Winter Halo (Outcast 2)

“You’ve notified the authorities that there’s been a chemical spill and that the hazmat team is dealing with it.” This speaker’s voice was warm, smoky, and unfamili

ar. “It buys us a couple of hours, at least.”

Winter grunted. “Unless that fucking witch uses her family connections to force the issue.”

“Which I can counter if delay is necessary.”

Winter slapped me again. My face stung and it was all I could do to remain still. To have any hope of getting free and out of here, I had to at least be able to walk. And that meant I needed to heal. Whether that was possible given Winter’s determination to force me awake was another matter entirely.

I tried to concentrate, to ignore the pain in my body, the heat in my feet, the restricting tightness of the rope that bound my arms behind my back, but no matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn’t fall into the trancelike state that was necessary for healing.

My face stung with the force of another blow. I swore silently. Healed or not, I was going to get out of here. But not before I killed the bastard hitting me.

“How much fucking longer is this going to take?” Winter said.

“Going by the vital signs, she’s waking, so not long.”

Meaning I was not only tied but hooked up to monitoring machines.

Via an IV in your wrists and monitors on your chest and temples, Cat said.

None of which I could feel right now. But they wouldn’t provide much in the way of impediment once my hands were free. Who else is in the room?

Winter, Harvey, and the two guards who escorted you up to the twenty-ninth floor, Bear said. There’s also two guards on the other side of the door.

And plenty more between the ground floor and us. To get out I was going to need more than luck, especially in my current condition.

What about the other woman I heard?

She’s watching via a comm unit.

Of course she was. It was too much to hope that all my targets would be nearby. They weren’t that stupid.

And Sal?

Still downstairs, with his body.

Which was something of a surprise. While new ghosts did tend to stick close to their remains in the weeks or even months after their death, I’d expected Sal to want revenge deeply enough to be here, watching. Does that mean the acid and the fire didn’t consume his flesh?

It is mostly destroyed, Cat replied. Just feet, skull, and a few fingers remain.

Which might still give them enough to work with if this place wasn’t shut down. Are the guards here armed?

Yes.

What happened to my weapons?

They threw them on the table along with your clothes.

So I’m naked? Not that it really mattered. Nudity and I were old companions.

Yes—and in your own skin.

No surprise there. With my energy levels so low, my body would have instinctively reverted to preserve strength. Entry and exit points?

Aside from the main doors, there are exits to the right and the left.

Fire escapes?