“You get two minutes to rest,” Pro-now announced, the moment we emerged from the tunnel.

We pulled ourselves up to one of the cliffs and collapsed, guzzling lungfuls of air. The tunnel exit stood behind a waterfall, built into a rock face about fifteen feet tall. The stream cascaded into a clear pool, making for a relaxing view.

A view destroyed by the black pillar of smoke rising in the background.

“Odim,” Pro-now said. “Phone.”

Odim fished the gadget from her utility belt. “Checking in with the others?”

Pro-now grunted. “Assuming they have reception. Chances are high they ran into similar circumstances.”

“You should contact the Colonel, ma,” Lawal said, slurring the words. The corporal's elbow bled something fierce, and the makeshift gauze he'd tied over it didn't seem to help.

“One minute,” All Mine said. “I'm seeing double here.”

Pro-now toggled the flip phone. It erupted in vibrations seconds after booting. He glanced at the screen, swore, and raised it to his ear. “AV.”

I closed my eyes and focused on the sounds of the waterfall.

Pro-now moved away from the group, speaking into the phone. The second soldier retrieved a tube of healing gel from his backpack. He knelt beside the corporal and inspected his wound. A man of few words, that one.

“How is it looking, Lawal?” All Mine asked.

“Better than first feared, ma,” Lawal said. His tiny eyes bore into her helmet. “You need to make that call.”

All Mine sighed and stumbled to her feet. “I suppose I do.” She touched the side of her helmet and walked to the edge of the cliff.

Dark smog climbed into the sky—the second inferno I’d witnessed in twice as many days.

The natives who lived nearby were villagers—agrarian people who cared little about the Council’s war with the syndicate. Wicker’s fire would claim their farms, their homes, their lives . . .

Why did death and destruction come so naturally to the Four-oh-Four? What was it about superpowers that made atrocities easier to commit? We’d started the mission with a team of twelve. Now, only six remained. The rest—gone. Just like that. Robbed of life within the span of two hours.

A brick lodged in my throat.

Pro-now shut the flip phone. He stood in silence for a minute, then walked back to us, gait unsteady.

“What did AV say?” Odim asked, rising to meet him. “How are Mater and the others doing?”

Pro-now brushed past her. He walked over to All Mine, and then, without a word, he leveled a baton at her nape.

“What are you doing?” Lawal yelled, jumping to his feet.

He drew his pistol, but Odim responded before he could advance. She pointed her fists at the two soldiers, one for each.

I scrambled to a standing position, pulling a shell from my bandolier. Lawal’s quiet colleague aimed a gun at me.

“Put your hands up,” Lawal barked, “or we will shoot.”

“Shoot,” Odim said, “and you will wake at the bottom of the Lagos Lagoon.”

Lawal adjusted his grip. He angled to keep all three of us in his sight. “Do not make me repeat it. Hands up or die.”

Pro-now didn't move a muscle. Neither did All Mine.

What the heck was this situation?

All Mine ended her call. “I'm guessing you plan to kill me without sharing what I did wrong?”

Pro-now tightened his grip on his baton. “Scythe informed you. Do not pretend to be oblivious.”

“What's going on, Pro-now?” Odim asked. “What did AV say?”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“The base,” Pro-now replied, demeanor uneasy. “The Four-oh-Four attacked while we were away. They succeeded.”

“The Four-oh-Four . . .? How?”

“That's what I’d like All Mine to tell us.”

All Mine turned around slowly. “You think we did this? Why would we help the Four-oh-Four?”

“I'm not seeing any hands,” Lawal said.

Pro-now glanced his way. “You take that tone one more time with me, corporal, and I will snap your neck.”

Lawal’s gun hand wavered.

“Put the guns away,” All Mine said.

“But—” Lawal cried.

“Away,” All Mine affirmed. “They have a right to be angry, even though their suspicions are misplaced.”

“You mistake me,” Pro-now said. “I am not angry. What is the word for being way past it? Murderous?” He jabbed the baton at her throat. “Last chance to tell the truth.”

All Mine stiffened.

I moved to intervene before things could reach a point of no return.

“I am sorry, sir,” I said, “but how bad is the outcome looking? Did we lose anyone?”

“It's the Four-oh-Four, Volley,” Pro-now said. “What do you think?”

Oh . . .

“It was too perfect,” Pro-now murmured. “Almost like they were two steps ahead of us. The SRA—”

“The SRA had nothing to do with this,” All Mine said. She pointed at her helmet. “See these dents? I'd be a corpse by now if Volley hadn't saved me. You think I'd throw my life away for a ploy that stupid?”

“Maybe you wouldn't. But someone else will.”

All Mine balled her fists.

“We should contact the others,” Odim said. “If they ran into the same problems we did . . . I don't even know what to think. Plus, this is still Four-oh-Four territory, Pro-now. We shouldn't linger.”

“What did Scythe tell you?” Pro-now said, gaze focused on All Mine.

“That we are needed back in Newtown,” All Mine said, tilting her chin. “Your base has been attacked and the joint operation has failed.”

For a half second, I thought Pro-now would hit her.

He lowered his baton instead and gestured to us. “Back to the cars. Double time.” Then to the SRA crew—“You're in the lead.”

All Mine didn't complain. She gave the order and moved ahead with her team.

Pro-now fiddled with the flip phone. “Can't reach Dia Mater.” He tried a different set of buttons. “Rabidor? Can you hear me?”

I left him to his phone call, keeping an eye out for nasty surprises.

The trucks had fled their original position shortly after the wildfires began. The radios were back up again, however, so we directed them to our new location. Odim commandeered a wheel, evicting its driver. The SRA soldiers crammed into the other vehicle and made themselves scarce.

“Still no contact with Dia Mater,” Pro-now said, ending the call with Rabidor. Before he could expatiate, the phone vibrated again. “Yes?”

I twiddled my fingers, unable to stop the tossing in my gut. We’d left Ava and Alewo back at the base with little to no means of defending themselves. They hadn’t been hurt in the chaos, had they?

Odim maneuvered through the dirt path until we returned to the gas station at the junction. The workers at the station gathered to watch the smoke, palms clasped over their mouths.

The station wasn’t close to any of the bushes, but if the fires managed to reach it . . .

Pro-now slammed the phone down on the seat. He steepled his fingers in front of his face.

“Sir?” Odim asked, casting a wary glance at him.

“They knew,” Pro-now said. “The Four-oh-Four knew everything. They knew we had Evans. They knew we were coming for them.”

“We have Evans?” Odim said.

“Had. The syndicate set him free. Together with No Light.”

“Then Rabidor—”

“He couldn't find their weapons cache. The Four-oh-Four left a bunch of empty containers instead, all rigged with bombs. The team was lucky to have Rabidor with them.”

I stopped the shudder in my arms. “What about Neviecha? And Bazaar? Are they okay?”

Pro-now paused. “They don’t number among the dead.”

“What do you—”

“Our people are still gathering reports, Volley. Let’s wait till we return to the base.”

Odim sat straighter behind the wheel. “You said we captured Evans, Pro-now. When did this happen?”

“Early this morning. Scythe pulled a . . . silent arrest on our behalf.”

Odim gritted her teeth. “This is . . . I don’t know what to say, sir. Knights can transport large amounts of material faster than any vehicle. Their presence might explain why the Four-oh-Four outsmarted us again today. Just like in Mutu Minna.”

I perked up at that. “Exhaust is part Knight,” I said. “Not Rook. She teleported around in the smoke. Didn’t need to bring her whole body along with her either. Maybe she is the Knight you are looking for?”

Pro-now hummed. “None of our people have faced her in person, so your observation may prove invaluable, Volley. Knights can sometimes mimic the abilities of Rooks. However, the scale of transportation involved here seems bigger than Exhaust's capabilities. If she could move large masses around with ease, she wouldn’t have chased after you on her lonesome.”

“True. . .” I unclasped my helmet and stared out of the window. “Can we do something about the fire? I don't feel good leaving like this.”

“I called in a favor from Lagos. They promised to send a team. Unfortunately, we can't wait around to help.”

“We need to support Dia Mater,” Odim said.

“Negative,” Pro-no answered. “If her situation is anything like ours, we have to assume the worst. The Four-oh-Four would have a trap waiting for them. Possibly in the form of more mercenaries and Villains than they anticipated.”

My heart skipped a beat. “She has Activity on her team, yeah? Who else is with her?”

“Ballboss, Mixer,” he said. “All four make a pretty solid team. One with an edge in both engagement and retreat. However, in any game of chess, the player who can predict his opponent's moves has the upper hand.”

“We are going to help her,” Odim said with finality.

“We aren’t,” Pro-now replied. “They are too far out.”

“I am not letting anything happen to Erica.”

“And neither am I. But AV is coordinating with Rabidor. His team is in a better position to reinforce Dia Mater. The three of us will head back to base.”

“The base can wait—”

“It can't,” Pro-now said, stretching the words. “Catherine, Elixir, Bazaar. In addition to freeing the prisoners, the syndicate took three of ours captive.”

The blood curdled in my veins. “Who led the assault?”

Pro-now picked up his phone. “Who else? Boil. And Cnidarian.”