I sprinted for the door, barging out into the centre of the level and practically colliding with the EA's desk. A crash and a shriek that sounded very much like Delta came from Zenith's office. I twisted on the spot, panting and completely unsure what to do.

She told me to hide in an emergency—but what if she needed help?

Before I could make up my mind, the elevator doors pinged behind me. I ducked to the ground, crawling into the centre of the EA's desk and listening to a single set of urgent, heavy footsteps. The thumping of their hurried pace echoed on the polished concrete, synching with my rapid heartbeat as I caught sight of a ZenSecure guard passing the desk.

Delta would be outnumbered if she wasn't already.

Without thinking, I stuck my leg out from my hiding spot. The guard's boot caught on my foot, sending her sprawling and my ankle twisting in the wrong direction. I bit back a cry as something in the joint snapped.

I struggled to my feet, gasping at the pain. Dots of neon colour filled my vision like an overlay and I tried to blink them away, barely able to make out the guard writhing on the floor.

The glint of restraint cuffs in the back of her utility belt broke through my hazy vision and I lurched forward, the movement making me draw a sharp breath through gritted teeth.

My foot couldn't support my weight and I came down hard on the guard's back, just managing to rip the cuffs from her belt and catch one of the loops around her wrist. Before I could get her second wrist, she pushed off the floor, grunting as she rolled onto her back. Pinning me beneath her.

I flailed my arms, clawing at her face and throat, trying to get her off me. My nails grazed plastic on her neck and it took me a frenzied moment to work out what it was.

A power patch.

I tore at the plastic, ripping it from her neck. She went limp for a second, her body trying to keep up with the sudden slump in power—and I took my opportunity.

I slipped out from beneath her, reefing her cuffed wrist and catching the second loop around her free hand, tethering them together. I pinned her as best I could with my body weight, aided somewhat by her body's adverse response to the lack of bioenhancer in her system. She panted heavily, her laboured breathing heaving beneath me as I took a coil of cable from her utility belt and secured her legs.

She shrieked and grunted in frustration, breathlessly straining against her binds to no avail. I rose to my feet with a flinch, limping as quickly as I could toward Zenith's office. Panic mixed with the buzz of our scuffle, adding to the waves of my chemically induced adrenaline rush. The high was almost enough to mask the pain that came with every step.

The door to Zenith's office was wide open and gasps and thumps carried out. I peeked around the frame, and spotted Delta against the far wall. Her limbs thrashed wildly, her feet kicking the air as a guard held her against the glass in a chokehold. I couldn't tell if the purple shade of her face was from lack of air or the neon petal lighting—but I didn't want to wait around to find out.

I pulled the PEP gun from my waistband, hesitating with my finger on the trigger. I'd never used a PEP before and doubts suddenly filled my mind about firing it at a target so close to Delta. Would the plasma pulse incapacitate her along with her attacker? I was in no shape to carry her out of here if it did.

The guard was facing away, his attention set solely on squeezing the life from Delta. I kept the PEP aimed squarely at his back and crept forward, my stomach knotting at how slow my hindered steps felt. With each passing second it took me to get to her, Delta was running out of air. Her attempts to breathe looked like convulsions.

I willed myself forward and was almost directly behind the guard when he caught sight of my reflection in the glass wall. He turned, his grip on Delta faltering and she slid down the glass a little. Before he could react, I raised the PEP in an almighty swing, belting him across the head so hard it set the gun off.

The guard slumped to the floor, Delta falling on top of him. She coughed and spluttered, sucking in great gulps of air. I knelt at her side, relieved the plasma pulse had fired away from us.

"Why didn't you hide?" she asked, hoarse and surprised.

"There were more on their way—I couldn't leave you," I stammered, unable to take my eyes off the limp guard underneath her. Blood was trickling from his ear.

"Better get going." Delta rasped, pushing herself off the guard and taking a couple of easier breaths. "Come on."

I hobbled out the door after her, falling several paces behind immediately. When Delta caught sight of the restrained guard by the EA's desk she stopped and waited for me to catch up.

"That your handiwork?" She made no attempt to hide her bemusement, arching a brow at the seething and exhausted woman on the floor.

I nodded, wincing as I caught up to her.

Delta's gaze drifted down to my ankle and she sucked her teeth thoughtfully. "Here." She took off the duffel, looping it over my shoulder and offering me her back. "Hop on."

"You're seriously gonna give me a piggy back?" I asked humourlessly. "You're like half my size."

Delta rolled her eyes. "Stop exaggerating and get on."

My next protest caught on my tongue as the calm ping of the elevator carried through the penthouse. The doors slid back to reveal seven ZenTech guards, all trying to squeeze out of the elevator at once.

Delta didn't have to ask me again—I jumped on her back.

We burst into the emergency stairwell, the rough concrete walls scraping my elbows as Delta raced up the steps, careening into the walls and teetering over the railing with each turn. Echoing shouts and footfalls reverberated behind us, while two misfired laser pulses lit up the well like flashes of lightning.

"Are we going the right way?" I shouted in Delta's ear trying to keep myself anchored to her back without pressing on the fresh bruises blooming around her neck.

"The roof," she wheezed, just as we rounded the final bend. I braced myself as she pushed through a red metal door and out into the night.

The rooftop was deserted. The flat circular terrace devoid of any kind of cover. Neon purple spilled over us, cast by the glass tips of the lotus petals that gripped the terrace like a claw.

Delta carried me to the eastern edge and straightened, sliding me off her back. I hissed as I landed, trying to shift most of my weight to my good foot.

"What now?" I demanded glancing at the door to the stairwell—expecting it to burst open at any second.

Delta snatched the duffel from my shoulder, retrieving two small backpacks from inside. She yanked one on and buckled two clips across her chest, tossing me the second pack. "Ever BASE jumped before?"

Panic tightened in my gut, the effects of the power patch waning. "No."

She grinned, a manic glint in her eyes. "Neither have I. Just remember to pull the cord when you're in the air. Okay?"

I swallowed a sick lump congealing in my throat and nodded. There was a crash behind us and the stairwell door flew open, guards spilling out onto the terrace. There looked to be about ten of them now—and all were armed.

I turned to Delta, only to find she had already taken the final few steps toward the edge. I gasped as she dived into the open air.

The heat of a laser shot pulsed past my cheek, snapping me into action. I made for the ledge; my teeth gritted against the pain in my ankle and the cord clenched in my fist. Two more flashes of heat streaked past me as I pushed off the ledge with all the force I had left.

I went rigid in freefall. The air jetting past my face, tearing at my clothes and stealing the scream from my mouth. It felt as though my stomach had slipped up into my chest, tangling around my lungs, making it impossible to breathe as the street below rushed toward me.

I yanked on the cord and was thrown backward with such sudden force that, had I been able to breathe, the wind would have been knocked out of me. My pulse thundered in my ears as the parachute took air and buoyed, before descending at a far less terrifying rate.

I spotted Delta below, waving from the rooftop of a shorter building. I used the chute's guide handles to try to aim for the same spot.

As I was coming in to land, I braced myself, mentally preparing my legs and butt for impact. I glanced up at my surroundings one final time—and something caught my eye.

He was standing alone, atop one of the taller office buildings a few hundred feet away—watching. From that distance I could see his messy dark hair blowing in the breeze.

It was unmistakably Zaphron.

My feet hit the ground unexpectedly. Pain shooting through my ankle, my bones feeling as though they'd been crushed to dust. I let out a cry, falling flat on my ass with the chute drifting down over my head.

"Astrid? You okay?" Delta scrambled to get the nylo-silk off me, helping me into a precarious standing position. "Your ankle, is it worse? Astrid—?"

"It's okay," I mumbled, not really paying attention. I was looking at the building where I had seen the figure moments before.

He'd vanished.