After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) (14 page)

The convoy moved a little more quickly. Paivi hoped that those on foot could keep up. They couldn't bear to take this slow. There was too much at stake.

"That was brilliant, really," Xavier turned toward her.

She smiled, but didn't meet his eyes. "It'll only be brilliant if it keeps us alive until we get to Mexico." She stared at the road ahead. Drivers on the opposite side of the highway, clearly blocked because of the police cars on fire in front of them, gawked at the convoy.

People peered out of windows of buildings they passed. The city became more dense and the buildings taller as the group moved further in. She could make out the famous hotels on Las Vegas Boulevard in the distance. Paivi hoped they could avoid that area. There was no way she wanted to kill innocent civilians. She may be a monster, but only to her enemies. The military had shown they were against them. She considered any future envoys to be open targets.

Paivi kept her eyes on the sky as they moved down the highway.

"What are you looking for?" Xavier asked.

"They'll be coming for us. There's no way we blew up that blockade of soldiers and ATC back there and they don't answer back. And I'm pretty sure they're coming by air."

I think we need to make a detour.
Peter's words popped into her head.

Where?
She pushed back.

The Las Vegas Freeway. It runs along the hotels. They won't attack us near those, I hope.
Peter's words hung in her mind.
We can pick up 95 after we pass through downtown.

Do it.
Paivi sighed as they turned off the highway for the exit that would lead them past the largest hotel district in the country. She just hoped it would keep her people safe.

It would either be a smart move or a huge disaster.

Chapter 17

"Is it just me, or does it seem like there are less cars all of a sudden?" Xavier remarked, taking in the surrounding roadways. What was once a mild flow of morning traffic seemed to have dissipated completely.

Peter, do you have the radio on?
She pushed the thought to him.
Check if they're making some kind of announcements.

"It's definitely getting quiet. Too quiet." Paivi spun around to observe the convoy as it made the switch to the Las Vegas Freeway. In the streets next to the freeway, people raced to the nearest buildings. Soon, there was not a soul in sight.

The small window between the cab and the truck bed slid open.

"Paivi, the radio is reporting that the city is under attack and citizens should take cover. They've been ordered off all the roadways." Mom’s face looked pale despite her dark tanned skin.

"Watch the skies!" Paivi shouted to those around her that could hear. She pushed the same message out through her mind to the others.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she heard the echo of helicopters bouncing off nearby buildings.

There wasn't enough time to summon everyone in the convoy to join together to create a shield. Paivi panicked and mentally pushed a shield over their truck and the one behind. That was the furthest it would go.

"Please, everyone grab hands," Paivi shouted to the group around her in her truck. She stood above them, positioning herself against the cab. Everyone did as she ordered and those closest to her placed hands on her legs. Xavier pressed his back up against hers, leaving his hands free. Her mom's hand grabbed the back of her legs through the open window.

The energy rushed through her, filling her with power. Her skin glowed a warm gold as ten helicopters swooped down on the convoy, five from each side.

They were large and black and equipped with all sorts of missiles and guns.

"NO!" Paivi shrieked as they opened fire on them. Bullets and small missiles rolled away from the first two trucks, but the rest of the convoy wasn't so lucky. Further down they were taking direct hits. The air shook with explosions. Bright flashes of light blinded her as trucks exploded behind them.

When the light cleared she focused on the helicopters nearest them, allowing her rage and anger to lead her. Hadn't they done enough to the EOS? Now they were hunting them down and slaughtering them in broad daylight. Her skin burned brighter as she channeled the fiery energy from her core to her hands.

"You take the ones on your side!" Xavier shouted into her ear. "I got these over here."

Back to back they faced five helicopters each. Paivi focused on the first one, her eyes blazing with destruction. With a flick of her wrist, the propeller snapped off the first helicopter as it was attempting to fire another round of ammunition at them. With another movement of her hand, the propeller-less helicopter spun toward the one nearest it. The missiles fired directly at it, causing an ear-splitting explosion midair. Debris rained down on the streets below and the convoy.

The other EOS escapees dove for cover. The disabled helicopter dropped from the sky and exploded in a raging fireball on top of a nearby building. Civilians started filling the streets as they fled the building. Terrified screams from the convoy and the civilians reached her ears. She ignored them. It would only distract her from her goal of destroying those that would destroy her.

Paivi heard an explosion over her shoulder.

"Got one!" Xavier shouted.

"There are still so many more."

The remaining helicopters hovered over the back end of the convoy.

"I don't know if I can reach them from here. Give me fire." Paivi nudged Xavier.

His hand appeared at her side as he reached back. "You can do this, Paivi. You're a million times more powerful than anything they've got. Make them feel it. No mercy."

His voice rang in her head.

No mercy.

No mercy.

No mercy.

The fire floated above his palm and she snatched a small portion. She spread her hands wide, allowing the ball to grow larger and larger until it was the size of a beach ball. She willed it to fly as fast as it could toward the next nearest helicopter.

Paivi gasped as the helicopter attempted an evasive maneuver, diving near the ground. Paivi pulled back with her mind and pushed the fireball into the top of the helicopter. It collided with such force that the entire cabin blew apart in pieces.

Smoke clouded the air around them, but the remaining helicopters continued to fire on the convoy.

Paivi jumped at the sound of another explosion behind her.

"Got another one. Take that, you bastards. I don't die that easy!" Xavier screamed into the air.

Another helicopter went down in flames near the back of the line. Paivi guessed someone else had managed to beat one of them.

The convoy scattered as more explosions hit their line. EOS escapees were evacuating the roadway and fleeing into the nearby streets.

"Where are they going?" shouted Xavier.

"Running for their lives." She saw a helicopter on either side peel off from the group to follow the lines of EOS escapees.

Two helicopters remained, floating toward the middle of the line. They flew opposite one another. Paivi turned to the back of the truck and faced the two helicopters. She noted a few tall buildings behind each helicopter. Paivi rubbed her hands together and quickly pushed the helicopters apart. They spiraled wildly in the sky. The pilots tried desperately to remain in control of their aircrafts.

Paivi pushed her hands down and the helicopters smashed into the buildings behind them. Smoke billowed into the sky.

"Hold on!" her mom screamed from the cab. The truck, that had been moving slowly forward, jumped to life and sped down the roadway.

Paivi could feel her shield on the truck behind them break.

She and Xavier wrapped an arm around the lights mounted on the roof of the truck.

As they spun forward, Paivi's eyes locked on a new target.

Two Air Force jets raced above the highway straight toward them. This was the largest enemy she had faced yet. But she wasn't ready to die. She threw up a shield to protect the truck.

With a primal scream that was ripped from her very soul, Paivi threw both of her hands in the air. Xavier slid an arm around her waist in an effort to keep her from flying out of the truck bed. The screams of the others in the truck bed fed Paivi’s rage. She threw every ounce of energy she had at the two jets.

The roar of the engines suddenly became quiet as they stalled out in the air. They hung for a moment and plummeted into the buildings below them. To their right, there was a horrific sound as the jet landed on a tall blue and red hotel next to the freeway. Glass shattered and rained down on the ground below. On the left, the jet spiraled into a white Roman themed hotel. A deafening explosion followed.

Flames floated before Paivi's eyes and screams echoed in her ears.

Her body, completely drained, collapsed into Xavier's arms.

Chapter 18

"Do you see what they're trying to do to me, Martin?" President Wendell Stevens sat at his desk in the Oval Office. He swiveled in his chair and stared out the window at the gardens outside. The leaves on the trees were just beginning to turn.

"I'm so sorry, sir." Stevens’ assistant Martin hovered near the couches in the middle of the room.

"Stop pacing before you make me crazy." Stevens spun around to face Martin. He erupted into a high-pitched giggle. "Wait, I am crazy. Isn't that what they said in the letter Susan sent to Chuck and Lorraine?"

"I believe you have the opportunity to respond and get your power back, sir." Martin sat on the edge of the couch.

"You're damn right I do. Grab your laptop and start writing my response." Stevens fiddled with a pen at the desk.

Martin flipped open a laptop that lay on the coffee table in front of him.

"Ready, sir." His hands hovered over the keyboard.

"I need some time, even if it's just a few hours that I'm still in power. I think we're going to have to call a few people to help me slow them down." Stevens rubbed his face with two hands. "Do I have any friends left?"

"I hope so, sir."

"Can you use that little trick of yours to help me out?" Stevens stared at Martin, his bleary eyes focused on his one hope.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. Shouldn't we just follow the procedure?" Martin wrinkled his brow. "Besides, I can only do it if people are in the room."

Stevens slouched in his chair. "Dammit, Martin, that war with Mexico is our only hope. Call Chuck and Lorraine and tell them to come over here immediately. Let's get that letter typed up quickly."

Martin slid a mobile phone from his pocket and pressed a button. "Denise, can you get Chuck Zavala and Lorraine Calhoun over here. President Stevens needs them here immediately." He pressed another button and dropped the phone onto the couch next to him.

"Okay, sir. What should I write?"

"I, President Wendell Stevens, am of sound mind and body and perfectly able to perform my duties as President of the United States."

"Yes, sir." Martin's fingers clicked on the keys. With a swipe of his finger on the mouse, a printer across the room sprang to life and a single sheet printed out. Martin retrieved it and brought it to Stevens' desk. "Here you are sir, the only thing it's missing is your signature."