A few moments later, his phone vibrated again.
“This is it,” Darwin called out after he read the text from Simon, saying he and the other guys were in position.“Spread out across the row.You two stay on the outside while I take the middle.When the drone moves into position, make yourselves targets and hold still as long as you’re comfortable with, then dive for cover.”
Darwin didn’t mention the fact that being in the middle meant he was the farthest from the nearest cover.But that was the way he would have wanted it anyway.
Standing there waiting between two rows of grapes as the Genesis drone swooped into position was the most surreal experience of Darwin’s life.Every instinct inside him screamedRUN!!!!But he resisted the urge and took out his weapon as he put his cell phone away.He already knew the handgun wouldn’t do much against the drone, but he needed to make sure the thing recognized him as the primary threat.
The drone seemed to realize it had a fixed target and moved in.This close, Darwin couldn’t help wondering if the platform had been designed to be intimidating.The sharp angles and menacing hum of the rotors made him think of Darth Vader.
Then he stopped thinking and started pulling the trigger.He hit the drone multiple times, but once again, there was no obvious damage.It didn’t matter, though.The thing seemed completely focused on Darwin now.
From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of both Jameson and Rhett leaping for cover.Darwin held his position and fired another round at the drone.Then he saw a muzzle flash from the left side of the drone, and he threw himself to the side, knowing it was already too late for that.
The round clipped his right shoulder, throwing him to the ground.His weapon went tumbling away as pain numbed his arm.He started to look over his shoulder to see how bad it was, but then the drone moved closer, and he knew he had bigger things to worry about.
Darwin tensed, ready to roll himself to the side in a desperate attempt to avoid being shot again, but couldn’t imagine the damn thing missing at this distance.
Just as the nose of the drone dipped down to line up for the next shot, the air was filled with the roar of automatic weapon fire.Muzzle flashes came from both his right and left as the drone was riddled with dozens of rounds into its less protected flanks.
The drone tried to pop up to avoid the incoming fire, but his Teammates had the thing pinned in, drilling it with round after round, no matter which way it moved.
The explosion caught him by surprise, pieces of the drone flying everywhere as the vehicle staggered in the air, slipping sideways for a moment before going into a forward dive, right toward him, Jameson, and Rhett.
“Run!”he shouted, in case it wasn’t already obvious.
Then he shoved himself onto his hands and knees and scrambled toward the right as far as he could before lunging into a forward roll between two of the vertical support poles.A fraction of a second later, the Genesis drone crashed into the ground right behind him, a huge fireball flipping him through the air as composite fiber material and metal debris pelted him like a dozen angry punches.
By the time he stopped tumbling, he was far enough away from the impact point to feel safe lying there and groaning in pain.
Simon and Lennox appeared at his side, pulling him to a sitting position and checking him for injuries.
“Where are Jameson and Rhett?”Darwin asked with another groan.
At a gesture from Lennox, Darwin looked to his right and found Katrina’s father and brother standing with some of his other Teammates, staring at the demolished drone with sad expressions.Like they’d just lost a lot of money.Which they probably had.But at least they were alive.Katrina would appreciate that.
“It looks like a round nicked your shoulder,” Simon said from where he’d pulled Darwin’s suit jacket halfway off, exposing the site of the injury.
Darwin grunted.From the small amount of blood, it wasn’t that bad.The shirt was ruined, but considering the drone was down, and he was alive?He’d take that outcome any day.
Simon helped him slide the dress shirt far enough off to confirm the wound wasn’t much worse than a half-inch deep laceration.He’d gotten worse playing volleyball.Simon quickly slapped a quick-clotting bandage across the wound before taping down the edges.
“We have to get to the resort,” Darwin said, wincing a little as he stood up and slipped his shirt and jacket back on.“Katrina is there.I need to check to make sure she’s okay.”
“She just sent me a text a few minutes ago,” Lennox said.“She said she’s hiding in the Merlot Room, whatever that is.She should be okay.”
Thank God.
Darwin quickly found his weapon, sliding it into the holster at his back.“We need to go find her.Chapman probably already bailed, but I’d feel better seeing for myself that she’s safe.”
“We have our SUV about a quarter mile back up the road,” Simon said, pointing back toward the resort.“You good to hoof it out of here?”
Darwin nodded, but had barely taken more than a dozen steps across the rough ground of the field when his phone vibrated in his back pocket.He pulled it out, his blood going cold when he read the single word typed there.
HELP!
Darwin cursed and started running, shouting at the others to hurry the hell up.
Chapter twenty
