Chapter Two—Special Ordinance

“We’re coming up on the coordinates,” John said.

“About time,” Kyle said as he felt for his sidearm underneath his hoodie. He wasn’t planning to need it, since the Oma Repeater was sitting in the trunk.

He was going to tear shit up!

Lexa sighed dramatically.

“What is it?” John asked.

“I just wish I could leave the car with you.”

“You can still keep us company via our wristlet network.”

“I know,” she said, “but it’s not the same.”

“Maybe next time,” John said.

Almost there, he thought as he glanced at the readout. The terrain here was uneven, rocky and mostly deserted. Glancing out of the windows, he could make out through the mist the ruins of long dead cities—either abandoned or destroyed in past wars.

“At least it’s not raining,” Kyle said.

“Still thick enough out there to change that,” John said. “So don’t jinx us.”

The Corvo’s central panel began to flash red and an alarm beeped in repeated succession.

“Um…?” Kyle said.

A shiver traveled down John’s back. “It’s a missile.”

“At least we know how May got shot down,” Kyle said.

“Strap yourselves in!” John said. “This could get wild.”

“I wish that meant something to me,” Lexa said excitedly.

Kyle laughed. “Stop complaining.”

“Okay,” John said and swiped his hand across the front windshield. A partially transparent display came forward showing multiple trajectories as the missile travelled toward them.

“Nine seconds!” Kyle said.

John turned the car so that the vehicle was perpendicular to the trajectory of the travelling ordnance.

“Are you supposed to do that?” Kyle asked.

“In flight combat,” Lexa began, “it’s important to—“

“Three!” Kyle exclaimed. “Two! One!”

John grunted, turning the Corvo’s wheel hard to the right so the vehicle would turn away from the projectile and fall down toward the surface.

Outside the sound of the missile’s burn passed them by.

“It’s turning!” Kyle said.

“I can see the display!” John shot back.

He started ascending so that he had enough altitude to make a similar maneuver again.

“We’re not far from May’s position,” Lexa said. “We could drop Kyle off while you—“

“Shit!” John said, as the beeping alarm doubled. “That’s another one.”

“This is really not good,” Kyle said. “I’m inclined to agree with Lexa. Maybe you should drop me off.”

“A little difficult!” John said, and turned the wheel to the left, forcing the Corvo to bank fast. His body weight moved about in his seat, but thanks to his seatbelt he was secure.

“Whoa!” Kyle said as he grabbed the sides of his seat for stability.

“The other missile is fourteen seconds off.”

Suddenly the double alarm went back to a single incessant beep.

“What happened?” Kyle asked.

“Missile ran out of fuel,” John said, then he angled the wheel forward, making the Corvo’s nose pitch toward the ground. “I’m going to drop you off.”

“All right. I’ll find May while you deal with this.”

“No, you’re going to find that bastard with the missile launcher and you’re going to take him out!”

“Um—Yeah. Right!”

The Corvo slowed and Kyle’s door angled up and back. He laughed. “This is fun!”

“Wait until after we kill the bad guys before you say something like that.”

“See you soon, Kyle!” Lexa called as she blinked, her body materializing to the front passenger seat as he hopped out.

“Yeah, yeah.”