Vas scanned the stairwell beneath him. Beside him, Gardner pressed himself against the wall. There was no one on the stairs, but Vas could hear them on the floor below. Several small groups ran past. They all seemed to be going in the same direction.

The captain looked at Gardner. “Are you sure about this, General?”

“I’m sure, Captain.”

Vas sighed through his nose, then grumbled, “At least they turned off that stupid alarm.”

He raised his e-pistol and started down the stairs. When he reached the first floor, he stopped at the corner, barely daring to breathe.

Two soldiers jogged by without seeing him.

Vas put his hand over his ear. “Ciro, what’s going on?”

His brother’s voice came back, “The hell if I know! The Supremacy sends in a bunch of idiotic amateurs, and now I can’t do a damn thing!”

Adan winced from the volume pounding against his ear drum. “Come on, Ciro. You and I both know that’s not true. You’re out of the building’s system—that doesn’t mean you’re useless.”

He heard his brother take a ragged breath.

“Why are they all leaving?” Vas asked.

“They’re probably running away because that moron at the controls wouldn’t know how to stop a video game if the A-button was pause!” There was a brief silence, then Ciro said, his voice low and serious, “No, Adan, that might be right. They don’t know if it’s fire or explosives. They’re probably clearing out until it goes off.”

Vas asked Gardner if that was likely.

“Standard procedure.”

Vas motioned for the general to follow him and started down the hall, following the two soldiers. “Ciro, do you have any eyes in the building?”

“No,” his brother answered. “But I have eyes from the street. What do you want to know?”

“Can you see any of the gangsters?”

“The what-what?”

“The gang—look, they’ll be in body bags or security cuffs. You might see a woman with bright pink hair.”

His brother didn’t answer for a moment. “The loading dock. But, Adan, they’re all in custody.”

Vas heard a noise off to his left and stopped, mid-stride.

“You did hear me? Adan?”

“Quiet.”

Even the sounds in the distance momentarily grew quieter, as if the world was compelled to obey the captain. Vas reached up to mute the headphone, walked over to the door beside him, and put his ear against it. He motioned for Gardner to stand off to the side. Once the general was in place, the captain turned the handle and yanked the door open. Before the door had slammed back against the wall, Vas’s e-pistol was already pointed in the room.

“Hands up!” Vas yelled.

The figure at the back of the room obeyed. One of the raised hands was holding a metal-ammunition pistol. It was Nourie Daghar.

“You’re…that captain,” he said.

The apothecary lowered his pistol to point it at Vas. The captain could see the muzzle of the gun quivering. He edged his way into the room, one slow step at a time, ignoring the pistol trained on him.

“What are you doing here?” Daghar’s strained voice sounded like a whimpering flute.

When Vas was all the way in, Gardner was able to join him. There were now two e-pistols fixed on the chemist. They both advanced towards Daghar with cautious steps.

In his most relaxed and easy voice, Vas said, “That Melo. She’s a smart woman.”

Daghar let out a noise that was something between a scoff and a laugh. He didn’t lower his weapon. Vas wondered if the man realized the position he was in.

The captain continued, “She knew that if they ever raided this place, they’d probably surround it first. She made sure you had a secure hiding spot you could stay in until the building was cleared.”

“How did you escape?” Daghar asked.

Vas shrugged. “Even a woman as smart as Melo makes mistakes.”

Gardner was beside the apothecary. “Lower your weapon.”

Daghar didn’t seem inclined to listen.

“You can’t shoot us both before one of us gets you,” Gardner said. “Lower your weapon.”

Adan jerked his head to the side. “Come on, Nourie-sweetie. With how bad your hands are shaking, you’d probably miss me even if you did pull that trigger.”

Nourie Daghar lowered his arms, then put the gun on the table in front of him. “Don’t call me that, Captain. I hate it. I always have.” He put his hands in the pockets of his lab coat.

Now that he was no longer holding the pistol, he seemed calmer. Vas and Gardner lowered their weapons while still keeping them in hand.

“Are they explosives or firebombs?” Vas picked up Daghar’s pistol and added it to his arsenal.

“Firebombs.” Daghar rubbed his chin. “It would get rid of some evidence as well as give me a chance to escape.”

“Where’s Moric Sipos?” Gardner demanded.

“How should I know?” Daghar said. “He’s gone! And good riddance.”

Emery Gardner raised his e-pistol again. “Where did he go?”

“I told you, I don’t know!”

“You know something. Someone must know something! Where is he?!”

“Why would I hold anything back? Go on and shoot me, General! I can’t tell you something I don’t know.”

Vas took a deep breath. He was trapped in a room with two hysterical men when the building was about to light up like a million match heads. “Mr. Daghar, maybe you can tell him about the last time you saw Moric Sipos.”

Daghar glanced at Gardner. When the general lowered the muzzle of his gun, Nourie turned to face him. The chemist stared at the floor as he spoke. “Sipos was alone with Melo. She’d given him the money—”

No one saw any need to bring up what the money had been for. It didn’t seem like it’d be useful at that point.

“—and he was asking about how to get an ID. She told him he couldn’t get one here, but he wouldn’t have to if he knew where to go. He asked her if she knew any good smugglers.” Daghar smirked. “She gave him the name of some captain that could take him off planet.”

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“Who?” Gardner said.

“I don’t know, General!”

“He wasn’t one of the ones you use?” Vas asked.

“I don’t use smugglers, Captain. I only make the product. I’m nothing but a simple chemist.” Nourie closed his eyes. “I never wanted this.”

“Did Sipos tell you where he was going?” Gardner asked.

“Why would he do that?” Daghar said.

“I thought he was your friend.”

“Moric Sipos is not my friend.”

It took Vas a moment to adjust to the auditory déjà vu.

Daghar went on, “Moric Sipos doesn’t have friends. He has victims.” The simple chemist stared up at the retired general. “You should know that.”

There was a short silence.

“Do you believe him?” Vas asked.

“I believe him,” Gardner muttered. He clicked the safety on his e-pistol and went to put it in his belt.

“What are you doing, General?” Vas hissed. “Don’t put it away! We’re surrounded by Supremacy soldiers, and we still have to get out of here!”

Gardner and Daghar both stared at the captain. It was an odd moment for everyone.

The general clicked the safety off again. “You’re right, Captain. I apologize. I’m not used to worrying when that’s the situation.”

Vas paused. “Do—do you still have your ID?”

Gardner nodded.

“They took mine,” Adan grumbled.

“It’s in the desk in the main room,” Nourie said. “Top drawer. It isn’t locked.”

Now it was his turn to be stared at.

“Would it be useful?” he asked.

“Probably, yes!” Vas said.

There was a series of clicks and then a soft sound. The whispered roar seemed to go on for ages.

“The firebombs,” Daghar said.

Vas walked toward the door of the room. He couldn’t see any flames, but the dim evening lights were now supplemented by a flickering orange glow. The metal of the door was getting warmer. He heard the other two men come up behind him, but he ignored them.

He unmuted his headset. “Ciro, is the building still surrounded?”

“Adan! You’re still alive? Thank god! What? One second.” A moment later: “Yes. Every entrance and exit. Any brilliant plans?”

“Sorry, Ciro, I have to go.” He put the headset in his pocket. “I’d get low, gentlemen.”

Taking his own advice, Vas opened the door. They all crept out into the hall. There were fires behind them and fires pouring from the rooms beside them, but their way forward was clear.

When they reached the main turnoff, Vas said to Daghar. “How was Melo going to get you out of this?”

“Did she even have a plan?” Gardner had to raise his voice to be heard over the fire.

“Oh, she had a plan.” Vas smiled. “Nourie-baby is her most prized possession.”

Daghar glowered. “There’s a clear path to a secret exit. The short tunnel comes out behind a dumpster.”

“Lovely,” Gardner grumbled.

“What direction?” Vas asked.

The chemist pointed.

“Can he fit?” The captain nodded to Gardner.

Nourie glanced at the general’s generous proportions. “I think so, Captain.”

“Go. I’ll catch up.”

“Where are you going?” Daghar yelled.

“To get my ID.”

“Are you insane?”

“It was a gift!”

Vas ran, bent over, toward the main lab. The smoke was getting thicker by the second. The sprinklers must have been disabled by the same program that set off the firebombs.

Vas charged in through the wide-open door, expecting the room to be empty. He did not expect there to be firefighters and MP soldiers already hauling in hoses heavy with the goo used to smother flames. They were all armed.

Vas jumped behind the boxes by the door as some of the MPs dropped what they were doing to fire at him. Two bodies were still there from the earlier shoot out.

Stupid military planet! Vas thought. They can’t just be normal firefighters. No! Everyone has to be a soldier.

Vas returned fire with his e-pistol. Then he drew Daghar’s gun with his other hand and started firing bullets as well. The firefighters and MPs dropped everything and retreated to the door.

They probably figured that he’d be forced to come out by the ever-increasing inferno. Vas grinned when he realized it. He ran toward the desk he assumed Daghar had been referencing and let out a shout as he unthinkingly grabbed the metal drawer. Covering his hand with the edge of his jacket, he pulled it open.

After throwing his wallet into his pocket, he started to rummage through the rest of the contents in case something screamed out to be stolen. Before he could find anything, the smoke started choking him. He turned to leave.

There was a moment of stunning agony in his side, then he crashed to the ground. He’d only felt pain like that once before. You never forgot. He’d been shot by an e-weapon. He rolled away from the blaze beside him and pulled his hand from where he’d clutched the injury. It was coated in blood. He gingerly felt around the damage again. He couldn’t tell for certain, but he thought it was only a surface wound. The main blast must have missed him. With the fires murmuring around him, he hadn’t even heard them shooting from the door. He scrabbled to his knees, then his feet. After stumbling into the hallway, he dropped to the ground and kicked the door closed behind him.

It was too hot to stay there, but he paused long enough to look at the injury. As he did, he noticed there were burns on his leg.

He swore. After wasting a few seconds searching his belt for a first-aid kit that wasn’t there, he forced himself to take a breath and slow down.

It hurt. Bad. But it wasn’t bleeding too much, and the fires were a bigger concern.

He staggered to his feet and ran. When he came across the body of one of the gangsters, he noticed a wrap and appropriated it. As he wrapped it over his mouth and nose, he inhaled the tangy scent of blood. He couldn’t tell if it was from his hand or if the gentleman he’d stolen the cloth from had bled out on it. It didn’t matter. It was better than breathing smoke.

He followed Daghar’s directions, running when he could, limping when he had to. He was so deep in shock that he almost missed Gardner yelling his name.

He looked down the short hall.

“Here!” Gardner called.

When he was beside Gardner, the general said, “You’re hit.”

Vas nodded.

Without another word, Gardner pushed aside the door to reveal a janitor’s closet. A panel had been removed from what looked like an air-treatment unit. Instead of a machine, there was a hole that led through the thick brick walls of the lab.

Vas went first. Gardner followed after he shut the panel behind them.

The captain came out coughing and collapsed. He was certain he’d never smelled air so wonderful, even if it was rank with the smell of rotting garbage. He wanted to stay there, breathing, but he felt a set of hands tug on his arm. He allowed Daghar to lead him away from the building. When they stopped moving, Vas sank down to sit on his heels. He put one hand on the ground to support himself.

Gardner was there a moment later.

Adan tried to focus—tried to tune into the world around him. Daghar was talking.

“I have to go. If they don’t find me here…”

“If they don’t find you here, they won’t be able to prove you’re involved,” Gardner said.

There was a brief silence.

“You won’t…you won’t tell—”

“Daghar, I drink entirely too much alcohol to judge other men’s vices. Stay out of my way, and I’ll have no reason to say anything.”

Footsteps.

There was the scratching sound of shoes on the asphalt. Vas felt someone close beside him. “All right, Captain. Let’s look at the wound.”

Adan forced himself to open his eyes. Gardner was squatting beside him, one knee on the ground. He took the bloody wrap out of Vas’s hands and threw it aside. He pushed the captain enough to get him all the way on his knees, then moved Vas’s jacket so he could see the injury.

Gardner muttered something Vas couldn’t hear.

The general said, “Give me all but one of your guns—an e-pistol.”

“Why?” Vas choked out the word.

Gardner grabbed the two ancients and pulled the knife. “Because you aren’t supposed to have them.” He stood up. “Stay here.”

He wiped the weapons down with part of his shirt as he walked away. When he passed by the dumpster, he tossed them in to lay with the garbage.

Vas felt a dim flash of anger, but it was swallowed up by the pain.

Minutes passed before Gardner returned with a bundle of clothes.

“What’s this?” Vas asked.

“I took a leaf from Miss Reyer’s book. Emergency personnel often keep a spare uniform in their bags. Can you stand?”

The captain nodded. He was feeling better now that he’d had a chance to breathe. In a short amount of time, his charred pants were replaced with Supremacy fatigues. Gardner used his e-pistol to put a hole in the vest that roughly corresponded to Vas’s wound. Then he threw it over the captain’s shoulders.

“Come on,” Gardner said. “We’re going to get you treated.”

“What?”

“I have to ask some questions, and you need medical attention, Captain.”

The general helped him walk to the front of the building.

The street was a riot of people and confusion. Supremacy ambulances shared the sidewalk with firefighting equipment. Several transports were painted to show they were property of the military police.

So many Supremacy uniforms.

Vas’s first inclination was to run, but he was too weak to do it.

Gardner dragged him over to a harried EMT who’d just returned to her ambulance.

“This man needs help.”

For a split-second, the EMT looked as though she wanted to cry. Then she put on her professional face and helped Vas to sit down on the ground. She left to get her medical kit.

When she returned, Gardner noticed the rank above her EMT patch.

“Sergeant, where’s the agent in charge of this raid?”

She nodded over to a man standing nearby. His helmet was down at his feet and his vest was crumpled on the ground beside him. Like many others, he’d found it too hot to wear. He watched, impassive, as the building in front of him burned.

Gardner left Vas and walked over.

“Lieutenant Colonel,” Gardner said.

The man looked at him. “Who are you?”

Gardner held up his ID and watched as the colonel’s eyes widened. He saw the man’s body tense and rushed to say, “No. Don’t salute.” He felt his lips twitch. “I’m retired, after all.”

“You’re with Miss Bellerose?”

“Why else would I be here?”

“What can I do for you, sir?”

“I’m looking for a woman. You probably have her in custody. It’s extremely urgent that I find her.”

“Helena Melo, sir?”

“You know her?”

The man grunted. “We’ve been looking for her for a long time, General.”

“I need to talk to her.”

The lieutenant colonel shook his head. “I’m sorry, sir. She’s dead. She was killed while trying to resist arrest.”

Gardner felt his fingers grow cold. He fumbled to get his ID back in his pocket.

The colonel must have seen his face. “I hope it wasn’t too important, sir?”

“No,” Gardner lied. He tried to force a smile. “Nothing too important.”