Enemy One (Epic Book 5) (7 page)

He got back on the comm. “Travis, loop around to the east side of the building! We’re going to evacuate over the balconies!” As the pilot affirmed, Scott motioned to Becan. “Work your way to the balcony window in that apartment!” The Irishman disappeared inside. “The rest of you guys, keep suppressing until they’re on board!”

*
      
*
      
*

Veering around the eastern corner of the apartment, Travis and Tiffany scanned the building for any sign of William. It didn’t take long. “There!” Tiffany pointed to the demolitionist as he slid open the door to a patio on the far side. Travis brought the Vulture around as the blonde leaned into the troop bay. “Your big guy is coming in. Get ready by the ramp!”

Pelted by a blast of icy mist from the downpour, the occupants of the troop bay held on tightly. Weaving through the crowd, David and Esther made their way toward the ramp. Javon Quinton from Falcon Platoon joined them. “Grab my hand, man!” the black soldier said to David. “I can grab ’em.” Clutching one of the ramp rods with one hand, David snatched onto Javon’s hand with his other.

On the balcony, William called out to Javon. “I’m tossing the body!” Nodding his head, Javon readied himself to grab it. Spinning around like a shotput athlete, William slung the fallen slayer over the balcony gap, grunting as he collapsed in the other direction.

The top half of Rodion’s body slammed into the lip of the
Pariah
’s ramp. Javon grabbed it and pulled it aboard.

*
      
*
      
*

The shootout was raging on inside the apartment hallway. As the last of Scott’s E-35 ammunition was spent, the soldier threw the assault rifle down and whipped out his handgun, firing potshots down the hallway toward the advancing EDEN operatives. If they didn’t get a move on quickly, this was going to end badly.

Though he, Feliks, and Rashid had felled several, they were still vastly outnumbered. The enemies were pushing closer with every second.

Click! Click! Click!

“Veck!” He was out of ammunition. Dropping the empty handgun, he looked back at the two Nightmen. Rashid, though firing, was doing so with his left hand, sending inaccurate shots ricocheting down the hall in what amounted to little more than momentary suppressors. Feliks was their last line of defense. “Cover me!” Scott shouted back to them. As his counterparts laid down borderline insignificant suppression fire, Scott retreated back to the corner directly opposite them. He waved his hand out to Rashid. “Weapon!” The Turk didn’t argue, tossing his handgun Scott’s way. Scott grabbed it and turned it against EDEN. Again, he addressed Rashid. “Get out of here with the others!”

Ducking down, Rashid bolted across the hallway, bullets slamming against his armor as he stumbled past Scott and toward Becan.

“Hey,” Scott said, looking at Feliks, “we’re gonna have to get out of here fast!”

“Understood,” the slayer answered.

*
      
*
      
*

“You’re as close as you’re gonna get!” said Travis, having backed the
Pariah
’s ramp up to the precipice of the balcony.

Waving William on, David said, “Come on, big guy. Make the leap!”

Taking several steps back, William charged the balcony rail, springing over it with as much speed as the massive Southerner could muster. Much as the case had been with Rodion, William barely reached the lip of the
Pariah
—but it was just enough. Javon grabbed him, William regained his balance, and the demolitionist was secure.

“William’s in! Becan’s up!”

Travis brought the
Pariah
sideways to the next balcony, where the Irishman and Rashid waited.

*
      
*
      
*

Scott was on the verge of exhausting his new weapon’s ammunition supply when Esther’s voice came over his comm. “We’re securing Becan and Rashid! Get your golden tail over here
now
!”

Finally.
“Feliks, go!” Scott shouted across the hallway to the slayer. Lowering his head, the slayer bounded across the hallway to Scott’s side, darting past him to run for the
Pariah
.

Scott knew that the moment he relented, there would be no more suppressive fire slowing down EDEN’s advance. But it was now or never. Popping around the corner a final time, Scott unloaded what remained of his handgun, ducking back when its final shot had been fired. Bolting into the apartment behind Feliks, he charged straight for the hovering transport.

From the ramp of the
Pariah
, with Becan and Rashid safely on board, Javon signaled Feliks to hurry.
“Come on, dude!”
The slayer leapt over the balcony rail, reaching out for Javon’s hand as the black soldier snagged it. Feliks was pushed securely inside. Looking back to the apartment, Javon waited for Scott.

Scott heard the army of footsteps approaching from the hallway. At any second, they’d reach the doorway and open fire. Ahead, he could see the
Pariah
just past the balcony rail. That jump from the balcony to the troop bay looked
long
. Running full speed, Scott leapt over the back of a sofa in his mad dash.

The moment he landed, the pain struck him.

Clutching his thigh in agony, Scott screamed and stumbled forward. His bullet wound. Whether it was his adrenaline giving up on him or the way he landed on it, something caused it to erupt in a tortuous pain. Before he knew it, he was toppling over onto the ground. There was nothing he could do to stop it.

He looked up as EDEN rounded the corner.

From the back of the troop bay, David’s eyes widened.
“Scott!”
Whipping his head back to Travis, he shouted, “Get closer to the balcony, Scott’s done!”

“I already told you,” said Travis, “I’m as close as I can get!”

“Stop complaining about every damn thing and do it!”

Punching the control panel, Travis snarled in frustration. The pilot backed the
Pariah
up closer.

“Everyone with a weapon, open fire!”

Inside the apartment room, Scott ducked down as the exchange of gunfire began. Pieces of furniture were blown apart as assault rifle rounds struck from both directions, blowing lamps off end tables and blasting chunks from the walls. Covering his head with one hand, Scott crawled for the balcony.

He wasn’t going to make it, and even if he did, in the time that it took for him to reach the
Pariah
, members of the Fourteenth inside—or worse, Centurion—would be struck down in the firefight. They had a mission, and his well-being wasn’t it. With his stomach in his throat, he addressed them on the comm. “Don’t come after me! Get out of here with the target. That’s an order.”

“Like hell we’re leaving you here!” David said.

“I’m not asking you, this is an order! Travis,
go
!”

Without reservation, Travis pulled up on the stick. “Don’t have to vecking tell me twice.” Before anyone could say otherwise, he activated the rear bay door.

“Travis!”
David spun around toward the cockpit. “Get back down there
now
!”

“I’m following an order!”

Eyes wide in horror, David spun back to face the apartment as the
Pariah
lifted away from it. They were leaving Scott behind.

In that same second, someone bolted past David for the ramp—her black maxi dress a blur as she ran full speed toward it before it could close. Before David could even shout, Esther Brooking leapt out of the troop bay and toward the rapidly-distancing balcony.

Esther collided into the outer side of the balcony, her hands grasping desperately for the railing before she plummeted to the ground twelve stories below. Her fingers curled around iron. She screamed as piercing, hot pain shot through her injured shoulder when she strained to pull herself up. Esther clenched her teeth against the pain and the pelting freezing rain as she hauled herself up and over the railing with a final grunt.

The moment she was oriented, Esther looked up to locate Scott. What she saw, instead, was a gun barrel. Standing in a semi-circle in front of her, each with their weapon raised, were EDEN soldiers. Behind them, in the custody of their counterparts, was Scott.

Closing her eyes and exhaling, Esther lowered her head, letting her chocolate strands of hair dangle in the downpour. With no other options, she slowly rose to her feet and put her hands in the air.

“Are you Esther Brooking?” the man asked.

“No,” Esther answered flatly. “I’m Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile.”

For several seconds, the EDEN solider scrutinized her. “You
are
Esther Brooking.”

“If you knew, why’d you ask?”

Held firmly by his own captors, Scott shot her a warning look behind his fulcrum helmet, the disapproving expression hidden by its faceless surface.

The sky above the balcony suddenly erupted with the sound of a rushing wind. The EDEN operatives shifted their focus from Esther to the noise. Shielding her face from the rain and new winds, the British scout spun around.

Lowering in front of the balcony, the
Pariah
, its spotlight pointed and its nose-mounted cannon spinning, descended toward the balcony on the twelfth floor.

“Down!”
yelled Scott from behind the balcony. He and Esther dropped to the floor just as the mounted nose cannon unleashed its rage. EDEN operatives dove in every direction—those who couldn’t get out of the way were blown to pieces. The tatter of rainfall was replaced by the cannon fire’s deafening scream.

It didn’t matter that Scott knew he wasn’t the mission—to see the
Pariah
again was like seeing a savior. As the cannon fired on, he crawled as fast as he could toward the balcony. Esther met him halfway.

“What were you doing?” Scott asked her over the noise.

“Saving
you
!” Grabbing him by the shoulder, she lifted him to his feet when the
Pariah
stopped firing. The transport whipped around violently, skidding in the air. Inside the open rear bay, the abled operatives waited with weapons aimed.

Scott blinked as he saw them. They had to be bluffing. There was no way they’d actually open fire with him and Esther right there in the thick of—

The barrels of their E-35s and M-19s flashed orange. The crack of Jayden’s sniper rifle cut through the engine noise. All at once, Scott and Esther were enveloped—but not touched—by suppression fire. Still, the words flew out of Scott’s mouth.
“What in the hell are they doing?”

“Saving
us
!” Esther answered. “Lend a little trust to your trusty team!” Escorting him to the ramp, she grabbed him by the shoulder. “Now
listen
to me, Scott James Remington. I didn’t leap out of that sodding plane for you to fall to your death, so make that bloody jump!”

He intended to—pain be damned. Inhaling sharply, Scott charged for the rail. His leg throbbed in the kind of way that said,
stop what you’re doing right now
, but he pressed on. Leaping atop the rail, Scott propelled himself with everything he had in him toward the troop bay. Mid-leap, he made the mistake of looking down.

He could see the police cars beneath the Vulture. He could see their pulsing red and blue lights. He could even see the minuscule people, like specks amid the model of a city street. In that split second, panic hit him. He felt himself falling to his death.

Then, he felt hands.

Just as Scott reached—barely—the lip of the ramp, Javon and William grabbed him and yanked him aboard in a way that was so forceful, he felt powerless to even brace for it. He was thrust into the waiting mob. Everyone immediately shifted their focus from him to Esther. Scott did the same.

Esther landed cleanly on the ramp, where the protective grasps of Javon and William yanked her aboard. The saturated scout slid next to Scott as the crew continued to pepper the twelfth-floor apartment. Slowly, the rear bay door lifted.

There was no hesitation from Travis. The ramp had barely made it halfway up when he yanked the stick sideways, sending the transport swinging around and then soaring forward. Everyone who wasn’t holding on was flung against the door, just as it sealed.

Unclamping his helmet, Scott pulled it off and tossed it to the side. His heart was pounding, and he was breathing like a man outrunning his fate. Looking up, he saw that he was face-to-face with Esther. Through dripping lashes, a grin stretched across her face. Reaching for her, Scott grabbed her by the back of her head and pulled her to him so that their foreheads came to rest. Running his fingers through her wet hair, he closed his eyes. “Thank you,” he said, still gasping for breath. “Thank you.”

Her own eyes closed, she clutched him around the neck. “Do not ever do that again.” Despite the words, she huffed out a laugh. “Okay?”

“I promise.”

“Mean it.”

Laughing, Scott said, “I sodding mean it.” His eyes opened. When he caught sight of the Texan watching them, he halfway rolled his eyes. “All right, all right,” he said in Jayden’s direction before pulling away from Esther. The scout’s arms slid from his neck. “Go back to your boyfriend.”

Esther’s smile widened briefly. Offering Scott a parting wink, she turned to the Texan. “Oh, lay off it!” she said, shoving him. “We were having a bloody moment.”

Scott pushed himself up from his seat as David stepped forward. “Hey! You all right?” the older man asked.

“I am…” For a moment, he was at a loss for words. “I’m alive.” But for how long? Remembering the significance of their situation, Scott looked up at the cockpit. “Are we still tracking Superwolves?”

“Yeah,” Travis answered, “and they’re coming in hot.” Clicking on the cabin speakers, the pilot addressed the crew as a whole. “Everyone strap in and hold on!”

David tapped Scott on the side. He nodded toward the pilot. “He was gonna leave both of y’all before we made him turn around.”