Some time later, I wake with a start.
Shit. I didn’t mean to doze off. What if I missed Conlan’s
opportunity? What if I slept through it? How would I ever know?
Then I hear it, the slight sound of the bars
retracting into the wall, the sound that woke me from the light nap
I didn’t mean to take. Turning my head in what I hope looks like a
casual gesture, I see that the door to my cell is opening like
before, inch by excruciating inch.
Be ready.
I scramble off the bed, launch myself at the
door, work my hands into the scant opening, try to hurry it along.
There are no footsteps in the corridor this time, no one’s coming,
I’m free. As soon as these doors open completely, I’m free.
Six inches, a foot, a third of the way and
suddenly an alarm sounds, an ear-splitting shriek that
