Titanium (Bionics) by Alicia Michaels Page B

shoot.”
    Laura jumps into the driver’s seat below me and steers me toward one of the other tanks, which is parked a few hundred yards away, still firing on the hovercraft. Jenica returns fire from her place at the controls. The tank bounces over uneven ground, but is swift as we approach the second tank. I fire a warning shot, hoping to scatter some of the M.P.s before I blow the thing to smithereens. One is all I give them, though; I uphold the Professor’s peaceful Resistance mumbo jumbo, but only to a certain point. I’m ready to go home and these sons of bitches are in my way.
    I let loose with everything in the tank’s arsenal and within seconds, the tank is blown sky high, flipped upside down with smoke billowing from its engine. A few bodies lay in the w reckage, but those that remain are merely stunned by the members of our team who have been lying in wait for this moment.
    Laura turns toward the third tank, but Jenica’s already on it, the hovercraft’s weapon blowing holes into the tank’s tough exterior. I add my weaponry to hers and take out the second tank, rendering it as useless as the first.
    Now left without their tanks and their precious Annihilator, the M.P.s are turning tail to run, disappearing into the woods in the opposite direction of the hideout. Laura and I leap from the tank and give chase, stunning as many of them with our ARXs as we can. Blythe, Blade, Spikes, Monkey Arms, and all the others join us, and pretty soon, every last one of them is gone.
    A cheer goes up from the crowd , our victory sweet after hours of wondering if we’d ever make it out alive. I scan the crowd, counting those that remain, sad to see that we have lost many members of our security team, but knowing that it is necessary. In the end, those who remain at the hideout are safe because of our sacrifices. I notice that we’ve lost two of the Rejects and while I can’t say I care too much for any of them, I can see the sadness in the eyes of those that remain. Their brotherhood is as strong as ours, so I know that Baron, Spikes, and even Monkey Arms are in mourning as well.
    Jenica exits the craft and Gage jumps down from his perch on top, and the two head in our direction. I try not to let it show, but my gut is knots as I watch Gage rush forward and crush Blythe in his arms.
    “Thank God you’re okay,” he says as he holds her away long enough to look her over before hugging her again.
    “Me?” Blythe laughs. “You’re the one we were all worried about. I’m glad you made it out.”
    “You did good, Janner,” Jenica says as she steps between me and Blythe and Gage. Thank goodness too, because I’m about three seconds away from giving into the impulse I’ve felt since meeting Gage and kicking him square in the face. I focus on Jenica and try not to stare at them over her shoulder as they talk in hushed tones.
    “Hey, this is the person you should be thanking,” I say, grabbing Laura as she walks by. “ Jenica Swan, this is former Army sergeant Laura Rosenberg. She was an integral part in helping keep the hideout safe, as well as getting rid of the Annihilator. We were lucky to have her on our side today.”
    The two women shake hands and Laura smiles warmly. Jenica, of course, keeps her stoic expression, a stony mask she hardly ever takes off.
    “Nice to meet you,” Jenica says as her hand drops back down to her side, “and thank you for all you’ve done. We should get moving before they come back with reinforcements. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a hovercraft or two nearby. We still have over a hundred people to load up before we can lift off.”
    “I’ll ride ahead and get everyone ready,” Laura volunteers, already throwing one leg over the seat of a hover bike. “We’ll be at the entrance and ready to board quickly. Dax had us stockpile food and supplies too, so if we have time, it might be good to load that up.”
    Without giving us time to answer, Laura is off and whizzing over