I’ve already opened a mental path to test their shields, to check if I can read their thoughts, but their minds are like steel vaults. It would take a while to sweep for any weaknesses, and time isn’t a luxury I have right now. And anyway, I don’t need psychic abilities to know what they’re thinking.
These two men? They’re prepared to kill Xavier if he so much as blinks wrong.
The copilot? Doesn’t trust me one hellfucking bit.
I shift my gaze to the window and jolt when I find myself staring at the side of the mountain. Whoa. I had no idea we were this close to it.
The helicopter banks again. Jagged peaks, steep cliffs, and dense forest streak into view, and suddenly I’m staring at an imposing stone wall.
We’re about to fly directly into the mountain.
My heart leaps to my throat. I brace myself for impact, but to my utter astonishment, the mountain opens for us. It’s a false rock face, I realize. A secret entrance camouflaged in the rock. Two enormous doors slide open to reveal a dark gaping space beyond them.
Leaving the daylight behind us, we fly into what appears to be a cavernous hangar, and as the doors close, the natural light cedes to the artificial. The chopper lands with a gentle thump on the black tarmac, rotors hissing for several more seconds in a steady thrum before fading into silence.
“Are we inside the fucking mountain?” Xavier demands.
Grayson chuckles from the pilot’s seat. He’s unstrapping his harness. “Welcome to Blue Dagger base,” he tells us. “Aka the Dagger.”
A million questions run through my mind. Why is it called Blue Dagger base? How many people live here? How has it stayed undetected all this time? I’d ask, but I have a feeling nobody’s going to be forthcoming when I’ve got Xavier at my side.
“Get out,” one of the scowling men barks at me, and I scowl back as I unsnap my seatbelt.
The other man hauls a restrained Xavier out the side door. I jump out after them, my boots hitting the tarmac with a thud.
I examine my surroundings, expecting to find a whole fleet of planes, perhaps the B-8 bomber Grayson stole from the Command, but save for a few open-top vehicles, some motorcycles, and this helicopter, the hangar sits empty.
My gaze follows the short runway to the massive metal wall at the end of it. I note the keypads affixed on either side of it, the blinking red lights from cameras on the ceiling. I’d bet the main hangar is beyond that wall, and this one is used solely for takeoffs and landings.
“What is this place?” mutters Xavier, his surly gaze fixed on Grayson.
“Abandoned installation from the Last War.” Grayson slams the chopper door, then reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a sleek device and checks the screen.
The device is smaller than the Company-issued comms, and silver rather than black. Adrienne carried a similar one the first time I met her for a secret rendezvous on the Command base. The Uprising must have their own tech, which triggers my curiosity.
“How did you find it?” Xavier pushes.
Grayson is about to answer, but when his copilot frowns at him, he turns to the two men and says, “Take him to the cells.”
Panic bubbles inside me as they reach for Xavier. “Wait,” I protest. “Stop. I told you, he helped me escape.”
“And I told you I don’t care,” Grayson replies. He rolls his eyes when Xavier takes an aggressive stance as if preparing to resist. “Don’t fight it, Ford. You’ll get your chance to defend yourself. For now, don’t make shit harder for yourself.”
My gaze finds Xavier’s, and an unspoken exchange passes between us. He might not be telepathic like I am, but my eyes are perfectly capable of transmitting my message, loud and clear.
We’ll regroup later and come up with a plan.
His head dips in a quick nod. Xavier might be annoying, but he’s not stupid. There’s a reason he made second lieutenant in the Command and was selected for Elite, Silver Block’s most coveted unit.
With a dour look, he allows them to pull him toward a nearby door. It doesn’t have a handle, just a smooth metal surface and a scanner on the wall that requires a thumbprint. The door slides open, and the men shove Xavier through it. When I hear the soft hiss of the door sealing shut, I realize it’s an air lock.
Once they’re gone, the copilot glances at me, not bothering to hide her wariness. “You have this handled?” she asks Grayson.
At his nod, she disappears through the air lock without another word.
Finally alone, the two of us eye each other.
I don’t know what to make of this new Kaine. This Grayson Blake.I study his getup—a gray cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and black trousers encasing his long legs. The last time I saw him, he was sporting the same navy-blue Command uniform I’m currently wearing.
