CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
The detonation sent a jolting shockwave through Reid’s body. He felt it before he even heard it, a deafening explosion that filled the doorway above them in a roiling fireball. Flames licked the stairs, and he felt the intense heat on his face, even as he covered it with his hands and fell to the ground. Debris showered down the basement stairs.
Dr. Barnard sat up on the concrete floor, swaying slightly and working his jaw as if trying to speak. He was trying to speak; Reid could hear nothing but a ringing in his ears.
Are you okay? he asked—or he tried to. He couldn’t hear his own voice over the high-pitched whine in his head. He tried again and coughed on dark smoke.
He crawled over to the doctor, gripped his arm, and pointed upward. Barnard nodded vaguely and fo
