Ethan settled into Shatterstar's cockpit and brought up Victor's coordinates. They were already beyond the US jurisdiction, far into the lawless badlands where no authority reached and chaos ruled openly. Out here, power alone decided who lived and who didn't.
He activated Shatterstar and pushed the systems to full stealth and maximum thrust.
As the mech surged forward, Ethan became aware of something unsettling. Nothing on Earth could track him now. Not satellites, not radar, not any scanning network he knew of. Shatterstar moved like it didn't exist at all, a ghost cutting through the sky.
It took only three minutes.
From above, he spotted them. Victor and Micah stood near Blackie, with two mechs nearby. One was Victor's, powered down and scorched, while the other floated behind it in tow mode, its posture limp and unresponsive. Amber was still inside.
