Page 134 of Aviatrix

I shift my aim to the shortest of the group. Still nothing.

But the man in the center…

His eyes.

Something about the way he carries himself.

I point my gun at him.

Everyone freezes.

“Who are you?” I demand.

He smirks. Cold. Confident. “You’re coming with us.”

“Like hell I am,” I snap, cocking the hammer. “Don’t move.”

We’re locked in a standoff.

I pull the trigger, I die.

But so does he.

And I’m willing to bet he’s not as expendable as Frances.

“What do you want with us?” Lark asks, his hand tightening on my shoulder. We shift two steps to the left.

The group follows, stepping out from beneath the canopy of leaves.

In the distance, more explosions. More screams.

I force myself to block them out and focus on Frances. She was supposed to be Lark’s friend. Someone he trusted. She looked out for me in San Diego. Helped me find Walker. Why is she turning on us now?

She must be aligned with Rourke. Aligned with whoever’s pulling the strings.

She wants us dead.

And that pisses me off.

“Move,” Frances instructs, motioning forward with a flick of her fingers.

Lark applies more pressure, guiding me subtly.

“You still haven’t answered the question,” I say, stalling. Lark’s planning something. I can feel it. I just don’t know what. But if he needs time, I’ll give it to him. “What do you want with us?”

Frances scoffs. “You know what we want.”

VAL.

They want VAL.

“You’ll never get her,” I fire back.

“She’s the greatest weapon our military’s ever created,” Frances says flatly.

Weapon?

They don’t even understand her. Whoever’s feeding them intel is way off the mark.