Page 29 of Omega Stained

The van is ahead...we just have to get there, then we can lose them.

But there's one thing I forgot about.

Maddox.

A shadowy figure leaps out of the alley to our left and I hear Zane roar and Kendra scream.

I spin around, pulling out my gun, and see Maddox standing there, a crazed look in his eyes. His hand is clamped around Kendra's wrist and he's dragging her back, away from us.

"Let her go," I growl, my finger on the trigger.

Maddox has a wild look in his eye, desperate and animalistic. "She's mine," he says. "I won't let you take her from me."

Zane is up in seconds, snarling and baring his teeth. He charges at Maddox, but the ACB agent is quick--he pulls out a knife and slashes at Zane's arm, causing him to stumble back.

I take aim and fire, but Maddox is too quick--he dodges the bullet and drags Kendra back, toward the alley,away. Zane is staggering after them, but I think he's more injured than I previously suspected.

"Get out of here!" Kendra shouts. "I'll find you!"

And then...surprising us all...she goeswith Maddox.

Zane tries to follow them, but me and Fallon both grab him and pull him back. "If we don't get out of here, you'll get killed," Fallon mutters. "Live to fight another day, man."

"No!" Zane says, his voice strangled. "I need to help her!"

"He won't hurt her," I say. "We have to go."

Zane looks at us, his face contorted with pain and anguish. "I can't just leave her," he says.

"I know," I say, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But we have to. We'll come back for her, I promise."

He nods reluctantly, and we all get into the van. Mercer is already in the driver's seat, his face grim.

"I lost them," he says. "They took off down the alley and I couldn't follow."

"It's okay," I say, my mind racing. "We'll regroup and figure out our next move."

Zane is silent in the back seat, his injured arm cradled against his chest. Kendra is gone, and I have a sinking feeling that we won't find her again if Maddox has anything to do with it.

But I have to remember that Kendra is smarter than that. And she's no damsel in distress...

...she's a killer.

13

Kendra

WhentheACBagentwhispered in my ear and told me he would help me escape--and that he would make sure I got back to my allies in the Enclave--I was forced to believe him. Not because I wanted to, but because he had already hurt Zane, and I didn't want to see it happen again.

Now, I'm starting to regret my choices.

I sit with my hood up in the passenger seat of his car, a sleek black ACB vehicle with tinted windows and no tags. He takes me onto the freeway without saying anything, headlights zipping past us and rain falling on the windshield.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Somewhere to lay low," he says. "I got a tip that the ACB was planning a sting and I didn't want you walking into it."

"You didn't do a very good job stopping me," I tell him.

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