Steelheart (The Reckoners #1)(118)

“I’m here,” Tia said. In the chaos I hadn’t noticed the sounds of the copter. “I’ve created new mobile channels using a direct feed to each of you; that’s what we should have done the moment Megan lost her mobile. Abraham, we need to extract. Now.”

I peeked up over the rubble.

Soldiers were climbing down from the stands to move on us. Abraham casually pulled a grenade o his belt and tossed it into the hallway behind us in case someone was trying to sneak up again. It exploded, and I heard shouts.

I swapped my ri e for Cody’s, then opened

re on those

advancing soldiers. Some went for cover, but others continued

moving, bold. They knew we were

at the end of our resources. I kept ring but was rewarded with a series of clicks. Cody had been almost out of ammo.

“Here,” Abraham said, dropping his large assault ri e beside me.

“Tia, where are you?”

“Near your position,” she said.

“Just outside the stadium. Head straight back and out.”

“I’m bringing Cody,” Abraham said.

Cody was still conscious, though he was mostly just cursing at the moment, with his eyes squeezed shut. I nodded to Abraham. I’d cover their retreat. I took up Abraham’s assault ri e. To be honest, I’d always wanted to re the thing.

It was a very satisfying weapon to use. The recoil was soft, and the weapon felt lighter than it should have. I set it on the small front tripod and let loose on fully automatic, dozens of rounds

ripping through the soldiers trying to get to us. Abraham carried Cody out the back way.

Prof and Steelheart were still ghting. I downed another soldier, Abraham’s high-caliber rounds

ignoring most of the soldier’s armor. As I red I could feel the handgun under my arm pressing against my side.

We’d never tried ring that, the last of our guesses at how to beat Steelheart. There was no way I could hit Steelheart at this range, though. And Tia had decided to pull us out before we tried it, calling the operation.

I gunned down another soldier.

The stadium trembled as Steelheart red a series of blasts at Prof. I can’t extract now, I thought, despite what Tia said—I’ve got to try the gun.

“We’re in the copter,” Abraham said in my ear. “David, time to move.”

“I still haven’t tried phase four,”

I said, climbing up to a kneeling position and ring on the soldiers again. One tossed a grenade my direction, but I was already pulling back into the corridor. “And Prof is still out there.”

“We’re aborting,” Tia said.

“Retreat. Prof will escape using the tensors.”

“He’ll never stay ahead of Steelheart,” I said. “Besides, do you really want to run without trying this?” I ran my nger along the gun in its holster.

Tia was silent.

“I’m going for it,” I said. “If you take heat, pull out.” I ran o the eld and back into the hallways beneath the stands, holding

Abraham’s assault ri e and

listening to soldiers shout behind me. Steelheart and Prof were moving this direction, I thought. I just need to wrap around and get close enough to re on him. I can do it from behind.

It would work. It had to work.

Those soldiers were following me. Abraham’s gun had a grenade launcher

underneath.

Any

ammunition? Those were meant to

be red before exploding, but I could use my remote detonator pen and an eraser tab to make one go off.No luck. The gun was out of grenades. I cursed, but then saw the remote re switch on the gun. I grinned, then stopped, spun, and put the gun on the ground, wedged back against a chunk of steel. I flipped the switch and ran.

It started

ring like crazy,

spraying the corridor behind me with bullets. It probably wouldn’t do much damage, but all I needed was a short breather. I heard soldiers yelling at one another to take cover.

That would do. I reached another opening and left the hallway, dashing out onto the playing field.

Smoke curled in patches from the ground. Steelheart’s blasts seemed to smolder after they hit, starting res on things that shouldn’t burn.

I raised the pistol, and in a eeting moment I wondered what Abraham

would say when he learned that I’d lost his gun. Again.

I spotted Steelheart, who was turned away from me, distracted by Prof. I ran for all I was worth, passing through clouds of smoke, leaping over rubble.

Steelheart started to turn as I approached. I could see his eyes, imperious and arrogant. His hands seemed to burn with energy. I pulled to a halt in the whipping smoke, arms shaking as I raised the gun. The gun that had killed my father. The only weapon that had ever wounded this monster in front of me.

I fired three shots.





40

EACH one hit … and each one bounced free of Steelheart, like pebbles thrown at a tank.

I lowered the gun. Steelheart raised a hand toward me, energy glowing around his palm, but I didn’t care.

That’s it, I thought. We’ve tried everything. I didn’t know his secret.

I never had.

I had failed.

He released a blast of energy, and some primal part of me

wouldn’t just stand there. I threw myself to the side, and the blast hit the ground beside me, spraying up a shower of molten metal. The ground shook and the blast threw my roll out of control. I tumbled hard on the unyielding ground.