Her stomach tightened.
A second aircraft was flying alongside them.
Too close.
Reeves lowered his voice.
“It appeared twelve minutes ago. It’s been signaling us, but we can’t understand why.”
Maya stared through the windshield.
Lightning flashed again.
For less than a second, the silhouette became visible.
An F-16.
And beneath its canopy was a small white falcon.
Maya forgot how to breathe.
Eight years vanished.
Suddenly she could smell jet fuel again.
Feel the helmet pressing against her temples.
Hear voices in her headset.
Falcon Two, bank left.
Falcon Two, stay with me.
Maya, get out of there.
Her fingers went cold.
“That’s impossible,” she whispered.
Pierce looked at her.
“You recognize it?”
Before Maya could answer, the radio crackled.
Static flooded the cockpit.
Then a man’s voice came through.
“Maya Lin.”
Nobody moved.
Captain Reeves slowly turned toward her.
The voice returned.
“If you’re hearing this, you already know this isn’t a mechanical failure.”
