NO WAY OUT BUT THROUGH

The Reckoning

Slade didn't breathe.

The door was solid. Metal. A deadbolt that would hold for maybe three seconds against a man Kane's size. Not long enough.

Sloane stood behind him, pistol leveled at the door. Her eyes were calm, her finger resting on the trigger.

"Open it," she whispered. "Or I'll shoot through it."

"Wait."

Slade's mind ran calculations. Kane was loyal. Loyal to the point of self-destruction. But The Minotaur had said Kane was coming to kill Sloane. That meant The Minotaur had given Kane a reason. A lie, probably. Or a truth twisted.

"Kane," Slade called through the door. "Why are you here?"

A pause. Then Kane's voice, low and rough. "She's a threat. The Minotaur showed me proof. She was hired to kill you, Slade. That contract is still active. She's playing you."

Sloane's lips curled. "He's not wrong about the contract. I just changed my mind."

"Let me talk to him," Slade said.

"You open that door, he puts a bullet in my head."

"He won't."

"You don't know that."

Slade turned to face her. His hand was still on his weapon, but he didn't draw. "I've known Kane for twelve years. He's saved my life more times than I can count. If he wanted to kill you, he'd have done it already. He's giving me a chance to explain."

Sloane studied him. Then she lowered her pistol. "One minute. If he makes a move, I drop him."

Slade nodded. He unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door a crack.

Kane stood in the hallway, his rifle slung across his chest. His face was hard, his jaw tight. Behind him, the hallway was empty.

"Step out," Kane said. "We need to talk."

"Not until you tell me why you're really here."

Kane's eyes flicked past Slade to Sloane. Then back. "The Minotaur sent me a message. Said you'd recruited her. Said she was going to turn on you at the last moment. He showed me a file—her bank records. She received a wire transfer this morning. Two million dollars. The sender was a shell company linked to The Labyrinth Society."

Slade looked at Sloane. "Is that true?"

Sloane's expression didn't change. "I received a payment, yes. But it was from The Minotaur, not the Society. He's trying to set me up."

"That's exactly what someone who's been set up would say," Kane said.

Slade stepped between them. "Everyone lower their weapons. Now."

Neither moved.

"I said now."

Slowly, Kane unslung his rifle and placed it on the floor. Sloane holstered her pistol but kept her hand on the grip.

Slade pulled the door open fully. "Come inside. Both of you. We're going to talk this out."

Kane hesitated. Then he stepped into the apartment.

---

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut.

Slade stood by the table, facing both of them. Kane was near the door, arms crossed. Sloane leaned against the wall, her hand still resting on her weapon.

"Start from the beginning," Slade said. "Kane, what exactly did The Minotaur send you?"

Kane pulled out his phone and handed it over. A message thread.

**Unknown:** Sloane Vance is a double agent. She has accepted a contract to kill Slade after he completes the second circle. She received payment this morning. She is not your ally. She is a trap.

**Unknown:** If you want to save Slade, go to this address. Kill her. Do it before she gets to him.

**Unknown:** I'm giving you this chance because you still have a debt to pay. Remember the Caucasus. Remember what you did.

Slade read the last line twice. "What did you do in the Caucasus, Kane?"

Kane's face went pale. "That's not important right now."

"It's important to me."

"I said it's not the time."

Sloane laughed. A cold, sharp sound. "He's hiding something. Both of you are. You're a pair of broken men who can't even trust each other."

"Shut up," Kane said.

"Or what? You'll shoot me? You already tried that once." Sloane stepped forward. "I know about the Caucasus, Kane. I know you were on that mission. I know you were ordered to leave Mira behind. And I know you didn't argue."

The room went silent.

Slade turned to Kane. His voice was dangerously quiet. "Is that true?"

Kane's eyes dropped to the floor. "It's not that simple."

"Then explain it."

Kane took a breath. His hands were shaking. "The mission was a set-up from the start. We were sent to extract Mira, but she was already compromised. She'd been turned. The enemy knew we were coming. They used her as bait."

"That's a lie," Slade said.

"It's not. I saw the intelligence after we got back. Mira was feeding information to the enemy for weeks before the ambush. She didn't know she was doing it—they were using her family as leverage. But she was a liability. Command gave the order: if she couldn't be extracted cleanly, she was to be left behind."

"Who gave that order?"

"I don't know. It came through encrypted channels. But I followed it." Kane's voice cracked. "I was the one who cut the rope. I was the one who told the extraction team to pull out. I left her there, Slade. I left her to die."

Slade's fist clenched. His knuckles went white.

Sloane watched, cold amusement in her eyes. "There it is. The great betrayal."

Slade didn't look at her. He looked at Kane. "You let me believe it was my fault. You let me carry that guilt for three years."

"I didn't have a choice. If I'd told you, you would have gone after command. You would have gotten yourself killed."

"I would have wanted to know the truth."

"The truth doesn't matter. What matters is that we survived." Kane stepped forward. "I'm telling you now because The Minotaur is going to use it against you. He wants to break us. He wants you to kill me or let me kill Sloane. That's the game."

Slade was silent for a long moment.

Then he turned to Sloane. "Did you know about this?"

"I knew enough. I was hired to kill a man who was involved in that operation. He's dead now." She shrugged. "I don't care about your trauma, Crowe. I care about the Society. And Kane is a loose end."

"He's not a loose end. He's my partner."

"Was. He just admitted to betraying you. What kind of partner does that?"

The phone in Slade's pocket buzzed. He pulled it out.

**Unknown:** Interesting conversation. Now you know the truth. The question is: what will you do with it? Will you forgive him? Kill him? Let Sloane kill him? The choice is yours.

**Unknown:** But while you decide, I've taken the liberty of sending Ember a little reminder. She's been quiet for too long. You might want to check on her.

**Unknown:** Tick tock.

Slade's heart dropped. He dialed Ember's number.

No answer.

He dialed again.

Nothing.

"She's not picking up," he said.

Kane grabbed his rifle. "Where was she last?"

"The hotel. She was supposed to stay in the ballroom after we left."

Sloane shook her head. "That was hours ago. She's gone."

Slade's mind raced. The Minotaur had played them all. Sloane was bait to draw Kane out. Kane's confession was the twist. And Ember was the real prize.

"We have to find her," Slade said.

"How?" Kane asked. "We don't know where she is."

Sloane pulled out a tablet and started typing. "I have access to the hotel's security feeds. Give me a minute."

She worked quickly, her fingers flying across the screen. Slade watched, his patience fraying.

Kane stepped closer. "Slade, I'm sorry. About Mira. About everything."

"Save it."

"Please. I need you to understand—"

"I understand perfectly." Slade turned to face him. "You made a choice. You chose the mission over Mira. You chose your own survival over the truth. I can't undo that. But right now, we have a bigger problem. Ember is in danger, and The Minotaur is using her to control us."

"So what do we do?"

"We find her. We save her. And then we burn this whole maze to the ground."

Sloane looked up. "Got her. She was taken from the hotel's service exit at 9:47 PM. Two men. They put her in a white van. I tracked the van to an industrial park on the south side. Abandoned warehouse, 1420 Crane Street."

Slade grabbed his jacket. "Let's move."

---

The warehouse at 1420 Crane Street was a rusted skeleton of corrugated steel and broken windows.

Slade parked the SUV a block away. Kane and Sloane followed on foot. The night was cold, the wind carrying the smell of salt and decay.

"There's a loading bay on the east side," Sloane said. "No lights inside. Thermal shows two heat signatures on the ground floor. Maybe more upstairs."

"Kane, you take the high ground. Sloane, you're with me." Slade checked his weapon. "We go in quiet. We get Ember. We get out."

"And if The Minotaur is waiting?" Kane asked.

"Then we kill him."

They moved.

Slade and Sloane approached the loading bay. The door was ajar. He pushed it open, slipped inside.

Darkness. The smell of mold and oil. A single light bulb hung from a wire in the center of the space, illuminating a chair.

Ember sat in that chair.

Her hands were bound. Her mouth was taped. But her eyes were open, and they were calm. Too calm.

Slade's instincts screamed.

He stopped. "It's a trap."

Sloane froze beside him. "Where?"

"Everywhere."

A voice echoed from the darkness. Distorted. Digital. The same voice from the video.

"Very good, Slade. You're learning."

Slade scanned the shadows. "Show yourself."

"Why would I do that? The maze is more interesting when you can't see the walls." The voice chuckled. "Ember is fine. She's not hurt. But she's a bargaining chip. You want her? Then you have to make a choice."

"What choice?"

"Kane or Sloane. One of them is a traitor. One of them will betray you before this is over. I know which one. But you don't." A pause. "You have sixty seconds to decide who you trust. The one you choose, you keep. The other, you leave here. Or Ember dies."

Slade's mind raced. There was no way to verify. No way to know.

He looked at Kane—loyal, wounded, guilty.

He looked at Sloane—cold, calculating, but useful.

The clock ticked.

"I trust neither of them," Slade said. "So I choose neither."

The voice laughed. "That's not how the game works."

"Then change the game."

Slade pulled his gun and fired into the darkness.

Three shots. He aimed where he thought the voice was coming from—a corner near a stack of crates.

A cry. A thud.

Silence.

Then footsteps. Running.

Slade sprinted toward the sound. He found a door, kicked it open. An empty hallway. A window at the end, shattered.

The voice was gone.

He returned to the main room. Ember was already free—Sloane had cut her bonds.

"Let's go," Slade said.

They ran.

---

Back in the SUV, Ember sat in the back, shaken but unhurt. She didn't speak.

Slade drove. His hands gripped the wheel so hard his knuckles went white.

Kane broke the silence. "You shot at the voice. Did you hit him?"

"I hit something. Not sure what." Slade's voice was flat.

Sloane checked her tablet. "I'm tracking the vehicle that left the warehouse. White sedan. Heading toward the waterfront."

"Forget it. He's gone."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

They drove in silence for another mile. Then Slade's phone buzzed.

**Unknown:** You impressed me. You're the first player to shoot at the monster. That takes guts. But guts won't save you from the next circle.

**Unknown:** The fifth circle begins in twelve hours. Your target is someone you know. Someone who has been watching you from the beginning. Someone who knows your father.

**Unknown:** Find them. Or lose everything.

**Unknown:** Tick tock.

Slade read the message. Then he turned to Ember.

"Your real employer," he said. "Who hired you to profile me?"

Ember's eyes widened. "I told you. The Curator."

"The Curator is a name. I need a face."

She hesitated. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled business card.

"His real name is Zane Crowe."

Slade stared at the card.

His father's name.

The man who died when Slade was twelve.

Or so he'd been told.

His phone buzzed again.

**Unknown:** Surprise. The maze just got deeper.

**Unknown:** See you soon, son.

Slade's hands trembled.

The game had just changed everything.