“Get up!”
Hector rolled over. A dark silhouette loomed over him. Jostled him again.
“Let’s go!”
“Alexandra?”
The bounty hunter helped him off the cell’s tin bench. “I have a shuttle waiting. We don’t have much time.”
Hector stumbled forward. Alexandra led him out into the hallway. The holding cell guard was face down at the end of the corridor. She used his keycard to gain access to the elevator.
“I don’t understand,” Hector mumbled. Sedatives still wearing off.
The elevator opened. A wide-eyed guard reached for his sidearm. Alexandra shot him in the chest. She pulled Hector into the elevator.
“I have two teleportation drives. Contact your headquarters so they can sync us up.”
Hector held his head. Grimaced. “I can’t.”
“What?”
“I disserted them. If I go back they’ll lock me up. You too.” He hit the ‘emergency stop’ switch. The elevator ground to a halt. “Why are you doing this? Why the sudden change of heart?”
She pushed past him and released the switch. The elevator started moving again. “I saw my file. It’s true. You are my brother.”
The elevator reached the ground floor. Alexandra darted out into the auxiliary receiving center. A shuttle waited beside the loading dock. Several bodies, unconscious or dead, were scattered throughout the center. A man with a shaved head and grimy leather coat stood next to the shuttle.
“Took long enough,” he said. “This job gonna be worth my while?”
“Just get us out of here, Wraith.” Alexandra hopped into the shuttle. Hector hesitated. She arched an eyebrow. “Well?”
Shouts. Guards poured out of the doorway opposite the transport. The man in the dirty coat cursed, pulled a pistol, and started firing.
“Time’s up, sweetheart!” he yelled.
Hector grimaced. The loading dock gate began to close. He jumped aboard the shuttle. Wraith slid into the front seat.
The shuttle swung around and shot out through the exit.
