“Get ready to bail,” Trevor toldeveryone.
Sean pushed the SUV as fast as it would go, the vehicle shaking when it drove off the highway and onto the ramp with a couple of hard jolts. Sean slammed on the breaks, but sheer momentum kept them moving forward. They drove right into Jamie’s waiting hands, the front of the SUV crunching in his grip. He barely moved an inch, easily absorbing the kinetic motion of the vehicle and keeping it in place. Sean was thrown forward, his face smacking against the marginally softer wall of an air bag instead of the hard steering wheel. His foot slipped off the brake as he straightened up, breathing in chemical dust and coughing it right back outagain.
The air bags immediately started to deflate. Madison slapped her hand at the control dash between the two bags, killing the engine with a press of a button. “Everyoneout!”
Sean got his door open somehow, the space tight within the jet, but adrenaline kept him moving. He threw himself against out of the SUV, slamming the door shut behind him. Trevor had gotten out on his side and was helping his father, Caleb, and Parker out oftheSUV.
“Strap in!” Katie yelled from the other side, loud enough to be heard over the roar of the engines without even using hertelepathy.
Trevor moved to help his brothers while Sean grabbed his dad, yanked down a flight seat, and shoved him into it, pulling at the harness to bucklehimin.
“Keep your legs and arms tucked in close, okay?” Sean told himloudly.
His dad nodded, pale-faced and a little wild-eyed. Sean felt a momentary stab of regret for putting his family through this mess before he forcibly shook it off and got himself in a seat as well. Snapping the harness on, he looked over at where Jamie was still holding the SUV in place, mouth curled in a tight snarl beneath the opaque darkness of his tactical goggles and hardhelmet.
“Clear!” Katie shouted secondslater.
The jet rose up at a sharp angle that had Sean lurching sideways toward the open ramp and the ground that was rapidly falling away from them. Someone screamed—he didn’t know who—but that didn’t stop Jamie from using his enhanced strength to shove the damaged SUV out ofthejet.
Trevor made sure it made it all the way out, the vehicle spinning end over end a couple of times before flattening out on its final fall. Even before it reached earth, the combat jet’s weapons system targeted the vehicle and blew it to pieces with one shot, sending the remains falling to the mountainsidebelow.
The red light near the ramp flashed on, the ear-piercing noise of the warning siren blaring loudly until the ramp closed and was sealed against the atmosphere. The light flashed green and the sirencutoff.
Sean closed his eyes and took a deep breath as the combat jet climbed intothesky.
Theyweresafe.
12
Wash These GhostsClean
Alexei shifted in his seat,forcing back a grimace of pain that came with every movement of his body. The wound in his side throbbed with an ache he couldn’t ignore. The dressing Trevor had put on it hours ago was in need of changing, but there was very little anyone could do for him beyond thatrightnow.
A low pulse of artificial gravity kept everyone stable as Annabelle flew them at high speed into the upper atmosphere. Jamie had given the order earlier to not skip atmo, which meant Annabelle was aiming for the stratosphere on a high plotted course back to D.C. Alexei was a fan of that order. The sooner he got the tiny pieces of bullet shrapnel out of his body, finished up a regen regime, and slept off the after-effects of the debilitating neuro-jammer gun, the better hewouldfeel.
On the other side of the jet, he could see Sean and some of his family, the latter looking more than a little freaked out. Sean looked tired, a tightness to his mouth that spoke of a tension Alexei wanted to wipe away with a kiss. He wanted to go over and see how Sean was doing, give him some support, but the second he tried to get out of his seat, Kyle yelledathim.
“>” Kyle snapped in Russian as he came out of the flight deck, unbuckling his hard helmet withonehand.
“>” Alexei muttered, but he quit trying tostandup.
Kyle shot him an unimpressed look as he made his way over, pushing Alexei gently back into his seat. “>”
“Let me take a look at your wound,” Trevor said from where he sat between Sean’sbrothers.
He unclipped his harness and stood up, making his way over to Alexei. Behind him, Alexei saw Sean undo his own harness and stand up. The two of them crossed the flight deck, with Trevor making a beeline for the med-kit stashed in a storage compartment while Sean came to stand beside Kyle. He gripped the back of the empty seat next to Alexei, looking down at himworriedly.
“How are you holding up?” Seanasked.
“Fine,” Alexeireplied.
“That word doesn’t mean what you think it does,” Kyleretorted.
Alexei scowled at him. “Not fix anything until we get to base.Isfine.”
“Make a hole,” Trevorcalledout.
Sean and Kyle dutifully shuffled aside. Trevor set down the field med-kit next to Alexei’s feet and opened it. He washed his hand in sterilization gel before snapping on a pair of latex gloves. The med-glove went on next, the flexible machine snapping into place around Trevor’s hand and forearm. It came online quickly, the screen flickering through a dozen different commandsequences.
