"If you drop that hatch, Harrison shoots her before you hit the ground," Vance said into my earpiece, his voice flat, completely devoid of warmth. "Get out of the air duct, Lockhart."
"I am not leaving her with him," I snapped, keeping my voice down to a harsh whisper.
I squeezed through the tight steel frame of the secondary ventilation grid, cold iron scraping against my ribs. Below me, through the slatted metal grate, I saw Vivienne locked inside the private vault wing. Harrison stood right over her, his shadow blocking the dim light. My chest burned with a sudden, sharp panic.
"You're compromising the entire operation for one woman," Vance warned. "Step back right now."
"Watch me," I said, and tore the comm-unit from my ear.
I kicked the metal grate with everything I had. The fram
