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Jana’s movement was mechanical as she pulled off Kyle’s radio and earpiece. Then she ripped open his blood-soaked outer windbreaker, revealing the Kevlar vest underneath. She tore free each Velcro strap and wrestled the vest off of Kyle. She threw it over the top of Cade’s head and attached it to him.
Cade yelled over the gunfire, “What are you doing? No, put this on you.”
But Jana was having none of it.
“No. It’s you we’ve got to get out of this building. You have the data, and you know how to interpret it. Now pick up that weapon. We’re going, and we’re not stopping for shit.”
“But . . . I can’t. Kyle . . .”
Jana knew time was short. The smoke screen that hung in the stairwell would soon dissipate and remove their only cover. She fired several rounds down into the stairwell. The
