Project HALO

Chapter 50

Regina might as well have swung a sledgehammer into my stomach.

Each breath is hard-won, and I can't collect enough air to speak.

"What are you doing, Regina?" Malcolm asks. His voice is hoarse, like he's been screaming for hours. I don't want to imagine why. "Wasn't 17/7 enough for you?" He's out of the bed now, and takes a step toward her, but the Detector stops him. "Haven't you killed enough people?"

Regina glances up from her phone, her face terrifyingly neutral. "I'm not doing anything. It was Phantom who bombed NIC's lab." She cocks her head. "Haven't you heard the news? Oh, my mistake. It'll be out tomorrow. You can read all about it then."

A thousand thoughts stab into my brain at the same time.

My plan was to delete the files for good, to rip them away from Regina once and for all, but what do I do now? The whole reason I went here on my own was to keep my friends safe. I put my life on the line so they didn't have to. If it means my plan will be postponed by a few minutes, so be it.

I grit my teeth together and reach for the gun behind my back.

"Call it off," I mutter, wrapping my hand around the handle.

Regina turns to me, a surprised grin on her face, like she can't believe what she's hearing. "What? Why do you care?"

"Because they're my friends," I say. "And because it's wrong to kill people just to prove a point."

The smug look on her face completely disappears. Her lips part and she touches her throat, which is turning slightly red.

"What did you say?" She almost manages to keep her voice steady, but annoyance froths underneath. "Your friends?" She scoffs and switches her fiery eyes over at Malcolm. "He was with Phantom all along?" A low and humorless laugh escapes her as she shakes her head. "Oooh. Oh. You are clever. Sending him to your friends to hide him away? You really thought I wouldn't find him?"

"Actually, you didn't," I interject. "Sucks, huh? Knowing that you're not as smart as you'd like to think? I've been with Phantom for days and you had no idea."

Her perfect posture goes even more erect. "I had a suspicion, but my sources assured me you weren't there."

Sources?

"Who—" I start, but she cuts me off.

"It doesn't matter. None of this matters. I have you and the flash drive, and that's all I need. Project HALO will finally be realized, but first, we have to leave before we're blown up along with your friends."

"You can't do this!" Malcolm yells, and I agree.

Regina doesn't flinch. She snaps her fingers at her guard and starts toward the door.

"Stop," I say.

Her eyebrows knit together as she sends me a questioning gaze, but they rise when I pull my gun out. She throws her hands up as the gun travels over her, her phone falling, clattering on the floor. The Detector rips his own handgun out from his belt and aims it at me. They don't understand.

It isn't Regina I'm planning to shoot.

My hand continues upward until the cold metal rests against my temple.

My body trembles, my instincts scream to throw away the weapon, but my voice is fierce and level. "Deactivate the bombs or I'll pull the trigger."

"Charles? What are—what are you doing?" I've never heard her voice so weak, and it pleases me. It's nice to see her being caught off guard, for once.

"You know how it works, Regina," Malcolm says. I think I see something like respect in his eyes as he nods at me. "If his brain is destroyed, so are the files."

Before Regina can protest or beg or whatever she thinks will save her from this one, the phone on the floor beeps loudly.

A text message lights up the screen for all of us to see.

"10 MINUTES."