“I used my old staff badge to override the lock.”

“But we only have a few minutes before the system registers the bypass.”

Luke turned to Nadia.

“Take her bag,” he ordered. “Don’t leave anything behind that shows she was here.”

Nadia grabbed my small duffel bag from the chair.

Luke supported my weight, his arm firm around my waist.

We walked out into the quiet corridor.

The smell of bleach and old floor wax was thick in the air.

At the end of the hall, the red light on the service elevator began to blink.

“Hurry,” Vivian whispered, her heels clicking softly on the tile.

We stepped into the elevator.

The metal walls were scratched, and a stack of folded laundry sat in a cart in the corner.

Luke pressed the button for the basement level.

As the doors began to slide shut, I saw two men in dark gray suits turn the corner by the nurse’s station.

One of them pointed toward our elevator.

The doors closed with a heavy, metallic thud.

The cabin shuddered and began to descend.