Page 119 of Jump or Fall
The sky had darkened to an inky bluish-black, roiling with storm clouds. Streaks of lightning slashed through the darkness, briefly illuminating the ruined street.
Where streetlights once stood, only shattered metal and exposed wires remained. Scattered debris littered the road, some chunks still glowing red-hot.
Up ahead, the broken gate to Division One remained blocked, a scorched car wedged firmly in the path.
Millon tapped his helmet and spoke into a private channel.
Moments later, the rumble of an engine cut through the thick air. A large box truck pulled up, its headlights flickering against the wreckage. The driver’s side door swung open, and Silva—fullyarmored—jumped down. Without missing a beat, he tugged on his helmet and jogged to the back of the truck.
There was a dull whir, mechanical and ominous. Something heavy shifted inside. Silva pressed a button, and a massive, crumpled form was lifted from the back of the truck and set on the ground with a resoundingthud.
The whirring grew louder, layers of machinery humming to life. Gears clicked and hydraulics hissed. Then, with a metallic groan, the object began to unfold. It rose, growing higher and higher until its imposing form was fully revealed. A sleek, double-sided face swiveled, its glowing blue eyes sweeping the surroundings in a calculated scan.
Millon appeared beside Mara, grinning like a child with a new toy. “You didn’t think I’d let them have a mech without getting my own, did you?”
He motioned toward the barricade. “Let’s get this shit out of the way!”
The mech obeyed, stomping forward with thunderous steps. It seized the wrecked car in its massive grip, metal crunching in its pincer-like hands. With an effortless heave, it flung the vehicle aside. The wreck tumbled, landing with a final crash just as a crack of thunder split the sky.
This was it.
They were going into Division One.
Chapter 40
Mara
She checked her remote for nearby suits and found one sprawled on the ground. The man wearing it must have fallen when he died.
With a tap, she took control. The suit twitched, then clumsily rose to its feet. Clotted blood obscured the man’s ruined face. The sight sent a sharp pang through her chest.
Lukas.
She had spent years burying those memories, yet they forced their way to the surface now: nervous dates, her palm sweating the first time he’d held it, their first kiss, and their fumbling first time together.
Maybe they would have drifted apart. Maybe not. But Dawson had stolen that choice.
How many lives had he shattered?
It was impossible to know, but he would pay for every single one.
The suit she controlled was unarmed, but there was still strength in numbers.
It limped forward, each step stiff and unnatural. The way it lurched and staggered, as if the body inside still struggled to move, only made the sight more grotesque.
Beside her, Gordon checked his gauntlets. They hadn’t been able to bring their full suits on the motorbike, but the modified gauntlets fit into the storage compartment.
“There are about twenty guards in front of the gate,” he said. “What else can that mech do, Silva?”
Silva chuckled. “More than the one we took down.”
A couple more suits became available as she scanned the area, and she called them up. Their broken bodies dragged themselves upright, armor scraping against pavement. One was missing an arm, and Millon shook his head before retreating away from it.
Mara glanced at a street sign. They were close.
Her heart thudded in her chest as they walked, her fingers twitching.
Gordon took notice. “Nervous?”
