“Start walking,” Kyle said as he shoved his handgun back into his thigh holster through the pocket.
The three bypassed the van as quickly as they could and exited up the ramp leading to the street.Being noticed right then wasn’t an issue.They weren’t the only ones running away from the building and any more possible explosions that would rain debris on the street below.
Kyle looked up at the black smoke curling in the air around the skyscraper.The sound of emergency sirens was getting louder, and it wouldn’t be long before first responders were on the scene.At least the work suits they wore helped them blend in with the civilians, some of whom weren’t exactly running for cover and seemed more interested in getting a clear picture of the smoking, damaged skyscraper for social media.
“I’ve wiped you from the security feeds and the servers.Your trackers put you outside of the building but not in a vehicle,” Katie said.
“We’re on foot,” Madison confirmed.
“Why?”
“Wasn’t sure if they wired the van.”
“Do you need an extraction, Nova?”Jamie asked.
“I’m ready to fly,” Annabelle said grimly.
“Negative.Just need a cab.Preferably an automated one,” Madison said.
“ETA thirty seconds,” Katie replied.“Stay where you are.”
They waited at a corner that was becoming increasingly crowded with people.Standing at the edge of the curb, Kyle saw the cab first.Rather than wait, the three of them crossed the street on a yellow light and caught it on the other side of the intersection.The automated cab queried them for their destination before the computerized voice cut off and Katie’s came through the sound system.
“I hacked the GPS so it won’t show where you are going.You’re in the clear.”
Kyle still pulled out his handgun again and thumbed off the safety.He didn’t let it go as the cab pulled away from the curb.The cab made a U-turn at the next intersection on a green light, the GPS route to their destination showing up on the dash.Kyle watched the smoking building disappear in the rearview mirror as they drove south to their extraction point at the Joint Forces Training Base, where Annabelle waited.
It took a good two hours to get there through traffic, crossing over five separate highways before the cab rolled to a halt outside the heavily guarded checkpoint that led to the base.They exited the cab and headed for the Army captain in uniform, standing beside an idling Humvee beyond the security gates manned by several other soldiers.
“I’m to escort you to your jet,” the captain said, saluting them.
None of them responded to that statement other than to nod an acknowledgment as they got into the Humvee.Metahuman identities were classified Top Secret under the law if they chose to stay on and work with the government.Not every metahuman chose to keep fighting the good fight.The trauma of surviving being changed into a metahuman was sometimes too much to overcome.If metahumans chose to live in the civilian world, they weren’t bound by secrecy and could reveal what they were to the public, but their actions would always be monitored.The identities of metahumans who chose to work for the MDF were kept secret in order to keep them safe in the field.Usually, that entailed a combat hard helmet with tactical goggles and a mask to cover their lower face if they didn’t opt for nanotech that could blur their facial features.
They’d worn nanotech strips today instead of their hard helmets and masks.The clear pieces of bioware adhered to the skin of their face over the recognition points, blurring out their features on video and camera.Regardless, anyone who saw them on the military base wouldn’t know who they were to begin with since they were only passing through.
The captain drove them through the base, heading for the tarmac that sat at the rear of the property.Kyle caught sight of their way home minutes later when the X-17 Hermes combat jet came into view.The MDF’s favored aerial combat jet was larger than the Air Force or Navy’s preferred fighter jet models, capable of urban, jungle, and mountainous infiltration.It could transport up to twelve people in tight quarters, but today, it was only ferrying the four of them home.
Kyle squinted through the Humvee’s windshield, just able to make out Annabelle sitting in the combat jet’s pilot seat.The rear ramp had been lowered for their arrival, and as soon as the Humvee braked to a halt, they exited the vehicle.A ground crew stood on the outskirts of their assigned area but didn’t venture closer.The moment they were all inside the belly of the combat jet, the ramp closed up, the sound of the warning siren piercing Kyle’s ears.He ignored the flashing red light as he stripped out of the electrician’s work suit and kicked it to the side before heading toward the flight deck.He sat down in the co-pilot seat with a grunt and grabbed at the harness, strapping himself in.
Annabelle twisted around in her seat, her own flight harness buckles hanging off the sides, her red hair a tangled mess, as if she’d run her fingers through it too many times out of worry.Hazel eyes raked up and down Kyle’s body, taking him in.
“Y’all look a little singed,” she said.
Kyle rubbed his hands over his head, feeling the crispy ends of his longer-than-regulation-length light brown hair.“Was a little too close to the explosion.”
Nothing remained but a memory of the pain—the burnt skin on his face, neck, and hands, the ache in his torso from slamming into the wall and getting hit by debris, the scorching rawness of his lungs—all of it had healed between the first spark of the bomb and their arrival on the jet.That didn’t stop Annabelle from reaching over to poke Kyle in the arm.
“Better be sure.We don’t got Bones around to check you over right now, but you ain’t supposed to hide wounds anymore.”
“I’m fine,” Kyle assured her.
“All right.”
After almost seven months on Alpha Team and working for the MDF, Kyle knew the protocol for team assessment by heart now.Since their first mission together, back when he and Alexei were still pretending to be human, they’d promised never to keep back vital information again.That included their personal health status in the field.
Annabelle craned her neck around, eyeing where Alexei and Madison were strapping themselves into their chosen seats in the back.“Y’all ready?”
“Ready,” Madison said, giving her a thumbs-up.
