I kept the gun pointed at his head.

“It’s a simple calculation,” Mu said, “the value of her life versus the value of ours. We are a part of Ishango, and Ishango is a part of us, so we don’t fear death. Your friend here is worth nothing to us except your cooperation. How much is she worth to you?”

“Shoot him, Jordan,” Maggie said. “You’re faster.”

“I can put a bullet in her brain anytime,” Mu said. “Your actions will dictate the outcome. My own observation is that you want to see Ishango anyway, so your strategy is counterproductive.”

He was right. Everything was leading up to an Ishango meet and greet, though my preference would’ve been to take the bag of explosives with me. “Let her go, and I’ll see Ishango alone,” I ordered.

“Negatory, good buddy,” Mu said.

“You didn’t seriously just say that.”

“Hand Kappa his gun,” Mu said.

I looked down at Kappa, who lay placidly under my shoe, not attempting to free himself, though he probably could have. Then my eyes met Maggie’s, and I saw the defiance in them, even with the gun barrel against her head. I, for one, wasn’t ready to let that go.

Okay, we’d play this out.

I handed over the gun.

CHAPTER 46

Maggie

KAPPA LED US into the plant, where I hadn’t been since I was ten and our fourth-grade class had taken a tour. Mainly we’d looked at the front lobby and operations room; they weren’t showing us the actual plutonium rods or uranium or whatever this place used. Now the suits took us past the front desk without a flash of badge or word said. The guard didn’t even look up. Maybe they were connected through some neural network.

We walked down a long hallway, rounded a corner, and reached an open door, which revealed a big room with long tables, like a cafeteria. Everyone inside wore blue jumpsuits and sat doing nothing, the tabletops bare.

“Hey!” Jordan yelled into the room, but no one looked at us.

“Who are these people?” I asked.

“Workers,” Mu said.

“Dad?” Jordan shouted, and took a step into the room.

“Stop,” Kappa commanded.

“You see him, Jordan?” I asked. There were probably four hundred people in the room, and not one of them was moving.

“What is going on?” Jordan said, turning back to us.

“These men work for Ishango,” Mu said.

Jordan turned to look again. “Dad!” he screamed. “Are you in here?”

Kappa grabbed his arm. Jordan cocked his other arm back for a punch, but Kappa shoved his gun against Jordan’s neck.

“Don’t do it,” he said.

Too late. Jordan’s fist smashed into Kappa’s face anyway. I dropped down as Kappa recovered and fired. His shot went past me but made Jordan freeze.

“Cooperate or she dies,” Mu told Jordan, pointing his gun at my forehead. “You know this.”

“All right, okay,” Jordan muttered. All the color had gone from his face, aside from some leftover streaks of blood.