The machine let out a low whine beneath her, and Renna glanced down at the controls. Her heart sank, suddenly as heavy as the Wing. “You have to be shitting me.”
The fuel cell indicator was nearly at zero, and they still hadn’t cleared the compound. That damn electric fence was getting closer by the second. And someone had turned it back on.
“Status update. Area map.”
The implant showed her the surrounding area. Beyond the Cordozas’ warehouse were three more empty buildings. If she could land this thing between two of them, she might be able to get them to safety. There was also a parking structure to the north. She chewed her lip and glanced back down at the fuel cell gauge, a plan working itself out in her mind. Could she risk it?
Bullets sang past them, the shouts of her pursuers echoing below. And then her blood turned to ice.
The hum of a hover car starting up. They’d overtake the Wing in no time.
At least it made her decision easy. She turned the machine north and kicked it into high gear, hoping to get some momentum before the engine stalled.
The ground below was a blur of men and machines and guns, but moments later, Renna and the boy cleared the fence and were free of the compound. Shouts of fury came from the men as they were halted by deadly electricity.
She risked another glance behind as the hover car shot from the garage bay. Dammit. She wasn’t skilled enough to make this thing do what she needed, and the fuel cell was dropping by the second. Her hair whipped around her face, and Renna leaned forward, as if that would make the machine go faster.
The arms around her waist tightened. Right. The kid. She’d almost forgotten about him in their escape.
“You okay?” she called over her shoulder.
He nodded against her back, though he didn’t loosen his grip. “Wish they’d stop shooting at us, though.”
“We’re almost there, but we’re running out of fuel. It might be a bumpy landing.”
“I can handle it.” Her eyebrows rose at Myka’s calm voice. Most kids would be a whimpering mess after all this. Of course, growing up on Banos Prime would make any kid tough.
Beneath her, the Wing jerked in midair, and she let out a hiss. They weren’t going to make it.
The hover car hummed closer, the sound of its engine swallowing their own. Their only chance at escape now was getting to the ground. First stop: the parking structure. She could hotwire a car in twenty seconds flat, and she and Myka would be gone before the hover car even landed.
Renna pressed down harder on the accelerator. The scream of the Radiowing’s engines cut through the air as it shot forward. Her belly fluttered. The structure was just yards away. And then the engine stopped.
The silence was deafening.
Renna slammed a hand against the fuel cell gauge, but nothing happened. The Wing started to plummet, making her stomach drop before the airwings on each side caught the wind and they glided forward.
“Come on, baby, just a little farther.”
If she could keep the airwings steady, she might be able to glide the thing close enough to the structure to land it. Holding her breath, she tilted the Wing to bring it in at an angle. It continued to drop, the wind whistling past her.
There! The top deck of the parking structure was close enough to see.
She braced herself against the footpads and threw her weight into turning the machine. They were dropping fast now, but their forward momentum was dying as they got closer to the ground. Two more heartbeats before her pulse kicked into overdrive. They weren’t going to make it.
The bottom of the Radiowing hit the edge of the structure with a bone-jarring thud. Renna clenched her muscles and threw herself from the bike, grabbing Myka’s arms to make sure he followed.
The Wing balanced for an instant on the edge of the building, giving her just enough time to push off before it slid backward, scraping against the side of the parking structure as it dropped the thirty meters to the ground. It hit with a thunderous boom, shattering against the cement.
Renna and Myka landed almost as hard on the pavement of the parking structure. She tumbled over him, wrenching herself out of the way at the last second to avoid landing on top of him. Her body hit the ground with a thud, and the breath whooshed from her lungs. Her head slammed against the ground. A surge of electricity burst through her skull in a white-hot flash as her implant sputtered and switched off. Stars danced on the insides of her eyelids.
Beside her, she heard Myka moan and sit up. Curling into a whimpering ball sounded like a pretty good plan right now, but if the kid could get up, so could she. With a will she didn’t know she had, Renna dragged air into her burning lungs and forced her eyes open.
“Are you hurt?” Myka asked, jumping to his feet.
Damn, was the kid made of springs or something? She slowly moved her head from side to side, and an odd metallic taste flooded her mouth. Her implant was definitely fried.
“I don’t know,” she said between gritted teeth. “Ask me in another hour.”
“I still hear the hover car.” The boy glanced back into the sky.
“Shit.” She spat the word out, along with some blood, and forced herself to sit up, biting back a gasp as the world tilted crazily. Everything settled a moment later as she exhaled through the pain. She didn’t have time for this shit.
“Help me up, kid.” Renna leaned heavily on Myka’s shoulder and slowly got to her feet. Each breath felt like someone stabbing her with a knife. “Grab my bag. We need to get out of here.”
Myka slung her pack over his shoulder and let Renna lean on him as she limped across the cement. His shoulders barely sagged under her weight, though dark smudges shadowed his eyes. He’d already been through a lot, but you’d never be able to tell by the determined expression on his face.
“Just a little further.” Her whisper was more for herself than for Myka. She’d spotted a sporty little Diskcar she could rewire in seconds. They’d be safe in no time.
“What’s that noise?” Myka asked, pausing on the pavement. Renna had to pause, too. One wrong step and she’d be down for the count.
“I don’t hear anything.” Of course, the ringing in her ears from her destroyed implant meant she couldn’t hear much.
“That.”
She tilted her head, and then she heard it. The scream of an engine approaching, but not from the sky. A second later, a white magnacraft van barreled from the shadows of the ramp, straight for them.
THREE
“Get behind me, Myka,” she said, careful to keep her voice steady. She let the boy’s arm fall away and forced herself to stand straight. She’d dealt with mob thugs like the Cordozas before. Show a glimmer of weakness and it was all over.