Clare nearly faltered. A sickly sense of dread rose, pumping through her veins, making her lightheaded. “Oh?”
“The hazmat suits will be a good way to keep you dry through the rain and protect from the hollows, and we can get a container to keep the USB dry. Oh, I haven’t shown you guys the labs yet, have I?” Ezra thrust his hands into his pockets as he sauntered towards the stairwell. “I used to love working up there. When all of the rooms were full, it was like a buzzing beehive. Everyone working on their own tasks, but also working as a group. If one of us was having trouble, we could tap on the glass and get our neighbour to help us brainstorm ideas.”
“Sounds like it was fun.”
“Oh, absolutely.” He took the stairs quickly, jogging up two at a time and swivelling on the landing to watch them follow. “I miss those guys.”
Clare was torn between reluctance and trying to appear enthusiastic. Her smile was growing painful. She matched Ezra’s quick pace, and Dorran stayed at her side, shadowing her.
Ezra stopped at the metal doors and waved his badge over the reader. “Here we are. The hallowed labs. Try not to touch anything, I don’t know what all of my co-workers were building, and there might be some monster viruses in test tubes or something.”
The lights blinked on, moving through the vast room in waves, and Clare had a painful sense of déjà vu from the previous night. Her hand was sweaty, but she didn’t let go of Dorran, and he didn’t try to release the hold.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ezra extended a hand towards the rooms. “Aspect poured literally millions into this space. They could afford to, considering some of the stuff that came out of it. Each new hire had a space custom fitted for their needs. Mine was pretty simple—just a bench, some proprietary tools, and some tubes to grow the biological components. Ezra got a whole wall to himself.”
Ezra led them through the room, seemingly happy to take his time and admire the contents of each chamber. The closer they drew to the final room, the tighter Clare’s nerves wound. She was sure she hadn’t left any evidence of her presence there. She’d turned out all lights, closed all doors. There was nothing Ezra could use to prove her knowledge about—
No. A spike of panic, sharp enough to turn her momentarily blind, speared through Clare. Her heart missed a beat then redoubled its efforts as her body’s flight-or-fight instincts kicked in. Dorran felt the change and sent her a concerned glance. She opened her mouth, but there was no way to communicate her fear to him.
She’d left Peter’s body uncovered.
No. No. Why didn’t I pull the coat back over him? Why did I leave him exposed? Did Ezra see? Is that why we’re up here?
Ezra’s path was leading them steadily towards the chambers at the back of the room. In a few more paces, he would be close enough to see Peter’s uncovered body. Clare pulled on Dorran’s hand, stopping their progress. Her voice sounded too tight. “Peter? I, uh, I can put the USB in a bag I have. We won’t need the case.”
He turned to face her, his smile horribly wide. “No. I guess you don’t.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
Ezra’s hands came out of his pockets. A glint of metal accompanied them. Clare didn’t even have time to breathe before he aimed the pistol at Dorran’s chest. Ezra’s smile seemed as though it had been fused to his face. “Get into the chamber.”
Dorran lowered his centre of gravity. It was a subtle change, but one Clare had seen before. He was braced to attack.
“Uh-uh, no.” Instead of pointing the gun at Dorran, Ezra levelled it at Clare’s face. “Move, and she pays for it.”
Dorran bared his teeth. Ezra took a step back, but his aim didn’t waver. “Go into the right-hand chamber. Both of you. The door is unlocked.”
The atmosphere felt thick enough to choke on. Dorran was wound tight, his grip on Clare’s hand strong enough to hurt. She could see the muscles in his face twitch as he ran through their choices. But there was no choice. Nowhere to run. No way to defend against the pistol.
Clare moved first, stepping towards the glass wall, and Dorran reluctantly followed. She coaxed shaking hands to turn the handle. It beeped as it opened, and the stench of rotting flesh flooded around them. She heard Ezra gag behind her and shot him a glance.
He held one arm across his mouth and nose, eyes squinted nearly closed, but the gun remained steady. “Stand by the door there. The right-hand one. Don’t move.”
It put them closer to Peter’s body than Clare wanted. She tried not to stare at him. Even bloated, even decayed, his face had a friendly quality to it. She wished he’d been the one to greet them at the tower. Her chest ached.
The computer on the opposite side of the chamber was already turned on. Ezra backed towards it, never taking his eyes off them, and pressed a button. The chamber door clicked, and a hissing noise told her an airlock had been released.
“It’s open. Go in.”
To Clare’s surprise, he sounded subdued. Sad, even. It might not be too late to reason with him. He’s a murderer, but he’s also desperate. “Ezra…”
“In!” he barked.
She pushed on the door. It glided inwards, and Clare stepped through. Dorran’s narrowed eyes stayed fixed on Ezra as he moved behind her. As the door closed, it clicked, and Clare knew it had locked.
Ezra lowered the gun with a heavy sigh. He tossed it onto the bench, almost carelessly, and pulled out the roller seat. Instead of sitting in it, he stood at its back, hands braced on the fabric and head bowed.
The containment room was void of furniture. Its back walls were white-painted concrete. The floor was tile. The front wall was glass, as was the
