Black Mirror

Chapter 20 - Midnight City

***FIONNA***

How much time until that bomb goes off?

How much time until we lose Russell?

Park can't even look at the tablet to keep track of the video, he's too busy running with the rest of us. Our goal - find out which building Russell's being held in. But which one could it be? And what if we're in it when the jewel bomb goes off? I haven't seen an ultralight blast in person - and I imagine an explosion of pure sangrite would resemble that, especially if sangrite fuels these things - but I saw the mushroom cloud on TV once. It looks every bit as scary as any Prime 'Verse nuke. Ever seen how the angels and humans ended World War II? Yeah.

We only stop when we reach the lobby of this building, on the ground floor. Park stops by the front desk, across the room from a gently trickling fountain, and consults the screen. There, we see Russell scrambling to get the bloody sangrite out of the interrogation room by any means necessary. Specifically, by smashing open an air vent, laying the sangrite inside, and pushing it away in a gale-force rush of dark energy.

Which works for a second. Then the vent spits the jewel right back at him.

"Turning on the negative pressure, Penner? I see what you're doing there!" Russell moves away from the vent and stands under the camera, pounding away with a dark spike at what I'm guessing is the door. It almost works, but then electricity sparks through the door, melting the spike in Russell's hands and even shocking him. "Ever heard of 'agree to disagree?' Apparently not!"

I tug on Park's shirtsleeve to get his attention. "What building would he be in? Guardian headquarters?" The blood drains from my head at the very thought - that's the same building where Kensi and I live. Where Gabe and Harris live. It's not official like this TAD building clearly is - it's only Guardian headquarters, I think, because it's also where Russell lives.

And Harlan.

Is Harlan in there right now? In his lab, tinkering at more prototype wingsuits in a haze of marijuana smoke? Can we get him out too?

"We can't get him out if we're just standing around!" Kensi grabs my arm. "Come on, we gotta get outta here!"

But just as we take another step, the door in front of us opens and in walks Penner, casually whistling what sounds like the Jeopardy! theme.

"Yo! Green Goblin!" Gabe's the first to run up to Penner, summoning water from the fountain and getting ready to use it. "What'd you do that to Russell for, huh?"

"Don't act so ungrateful. I've just opened up more opportunities for all you kids now that you won't be stuck under Russell's thumb anymore."

"Hey Penner!" I'm not sure if Russell can hear him from his end, but he's got a few good words left in him. "Don't worry, I'll say hi to your boss when I meet him!"

Penner ignores Russell's jibe completely. "If I were you, I'd duck in about three...two...one."

There isn't much of a view of the outside in this lobby - concrete block of a building, remember? - but the door is all glass, and not tintable, I guess. Because the second Penner stops talking, pure white light pierces through it, like a sunrise ten feet away.

I know I'm not the only one screaming in fear and hitting the deck.

Right when I go down and cover my head, I feel a soft rumble through the floor. Soft, then growing stronger with each nanosecond.

It takes only about five seconds before we hear the explosion too. Even with my ears covered, I'm deafened.

If I could look up, I could see how much shit is raining down on me right now. Not literal shit, of course, but I know there's bits of plaster from the ceiling raining down. And maybe some bigger bits of heavier stuff.