Page 116 of Jump or Fall
Jasper ducked away from Millon, diving for the H-ek. Gunfire erupted from the Silvers, sending them scrambling for cover.
Bullets ricocheted around them, embedding themselves in the surrounding buildings and cars.
Millon rolled a pair of smoke grenades, their canisters clinking against the pavement before hissing out thick, gray plumes. His voice came through the comms. “Let’s kill these fucks!”
Mara’s fingers flew over her remote, sending a command to the two other linked suits to drop their weapons and remove their helmets.
The moment they obeyed, she ordered Jasper to shoot them.
“What the fuck!” Jasper screamed, trying to break free from the suit’s hold on his movements.
The dead men’s suits still stood, heads limp and bloody. Mara sent another command and they lurched forward, marching toward the others.
Blood pooled beneath Nella’s body, soaking into the cracks of the street. Mara hesitated, her stomach heaving. She couldn’t leave her there—not like that. Even if she had made a mistake that ultimately cost her everything.
Everyone’s attention was locked on the dead suits closing in. Jasper’s panicked shrieks rang out through the sounds of gunfire.
Keeping low, Mara darted forward, weaving through the smoke to avoid being an easy target.
She hefted Nella’s limp form over her shoulder. Through the haze, she caught a glimpse of Kimmie scrambling away—her helmet gone.
Dawson stalked toward her.
Millon charged in, firing round after round. Dawson rolled clear of the shots, but his movements were stilted.
His suit was off. That’s why she couldn’t connect. But why? If he knew about the remote controls, why hadn’t he ordered the others to keep their suits off? Was it a test?
Reaching cover, she carefully lowered Nella to the ground, her pulse hammering as she turned her attention back to the fight.
Jasper’s voice cracked through the chaos, rising in desperation. “I can’t stop! I can’t stop shooting! Dawson! Help!”
Dawson barked something back, but the sound was swallowed by everything happening around them.
Jasper wasn’t getting out of this.
With one final command, Mara ordered his suit to lift the gun to his own head and fire.
Chapter 39
Mara
Dawson’s anguished cry tore through the cacophony. Mara hurled a heavy toward some approaching Silvers then raised her Basilisk again to shoot. The heavy rounds made the gun kick back in her hands with each shot.
Gordon was hidden behind the corner of a building, firing in steady, measured bursts.
A few suits still stood—heads slumped to the side as their rigid frames absorbed round after round, jerking grotesquely. Their armor was slick with dark blood seeping into the pavement and spraying with each hit.
The street fell silent.
What was happening?
Out of a cloud of smoke, Millon appeared, sprinting with Kimmie at his side.
Her pale hair was streaked with blood. She came to a halt when she saw Nella, her expression flat, then stepped forward and hoisted her sister’s body over her shoulder before continuing on.
“Move out! Move!” Millon shouted.
Mara fumbled with her remote as she scrambled to get up.
