The university had fallen into a surreal silence. Without power, the once-familiar corridors became endless tunnels of darkness, broken only by the sweep of flashlights and the sound of booted footsteps.
Lena and Rachel pressed themselves into a narrow alcove near the stairwell, listening as two terrorists passed by, arguing in hushed tones.
"They say Dr. Park escaped."
"She'll be dead soon enough. Dominic's got her scent."
Lena felt Rachel tremble beside her. She grabbed her hand - steady, calm, focused. The surgery room was no longer the battlefield. The battlefield was everywhere.
"We need to find Mikael," Lena whispered. "He's the key."
"And if he won't help?"
Lena's voice was steel. "Then I'll cut this whole building open until someone does."
---
Meanwhile, underground...
Dominic marched through the lower tunnel network with two men, sweeping doors open one by one. But Adrienne Park had disappeared into the bones of the university like a ghost.
He finally stopped in an old dissection room, dusty and stale, the scent of formaldehyde long embedded in the walls. He looked around slowly, his breath visible in the sudden cold.
"She taught you, didn't she?" he muttered to himself. "All of this - you and Theo. The games. The masks."
He picked up a scalpel from an old table, ran his finger along the blade.
"She'll die," he said quietly. "But only after I peel her genius out inch by inch."
---
Elsewhere...
Theo stood alone on the rooftop, above it all.
The stars were out. Clear. Unmoving. Silent in a way the world beneath him could never be.
He remembered being seven - Lena with a flashlight, cutting open an old frog from their science kit while he held the book and read out instructions like scripture. Even then, she was careful, methodical. She cried when she accidentally pierced its heart. He... didn't.
He hadn't cried for a long time.
He looked down at the courtyard, where shadows moved like insects below. And then he did something strange - he took off his earpiece.
For the first time in days, there was no voice in his head. Just wind.
Then:
"Beautiful view," a voice said behind him.
Theo turned.
Mikael stood there, cigarette in hand, his eyes unreadable.
Theo didn't move.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
Mikael shrugged. "Same as you. Watching it all burn."
Theo studied him. "You're scared."
Mikael took a long drag. "I didn't sign up for vivisections. Or hostage kids." He flicked ash over the edge of the roof. "Dominic's off his leash. And you - you're unraveling."
Theo stepped closer. "Then leave."
"I might," Mikael said softly. "But not before I make a trade."
Theo's eyes narrowed. "With who?"
Mikael smiled faintly. "Your sister."
---
Back in the upper floor
Lena and Rachel had found the backup generator room. Locked. Sealed. One guard.
But Lena had stopped being gentle hours ago.
She came from behind, wrapped surgical tubing around his neck, and pulled. Hard.
His flashlight clattered to the ground.
Rachel grabbed the keys.
Inside, the generator system blinked - alive, untouched, but throttled by a bypass lockout.
Rachel bent down and yanked open the panel. "If I can reconnect the wiring to the comm line, we can send a signal out. But I'll need time."
Lena turned toward the door. "Then I'll buy you some."
---
In the hallway, footsteps approached.
Lena stepped out, face calm, hands bloodied still from earlier.
Mikael froze when he saw her.
"You're… not running?" he asked.
"I'm done running," she said.
He lowered his gun slightly. "I want this over. I can give you access to the surveillance feeds, weapons, blueprints - "
"What do you want in return?"
His jaw flexed.
"Dominic dies," he said.
Lena didn't blink. "Deal."