​     Niki heard footsteps coming down the stairs as they went up.

     "I'll let you go ahead, Trevor," she said.

     "You'd better."

​     She followed the floating rifles up the stairs.

​     They met four guards at the turn of the stairway that led up to the second story landing. Trevor fired rifle blasts into the hearts of two of the guards, then used his laser-razor to slash the throats of the other two.

     "Come on!" he barked at Niki. "Don't stop moving!"

     They got all the way to the seventh floor landing when they heard more footsteps, this time coming from both above and below them.

     "Go through the door," was Trevor's command this time. "I'll try to..."

​     But the three guards coming down the stairs were already on them. Trevor put a bullet in one of them, then used the butt of the rifle to club the other two guards over the head, stunning them so that they wobbled.

​     Then through the door they went on to the seventh floor.

​     The hall was empty for the moment, but both Trevor and Niki knew it wouldn't last long. No elevator doors opened. They ran down the hall until they reached a door that led to a second stairway, passing a few puzzled, then frightened, employees as they did. This time they made it all the way to the twelfth floor before...

     WHAP!

​     The door that led to the twelfth floor blasted open. Three guards came through with another dozen behind them on the twelfth floor itself.

​     Oh Christ, Niki thought.

​     A guard went to blow her head off with the rifle he held, and Niki jump-kicked it out of his hand, then used her own rifle to pierce his ribcage with a bullet. ​    

​     Trevor used a rifle butt to smack the other two guards into unconsciousness, quick, quick, like one quick crack over the head apiece, that's all it took.

​     I guess he figures that's more humane, Niki thought. Rather than kill them, crack their skulls open and give them brain damage for the rest of their lives.

     Whatever.

​    A bunch more guards came through the door. Some people were definitely going to get killed now. No other possible outcome. Niki and Trevor fired their weapons for no other reason than to slow the guards down a little. The stairway filled with the roar of gunfire.

     They dropped back to the eleventh floor and went through the door there.

     Thank God, for the moment, the eleventh floor was empty.

     A pair of elevator doors opened.

     Beyond, an empty elevator.

​     Trevor and Niki dove into it.

​     The elevator doors closed behind them.

     Trevor hit the button for the top floor.

​     They rose.

​                                              CONTINUE