Page 184 of Aviatrix

Rourke’s been planning this all along.

Gary shifts beside me, tense. None of us can believe this.

Lark spreads his arms, glancing around the room. “Funny, we all know your sins, too. Or did you think that little assassination stunt at my father’s funeral was going to work?”

Rourke shrugs one shoulder. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit,” Lark fires back. “You knew what you were doing. And so did we.”

Rourke tilts his head like a snake. “Watch yourself, Colonel. Treason is still a crime punishable by death.”

“Why did you lure us here?” I ask, though I already know the answer. He couldn’t kill us at the funeral, so he picked the next best trap. Sasha. Amber. Every door was left open for us. He wanted us to walk in.

“Captain Kinley Quay,” Rourke says, drawing out my name like it’s something to savor. “You’re even prettier in person.”

Eli’s grip tightens on my hand. Lark’s eyes go dark.

“Camp Obsidian isn’t as sealed as you think it is,” he reveals.

My heartrate increases as I stare at him, anger rising like a tidal wave. I’m not even the least bit surprised. Rourke’s power play is to send other people to do his dirty work for him.

“When I get my hands on your VAL-X,” he continues, undeterred, “I will turn her into the killing machine she always should have been.”

“You’ll never get away with this,” I say. “Even if you kill us, you’re still going to have to face the aliens. And they’re a hell of a lot scarier than you.”

“We’ll see about that,” Rourke says smugly as his gaze lands on Eli, then it falls to our laced fingers. “Major Kopelman? I’m shocked to see you here. If you manage to make it out alive, the Legion would love to have you on our team.”

Did he just… did he just say that out loud? I have to be hearing things.

Then, Rourke snaps his fingers.

The door opens. Two more agents drag in Sasha and Amber, their hands tied behind their backs, duct tape over their mouths.

Gary lunges forward. “Is this how you treat members of the Force and Space Command?” he snarls. “You’re a disgrace, Rourke.”

“That’s Mr. President to you, Lieutenant,” Rourke replies. “Now, I’ve got a helicopter to catch. Let’s see how loyal your friends are when things heat up.”

He spins on his heel, agents following him, and the door slams shut behind them with a mechanical clunk.

And then, I hear the lock engage.

Lark rushes to Amber while Gary moves to Sasha. They gently pull off the duct tape and untie their wrists.

“What in the world is going on?” Sasha gasps in fresh air.

“No idea,” Lark answers, clutching Amber as she sobs into his chest.

“How long,” I say as I nod toward the rope, “have you been like this?”

Sasha exhales. “Just the last two hours or so. I… I don’t understand why…”

But I do. We’re the only ones who can stop Rourke. That makes us the biggest threat. Just like we’ve always been.

Sasha turns to the door and yanks at the handle. Locked. She slams her shoulder against it. Kicks it. Over and over again.

We’re trapped.

“What are we going to do?” I whisper to Eli, who hasn’t said a word.