Suddenly a voice boomed out, filling the air around them. Tom shivered as he recognized the upper-crust British accent with a hint of Russian. “To the invader or invaders in my complex, salutations!”

Vik and Wyatt grew rigid. Tom held his breath. Vengerov sounded like he was enjoying himself.

“I apologize for the welcome you’ve received from my killing machines, but alas, you took us quite by surprise. I know you are trapped, and I know where. Bravo for making it this far. I dearly regret that you disabled my surveillance system, because I would greatly enjoy seeing your face as I assure you that at this very moment, fifty Praetorians are converging on your position, primed to bring down that wall on my command.”

Vik spun toward the door again, like he expected it to explode in on them. Wyatt’s head bowed downward. Tom couldn’t stop shaking.

“But I see no reason for needless bloodshed or a dramatic display of force,” Vengerov went on. “Therefore, I shall give you this opportunity to surrender yourselves to my custody. If my machines discover you facedown on the floor, disarmed, with your hands linked behind your heads, they will spare you. Otherwise, they will kill you like dogs. I give you ninety seconds to make your decision about whether you intend to live or die.”

His voice cut off abruptly, leaving Tom, Vik, and Wyatt shivering in the warehouse, eyes wide and frightened.

“We have to do it,” Wyatt said. “We have to give up.”

Vik was ashen. “We’ll get thrown in prison for this.”

“It’s better than being dead, Vik! We’ll tell Vengerov the truth. He rigged up Yuri, so we came here to free him. Vengerov can’t talk about doing things that are wrong. . . . He’s the one who probably ordered Yuri’s neural processor destroyed!”

“Just like he could do to ours,” Vik pointed out darkly. “He didn’t care about Yuri—what makes you think he won’t do it to us?”

“He won’t,” she stammered. “He—he can’t. We’re still useful to the military, and Vengerov’s on the same side as we are. Maybe we’ll face some sort of disciplinary thing. Guys?”

“No one knows we’re here, Wyatt,” Vik countered, his eyes intent. “He doesn’t have to hand us back over. He could kill us or do anything he wants to us.”

“We have to surrender. What choice do we have?” Wyatt said intently. “And why aren’t you saying anything, Tom? What do you think?”

They both looked at him.