Through the smoke, the hazy figure of Chris fights the second guard. Trent joins him, and they bring the guy down. I’m breathing hard through my mask, my eyes watering from the smoke, but I say a silent thanks to Adam for giving us a way to take out the guards without actually hurting them.

We drag both limp bodies behind the desk and then survey the empty, smoke-filled lobby. The guards are each wearing two flexis, just as Lynne said they would—one for their personal use, and one with the Aether logo on it to control the security systems here. Chris rips off one of the Aether flexis and puts it on himself, while Trent and I spread through the screen of smoke, keeping watch.

I hit the button on the side of my walkie-talkie headset. “The lobby is secure. How’s it going, Zoe?”

Her voice crackles through the speaker. “Don’t. Even. Ask.”

“What, you’re not having fun in there?” Trent asks.

“Very funny,” she says.

Chris looks like he’s staring at the floor, but he must be doing something on his flexi. “Like Lynne said, I can’t open the lab from here, but I’m disabling all cameras in the building and cutting the alarms so they can’t alert the police or fire department. I’ll need, like, two minutes.”

“Not a problem,” Trent says.

The seconds crawl by as we wait. Every muscle in my body is tense, waiting for another threat. Trent’s disappeared into the smoke. Chris sits behind the front desk, his eyes unfocused.

I hear a soft footstep behind me and spin around. Something hits my arm and my entire body jerks and spasms like I’ve been electrocuted. Sharp pain shocks through me and then I’m on the ground, looking up at a guard with one of those electrified batons. Karma’s come to bite me in the ass.

The guard kicks me in the side and I scream. Or I try to, but no sound comes out. My body won’t work. I can’t move my arms or my legs. I gulp down air, panic rising in my chest. I have to get up. I have to fight.

A figure moves in the smoke, silent as a shadow, creeping up behind the guard. Trent bashes the guard in the back of the head with his flashlight, but it’s not enough to knock him out. They fight, their figures hazy, while the numbness in my body fades enough for me to move again.