Bile rose in Adam\u2019s throat, her words echoing in his ears.<\/p>\n
He was on that hill.\u00a0 Oh hell.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cMarshal?\u00a0 I\u2019ve got eyes for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He sucked in a breath and turned.\u00a0 \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPatching through from Theta Leader.\u00a0 They\u2019re climbing up out of the atmosphere for a look at what\u2019s up top.\u201d<\/p>\n
His stomach twisted.\u00a0 At this point, I\u2019m not sure I want that bad news.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cCan you get me audio?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPatching through to your headset, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam nodded a moment before the sound of comm chatter filled his ears.\u00a0 He cleared his throat, then toggled the voice pickup to active.\u00a0 \u201cTheta Lead, this is Windsor.\u00a0 What\u2019s our situation in the air?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOutnumbered, but not outgunned against the bombers and the fighters, sir,\u201d Theta Leader told him.\u00a0 The young woman\u2019s voice was a little shaky\u2014this was her first combat experience that wasn\u2019t inside of a simulator.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve got a bunch of untried and untested men and women defending us.<\/i>\u00a0 He suppressed a shiver.\u00a0 \u201cLanders?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHaven\u2019t seen any yet.\u00a0 We\u2019re keeping our eyes open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam stared at the holographic map of the city, still hovering in the dim of the emergency lights.\u00a0 His stomach somersaulted as he waited for Theta Leader to say more.\u00a0 All he could hear was the chatter of her squadron, calling out targets and giving warnings in the background.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarshal, we\u2019re getting a call in from one of the shelters.\u201d<\/p>\n
He toggled the voice pickup off.\u00a0 \u201cTell me you\u2019ve got good news, Maricopa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the Oracle, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
His stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
Damn.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what I wanted to hear.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what I wanted to hear at all.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone take over with Theta Leader and break in when we\u2019ve got more information. \u00a0Get me visuals up on the monitors over there.\u201d\u00a0 He took a deep breath and steeled himself.\u00a0 Delaying the unpleasantness wasn\u2019t going to do any of them any good.\u00a0 \u201cAnd put Lindsay through.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bile rose in Adam\u2019s throat, her words echoing in his ears. He was on that hill.\u00a0 Oh hell. \u201cMarshal?\u00a0 I\u2019ve got eyes for you.\u201d He sucked in a breath and turned.\u00a0 \u201cWhere?\u201d \u201cPatching through from Theta Leader.\u00a0 They\u2019re climbing up … Continue reading