Niko: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 9) (14 page)

They were five minutes late to the meeting. From Cam’s wide grin, Niko guessed no one was fooled as to why they were late.

But once he saw the screens, he felt the happiness and ease from their quickie fade away.

The screen showed the interior of a Hawk. It was flying out across the ocean below. He could just see a set of hands at the Hawk controls and one slim shoulder on the other side of the cockpit.

Holmes stepped forward. “I authorized a mission to take a drone into the suspected drone killer area. The plan is to run the drone from the Hawk. Any sign of trouble, they’ll bring the drone in.”

“Erickson’s at the controls?” Niko asked.

Elle turned from her comp screen. “Yes. Lia is also aboard.”

“How far from Sydney Airport?”

“Several kilometers offshore. Their illusion system is up and Finn is the best we have at evading alien detection.”

Everyone watched as the Hawk sped above the waves. Tension pulsed in the room.

“You’re too low, Erickson.” Lia’s tart voice.

“I’m the pilot here. No backseat pilots allowed.”

Lia sniffed. “I can fly too, you know.”

There was a snort. “Not like me.”

“Arrogant flight jockey.”

Elle spoke into her headset, her voice amused. “We can hear you, guys. Everyone in the Command Center can hear you.”

The bickering fell quiet.

“There’s something ahead,” Finn said, his voice now serious.

Niko saw Lia’s shoulder as she leaned forward. “What
is
that?”

The image of a long, black shape atop the water appeared on the screen.

“Releasing the drone,” Lia said.

A second later, Niko saw the small drone whizz past the cockpit of the Hawk and disappear as its illusion system flicked on.

Its camera feed filled another screen. At first, there was only water, then the hulking black shape in the distance came into view.

“It looks like a…battleship, or an aircraft carrier,” someone said.

“An alien battleship.” A rock settled in Niko’s gut. The black ship loomed ahead, with long, antenna-like protrusions, and a large, bulky bridge at the back.

He could see raptors walking about on the deck. Strange equipment dotted the deck of the ship, pulsing red.

“My God.” It was Lia’s shocked voice.

Niko frowned, and as the drone adjusted course, he saw what she’d spotted.

Right on the bow of the ship was a huge nest. Many times larger than the one from the tanks.

And sitting on top of it was the drone killer.

It was the best view they’d had of the bird. It looked far more monstrous than in their sketches. It had a sleek body, but its stocky power was obvious.

It lifted its head. And looked directly at the camera. At the drone.

With a single flap of wings, it took off.

“Goddammit,” Lia said.

The drone spun away and they lost their view of the ship. Niko watched as the drone sped up, zooming away from its pursuer.

There was an earsplitting shriek. The drone killer was gaining.

“It’s coming.” Finn’s tense voice.

“Open the side door,” Lia said. “I’m going to do a hot landing inside the Hawk.”

Finn’s body blocked the camera’s view, as he went into the back of the quadcopter to open the side door. Then he was back in the cockpit, sitting beside Lia.

“Come on,” she murmured, fully focused on the drone controls.

“You can do this, Lia,” Finn said quietly.

Niko’s gut was tight. How close was the drone killer? He silently urged the little drone to move faster. Then the drone feed showed it was nearing the Hawk.

The bird was in hot pursuit.

“Almost there,” Lia said. “Get ready.”

Finn moved into the back again. There was a
thunk
from nearby.

“Drone’s inside the Hawk!” Finn cried out. “I’ve got it.”

Then there was another clang as something else hit metal. Finn’s curses filled the line.

“Oh, God.” Lia pushed to her feet. “It’s in the Hawk!” This time, her body blocked the camera’s view, as she moved into the back of the Hawk with Finn.

Everyone in the Command Center waited, holding their collective breath. They could hear Finn and Lia scuffling with something. The angry screech of a bird, more of Finn’s curses.

“Watch out!” Lia shouted.

There was a loud thump.

“It’s out! Get us out of here, Finn.”

Seconds later, Finn and Lia pushed back into the cockpit. Finn cast one glance back at the camera, and Niko saw that the side of the Hawk pilot’s face was covered in blood. Then he sank into his chair and touched the controls. The Hawk shot forward. Lia wasn’t in her seat yet, and as the Hawk turned, she crashed into Finn, landing in his lap.

“Well, it wasn’t what I had in mind,” Finn drawled, “but feel free to stay there for the rest of the trip.”

Lia cursed. “Let me up.” She struggled to extricate herself.

“It’ll be softer in my lap than the seat.”

Lia wrenched herself away from him and pulled herself up.

“Okay, maybe not,” Finn said dryly.

“Shut up, Erickson.” She made it back to her seat and strapped herself in.

Back in the Command Center, everyone released shaky breaths.

“Well done, you two,” Elle said. “Return to base.”

Chapter Thirteen

Mac finished strapping her armor on. Around her, her squad was talking and chatting as they also completed their preparations.

They finally knew where the drone killer was.

It was time to take it down.

Together, they walked out into the corridor. They met Hell Squad leaving their locker room—all geared up and ready for the mission. The plan was that Squad Nine would take point and infiltrate the ship, and destroy the drone killer. Meanwhile, Hell Squad would wait on a second Hawk as backup.

Mac pulled in some calming breaths. She was ready. They walked into the hangar.

Ahead, Niko was waiting with Holmes. Mac’s spine stiffened. Niko was wearing armor.

Memories of the last mission—his face swollen and his stomach bleeding internally—crowded into her head. “You are not coming.”

He gave her a steady look. “I am. I’m still the best covert operative we have. Dev’s coming, too. We need to finish this.”

“And I’m coming as well.”

They all turned and saw Lia stride in. She was also wearing armor and carrying a drone in one hand.

Niko frowned at the woman. “Lia—”

“I’m bringing a drone so you won’t go in blind.” She glanced at Holmes. “You need me there.”

Mac watched Niko and the general share a look.

Finally, Holmes nodded. “You’re in. Good luck.”

Hell Squad and Squad Nine split off with slaps on the back. Lia, Devlin, and Niko were with Squad Nine.

As the others boarded, Mac grabbed Niko’s arm. “Don’t get beaten up this time, okay?”

He smiled at her. “I’m falling in love with you, Mackenna.”

What?
The air caught in her lungs and her heart fluttered like crazy. She thought maybe she was having a heart attack. “You have crappy timing, Ivanov.”

His smile widened. “Come on, my tough soldier. Let’s go kick some alien butt.”

There’d be time to talk when they got back. Together, they climbed into the Hawk.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts.” Finn came out of the cockpit with a cocky grin. Then he spotted Lia. “You get lost, Lia?”

“No.” She held up her drone. “I’m on this mission.”

“Wait. What?” A fierce frown crossed his face. He looked at Roth and Niko. “Who thought this was a good idea?”

“We need the drone, Finn,” Roth said. “And Lia can hold her own.”

Lia’s expression turned stubborn. “Thank you, Roth.” She speared Finn with her gaze. “Plus, this damn drone killer has been taking down my drones. Now I’m taking
it
down.”

Finn’s jaw worked as he stared at the woman for a long moment. “Fine. Strap in.” He spun and stormed back into the cockpit, with Lia following him.

Cam leaned over. “I give it two weeks before they’re banging each other’s brains out.”

“A month,” Taylor piped up from her seat.

“I think they’ll drag this bickering thing out.” Sienna gave a little shiver. “Such anticipation. So sexy. Two months.”

“What makes you think they haven’t already?” Dev asked.

Cam’s eyes narrowed. “You know something we don’t?”

Dev gave an elegant shrug. “A spy never tells.”

“One week.” Theron’s voice was a deep rumble.

Everyone stared at him.

“Not you, too,” Roth said with a groan.

Mac shook her head at the teasing. When Niko traced his hand over her arm, she looked at him.

“I love seeing you like this. Ready to take on the world.” He lowered his voice to a murmur. “I like you naked, too.”

“We get in, destroy the drone killer, and get out.” She touched his face. “No heroic sacrifices this time, Ivanov. Promise?”

“Promise.”

“And if you keep that promise, I’ll show you my appreciation later.”

He touched his tongue to his teeth. “You’re on.”

As the Hawk lifted off and headed out toward the coast, it was filled with quiet murmurs, jokes, and teasing. The familiar banter of a well-oiled team heading out to face danger together. Mac loved her squad. They were her family, her friends, her everything. She saw Cam wink at her, and Sienna give her a thumbs-up. For the first time, Mac realized that they accepted her as she was. All of her.

And so did Niko.

She straightened. She suddenly wanted this mission over. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t want to think about her job, or the aliens, or fighting.

She just wanted to enjoy her man.

It wasn’t long before she saw the long, dark shadow of the raptor battleship ahead. She checked her carbine and then looked up at Niko.

“Let’s do this.”

***

Niko stared out of the Hawk and down at the ugly ship below. It was like a big black stain on the beautiful ocean.

He scanned the sky around them. He knew the second Hawk carrying Hell Squad was out there somewhere.

“Drone out,” Lia said.

“Okay, everyone listen up.” Roth stood, claiming their attention. “Cam, Taylor, Sienna, and Theron, you’re staying onboard. I want aerial cover from you
if
we need it. Be ready. If we need you, I’ll call you.”

The squad members nodded.

Roth looked at Niko, Mac, and Dev. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Mac answered.

They clipped onto zip lines and tossed them over the side. It was a quick rappel down, and soon their boots hit the deck of the alien battleship.

The thing was
huge
.

Instantly, they brought their carbines up and moved quickly and quietly into cover.

Roth gestured, and they started moving toward the bow of the ship.

“Raptors coming up the stairs on the port side,” Lia said in their earpieces.

Each of them had attached special silencers to their carbines. It wouldn’t make the weapon entirely silent, but it did significantly muffle the sound. They moved into position near the doorway of the stairs. When the raptors stepped out on deck, they took them down quickly.

Niko helped Roth drag the bodies out of the way, so they were hidden behind some equipment.

Niko looked ahead, studying the route between them and the nest at the front of the ship. “This way.” He led them into a maze of equipment. Everything hummed quietly, red lights glowing. In places, he saw organic-looking scales and skin covering bizarre devices. It was strange and unnerving. He looked back and saw the red lights blinking over Mac’s face.

“Devlin—”

“Already a step ahead of you.” Dev held up his camera and started snapping shots of the alien equipment before they started moving again.

They were getting closer to the front of the ship.

“More raptors—” Lia’s frantic voice. “Hell, and I’ve just spotted the drone killer. It’s in the air!”

They turned a corner, and the raptors were right there. The aliens gave startled grunts, and lifted their weapons.

Instantly, Niko and the others sprung into action. It was like they’d been working as a team for years.

Mac took out a raptor at point-blank range. Roth slammed one alien into the side of some raptor equipment. They swung around, wrestling each other. Niko brought his weapon up, taking a shot. His raptor fell with a gurgle. Beside him, Dev was fighting with a graceful edge, sliding down and knocking the feet out from a raptor before taking him out.

And Mac…she was tough. Fierce. His.

Soon, the raptors were all down. Niko and his team were splattered with blood, but alive and unharmed.

Then he looked up and saw the fierce shape of the drone killer, darting quickly through the sky after Lia’s invisible drone.

Chyort!
“Lia! Bring the drone back in. We want the drone killer down here and we can’t risk losing another drone.”

“Roger that. But you’ll have no intel.”

“Understood.”

The four of them crept forward. It wasn’t much farther. Niko could see a glimpse of the nest ahead.

“Roth? Niko?” It was Lia again. “The drone’s coming in, but I have to warn you, I picked up a large group of raptors. They’re between you and the nest. They are cutting you off.”

Niko stumbled to a halt, the others doing the same.

Goddammit!

***

Shit
. Mac looked around, but she knew they were short on options. She saw Roth doing the same.

Suddenly, Niko wrenched open a door. “Inside.”

“What?” she exclaimed. He wanted them to go down in the ship?

“We’ll head down and then come back up on the other side.”

“This is crazy, Niko. We have no idea what we’ll meet down there.”

He raised a brow. “You have a better idea?”

No. She didn’t.

Roth nodded. “Let’s move.”

They headed down the stairs, careful not to make any sound. The interior of the alien ship glowed with an eerie red light, and echoed with an incessant hum. They moved carefully down a long hallway. It was flanked by doorways made of a glowing amber glass. Mac could hear voices through the doors—grunts, screeches and screams.