I retrace my steps through the water, moving at a crouch as my head skims against the tilted wall. I move past the door leading back into the passage and keep going, blindly feeling my way. I count about twenty paces before I trip over something beneath the water, almost falling flat on my face. I throw my hands out to steady myself and hit up against another blockage in the tunnel.
Shit.
I stretch up, feeling along the fallen rubble. It goes right up to the ceiling, but there’s a breeze coming from somewhere. More than a breeze. It’s a steady wind.
I follow the flow of air to a gap in the rubble, then get down on my knees and peer through. There’s light coming from somewhere on the other side. I reach through with my arm, trying to test the thickness. I can feel a breeze on my fingers. I reach up, then down, but all I can feel is cold metal and more bricks.
Shit.
I briefly consider pulling on the rubble, seeing if I can bring the blockage down, but I manage to stop myself. That’s the kind of thinking that gets you killed. Best to just head back to Felix and Sawyer.
I start to pull my arm out. The bricks shift suddenly, the grating sound of concrete echoing around me.
I freeze.
The sound stops. I slowly move my arm again, pulling it back toward me.
Then the whole pile shifts and a heavy weight slams down on my arm. I try to yank it out, but I already know it’s too late. The shattered concrete and debris only digs deeper.
Jesus Christ. Please do not tell me this has just happened. I tug gently, but I can feel the edge of the concrete digging into my skin.
“Hey!” I shout. “Guys!”
Nothing. Where the hell are they?
Seventeen4:10 a.m.
Sawyer watches Constantine disappear through the door into the inmate corridor. She throws a shocked look at Felix. “Uh…?”
“Don’t look at me like that! I checked the corridor from Admin. There was no way in.”
“Looks like there is now.”
Felix brightens up. “Well… that’s good for us. It means we don’t have to go through there.” He gestures to their right, then suddenly freezes. “For fuck sake.”
Sawyer follows his gaze to find two men standing by the door into Unit 4.
Two men holding M9s.
“Felix,” one of them says, nodding as though greeting an old friend.
Felix sighs. “Cassidy. You still alive, huh?”
“Still alive.” Cassidy waves the gun in a “come here” motion. “Why don’t the two of you just step into Kincaid’s office? I’m sure the big man will want a chat.”
Sawyer glances at Felix. He nods subtly but urgently in the direction of Unit 4. She gets the hint. They need to get out of the corridor in case Constantine comes back. At least if he’s free, he might be able to do something to help.
Cassidy nods amiably at her as she approaches. “We haven’t had the chance to properly introduce ourselves yet. I’m Cassidy. This is Veitch.”
The other guy lifts the barrel of his gun to his forehead, like he’s touching the brim of a hat.
“If you’ll be so kind as to step this way.” They move aside to let Felix and Sawyer go ahead of them into the sally port. The door at the other end stands open.
“All the way through,” says Cassidy.
Sawyer and Felix step through the door into Unit 4. There are two men sitting opposite each other at a table in the exact center of the rec room, easy for everyone to see.
Kincaid lounges on a chair close to them. He looks… bored. His eyes briefly come alive when he sees the newcomers, but the spark quickly fades when they’re followed into the unit by Cassidy and Veitch.
“Where’s Constantine?”
“He wasn’t with them,” says Veitch.
“He’s already dead,” says Felix. “One of Castillo’s guys—Ramirez—took him down.”
Kincaid stares at Felix, trying to figure out if he’s telling the truth. Sawyer quickly scans the rec room. It’s mostly empty, except for the two seated men and a bunch of terrified inmates crammed inside one of the lower-level cells. They don’t seem to have anything in common apart from the look of fear on their faces. They’re from all races. Some have gang signs, some don’t. Some are in their sixties, while a couple look barely out of their teens. None of them try to step out of the cell, despite the fact that the door stands wide open.
Her heart starts to beat faster as she focuses on the two men. An old-fashioned revolver lies between them. There’s blood all over the table, some of it sticky and old, some fresh and dripping over the edge into the water.
Kincaid turns his attention to her. “I wasn’t sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me. You know how it is. Age. Creeps up on us all. I thought, that can’t be a woman running around with Constantine. And yet here you are.” He chuckles. “Bet you’ve had a helluva night.” He stands up and approaches. Sawyer tenses as he walks behind her, leans close to take in her scent. “How do you still smell so nice after everything that’s happened?”
One of the men at the table tries to speak. “Kincaid—”
Kincaid turns to him. “You want to say something?”
The man nods gratefully. Kincaid steps away from Sawyer, approaches the table. When he gets there, he casually picks up the revolver and shoots the man in the head. His head jerks sharply to the left as the gunshot echoes around the confined space.
Sawyer screams in shock as the body slumps sideways into the water.
Kincaid bursts out laughing. “Jesus Christ, that is one unlucky guy.”
He holds the gun out. Veitch takes it and slips a single bullet inside the chamber.
“Where did you get that?” asks Felix.
“Sheriff’s office. You never see him carrying this thing around in his holster? Guy was stuck in the past. Thought he
