Tess stopped staring at the vortex as she bent her knees to sit on the ground. The soldier in the white battle suit who stepped through got her legs log-straight. Her glare stayed glued to the sucker named James Smith.
"Hey guys, what are you waiting on?" he said with the wave of a hand. He stopped walking forward and fanned away the smoke from the busted jet. "Oh, sorry about that. It was the commander's orders."
Tess rolled her hands into a fist and marched towards James. James's eyes went wide when Tess appeared in front of him with her fist about to spring into his face.
The hard grip around Tess's hand stopped her fist from passing her ear. That was how far she had pulled it back, but she didn't get to break the man's jaw.
"I was joking," Tess told Lanse, who had moved quickly to stop her hand.