Page 4 of The Last Strike

Twenty seconds.

Ten seconds.

Five seconds.

“Got it!”Reed said as he ran his fingers along what looked like an architrave.

James exhaled audibly.

The door opened and Reed disappeared into darkness. A moment later, Reed turned on a flashlight and Asher saw another set of stairs that led to a basement.

Asher’s foot tapped nervously on the floor. He couldn’t help it now.

Reed scaled the stairs and ran toward the water system. It was time for Khalil to get a taste of his own medicine.

“Preparing the syringe,”Reed said with labored breath.

“Use the clear pipe, not the gray one,”Samuel instructed.

Reed jammed the syringe into the pipe then connected it to a larger bottle from his kit.

Polonium.

King Khalil had wanted to poison Santina’s water supply with it, but in return, Asher was going to poison the Adani Palace and everyone in it—leaving no heirs to the Adani Kingdom.

“Complete,” Reed said as the lights turned on, fully illuminating him.

Asher choked on his breath.No!

“Take cover!” James said as Reed pulled the container away. Asher only saw it for a split second before Reed ran for cover, but there was no mistaking it: Reed had pulled the bottle, but the syringe hadn’t come with it.

“Leave it! Take cover!” James said, obviously noting the same thing. “If they see it, eliminate them. Otherwise, stay hidden. We still need to get you out.”

Asher’s eyes didn’t leave the footage as two Adani soldiers walked into view. They seemed to be scoping the basement, looking for something—or someone. They turned in a full circle, seeming to stop at the water system. They looked at it a moment and then raised their weapons as they moved around the system. As one soldier circled it, he pressed his back and heels against the system.

He stopped with his foot touching the syringe.

Asher couldn’t breathe. He put his hand on his chest, pressing against it like that would calm his rapid heart.

Asher was sure the soldier had seen it—or felt it—but then he stepped forward and motioned the other soldier to follow.

“There’s nothing down here,” he said as they moved toward the stairs.

Reed’s cameras didn’t move. Not an inch.

He didn’t take a breath.

Reed

His heart whooshed in his ears and he didn’t dare breathe. If they saw him now, there would be no escape. He was pressed between two storage containers and had nowhere to run. Reed looked to the syringe that the solider had unknowingly almost tripped on.

Big mistake, Reed.

He’d hastily grabbed the container, not realizing the syringe had stayed lodged in the pipe. One simple mistake could’ve ruined it all.

“Focus,”James said through his earpiece, like he could read Reed’s mind.“Finish the job.”

Reed drew a calming breath and listened for a moment.

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