Learning to Stand by Claudia Hall Christian Read Free Book Online

the door. Raz grabbed pieces and threw them off to
the side. They revealed a metal sliding door.
    “ Hutchins? Tell the Jakker
we’ll be five minutes,” Alex said.
    Vince relayed the message to Alex’s Sergeant
then disconnected her pocket computer.
    “ Gas masks. Check to make
sure your oxygen is working. Check the person next to
you.”
    The men put on their gas masks then checked
each other.
    “ Special Forces first,” Alex
commanded. “Prisoner in the middle. Agent Rasmussen and Captain
Hutchins and I will take the back.”
    Sliding open the metal door, Troy revealed
another concrete door. He groaned. Alex swatted him out of the way.
There was a combination lock on the door. She opened the padlock
then stepped aside. Matthew and Troy pulled open the door.
    “ Everyone. Guns out. We do
not know what we’ll encounter. Let’s make certain we are on guard.”
Seeing Jessie ahead, she said, “Ok. Go.”
    Alex put on her mask when Matthew and Troy
ran down the tunnel. Raz checked her oxygen. Reaching a turn, Troy
ran ahead. Matthew signaled for the Weasel and his guards to enter
the tunnel. Alex watched their backs as they moved down the tunnel.
Raz nudged Alex into the tunnel.
    They heard the sharp report of machine
gunfire.
    “ Go,” Alex
yelled.
    Raz and Vince ran down the tunnel. Using all
her strength, Alex yanked the cement door closed then reset the
lock. Running down the tunnel, she found Raz waiting for her. They
ran together down the rest of the tunnel.
    “ They were shooting so Zack
would notice them.” Raz shouted through the mask. “They are going
up on wires.”
    “ Can you make a wire?” Alex
asked.
    “ No other option,” Raz
said.
    Alex shook her head at his usual response to
his back pain. She opened her mouth to ask again about his option
to have surgery then realized it was pointless. He was going to do
what he was going to do.
    They slowed at the entrance. Troy and
Matthew had hacked enough space to step around the enormous
Cottonwood tree trunk that grew over the tunnel’s entrance. On
fire, the tree dropped flame and ember in the opening. Raz stepped
a leg through the opening. Pressing his chest against the
smoldering tree trunk, he shifted to pull his other leg
through.
    His back seized. With Alex pushing on one
side, and Vince pulling on the other, they managed to get him
through opening.
    When Alex stepped, her left hip cramped.
Vince pulled her through the opening. They stood in a small
clearing surrounded by burning timber. She pointed to the wire.
Vince clipped himself to the wire and went up with Raz.
    Her forgotten ear bud squealed then began
working.
    “ Heya Alex,” Zack said.
“I’ve got everyone. You gonna hike out?”
    Alex waved up to him. She saw movement in
the passenger compartment and Troy slid down with a wire. Hooking
her to the wire, he wrapped himself around her.
    “ To what do I owe this
pleasure,” Alex yelled through her mask.
    “ Lost a bet,” he laughed.
“Your hip’s off. I didn’t think you could make the
wire.”
    She smiled her thanks. At the passenger
compartment, the men pulled Alex and Troy into the compartment.
They piled their gear and masks into a cargo container then took
their seats.
    “ Where to?” Zack asked
through the intercom.
    “ Super Max,” Alex replied.
“We’re taking this one home.”
    “ WAIT!” The Weasel
screamed.
    Troy pulled the helicopter door closed and
the men clicked into their seats. Following Alex’s lead, they
ignored the Weasel protests. The helicopter flew across Southern
Colorado then slowed as they approached the United States
Penitentiary Administration Maximum Facility.
    “ Last chance,” Alex said.
“Talk now or forget it.”
    The Weasel motioned her to sit next to him
on the helicopter. She responded by forcing him to sit next to her.
Untaped and undocumented, for the remainder of the trip, the Weasel
told Alex everything he knew about the murder of the Fey Special
Forces Team. When the