Rowan was determined to find Dani in Bangor. Fifteen years had passed, but he’d never forgotten her face. She’d attacked and beaten him twice during the Portland invasion. The first assault, she blindsided him with a stick. The second attack, she’d been the much weaker opponent, yet had somehow managed to kill him before he killed her. Bitch will die this time.
A wind gust hit the helicopter, making it bounce roughly, but Rowan didn’t care.
He’d find her tonight.
The pilot interrupted his thoughts. “Sir, we have a message coming in from the base.”
“Goddammit, we’ve been gone what, ten minutes? Is it Curtis?”
“Yes, sir.”
Rowan sighed and considered ignoring the man. “Put him through.”
The pilot pushed something on the console. “You’re linked now, sir.”
“Curtis, go,” Rowan said, not bothering to hide his disgust.
“We’re under attack.”
“Under attack?” he snarled. “What kind of stupid game is this?”
“Sir, our decoy comm tower has just been destroyed. CNA troops are attacking from the ground, and I’m unable to raise our observatories on the East and West Promenades. I’m located on the southeast corner of the base.”
“Why there?”
“The blast took out part of our command center. I’m setting up our secondary now.”
God. Dammit.
Bangor and Dani would have to wait.
Rowan held up his finger and moved his hand and forearm in a circular motion. The pilot nodded at the gesture and banked the helicopter to the left to turn around.
“Where is the concentration of fire coming from?” Rowan asked.
“I’m not sure. We have enemy fire coming from across the airfield, but the storm is hindering visibility. It could be coming from more than one location.”
“We’re coming back now and will fly over the base to locate them. Get this shit under control, Curtis.”
“Yes—”
“Curtis, do you copy?” Rowan asked. He leaned toward the pilot. “I lost him. Get him back.”
“Communication to base is disrupted,” the pilot said.
Rowan leaned forward in his seat, willing his eyes to see through the blinding snow. “The CNA is attacking. Make a pass over the area so I can see where they’re located. Come in over the peninsula, east to west, then circle toward the base. Radio the other helos to follow us and to look for CNA troop movements.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rowan wanted to be part of the ground forces—somewhere where he’d be in a position to return fire—but he needed to get back to base command and take over coordinating the defense and counterattacks. The CNA had never brought the fight to him before; he was eager to burn every man and woman, human or Echo, who was daring to attack his Warden base.
The storm battered the helo as the pilot flew low over the city from the Eastern Promenade to the western portion of the peninsula. Rowan didn’t see any fires or signs of destruction below, so he wasn’t sure why Curtis couldn’t raise the east and west observatories. As they neared the base, however, he saw the glow of multiple fires. The air traffic, decoy comm tower, and actual comm towers were collapsed piles of flaming rubble. The normally well-lit base was otherwise barely visible.
Rowan grumbled. “Goddammit. Primary power is out too.”
Thousands of tiny lights flickered below as weapons fired.
“Bring me lower,” Rowan said.
“Sir, we’ll be at risk of taking ground fire.”
Rowan glared at the pilot.
“Yes, sir,” he said.
The helicopter banked to come back around, and Rowan gazed at the scene below. The Wardens were holding their positions at the base but taking fire from both sides of the air strips. The CNA’s ambush-style attack was effectively pinning the Wardens in their positions.
The remaining two cannons on the base’s roof were firing nonstop, but the CNA lines were long and relatively unaffected by the cannon fire. A sudden flash of light erupted from the ground near the east armory, and a rocket flew past the front of the helo, just missing the nose.
“Turn around and shoot the hell out of the bastards that fired that shot,” Rowan commanded.
The pilot turned the helo and launched a pair of missiles at the ground. A fireball sprang into the air when the fuel depot exploded as a result. Rowan turned in his seat and smiled at the expanding flames spreading along the ground. CNA troops scattered to escape the inferno, many of their bodies alight with fire. Who cared that he’d lost his primary fuel reserves, as long as the CNA burned.
One of the helicopters behind them was ripped apart by an explosion, and Rowan spotted the fixed-wing that had fired the shot. The attack was far worse than he expected. The CNA had captured at least one of his newest jets.
“Radio the other two helos to drop their forces behind the CNA lines along the airstrips. Put me as close to the air traffic tower as you can. I’ll take the Wardens on board inside with me to secure the base. After that, get this bird back in the air, and don’t bother returning to the hangar until you are out of munitions.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rowan unfastened the straps holding him in his seat and he fought to reach the middle of the helo as the wind and storm slammed it from all sides. When he reached the area where his elite forces were riding, he barked out his orders for which Wardens would accompany him to the southeast corner of the main barracks. With the air traffic tower gone, that corner of the barracks was the only place left where he could view both the north-south and east-west airstrips. He assigned the remaining troops on the helicopter areas of the base to secure.
Like him, they were ready to fight.
“Kill them all,” he said.
“Yes, sir!”
“If they surrender, kill them anyway. I want them all slaughtered. Every last one.”
The Wardens vocalized approval of their orders.
“If you die, regen and put your ass back in the fight. We die permanently before they take what’s ours.”
The helo landed hard on the ground, but Rowan kept his feet. He took his quake rifle from the weapons rack while one of the Wardens opened the helicopter’s side door. Rowan hopped out first and started jogging toward the base, ignoring the sounds of gunfire coming from all around him.
One of Curtis’s aides met him as he entered the barracks and handed him a new earpiece. “This one is linked to our secondary comms, sir,” she said. “They’re somewhat limited, but it’s the best we can do right now.”
Rowan removed his old comm and inserted the new one. “Curtis, you copy?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m coming to you.” Rowan passed his rifle off to one of the Wardens with him. His strides covered the distance to the lift in seconds. As he rode to the uppermost level of the barracks, Curtis updated him on the status of the battle.
When Rowan arrived at the ops center, he strode to the corner of the room without a word. He gazed out the windows to the south, then moved to the east-facing windows. All he could see was snow, a few flickers of light, and the periodic burst of more light each time an explosion went off. He turned to Curtis and glared. “How the fuck did this happen?”