Chapter 6
Riley pulled the Apache upward, directly toward the light.
For a second, her aircraft vanished in the glare.
The four fighters followed.
Their sensors flickered.
Their formation compressed.
Riley rolled back into the canyon shadow.
The fighters overshot.
Two crossed paths too close.
One panicked and pulled away.
The other exposed his side just long enough.
Riley fired.
The third fighter spun out, trailing smoke.
The fourth tried to climb, but the blast wave and debris forced him into a desperate dive.
He ejected before his aircraft broke apart over the desert flats.
Now only two remained.
Talon One and his last wingman.
On the ground, the trapped soldiers were screaming now.
Not in fear.
In disbelief.
“She’s doing it!”
“Reaper’s still up!”
But Riley’s Apache was damaged.
Fuel warning.
Rotor stress warning.
Hydraulic pressure warning.
Every light seemed to accuse her of staying too long.
Overlord shouted, “Reaper, your aircraft is damaged. Pull out now. Rescue team is three minutes away.”
Riley looked down.
Three minutes was too long.
Talon One still had a clean line to the soldiers.
If she left, he would kill them out of spite.
Her voice hardened.
“He’s going for the men.”
Grant shouted, “Reaper, intercept!”
Riley shoved the Apache between the fighter and the soldiers.
“I’m already there.”
Talon One fired.
The canyon floor erupted behind her.
A piece of shrapnel punched through the cockpit side.
Pain burned across Riley’s shoulder.
Blood touched her flight suit.
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But her hands stayed on the controls.
Read Part 7 to see Riley face Talon One alone with a damaged Apache.
