Page 25 of Raven Blackwood
Our team split into three groups, Trinity and Steele taking the northern side while the rest of us cut straight into the heart of town. The streets were quiet, but the tension in the air was thick. Jenkins’s men were inside the town’s only saloon, waiting.
The first shots rang out before we even reached the main square. A gang member posted on the saloon’s balcony opened fire. My enhanced reflexes kicked in—I ducked low and returnedfire, my stun bolt striking him square in the chest. He crumpled without a sound.
“They know we’re here,” Orion said over the comm.
“Good,” I replied. “Let’s finish this.”
We advanced in a tight formation. Because of our nanite armor, we didn’t use cover. Jenkins’s men only had projectile weapons. Their bullets would simply bounce off. His men had dug in at key locations—the sheriff’s office, the general store, and the saloon. It didn’t matter. We had them outgunned and outmatched. They couldn’t stop us.
Phoenix blasted the saloon doors open with a heavy kick, sending two thugs scrambling. He stunned one before he could reach his weapon, while Daken took out the other. More gunfire erupted from the upstairs balcony, but Steele was already moving, crashing through the upstairs window with the force of a battering ram. Seconds later, the firing stopped.
“They’re down,” Steele’s voice came through the comm. “Moving to clear the general store.”
I pivoted toward the sheriff’s office, where Jenkins’s second-in-command holed up. The door was barricaded, but Orion had a way of handling obstacles like that. A well-placedexplosive charge blasted the door clean off its hinges. We surged inside, overwhelming the gang members before they could react.
With the main pockets of resistance crushed, I sent the signal for Tom and the ranchers to move in. They stormed the town, rounding up the unconscious and stunned thugs, tying them up to be dealt with later. One by one, the people of Brislow emerged from their homes, watching as we broke Jenkins’s grip over them.
But we weren’t finished yet.
“Jenkins had his men kick people out of their homes,” I told my team. “Now it’s time for us to evict them.”
We went house to house, moving fast. Most of Jenkins’s men had holed up in the homes they’d stolen, figuring the town would never fight back. They weren’t ready for cyborg justice.
At the first house, a couple of thugs inside tried to put up a fight, but Steele simply punched the door off its hinges. A few well-placed stun shots later, and they were dragged out, tied up alongside the others.
At the next house, we found a desperate gang member using a frightened family as a human shield. Orion’s enhanced speed got him throughthe window before the man could react, and a single strike to the back of the head put him down without harm to the hostages.
One by one, the houses were reclaimed, families stepping over their former oppressors as they waited to be escorted out in cuffs. It was basically no contest between an experienced team of cyborg warriors and a bunch of street thugs. The people of Brislow were free.
By midday, we accounted for most of Jenkins’s men. The town was free, but we still had to find Jenkins and his inner circle.
His turn was coming.
Hannah
The sun was shining brightly through the bedroom window when I woke alone in our bed. I felt a bit of disappointment that Raven was absent, and I didn’t know when to expect his return. Although I still felt tired from 24 hours without sleep, I needed to get out of bed and get some work done.
I went to the kitchen and found some leftover bread and a hard-boiled egg for breakfast. Apparently, Zach made coffee, and I was happy to see there was still some left in the pot. I poured myself a cup, added a little honey, and strolled out onto the porch to drinkit. It was a warm summer day; it was not hot, but just pleasantly warm.
As I looked over toward the barnyard, I noticed that no one had gotten the horses out. When I finished my coffee, I went to check on Grace, Zach, and the baby. And as I thought about it, I wondered if they had chosen his name yet. They had talked about many different names for girls and boys, but hadn’t settled on any.
Their bedroom door was open just a bit, enough so that I could see they were all sleeping. Zach and Grace were in their bed while my little nephew slept in a handmade wooden cradle his father had made. I left without disturbing them and headed out to the barn for chores.
When I went to get my horse out of her stall, someone grabbed me from behind with a hand over my mouth and nose and one around my arms and waist. I struggled to free myself as Raven had taught me, but he was too strong. Plus, the way he held his hand over my mouth and nose, I couldn’t breathe, and that was the last thing I remember.
Chapter Sixteen
Raven
Sergeant Dakin took over the supervision of cleaning up in Brislow to give me the opportunity to go back to the ranch and check on Hannah. Since I thought I had some extra time, I decided to swing by and check on Koha’vek and his human companion.
I kept my sky-cycle low, skimming over the treetops as I approached the secluded valley where Koha’vek and Ava had made their home. The sun was beginning its slow descent, casting golden light over the rugged terrain. I had tracked him here after the recon at the work camp, following a hunch that the former Mesaarkan soldier hadn't gone far.
I landed just beyond a rocky outcrop, the hum of my engine dying down as I dismounted. The cabin was modest, built from salvaged wood and stone, nestled into the mountainside as if it had always belonged there. Smoke curled lazily from the chimney, and I could hear quiet conversation drifting from the open doorway.
Cautiously, I approached, stepping silently over the uneven ground. Through the window, I caught a glimpse of Ava seated at the table, her auburn hair catching the firelight. Koha’vek was next to her, his massive frame slightly hunched as he listened intently. They weren’t just hiding out together. They were living together, like any ordinary couple trying to carve out a life in a world that wouldn’t accept them.
I exhaled and knocked once on the wooden frame of the open doorway. The conversation inside halted immediately. Koha’vek’s form tensed, and he moved protectively in front of Ava as she shot me a nervous glance.
