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Deirdre's plan sucks. This is going to go south real fast.

She wants me to do an exfiltration in midair, kidnapping the target from a tiny aircar hundreds of meters above the city. Her plan doesn't just suck, it's insane!

Despite my earlier vociferous complaints, here I am, strapped into a mesh seat in the cabin of Suki's dropship. I peer out the open side door and frigid late afternoon air stings my face, blowing my hair in my eyes. It carries with it the uncomfortable dampness of a light drizzle, the type that makes your bones ache.

Deirdre's final words play in my head: "It's our best chance, Rachel, darlin'."

Blinking against the rain, I look out at the white strobes and colored nav lights of half a dozen aircars. Like us, they're heading north, following the major highway below us. About a hundred meters below, I spot an aircar with a large, purple SkyLink logo painted on the side. Pretty standard vehicle: eight to ten meters long with stubby wings. Similar to Suki's dropship.

"Target coming up," I say to my two-man team.

"We should gas them before we go inside," Hunter says, sitting to my right.

I turn to face him, glancing at the macho guns 'n' eagles patches sewn on his flight suit. Someone needs to teach him that kind of hick outfit is unbecoming of a Family agent. I yearn to snap, "Yeah, great idea, send the pilot to sleep so we crash and burn," but I don't. A leader's got to inspire.

"We have the benefit of surprise," I shout above the roar of the wind. "Stun only." I glance at the two men. "It's not a hit job. We need the woman alive."

"Who is she, anyway?" Grant asks.

I glare at him. Such information shouldn't affect the job he needs to do. His baby-smooth face makes him appear twelve, but I know he's at least twenty. "Doesn't matter. We do what the Family orders—bring her back. Now, clip in."

I snap my harness to a rod above the open door and loosen the belt strapping me to the seat. The clunk of metal on metal tells me my men are following my instructions.

For the third time I check both my handguns are tied to my belt in case I drop one. Hunter and Grant have assault rifles and blast cannons. Bulky and unwieldy in tight spaces. No, they don't meet the standards of a team I would choose. Damn Deirdre, she sent me up here with amateurs.

But I have to do this job. That's what indentured servitude means. I can handle being beholden to The Family, but my sister.... I never should have let the Family get to her. I utter a long sigh. I just have to keep working, keep killing. The more jobs I do, the more credits I earn to buy mine and Tania's freedom. To escape the Family once and for all and disappear.

Truth be told, Deirdre's plan itself isn't stupid. Four teams already failed to secure the target on the ground, each torched to death in an inferno. That's a wretched way to go. Apparently the woman's security team uses incendiary weapons. They won't try that midair in an aircar, so Deirdre's plan does makes sense. What makes me mad is I didn't get to pick my own crew. Hell, I could do the mission better alone than with these two. She's up to something. The whole Mastori mess with Tania taught me Deirdre has a hidden agenda, but I'm not about to challenge her until I know what cards she's playing with.

"Time?" I ask Suki over my throat mic. I swivel to face the cockpit and see her hold up one finger.

"One minute," I repeat her signal to the men.

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