“Open the door, Jonas,” I commanded, stepping forward.

“I can’t. The lockdown is hardwired. Even if you shoot me, you’ll still suffocate.” He looked at me with genuine pity. “You should have just enjoyed the sea bass, Serena.”

He slammed his hand onto a red button. A reinforced glass blast shield dropped from the ceiling, sealing his control booth from the main floor. My bullet ricocheted off the bulletproof glass, leaving a white spiderweb crack.

The air was already thinning, a faint chemical smell filling my lungs as the hiss grew louder. I was trapped.

Chapter 4 — Systems Have Power Sources

My lungs burned. The Halon was displacing the oxygen fast. Jonas sat behind his glass, watching with clinical interest as I coughed and dropped to my knees.

Think, I ordered myself, my vision edging with black. He’s an analyst, not an operator. He thinks in code. He relies on systems.