Ballistic: Icarus Series, Book Two (43 page)

“You were
there
. You saw what I did; what I’m capable of.” I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. “Tessa, you were right, okay? This thing inside of me…it’s dangerous.
I’m
dangerous. I almost killed Zander. Next time it could be you, or Devon, or Megan.”

Tessa sighed. “I know.”

“Please, Tessa,” I said, my eyes pleading.

“I—.” Tessa stopped short and dropped her chin to her chest. “Damn it, Liv.”

“Thank you.” Relief rushed through me, and the coil in my stomach unwound. “Oh, and Tessa?”

“What?” She snapped under her breath.

“Don’t hesitate.” I hooked my arm through hers and headed toward the door.

Chapter 37

Cocktail Hour

We stowed our bikes in a half-empty moving truck at the end of the overpass and parted ways with Mason. After a quick hug from Tessa, he skated off into position, hiding behind the cluster of cars that had been plowed off the road near the entrance to the park. The rest of us crept between the smatterings of vehicles on the overpass, to where the concrete buckled at the apex.

He hadn’t been particularly happy about it, but Ballard had agreed to take point over the two snipers we’d assigned to the overpass. In addition to being an arrogant bastard, Ethan also happened to be an avid hunter and, as luck would have it, one hell of a sharpshooter. As much as it had pained us to include him and his buddy, Tanner, their skills with a long-range rifle meant we needed them. At least for the time being.

“Don’t fire a single shot until Ballard gives you the go,” Tessa hissed at them, “and stay away from the ones in gray, you got me?”

Ethan nodded, wiping the sweat from his brow. He’d been quiet since his first step out of Carousel F and into the real world. He and Tanner hadn’t been outside since the beginning. The reality of the dire situation at hand had the power to whittle away even the gnarliest branch of narcissism

“Wait for the signal.” Tessa clapped Ballard in a quick hug and then nodded at me grimly.

I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and turned to face my friends. Zander had been watching me intently since we had left the airport, and his eyes were the first to lock onto mine. He was worried, not for himself, but for me. To my surprise, the others wore similar expressions.

There was a very good chance that death was the only thing waiting for us in the shadows beyond the wall. The knowledge my friends were willing to face it with me, was far more terrifying than the thought of dying alone.

“We’re approaching the point of no return, here,” I said, steeling myself beneath their troubled gazes. “What we are about to do is both incredibly dangerous and monumentally stupid. I wish I could tell you that everything will be okay and that we’ll get through this. I should tell you everything will be fine, that
we
will be fine, but I can’t. The only thing I know for certain is that whatever happens in there, it will change you.”

“Sarge?” Falisha moved toward me, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

“Just listen,” I put my hand up. “After everything that I’ve done, I have no right to expect this kind of sacrifice from any of you. I am broken, and you deserve better than what I will ever be able to give you. So, please, if you are here out of some warped sense of obligation or misguided loyalty, don’t take another step. Turn back, now, and get as far away from here as you can. None of you asked for this fight, and I won’t—”

“Oh my God, Liv, would you just shut up,” Riley lunged at me with tears in her eyes, her arms wrapping tightly around my neck. Her chest shook with laughter. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? You are stuck with us.”

“But, Micah,” my heart caught in my throat.

“Micah is a big boy capable of making his own stupid decisions.” Riley pulled back and put her hands on either side of my face. “I’m super pissed at you for not telling me, but I have no doubt you had your reasons. When the dust settles, I fully intend to beat each and every one of them out of you, but right now, we have work to do.”

“I’ve made so many mistakes; I’ve put you all in danger,” I stammered. “I thought—”

“You thought wrong,” Zander said, stepping forward. “The only person here that doubts you, Liv, is you. We go where you go. Your fight
is
our fight.”

“You didn’t put us in danger, it was just
there,
and you got us through it. You’ve put yourself on the line for us more times than we can count,” Jake said. “Following you was never about obligation, Liv. It was about family.”

“This family,” Falisha nodded, clapping me on the shoulder.

“Umm, guys?” Megan said, wedging her way in. “I hate to break up what was sure to end in violin music and a touching group hug, but we’re sort of pressed for time, here.”

“Right,” I said, hastily wiping my eyes. I took a deep breath and shook out my hands. “Sorry.”

“Shall we proceed with Plan A?” Tessa ushered me on.

“Okay, one at a time over the buckle. Stay close to the barrier and low to the ground,” I said turning to the giant crack in the concrete roadway. “When we get to the end, we head to the fence in groups of two and meet up at the section across from the Daredevil Drop.”

“Hold up, y’all,” Ty said, his binoculars trained on the camp.

“What is it?” Zander asked.

“I have a feelin’ they’ve figured out they’re an egg shy of a dozen,” Ty said, squinting into his binoculars. “I can’t make out much, but there’s a lot of commotion down there.”

“Liv?” Jake jerked his head toward the camp.

I braced myself on the barricade and followed Ty’s sightline. Commotion was an understatement. There were soldiers everywhere. Their white masks glowed as they marched in and out of the shadows cast by the meager pot lights scattered about the compound.

“Plan A is a no-go,” I said.

Eli grumbled. “Was there ever a doubt?”

The yellow construction chute had been ripped down, and the hole in the side of the building was boarded up. The dumpster lay on its side, crumbled concrete and rusted rebar spilled out onto the ground. Every entrance was guarded by at least two armed men and the tunnel that had once connected the two largest buildings was gone. Patrols of three marched quickly along the perimeter, leaving no more than fifteen sections of fence between them.

“Plan B is out,” I muttered as the others crowded in around me.

“Damn,” Tessa hissed.

Two spotlights bounced aimlessly about the grounds inside the fence. After a couple of minutes, the lights started to dim, and the soldiers operating them would have to crank them back up manually. Our timing would have to be nearly perfect if this was going to work.

“Plan C it is,” I said, tightening the straps on my pack.

“Ugh, really?” Jake’s brow furrowed. “I hate plan C.”

“And we’ll only have about sixty seconds to pull it off,” I said, clapping him on the back.

“What?” Jake gasped his mouth agape.

“Let’s go,” I said, leaping across the crumbling gap in the roadway.

* * *

“Get ready,” I whispered, tapping Ty on the shoulder.

He nodded, gripping a small stone in his hand. We crouched low in the ditch outside the fence, watching as heavily armed soldiers stomped back and forth on the other side of it. The air hummed with electricity, and the hair on my arms stood on end. The spotlight closest to us began to dim.

“Wait…almost,” I whispered, leaning forward. “Now.”

Ty cranked his arm back and let the stone fly. A second later, I heard a faint ping as it bounced off the fender of one of the vehicles clustered near the front gate. Ty pressed his eyes shut and tilted his head, listening intently. He nodded a few times, released a heavy sigh, and then turned to me.

“He’s ready,” Ty said with his jaw clenched.

I rose up a few inches above the ridge of our little foxhole and watched as Mason inched his way from behind a mangled minivan and out into the open. He limped toward the front gate, with his head down and his hands up high. We’d shaved his head, painted half of his face black, dressed him in gray, and covered him in blood. As long as no one looked too closely, he was a decent doppelganger for Micah.

As expected, all hell broke loose at the front end of the park. Soldiers yelled and walkies chirped. The spotlights on the other side of the grounds shot straight to the gate, just as the near one died. In an unprecedented stroke of luck, the three guards nearest us tore off at a clip toward the melee at the main entrance. The gate buzzed, and the stale hum of electricity stopped as soldiers rushed out and tackled Mason to the ground.

“Go!” I said, shoving bodies ahead of me as we made a mad dash for the fence line.

“Start here,” Jake said, cringing as Zander shoved the bolt cutters into the first diamond.

Snip…snip…snip. The metal shears pinged as they sliced through each twisted link of metal. The fence rattled softly under the pressure, and it’s sagging base scraped against the dust and gravel underneath.

“Stop!” Jake hissed, grabbing Zander’s arm. “You almost hit the circuit wire.”

“Got it,” Zander groaned changing direction.

Snip…snip.

“Hurry,” I said, tensing as the guards at the front gate struggled to wrestle Mason back inside. Snip…snip…snip. The fence rattled, and the front gate started rolling closed. Snip…snip. “Now, Zander!”

Snip…snip…snip…snip. The gate buzzed, and the entire perimeter crackled to life. I turned back just in time to see a triangular section of fencing hit the ground at Zander’s feet.

“Ladies first,” he smirked, gesturing to the gaping hole in the fence.

“Jesus, Zander,” Jake whispered, clutching at his chest.

I tossed my stuff through the hole and climbed through after it, careful not to touch the wires or the fence as I went. As soon as my feet hit the ground, Riley was there. Megan came next, followed by Tessa, and Jake. Eli had just managed to wriggle through when the second spotlight finally popped back on. The washed out circle of light landed less than ten feet from where he stood.

“Go!” Zander hissed as he and the others dropped to the ground outside the fence. “We’ll catch up.”

I gave Eli a shove and tore off toward the dried concrete bed of the Lazy River, hoping to outrun the unpredictable pattern of the searchlight scraping across the dusty ground. The fence hummed and crackled at our backs, and heavy footsteps and shouts echoed between the buildings ahead.

I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye and juked to the left. I narrowly dodged the spotlight as it jumped across my path but knocked Eli to the ground in the process. His momentum sent him tumbling forward, but I kept going.

“Go!” I growled.

The empty water trench was just ahead, the search light mere feet behind. I leaped through the air and landed in a crouch at the bottom of it. The palms of my hands scraped against the warm concrete, but I barely felt the abrasion as I spun to take inventory. Riley, Megan, and Jake were right behind me. Tessa landed seconds later, rolling gracefully to a stop just a few yards away.

“Don’t leave me,” Eli choked, as he crawled across the dusty ground on all fours.

The light was trailing behind him faster than he was moving and it was headed straight for us. I threw off my pack and lunged up onto the concrete embankment, my hips slamming hard into the sharp edge as I reached out a hand toward him. On his next jut forward, I grabbed his shirt collar with both hands and yanked as hard as I could. His eyes went wide with shock as he flew through the air, his full weight dragging me to the ground with him.

My back slammed hard onto the concrete, and Eli landed on top of me, our grunts timed perfectly with one another as the light sailed over our heads and continued on its merry way. The impact stole the air from my lungs and had me seeing stars. Tessa scrambled over, shoved Eli off me, and helped me into an upright position.

“You okay?” she mouthed.

Riley’s eyes went wide. She pressed a finger to her lips and pointed up and over the short wall. We dove against the concrete barrier and pressed ourselves tightly against its rough surface as a throng of boots stomped past just above. After a few seconds of complete and utter terror, I finally released the breath I’d been holding. Adrenaline rushed through my veins and a familiar warmth spread through me. I closed my eyes and bit my lip. Warm copper flooded my mouth as I struggled against the flames licking to life in my belly.

Not now. Please, don’t do this.

Tessa tapped me on the shoulder, pointed to her eyes with two fingers, and then pointed up. I nodded, pressing the beast further down with each ragged breath.
Focus, Liv. Control. Just breathe.

In…out…in…out…

My brother needs me.

In…Out.

Micah is dying.

In. Out.

Zander and Riley are counting on me.

In.

My friends, old and new, are by my side.

Out.

Thunder crashed overhead, the fire inside of me had stilled to embers, and my vision was clear. I rose onto the balls of my feet and joined Tessa in a crouch along the wall’s edge. Zander and the others were still stuck outside the fence. Whoever was operating the newly charged spotlight had finally landed on a pattern. The circle swooped in a high arc across the top rail of the fence before swinging back along the ground. It shot swiftly back and forth like a goalie defending the net.

Less than fifty yards down the line, one of the perimeter patrol units had just reached their pivot point and were circling back toward the massive chink we’d left in their armor.

“Our window is closing,” Tessa whispered. “We have to go on without them before it’s too late.”

“No,” I growled at her, diving for my pack. “We do this together, or not at all.”