Page 27 of Firestorm

He called Garrett back. “Thank you for the help. Those planes saved our lives.”

“You’re welcome. Are you guys safe?”

Safe. James wondered if that was a feeling he’d ever have again.

“For now. How are things going there?”

James could hear multiple background noises around Garrett. “We have most everything set up. The website is close to being active again. We’re going to have to find another power source, but it appears there were solar panels erected and never installed. Maybe the camp went under before that happened. I’m trying to do some checking on the location.”

“If we can make those solar panels operational, that would provide us all the electricity we’d need to power the camp and keep everyone comfortable. What about a water supply?”

Garrett sighed. “That’s a little trickier. The camp has holding tanks. They were gathering rainwater, but the tanks are in bad shape. We’re working on making them functional again. In the meantime, there’s a river not far from here. We’ll have to boil its water before it can be consumed.”

The thought of setting up everything only to have to leave again was enough to break James’ hope. “If all goes well, we should be there in several hours. One thing we need to work on is setting up a system that won’t allow anyone to track us from the air and will alert us to anyone coming near the property. Kind of like what we had in Idaho but on steroids.”

“That’ll be a tall order, but we’ll start putting our heads together and see what we can figure out. Come soon, my friend. Things are worsening by the moment. The last thing we need is for any of our people to be taken prisoner, or worse.”

“Understood.” James ended the call. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but the stakes were growing by the second, and there were many lives in jeopardy. His people. Those out there in the world who were still fighting against Pamphili’s control. Those who would follow in time.

He glanced over at Blake who had become another victim of the man James and his teammates believed was the one spoken of in the Bible as the antichrist.

“How are things looking up there?” James asked Tucker because he couldn’t relax.

“So far, no sign of another wave. Let’s hope it stays that way.”

James grunted. The woman seated beside him kept pulling at his thoughts. Through each visit he made to Blake’s hiding place, there had always been a hint of chemistry between them, and yet she was his teammate’s sister. And the world was about to plunge into a world of darkness.

Sarah reached for his hand, entwining her fingers with his—her touch comforting to someone who was as weary as he.

He smiled at her and closed his eyes. The deserts of Afghanistan were always close. As were his men. They were loyal as any he’d served with. And they’d all been hunted down and killed except for Blake who had managed to disappear before they finished him off. Brookes Zachary was the son of one of his deceased men. He had wanted answers to his father’s death, and he’d almost died along with Abby Temple.

Disillusioned, James had gone into hiding in Alaska, certain the men behind his team’s assassination wouldn’t be able to find him. He’d gone to work creating an escape route underneath the cabin he’d purchased with an assumed name. Then, he’d expanded to a different location while teaching himself the ins and outs of creating security software.

“We’ll be landing in ten minutes,” Deacon announced. James opened his eyes. He still held Sarah’s hand. She stared out the window.

James sure hoped the small roughed-out landing strip would be enough to land this massive plane. “I’ll be right back,” he told Sarah and untangled her hand from his. James moved to the front of the plane and crouched between Deacon and Tucker. “You know the runway,” he told Deacon. “Will we be able to land this thing?”

Deacon didn’t mince words. “I sure hope so.”

Tucker glanced at his copilot. “Brother, if you think there’s a problem, you might be better off landing it yourself.”

Deacon took over the controls. “Prepare everyone for a rough landing.”

James moved to where the team was seated. “We’ll be landing soon. It won’t be an easy one. Stow everything that might be a hazard out of the way and fasten your seatbelts.” He returned to his seat and slipped the belt around his waist.

“Are we going to make it?” Sarah asked, her troubled gaze latched onto his.

He told her the truth. “It won’t be easy, but Deacon is a former combat pilot. He knows what he’s doing. If anyone can land us safely on the ground, it’s him.”

Chapter Six

The plane touched down hard enough to jar the occupants. Sarah suppressed a scream. Reached for James’ hand once more.

“We’re okay,” he whispered. She wanted to believe it, but as the plane bounced across the rough runway, her faith waned. Sarah closed her eyes.Help us, Lord.She kept her eyes squeezed shut because she couldn’t watch.

The pilot did his best to keep the massive plane on the rudimentary runway. The speed slowed. Sarah’s eyes flew open. The woods at the end of the runway came up fast.

Deacon applied brakes. Everyone braced as the plane shuddered and came to a hard stop.

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