Freefall by Traci Hunter Abramson Page B

moonlight. They reached the dock, but instead of climbing onto it, Brent motioned for Amy to hide beside it.
    Her eyes widened when he moved into the water toward the nearest boat. The sound of the waves masked any sound he might have made, and he quickly disappeared into the darkness. Another burst of fire shot into the air as the ground shook beneath them. Amy took a deep breath, not allowing herself to think of what might happen if they weren’t successful now.
    In the distance she heard screams followed by a burst of gunfire. She closed her eyes against what was happening in this country, knowing that she was powerless to stop the fighting. She had to focus instead on the war she could battle—the terrorism attempt on her own country.
    She thought of her family and knew that no matter what, they had to get out of the DC area tonight. The subway in Washington was used by everyone, rich and poor alike. If these terrorists succeeded in their plan, the devastation could equal or even exceed that of 9/11. She remembered too vividly the day that airliners had crashed into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and that field in Pennsylvania. With her father, she had attended many of the funerals that had resulted from that day. If there was any way she could prevent it, she wasn’t about to stand by while it happened again, no matter what the weapon was.
    A wave crashed in front of her and suddenly Brent emerged from the water. He reached out and took her pack from her. He settled it onto his back and then motioned for her to enter the water with him.
    The water was freezing and the weight of her clothes made it difficult to move, but she followed him along the side of one of the boats and then to the ladder that led up the back. Brent climbed up first, then dropped the pack on the floor before reaching down to help Amy climb in.
    â€œLie down,” Brent whispered as soon as she was in the boat.
    Already shivering from the cold, Amy simply nodded and curled up on the floor as Brent moved to the steering wheel. A few seconds later the engine roared to life and Brent quickly headed straight out to sea.
    A shout echoed from the beach, followed by a spray of gunfire. Brent increased his speed, staying low as they moved out of range of whoever was shooting from the beach.
    Curious to know if they had a working radio, Amy crawled along the floor until she was beside Brent. “Can we send a message now?”
    He shook his head. “We need to get into international waters,” he said as he checked the instruments. “As soon as we pass the twelve-mile mark, we’ll radio in our position and pass on the information.”
    â€œWhy do we have to wait?”
    â€œAbolstan has several naval vessels in this region. We’ll be easy to find once we get on the radio, and I want to make sure our military can get someone to us before we get intercepted.”
    â€œDo you think someone will be ready to come get us?”
    â€œDon’t worry,” Brent assured her. “My team will be waiting for us.”

CHAPTER 9
    Kel Bennett watched the latest news broadcast, his anger rising with each word that came out of the perky newscaster’s mouth. His team had been on board the USS Enterprise for the past three days waiting for their chance to go in and get their missing man and the last hostage. With each day, his frustration had grown and doubts had begun to creep in.
    He knew his decision to let Brent stay behind with the Whitmore girl was the right one, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Now that the whole world knew about it, the potential consequences of his decision took a drastic turn for the worse. “So help me, if I find out who leaked this information, I’m going to kill him.”
    â€œNow, Commander,” Tristan drawled. “You know you wouldn’t be able to do that.”
    Kel turned and glared at Tristan. “You think I don’t have the guts to kill whoever put