Page 65 of Obscurity (Pros and Cons Mysteries #5)

T he men were getting closer, accompanied by radio chatter as the search teams coordinated their pursuit. In the meantime, they stowed everyone behind a cluster of rocks.

It would work—but not for long.

“There has to be another way.” Jason studied their surroundings despite the hopelessness of their situation.

Olive pulled out her phone, hoping against hope for enough signal to call for help, but the screen showed nothing. They were cut off, completely on their own.

That was when she heard it—the distant sound of helicopter rotors cutting through the morning air.

“Help or hunting party?” Jason asked, his gaze grim and cautious.

“Only one way to find out.” Olive suspected, however, that anyone with access to helicopters in this remote area was probably not on their side.

As the aircraft grew closer and the armed men tightened their net around their position, Olive realized they were facing an impossible choice.

Should they surrender and hope for mercy from people who’d already demonstrated their willingness to kill?

Or should they continue fleeing through terrain that favored their pursuers while carrying four people who couldn’t keep up?

Either way, their chances of survival were dropping rapidly with each passing minute.

The helicopter’s rotors grew louder overhead, and Olive found herself hoping that Rex had somehow managed to send backup faster than anyone had thought possible.

Because if he hadn’t, they were all about to discover just how far their captors were willing to go to protect their operation.

The helicopter’s rotors grew deafeningly loud as it passed overhead.

Through the canopy, Olive caught a glimpse of expensive corporate markings rather than government insignia. This wasn’t a rescue crew.

It was leadership arriving to oversee whatever “cleanup” was about to happen.

“We need to move deeper into the forest,” Jason said, helping Carl to his feet despite the older man’s obvious exhaustion.

They’d made it another hundred or so yards when someone emerged from behind a cluster of pine trees ahead of them.

Olive’s breath caught. No . . .

Then she recognized the figure.

Connor Walsh. He stepped into view, his camera bag slung over his shoulder, looking like he’d been hiking through the woods for hours. A confused expression crossed his face as if he didn’t expect to see them.

Was he heading from Grayfall to the camp when he’d come across them?

Olive didn’t feel certain.

Her guard went up.

Chloe gasped with relief as if she’d just run into her best friend. “Connor, I’m so glad you’re here. We need help. They had us locked up, and there are armed guards?—”

“I know.” Connor sounded strangely calm as he pulled out a radio instead of offering assistance. “Control, this is Walsh. I’ve located the escaped subjects. Grid reference Charlie-Seven, approximately two hundred meters northeast of Building Three.”

The radio crackled with a response that made Olive’s blood turn to ice: “Copy that. Containment teams en route. Maintain visual contact.”