Chapter 10 - High Ground
Daniel was alive. He was covered in soot, his left jacket arm burned away, but he was standing firm on the rocky ledge three hundred yards above the gorge.
The disabled helicopter banked sharply, clipping the treetops before crash-landing into a clearing half a mile downstream with a dull, distant thud.
Daniel scrambled down the jagged rock face with reckless speed, sliding through loose shale until he tumbled into the shallow creek beside them. He dropped his spent rifle, grabbing Ethan and Rachel into an iron embrace.
""I told you I'd find you,"" Daniel panted, his chest heaving, his face blackened by soot and ash.
""You're completely insane,"" Rachel sobbed, touching his burned arm with trembling hands. ""Your skin is blistered.""
""Nothing that won't heal,"" Daniel said, turning to Kane. ""Can you walk, old friend?""
""Give me a minute,"" Kane grunted, leaning heavily on Daniel's shoulder. ""Marcus won't be dead. Those birds are armored. His ground teams will converge on the crash site in ten minutes.""
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Daniel pulled the pelican case toward him, pressing his thumb against the biometric scanner embedded in the latch. A soft green diode blinked to life, and the seals hissed open, revealing a rugged laptop and two satellite uplinks.
""We don't run anymore,"" Daniel said, meeting Rachel's eyes. ""We broadcast.""
