Red Awakening (Red Zone 2)

“Goodbye, Ms. Neal,” Miriam said. “This will be our last communication. I’m afraid I’ve wasted enough of my valuable time dealing with you and your pathetic attempt to take on CommTECH. It’s time for this to end.”

The image blinked out as her words registered. Susan’s eyes flew to the doors into the building as they burst open. Men in SWAT gear rushed out.

Enforcement.

“Call for pickup!” she screamed at the man beside the comm unit.

Susan lifted her weapon to fire at the army who poured out onto the terrace.

But it was too late.

In the midst of the chaos, two small grenades landed at her feet. She had time to look up at the ledge above her to see who’d thrown them.

The reporter who’d run with Keiko smiled down at her.

And then her world exploded.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Red Zone Warriors surveillance van

Four blocks from CommTECH Research Center

Houston, Northern Territory

“Striker, I’ve intercepted a communication from the terrace,” Hunter said as he typed furiously at his keyboard.

Striker signaled for silence as a man’s voice filled the air.

“Pickup now! I repeat. Pickup now! Enforcement has attacked. Pickup now!”

“We’re on our way.”

“There’s no way out. Damn it!” he shouted. “I’m shot. Get to the terrace. West side. Hurry. There’s—”

A deafening explosion cut the communication.

Sandi pushed past her team, threw

the van doors open, and burst out, her eyes on the CommTECH building in the distance. Striker, Friday, and Gray followed. There were flames on the sixty-sixth-floor terrace.

“Get back in here,” Hunter shouted. “I’ve got Mace.”

They scrambled into the van.

“Mace?” Striker snapped as he rushed to Hunter’s side.

“We’re stuck in a war zone.” The comm line was scratchy, the words hard to understand, but it was definitely him. “The signal jammer’s damaged.”

Relief surge through Striker at the sound of his best friend’s voice. He felt Friday press her face into his back and curl her fists into his shirt, and he glanced over at Sandi, who blinked rapidly and turned her face away.

“Position,” Striker demanded.

“On the terrace. It’s a mess. Freedom and Enforcement. Picking each other off. I need a path out of here.” There was static. “—EMP. Got to get it off her.”

“Sandi, Ignacio,” Striker said to his two team members, but they were already out the door and running.

“Jeremiah and Zane are covering the front of the building,” Striker said over the comm system that connected his entire team. “Gray’s got a team covering the back. Sandi? What’s your target?”