Ultima Ratio

Chapter 63: Declarations of Dependence

Their final obstacle was the Rio Grande, and it required the most care out of their entire journey.

The border between Mexico and the Republic of Texas was drawn right down the middle of the river, and Texas made sure to be very clear about their boundaries. Shield-producing drones hovered above the water as far as the squad's eyes could see, and even more were hidden below the surface. Out of all of the drones, the Aegis Squad was going to take advantage of the latter group.

There was one part of the river that dropped suddenly for a few meters before returning to its original height, and only the neighboring residents were familiar with this abnormality. Coincidentally, the two nearest drones sat on the river floor on either side of this gulch. When they formed the shield of carbon nanotubes between them, it didn't extend any deeper than they were, leaving an opening perfect for humans to swim through.

Once the team arrived at the river, fully camouflaged to hide from the drones, their guide pointed out the exact position of the gulch before he parted ways with them with a short wave and a gruff good luck. They had to wait an hour for him to be in the clear before they started their attempts; in the very possible event that they triggered the sensors, his presence would put many civilians and future passengers in danger.

They decided the order while they waited, and they all voted for Danya to go first, easily winning the majority five to one. Everyone but Danya agreed that she was the UN's best hope at winning the war, and if anyone could escape, it needed to be her. As expected, Danya adamantly refused, only begrudgingly relenting when she insisted Akira go second; that decision was also made official after a five-to-one vote.

Next was Elodie. Even though she likely had the most political leverage, that could also make the war take a turn for the worse with her years of fighting for the UN. That, and her still swollen ankle would make it difficult to outrun pursuers in the worst case scenario.

Quyen volunteered to go last, and refused to relinquish her position. According to her, Special Forces guardians were trained to undergo enemy torture, unlike the weak Army grunts. Besides, out of all of them except for Danya, she could take out the most enemies before getting captured.

The third and fourth positions were a toss-up between the Gupta siblings, a debate only made more difficult by their equal insistence for the other to go first. In the end, they decided by using the most official method known to humanity: rock-paper-scissors.

Thankfully, the order didn't end up mattering, and despite the rough and filthy water with its constantly shifting depth, all six of them made it across without incident.

It took another thirty-six hours to trek close enough to Monterrey, Mexico, to set off an emergency flare, and after verifying their identities with the local authorities, they had to wait another two hours for a transport. After a two-hour-long plane ride, they finally touched down on the Crusader, and Akira had never been more relieved to see the floating metal maze.

They were welcomed with a round of applause by what seemed like most of the crew, and Akira forced out a grim, grimy grin to make up for the fact that her team was filthy and barely conscious. She had only been on the flight deck for ten seconds before she spotted Sam running towards her through the crowd, and her vision was quickly engulfed by his wrinkled and stained black T-shirt.

"Where have you been?" he exclaimed, his voice ragged. "What's wrong with your arm? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? Do you know how many times I've had to lie to Uncle Ray when he called for you? Huh? Do you?"

"She can't answer with you suffocating her like that," Danya said as the air was squeezed from Akira's lungs.

"And be careful with her back," Elodie unhelpfully added from the background.