Julian Thorne stood just ten feet away, holding the small black box. Not a gun, but worse: a detonator.
"The countdown," Rex said, "How long?"
Julian smiled his cold, empty smile. "Just long enough for you to understand your failure, Rex. You gave the evidence to the reporter, didn't you? You didn't trust me."
Rex looked at Luna, who was still trying to untie Clara behind the pillar. Her fingers were clumsy with terror.
"You taught me not to trust anything, Julian," Rex said, taking a slow step forward. "Especially not a man who profits from fire."
Julian laughed, a brittle, harsh sound that echoed off the damp stone walls. "But I taught you how to build, Rex! I taught you how to tear down the rotten parts."
He taught me how to tear down. He taught me about weak points. He taught me
