As she began to approach the end of the hall, a door finally became visible, twenty yards ahead on her right, opening into the room behind the glass wall. Tilly slowed to a prowl as she approached it, her body taut. Calmly, she tested the knob. It was open. She immediately burst inside.

She found herself standing on immaculate hardwood floors, the sweet-sour smell of stale sweat wafting through her nostrils. No one was in sight. Tilly laughed, holstering her gun and admiring the fact that she was standing in a fully-stocked gymnasium. Basketballs, towels, and unfinished water bottles littered the floor, but even that small untidiness was impressive. At the time the building was ordered to be evacuated, people had been playing basketball at work, she thought. “I don’t even play basketball when I’m not working,” she said aloud, her tone both mocking and mournful. She picked up a basketball and held it, awash in memories of high school: unplanned leisure, AOL Instant Messenger, jump shots.

She returned to the stairwell, ascending slowly. Finding the door to the fourth floor ajar, she stepped forward cautiously. A muffled gunshot rang out. “Shit!” Tilly shouted, brandishing her gun and crouching. Was Rick okay? she wondered as she found cover behind a work desk cluttered with paperwork. Hearing no other gunshots, Tilly rose and followed the faint sound of voices. Ducking into a hallway, she slowed to a tiptoe as the voices grew louder. Another gunshot sounded off, followed by screams.

Tilly stopped at the edge of an open door, pressing her back against an adjacent wall, listening.

“Guys, we don’t have to do this. What are we still doing here?” Kai asked.

“You can leave if you want, but a nigga literally just got shot, so I’m doing what the fuck I came here to do while I can do it,” Sol insisted.

“You are not doing a damn thing,” Apollo responded. “Me and Zed are the ones who are entering the long and lat coordinates, and we’re the ones who programmed the lockpick. Chill out.”

“I don’t take orders from you, Apollo. Don’t forget about these.”

An object flew through the air, landing flatly on a hand. Tilly guessed it was a notebook of some kind, maybe a phone.

“Sol, we’ve already talked about this. We’re not going to shoot at houses. We’re here to hit other satellites, nothing else. Nothing has changed,” Zed affirmed.

“I’m sorry. Apollo and I have an arrangement,” Sol said.

The talking suddenly stopped. Something was missing, Tilly felt. Where the hell is Rick? she wondered. And who had the damn gun? Was she just paranoid?

“You don’t control me just because you point a gun at me,” Apollo said coolly.