Hector’s weapon clattered. Kline’s pistol spat two flashes of light. The thunderous din of gunfire lasted two seconds. When it was over, Hector grit his teeth and grabbed his right bicep. Across the room, on the other side of the pedestal, Kline lay on his back and struggled to breathe. The power cell, C19H, rolled to a stop inches out of his reach. His lunge had dislodged it from the pedestal, but his fall had loosed it from his grip.
Jack rushed into the room. Relief flooded his expression when he saw Hector still standing. Both Union agents circled the pedestal to find Kline clawing weakly at the power core with an outstretched arm. Too far out of reach. And Kline didn’t have the strength to pull himself toward it. A drop of blood eased out of his mouth and slid down his cheek. Anger and pain rippled across his brow.
Hector grabbed the power core with his free hand and hugged it tightly to his chest. Jack kept his weapon trained on Kline.
“Where’s the spider nuke? Is it in play? Has it been armed?” Jack asked.
Kline offered a bloody grin. His right hand trembled as it snuck into his right front pocket, out of Hector and Jack’s field of vision. He grasped his datapad and tried to enter a teleportation code that would transfer him to safety. Nothing happened. Must have entered it incorrectly. He sucked in needed air and tried again.
Jack hissed, “We need to get a medic-”
Energy crackled and swirled around Kline. Jack swore and darted forward as though he could prevent the transfer from happening. It was too late. The XLS timeslinger vanished.
Jack turned to Hector. “We need to get outta here! If they armed a spider nuke in this facility it could go off any minute.”
Hector pressed his lips firmly together. “What did they do to her, Jack? Did they hurt her?”
“What? Hector, we don’t have time for this! We have to get that thing back to the Subdivision!”
Hector knelt, scooped his weapon off the floor, and trained it on Jack. “Not until they let her go.”
