Page 119 of Knot That Serious

“Ten… nine… eight…” The beta began the countdown over the speaker system, and Eli’s veins fizzled with adrenaline.

She was sure her vest would beep when it turned on, and it’d also glow brighter, so when she spied a tunnel ahead, she crawled into it and waited.

“…three… two… one!”

A buzzer sounded, and her vest jingled to life, the gun glowing brighter as her shoulder pads, stomach, and chest lit up.

She didn’t hear anything besides the hum of the air and the fog machines. In fact, it was eerily quiet. Eli scuttled to the end of the tunnel and peeked around the edges before deeming it safe, and then crouched low behind one of the little walls and made her way deeper into the maze.

Distantly she heard the jingle of a vest and a curse, but with the way the voice echoed, she couldn’t tell who it was that had been found.

Another jingle, and that was distinctly Jack’s voice shouting, “Oh, fuck off!”

She swallowed her laugh and continued on, knowing she was safe for the moment.

A green light was up ahead and Eli ducked and moved closer. Peering inside the makeshift building, she found a base that was deactivated, but the entire room was lined in green lights.

“Well this isn’t the base I needed,” she mused softly, and—

Her vest jingled, going dark, and she spun to find Beckett behind her. “You!” she said, pointing, a grin curling her lips.

“I know, I’m surprised too,” he drawled.

Eli shook her head and took off in the opposite direction. “I’d like to see you get me twice!”

“I’m not holding my breath,” he shouted after her.

“Beckett!” Jack called from somewhere. “My love, is that you?”

“Jack, I got Eli!” Beckett called back.

“What?! You lucky bastard!” He already sounded closer.

Eli rolled her eyes and ducked into a little crawl space to wait for her gun to turn back on.

“I’ll avenge you, Eli!” Raj called from somewhere in the maze, and she shook her head, amusement sliding through her.

Footsteps neared and she sucked in a breath, hoping her vest didn’t jingle to life just in time for—

They ran past her, and she knew from the gait it was Jack.

Once she was certain he was gone, she crawled out of the other exit and slid along the wall until she came to a dead end. With a curse, she backtracked until she could find another slot, weaving in and out of the different obstacles.

For a moment it was kind of boring. She couldn’t find Raj or her opponents, and she had no luck with the base.

At least not until she rounded a corner and spied a soft purple glow. Slowly she approached, crouching beneath one of the windows. Eli peeked over the lip of the window and found Raj sitting beside the glowing purple base.

“You found it,” Eli whispered to announce herself, and then stood up to peer through the window.

“Hey!” Raj said, face breaking out into a grin as he realized it was her. “Get in here,” he said, and waved a hand at her.

Eli joined him and they sat with their backs to the wall, mostly obscured by the pyramid-shaped base.

“I heard Beckett got you,” he said softly.

Eli grinned. “You don’t look like you’re doing much avenging from in here.”

“I-I’ve got a plan,” Raj said, nodding confidently.

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