Hayes stood up, dropping his phone onto the table. His arrogant smirk returned. “Did you get lost, sweetheart? Or did you come up here to apologize to Trent for being a pain in the ass?”
“Actually,” I said, closing the distance between us, “I need to borrow your radio.”
Hayes laughed. “Are you crazy? Get out of here before I throw you down the stairs.”
He reached out to shove my shoulder.
I didn't dodge this time.
I caught his wrist with my left hand, twisted his arm sharply outward to lock his elbow, and drove the palm of my right hand directly into his throat.
It wasn't a lethal strike, but it was precise. Hayes choked, his eyes widening in absolute shock as his airway spasmed. Before he could recover, I swept his leg, sending him crashing to the linoleum floor.
I dropped my knee heavily onto his chest, pinning him down, and pulled my combat knife, pressing the cold steel flat against his cheek.
Hayes froze, his hands trembling as he stared up at me, gasping for air. The arrogant instructor was gone. Only a terrified man remained.
“Listen to me very carefully,” I whispered, my voice completely devoid of emotion. “If you make a sound, I will end you. Do you understand?”
He managed a frantic nod.
I reached down to his tactical belt, unclipped his security radio, and pulled his Level Three keycard from his lanyard.
“Where is Trent?” I asked.
“Command... center,” Hayes wheezed.
“Good. Stay on the floor for ten minutes. If you get up before then, I’ll know.”
I stood up, leaving him gasping on the linoleum, and walked out of the room.
I had his radio. I tuned it to the encrypted security channel. I could hear the static chatter of the night guards.
I moved swiftly toward the stairwell. I needed to draw Trent out of the command center and get him alone.
I reached the second-floor junction box. I used my knife to pry open the metal panel, exposing the wiring for the Sector Four security doors. I didn't want to cut the power entirely—that would trigger a facility-wide lockdown. I just needed a localized fault.
I severed the yellow relay wire.
Instantly, the radio on my hip crackled to life.
“Command, this is perimeter two. We just lost the magnetic seals on Sector Four doors. We have a fault.”
A moment later, Trent’s angry voice came over the radio.
“I see it on the board. Probably a short in the junction box. I’ll go reset the relay. Keep your positions.”
I smiled in the dark. He was coming alone.
I moved down the hall, slipping into the shadows near the Sector Four entrance. The heavy steel doors were resting open, their magnetic locks dead.
Two minutes later, I heard the heavy, rhythmic thud of Trent’s boots echoing down the concrete corridor.
He rounded the corner, holding a flashlight in one hand and a tool bag in the other. He wasn't expecting an ambush. He was expecting a blown fuse.
He stepped toward the open doors.
I stepped out from the shadows directly behind him.
“Having trouble with the doors, Trent?”
He spun around, dropping the tool bag, his hand flying to his sidearm.
But I was already moving.
I closed the distance before he could clear his holster. I grabbed his wrist, slamming his hand against the wall to keep the gun pinned. With my free hand, I delivered a brutal, punishing strike to his solar plexus.