He rifled through her thoughts with brutal efficiency and she was unable to resist. He summoned thoughts of the plan, the assault, and she gave him everything.

She felt his mind jolt in surprise. Only three of them? Here to take away the children, to take away Lane? The rest, a diversion?

She wanted to lie, wanted to misdirect, wanted to protect Kevin and Feng and Kade and the children, but it was impossible. Kade had built this back door too well. Shiva pressed on her mind and she gave him everything.

Then she felt him smile, smile in satisfaction.

Kill them, he sent her. And her will bent beneath his.

Sam turned, and there, first in her line of fire, was Kevin Nakamura.

Nakamura tensed as Feng raised the gun. His eyes flicked over the menus in his mind’s eye, found the remote disable for the weapon, clicked it.

“You,” Feng whispered over their laser link. “You killed him.”

Nakamura backed away, away from Feng, away from the wall of the house, towards the railing, moving slowly, placatingly. Feng couldn’t shoot him now. Nakamura could take the Confucian Fist, capture him, bring him back to Langley. But he had a charade to play. For Sam. For her sake.

He whispered back over their laser link. “The missiles went off course. Countermeasures. We have to get up there, find Kade!”

He turned towards Sam, wishing he could see her face, see how she was reacting.

He found her with her assault rifle raised to her shoulder, pointed squarely at his face.

“Sam!” he yelled.

His eyes flicked towards the menu that would disable her gun.

Sam fired before he got there.

Sam moaned in despair as she turned, found Kevin, raised the gun to her shoulder. He turned, spoke her name. Time froze in an endless moment of horror. She threw herself at the mental hold Shiva had over her, threw herself with all her might, wailed at it, ripped at it with thoughts like claws, with every ounce of her being, with every bit of fury she could summon. This couldn’t happen! This wasn’t happening!

Kill them, Shiva whispered to her.

And she obeyed.

Her first burst took Nakamura in the face. The graphene foam impregnating his skull held, stopping the bullets. The momentum of it snapped his head back, the acceleration punishing his brain. He staggered backwards against the railing. His upper half pivoted out past it and over empty space.

Sam tried to stop, tried to pull her finger from the trigger, tried to close her eyes and make it go away!

Kill them.