Sveta grabbed it from within, pulling it flush against the armor. “I think I’ve got it. Thanks.”

I nodded.

Capricorn leaned out to peer around the corner. There was a gunshot, and he pulled his head back.

“Night vision goggles or something,” Capricorn said. He looked around. “It’s too dark for them to see me, normally.”

I glanced up at the sky. The sun had set. No light from above that wasn’t from the moon, and we weren’t near any cities. The only light pollution was from the prison complex.

“Guys who were behind us are going to catch up with us,” I said. “If I was willing to hurt these guys, I would.”

“Patched,” Sveta said. “So long as I don’t pick at the wires.”

Capricorn looked out. Another bullet made him pull his head in.

“Stop doing that, you’re making me nervous,” Sveta said.

“I guess our assistant warden isn’t telling all his men to stand down,” Capricorn said. “Antares, you’ve got—”

Something landed on the ground near us.

Trash?

No, not just trash. An adult diaper. Used.

I craned my head up to look, saw a wide-mouthed, wild-haired face peering down, and took flight, flying up toward them.

They shrieked, and then slammed their balcony door closed.

I lowered myself to the ground. Capricorn had already dealt with the diaper, burying it in a pyramid of stone.

“Get my phone?” Capricorn asked. “I’m wearing gauntlets.”

He indicated where, and I reached for it.

He moved it to the edge of the building, so that only the camera peeked out, and looked at the screen. The night-vision mode wasn’t great, but even looking over Capricorn’s shoulder, I could see the general shape of the building.

I could also see the bright spots that were his sparks. He was using the camera to help place them.

I kept an eye out for our pursuers at our rear. In a prison complex that was inconsistently lit, we were now sitting in the shadows just beside the illumination that came down from diaper-man’s balcony light.

No, nothing was that easy. I could see the first hints of flashlights mounted on guns.

“Hey Lookout,” I murmured. “Since you’re messing around with power and systems, if you happened to want to throw these guys for a loop…”

The lights went out around the pursuers.

“Uh,” I said.

“Coincidence,” Sveta said.

“Blocking the window,” Capricorn whispered. “We blitz. Go in three, two, one!”

We rounded the corner. A wall of rock blocked the window.

The door near them opened. Sveta reached out, missed the knob, threw out another hand, and caught it. She shifted her stance and hauled the door shut.

A gun fired from within. The door handle came away.

Sveta, halfway to reeling her arm in, whipped it. It reversed direction, extending in the direction of the hole.