The first Dissent guard dropped mid-run, the back of his armor sparking. Christian realigned in a breath and fired again. Another soldier down. The next ducked, rolling for cover behind one of the runoff tanks.
From the opposite side, Yosef unleashed suppressing fire, his blasts hammering those flanking Claude. Hawk leapt over a slag pipe and tackled a gunman, pinning the man with one knee while wrenching his rifle away.
“Imara, watch your left!” Christian barked.
“I see him,” she replied, already moving. Her limp was more pronounced than usual, but she was fluid and lethal, ducking behind a corroded beam before the man got off his shot. Her wrist bracer flashed. Karma zipped down and fired a stun burst into a soldier’s back. He crumpled with a shout.
Ahna was a storm of precision, ducking behind a rusted cart and launching twin bursts from her grav pulse. They collided with a bodyguard’s shoulder, flinging him against the far wall with bone-shattering force.
Christian fired again when a Dissent member stepped out of cover. Another enemy down. He looked from teammate toteammate, but they were each holding their own, their positions preventing any clean shot.
A sharp scream ripped through the chamber. Christian snapped his rifle in the direction of the sound.
Nadine had driven a knife under Mira’s ribs.
Christian swore. He’d promised Gemma he’d bring Nadine back alive, but he’d said nothing about unharmed. Scientists had invented nanobots for a reason: to heal the wounded.
He pointed his gun at Nadine, aiming at her thigh—
His rifle jammed.Fuck.
Nadine snatched Mira’s duffel, shoved the beacon inside, and sprinted for the south exit.
“She’s running,” Christian shouted. “Headed south. Remember, we want her alive.”
“I’m on it,” Imara yelled. Her drone whizzed past Christian’s face so fast; he barely saw it. Karma fired a pulse, but Nadine was quick, raising the duffel as a shield and letting it take the hit.
“You missed,” Hawk teased.
“Gee, thanks for the commentary,” Imara drawled.
“Claude, now!” Ahna shouted.
A deafening boom echoed from the south exit as the ceiling ruptured, crashing down in a cascade of revarium steel and stone, blocking the exit completely. Nadine spun mid-stride and ran northeast.
But the vibration had triggered a wave of destruction. From the south, scaffolding imploded in a predictive wave, headed straight for where Christian crouched.Fuck.The roar of the incoming catastrophe shook his bones as he flung his rifle over his back and searched frantically for a way down that would cause the least damage.
The din grew louder.
He was out of time.
Christian shot down the scaffolding at impressive speed, but it wasn’t fast enough. The beam beneath his feet fell away, and as the scaffolding tipped sideways, so did he. He swore, tucking in his body as he dropped.
He slammed into the floor with a bone-rattling crash. The wind knocked clean out of his lungs.
Metal shrieked around him as the collapsed scaffolding rained down in a deafening cascade. Christian rolled onto his stomach and braced himself against the falling debris. His basaltweave suit absorbed the worst of it, but pain still ricocheted through his shoulders, legs, and spine.
At last, the destruction ceased.
“Holm, talk to me,” Ahna barked through his earpiece.
“I’m good.” He winced as he pushed himself to his elbows.Thank the stars for these fucking suits.
Above him, the tunnel’s structure groaned. Debris shifted. A fresh wave of dust spilled across his visor.
He jumped to his feet and darted away, fighting the sharp ache in his side. A bruised rib for sure. He’d had enough of those to know what they felt like.
Across the chamber, through the drifting haze, Nadine Proctor stood surrounded. Ahna to her left, Imara to her right, and Hawk covering the rear. Yosef clamped restraints on her wrists.
