Page 36 of Fierce Hope
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The hangar doors groaned open,releasing a blast of frigid mountain air that made Jade shiver despite her thermal layers. Morning sunlight glinted off the sleek Eurocopter, its blades casting sharp shadows across the snow-dusted runway.
“Watch your step up there, Iz!” Ronan called out, his voice echoing through the cavernous space.
Jade followed his gaze to where Izzy, Knight Tactical’s mechanic, balanced on a portable step ladder beside the helicopter. Despite the biting cold, the petite woman’s hands moved with practiced ease as she tightened a loose panel. Her dark ponytail swung with each careful movement.
“I know what I’m doing, boss,” Izzy shot back without looking down. She gave the panel one final check before calling out, “Fuel topped off. Rotor checks complete. We’re good to get this baby outside.”
Near the helicopter’s open door, Kenji nursed a steaming travel mug, his breath visible in the icy air. “It’s too early for a cross-state mission,” he grumbled, though his eyes remained sharp and alert.
Jade watched Ronan and Axel efficiently loading gear into the helicopter, trading casual barbs about trading the freezingmountains for desert sunshine. The whole scene felt surreal—like stepping into a movie.
“Ready?”
She startled at Deke’s voice beside her. He’d finished reviewing the flight plan and now studied her with that steady gaze as if he saw right through her carefully maintained composure.
“As I’ll ever be,” she managed, hoping her voice didn’t betray just how far out of her depth she felt.
The expert way Axel backed the pickup truck with its attached skid up to the multi-million dollar aircraft only added to her feeling of inadequacy.
Kenji didn’t even have a chance to finish his coffee before Izzy and Axel had the helicopter out of the hangar, off the sled, and ready to launch. Ronan slid into the pilot’s seat and waved them all inside.
The helicopter’s engine roared to life, rotors spinning into a rhythmic blur above them. Jade gripped her safety harness, stomach lurching as they lifted smoothly into the crisp morning air. Below, the hangar and snow-capped peaks began to blur.
“Final weather report indicates KAVU once we’re east of the Sierra. Clear sailing all the way, folks!” Axel announced from the copilot’s seat, his fingers dancing across the instrument panel.
“Copy that,” Ronan said. “Don’t forget sunscreen, guys. We’re headed for blue skies.”
Ten minutes later, her stomach began to roil.
“You okay?” Deke’s low voice carried just above the helicopter’s relentless thrum. The question vibrated through her headset, intimate despite the mechanical surroundings.
Jade gripped the edge of her seat tighter, knuckles white against the leather. Her first helicopter ride. Another first she never imagined experiencing. Her stomach lurched as they hit a pocket of turbulence.
She managed a half-smile that felt more like a grimace. “This is ... a lot.”
The metal floor vibrated beneath her boots. Every slight adjustment of the aircraft sent her pulse skittering. So different from commercial flights—the closeness of the ground, the tilt and sway with each gust of wind. Nothing between her and the vast emptiness but thin walls and Deke’s reassuring presence beside her.
“First time’s always the worst.” His smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Try looking out, not down.”
Through her window, she watched the landscape transform beneath them. Snow-covered peaks like jagged teeth gradually surrendered to rolling hills, then flattened into desert plains stretched taut under an endless blue sky. A world changing in fast-forward. Just like her life since the threats began.
The rhythmic whop-whop-whop of the blades sliced through her thoughts. Her ears popped as they ascended, pressure building behind her temples. The air in the cabin warmed degree by degree, the temperature gauge on the dashboard climbing steadily higher. Hope Landing’s frigid winter became a distant memory with each mile south.
“Almost there.” Deke’s voice again, steady as bedrock. His hand briefly touched her white-knuckled grip on the armrest. Warm. Solid. Gone too quickly.
The helicopter banked sharply, giving her a dizzying panoramic view of their destination. Palm trees stood like sentinels against the harsh landscape. Swimming pools dotted the ground like fallen pieces of sky. Everything below shimmered behind waves of heat rising from the earth.
Her stomach dropped as they descended in tight spirals. Instinctively, she reached out, fingers brushing Deke’s arm. He didn’t pull away.
The helicopter hovered momentarily above a private landing pad nestled between an emerald-green golf course and what looked like a luxury resort. The contrast between the machine’s violent downdraft and the manicured perfection below struck her as absurdly symbolic of her own life—chaos circling just above a carefully maintained facade.
The skids touched down with a gentle bump that belied the machine’s power. The engine’s pitch changed, whining down as the rotors slowed. When Deke removed his headset, the sudden absence of noise felt like a physical pressure against her eardrums.
“Welcome to Palm Springs.” He reached across to help with her harness, his movements efficient but gentle.
Jade blinked against the assault of brightness as the door slid open. Desert heat rushed in—a physical wall of dry, scorching air that stole her breath. The transition from Hope Landing’s winter chill to this furnace-blast warmth sent her senses reeling.
