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“No arguments!” Dagger cut me off. “All of you, prepare to deploy in…”
“Two mikes,” I called out since I’d been tracking our progress on Bozeman’s tablet.
Omega gave a curt nod. “Two mikes it is.”
The men set their mission watches. King and Cooper checked their weapons and stuffed their vests with additional ammo. I reached for my carbine, and under Missy’s vigilant stare, took slow breaths. It was probably a moot point given that I was primed for battle and adrenaline flushed through my veins along with the venom, but if it made Missy feel better, then it was worth the try.
Bozeman dug out a helmet and an extra weapon and handed them to Thena.
“Be kind to my backup carbine,” he advised. “She’s the love of my life.”
“My dear Micah.” Thena shook her head and flashed a sad smile. “If this thing is the love of your life, then you don’t know what love is.” She squeezed Missy’s shoulder right before she donned the helmet and moved to the back of the van.
“Help me up.” I braced on my weapon, pushed off the floor, and with Missy’s help, parked my ass on the seat.
“You need to stop moving so much,” Missy warned. “And keep your hand—”
“Below the level of my heart.” I managed a grin. “Got it.”
Bozeman collected his tablet from me, took his position in the front passenger seat, and reaching for his weapon, called out.“Thirty seconds to download.”
Ferranti and Cooper lined up behind King, who braced at the door.
“You ain’t got time to take a stroll, surfer boy,” I reminded him. “You only got whatever time the drones give you, and they’re protos, so we don’t know what that is. Hoof it hard and watch your six.”
King smirked. “Me and the guys will be surfing the topo at high speed, bro.”
“Fifteen seconds,” Bozeman called out.
“Don’t forget,” I cautioned my teammates. “Bekker’s a dirty fighter. He hides a knife in his sleeve. Watch for tricks. He’s a mean son of a bitch.”
“Don’t you worry about us, Daddy Javi,” Cooper teased.
“We’re gonna bring you Bekker on a silver platter,” Ferranti promised.
“And when we do,” King added, “you better be waiting for us to give the turd hell.”
“Yeah,” Cooper agreed. “We ain’t doing all the work for nothing, you hear?”
I dipped my chin. “I hear.”
“Everyone, brace,” Dagger ordered. “Ready?”
Missy was still kneeling on the floor. I hooked my legs around her, and pulling her against me, anchored her securely.
“Three, two, one,” Bozeman counted out loud. “Go!”
The van screeched to a hard stop right beneath the trees as I’d proposed. King slid the door open, jumped out, and made a run for the jungle. Ferranti and Cooper followed and disappeared behind him. Thena slid the door shut. Omega put the pedal to the metal.
Now came the hard part.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Missy
“Two minutes to contact,” Micah announced.
The van sped down the road. From where I sat, I could see us as a blue blimp moving toward a red line on Bozeman’s screen. Fear plugged my throat: fear for Javier, for Dash and Thena, for every person who was part of our team.
