As Sam sprinted across the parking lot to where he had left his truck, a black SUV pulled out of a parking spot and raced toward him. His initial instinct was to turn the other way and run, until he heard a familiar voice shouting his name. “Sam! Get in!” Alex Sanchez yelled as he pulled the vehicle around.
Sam didn’t hesitate to jump into the vehicle. However, Alex didn’t go very far, pulling up to Sam’s old truck and stopping. “Listen, you don’t have much time. They’re on their way right now. I saw members of the DFW team leave about an hour ag
Through her IAC, Cadence could see Christian and Meagan were busy chasing Sam down what appeared to be a windy back road, and two members of the DFW team were searching the area near the school for Alex. However, a few minutes into their pursuit, the Highway Patrol had pulled them over, and they were currently attempting to explain how they were not involved with the incident at the school. Cadence hoped one of them was gifted with the same bullshit talent Elliott had been blessed with.She also learned through the IAC that a short woman with shoulder-length brown hair was just about at their
Sam could see the AgCat in the distance, but he was having trouble figuring out exactly where it was and where it might land. He didn’t know of any grass strips in the area, so he assumed the refueling would have to happen at Caddo Mills Airport, a place he was only vaguely familiar with. Still, he kept on eye on the AgCat as he made his way toward the small operation out in the middle of nowhere. He also kept his eye on the Cessna flying high above him, clearly watching his every move. He didn’t hear any vehicles on the ground behind him, but he was pretty sure that could change at any moment.
There was hesitation on the other end, and Jamie’s hand began to shake even worse. “You should be able to kill him,” Aaron finally replied.“Should or can?” Jamie clarified. Alex was slowly moving toward the bike now, saying something about not wanting to hurt anyone but needing to be on his way. Aaron didn’t answer directly again, so Jamie demanded, “Aaron! Should or can?”
Sam could see where the AgCat was refueling as soon as he pulled into the small, overgrown, nearly abandoned airport. While he could hear the rip of the motorcycle engines behind him, they didn’t seem quite as close as they had before, and he slowed as he approached the plane, not wanting to scare the pilot into taking off again. He saw a young man dressed in overalls and another man, a bit older but still young, who appeared to be the pilot, leaning against the side of the plane talking as the fuel pump did its job. Before he jumped out of the driver's seat, he grabbed the Glock out of the glove compartment, hopeful he wouldn’t need to use it.
Aaron knew Sam was not familiar with the airspace or else he would not have headed directly toward the towers near Cedar Hill. It was pretty clear that he had spotted the towers a bit too late to avoid them, especially with Aaron cutting him off every time he attempted to change direction. Sam began to curve to the left, and Aaron pulled around to give him two choices: straighten out or experience a mid-air collision. As he ducked back the other way, Aaron countered. If he was going to get out of this situation, he would have to show some true piloting skills and find his way around the towers--and their guide wires.
Once the plane disappeared over the tree line, Cadence began to count. She wasn’t sure why--it just seemed like the right thing to do. “One, two, three,” she thought to herself. For the second time that day, she heard the jolt of an aircraft making hard contact with the ground, followed by a plume of smoke beyond the trees. “Ten, eleven, twelve….” She felt Meagan’s hand in hers, absently listened to Sam begging to be shot on the ground behind her. “Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen…” heard Pam’s vehicle coming to a stop not far away. “Twenty.” It had been twenty seconds, and nothing. She felt tears at the corners of her eyes, and slowly began to walk in the direction of the downed plane.
Cadence stood in the shower for almost an hour, letting the warm water beat over her, hoping it would somehow bring clarity, though it didn’t seem to be helping. The ride home had also been hours of contemplation. Why had Elliott defended her to Sam and then tried to have her thrown off the team? Why would Sam be so angry about Henry’s death that he would kill a Guardian and try to wipe out their entire team? How could anyone be that angry? What would have happened if Alex had shot Jamie? If Aaron hadn’t of been able to jump clear of the airplane? And then there was the question she’d been asking most frequently for almost nine months: where the hell was Giovani?
Aaron was clearly holding back a laugh, which infuriated her a bit more. However, he had the ability to even her emotions out, and she could feel that he was doing that as he said, “We did what we needed to do. We got Sam; Jamie’s fine. You’re fine. I’m fine. The plane… not so much. But that wasn’t your fault.”“If I had gotten to Sam before he got in that plane…. Damn pothole.”