Hex POV
The alarms weren't helping my headache.
Every siren felt like someone hammering directly on my skull.
Still… I kept running.
Through container rows.
Across shadowy corridors.
Then I saw them.
Jay's group moving toward the control booth.
Relief hit me like a wave.
Good.
They were alive.
Then I saw the timer.
02:55
"…Oh that's bad."
They didn't have time to fight their way there.
But I might.
I spotted a ladder leading to the overhead catwalks.
Perfect.
Shorter path.
I grabbed the ladder and climbed quickly.
The metal rattled under my weight.
Halfway across the catwalk I heard voices behind me.
Two guards.
One pointed.
"Hey! That's him!"
I sighed.
"Can't a guy stretch his legs?"
They rushed me.
Wrong move.
I grabbed a hanging chain from the railing and swung it like a whip.
One guard yelped as it wrapped around his arm.
I kicked his legs out.
He went down.
The second guard charged.
I ducked his swing and slammed him into the railing.
The metal shook violently.
He slid down unconscious.
I leaned on the railing for a second, breathing hard.
Below me I could see Jay's team reaching the staircase.
Good.
Almost there.
But the timer glowed again.
02:10
"Yeah," I muttered.
"Definitely running out of time."
I sprinted across the catwalk toward the control booth.