The screwdriver had hit the guard’s femur and was stuck there. Smith tried to get hold of it again as the man drew back a hand to drive down into the crouched American’s neck. He didn’t fully compensate for the weakness in his thigh, though, and the brief hesitation was all Smith needed. He leaped upward, slamming the back of his head into the man’s chin. He staggered to the side as Smith used his superior weight to drive him toward the wall and buckle his injured leg. He put his hand over the man’s face and shoved downward as they fell, ramming the back of his head into the flagstone floor. The give was noticeable as his skull collapsed.

Smith grabbed the Sig Sauer and spun to see the computer tech trying to escape through the door. Ito had his arms wrapped around the younger man from behind and while it wasn’t a particularly powerful effort, it was enough to keep the tech’s hand from making firm contact with the palm reader.

Smith went for them, grabbing the young man by the hair and dragging him to the floor. He squirmed wildly, shouting unintelligibly in a panicked voice.

“Do we need him?” Smith said, gritting against the pain in his back while the computer tech clawed at him.

“No.”

Smith slammed the butt of the gun into the man’s forehead and he went completely still.

“Are you all right?” he said, staying on his knees for a moment to let a wave of pain and nausea subside.

“Yes,” Ito replied. “Are you?”

Smith gave a short nod and the scientist took a seat behind the terminal.

“Once I activate the sterilization process, the system will initiate a general lockdown. It will take a few minutes for that to be completed, and then the entire facility will be flooded with radiation. If you can get past the guards at the entrance, you still have time to escape.”

It was a tempting offer. To not die of a massive dose of radiation in a dark hole. To smell the forest and see the sky again. But when Ito fired this thing up, Takahashi could be counted on to do everything in his considerable power to stop it.

“No. I’ll stay and make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Ito was visibly relieved. He’d already gone through this once and knew that he wouldn’t survive this time. Dying alone, for some reason, was so much more terrifying than dying with someone else. Even a stranger.

The scientist tapped a few commands into the terminal and hit the “enter” button. A moment later the wail of an alarm began echoing through the facility.

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Northeastern Japan