not. A third explosion sounded outside and Asher knew that was James’s cue.

He ran down the stairs, kicked open the door and fired at everything that moved. He didn’t give the soldiers time to pull their weapons. They didn’t see him coming.

Eleven men fell in a few seconds, and James ran through the door behind them. The cells looked like the cells at the Santina palace, Asher noted quickly.

James ran to the end—and stopped.

“He’s not here!”James said, his voice frantic.

James

James ran past the cells again, making sure he hadn’t missed him in his haste. But there were only two prisoners in the separate cells, and neither of them was Reed.

James stopped at one of the cells. “Where did they take him?”

The lone woman inhaled and pressed her lips together. She took a step forward and craned her neck toward the guard’s desk. She blinked when she saw them on the floor, then tapped her hands on the lock.

James looked back to the guards and ran to them, searching them for keys. He found a chain on one of the guards and unclipped it.

He ran back to the cell and put the key in the lock. “Where is he?” he urged, refusing to turn the key until she answered.

The woman looked between the keys and the guards, like she expected one of them to spring up. Or more to arrive.

James saw the moment she settled on a decision. “Last room on the right,” she said quickly. “But let me out!”

He looked again—but he’d already searched those cells.

He shook his head. “He’s not there,” James said, about to move to the first cell where the only other prisoner was being kept.

“There’s a medic room behind the cell,” she said and James’s heart skipped a beat.

Had something happened to Reed?

“Samuel, vitals?” James asked quickly.

“Stable,” he responded without hesitation.

James ran to the end of the cells again and realized the cell at the end wasn’t really a cell. It had bars at the front and could probably be used as one if the cells were full, but there was a Star of Life symbol on the back wall. James walked inside the cell, keeping the keys close. He’d hate for this to be a trap and get locked in the cell.

He felt around on the door for a lock. It was hard to see with his grainy night-vision goggles, but eventually he found it. He tried the keys he’d taken from the guard, but none fit—he’d have to pick the lock instead.

Seconds silently ticked over in his mind. How much time did he have before the power was back on? No one knew, but James didn’t think it would be long. He heard a crashing noise as the lock clicked.

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