Desmond still didn’t know what to make of the woman, but he knew she was deadly efficient.

The five of them gathered around a large table the shipping company had likely used to plan routes and review manifests. Plate-glass windows looked down on the warehouse floor and the rows of cargo containers below. A window on an adjacent wall revealed a harbor where cargo ships were docked.

William focused on Desmond. “Did you reach the Labyrinth location before they captured you?”

In his peripheral vision, Desmond saw Avery cut her eyes to him.

“Yes.” He paused, considering what to say.

“Well?” William said, eager. “What did you find?”

“A memory.”

Peyton bunched up her eyebrows, studying him.

“It wasn’t…” Desmond searched for the words. If he told them the truth, there would be an argument for sidelining him going forward. He couldn’t let that happen. Stopping the Citium was more important to him than ever. “The memory was from the day of the fire. It was personal—not related to the Citium or the pandemic.”

William eyed him. “Are you certain?”

“Yeah.”

“In that case,” said Avery, opening a laptop, “I’ve got something you all need to see.”

Desmond couldn’t read the expression on her face, but he was thankful for the change in subject.

She told them that the computer had belonged to one of the Citium soldiers, whom she had “persuaded” to provide the password. She played the two messages the Citium had sent to the US and other governments.

Charlotte and Peyton stood aghast. Desmond was deep in thought. William turned and stared at the rows of shipping containers, then spoke slowly, in a reflective tone.

“That confirms it. They mass-produced the cure and shipped it to sites like this around the world—so they’d be ready to release it quickly.” He turned to the group. “Governments need to begin searching ports and shipping terminals for the warehouses like this one.”

Avery typed on the laptop. “That’s going to be a problem.”

Video feeds showed drone footage above the streets of major cities. Desmond recognized the Golden Gate Bridge in one feed. People were rioting, marching upon AT&T Park. Similar scenes played out in Chicago, New York, London, Moscow, and Shanghai.

Peyton crossed her arms. “It’s a global civil war.”

And the Citium’s winning, Desmond thought. If the people who had started the pandemic got control of world governments, what would they do next? They were capable of anything. But what was their end game?

To William, Desmond asked: “Why are they trying to take over world governments?”