CHAPTER 1 — THE FALL THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HER END
Kate's scream vanished beneath the thunder of the helicopter blades.
For one horrifying second, she saw nothing but endless sky.
The mountains spun around her.
The lake below grew larger every heartbeat.
She knew exactly what was coming.
Death.
Inside the helicopter, laughter echoed.
"Guess she won't be reporting anyone anymore."
One soldier even leaned out of the open door to watch her disappear.
"Problem solved."
None of them noticed something hanging from Kate's tactical vest.
A compact emergency deployment pack.
The academy had issued it only to elite reconnaissance graduates.
Most soldiers didn't even know it existed.
At barely three hundred feet above the valley, Kate ripped the emergency release.
BANG!
A small high-speed emergency parachute exploded open.
The violent jerk nearly tore her shoulders apart, but it slowed her descent just enough.
Instead of crashing into the rocks...
She slammed through thick pine trees.
Branches snapped.
Leaves exploded everywhere.
Then—
CRASH!
She hit the forest floor unconscious.
Blood trickled from her forehead.
One arm appeared broken.
Three ribs were cracked.
But she was alive.
Miles away, the helicopter continued toward the training zone.
No one bothered looking back.
As far as they were concerned...
Kate was already dead.
Until the pilot suddenly frowned.
"That's strange..."
Every navigation screen inside the cockpit suddenly flashed bright red.
MAYDAY SIGNAL DETECTED.
The signal belonged to one of their own.
Kate.
And military emergency beacons couldn't be activated manually after death.
The pilot's face turned pale.
"...She's alive."
The laughter inside the helicopter stopped instantly.
May you like
For the first time...
Fear entered their eyes.
