sulked when assigned any task he considered menial, and resented the fact that he’d never risen above a basic rank even though he’d never bothered to put in the work.
Knox’s reinforced fist connected with Carl’s throat. The force was sufficient to break his hyoid bone and crush the cartilage of his larynx, collapsing his airway. He went down wheezing and clawing at his neck, never to cheat or sulk or resent again.
Thump.
The alley ended in a dead end just three meters to Knox’s left. It opened to the street fifteen meters to his right. Six men still filled the crate-strewn space, men whose strength and speed matched his own. Men who were already shaking off their surprise and lifting their rifles.
Knox could name them all. He knew their vices and their habits. He’d trained them and worked alongside them and sometimes even laughed with them.
He would regret taking them down, but not enough to let them kill him.
Thump.
Knox gave in to the tempo of the fight, and the sound of his heart beating melted away in a surge of adrenaline. He dove out of the path of a bullet and came up with his gun in hand. It was dangerous to fire in such close quarters, but dangerous was all they had. He took his shot, winging Patel on the cheek.
Conall’s voice rose above the fight, “Captain, down,” and Knox hit the pavement. One of Conall’s clever little rounds whizzed over his head and sank into Patel’s armor, transforming the man’s expression from anger to horror as it burrowed through and into his chest.
Knox rolled and came up in time to see Rafe swinging the door like a bat. It crashed a man back against the wall, clearing a path for Gray to swipe his broken bottle viciously across another man’s throat. 66–831, Knox’s brain noted against his will. Hooper. Always hungry as a new recruit. He’d stabbed someone over extra rations and earned himself time in the stockade.
He was going to bleed out in a grungy alley.
Knox took 66–771 down with a bullet to the knee and cracked his skull with one solid blow to the temple. Rafe bashed 66–627’s face in with his own gun. Gray killed 66–737.
Simmons. Kelvin. Roberts. Knox couldn’t stop his brain from reciting a neat list of facts about each fallen man, like items on an obsolete dossier. Simmons would never again favor his left side in a fight. Kelvin’s tendency to question orders wouldn’t plague another commander. Roberts’s collection of pre-Flare magazines would probably end up in the recycling incinerators.
Rafe finished off the squad with a series of swiftly cracked necks, and Knox wondered how high the cost of their freedom would grow before the end of this.
A crackle from the radio on Patel’s hip answered him. “Hold on, Sixes. Hellcats have your 20 and are en route. ETA, less than two minutes.”
Gray picked up Roberts’s rifle and swore. “Definitely locked to biometrics. Time to load up on ammo and start ripping the thumbs off our buddies, the Lucky Sixes, here.”
“No.” Knox crouched to check the nearest soldier’s pockets. “Two minutes is enough time to give you guys a head start.” He pulled out two grenades, their color-coded bands promising smoke and fire, respectively. “I’ll stall them for as long as I can. Pick up Luna and get the hell out of town.”
Nobody moved to obey. “Not our captain anymore, remember?” Gray said.
“God damn it, Gray—”
A duffel bag hit the asphalt in front of him. Knox spun, his heart rocketing into his throat as he swung his pistol toward a familiar face that left him staring in shock.
“Put it away, you twitchy bastard.” Dani vaulted over the edge of the building and rappelled to the ground beside him. “We thought you could use some help.”
Maya poked her head over the edge of the roof. “Hey, Conall. This is an awkward situation. Good thing we brought presents.”
“Maya?” Conall’s eyes popped wide. “What the hell—”
“Damn it, woman.” Rafe gripped Dani’s upper arm. “Are you fucking crazy? Do you know what’s coming for us? You shouldn’t be here.”
She glared back at him, affronted. “Of course I know. That’s why I’m here. Nina sent us.”
While Rafe gaped at her, Maya made a more controlled descent and landed lightly next to Knox. “Hey,” she said, snapping a finger in front of his face. “If there was ever a time to embrace your inner evil genius, Captain…”
Reality snapped back into place, but Knox couldn’t stop himself from scanning the