Ballistic: Icarus Series, Book Two

by Aria Michaels

  Before I knew what was happening, my laces were dangling in my fingers again, and Bella was gone. She must have wandered off while I was playing tug of war with my boots. With a sigh, I retied the laces and knotted them three times.

  I reached for my pack and pulled it into my lap, digging through the contents one last time. One change of clothes. A day’s worth of rations. Small first aid kit. Lighter. Two bungee cords and six feet of rope. Beneath it all, was my brother’s ratty old lion and the bottle of booze Rhiannon had given me. It was all there, just like it had been five minutes ago when I last checked.

  I watched from the corner of my eye as Zander slid a clean, gray t-shirt over his head. Despite his fervent resistance, Collin had insisted on suturing the wounds on his back before we left. Twenty stitches in, I stopped counting and turned away, no longer able to bear the sight of what’d I’d done.

  “Finally,” Ballard joked, patting him on the shoulder.

  “Dude,” Zander winced, laughing despite his obvious discomfort.

  He trusted me, and I hurt him. I almost killed him. It didn’t matter how quickly the physical wounds healed. This incident would leave a scar…for both of us.

  Zander’s brow furrowed and he quickly turned in my direction. Don’t, I mouthed, holding my hand up. His jaw clenched, and he stopped in his tracks, his eyes challenging me. I looked away, willing him to do the same. The eagle dangling over my heart was burning a hole right through me.

  “Are you sure about this, Mason?” Tamsen asked, biting her bottom lip.

  “You’ll look out for him?” Mason whispered. His arms locked tightly around his son. “No matter what.”

  “Of course, but—.” Tamsen’s breath caught.

  “Then, I’m sure,” Mason said, his sharp breath tussling Caleb’s curls. “Daddy has to go and help our new friends, now. You be good for Tamsen until I get back, okay?”

  “I go, Daddy?” Caleb asked, once again latching onto Mason’s neck.

  “Not this time, buddy,” Mason’s face tightened as he kissed the boy’s temple.

  “I go!” Caleb whined.

  “I’ll see you soon, I promise.” Mason pried his son free and passed him, kicking and screaming, into Tamsen’s arms. “I love you so much, Caleb.”

  “Daddy!” Caleb wailed. “I go. I go.”

  “Be careful,” Tamsen choked back a sob and hurried away with Caleb squirming.

  “She’ll be there,” Mason whispered to himself, absently spinning the band of gold on his finger. “She has to be.”

  I’d fought him on it when Mason had insisted he come along, but there was no deterring him. Now, I understood why. I whistled softly through my teeth and Bella came running. I dropped to a knee and buried my face in her neck, hugging her tight. She licked my face and craned her neck over my shoulder, her front paw resting on my leg.

  “Go to Caleb,” I whispered, scratching her behind her ears. She pulled back and cocked her head to the side, her eyes locked on mine as I rose to my feet. “Take care of him, Bells.”

  She licked my hand and barked softly, then hobbled off into the shadows.

  “Mmm,” Squints grunted, nudging my arm.

  In his hands, he held Louie, freshly cleaned and sharpened. Aside from a new groove worn into the blade (presumably, from where I’d buried it in that alpha’s skull) and the blood stains on the fabric, you could hardly tell it had been party to a massacre just a few hours ago.

  “Thanks,” I said, grabbing for it.

  “Uhn,” Squints shook his head back and forth, one hand still wrapped tightly around the handle.

  “What?” I sighed. “If this is because I won’t carry a gun…”

  “Pffft,” he snuffed dismissively.

  “What, then?” I asked.

  He scratched at his beard as if lost in thought. After an awkward pause, he pushed his glasses up his nose and pointed sharply in my face. His arm swept wide, gesturing toward each of my friends as they bustled about the room, preparing for a battle they should never have been asked to fight.

  “Umph,” Squints grunted, tilting his chin at me.

  His fingers curled into a fist, his eyes fierce, despite the distortion from the thick lenses he wore. He let out a measured breath, tapped his temple with his middle finger, and then slowly pressed his hand to his heart, his fingers splayed out. He nodded resolutely, shoved Louie into my hands, and walked away.

  Mason had already joined Riley near the weapons table. The two of them chatted anxiously as they received their guns and improvised hardware. Riley crossed her arms over her chest as Squints approached. Her gaze met mine over his shoulder. They held fear and fortitude in equal measure, but beneath it all, I saw sadness—betrayal, maybe. I owed her so much more than an apology. Even if we’d had the time, I wouldn’t have known where to begin.

  “That dude is hella weird,” Megan said, suddenly at my side. “Nice bat-thingy, by the way. Wanna trade?”

  “Yes, he is,” I said, side-eying the small handgun she clutched in her hand, “and no, I don’t.”

  “Suit yourself,” she shrugged, shoving the gun into the side of her studded belt. After a moment of awkward silence, she shrugged again and turned to go. Two steps off, she looked back over her shoulder at me. “Oh, and I’d maybe start with, I’m sorry.”

  My mouth fell open, and I stared after her, dumbstruck. Did she just…? No. I shook the idea loose before it could grab hold. The others had begun to gather near the emergency exit. Jake and Tessa stood shoulder to shoulder near the door. Though lost in conversation, their eyes absently tracked Falisha as she paced back and forth in front of them. One hand was fisted at her side. The other was clutched around Tim’s sawed-off shotgun.

  Tim. I’d all but forgotten him in the chaos of the last couple of days. What does that say about me as a person?

  I’m a monster.

  “Hey, kiddo,” Tessa said, heading toward me as I approached. “I think we are just about set, here. Riley just finished Mason’s little makeover, and he is getting changed now. It isn’t a perfect match, by any means, but it’s dark, so we should be okay. Squints is handing out the last of the gear, and Zander took a couple of guys out to grab the bikes. They should be back any minute. You good to go?”

  “I kind of have to be,” I said, clutching Louie tightly in my hands.

  “Yes, you do.” She nodded, her eyes fixed on my weapon. “You’re sure you won’t take a gun? I grabbed one for you, just in case you changed your mind.”

  She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the smallest gun I’d ever seen. The barrel couldn’t have been more than a couple inches long. The weapon, itself, barely filled Tessa’s palm.

  “Trust me. It’s a bad idea,” I said, my jaw set.

  Tessa opened her mouth to challenge me, but a rhythmic banging on the outside of the door pulled her attention, and she slid the tiny gun back into her pocket. Jake released the lock and removed the board that was lodged beneath the handle. Devon strode in, followed immediately by Ballard and Zander.

  “Right on cue,” Tessa said, jerking her head toward the door. “Let’s get moving.”

  “Tessa, wait,” I said, grabbing onto her arm. “Before we go, I need you to promise me something.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that.” She crossed her arms.

  My eyes drifted to Zander, then back to her. Tears threatened, but I swallowed them back. Weakness was a luxury I could no longer afford. There was far too much at stake.

  “Liv?” She narrowed her eyes.

  “If I lose control,” I began, my voice shaking.

  “You won’t.” Tessa’s jaw tensed, and she immediately tried to pull away.

  “If I lose control,” I pressed, not releasing her arm, “I want you to…take care of it.”

  “Liv, no.” Tessa yanked her hand away.

  “Tessa, please,” I hissed, desperate. “You have to.”

  “Don’t,” Tessa whispered her face taut. “Don’t ask me to
do this.”

  “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 M
ason 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.