Page 50 of No Vow Broken

“I have it immobilized for now,” our driver said, still holding the weird sci-fi gun. “This is a drone-suppression system. That drone is staying in place because this weapon beams out concentrated radio signals around the drone controller’s frequencies. It overwhelms the antennas and prevents it from receiving any new commands.”

“Wow.” I totally wanted to geek out about the cool technology, but now was not the time. “Why don’t we just shoot it?”

“We could, but if you look at the line of sight past the drone, you’ll see there’s an office building directly behind the drone, along with dozens of people watching and videoing on their phones. They are in the line of sight of our weapons. We can’t risk hitting any civilians or putting them in harm’s way. So, at the moment, we’re at an impasse.”

“What if I got close enough to take it out with this shotgun?” Slash suggested. “I could aim at it from another direction or from below. The shotgun has a much shorter range, and if I aim correctly, I won’t risk any civilians.”

“Whatever you guys decide, it better be fast,” I said. “That drone is starting to wobble. It might break free any minute. And don’t forget, there’s another one out there on the loose. Who knows when it will show up?”

The agent looked around. All his peers were busy, and his arms had started to shake from holding the heavy weapon. “Okay. Shoot it,” he said to Slash. “But make sure no civilians are in the line of fire.”

“Roger that.” Slash looked directly at me. “You, take cover and stay there. I mean it.” With that, he dashed across the street and began to carefully stalk the drone.

I returned to my spot next to Elvis behind the weird werewolf truck and watched in silent anticipation. Slash approached the drone cautiously and swung to one side to direct his fire up and away from civilians. As he approached, several of the civilians on the far side of the park were waving their arms and pointing at Slash. He didn’t let himself be distracted as he concentrated on the hovering drone.

He knelt just as the drone lurched sideways and then righted itself, trying to escape, perhaps knowing what was coming. Either the operator had figured out how to get around the jamming or the agent’s aim had wavered. Either way, the drone was clearly on the verge of getting loose.

Slash took a stance and aimed.

Just as the drone broke free, he took his shot.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Lexi

The drone exploded in a huge flash of light. Slash threw himself on the ground as Elvis and I shielded our eyes. After a moment, Slash stood and jogged back to us. People on the far side of the park started cheering and waving. Elvis jumped out from behind the truck, shouting and pumping a fist in the air.

Suddenly, the fourth drone rose from the ground where it had been hiding and zoomed quickly toward Slash’s back.

I screamed a warning, but the drone was almost upon him. I didn’t know if it was Slash’s preternatural instincts or if he heard me screaming at him, but at the last second, he turned and dove to the ground as the drone zoomed past him. To my shock, instead of blowing up right over him or turning to reengage, the drone raced forward, skimming low above the ground, straight toward the car where Xavier and Basia were crouched, about three cars away from us.

It took precious seconds for me to comprehend that the drone was deliberately coming for them. It was staying low to the ground to prevent us from shooting at it. Slash took a firing stance but didn’t pull the trigger. I knew why. Basia, Xavier, and others were directly in his line of fire. I saw frustration and fear cross his face at the same time as he lowered his weapon and yelled something at them.

At that moment, Tito stepped out of the tree line on the side of the drone’s path. He would have been perfectly positioned to shoot the drone safely—if only he had a weapon. The drone operator either didn’t see Tito or didn’t care as it zoomed right past him to the edge of the street, remaining on a path directly toward Basia and Xavier. I could see our driver trying to reorient his immobilizer on the drone, but it seemed to have no effect.

Just as the drone paused to orient on Xavier and Basia, it exploded. The flash of heat and the shock wave arrived simultaneously, causing Elvis and me to fall backward onto the pavement.

“No!” Elvis screamed as my throat tightened with fear. He got his feet under him, trying to run to his brother, but I grabbed his arm and held on for dear life.

“No, Elvis. Wait.”

When I could see again, I looked over at the car where Xavier and Basia had been hiding. They weren’t there. Instead, Xavier and Basia were running toward Elvis and me.

They were alive.

I blinked several times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. “They’re okay, Elvis,” I croaked. “They made it.”

I’d barely gotten the words out when Slash reached me, yanking me up off the pavement and into his arms. “You’re okay,” he murmured against my hair as if he couldn’t believe it. “Thank God. We’re all okay.”

“What happened?” I asked, my mouth muffled against his chest.

He didn’t answer because Tito slammed into us at a full speed, whooping and yelling. I stepped back as a massive amount of backslapping and German words were exchanged between him and Slash.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Tito just saved the day,” Slash answered. “He’s a hero.”

Hands joined the man pack and another round of backslapping and congratulations commenced. “Tito!” Hands exclaimed. “Dude. Did they teach you that at the Vatican?”

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