The Secret Service was equipped with an armament onsite that couldn’t replace his combat uniform, but the military-grade tactical vests and carbines the man carried were still better than nothing on such short notice. If Jamie could make it to his own field gear that Katie had brought with her, then he would, but he doubted that would happen.
Jamie and Liam yanked off their evening dress jackets and tossed them to the ground before pulling on the tactical vests. They checked their borrowed weapons and accepted the extra magazines with silent nods.
“Lower the shield,” Burwell ordered over his comms as every agent, Marine, and soldier standing guard on the perimeter raised their weapons in defense, ready to fire.
For a split second, nothing happened. Then the curved energy dome flickered and disappeared, the night sky replacing the soft glow of technology. Jamie and Liam crossed the barrier line together, weapons in hand, ready to fight. Seconds later, the energy shield reformed with an electric whine that made the hairs on the back of Jamie’s neck stand on end.
Three strides later, Jamie felt a shift in his body, deep in a way he’d only felt a handful of times since being turned into a metahuman. It left him reeling for a second or two, stomach lurching as the strength in his body he’d grown so used to diminished to a level that had been normal before Libya.
Before he’d been turned into a metahuman.
“Be advised,” Jamie said over his encrypted comms. “The Sons of Adam have fielded Blanchett and her nullification power. We need to know her reach.”
“Wonderful. I always love a bit of a challenge,” Liam said offhandedly.
“And someone link Knight to Alpha Team’s comms channel.”
“Yes, sir,” a supervising agent back at base replied.
“Ready?” Jamie said.
Liam smiled grimly. “Just like old times with the SAS. We’ll make do.”
With or without powers, they would hold that line.
They were halfway to the checkpoint the National Guard had set up at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue NW and Fifteenth Street NW when Katie’s voice came over the comms. The words she spoke effectively ripped the world out from beneath Jamie’s feet.
“I’ve lost mental contact with Reaper,” Katie reported.
Jamie’s breath froze in his lungs. Only Liam’s firm grip kept him from crashing to his knees.
“What?” came Alexei’s snarled reply.
“Someone is blocking mental communication with him. They have a telepath on the field.”
Liam stared grimly at Jamie, the worry in his eyes nearly flaying Jamie down to the bone.
“Jamie—” Liam began, off comms.
Jamie shook his head hard, vision swimming.
“Base, locate Reaper,” Jamie demanded, keeping every shred of emotion out of his voice through sheer will alone.
His ears were filled with the quiet chatter of the team as they positioned themselves for the oncoming battle. Jamie stayed where he was, Liam still holding onto him.
“Reaper’s trackers are disabled,” Nazari finally announced. “We can’t raise him on comms. Your orders are still the same, Alpha Team.”
Duty warred with need in a way it never had before, not in all the years he’d worn a uniform. “Sir—”
“The nation’s capital is under attack, Apollo.You will do your duty. Are we clear?”
Jamie opened his mouth to reply, but couldn’t immediately find the words. When they finally came, the words felt like knives shredding his throat.
“Yes, sir.”
“Knight to base, we’re moving to our assigned position,” Liam said for him.
Jamie let Liam handle communication for them while he tried to wrap his mind around a nightmare becoming a reality.
