Page 17 of Hollow State

A man and a woman, both carrying packs with trekking poles strapped along the sides. The man held a folded map in one hand while the woman chatted about how excited she was.

Nothing about either of them looked tactical, but sometimes that was the point. Wynn had learned that a long time ago.

The hikers continued along the path. The inflection in their voices stayed casual. No clipped phrases. No attention to the tree line beyond what anyone walking in the woods might give it.

Darwin crouched beside Kane, one hand at his elbow and the other holding the handgun low against his leg.

Kane remained still, observant. Thankfully, he didn’t try to jump into action. He wasn't ready for that and might never be, but Kane had been a soldier. A leader. And excellent at both.

The hikers reached the spot where Wynn and the others had left the trail and the woman came to a stop. Her gaze traveled toward the ferns while the man unfolded the map.

“Which trail do you want to take?” the man asked.

“The one that goes straight to the top,” the woman said as her feet did a little dance and she tapped the paper. "It has a steeper incline, but it's only a few kilometers. Then we can take this trail down and it intersects here. We'll need to keep moving to make it back by dark, but the view will be worth it."

“Sounds like a plan." The man tucked the paper into his pocket. "Let's go."

Wynn waited as the couple pushed toward the path that went up the mountain.

One minute. Two. Five. Finally, they were out of sight.

Wynn waved her hand. "We're not that far from where Elis parked the transport vehicle." Rising, she checked the trail in both directions, Darwin and Kane one step behind. "Kane, you good?"

"Looking forward to getting these two days out of the way so I can go back to living the dream at the bunker." He did his best not to limp. Being injured wasn't easy for anyone, but Kane had always been so strong. He'd been someone Wynn had always admired. She looked up to him even more as she watched how he handled being forced to take a backseat role.

They reached the clearing two minutes later.

A white medical transport vehicle sat beneath the trees, its nose pointed toward the road for a fast exit. Wearing standard scrubs, Elis sat on the back fender, drinking soda and eating chips as if he were simply taking a break.

Wynn whistled.

Elis glanced in her direction. He stood, stepped toward the road, and looked around before waving her forward.

Gripping the rifle, she did a three-sixty, checking the woods one last time. "Let's get Kane in the back."

"On it." Darwin took Kane by the elbow and helped him up the short step into the rear compartment.

"There are scrubs in there for the doc." Elis closed the doors and secured them. "I've got scrubs in the passenger seat for you. I'll give you a few minutes to change. But we've got to move."

"I only need a minute or two." She jogged around to the passenger side, tossed her pack to the floor, set the rifle between the seat and the console, and climbed inside.

The scrubs were folded on the seat. Wynn shimmied out of her pants and yanked up the bottoms before lifting off her top and pulling a new shirt over her head and resecuring her hair in a bun at the nape of her neck.

Opening the door, Elis climbed behind the wheel and fired up the engine. "Kane looks good."

Wynn checked the side mirror. "His progress has been remarkable."

"I worked with him before he went back to the bunker, and I've read the reports Darwin sent. But seeing his progress with my own eyes…it's incredible." Elis rubbed his leg as he pulled out of the clearing and onto the main road. "AXS-1 doesn't get approved often outside of combat and major emergencies. It's great to see it working so well on a case that was…" Elis glanced in her direction. "…well, almost as bad as mine."

"You're vertical," Darwin said from the back. "And while you're not running any marathons, you are doing some amazing things."

"Was I complaining, old man?"

"Watch who you call old," Darwin said. "I'm only ten years older than you."

Elis laughed. "Closer to twelve, but who's counting?"

"You are," Darwin muttered.