Page 319 of Scars of Fate

“Can you bypass them?”

“Not before we pass out.”

Boone’s voice crackled through the encrypted headset.

“Adam?”

Hawk had disconnected the aircraft radio, but our private unit operated independently.

Adam answered.

“We have a compromised pilot.”

Boone sighed.

“Of course you do.”

Ghost’s voice followed.

“What’s your altitude?”

Hawk checked.

“Twenty-eight thousand and climbing.”

“Cabin pressure?”

“Falling.”

“Aircraft model?”

Hawk gave him the designation.

Ghost answered immediately.

“There’s an emergency cockpit release beneath the forward medical stretcher.”

“Where?”

“Floor panel.”

I moved toward the stretcher nearest the cockpit.

Lucas caught me.

“I’ll do it.”

“You need to keep the wafer away from the transfer box.”

“Hawk can hold it.”

“I’m smaller.”

“Why is that suddenly the answer to everything?”

“Because you’re built like a wall.”

Adam pulled the stretcher from its mounting brackets.