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Burj Khalifa, Room 141B
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

 

Wind howled through the room, tossing about the debris caused by Niner’s explosive takeout of the window, and Acton struggled to maintain his balance. Laura flashed him a smile then stepped out into space, tossing her pilot chute out behind her the moment she was clear.

Dawson slapped him on the back. “You’re up, Doc.”

Acton stepped up to the window, peering down below, relaxing slightly at the sight of three good chutes, including Laura’s. “Here goes nothing.” He stepped forward then pushed off the lip of the window frame, shoving away from the building as he arched his back, throwing his pilot chute behind him. Moments later, he felt a tug and he looked up to check for a good chute, finding everything in order, the black material above him camouflaging him against the night sky, though not against the bright lights of the massive building he had just regurgitated from.

He grabbed his toggles, velcroed just above him, and got his bearings. He took a bead on Laura’s chute and adjusted his path to follow her. He didn’t care where Spock and Atlas were heading, he would land wherever she did, though fortunately for everyone, it appeared she was on target.

Why would you expect any less?

She never ceased to amaze him. After everything they had been through, after everything done to them, their relationship continued to grow stronger. He couldn’t imagine life without her, and though it was tempting to sometimes consider cocooning in Maryland and avoiding the big bad world they so often found themselves in conflict with, he knew they’d both become bored.

Though he couldn’t imagine they’d become bored with each other.

He frowned at the sight of scores of flashing emergency lights below them, police, fire, and paramedic vehicles swarming the area. He was impressed with their response time, and it was easy to forget the wealth contained within this tiny oil-rich nation.

And he had no doubt the Burj Khalifa was a priority target. The first hint of anything amiss would demand a swift response to keep the foreigners calm.

But Spock was guiding them away from all that, the height they had giving them enough time to put some not insignificant space between them and the scene of the crime.

He sighed, looking down at Laura’s chute. He had been a fool. They should have immediately gone to the Swedish authorities. This was too big. What had made him think they could deal with this themselves? Yes, they had threatened Karlsson’s life if they did, but why was it their responsibility to get involved?

You’re going to get her killed one of these days.

A burst of frustrated air erupted from his lips. While it was easy to blame himself, she was just as eager to help, and she didn’t even know Karlsson.

She’s an amazing human being.

It was one of the many reasons he loved her—she, like him, couldn’t just stand by and see innocent people suffer.

The devastating thing was that while he would hate to lose her, he would hate even more to see her defiled like she was about to be, gang-raped by filthy men for days on end.

He’d rather see her die, and that selfish thought almost brought him to tears.

A sound overhead had him looking up. He cursed as one of the chutes above him flared, the diver rapidly losing lift and dropping toward him. The operator lifted his arms, his chute refilling with air as he reached Acton’s altitude.

It was Dawson.

“Look down at your three-o’clock.”

Acton did, spotting the emergency vehicles, and was about to question what Dawson was concerned about when he cursed. A long line of flashing lights was leaving the Burj Khalifa, and heading their way. “Are they for us?”

“Looks that way. Somebody obviously spotted us. They’re going to try and beat us to our LZ.”

“Do they know where that is?”

“No, but they just need to follow us. When we land, get out of your chute and into the vehicles. Whatever you do, do not open fire.”

Acton’s eyes widened slightly. “And what if they do?”

“They’re local cops. They’ve done nothing wrong. Just hit the deck and surrender if you have to. We’ll sort it out later.”

Acton frowned, staring at the Delta operator. “You guys can’t be caught here.”

“You let us worry about that.”