Page 147 of Javier

When Missy said please, I couldn’t deny her anything, but I had to admit, as the door slammed shut and the vehicle sped forward, it was getting harder to please her.

“Watch the show.” It was Bozeman’s voice and it came from very near.

I forced my eyes open and blinked until I could make out the images on the divided screen. The integrated cameras offered a view of the land drones, speeding toward the barricade. One of the air drones flew high above, giving an overview of the battlefield. The newer version flew fast over the terrain and went into a dive, swooping down on the barricade at top speed. Shots echoed in the distance. Mercs pointed. A particular face looked up and snatched my attention.

“That’s him,” I growled. “That’s Bekker!”

Rat-at-tat. Rat-at-tat.Boom, boom, boom.

Dark clouds of smoke obscured the screen.

“Omega,” I called out. “We gotta get the fucker. This is our chance!”

“Dash, you keep going,” Missy shouted over me. “We have to get Javi to the hospital.”

“Priority one,” Dagger barked. “Hospital.”

“Negative,” I shot back. “Priority one is the women and the team’s safety. Priority two is to get this asshole. Bekker’s busy with the drones. He won’t be expecting me. Let me have a go at the fucker.”

“Are you mad?” Missy hissed. “It would be suicide. You’re in no condition to fight!”

“Omega, listen to me,” I said as loud and evenly as I could manage. “Turns out the new age is not yet here. We’re gonna need a good old-fashioned warrior to pull this one off.”

“What the fuck are you babbling about?” Dagger demanded.

“Hear me out,” I said. “Missy and Thena will only be safe if we cut off the head of the NWO. Bekker’s got the intel we need. If we take him out of the fight, his mercs will run. We’ll never get a better shot at him.”

“He’s not wrong,” Bozeman ventured.

Dagger clung to the wheel. His blank expression told me he was processing.

“Ferranti, give me more Tylenol.” It was about the only pain med we had on hand that would not trank me or further liquefy my blood. “Highest dose you got.”

I grabbed Bozeman’s tablet, and glancing at our navigation coordinates, assessed the terrain ahead and made the calculations in my head.

“Looking at the topo, I’ve got a small window in about four mikes.” I stuffed several pain relief tablets in my mouth, crushed them with my teeth, and swallowed despite the bitter taste. “A cluster of trees cover the road from drone and satellite surveillance. No bogeys at the location.”

“What are you saying?” Dash asked.

“A flanking maneuver. Drop me off on silent comms so they don’t know I’m coming. I’ll circle around and snatch the turd on the other side before he even knows I’m there. You all turn around. If Bekker’s out of the game, his mercs will scram. I get Bekker and hand him over to Allen, who’ll get him to you. Meanwhile, you get a window to get to the tarmac, fly out, and get Missy and Thena to Astor House.”

Omega acknowledged my recommendation with a nod. He knew my reasoning was sound, but he kept driving towardthe barricade.

It wasn’t as if I wanted to die. Best case scenario for me was that I had less venom in me than expected and more time to live. But if we couldn’t get to the hospital at all, I was dead anyway. Better to go out fighting, knowing my woman was safe and my team was out of harm’s way, instead of sitting on my ass and watching the people I loved put their lives at risk because of me.

It wasn’t a hard decision. Phoenix Astor had died for me. Time to pay back the old debt. If I was gonna die, I’d do it for Missy, for Thena, for my friends.

Bozeman’s screen showed a pitched battle between the aerial drone and the mercs. The land drones were not far out from their target now.

“Yours is a terrible plan,” Missy snapped. “Worse idea ever. I’m not allowing it.”

“It’s not a bad plan.” Bozeman’s agreement shocked the hell out of me. It also drew Missy’s rage in the form of a glower that could’ve peeled the skin off him.

“You can’t let him do this,” Missy spat, her face almost as red as her hair. “You can’t send him out there. He’ll die if he tries.”

“It’s an excellent plan,” King called out from the back of the van. “Let me have a go at it, boss.”

“No, negative.” I craned my neck to scold K-man with a glare. “Me. I’m the one.”

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