Page 182 of Aviatrix

We’re alone now. A few stragglers linger. The tension is physical. Heavy. Pressed against my lungs.

“Where to?” Eli asks Gary.

Gary pulls a hand-drawn map from his pocket.

Lark groans, but no one acknowledges it.

“You said Ivanov was with rookies,” Gary says to me. “That puts her in Space Command’s Safe Zone Two. We’ll head there now, collect her and Amber. Then, you and the Colonel can escort them out.”

I frown. “But there are others who need to be warned.” My gaze drifts to Eli, who’s watching Lark and Gary a little too closely. “What’s going on?” I ask, dread blooming in my chest.

“Phantom and I will warn the others once you’re safe,” Gary says.

I swallow hard. “I’m not leaving. I’m helping get people out before—” I look around, lowering my voice, “—before the aliens wipe this place off the map.”

“We can stand here and argue,” Lark counters, “or we can get moving.”

Eli’s hand tightens in mine. “We’ll figure it out, Quay. Let’s find Sasha first.”

I don’t have time to unpack this, but if I had to guess? Lark and Gary are making plans without me. Again. And I can’t decide if I’m surprised or just done being shocked.

Gary takes the lead. We head left.

Eli keeps my hand tucked in his, and I’m grateful for his warmth. Grateful for one small comfort before all hell breaks loose.

Gary picks up the pace, and we jog to keep up. He cuts hard to the right, then leads us up a narrow stairwell. Less than seven minutes later, we’re standing in front of a steel-reinforced door.

There’s a lot I don’t understand about this building, but one thing I’ve always heard is that it’s supposed to be one of the most secure in the world.

“Why aren’t these people underground?” I whisper to Eli.

He gives me a tight, sympathetic look. “I don’t think it matters where they go. This building, even the basement, won’t be standing soon.”

Maybe Rourke ordered them to stay above ground. Maybe he knew hiding underground wouldn’t matter if the aliens targeted the whole site.

There’s a hum in the walls. Something mechanical. The kind of sound that means nothing’s normal anymore.

Fear creeps up my spine, cold and slow, but I shove it back down.

Gary and Lark pound on the door.

“Ivanov?” Lark calls. “Open up!”

I hold my breath. Could it really be this easy? The Pentagon is on full lockdown. No one in. No one out. That’s how this works. They don’t just wave people in.

So, how did we get through the gate? Why did every door just… open?

Unless it’s a trap.

It has to be a trap.

“They let us in, Eli,” I say quietly. “No resistance. Every door opened like it was waiting.”

“Let’s chalk it up to luck,” he offers, but we both know better.

I shake my head. “No. This feels wrong.” No opposition. No lockdown enforcement. The kind of silence that doesn’t feel like a break, it feels like a setup. A staging. “This is a trap, Eli.”

The door swings open.