Boom.

  "Take me to breakfast!" The large man slammed his hand against the wall, pushing himself off and toward Erin.

  Wen only had a moment to react, but instead of pulling out her guns, she thought of a more tactful approach. Alex was on his way to the island that housed the person they were here to see. The mission was already almost complete. If she started a fight now and drew attention to where they were, it would make it harder to escape in the long run.

  She was under no illusion that they could fight off the entire base and make it out unimpeded. Chances were, if they made too much noise in the base, they would be behind bars after the commander got involved. Their entire plan depended on them not being noticed and not making a stir, and the man was doing his best to make sure to mess up that plan.

  So, instead of pulling her gun and taking the shot, she went with something she was sure would work.

  "We'll take you." She stepped between Erin and the man, raising both hands in surrender as he suddenly stopped in front of her. "Please, calm down. We'll take you to eat."

  He glared down at her, his large head shaking as he took in heavy breaths. Whatever he was, Wen knew he was no normal grunt in the Military Police. A man like the one before her wouldn't last long with the physical tests that they were required to undergo. No, he had enough rank that he could be lazy and enough strength that it didn't matter that he looked like a fat slob.

  "Lieutenant Cade, right?" she said, recalling the name the other man yelled into the room. "Take my hand, and we'll get you there."

  Erin looked at her wide-eyed, but Wen tilted her head toward the door. They didn't have time to debate the issue and they didn't have time to argue. It was either fight now or get a chance to escape if they could lose the lieutenant in the halls. After a moment, Erin nodded, and her lips turned into a grim line.

  To Wen, this was no different than distracting a drunk man to stop a fight at a pub. She and Erin would get him far enough away that he wouldn't cause any problems, and then they would make their own escape. She reached and grabbed onto the man's large hand, wrapping one hand around his finger and pulling him toward the door.

  "Bacon," the man said, following her without any more input needed.

  Erin opened the door, and they stepped out into the hall.

  As far as Wen knew, there were no kitchens inside the base. She thought she understood that it was mostly handled by the mess hall in the nearby barracks, but that didn't make sense. Soldiers would need to eat meals in the middle of their shifts, and she didn't imagine officers going down to the barracks below just to eat a meal. No, there would need to be spaces where soldiers could live inside the base itself, especially if it ever needed to be used defensively.

  "I'm sure there's some somewhere near here." Wen checked both ways down the hall, but saw no one nearby..

  He had to duck under the frame, and his shoulders and overall body had some difficulty squeezing through. We wondered how exactly he had come into the room unless he had done it so his nap wouldn't be disturbed. She recalled the other man who had knocked on the door and called Lieutenant Cade out.

  "The ships," Wen said, thinking about the docks below. "We might be able to find you something there."

  Boom.

  "No!" Cade yelled, slapping the nearest wall with an outstretched hand.

  His hand shouldn't have had the reach to hit the wall from where he stood. However, his entire arm stretched with the force of his slap, slamming into the wall after crossing the distance. His fingers and palm flattened against the metal, almost becoming a two-dimensional shape against the steel. Wen sucked in a breath through her teeth as the hand retracted from the wall and formed back into its normal form beside Cade.

  Lieutenant Cade was cursed.

  "I remember," Erin whispered before clapping her hand over her mouth and looking up at the man.

  Wen wanted nothing more than to ask what she meant by that. However, Erin just shook her head as she looked wide-eyed between Wen and Cade. Wen had to settle for the fact that she wouldn't be getting an answer from Erin soon, and she had to go with her original plan: get Cade somewhere where they could lose him.

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  "Okay," Wen said, tightening her grip on his other hand and ignoring the squishy feel the man's finger had. "Where would you go in the base, then?"

  "Uh." Cade looked down the hall, his free hand now reaching up and digging into his nose before he looked behind him. "This way."

  He pulled Wen with him, starting down the hallway and back toward the shuttle bays. He moved faster than any man his size had a right to, practically carrying Wen through the air behind him as he walked down the hall with long strides.

  "Be ready to let go," Erin whispered behind her. We've met this guy before. He's a bit dim, but he's strong."

  Wen glanced back at Erin as she followed behind her. Despite how flaky Erin could be, she stuck behind Wen as they made their way down the corridor and toward the light at the end of the hallway. Whatever Erin's plan was, Wen hoped it was better than her own. If the man could move as fast as he was, she didn't have a lot of confidence in losing him once she let go of his finger.

  They continued down the hallway toward the hangar, Lieutenant Cade leading the way as he practically dragged Wen by the hand. Wen had no idea what Erin's plan was, but she still had her guns as a backup. While the freezing cold of her curse might not be enough to put down a lieutenant permanently, they would at least blow him down.

  At least, she hoped so.

  In reality, her confidence in her curse was shaky at best. It had basically failed her twice now in two life-and-death fights. Against Miss Brooke, she had only been able to win because she had time to gather her cold into a ball before striking at the water woman. And that was with an advantage against the woman's form. Against the strange bird woman on the last island, it had taken her being driven into the ground and turning her whole body into an embodiment of absolute cold to take her down.

  Wen had to stop at that thought. Had the last two people she fought against both been women? She hoped that wasn't going to be a pattern. If her life were a story, she would worry about the literary message of a woman who only hurt women. She shook off her undergraduate work from her mind as Cade stopped before her.

  Slap.

  She ran into his back, and as she looked up, she noticed he stood at a crossroad of a corridor that forked to the left and right. Cade pulled his hand up, carrying her with it as he brought his finger up to his chin. Wen let go and dropped to the floor without a second thought as the man considered his options. Wen landed hard against the ground, catching herself with her hands as her bottom hit the floor. A shake rattled through her body, and she clenched her teeth to hold in a cry of pain.

  "Left or right," Cade whispered as he stared at the ceiling. "Should go with my nose."

  Sniff.

  Cade took in a whiff of the air around him.

  "You can't be serious," Wen whispered, pushing herself up and dusting off her pants. "There's got to be some limits to how—"

  "There it is!" Cade rushed to the left, grabbing Wen's wrist and dragging her along.

  Her arm felt like it was about to be ripped out of its socket as she trailed behind Cade, her legs barely keeping up with his speed. It was uncanny how fast such a big man could move, and soon, she wasn't even on her feet as Cade dragged her down the hall. Erin followed behind them, and Wen stole a few glances to ensure she wasn't alone.

  Skrrt. Thump.

  Cade suddenly stopped at a door at the end of the hallway. Wen caught a whiff of burning meat in the air coming from the door and couldn't help but be surprised. Cade's nose had guided him correctly, and the door in front of him was a barrier that wouldn't last long once he ripped it open and ran inside.

  Crack. Thump.

  Cade slammed the door open, pulling Wen inside the room without a second thought. When they were inside, he finally let go of Wen's arm, rushing toward the far side of the room, which had several metal stands across it that connected to a backroom hidden from sight. Erin followed behind her and helped Wen stand as they looked over the room.

  The room was about the size of a school's cafeteria. It reminded Wen of the times she had gone down to the university cafeteria during her days back in the dorms. However, this cafeteria was designed to be more efficient than a university cafeteria. A single line on the far side of the room followed along the wall to the end, where there was a small register. Several long rectangular tables lined the rest of the room, though they were all empty. A single worker stood behind the counter, looking up at Cade from behind the glass in a white apron and uniform.

  "Come on, come on!" Cade motioned toward Wen and Erin before turning back to the counter.

  "Now would be the time," Erin said, and Wen nodded.

  Part of her was morbidly curious to see what the man would get, but now was the perfect time to get away with her no longer being pulled by him. They could get back to where they had hidden and hopefully either catch up to Alex or at least stay out of trouble until it was time to escape. Either option was better than staying with Cade.

  "I salute you for your sacrifice," Wen whispered as she locked eyes with the worker before returning to leave, ignoring the absolute terror in the woman's eyes.

  Then, she turned to leave. Erin reached for the door handle first, turning the knob as Wen followed. At the same moment, every fiber of Wen's body screamed at her, and she jumped forward, catching Erin at the waist and taking her to the ground in a tumble. Above, a massive object sailed past Wen's head and slammed against the door.

  Whoosh. Clang.

  "You're staying!" Cade yelled. "You don't abandon good food!"

  A chair fell to the ground beside Wen, and she spared a moment to check Erin before she stood up. Erin held her stomach, but it was no worse for wear, and gave a nod. Cade stood on the other side of the room, his face burning bright red as he glared down at both women.

  Like it or not, she didn't see a way out of the situation. There were times to be cautious and times to go with the flow. There were also times when you needed to put your boot down to stop from getting hurt. Wen saw this as the latter.

  Wen drew one of her revolvers as the woman behind the counter ducked.

  "I don't know what's wrong with you," Wen said, pulling back the hammer on her revolver.

  "But we're leaving!" Erin finished as green and brown shards pierced the sleeves of her jacket.