Chapter One: You Will Die in Seven Minutes

“Zero.” “A name?” “A temporary designation. Get down.” Lin stayed upright. A muffled detonation came from the sixth floor. His window bowed outward, then shattered. There was no flash, only a thread of pale smoke crossing from the roof of the commercial tower opposite. It punched precisely through his room. The tea tin became a glowing lump of metal. Had he remained by the window, his chest would have suffered the same fate. Alarms erupted below. Two unmarked black vehicles raced into the alley. Lin crouched behind the door and typed, “That was not an ordinary assassination.” “No. Ordinary assassins do not use the Helix Consortium’s orbital communications test hardware.” Helix.