Chapter 38: The Burning Net

I didn't think about the rules. I didn't think about Major Sterling or the "Ice King" or the porcelain skin that I’d spent my life hiding. I only thought about the man in the dirt.

"Thorne! Jax! Cover the left flank!" I screamed over the radio. "I’m going for 6!"

I scrambled out of my cover, my rucksack feeling like it was filled with lead. The bullets snapped around me, one clipping the strap of my vest, another shattering the rock at my feet. I slid into the depression next to James, my shoulder slamming into his.

"What are you doing here?" James yelled, his eyes wide with shock. "Get back to the rocks!"

"Shut up and move, Charles!" I roared, grabbing his collar. "I’ve got the bird on the line! They’re coming in hot!"

I keyed the handset, my voice a steady, rhythmic cadence amidst the chaos. "All Stations, this is 6-Romeo! Grid 92-44-10! Fire for effect! Danger close! Repeat, danger close!"

"Copy, 6-Romeo. Rounds away."

The world exploded. The sound was so loud it felt like my teeth were going to shatter. The ridgeline was consumed in a wall of fire as the gunship overhead rained down hell. Rocks plummeted into the gorge, and the screams of the insurgents were drowned out by the roar of the engines.

In the sudden, ringing silence that followed, I felt James’s arm wrap around me. He pulled me close, his chest heaving. We were covered in dust and soot, the white patches on my skin now stained with the grime of battle.

"You're insane," he breathed, his forehead resting against mine.

"I’m your RTO," I whispered back.

"You're everything," he said, his voice so low it was lost to the wind.