Page 26 of Firestorm

James gave the coordinates he received from Tucker.

“Hang in there. I’ll call you when I have news.”

The call ended. James prayed for their protection before returning to his seat. The cargo plane screamed through the air. And he didn’t have long to wonder when the enemy would appear.

“We have company.” Tucker’s tight voice had James shooting from his seat. “I count at least four.”

A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach warned they were in serious trouble.

A moment later, the plane was under full-blown attack.

“Can you lose them?” James yelled above the noise.

“I’m going to try my best.” The plane dived low. James grabbed the seat to keep from losing his footing. He slipped into the seat behind Deacon while the fighters continued to rail on them.

The phone in his hand rang, and he hauled it to his ear. “I hope you have good news because we’re under heavy fire.”

“I do. There’s an airbase close. We have friends there. They’re coming to your aid. They should be there any moment. Hang on, James,” Garrett told him.

“We’re going to do our best.” He ended the call and squeezed the phone tight in his hand while the noise of the attack grew louder.

“Left engine’s gone.” Tucker yelled above the sounds of war. They could make it on the remaining, but they were a long way from being out of trouble.

The heavy cargo plane was not made to do quick, evasive moves. While Tucker did his best to keep the plane from taking another shot that could prove to be a death blow, the fighters continued to bombard the plane.

“Where’s our backup?” Tucker asked, his tone laced with tension.

James grabbed his phone once more. Before he placed the call, an explosion shook the plane. “What happened?” Had they taken another hit?

“Your people are here. One of the fighters was just shot down. We need to get the rest off our tail. They’ll be transmitting our location to the military. Your clocking software won’t do us any good.”

Tucker was right. With the fighters remaining on their tail, they’d lead more of the enemy right to them.

As they continued to do evasive maneuvers, three friendlies opened fire on the enemy.

“Another fighter down,” Deacon announced when the explosion appeared far too close.

With the help of the planes sent by Garrett, the last of the enemy fighters was destroyed.

“Appreciate your help, friendlies,” Tucker spoke to the pilots of the planes.

“You got it,” one of the pilots answered. “There are many others from our base who believe you guys are being set up.”

“That’s good to hear,” Tucker told them. “We’re worried about your safety. If these people discover you helped us, it could be bad for you.”

“Understood,” the same voice said. “But those downed won’t be able to identify us, and we believe we can do more good where we are. I hope you reach your destination safely.”

“Thank you. Is there anything we can do to help you?”

“You can do one thing. Put your website back up. The world needs to know the truth about what Pamphili is planning.”

“We’ll see what we can do.” Tucker glanced back at James who nodded.

The planes banked away from them and prepared to return to their base.

“That was a little too close for comfort,” Tucker breathed out.

James set back in his seat and tried to relax. He’d been through this type of situation more times than he cared to admit, yet it never became easier, and they were still a long way from the new compound.

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