'Anyone else get the feeling this is almost **too** easy?' asked Logan.
Purna shot him a stern look. 'Don't get complacent. White said the place was swarming with the infected.'
'I'm suspicious, not complacent,' said Logan.
'The man's only helping us because he's desperate for the vaccine,' said Xian Mei. At the back of the group, Yerema called, 'Shall we close the outside door or leave it open?'
Purna considered a moment, then said, 'Leave it open. It makes us more vulnerable to attack, but on balance I'd rather have an escape route.'
Cautiously, she opened the second door. Beyond was a large dining room, containing ugly, functional rows of tables and chairs that had been bolted to the floor. Along the left-hand wall was a line of stainless-steel serving units, which at meal times no doubt contained tin trays of gristly meat, overcooked vegetables, and sloppy mashed potatoes – or whatever the Banoi prison equivalent was. All was quiet here too, though on the far side of the room were two sets of barred metal doors, beyond which could faintly be heard an uncoordinated chorus of echoing thumps and clangs accompanied by low groans.
'Happy now?' Purna said to Logan as the two of them moved cautiously across the room.
'Delirious,' muttered Logan.
'Let's call White,' said Sam, 'see what we're—'
Before he could finish his sentence, one of the girls behind him screamed. He, Logan, and Purna spun around, guns jerking up instinctively. Xian Mei too was turning to face the door through which they had entered, as was Yerema. What they saw was Jin, who had fallen back to the rear of the group, and a black-bearded man in prison overalls. With his left hand, the man had twisted Jin's arms behind her back, causing her to drop her gun, and was now holding her in front of him like a human shield. In his right hand, he held a large and very sharp-looking carving knife, the blade pressed against Jin's throat.
'Hey!' Sam shouted angrily and started forward, but halted when the man simply tightened his grip on Jin. At the same time, he nicked the skin of her throat just enough to draw both blood and a high-pitched sob of terror from her.
Purna raised a hand to indicate that everyone, including the man himself, should stay calm.
The prisoner licked his lips and grinned nastily, clearly relishing the fact that – despite being armed with nothing more than a knife – he was fully in charge of this situation.
'Drop your fucking guns and back off,' he sneered, 'or I'll cut your friend open like a fucking pig.'