Instead of answering, Pain shot him a glance, pulled up her mask, and sprinted off into the dark, Jane close on her heels.
He pulled his cap lower. “Warm-up it is.”
By the time they reached the moonlit field and the dark building in its center, the three jeeps were loaded and lined up to leave. The abandoned hospital was probably the local kids’ main source of nightmares, all boarded-up windows and square lines, four stories of plain concrete and desolation. Chad could see how the surrounding grounds would’ve made for a nice recreational area, but at night, deserted and frozen, those dark fields and skeletal trees made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
They stopped behind a couple of big trees, where Rob stood waiting for them.
“They’re about to pull out,” he said, handing Pain his binoculars. “No guns. One of the drivers went back into the building for something. There’s no lights, so the lab must be in the basement.” He paused as she took a look at the jeeps. “There’s a bend in the road, perfect for an ambush, ’cause they’ll have to slow down. Gotta get them alive. Go wait there, keep the radio on. Peter will be waiting for your signal.”
“Just Peter?” she asked, handing Chad the binoculars when he held out a hand.
He peered at the jeeps bathed in the headlights but found no one around them.
“Him, Nix, and Skull. The others are stretched thin around the whole area for now. Can’t risk coming too close, and we don’t know what other holes are hidden around here.”
“Okay, all clear.”
She pulled on Chad’s sleeve, and he lowered the binoculars just as something moved across the field. He yanked them back up, finding a man getting into the driver’s seat of the farthest jeep, his face unmasked, clear in the bright light.
Something lodged in his throat at the image, a flashback from two weeks ago filling his inner eye.
“Chad, come on,” Pain hissed, but he stood frozen to the ground.
He shook his head and took another look, just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, then gave the binoculars back to Rob.
“All right.” He started jogging back the way they’d come before she could say anything, and once they were far enough, they rose just off the ground, Pain speaking into the radio as she flew.
Jane led them through the trees as they reached the bend in the road, until they found another big one and took cover behind it. The jeeps’ motors could already be heard in the distance.
“Take position,” Pain said into the radio, watching the distant lights. “Two hundred yards to the bend.” She covered the radio, muttering to herself, “Damn fog. They probably can’t see shit up there.”
“Copy that,” Peter’s voice sounded from the radio.
Chad shook his head, realizing he couldn’t stay quiet. He grabbed Pain’s hand that was holding the radio and bent close to it. “The guy who shot Pain is in the last jeep,” he said. “Permission to intercept.”
Pain stared at him, wide-eyed. There was a pause on the other end. “How sure are you?” Peter asked.
“One hundred percent sure.”
Another pause. “Permission denied. Stay put. Over.”
Pain pulled the radio away before Chad could say another word. He let out a heavy sigh.
“One hundred yards. Ready in fifteen.”
“Roger.”
Chad glared at her, but she ignored him, watching the shaky headlights that seemed to be moving way too fast down the frozen road.
“How the hell can you be sure about that?” she asked at last, turning away from the radio. “Wasn’t he wearing a mask?”
“No. Not then, not now. I know it’s him.”
She just shook her head and turned away. “Fifty yards… Thirty. Fifteen. Go.”
Headlights flashed, the jeeps roaring around the bend.
Two shadows fell from above, crashing into the cars’ roofs. Brakes squealed, but the third jeep swerved at the last moment and floored it.
A dark shape slammed into its hood like a boulder, flipping the car into the air and folding into a crouch as it went overhead. The jeep hurtled through the brush, gaining speed before it smashed into a tree, nearly toppling it.
Chad gaped, mouth open and frozen, as Skull unfolded from his crouch, his long coat a living thing behind him.
The sound of breaking glass shattered the night. Chad switched his gaze to Peter, the twin hilts over his shoulder giving him away. He jumped off the mangled roof, denting the hood. His arm shot forward through the gaping windshield and hauled the driver out. Phoenix was there in a flash, grabbing and dragging him out of the light.
Fire ignited in the car that had smashed into the tree.
“Shit,” Pain hissed, and ran to it. Chad and Jane followed her.
They came out into the open, joining Skull on the road as he stood watching the car burn, head cocked to the side.
“Think it’s gonna blow?” Pain asked.
“Nah. Done it a hundred times.” Skull noticed Peter at his side and quickly added, “In my head, you know.”
Peter’s eyes narrowed, Yeah, right.
Chad opened his mouth—and nearly bit off his tongue as a blast shook the trees.
It quickly fizzled out, the smoke mingling with the fog, and everyone breathed out in relief. Enough distance separated them from the abandoned hospital, and the chances of anyone under that building having heard the small explosion were slim. The fire was dying already, but for a moment, it illuminated a single arm that hung from the shattered window, and Chad thought he saw it twitch.
“Guys…”
“I saw it,” Pain said.
“He’s still alive, huh?” Skull wondered.
Phoenix appeared at his side and scratched his head as he peered at the burning car. Before anyone could say a word, he pulled out a knife and
