MPs emerged from the ground level of a building to join other officers in the street. A few MPs herded their captured Brigands away while the rest gathered to talk. Dani crouched behind a dilapidated, rusted car frame on its side in the street. She was out of breath and wished she’d taken a drink of the Warden’s water before giving it to Rebecca. She peeked around the edge of the car, and her chest tightened when she recognized Miles.
He spoke briefly with two other officers, gesturing sharply; then, with a quick nod, he broke away from the officers and began barking orders to the MPs who had just returned from loading their prisoners into transport trucks. The MPs started dragging objects from around the block to form makeshift barriers.
Dani groaned with frustration. Instead of fleeing C Block, the MPs were going to fight the Wardens, despite not even knowing how many they had to battle. They would die trying to hold the block.
Miles and his officers headed back into the building. Fighting from inside a building when the Wardens carried quake grenades was suicide.
Her head turned at the sound of a quake rifle’s high-pitched whine. As she lunged for the other side of the car, the blast struck the car. She scrambled to escape the wreck as it tipped over, threatening to crush her. She got her body clear of the wreckage, but a piece of the car’s frame snagged her pack on the way down, jerking her to the ground with it. Pain shot through her shoulder when she fell, but she was still alive.
She maneuvered her way out of the pack and knelt beside the car, simultaneously working to free the pack and looking for a place to run to. She quickly realized, however, that the sprint to reach any cover better than the car was too far and too open. She was fast, but she couldn’t outrun a quake rifle. The Warden who had just shot the car would shoot her in the back as she fled.
She considered running to the MPs—a few of whom had just materialized back outside the building at the sound of the gunfire—and hope they’d protect her and that she could also later escape them.
That was a lot of hoping.
“Shit.” Dani was right between the MPs and the Warden. At least the MPs were too busy worrying about the Warden to have even noticed her yet.
They opened fire on the Warden, who shot back at them. Dani left the car and her pack. The quake rifle obliterated one of the makeshift barriers the MPs had set up with one blast, sending debris into the air. Dani used her arms to shield her head as the debris scattered, but she didn’t slow. Her arm and cheek stung as pieces of shrapnel bit into her skin. She ignored the pain and turned her body to lead with her shoulder. She leapt and crashed through a partially broken window on the ground floor of the same building she’d seen Miles disappear into.
Dani rolled and pressed her back against a wall. Her chest heaved as she pulled in deep gasps of air. She’d thought Miles was stupid for entering the building, and now she was inside it too. But given the circumstances, this was her best choice. Any sane MP would ignore her presence right now, since she wasn’t a threat. A much bigger threat was busy blowing holes in the MPs who were making their stand in the street.
Plasma pistols fired from a few floors above Dani. She crawled back to the window and poked her head up. Just as she located the Warden on the street, MPs fired down on him from somewhere above, killing him.
Dani eased her head out the window, looking up now, and recognized Miles leaning out from the third story. Smart man to take the high ground, but don’t stay there.
The remaining officers in the street cheered the small victory, but Miles ended their celebration with more orders. “Strip him and reinforce your bunkers,” he shouted down. “More Wardens are coming.”
The street MPs left their positions, and five of them rushed to the car that had almost crushed Dani. They lifted the rusted frame and carried it back to use as cover. Another pair of MPs took the gear from the Warden, marveling at the quake rifle and body armor.
Look who’s scavenging now. Fucking hypocrites.
The Warden’s body turned blue, and one of the MPs shot him in the head with his own plasma pistol, ending his life forever. They left an almost-naked Warden lying in the street after stripping the corpse of the rest of his gear.
A movement across the street caught Dani’s eye. It took her a moment to identify it. A Warden moved along the roof of a church, carrying what looked like a thick pipe.
Dani’s eyes widened. “Miles!”
He didn’t hear her, and he was still barking orders. The street MPs turned at her shout, but she was more concerned for Miles. He was right in line with the Warden who was preparing to launch a quake grenade.
She prepared to shout for him again, but a strong forearm slipped around her neck from behind, cutting off her air. The MP dragged her away from the window and threw her to the ground.
She landed hard, but she immediately rolled to a crouched position and put up a hand.
“Stop! There’s a Warden on the roof of the church across the street with quake grenades.”
“Liar,” the MP said. He reached for I-cuff on his duty belt.
Dani read the name on his shirt. “Mitchell, I’m not lying. Miles and the others will take a direct hit if they’re not warned.”
Mitchell stared at her. “How do you know Miles?”
“Uh.” She couldn’t truthfully answer the question without jeopardizing Miles. “He’s almost caught me before.” His last name was on his uniform, not his first name. Any moron would spot her lie, and Mitchell was at least at moron level.
“Brigand vermin,” he said as he approached with the I-cuff.
She rushed him, driving her knee into his groin. He collapsed with pain, and Dani returned to the window. Several hands grabbed her and dragged her out through the window and into the street.
“Miles!”
Finally, his head turned at the sound of her voice. He stared down at her. “Shit.”
Dani pointed. “Church. Incoming!”
Miles’s gaze turned to the church. “Take cover!”
He and his troops fled the corner of the level they occupied. The quake grenade struck the side of the building seconds later, tearing a massive hole in the structure and raining chunks of concrete, glass, and beams down into the street. The MPs dropped Dani and fled. She scrambled to her feet and dove back through the window.
As soon as she landed, she curled into a ball and covered her head with her hands. Deadly debris crashed to the street, and the building shuddered with the impact of the grenade. A choking dust billowed from the street in through the window, forcing her to flee the area.
She crawled until she reached a place where she could breathe better. Coughing against the dust, she tried to wipe it from her face and eyes.
The ringing in her ears obscured Mitchell’s return. He grabbed her arm, and she twisted it free of his grasp. He sank to his knees. Blood poured down the side of his face. More blood spilled from his abdomen, where a piece of metal had impaled him.
“Help me,” he said weakly, gasping for air.
She wanted to spit a retort back at him for asking Brigand vermin for aid, but instead, she knelt beside him. “Sit still,” she said calmly. “Rest.”
He kept his eyes fixed on her and nodded. His breathing grew more ragged until his breaths stopped altogether. Even after he was gone, his dead eyes stared her.
She’d seen men die before. The war had killed this man, and it would kill her too. She found his flask and drank the last of the water in it. He had a newer-model plasma pistol in his holster. She eyed the weapon for a moment before taking it and his tranq pistol. She intended to tranquilize any MPs or Wardens that got too close. She didn’t know what to do with the plasma pistol yet.
The Warden named Rowan had mentioned reconditioning the Brigand Echo. She didn’t know what that meant but was certain she wanted nothing to do with it. The plasma pistol was a last resort, possibly to use on herself if cornered. Maybe that’s what Jace meant by her dying of friendly fire. Jace’s old revolver, if she had it, would only put a hole through her skull. She could heal and be a ten-year-old kid again. A plasma pistol would take her head clean off, and an Echo couldn’t come back from that.
Deciding that she would worry later about what to do if she were cornered, she resumed moving through the ground level of the structure. Shots were fired from an upper level somewhere, and no additional quake grenades hit the building. The MPs must have killed the Warden on the church roof. Only twenty-eight more to go.
Dani found an actual hole in the wall and crawled into it to hide, rest, and think. She heard Miles’s voice and wanted to go to him, but she forced herself to remain hidden. From her location, she could tranquilize anyone who ventured too close to her position. She peered through a tiny crack in the wall and waited. As soon as she had a clear path, she planned to make a dash to leave the structure, avoiding the part of the street from which the sounds of MP weapons were now erupting again.