He’d thank Kyle later, after the adrenalineworeoff.
The Secret Service had no chance in hell of corralling the crowd. Jamie managed to lose his minders by running headfirst into the sea of panicked people flailing around for a way out. Jamie elbowed anyone who got close out of his way, trying not to hurt them with his enhanced strength, but not really caring ifhedid.
Jamie came out on the other side unharmed, back against the wall of the processing plant, as he tried to reorient himself. All he saw were civilians and the occasional Secret Service special agent in their drabsuits.
“Kyle?” Jamie asked, remembering at the last minute not to use Reaper. Spouting off code names when they weren’t in uniform was a great way to blow theircover.
“Out front,” was the immediateanswer.
Jamie moved, working his way toward the street and the wide-open gates that everyone was running for. Jamie made it outside the property in time to see Kyle jump onto a car and take a two-handed shooting position ontheroof.
“I want him alive!” Jamie yelled over the noise of the screaming, scattering crowd, the order echoing over thecomms.
Kyle didn’t give any indication he heard as he took his shot, but Jamie knew he’d get the job done. The sound of tires squealing down the street caught Jamie’s attention as he worked his way to Kyle’s position. Pressing up against the bumper of the car, Jamie brought up his borrowed gun and sighted down it at the target inquestion.
Kyle pulled the trigger in rapid succession and the getaway car down the street lost both back tires. Metal rims gouged the asphalt, sending up sparks, as the vehicle lurched forward. Kyle held his position; Jamie didn’t know how many bullets he had left in his gun. Kyle wasn’t shooting with a rifle, so his range would belimited.
Not by much,Jamie thought to himself as the driver and their passenger abandoned thevehicle.
Jamie tagged the passenger as the shooter. The man was difficult to make out in the sunlight, the nanotech suit he wore flashing in damage from a hit Kyle had scored earlier. Instead of running for cover, the man turned to face them, raising up his long gun in both hands, shouting garbled threats Jamie couldn’t clearly make out. His partner in crime stepped up to join him, carrying a submachine gun in one hand he wasn’t shy aboutusing.
It was as much a death by suicide as an attempt to stand their ground. While Kyle aimed for the sniper’s arm, several Secret Service members on the periphery of the crowd aimed to kill both enemyshooters.
Jamie’s shouted warning from earlier was ignored in favor of eliminating thethreat.
He knew it was the right option, the only way out the Secret Service could possibly accept after an assassination attempt on one of their protectees. But fucking hell, Jamie wantedanswers.
You couldn’t get answers from adeadman.
“You were supposed totake cover!” Burwell snarled as he approached, trailed by a couple of otheragents.
Jamie ignored him as Kyle jumped off the car, landing soundlessly on his feet, gun still up and ready to shoot. “See any otherthreats,Kyle?”
“No way to be certain now since these guys killed our mouthpieces,” Kyle reported, sounding as annoyed asJamiefelt.
Burwell scowled, directing his ire from Jamie to Kyle. “What the helldoyou—”
Jamie was tired, stressed out, and wondering just what the fuck he’d done to deserve this shit as he stepped between the special agent and Kyle. The look on Jamie’s face was enough for Burwell to cut himself off and draw up short insurprise.
“We needed the shooter and his partneralive. Extracting any information from them about any other threats just became impossible because your people were too goddamn trigger-happy towait,” Jamiegrowled.
Jamie rarely lost his temper, but when it came to his family’s safety, rationality went out the window. A little voice in the back of his mind muttered about how none of them would be in this situation if the MDF hadn’t leaned so heavily on his name and the social status itcamewith.
A warm hand slipped over his, pulling the gun free. Jamie recognized Kyle’s touch even through the heat of anger. He didn’t protest being divested of his borrowed weapon, especially after Kyle tilted his head toward the Sun Tech processingplant.
“Got eyes on us,”Kylesaid.
Jamie’s gaze cut swiftly to the stragglers milling around near the plant’s entrance, noting the cameras turned in their direction. Jamie ground his teeth for a few seconds before forcibly clearing his face of any tellingemotion.
“Where is my family?” hedemanded.
Burwell stared at him, still thrown a little off his game from Jamie’s attitude, before he got himself under control. “The senator is being taken offsite to a secure location. We’ll take you to him.Don’targue.”
Jamie refrained from rolling his eyes, but just barely. Kyle stuck by his side, keeping one gun in hand and his face turned away from the cameras aimed their way. The Secret Service hustled them into a waiting SUV and the driver barely waited long enough for the doors to shut before she slammed her foot onthegas.
Jamie braced his feet against the floorboards as he buckled up. “I need anuplink.”
Burwell twisted around in the passenger seat, mouth open, probably to argue, but Jamie wasn’t in any mood to deal with a man who thought he knew better than Jamie when he clearly fucking didn’t. Everything took so much longer when he wasn’t working with his team who could anticipate his needs before he evenknewthem.
