Crash Landing

Felix flew the helicopter like he did everything else—with a reckless grace that bordered on suicidal. We skimmed the treetops of the Blackwood Forest, the canopy a dark, rushing blur beneath us.

I sat in the co-pilot's seat, Dante’s gun in my lap, the drive with the network key burning a hole in my pocket. My mind was still back in that hospital room, watching the line go flat.

"We need to put down," Felix shouted over the roar of the rotors. "We're leaking fuel. Lucius's men must have clipped the tank."

"Can we make it to the safe house?" I asked.

"Not a chance. We're running on fumes." He pointed ahead. "There's a clearing. Old logging road. We'll ditch the bird and move on foot."

I looked at the fuel gauge. It was hovering on empty.

"Do it."

Felix banked the helicopter, bringing it down hard. The skids hit the gravel road with a bone-jarring crunch. The tail rotor clipped a tree, snapping off with a metallic scream.

We spun.

The world became a kaleidoscope of green and grey. I grabbed the dashboard, bracing for impact.

The helicopter slammed onto its side, glass shattering.

Silence.

Then, the smell of aviation fuel.

"Felix?" I groaned, unbuckling my harness.

He was slumped over the controls, blood trickling from a cut on his temple.

"I'm okay," he mumbled, shaking his head. "Just rung my bell."

We scrambled out of the wreckage, dragging our gear. We were miles from civilization, deep in the heart of the forest.

And we were being hunted.

"We need cover," I said, scanning the tree line.

"There's a cave system north of here," Felix said, checking his wrist compass. "Used by smugglers during the war. If we can get there, we can lose them."

We started moving. The forest was dense, the undergrowth thick with brambles. Every snap of a twig sounded like a gunshot.

I checked my phone. No signal. The EMP Dante had triggered was still wreaking havoc on the local networks. We were ghosts in the static.

But Lucius had resources that didn't rely on cell towers.

We had been walking for an hour when I saw it.

Blue smoke rising through the trees to the east.

"Felix," I whispered, pointing.

He stopped. "A distress signal?"

"It's the wrong color," I said. "Resistance signals are red. Agency signals are green."

"Blue is mercenary," Felix said grimly. "Specifically, the kind Lucius hires when he wants a body count."

"It's a lure," I realized. "They're trying to draw us out."

"Or they're signaling a perimeter," Felix said. "If they've encircled us..."

He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to.

We moved faster, abandoning stealth for speed. We reached the base of a limestone cliff. The cave entrance was hidden behind a curtain of ivy.

"Inside," Felix said.

We slipped into the darkness. The air was cool, damp.

We moved deeper, our flashlights cutting through the gloom. The cave narrowed, twisting back on itself.

"This doesn't feel right," I said. "The air is too still."

Felix stopped. He shone his light on the ground.

Footprints. Fresh ones.

Not ours.

"Someone's here," he whispered, raising his gun.

We backed away, toward the entrance.

But as we turned the corner, a blinding light hit us.

"Drop your weapons!" a voice boomed, amplified by a megaphone.

I squinted against the glare.

Silhouettes. Dozens of them. Blocking the exit.

We were trapped.

"We can fight," Felix said, his voice tight.

"No," I said, looking at the number of guns pointed at us. "We can't."

I lowered my weapon.

"Smart girl," the voice said.

A figure stepped forward. He was tall, dressed in tactical gear. He wore no mask.

I recognized him.

It was Kael. The Chief of Security I had hit with the tray. His nose was bandaged, his eyes swollen and black.

"Lucius sends his regards," Kael said, smiling through split lips. "And he wants his key back."

I touched my pocket. The drive.

"Come and get it," I said.

Kael laughed. He raised a hand.

And from the darkness behind us, deeper in the cave, we heard a sound.

A low, mechanical hum.

I turned.

A second team of soldiers emerged from the shadows. They weren't mercenaries. They wore no insignia. Their gear was unmarked.

But I knew who they were.

The Forgotten.

Vesper's crew.

They weren't here to kill us.

They were here to kill Kael.

The cave erupted in gunfire.