Chapter 2
The radio went silent for half a second.
Then Overlord came back harder.
“Reaper, that is a direct order. Break off.”
Riley did not break off.
She reached down with her left hand and touched the old photograph tucked into her flight suit.
The picture was faded at the edges.
A young Riley stood beside her father in front of an Apache on a training field in Texas.
Her father, Major Thomas Hayes, had once told her something she never forgot.
“A pilot who runs from people on the ground doesn’t deserve wings.”
Riley looked at the photo.
Then she looked at the radar.
Six red dots.
Closing fast.
Her eyes changed.
The fear left.
Something colder took its place.
She whispered into her mic, so low only the cockpit heard it.
“Dad… watch this.”
Above the canyon, the enemy pilots tightened formation.
Their leader went by Talon One.
His real name was Derek Voss.
And Voss loved making people beg before he killed them.
“Come on, Reaper,” he said. “Turn around. I’ll even let you live long enough to be embarrassed.”
Another pilot laughed.
“Apache pilot must’ve missed the part where helicopters don’t win dogfights.”
Riley’s jaw flexed.
Below her, Staff Sergeant Miles Carter looked up through the dust.
“She’s not leaving,” he whispered.
The youngest soldier beside him shook his head.
“She has to. They’ll kill her.”
Miles watched the Apache drop lower.
May you like
“No,” he said. “She’s hunting.”
Read Part 3 to see what happened when Riley flew straight into the canyon.
