Claire's POV

The stairwell door crashed in my back and the alarm faded to a receding hum but even then, my ears were ringing.

Good thing I had gone through the backdoor that led me straight to floor 29 before I proceeded to walk into the elevator that returned me to floor 39. I leaned against the cold elevator walls, breath heaving in my chest as burn slid down my throat.

The bulk of the USB in my pocket had felt like rock and the warmth it had imparted through the fabric like a warning ...