"Watch where the hell you’re going, old woman!"
The roar cut through the clatter of the USS Fletcher’s mess deck like a flashbang. Before I could even turn, a massive forearm slammed into my shoulder. The physical impact was violent enough to spin me around, sending my metal tray flying. Scalding hot navy chili and coffee exploded across the deck...
"We're burning daylight, Miller. Leave her." Captain Silas's voice cut through the 16,000-foot thin air like a combat knife, cold and final. I was Sarah Jensen, formerly the best spotter/sniper in the 10th Mountain Division, now reduced to a liability with a femur snapped clean in two. My own rifle, the custom Remington 700 we affectionately called "The Fence...
"We're burning daylight, Miller. Leave her." Captain Silas's voice cut through the 16,000-foot thin air like a combat knife, cold and final. I was Sarah Jensen, formerly the best spotter/sniper in the 10th Mountain Division, now reduced to a liability with a femur snapped clean in two. My own rifle, the custom Remington 700 we affectionately called "The Fence...
The freezing water from the high-pressure hose slammed into my chest like a freight train, knocking the breath out of me and sending me sprawling into the mud of the Black Ridge obstacle course. I’m Sarah "Siren" Vance, and right now, I’m nobody. At least, that’s what Sergeant Miller thinks. He stood over me, his boots caked in grime,...
My name is Clara Vance, and right now, a heavy leather shoe is pressing down on my hand, crushing my fingers against the carpeted floor of First Class.
"Get your filthy hands off my shoes, you rat!" screamed Savannah Reed, the chief purser of Horizon Air.
Just two minutes ago, I boarded Flight 412 from JFK to LAX, wearing my favorite...
My name is Sarah Vance. Right now, a heavy-set security guard with grease stains on his tactical vest is shoving his hand directly into my face, his breath smelling of stale coffee and unearned authority. "Look at this piece of junk," he sneered, slamming his palm against the rusted hood of my '98 Ford F-150. "Apex Ridge is an...
"Pick it up, you pathetic piece of trash," Evelyn Sterling hissed, her diamond-encrusted fingers pointing at the spilled caviar on the pristine marble floor. I didn’t blink. I slowly knelt, cleaning the mess under the mocking, arrogant stares of New York’s elite. They saw a helpless, submissive maid who they could buy and sell. They didn’t see Morgan Cole—former...
They look at me and see a joke. The whispers and snickers were a familiar soundtrack from the moment I stepped off the bus at the NATO tactical training center, a place that felt more like a gladiator arena than a military installation. My issue-standard fatigues were faded, the reinforced patches slightly frayed, and my standard-issue M4—a weapon I...
They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. In this business, that kind of thinking is usually fatal. But in the context of Iron Horse Armory, located in a non-descript strip mall in Phoenix, Arizona, it was about to be comical.
I stepped through the door, and the air conditioning immediately assaulted my face, chilling...
PART 2
The scream cut through the gate.
I ran toward it before my fear could catch me.
An elderly man had collapsed beside a charging station. His wife knelt beside him, shaking his shoulder.
“Frank, look at me!”
I dropped to my knees. The movement pulled at my neck, but training took over.
“Sir, can you smile?”
Only the right side of his mouth moved.
“Raise...
