“Off we go!” Sergio cried, the helicopter beginning its ascent. They climbed in altitude, not needing to go much higher than 300 feet for this trip, but Justin caught a breathtaking view of the desert. Every way he looked was sheer golden sand, daunting with its isolation, but welcoming with its guaranteed privacy at the same time.
Wealth of Time stood tall and sturdy, about the size of the old Target stores before they all turned into supercenters. Justin had never seen it for himself until this mission, and this elevated angle provided him a glimpse of its grandness. He couldn’t wait to demolish it.
They started moving forward, and within seconds had left the trucks behind, where they’d soon start the drive over.
“We’re taking it slow,” Justin said. “Let’s keep our eyes on the property, but give time for the trucks to get over there.”
Sergio already knew this and shot a thumb up to Justin. “Roger that.”
Justin grabbed his binoculars and looked out the window to the world below, pleased to find the trucks had already taken off, set to drive at a clip above 100 miles per hour. All they needed was a three-minute head-start, but Arielle had suggested they wait to leave until the helicopter got in the air, just in case they ran into any mechanical difficulties upon takeoff.
Those three minutes suspended in the air dragged for Justin, and surely all of those inside. He passed the time by watching the trucks move below, clouds of dust following behind their small caravan. He stole a glance to the store, undisturbed under the beaming sun. They had discussed what to do if the people inside heard the helicopter ahead of time and headed outside. Justin declared that shouldn’t make a difference in their approach—they still had to destroy the building. Surely nothing the Revolters had on the ground could deter that from happening.
“We’re clear,” Sergio said, having kept track of the three-minute interval himself, and started forward.
Justin put the binoculars on his lap and watched ahead, the store growing bigger with each passing second. He had half expected retaliation. Surely Chris had strengthened his security at his offices and buildings around the continent after his mansion went up in flames. But that wasn’t the case, nor would it ever be, seeing as Chris was invincible and didn’t give an actual shit about those who worked for him. Perhaps he believed the Road Runners would never follow through with another air assault after their last one failed under Julian Caruso, a gamble Commander Briar had won.
It’s not supposed to be this easy, Justin thought. But it was. It only took them seven minutes to reach the point of no return, inching closer to once again turning the Revolution on its side.
Doubt crept into his thoughts. Did Chris have a way of knowing all of this was coming his way, yet allowed the Road Runners to carry out their plans as a way of ambushing them in a twisted trap? It didn’t seem so far-fetched considering Chris’s history of mind games, possibly even likely.
Another topic that had been discussed but not truly addressed was the building itself. A handful of those on the team had shared their experiences of entering Wealth of Time, all in different cities at different times. How did they know the store standing in the desert was real, especially in the middle of an area known for mirages? Theories spun out of control during their initial discussion, and it was pushed to the back burner as something they would try to extract from Sonya once they captured her. Some believed the store itself was a portal for time travel, or that it was built above a supernatural energy source. If this same desert housed the supposed aliens in Area 51 hundreds of miles south, then what else could be possible?
Despite all the doubt, no resistance met them as Sergio said, “We’re now in range to hit the store.”
Justin took one final peek through the binoculars, finding no one outside, no secret doors with machine guns pointing up at them. Just a massive wooden structure ready to meet its death. He looked to Sergio, whose hands had come off the control wheel to flip new switches, and promptly returned to start aiming their ammunition.
“Knock that piece of shit down!” Justin barked, suddenly overcome with euphoria as he realized this was indeed falling into place without interruption. The airwaves through the headsets fell silent as the helicopter rumbled violently, a trail of smoke zooming to the store ahead, trailing its missile.
The first one hit the eastern side of the building and sent a fiery orange cloud into the sky, chunks of wooden shrapnel flying in every direction. Sergio deployed the next, followed by two more, all within twenty seconds.
Between the smoke trails and explosions below, visibility had momentarily been eliminated, prompting Sergio to descend through the black clouds of ash. They had already planned on touching down and joining the festivities, and once they cleared the smoke, found the rest of the team pulling up in the trucks, jumping out and immediately opening fire.
The store looked like a tornado had just pummeled it, piles of splintered wood and drywall standing in smoldering stacks while smoke oozed from the rubble. A handful of people scampered from the store’s remains, promptly greeted by a shower of bullets.
Sergio continued to lower the helicopter and they touched the ground within minutes, the blades swirling dust in every direction, their blaring sound drowning out the rapid gunfire that took life after life.
Six bodies already lay on the ground, a few twitching as they clung to their last breaths. Three more rose from the rubble and darted away from the building, meeting the same fate as their friends before.
“I need to find Mario
