Rebel Heart

If they were with Brady, why hadn't he flown with them? Lana stood and moved to the far side of the rocks, facing the area where the missile fire fell. As suddenly as it started, it stopped.

Brady still didn't appear. She armed the laser gun and tucked it into the space between her clothing and the small of her back. With the vault in her pocket, she waited.

A figure appeared from the forest between her and the river. Lana almost uttered a cry of surprise, astonished he'd survived the missiles. Brady pulled off his mask, trotting towards her. His uniform was torn, and blood turned the gray color brown. His head was shaved. Even from the distance, she could see the scars down one side of his face.

He'd barely survived the helo crash, she assessed, shocked. Yet he moved as if he were completely healed. She couldn't imagine even one of the genetically altered warriors healing so quickly from an impact great enough to create the deep scars on his face!

"Charlie!" he bellowed at the PMF member.

The sound of a laser gun jarred her. Brady dropped. Lana whirled, surprised to see the PMF man in gray lowering the weapon. She darted behind the nearby rocks. Charlie's next laser shot glanced off the top of the rock, searing a hole through it. Lana stared at the hole, surprised, and dropped even lower.

"Come on out, girl, and I won't hurt you," Charlie commanded.

"You expect me to believe that after watching the missile attack?" she returned, reaching for the laser gun. Her heart thudded. She'd shot Donovan on accident and only grazed his arm from a meter away. There was no way she could do enough damage to Charlie from four times as far to allow her to escape.

"I'll count to three, girl."

She leaned back to see Brady's body, praying for a sign he was still alive. His body wasn't where he'd fallen. She moved as far as she dared from the rock, searching for him. Somehow, he'd moved back to the wood line. His laser gun lay where he fell. She couldn't see what he was doing, but she saw with relief he was alive.

"One."

"Distract him, Angel," Brady said quietly via her net.

An idea formed. Lana freed the vault from her pants and quickly went through the opening sequence. She dumped the keypads into her cargo pocket.

"Two."

"This is what you want," she said and held it up. "The keypads to the systems are in here."