Michael Vey 9, page 16
“Yes, I understand.”
“One more thing. If we’re too late and my friend dies, so will you. Is that clear enough?”
“Yes,” he said frantically. “The execution is about to happen in the courtyard. We must hurry.”
I let him up. “Take us.”
The sergeant practically jumped to his feet, holding his hand over his burned cheek.
“You’re going with me,” Taylor said, taking his arm.
“Come, come,” he said. “We need to hurry.”
“Looks like someone doesn’t want to die today,” Zeus said.
The sergeant led us to the former rancher entrance to the rat bowl. He tried to run his key through the lock, but he was shaking so badly, he had trouble making it work.
“Calm yourself,” I said. “Give it to me.” I took the key from him and unlocked the door and opened it.
“Come,” he said. “We need to hurry.”
Little had changed inside the bowl since our last visit. This was where I’d been held as I’d awaited being dropped into the rat bowl. It was one of a hundred memories I’d love to be rid of.
We jogged through the concrete feeding area, past the cells where we had rescued Tanner years before. Then we entered a hallway—the same hall where Hatch had released a million rats at us. The hallway wound nearly a quarter of the way around the complex, past the laboratories and what had been the rat breeding facilities. We passed a group of five scientists walking, their attention lost in their conversation.
“Don’t even think about it,” Zeus said to the sergeant.
“He didn’t,” Taylor replied. “He’s focused on not dying.”
My anxiety grew with each step. “Faster,” I said.
“I’m hurrying,” the sergeant said. “We’re almost there.”
We exited out the last set of doors into the wider outer corridor. The outer wall was lined with large windows, and in the growing dawn, we could see the open courtyard. Something was definitely going on, as there were at least fifty Chasqui soldiers, congregated together and facing toward the same thing. Closer to the building, there was a line of soldiers holding rifles. In front of them, next to the building, someone was tied to a wide wooden post with a hood over his head.
“It’s Jack,” Ian said. “That’s him.”
The post was scarred with bullet holes. It was the kind of thing that Hatch would have built to keep his guards in line. Sort of a monument to horror.
At the far side of the line, facing the riflemen, was an older officer in a dark blue formal military dress uniform with white cuffs and gold fringed epaulets. In his right hand he was holding a sword that was pointed to the ground, and he was looking at his watch on his left arm. Then he lowered his watch arm and looked up.
“It’s a ritual execution,” I said. “He’s about to start.”
The officer slowly lifted his sword. He shouted, “Listo.”
The line of riflemen chambered a cartridge, then lifted their rifles.
“Apuntar…”
They lifted their rifles to their shoulders, pointing their guns at Jack.
“Taylor, reboot him now!” I shouted.
Taylor grabbed Nichelle’s hand and put her hand against the glass. The man commanding the execution froze. He looked down at the ground, then around the yard with a blank expression on his face, like a man who had just woken up. The firing squad looked almost the same, all lowering their rifles.
Zeus, Cristiano, Nichelle, and I ran to the nearest set of doors. I kicked them open, then ran directly in front of Jack, pulsing to repel any possible bullets, though none came.
Zeus fired a lightning bolt at the commander. The commander was still holding his sword, which was an excellent conductor for Zeus’s lightning, and the man was knocked off his feet.
Once I was in front of Jack, I turned around and blasted the riflemen, taking them all out in one pulse. One of the rifles went off, and Jack’s body jerked in anticipation. He still had his hood on and had no idea what was going on.
Apparently, neither did the Chasqui soldiers in the audience, who looked as confused as the men Taylor had rebooted. They seemed unsure if this was part of an exercise or the show they’d come to watch.
I pulled Jack’s hood off. After his eyes adjusted to the sun, he looked at me with disbelief. “Michael?”
He had been beaten so badly, I almost didn’t recognize him. His face was cut and bruised, he had two black eyes, and dried blood covered most of his hair.
“Not your day to die, my friend.” I went behind the pole, melted the vinyl rope he was tied with, and pulled it off him. “Nor mine. Let’s get out of here.”
“Where are we going?” he asked.
I looked back at all the soldiers, who were starting to move toward us. “Not totally sure,” I said. “I didn’t think we’d make it this far.”
For one of the few times since I’d known him, Jack’s eyes welled up. “And you came anyway.”
29 Back to the Jungle
I shouted to Zeus and the others, “Back the way we came.” Jack, Zeus, and I ran to the building.
“Hurry,” Nichelle shouted. She was holding the door for us. Cristiano stood there pointing the pistol we’d taken from the sergeant, but not firing. There were too many soldiers, and none of them were chasing us yet anyway.
“Hello, Jack,” Nichelle said as he passed. “It’s good to see you in one piece.”
“It’s good to be in one piece.”
Zeus and Cristiano came in after us; then Nichelle shut and locked the door. Inside the corridor, the sergeant was lying on the ground with McKenna and Taylor standing above him. Taylor came over and hugged Jack.
“You saved my life,” Jack said. “Twice.”
“Then we’re even,” she said.
“Did you save your friend?” the sergeant asked eagerly. “This is him, right?”
I looked down at him. “Yes, you don’t have to die today. Unless you follow us. The next time I see you, no mercy.” I checked my pocket to make sure I still had the key I’d taken from him, then looked up. “We’ve got to go. Taylor, can you give the whole group a big reset?”
“I’ll try. Nichelle, come boost me.”
Nichelle came to her side. Taylor closed her eyes and reached out. “There.”
I looked out the window. The mob was now just looking around the yard in confusion.
“Come on,” I shouted. We retraced our steps to the rat bowl. There were still no sirens.
“Where are we going?” Cristiano asked.
“Back to the jungle.”
“But the Chasqui are all over out there.”
“I know,” I said. “But they don’t know we’re out here. They haven’t turned on their sirens.”
Just then a siren went off, blasting over the entire compound.
“Never mind,” I said.
We ran out of the rat bowl past the guard booth, then through the brush to the electric fence. I stepped on the bottom wire and lifted the one above it, the power again arcing between my fingers.
“Still high voltage,” I said. “Everyone, be careful.”
Once everyone was through the fence, I asked Ostin, “You got the GPS?”
He lifted it. “Right here.”
“Let’s try to take the same trail back to the Amacarra. We’ll pick up Tara, then hike to the lodge. Ian, keep your eyes open. They’ll be coming for us.”
“Do you think they’ll alert the Chasqui at the cave?” Cristiano asked.
“You can be sure of it,” I said.
“Then we could be surrounded.”
“Not completely. It’s a big jungle.” I turned back. “Lead us, Ostin.”
We started back out into the forest. We moved quickly, powered by the adrenaline of being chased.
“Ian, is anyone behind us?”
“Not that I can see. But they had to go around the electric fence. We went through it.”
“Hopefully they won’t find our tracks.”
“You can bet they’ll bring the RESATs this time,” Ian said.
“Let’s just keep in front of them.”
Even without our Amacarra guides, it was much easier moving in the daytime.
“I could use some of that Amacarra power water,” Ostin said.
“Me too,” Ian said. “That was good stuff.”
“You guys came to Peru alone?” Jack asked.
“No. We came down with Johnson and Alpha Team.”
“Johnson,” Jack said. “I love those guys. I haven’t seen them for months. Bentrude is my main man. Did he come down with them?”
The question stung. I stopped and turned back. “Bentrude was killed.”
Jack was stunned. “Killed?”
“By the Chasqui.” I turned back to the trail. “Don’t think about it. We’ve got to keep going.”
After a few more minutes, Jack asked, “Was anyone else killed?”
“Luther and Gunnar.” I glanced back. “Really, there’s too much to tell you right now.”
Saying that only stressed him more. “Where’s the rest of the Electroclan?”
I wondered if he was really just wondering about Abigail. This wasn’t the time to tell him we didn’t know where she was.
“Most of them are with Alpha Team. They’re going to stop the Chasqui trucks carrying the electric bats.”
“How did you know they were doing that?”
“Cristiano told us.”
Jack glanced back at Cristiano, who was three people behind us. “Is that Cristiano, the Peruvian guy?”
“Yes.”
“Where’d you find him?”
“He was a Chasqui.”
Jack moved closer. “Michael, you can’t trust a Chasqui. They’re fanatical in their beliefs. It’s a cult. Once a Chasqui, always a Chasqui.”
“Just like you, Cristiano never joined the cult.”
Jack was silent for a few more minutes, then asked the question that was really bothering him. “Where’s Abi?”
I didn’t answer. I wished he’d just be quiet.
“Michael?”
“She’s not here,” I finally said.
“I don’t blame her for not wanting to come. After that fight we had about her going to school instead of coming with me. I was really an idiot.”
By now everyone else was listening. I didn’t say anything.
“That’s why she didn’t come, right?” He looked around at everyone else. “She’s okay, right?”
“She’s missing,” Nichelle said.
“Missing? Where?”
“If we knew that,” Nichelle said, “she wouldn’t be missing.”
“We think she was kidnapped from school,” Ostin said.
“By whom?”
“We found some footage of her kidnappers,” Taylor said. “We think they’re electrics like us. And we think we saw Bryan with them.”
“Hatch’s Bryan?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to fry his—”
“Jack,” I said. “Save it. We’re not out of the woods ourselves.”
“Literally,” Ostin said.
After another ten minutes, Jack said, “Michael.”
“Yes, sir.”
“When I called you from the helicopter and told you I was one of them, did you believe me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“The truth is, I didn’t know. You were pretty convincing.”
He walked a bit more, then said, “Would you have killed me if you had to?”
“I don’t know how to answer that. Had to is had to.”
“If the Chasqui had come at you, me with them, would you have killed me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let me tell you something. If I ever pose a threat to my friends, you’d be doing me a favor to kill me. Do you understand?”
“My head does. But it’s not that simple.”
“Then get this into your heart and head. I’d rather be dead than be a traitor to you and my friends. Okay? You’d be doing me a favor. You never forget that.”
“I understand.”
“I love you, man.”
“I love you too.”
As we continued plodding through the jungle, I shouted to Ostin, “None of this looks familiar. Are you sure we’re going the right way?”
“The GPS doesn’t lie,” Ostin said. “And I don’t make mistakes.”
“Of course not.”
“It was night before. That’s why nothing looks familiar.”
“Are we there yet?” Nichelle asked.
“We’ve still got at least two hours,” he said.
“I’d kill for some water.”
“The Amacarra will have water,” I said. I turned to Ian. “Still no Chasqui?”
“Not that I can see.”
“Why does that make me nervous?”
“Me too. I like to keep my enemies close.”
Fifteen minutes later a helicopter flew by us, followed a few seconds later by another.
“That’s got to be Chasqui.”
“Maybe it’s just rich tourists,” Nichelle said.
“It’s Chasqui,” Ian said.
“I wish Tanner was here,” Nichelle said.
“Are they slowing down?” I asked.
“Not a bit.”
“They just can’t see us under the trees,” Nichelle said.
“They have el-readers,” I said. “That’s how they tracked us the last time we escaped.”
“Maybe they’re not looking for us,” Ostin said.
That seemed like a dumb thing for Ostin to say.
“Why wouldn’t they be looking for us?”
“Because they’re going after Alpha Team.”
My chest constricted. “I hope you’re wrong for once. How would they even know about them?”
“I don’t know,” he said.
I hated it when Ostin didn’t know something.
PART SIXTEEN
30 Waiting for Bats
In the first nest, Jax said to the women, “This is always the hardest part of battle for me. Waiting.”
“I would think it would be when someone starts shooting at you,” Cassy said.
“I’m not saying that’s easy, but when you’re in a firefight, you’re so full of adrenaline, you don’t really have time to think about fear. I’ve seen guys shot and not even know it until they slow down.”
“I see that,” she said. She turned to Tessa. “How are you doing?”
“I’m officially ready to go home.”
“What will you do when you get home?”
Tessa smiled. “First I’m going to kiss Brummell.”
“Brummell? Is that your boyfriend?”
“He’s my Cavapoo. Then I’m going to take a very long bubble bath. Then I’ll go to the spa for a pedicure and get my nails done. And, of course—”
Tessa was interrupted by the squelch of the radio, followed by Jacinta’s voice. “Strikeforce Two, are you there?”
“Roger,” came Johnson’s voice. “Strikeforce One, are you there?”
Jax grabbed the radio. “Roger, Strikeforce Two.”
“Target is in view. It is on the correct road,” Jacinta told everyone.
“How many trucks?” Johnson asked.
“Three.”
“Ostin was right,” Cassy said. “There are three cargo containers.”
“That dude is always right,” Tessa said. “At least as long as I’ve known him.”
“Are they traveling with escorts?” Johnson asked.
“Not that I can see. I just see the trucks.”
“That’s good,” Johnson said.
“I am pulling out to follow them,” Jacinta said. “I will keep you updated.”
“Thank you,” Johnson said. “Over.”
“Over,” Jax said. He turned to the two women. “So it begins.”
Tessa lay back in the nest. “You’re right. It’s the waiting. I’ve got butterflies.”
“That’s a good thing,” Jax said. “Butterflies keep you alert. But this mission is different from most.”
“How’s that?” Tessa asked.
“No one will be shooting back. It’s just like shooting fish in a fishbowl.”
“Isn’t it supposed to be ‘fish in a barrel’?” Tessa said.
“A fishbowl is easier. Smaller. Like this road.”
“You mean the… kill zone,” Cassy said sarcastically.
Jax grinned. “You really shouldn’t be so flippant with your commanding officer. You could get written up for insubordination.”
“What does that mean?”
“What does ‘insubordination’ mean?”
“I know what ‘insubordination’ means. What does getting ‘written up’ mean?”
“It means whatever they want it to mean.”
“Then it could mean that I’m put in private confinement with someone, like, say, you?”
“I’m sure that could be arranged.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “Really, guys? Do you think about anything else?”
“She’s right,” Cassy said. “Save it for later. Besides, no one’s writing me up. I’m a civilian contractor.” She looked back out over the road. “How far out are they?”
“They just passed the fork, so about two hours.”
“Two hours.”
“So,” Cassy said, turning to Tessa. “After you kiss your dog, have a bath and the manicure, then what?”
PART SEVENTEEN
31 Walking into a Trap
“Look over there,” Ian said. “There’s a jaguar.”
“Where?” McKenna asked.
“In that tree over there. It’s hanging on the second-to-lowest branch.”
“I see it,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
The cat was just lounging in the tree, watching us, its green eyes reflecting the ambient light. It looked more bored than threatening.
“Should I drop it?” Zeus asked.
“It’s not bothering us,” McKenna said. “Besides, they’re a protected species.”
