Gods Under The Dome

13.2

《Flight》

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The middle Bird, the one who seems to be their leader, orders them down, and like a well-oiled machine of one mind and body, they react, armored bellies smacking off the concrete. Propped on their elbows with guns aimed, they canvas their surroundings. The leader's jaw tightens as his finger closes around the trigger and he fires. The bullet whizzes through the air, shearing off the tops of grass before it finds its target.

A few feet from us, a man, similarly dressed like the ones accompanying Matthew's sister, falls back, his now lifeless body slumped over scraps of metal fencing. A bullet pierced his left eye, taking with it almost the entire left half of his face. Shorn muscle hangs in tatters over the remains of a shatter nose. Blood gushes from the wound, rivers of it trailing down his plain, black shirt marked by three red stripes.

Within seconds, three more men, dressed in black fatigues marked by red lines, give away their positions to rally beside their fallen comrade.

Lilly clenches Tujo's hand in hers.

The leader of the Birds stops his assault, gets to his feet and points his weapon plateward."This doesn't have to end in a bloodbath." Slowly, he lowers his gun to the ground, giving it a hard kick that sends it sliding on the concrete. "We were only following orders."

Quint leans in and whispers in my ear. "Do those guys look familiar?"

I glance at the trio, kneeling before the corpse. Red markings, black fatigues. They remind me of the Collective, but nothing strikes at the kindling of my memory.

One of them reaches out a gloved hand and closes their fallen companion's eyes, before revealing his location to the dozen rifles that swivel to meet him. His lips part into a smile as he peers down at the execution squad itching to pump a hundred bullets in his chest. "The El Accosta promised to give you the Liars," he says.

Lilly gasps. "They're working with the Council?"

I shake my head. "It appears they had some deal, but judging by the body count, I'd say that agreement's been blown to hell."

"And you didn't," the Bird responds. "Your men went rogue, escalated the situation-"

"Shouldn't you be elite enough to have vetted your spy more thoroughly?" He points at the wreckage of the Hall. The Bird swallows hard. "Homemade bomb planted in the Homestead as insurance." He snorts. "Should have had him working for me."

The Birds' leader motions to the body near his feet. "You've had your revenge. Two of mine for two of yours."

The El Accosta sighs and waves his gun. The Birds stiffen, their arms going rigid as they hold their positions, weapons never wavering.

"Afraid not. I have three bodies needing buried and," he leans forward and places a hand over his eyes. "Seems you only have one. That guy on your left only got a little nick on his arm."

The Bird commander's mouth pulls deeper into a frown. "So?"

"So?" He hunches over. "I'm owed bodies and I'm not leaving till I collect."

Before the Birds can fire, the El Accosta take cover. They open gunfire and a slurry of bullets spit out of smoking barrels. My hearing rings, the sound deafening, making my head throb.

Quint pulls my arm. "Hurry!"

I nod. "You don't have to tell me twice!" I point toward the way we came. "Head toward the Tram."

Lilly's face wrinkles. "You sure?"

Be what they need you to be.

I nod.