Dom opened the drive and Eli Ever—Eliot Cardale—appeared onscreen, sitting at a table in the center of his cell, turning through a black folder. As Dom keyed in the codes, his vision sharpened, his focus narrowing the way it had when he was in the field. Time seemed to slow. Everything fell away except the screen, the commands, and the blur of his fingers across the keyboard.

A second window appeared with the cell block controls, scanning past lighting and temperature to security, emergency, lockdown.

Dominic couldn’t prevent EON from letting Eli out. But he could slow them down. He was just about to key in the codes Mitch had given him, send the whole cell into lockdown, when someone cleared their throat behind him.

Dom spun around, and saw Agent Rios standing there, looking unimpressed. He didn’t have time to wonder where she’d come from, didn’t even have time to step out of time—into the safety of the shadows—before Rios slammed a cattle prod into his chest and Dom’s world went white.

* * *

ELI was getting restless.

He scanned the images in the black folder one last time as he waited for Stell.

The director had made the plan very clear—Eli would be escorted from the facility under guard and, upon completion of the mission, returned to his cell. If he disobeyed in any way, at any point, he would be returned to the lab instead, where he would spend the rest of his existence being dissected.

That was Stell’s plan.

Eli had his own.

Steps sounded beyond the wall, and he set his file aside and rose, expecting as usual to see Stell. Instead, when the wall went clear, he saw a fleet of EON soldiers dressed in black, their faces hidden behind sleek, close-fitting masks. Even with the visors up, only their eyes were visible.

One pair green, one blue, one brown.

“All this fuss,” muttered Green Eyes, sizing him up. “Doesn’t look all that dangerous to me.”

“Oh,” said Eli, crossing the cell, “there are EOs out there far more dangerous than I am.”

“But how many people have they killed?” asked Blue Eyes. “I’m guessing it’s less than you.”

Eli shrugged. “That depends.”

“On what?” asked Brown Eyes—a woman, judging by her voice.

“Whether you consider EOs people,” said Eli.

“Enough,” said Blue Eyes, stepping toward the barrier. “Let’s get going.”

Eli held his ground. “Where is Director Stell?”

“Busy.”

Eli doubted Stell would hand over such a delicate task—unless it was truly urgent.

Or personal.

Could Stell have already found Victor?

Ships in the night, thought Eli grimly. But he couldn’t afford to worry about Victor Vale right now.

“Inmate,” ordered Blue Eyes. “Approach the divide and put your hands through the slot.”

Eli did, felt the heavy metal cuffs close around his wrists.

“Now turn around, place your back to the slot, and kneel.”