Page 43 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

“He sort of blew up the entrance.”

“Christ,” I rubbed a hand down my face. “What was he thinking? This is a government facility.”

“Yeah, but with all due respect, they’re not fighting fair, so why should we?”

She had a point, and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was glad IRIS had taken the opportunity to take out the entrance. It made it that much easier for us to escape. Their resources would be cut off, and following us would be a challenge, especially when Rafe didn’t exactly follow government guidelines. I knew he’d lost a few promotions because of the choices he made, not that he cared about that shit.

“What about Jack, Johnny, and Jason?”

Rae tapped one of the screens. “I last saw them here.”

“I’m guessing they’ve switched allegiances and are now fighting again for Rafe.”

She snorted. “They were never on our side, boss. Our best bet is to get out of here on our own.”

“If we move now, we can catch up to Fox and Eva on level three,” I said, pointing at a different spot on the map. “Then we’ll rendezvous with our teams and they’ll lead Rafe away from the compound while we head north.”

“You got a location, boss?”

“I’ll tell you when we’re on our way. New Guy, you’re heading home with the teams.”

“What? You’re footing me, boss?”

“Benching,” I corrected. “That electric shock obviously had an effect on you. I want you to take it easy for a few days.”

“This is bullshit,” he grumbled. “Who’s going to replace me?”

My eyes drifted to Rae for just a moment, and then she was shaking her head. “No, come on, boss. That’s just not fair. I did what you asked. I brought New Guy with me, and now you’re going to make me work with Fox?”

“What’s wrong with Fox?” New Guy asked.

“Other than he’s crazy?” I cocked my head at New Guy. “On the other hand, I’m beginning to think you are too, so not much difference.”

“Boss,” she groaned. “He’s going to make us practice with his throwing knives and shit. Don’t put me through that.”

“It’ll be good for us. And Eva trusts him, which we really need right now if we’re going to work to find the evidence against the governor.”

“Wait, what about all this shit?” Rae asked. “What’s going to happen with the terrorist threat?”

“We’ve been replaced,” I answered. “Rafe cut us out.”

“And back home?”

I shook my head. “If he’s going to cut us out of the loop, he can deal with the fucking power outage. I’m done.”

“Then I guess we should get going before we’re goat fucked,” Rae said with a nod, grabbing her weapon from the desk.

It took us less than ten minutes to work our way to the entrance of the tunnel. Fox was waiting for us just inside, staring at his watch as he smoked a cigar.

“Seriously? Now’s not the time for smoking cigars,” I snapped, shoving past him to Eva.

The look she gave me tore my heart to shreds. She thought I left her behind. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her hard, taking a moment to remind myself of everything I had to lose if we didn’t get out of here. Taking a breath, I rested my forehead against hers as she clutched my arm in her hand.

“I would never fucking leave you,” I murmured. “I just couldn’t get to you.”

“I know that. Fox told me.”

“Then stop looking at me like you don’t trust me to stick around. Even if I can’t be with you, Fox or Rae will stay with you at all times. I promise you, none of us are going anywhere.”

---