The music in "Three Guys" changed.
Now it was a slow, almost oppressive rhythm, like a heart beating too slowly for a living person.
Anna didn't release his hand right away.
She held Ethan's palm a second longer than necessary.
As if checking his pulse and body temperature.
Then she let go.
"Good," she said quietly.
"Then listen carefully. There won't be a second time."
Flash leaned forward.
"We're listening."
Anna pulled a thin black tablet from her bag.
She swiped her finger across it.
The screen flared to life with diagrams.
Multi-level floor plans. Technical notations. Red restricted zones.
She turned the screen toward them.
"The donor center is just the tip of the iceberg.
Officially a club, a medical center, and a research wing.
Unofficially it's a distribution hub."
Bruno frowned.
"Distribution of what?"
Anna looked at him.
"Material."
The word landed cold.
Emotionless.
Gideon said quietly:
"People."
Anna didn't correct him.
She zoomed in on the schematic.
"Here's sublevel minus two. Medical blocks. You've already been there.
Here's minus three. Old laboratories. Partially abandoned.
And here…" — she zoomed further.
A separate isolated sector appeared on the screen, surrounded by security perimeters.
"The container block."
Flash exhaled softly.
"How much security?"
"About twenty humans.
Plus the shift change.
Patrols too."
"And vampires?" Ethan asked.
Anna paused on the diagram for a second.
"Minimum three."
"Minimum?" Flash repeated.
She shrugged.
"They rarely show their full roster."
Flash narrowed his eyes.
"Where did you get this data?"
Anna took a calm sip of wine.
"I have sources."
"In the lab?" Gideon asked.
"Had," she answered.
The word landed heavy.
Ethan caught it.
"Had?"
Anna met his gaze with a languid look.
"Yes."
A long pause followed. As if she were deciding how much she could reveal.
"One of them stopped responding yesterday."
Bruno swore under his breath.
"They're already waiting for us?"
"Possibly."
"Or possibly not yet," she added.
"They're confident you don't know about the service elevator."
Flash shot her a sharp look.
"How do you know about the elevator?"
Anna smiled slowly.
"Because Maria was coming to me through it."
Something clenched in Ethan's chest.
"You… were supposed to meet her?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Anna was silent.
The music throbbed dully through the floor.
She traced the rim of her glass with her finger.
"She wanted to hand over the data.
And ask for… protection."
"For who?" Ethan asked quietly.
Anna lifted her eyes.
"For you."
Silence.
Flash said slowly:
"So she knew she was going to die. And she knew we existed?"
Anna didn't answer.
But her look said enough.
Flash tapped the screen with his finger.
"Container 47. What's inside?"
Anna looked at the schematic.
Then at them.
And said too quickly:
"Biomaterial."
Bruno smirked.
"You're lying."
Anna shifted her gaze to him.
"Careful."
"No," Bruno said.
"You're holding something back."
Gideon added quietly:
"Ethan… ask her."
Ethan looked straight into Anna's eyes.
"What's inside the container?"
She was silent, perhaps unsettled by Ethan himself; blondes seemed to be her type.
Five seconds.
Six.
Then she said:
"A prototype."
Flash's jaw tightened.
"Prime-Blood?"
"No."
A pause.
"Better."
A chill ran down Ethan's spine.
"Better… for who?"
Anna leaned closer.
"For those who want to rule this city forever."
Flash snapped the tablet shut.
"We need exact data."
Anna opened it again.
Now the screen showed access codes.
Patrol routes.
Camera blackout windows.
"You'll have four minutes," she said.
"Between internal security shifts.
After that, the system reboots."
Gideon whispered:
"Four minutes…"
"You'll manage," she said.
Flash looked at her.
"You sound way too sure."
She met his gaze.
"Because I know what you're capable of."
Ethan asked quietly:
"Why are you helping us?"
Anna glanced at the dance floor.
People were laughing.
"Because if they win…
this city will stop being a city of humans."
She turned back.
"And also…"
She fell silent.
As if she'd almost said too much.
"What else?" Ethan asked.
Anna looked at him.
And said quietly:
"Because you're already part of their plan."
Silence fell like a heavy slab.
Flash snapped:
"Explain."
Anna shook her head.
"I can't explain yet. It's not time."
Flash suddenly tensed and tried to shut her up.
"Goddamn it, Anna—"
"For now," she repeated, harder.
She put the tablet away.
"Go to the lab.
Get the container.
Get all the data and I hope I'll receive everything from that nightmare place."
She stood up.
"And then… I'll tell you everything."
She had already turned to leave when Ethan said:
"If you're using us…"
She stopped.
Without turning around.
"Of course I'm using you."
A pause.
"The only question is…
whether I'm using you to save the city.
Or to take power."
She glanced back over her shoulder.
"I hope you live long enough to find out the answer."
And then Anna Corvin from that very family, walked away, disappearing into her own direction.
They sat in silence.
Flash spoke first:
"She knows more."
Bruno nodded.
"A lot more."
Gideon quietly:
"But without her, we won't make it to the election."
Ethan stared at the exit.
Where Anna had vanished.
And said:
"Then we go to the lab."
The guys had to steal a car from some drunk guy. Of course Flash said they'd return it, but everyone knew it wasn't coming back.
The car stopped a block from the club.
The engine didn't die right away,it vibrated quietly first, then coughed and went still.
One second.
Two.