Page 34 of Five Fingers of Death

“I’ll know it when I see it.”

We drove nearly all around the airfield until we saw the plane near the last hangar refueling. “There,” Asher pointed. “That’s it.”

“Thank God. I have to pee,” my mother said.

“You’re not peeing on that plane. They probably collect the samples for testing,” my father argued.

“For what possible reason?”

“They keep it on file! You watch! We’ll get on that plane, and then we’ll end up in some government facility where they’ll keep us in a bunker! They’ll run tests on us and we’ll never be allowed to leave!” my father shouted.

I couldn’t wait to get out of here. Asher motioned me closer.

“I guess it would be a bad thing to mention that OPS is located in a nuclear silo underground.”

I nodded. “Yeah, you won’t get him on the plane if you tell him now.”

“We’ll just keep that under our hats.” He sat up and looked in the back seat. “Nick and Carol, the man refueling the plane is Scottie. You can trust him. I’m going to get Wyatt to FNG. He’s the medic coming down the steps of the plane. Stay close.” Then he turned to me. “Baby?—”

“Eyes peeled,” I repeated his earlier words.

His eyes twinkled just before he thrust his door open and hopped out. I was a nervous wreck as I got out. Anxiety thrummed through my body, making the nausea even worse, but I did my best to keep it under wraps. It wouldn’t do Asher any good to worry about me right now. I kept taking deep breaths, thinking about anything other than the fact that someone was trying to kill us.

And the fact that I hated planes.

I hadn’t mentioned that little fact yet. I hadn’t actually been on a plane before. The idea of going up in the sky in a big metal contraption that could plummet to the ground at any moment seemed like a really stupid idea.

I watched as FNG and Asher helped Wyatt out of the back of the vehicle, then got out and stretched. I breathed in the air, looking around the open countryside and wondering when I would see it again.

That’s when I saw it. Three vehicles were driving really fast down the road. It could be a coincidence. After all, not everyone in Colorado could be after us, right? But as they got closer and closer to the airport, I just knew we weren’t that lucky.

“Uh…Asher!” Panic ripped through me as I saw them down the road, turning toward the airfield. “Asher!” I shouted, running around the vehicle. “There are three cars driving really fast towards us!”

“Take my place,” he ordered.

I doubted I was strong enough to hold Wyatt up, but I would help in any way I could. As soon as I got my shoulder under Wyatt’s arm, Asher took off running.

“You must be Asher’s lady,” FNG said.

“You must be FNG,” I smiled, though this hardly seemed like an occasion to be happy.

“And I’m Wyatt. Can we move now?” he groaned. “Kinda got a bullet in my stomach.”

“We’ve got company!” Asher shouted, running back around. “Get to the plane! FNG, I need guns!”

FNG grabbed a gun from his holster and tossed it to Asher, then grabbed a second from his other thigh holster. “Don’t get dead,” he said just as he tossed the second gun.

“Watch your six.”

I stopped and watched Asher run off, my jaw practically on the ground. “Don’t get dead? Why would he get dead?” I turned back to FNG, shaking my head in confusion. “Why would he get dead?”

“It’s just a saying.”

“You’re saying don’t get dead!”

“I’m about to be dead,” Wyatt muttered.

“We should probably move,” FNG said, jerking his head toward the plane.

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