TGT 1: Let the Game Begin

►| eighteen

Karrel threw her head back and laughed. "Is that supposed to make me grovel?" she said. "You said it so ominously, but it's just a number."

Thirteen clicked the safety off. "For you, maybe," he answered. "It's everything I hope to be."

"Bad luck?" She braced her hip, switching her weight to one foot. At least she wouldn't lunge at him from that stance. That, or she was purposefully lowering his guard. He kept his finger on the trigger. It was his disadvantage, being here. What was to stop Karrel from carving an ear or two? As long as he lived, it wouldn't matter if there was a counter or not.

He inclined his head to the side. "To some people, that's true."

She snorted. "No kidding," she said. "How did you get in here?"

"Are you looking for the whole story, or the one that would save both of our time?" Thirteen asked.

Karrel hummed. "You have a minute," she said. "Spill everything, else I will gut you like fish."

"I'll get straight to the point then." Thirteen leveled his gaze at her and adjusted his hold on the gun. Should she attack him, she'd have a hole in her head in the first second. She knew that. Maybe. "It's simple. I got a hold of a shapeshifting ability and instructed them to isolate you from your comrades. The barn was the best bet."

She narrowed her eyes. Her loose ringlets reminded him of runny eggs whenever One messed up the cooking time. "Where is Kalyani?" she demanded. "Did you hurt her?"

He shrugged. "A little bump in the head. She won't die from it." He waved a hand in the air, projecting an air of nonchalance and alertness at the same time. For someone reading his body language, they'd be confused now. Did he want to flee? To click the trigger? Or was he in a mood for mind games? Who knew? Even he didn't.

"All it takes to distract you while we keep your team occupied is that light display." He jerked his chin at the black box on the floor. When Karrel turned to it, he aimed at it and pulled the trigger. A stringent gunshot rang in the air. She flinched. Her arms flew over her head. By the time she whirled back to him, the gun's muzzle was back to her. "A precaution, really. I don't want you finding out how I did that."

Karrel cleared her throat. She might want to dislodge the ball of fear in it. "So you programmed a few light bulbs to say that," she said. "Explains the timing issues."

"I admit I need to work on that," he said.

"What did you do to my friends?" She stalked forward but he feinted a click on the trigger. The mechanism bounced back, but it came close to firing. "Where are they?"

"Lost in their fantasies." He kept a smirk on his face, enjoying how Karrel's eye began twitching. Was she stressed that much? This wasn't even the best thing in his catalog. "I won't hurt them. Don't worry. But I might, depending on your willingness to cooperate."