But he didn’t tell them that. They’d find out about it later, on the news.

Darling grabbed his backpack and headed for the rear entrance where there would be fewer guards. Thanks to Syn’s magic, all their sensors and alarms were deactivated. None of them detected anything.

Not until Darling reached the door and set off an explosion so massive, it brought down the entire back fence and two guard towers.

Hauk made a “heh” sound as the explosion echoed all around them. But for the dampeners in their helmets, they’d be partially deaf from it. “I think you overrang the bell there, Kere. But just in case some of them are sound sleepers, shall I wake them?” He opened a volley of cover fire.

Darling started forward to set another explosive for the inner door that was also locked.

All of a sudden, something went sailing past his head to land in the prison’s doorway. It beeped once, then blew the door wide open.

Cursing, Darling jerked around to see Drake pulling out a fresh round from a pocket on his leg and loading it into the launcher that was attached to his right wrist.

“You didn’t really think you’d hogged all the chemistry and engineering genes, did you?” He locked his weapon and lowered his arm. “I managed to pick up a few things from those diagrams you left laying around the house.”

Darling had a whole new respect for his brother’s abilities. Drake was right. He wasn’t a baby anymore and it was time Darling acknowledged that fact.

“All right. You win. You’re an adult who can kick ass on his own. Now get behind me and cover Maris.”

Maris laughed. “Face it, babe, you’ll always be five years old to your brother. Now get back here with me before I spank you.”

Drake returned to Maris’s side. “I’m not afraid of that threat, Mari. My fear is that you’d do it and enjoy it.”

“I would, but not for the reasons you think… And only because a good spanking for you is a long time overdue.”

“Incoming!” Darling snarled as a rocket came at them from somewhere inside the prison.

While Maris and Drake dove for cover, Darling returned the attack with one of his own.

Hauk moved around to Darling’s front so that he could lead, and the two of them did what they did best.

They kicked ass, took names, and nailed that list to the foreheads of their enemies.

Moving forward as a single unit, they tore a hole through the prison big enough to drive a freighter through it. Nykyrian and the rest shouldn’t have a bit of trouble getting in here and extracting the prisoners.

Smoke billowed around them as they went through the prison systematically taking out any threat to the others. Soldiers, assassins, androids, unmanned canons… everything.

Because of the extreme heat, it interfered with the enhanced vision in their helms. Darling switched his optics as Syn’s voice navigated him through the halls, toward the cells where his people were most likely being held.