Burwell stared at Jamie in silence for a few seconds before taking a step back and drawing free his handgun. “I’mgoing.”
Jamie chambered a round and jerked his head at the exit. “Thenmoveout.”
They weren’t his team, but for now, they were all he had until the others arrived. Thirteen men and women fell in around him, keeping up with his double-time pace. They came out on Washington Street, past the intersection from earlier. Dozens of protesters were running away from the carnage of the Splice bomb up ahead while others wandered around in a daze. Farther up the street, he could hear gunfire, even if he couldn’t see it through the fire and smoke from thedestroyedvan.
Jamie narrowed his eyes, assessing the situation. The map on the HUD reoriented. Boston Common was one block west of their current location, with a lot of innocent people and the enemy between him and hisfamily.
“We’re heading back to Boston Common,” Jamie ordered, already turningaround.
“Shouldn’t we stop and help out the wounded?” someoneasked.
“Most of those people who aren’t already dead will die soon enough. They were hit by Splice. We aren’t enough to affect a decent quarantine zone. We need the Boston PDforthat.”
They didn’t have the manpower to corral those contaminated by Splice. If it came down to it, the last resort wasn’t one Jamie wanted to use, but he had a feeling that would be the only option to contain this mess. Killing those who tried to escape never sat well with anyone, but if they let everyone leave, they risked more of the population dying bySplice.
There was never an easy answer to thesesituations.
They retreated to the intersection and turned right onto Winter Street. They managed to make it three-quarters of the way down the block, almost to Tremont Street, impeded by people who didn’t know where to run, when a half a dozen cops came careening around the corner up ahead, yelling for backup. The cops dodged behind a couple of squad cars near the three-way intersection, guns raised and pointed in the direction they’d come from. Jamie pulled up short as a couple of mercenaries with faces covered by balaclavas ran onto the street, firing their rifles indiscriminately. His attention was split between them and the blue dot that blinked into existence over the Boston map on his HUD, the color that nice shade which meantfriendly.
“Take cover,” Jamie ordered those with him as he ducked behind a parked car and raised his weapon, bracing it against his shoulder. “MDF! Lower your weapons andsurrender!”
He pitched his voice loud enough to be heard over the people screaming as bullets ripped through the air. The cops fired back at the mercenaries, but their service sidearms didn’t have the capacity or the reach of a semi-automaticrifle.
The sound of gunfire, people screaming in shock and in pain, and Jamie’s weapon going off in his ears were all drowned out by the roar of a combat jet dropping out of the sky overhead. The burst of wind from the engines as it settled hard into a hover position above the street pushed against Jamie as he took his finger off the trigger of his weapon. His hard helmet helped protect his ears from the sound of the combat jet’s autocannon going off, tearing through the mercenaries in an unforgiving andbloodyway.
Jamie looked up as the Hermes combat jet’s ramp opened in midair. Annabelle flew out first, streaking up intothesky.
“Takin’ overwatch and gettin’ eyes on the field,” she announced overcomms.
“Copy that, Icarus,”Jamiesaid.
Madison, Donovan, and Trevor flung themselves off the edge of the ramp, falling two stories to the ground but landing in such a controlled way he knew Trevor had used his telekinesis for the jump. The whine of the combat jet’s engines changed pitch as it launched back into the sky, banking hard andheadingeast.
Donovan scanned the area with his enhanced sight before saying, “Any of the people you had working security have an MRAPonsite?”
Jamie stepped out from behind cover and went to meet his team in the street. “A few, but they were stationed closer to where the speech washappening.”
“Well, we got one coming this way and it’s running over anyone in its path, so I’m gonna take a wild guess and say it’s notfriendly.”
“Can confirm it’s probably not one of ours,” Annabelle added from her position in the sky. “Whoever is drivin’ it keeps swervin’ to hitpeople.”
“How much you wanna bet Declan had stuff like that hidden away off grid that no one knew about? Taking a little off the top of his PMC’s inventory, I bet,” Madisonasked.
“That’s a losing bet. I’m not taking it,” Trevor said. “Apollo, where do you want me? Offense ordefense?”
As their only telekinetic, Jamie would have liked to keep Trevor with them, but he knew what had happened behind them and what still needed to becontained.
“Splice bomb detonated over on Washington Street. We need to get those people under containment,”Jamiesaid.
“I’monit.”
Jamie looked over at the Secret Service and security personnel. “Larson?Burwell?”
“Yes, sir?” the two men replied in nearunison.
“I need four of your people to go with Bones and watchhissix.”
Larson and Burwell didn’t waste any time picking out the people to go with Trevor. The handful of fighters given new orders followed after Trevor when he peeled away from the main group and double-timed it down the street. He had the arduous task of raising shields around the contaminated area and rounding up everyone who might have been hit by Splice. It was a better option than usingbullets.
