Aura stepped forward, offering no resistance.
A second later, a juggernaut poured through the doors, so quickly she initially had trouble identifying it.
Tank hurled herself into the air sideways and knocked down two of the guards at once. The other three swerved, redirecting their weapons. Someone fired, but Tank had long since left the position. Another tried to train a gun on her, but she kicked it out of his hands, while elbowing the other just under the chin.
Dream jabbed one in the back of the knee with a knitting needle. His gunfire went wild, giving Tank an opening to take him down.
Another aimed at Tank, only to abruptly start trembling and shaking from head-to-toe. Tank slammed his head back against the wall.
“Twinge, what did you do to that man?”
“You do not want to know.”
Probably correct.
The men Tank knocked down stayed down.
Two more soldiers rushed into the room. Tank jumped up on Trent’s desk, then sprang to the ceiling. She grabbed the overhead light fixture and swung on it like Tarzan. Each boot caught one of the men in the head.
“I see you’ve been taking your vitamins, Tank.”
“Energy bars. We need to get out of here. I had to fight through twelve guards just to get to the penthouse.”
She agreed. “But I don’t think we’re going to get out the way we came in.”
“What’s the alternative? Jump off the roof?”
“You might survive. The rest of us wouldn’t.”
Tank’s eyes turned toward the window. “Is that a freaking choppercar out there?”
“Indeed.”
“What’s that cost? A billion or so? Awesome.” She pointed at her neck. “That’s the same model as my tat. Maybe—”
Trent made a dash for the door. Tank stopped him cold. “Keys.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Not an option.”
He stared at her for a moment…then handed over the keys.
She decked him. He fell to the floor, unconscious. “Here are the keys, Aura.”
“Great work. You apparently know a lot about this car. Know how to drive it?”
“Not really.”
“Gearhead, you flew the choppercar that got us off the island.”
“That model was a scooter compared to this one.”
“Mnemo, you know anything about this model?”
“No. But I read a book about it once.”
“That may have to do. Gearhead, you’re in the pilot’s seat. Mnemo, give her all the help you can.”
“The ignition may require Trent’s thumbprint,” Mnemo cautioned.
Gearhead was succinct. “Then we cut off his hand.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“But how far can we go, even in a choppercar?” Twinge asked. “They’ll be able to see us in the air, Aura.”
“One thing at a time, okay? Everyone pile in.”
They lowered the window, extended the plank, and got in.
“Tank, can you bring Trent? I don’t want to lose him again.”
“Sure. What should I do with him?”
“I don’t know. Throw him in the trunk.”
This high off the ground, the wind blew relentlessly, but they managed to get into the craft and close the door.
Mnemo planted herself in the pilot’s seat. Gearhead sat beside her.
In her peripheral vision, she saw at least a dozen more security officers burst into the office. “We need to leave. Now.”
“Still working through the preflight checklist.”
“Scrap that. Go.”
“As you wish, Buttercup.” Gearhead inserted the key and gave Mnemo a kiss. “That’s for luck.” Gearhead turned the ignition. The engine roared to life.
Gearhead pushed several buttons in rapid fire.
The choppercar rose.
“Aura!” Someone patched into the car’s comm system. She recognized the voice. Taj’s father.
“This is Lieutenant Sharma of the LAPD. Aura, all the captives at Trent’s mansion are getting the medical treatment they need. A subpoena has been issued for Trent. If you turn yourselves in, I will personally see that you get the best possible treatment.”
She pushed the transmission button on the handset. “You can’t stop them from locking us up, Lieutenant.”
“There might still be a chance. But if you flee—I can’t do anything for you.”
She listened to his words. She didn’t detect any malice. Just the plain simple truth.
And she knew he was right.
“So…?” Mnemo asked. “What are we gonna do?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her hand clutching the bleeding gash in her side. This was her last possible chance to turn back. To not be a renegade.
“Aura? Decision?”
She opened her eyes. “Get us out of here.”
Gearhead leaned forward on the stick. The choppercar’s engine churned.
The guards were at the window now, guns trained on the escapees.
“They’re going to shoot us!” Dream cried.
“Moving as fast as I can,” Gearhead muttered.
The choppercar lurched forward.
“Not sure how to accelerate…” Gearhead hit a button, and suddenly the craft shot ahead, a spray of bullets ricocheting around the hull.
“Look out!” The City Hall building loomed in front of them, drawing closer by the second. Gearhead managed to swerve away just in the nick of time.
“Be careful!” Dream bellowed. “You’re taking the curl out of my hair.”
The craft lurched sideways, throwing them all to the right. A second later, they were spiraling.
“Can you not level this out?”
“Working on it,” Gearhead said, pulling back on a stick. “Easier to criticize than to contribute.”
The choppercar swooped again, this time diving. The pavement drew closer with frightening speed.
“Look out!” Dream screamed.
Gearhead pulled back on the stick and came out on a perfectly level plane, just a few feet above street level.
“I think I’m getting the hang of this,” Gearhead said. “I might be able to get us home. If I can just—oh.”
All five eyes stared straight ahead.
Gearhead pulled back on the stick.
“What the flick is that?” Twinge shrieked.
Something huge and vaguely humanoid stood directly in their path. It made no attempt to move out of the way.
“Is that…a person?”
“It’s twice as tall as a human,” Dream said. “And look at that face.”
“Is that a face?” Twinge muttered.
“Pull out,” she said, grabbing Gearhead by the shoulders. “Pull out before—”
Too late. Gearhead swerved to the left to avoid impact, but the choppercar careened sideways. The right wing scraped against the pavement. Sparks flew. The craft skidded down the center of the street.
A streetfront coffeeshop lay dead ahead.
“Does this thing have a parking brake?” Twinge asked.
“Not that I know of,” Gearhead replied through tense tight lips. “Aura, what are we going to do?”
She wished she had an answer. But she only had a second to worry about it.
They crashed into the coffeeshop. Then everything went black.