Page 193 of Aviatrix

To lie for her. Yeah, I understand.

If it means no one ever gets their hands on VAL, I’ll take that lie to my grave.

But there are things I need to know first.

“I need answers,” I say firmly. Eli remains silent beside me.

“I’ll do my best to tell you what I know,” Jan offers.

“Rourke talked about a key,” I say. “What is it?”

Jan swallows hard. “You, Kinley. You’ve always been the key.”

Great. I’m the key. And no one bothered to tell me what lock I’m supposed to pick. Or if it even wants to open.

So many people have died protecting something I never even knew I was.

“You implied Thea could be the key, too,” I remind her.

She exhales. “I lied to Rourke.”

“So, if Kinley’s the key, why didn’t Rourke seize VAL the second he clocked us in that room?” Eli says barely loud enough for us to hear. “He pre-authorized override clearance for our callsigns. Made getting inside the Pentagon easy. Why didn’t he make it out of there sooner?”

Jan’s face shifts to something darker. “He never intended for that building to fall.”

If he didn’t, then he was going to take me.

My heart drops.

We need more information. We need to know more than we do right now.

“What is Project Aviatrix?” I press. “I know it’s more than just VAL. And what was your involvement?”

“I was part of the original research group,” she says. “We were exploring alternative resources to power Air Force jets.” She pauses, collecting her thoughts. “Your dad believed obsidian was the answer.”

I frown. “The rock?”

“He developed VAL first as a learning machine. But he discovered that when obsidian reacted with certain tech parameters, it could power and stabilize autonomous flight.”

I glance at Eli, making sure I’m hearing her right.

“Then,” she exhales heavily, “the aliens made contact with him.”

For a second, I forget how to breathe.

The aliens didn’t just find us. They found him first.

My mouth drops. “They contacted my dad?”

“I don’t know how they found him,” Jan admits, “but they were seeking the same resource. Obsidian.”

I inhale, trying to make sense of it. The aliens were after the same rock my dad used to build VAL?

So, their ships aren’t made of a tachylite material like Space Command initially thought. The smooth, black glass-like mask—its obsidian.

“They needed it,” I repeat. “For their ships, right?”

“They did,” she confirms. “Your dad brought it to his superiors. A task force was formed. The plan was to trade obsidian access in Arizona in exchange for alien tech.”