“Marcus to Carlisle and Charlie,” chirped our communicators. He sounded somewhat panicked. “It’s Aro …”
Charlie stepped back, pressing his communicator to his ear. “What about him? He’s caused enough damage to the Ark!”
“He’s not in his quarters,” Marcus hissed. “He had help and he’s gone.”
“Check the drop ship,” Charlie hissed. “He may be making a play for …”
Over the intercoms, Aro’s disembodied voice filled the promenade, “Too late, Chancellor. The Exodus ship is mine and if you want to live, join me. You have one hour. Anyone who wants to leave the Ark, and get away from Chancellor Swan’s lies …” A countdown flickered onto the screens.
Fifty-nine minutes, fifty-nine seconds … fifty-eight … fifty-seven …
“Is this for real?” I asked, stepping closer to my husband.
On his tablet, Charlie looked at his screen, trying to get verification. “It is. What’s worse is that the Exodus ship is still tethered to the Ark. All the lines are connected and, if he tries to leave, he will completely disable us.” He blinked at crowd, completely flummoxed. “We’ll be dead in the water.”
Carlisle jumped into action. “We need to disengage the umbilical lines to the Exodus ship. Go! Now!”
The promenade broke out into chaos. People ran off and I stood next to my husband, who was clearly at a loss. I noticed he was holding his stomach, breathing frantically. “Charlie? Talk to me.”
“We should have floated him. Now, he’s floating us all,” he whispered, looking at me starkly. “I’m so sorry, Ren … I can’t …” He grimaced.
“Not yet, Charlie,” I said, taking his pale, sweaty face into my hands. “We’ve got an hour. We can stop this. We have to …”
He slid his arms around my waist, pressing his lips to mine harshly. Taking my hand, we left the promenade, making our way to the command center. The security team was trying, fruitlessly, to get inside since Aro obviously got help to take control of the Exodus ship. He had people in the command center.
Or so we thought.
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