Nexus: A Max Ahlgren Novel (Crucible Book 4) by Ryan W. Aslesen

Author:Ryan W. Aslesen [Aslesen, Ryan W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2019-08-31T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

The pilot glowered at Leet through the open cockpit door as she exited the plane with Daniel’s briefcase in her hand. She led Shai down the stairway. Max followed, assisting Daniel, the scientist’s left arm draped over his shoulder. He received only a dirty look from the pilot, a welcome change. I’m not the asshole for once. Imagine that.

Max took his time getting Daniel down the stairs, dismayed once again by the smell emanating from his gunshot wound. His condition hadn’t improved at all. It’s probably worse than when we left. They’d tried cleaning his wound on the plane, but they couldn’t get below the surface without potent painkillers to numb his agony. Even oxy wasn’t strong enough.

The plane’s hatchway slammed closed before Max had descended even halfway into pre-dawn darkness.

“You need some help, Max?” asked the lone man standing at the foot of the stairs, his redhaired and bespectacled friend Otto Christiansen.

Max had met the electronics expert years before in the Marine Corps and had last seen him less than a year ago. Other than Max, only Otto and Swift had survived the French Guiana mission, during which Otto’s skills proved invaluable.

“Thanks, pal, but there’s only room for one.”

“Gotcha.” Otto introduced himself to Leet, who greeted him with openly distrustful professional courtesy. Who could blame her after all the shit we’ve been through?

“Damn, he looks bad,” Otto commented when Max reached the tarmac. “Gunshot?”

“Yeah, we gotta get him up to DC in a hurry. You got the car?”

“Right over there.” He pointed to a black Suburban parked under a streetlamp next to the squat control tower that governed the tiny airport in the middle of North Carolina’s piedmont country.

“Déjà vu,” Max said.

“And not the good kind,” said Leet.

Otto shrugged. “Rental place opens at eight if it’s no good.”

“It’s fine,” Max said. “We just got chased by one is all. How far to I-95?”

“About thirty miles, but I wouldn’t be in too much of a hurry. You should get this man looked at.”

“No time, and we can’t risk hitting the ER. Every agency in existence is after him.”

Otto chuckled as if he expected no less. “No need for the ER. My new girl happens to be a nurse. She doesn’t go to work until tonight. I’ll give her a call, have her meet us at my place.”

“Thanks, but trust me, that’s not a good idea,” Leet said.

Max shook his head. “Afraid she’s right, Otto. We’ve been chased damn near every minute since Saturday night. I don’t want to involve you any more than I already have.”

“Judging from the smell of that wound, you don’t have a choice. Wherever he’s going, he won’t make it in that condition. Let me help you out.”

Max figured they were safe for the moment. The Agency would seize the departure logs of every airport in the Vegas area, though it would be a dead end. To throw them off, Max had booked the flight into Teterboro Airport in northern New Jersey. He’d ordered the pilot to change course for North Carolina once they were airborne.

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