Page 54 of Danger Zone (The Elite 1)

“Come on, Panther,” Houdini said, his best friend voicing my own thoughts as we all waited for that moment we knew was coming. One we’d all trained for extensively, and hoped like hell we’d never have to employ, because no pilot ever wanted to be in a position where they had to eject from their aircraft. It was literally the last course of action you could take to try to save your life. But when the options were to plummet headfirst into the Pacific Ocean or blow yourself out of the cockpit and hope like hell all your limbs were intact and you survived, there really wasn’t much choice.

Not a second later, the blast from the rockets under Panther’s seat lit up the sky as he was catapulted into the air like he was nothing. The world went silent for a heartbeat, then two, and then emergency sirens blasted through the base, jump-starting my heart again.

Chaos erupted and someone screamed, but all I could do was watch as the plane careened on a death spiral to the water below. I frantically searched the sky for Panther’s chute, for any sign of him, but instead, all I saw was nothing…

He was gone.