“Arielle will remain downtown and park at a discreet location. When time is unfrozen, she will follow the same path to the cabin to ensure that Commander Briar is okay. She has been instructed to keep a low profile, ducking behind trees, in case Chris manages to survive. Commander Briar has also been instructed to kill anyone else he encounters while time is frozen, leaving no threat to Arielle outside of Chris.
“We have a second team departing the jet at six o’clock. They will serve as a cleanup crew for the conclusion of this mission. Darius and Marie have volunteered to drive a van to Angle Inlet with hopes of bringing Chris’s body back. Between them, Commander Briar, and Arielle, we will have a team of four able to carry the dead body through the woods. One key point we want to emphasize is that Chris should not be left alone, even as a corpse. Under no circumstance should everyone abandon the body—one person must always stay beside it.
“After that point, the body will be loaded and returned here.”
“Why wouldn’t we just fly to Angle Inlet to meet everyone?” a voice asked from the back of the room.
“Good question, but it plays into not causing a scene, especially when we’ll have a dead body to load onto the jet.”
The fact there would likely be a corpse sent a chill down Martin’s back. Alina hadn’t clarified whose dead body, just acknowledged that there would be one.
“Now, we want to hold off on making any announcements right away. There are plans surrounding what will happen to the body once we have it, and those are details I’d rather not get into now. With the major cities currently burning, we want to make sure those matters are under something that resembles control before announcing what has happened. I still want everyone to stay out of contact with anyone outside of this team until I instruct otherwise. We don’t know how the Road Runners or Revolution will react to the news, and want to make sure that we’ll be within the safety of our jet. Commander Briar will deliver a speech, and that will be the end of this mission. Are there any questions?”
Alina spoke in such a nonchalant manner that one might wonder if the mission was a simple grocery run, not their lifelong, wildest dream. Martin, who normally had a list of questions before jumping into a situation, found himself with nothing to ask. All bases had been covered and he knew exactly where he needed to be, and where the rest of his team would be.
No one asked additional questions, the weight off their shoulders, the reality of a finish line both daunting and exciting. Alina stood at the front with Arielle for an entire minute in awkward silence, making sure no one had anything to add.
“Alright then, thank you again for your work on this mission. Our first car should be here any second for our team to drive the route. It’s going to be a long afternoon and evening while we wait. We will make dinner arrangements for the team, but in the meantime, I only ask that we leave Commander Briar alone as he prepares for his night ahead. Our thoughts are with you, Commander, and I want to take this moment to thank you for taking this on and risking it all. I know, as do you, that this team has driven this mission, but it will be you who is forever enshrined as the hero who killed Chris. And don’t you ever forget that.”
Tears welled in Alina’s eyes as she delivered her closing remarks, and the team erupted into applause, clapping and whistling in Martin’s direction. He clasped his hands in front of his chest and bowed toward his team, never having felt so smothered in admiration. Every person on this jet would lay down their life for him—he knew that without a doubt. But tonight wasn’t about that. It was his turn to put his life on the line.
No one else could.
Chapter 22
Martin leaned back in his recliner, the team dispersing away as they respected Alina’s call to give him space in these moments before hitting the road. His flask of Juice throbbed in his pocket, and as much as he knew he shouldn’t take a quick trip into the past, the temptation was simply too much for him as he stared death in the eyes.
There had been plenty of instances where he didn’t get the closure he needed from those closest to him, but only one mattered that he’d risk slipping away for a few moments. Part of his late night tossing and turning was spent on thinking of the best way to slip in and out of the past without being caught.
I’m the Commander and don’t have to explain myself to anyone on this jet, he thought. But he looked around and knew that wasn’t true. It was wrong, perhaps unethical, to disappear moments before finishing the most crucial mission that ever existed. He knew his mind shouldn’t have even been distracted with anything else besides the mission, but the thought
