Read Enemy One (Epic Book 5) for Free Online Page B

one at all. The American fulcrum’s adrenaline was in complete control.
    Then came the boom .
    Not ten meters in front of Scott, the interior of the alleyway exploded. Scott and his comrades skidded to a halt to avoid getting pelted as bricks and debris flew in every direction. Coughing and staggering back, Scott waved his hands to clear away smoke and dust.
    “The hell was that ?” asked William behind him.
     
    Back in the street, Esther whipped her head in the alley’s direction, the scout’s eyes widening in horror as the corner of the building by the alleyway collapsed, a plume of smoke barreling toward the street. She shielded her eyes as she was enveloped in dust.
    Behind her, the occupants of the troop bay goose-necked to see the explosion. Police fire erupted again from down the street, bullets peppering the Pariah as those inside shrunk back again. “Esther,” said David, “get in!”
    Nearly slipping as she turned to run, Esther charged up the ramp amid a flurry of gunfire, flipping her wet hair out of her face as she hit the bay door button to block the onslaught of bullets. Mouth open while she grasped the door frame for support and gasped for air, she wiped her face and yelled into her comm. “Scott, are you all right?”
     
    “Not in about ten seconds!” Scott answered as he tried to squint through the dust. “What just happened?” Behind him, the tatter of gunfire emerged. Diving behind a dumpster and pipes, Scott, William, Becan, Rashid, and his two slayers returned fire.
    “That must’ve been a grenade or a rocket blast!” said Esther. “That whole building is about to come down!”
    Terrific . Leaning out from cover, Scott fired into the cluster of operatives. At the very least, there was enough of a cloud of dust and debris in the alley to obscure them. Checking behind him, Scott confirmed what he’d already feared: there was a mound of rubble between them and the street. They weren’t going anywhere. “Change of plans! We’re going through!”
    “Through wha’?” asked Becan, shooting a wide-eyed look to Scott and pointing where EDEN’s gunfire was coming from. “Through them ?”
    The yes was implied. Comming the Pariah again, Scott yelled to Travis. “Get off the ground! We’re going to try and fight our way out of here. If we don’t make it, head to Northern Forge !”
    Esther’s voice cut through. “We are not leaving you, Scott!”
    “We’re not the mission. You’ve got the Falcons and Centurion. If you can’t get us, get them out of here!” A bullet dinged against one of his shoulder guards. Scott stumbled backward then retreated for cover. “Never a vecking break,” he said off the comm.
     
    Hitting the vertical thrusters, Travis raised the Pariah off the ground. From ahead, behind, and the side, EDEN forces were firing relentlessly, their bullets smashing against the cursed transport from almost every direction. “Hold on, everyone,” the pilot said through the speakers.
    Esther popped her head into the cockpit. “Master key! Give me your wrists.”
    “Thank God ,” said Travis. As he maneuvered the stick with his left hand, he held out his right for Esther to free it. The scout twisted the key, and the handcuffs fell from his wrist. Tiffany snatched them in the second that followed, unlatching her own cuff and slinging them down with the key still in place. Esther ducked back into the troop bay.
    “Two contacts!” Tiffany said, her hazel eyes shifting to the radar. Groaning, she looked at Travis and said, “Superwolves.”
    The pilot cursed under his breath. Pointing the ship’s nose toward the north, he hit the forward thrusters. “We’ve got two Superwolves inbound.”
    “Do they see us?” David asked.
    “I don’t know. We don’t have a transponder, so…I don’t know.”
    Tiffany said, “If we can get out of the city fast enough to get to ground level, we can slip by without them noticing. Maybe.”
    “I love a plan with a good maybe