Neema’s already shooting forward. I’m about to follow when I notice that the last charge she set doesn’t have a green light.
“Declan,”I say over telepathy.“Neema’s charge didn’t stick.”
He jumps off his bike and jogs over to handle it. The green light flickers on, and a second later he and I are both tearing after Neema, who’s already several meters ahead of us.
Excitement buzzes through me as we speed down the tunnel. For us, the entire mission lasted less than ten minutes, but my adrenaline is still sky-high, my heartbeat a rapid staccato in my chest. All that’s left for us to do is exit through the west end of the tunnel and reach the secondary pickup zone. Luisa and the attack team should already be en route. I pray that our team distracted the Coppers long enough for Teriq’s team to evacuate everyone, but he hasn’t reported yet.
“Extraction complete.”
I spoke too soon. Relief erupts inside me at Teriq’s confirmation.
“Bird’s in the air. Cargo secure.” Gray now, and there’s no mistaking the satisfaction in his voice.
“Decoy team,” Saint says in my ear. “What’s your ETA to the pickup?”
“Two minutes,” Declan tells him.
Two minutes and we’re out. We did it. We executed a flawless mission.
I grip the handlebars tighter, releasing another breath of relief. We’re almost out. Our maps showed the tunnel ending in a clearing beyond the facility’s southern perimeter, so we shouldn’t encounter any stray guards. The tunnel curves up ahead, and it isn’t until we approach the turn that I realize something isn’t right.
The hairs at the back of my neck stand on end when I hear it.
The hum of a force field vibrating through the confined space.
It grows louder, bouncing off the walls, and as we round the corner, I suddenly see it: the shimmering blue wall at the end of the tunnel. Glowing with an unnatural intensity.
The force field that was supposed to be down…isn’t.
Fear pummels into me as the opening looms closer. As I watch Neema hurtling at breakneck speed toward it.
“Neema!” I scream. “Stop!”
It’s too late.
She crashes into the force field, sparks exploding in the air as she’s thrown from the bike. The metal rims of the tires create another flurry of sparks as the vehicle twists and whips through the air, flying back and nearly taking Declan’s head off.
My reflexes seize control of my body. I know slamming on the brakes won’t do a damn thing. I’ll just skid right into the force field.So I dive out of my seat and go airborne, the world spinning as I roll away, hitting the concrete hard.
“Declan!” I now shout.
But he’s still moving.
Why is he still moving?
“Declan!”
As panic grips my throat, I once again act on pure instinct. It happens so naturally I don’t even question it. I thrust open a path and harness the gold, siphoning every speck of energy as I hijack Declan’s mind.
“Jump!” I command.
I’m overcome with relief when he jumps off the motorcycle at the very last second.
Electricity arcs from the force field as the bike collides with it. Declan’s body slices past the resulting sparks, a hairbreadth from having his arm blown off. His bike jolts and jerks from the live current. I hear an unnatural shriek and realize it’s the sound of the electricity surging through the machine. A blue-white flash illuminates the tunnel as the force field sparks again.
“Declan!”
I run to him. He staggers onto his knees, his entire body trembling.
