Page 44 of Ground Zero (Lantern Beach Blackout: Detonation #3)
A s Maverick watched the coastline slide past below, he calculated the distances and the odds. The woman—whoever she was—continued to study him with that predatory amusement.
“You know, your father was brilliant.” The woman leaned back casually, like they were two friends catching up. “It’s a shame he was so inflexible. Things could have been different if he’d just understood the bigger picture.”
Maverick’s jaw hardened. “The bigger picture being murder and treason?”
“The bigger picture being evolution. Adaptation. The attack on Norfolk tomorrow? You’re going to be the mastermind. The evidence is already in place. Your expertise, your access codes, your convenient disappearance.”
His jaw hardened. “No one will believe that.”
Even as he said the words, he wasn’t sure he believed them.
“Won’t they? You fled arrest. You’re currently in a helicopter with unknown conspirators. Your digital fingerprints are all over the attack plans.” Her smile was sharp. “By tonight, you’ll be the most wanted terrorist in America.”
Maverick’s mind raced through options. Land and be captured by Sigma. Stay airborne and be framed for mass murder. Or . . .
He glanced again at the ocean three hundred feet below. They were about a half-mile offshore now. The water beneath him was deep and dark blue.
He’d made higher jumps during training, though never from a moving helicopter.
“The beautiful thing,” the woman continued, “is that whether you’re dead or alive barely matters. Dead, you’re a martyr for extremists. Alive, you’re proof that homegrown terrorism is the greatest threat to America. Either way, we win.”
“And innocent people die.”
“People die every day.” The woman shrugged. “At least these deaths will serve a purpose. They’re part of our long-range plan.”
Maverick shifted in his seat, testing his range of movement. No one in the helicopter seemed concerned about him as a physical threat.
Their mistake.
“You should know that we have someone at Blackout,” the woman continued. “We have people in the FBI. We have people everywhere . Even if you somehow escaped, where would you go? Who would believe you?”
The woman was right about that much. But she was wrong about one thing—Maverick would rather die free than live as their scapegoat.
He looked outside again.
Before he could second-guess himself, Maverick yanked the door handle and shouldered it open in one fluid motion.
Wind exploded into the cabin, papers swirled, and the woman’s perfect hair whipped across her face.
“Stop him!” she screamed.
The man grabbed for Maverick, fingers brushing his wet shirt.
But Maverick launched himself into space.
The last thing he heard was the woman’s furious shriek as he plummeted toward the dark water below.
He prayed his angle was spot on, prayed the impact wouldn’t knock him unconscious, and prayed he’d made the right choice.
Sheridan kept her eyes on Hudson and Kyle, her hand still near her weapon. The testosterone in the room was thick enough to cut.
“William,” she said without looking at him, “you should go.”
He shifted beside her but didn’t move toward the door. He was either brave or frozen with fear. She couldn’t tell which.
“Answer the question, Agent Mendez.” Kyle stepped closer. “Have you been in contact with Maverick?”
“My investigation is classified?—”
“Classified from us?” Hudson’s voice carried an edge of genuine anger now. “We’re his team. His brothers. If you know something?—”
The door opened, cutting him off.
Jake stepped inside, followed by Atlas. Atlas looked rumpled and weary like he’d just gotten off a plane, which he probably had.
“What’s going on here?” Jake’s eyes swept the room, immediately picking up on the tension.
“Agent Mendez was just about to tell us where Maverick is,” Kyle said.
“She says she doesn’t know,” Hudson added. “We think she’s lying.”
Atlas moved into the room, his presence somehow making it feel even more crowded. All of Maverick’s teammates were here now, all looking at her with varying degrees of suspicion and concern.
“Maverick’s not a traitor,” Atlas said. “Whatever evidence you have, it’s wrong.”
“That’s why we need to find him before—” Jake stopped, seeming to realize William was still in the room.
“Before what?” Sheridan’s pulse pounded harder.
Jake looked at his teammates, some silent communication passing between them.
Then he turned back to her. “Agent Mendez, could I have a word with you? Privately?”
Hudson and Kyle exchanged glances, clearly not happy about being excluded.
“Jake—” Hudson started.
“Five minutes,” Jake said firmly, making it clear his statement wasn’t a request.
Sheridan studied Jake’s face.
He’d been on her suspect list from the beginning. He was the team leader with the most access, the most authority.
But something in his expression, a desperate urgency, made her nod.
“Five minutes,” she agreed.
As the others filed out—Kyle and Hudson reluctantly, Atlas with a meaningful look at Jake, and William practically running for the door—Sheridan wondered what Jake could possibly tell her that he couldn’t say in front of his own team.
When the door closed, leaving them alone, Jake’s composure cracked slightly. “I talked to Maverick. But Agent Mendez, if I tell you this, you have to promise me something.”
“What?”
“That you’ll help protect Maverick. No matter what it costs. Because the person who’s been setting him up? He’s not done.”
Sheridan’s pulse quickened. “Tell me everything.”