Frantically, I hit the button again and again. As the the walls of Last Chance Gorge rushed past me, I found a moment of clarity. Struggling in the final seconds of my life was futile. Sincere in my belief that the tech should be destroyed rather than fall into the hands of the Reds, I was willing to die for it- but that wasn’t my first choice. Dozens of memories battled for dominance in my final moments: pink-frosted birthday cakes, my favorite shoes with the silver buckles, the first day of flight school, a hill with soft grass under a sky full of stars, Doc telling me not to flood the pump-

DON’T FLOOD THE PUMP!

That was it! I forced my thumb off of the hard rubber of the button and watched the ground rush up to meet me.

Five… I took a deep breath.

Four… The bottom of the gorge with it’s shallow, fast moving water and the underlying rocks became clear.

Three… My thumb crept back to the ‘push’ position.

Two… Here goes nothing.

One… With one hard thrust, I ground the button and released.