Javier leaned over and peered through the store’s large, broken window. “Why are we here?”
“This is where we’re meeting Robert and the others.” Jonah set the brake. “These old towns aren’t monitored like populated areas. I’m surprised we beat them here. They were taking a different route.”
“You’re sure we’re in the right place?”
“Yeah.”
Jonah opened his door. “Let’s head inside and look for something to get those cuffs off while we’re waiting.”
“What was Robert gonna use?” Javier left the car and opened the rear door, allowing the others to pile out.
“Same thing we are. Whatever we can find.”
After Jonah tried the door and discovered it locked, he led the way through the broken window. The interior reflected the exterior’s neglect: dirt and garbage covered a counter that ran along the wall, scrap metal and other debris cluttered the floor, and a family of possums scattered from a corner upon seeing the new guests.
Mattson coughed into his shoulder. “This looks promising.”
“Don’t give up so easily.” Jonah shoved what looked like a car bumper with his foot.
As he picked up a screwdriver, an SUV stopping outside drew Javier’s attention. Robert, Trent, Damien, and Sam piled out. Sam tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled upon seeing Javier, making his pulse race.
Javier unlocked the door and held it open for them. Sam was the last one inside, and she wrapped her arms around him. Leaning back, she stroked his cheek. “I’m glad you made it out.”
“Were you worried?” A smile tugged at his mouth. Of course she’d been worried—a jailbreak wasn’t exactly the same as running to the store for milk. But they hadn’t discussed it beforehand. He imagined they both preferred not giving voice to the worst-case scenario.
Robert set a duffel bag on the counter, sending a cloud of dust into the air. “Let’s see if we can get those cuffs off.” He opened the bag and pulled out several items, including a small tool kit. Using Liz’s cuffs, he tried three screwdrivers before finding one that worked, and in a minute all three were rubbing their wrists and stretching out their shoulders. He then retrieved granola bars and bananas from the bag, offering the former prisoners their first unassisted meal since Arizona.
As Robert repacked his bag, Charlie hobbled over to him. “You must be the guy in charge.”
Robert stopped packing, holding the kit in mid-air. “And you must be the police officer.”
“Federal agent. But yeah.”
“I’ve known too many of your kind the past few years.” Robert thrust the kit back into the bag and forced the zipper closed. “You’re out of the cuffs. I suggest you pick a direction and start walking.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Hold on.” Javier joined them—letting Charlie go on his own wasn’t smart. If he was picked up, he’d likely turn the authorities on them again. Robert was letting his anger cloud his judgment. “He let us cut the tracker out of his hand.”
“He agreed to that so we wouldn’t leave him in the desert,” Liz said from her spot against the wall.
Javier considered her point. Charlie would have been picked up by other cops. He’d be in jail now if that had happened, but still. Wasn’t jail preferable to allowing anyone to dig around in his hand?
Robert looked down at Charlie’s bandage. “Samantha told me he tried to shoot you, Javier. Is that not correct?”
Shifting on his feet, Javier cleared his throat. “He did. Mattson stopped him.”
“And you’re okay with letting him stay after that?” With a glance around the room, Robert focused on Mattson. “Young man. Come here, please.”
Mattson hopped up from his seat on the floor and jogged to the group. “What’s up?”
“This man is your uncle?” Robert gestured to Charlie.
Mattson nodded.
“What are his leanings?”
“His leanings?” Mattson raised an eyebrow. “Like, what does he think about stuff?”
“Precisely.”
“All right.” Mattson arched his back, and with one arm across his front supporting the other, he rubbed his chin. “What. Does. He. Think. Hmmm.”
Charlie slugged Mattson on the shoulder. “Stop being a smartass. This guy wants to send me out.”
“Okay, okay. Chill.” Mattson sighed. “He was all LifeFarm until recently. Thought I was nuts for thinking different. But . . .” He shrugged. “He got shot trying to protect me. And he let Javier cut that thing out of his hand. I don’t think he’d go through all that and still be on the level with them.”
Robert tilted his head. “I’m sorry?”
“He’s good. You can trust him, I think.”
“You think.”
“Look.” Charlie ran his hand over his bald head. “Maybe nothing I say will convince you. But I didn’t expect my own people to shoot me. I mean . . .” Wincing, he leaned against the counter. “They told us what would happen if we impeded an arrest, which is what I did. They followed the book. But it wasn’t right.”
Robert slung the bag on his shoulder. “How long have you been law enforcement?”
“Fifteen years.”
“And you’re so quick to turn after all that time.”
“A lot has happened the past few days.”
Mattson laughed.
“I’m serious.” Charlie rubbed his neck. “They shot me. They jailed me. And if we hadn’t escaped, I’d likely be tried and put to death for treason. Doesn’t matter that I was protecting family.”
As they spoke, Javier studied the former agent, the man who’d days ago had every intention to kill him. If Mattson hadn’t been there, Charlie likely would have succeeded. Robert wanted to send him out, and for various reasons, everyone else wanted him to stay. Did Charlie want to stay here because of Mattson, or to avoid jail? Or both? In either case, what would keep him from trying to get back into the government’s good graces by turning Javier and the others in?
“I have a question,” Javier said.
“What is it?” Robert adjusted the bag.
“If you were to turn us all in, would you be able to get your old job back?”
Charlie shook his head. “No way. They’d make an example of me first. We’d all end up in prison together.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I’ve seen it.”
Javier weighed Charlie’s answer, having no way to know what he’d do regardless of what Robert decided. Let him go or let him stay, he could ultimately turn them all in. Or because he had insider knowledge of federal law enforcement, he could help them take down LifeFarm.
After a measured stare, Robert stepped away and said to the others, “We need to leave. The compound is a few hours from here, and it would be best to observe it at dusk. However . . .” He glanced at the cars. “I haven’t been able to reach one of the Seeds. The third one, in North Carolina.”
“What does that mean?” Javier asked.
“I’m unsure. I hope it’s nothing more serious than a degraded communication grid. But . . .” He cleared his throat. “It could be something worse. We have no way to know without going there.”
“So you want to go to Missouri and to North Carolina?” Javier did the math in his head—whatever Robert had planned wouldn’t happen quickly.
“No,” Robert said. “I want us to split up. Trent, Damien and I will go to the Third Seed. Jonah will take the rest of you to the Missouri site to check it out. The meeting point for all of the Seeds is in Virginia. Jonah knows the way. We’ll all come together there in a week, no matter what we find.”
“Wait.” Liz stood, tossing her banana peel aside. “I want to leave. I can’t stay with you guys anymore.”
Though she’d said as much in the car, Javier had hoped she’d change her mind once everyone was back together. But she hadn’t, and the realization hit him in the gut—she’d saved his life and stuck with him, abandoning her own life to h
elp him.
Javier’s eyes connected with hers, and he met her where she stood. “Where will you go?”
Liz blinked and looked away. “I don’t know.”
“Stay with us.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Please. We need you.”
“With all those Seeds? I don’t think so.”
“Liz . . .” Javier rubbed his neck. How would he convince her? “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I have a feeling we’ll need as many people with us as possible.”
“Yep, that’s absolutely true,” Damien said from the floor.
Javier shot him a dirty look for interrupting, but his comment might have helped. “What do you mean?”
Damien stood and brushed the dust from his pants. “No matter how many we have, it will be David versus Goliath, you know? It’s us and the Seeds taking on LifeFarm, if for no other reason than to get the vaccine from them and stop the virus.”
Javier scowled. Damien knew which buttons to push.
“But what are we going to do?” Liz crossed her arms. “Storm the castle?”
“Liz, please.” Desperate to connect, Javier took her hand. “You’ve come this far. Don’t quit now.”
She looked around the room, as if assessing the likelihood their present company could defeat a multinational corporation and perhaps the government. “I’ll see what’s at this place in Missouri and how many Seeds have gathered in Virginia. If it’s a lot, I want you guys to leave me in a city and let me be.”
Javier nodded, keeping his disappointment hidden. Robert wouldn’t move on his plan if he didn’t think there were enough to stand a chance. That meant Javier would have to say goodbye to the closest person he’d had to a mother in years.
****
Liz stared at the orange horizon as the sun set, certain whatever they were about to find wouldn’t yield a reason for her to stay. More than anything she wanted to run off, find a new place to live, and assume a new identity. She’d done it before. There was something invigorating about starting over.
But Javier was right—she’d come this far. They’d helped each other, saved each other, more than a few times. She owed it to him to at least make sure she wasn’t leaving them all in the lurch.
On the other hand, seeing as the Seeds didn’t stand much of a chance of defeating LifeFarm, leaving meant she wouldn’t have to see people she cared about ripped away. Again.
“There it is.” Jonah pointed through the windshield.
Liz peered between the front seats.
From a distance, the place looked like a prison. Tall, concrete walls marked the perimeter, and a watch tower stuck out above the rest of the buildings’ roofs. The only thing missing was barbed wire.
“What is this place?” she asked.
“We’re not sure.” Jonah twisted around. “We only have enough information to know it’s sketchy, something LifeFarm doesn’t want anyone to know about. That means we need to know about it.” He parked on the side of the dirt road far from the compound. “We’re gonna watch from a distance. There’s a hill over there that should keep us out of sight.” He pointed as he walked towards it.
“How are we going to find out anything?” Liz jogged, catching up to Jonah. “That place will be monitored like crazy, and we can’t see anything from here. And anyway, what are we trying to see?”
Jonah faced the group, walking backwards. “We need to know what we’re up against. If we can’t see anything or we’re discovered, we’ll pretend we’re lost tourists. Once we get inside, we need to scatter—look for restrooms or snack machines. We’ll cover as much ground as we can until they insist we leave. Hopefully that will give us enough information to plan what to do next.”
“Won’t that get us on their radar?” Javier asked.
“It might.” Jonah walked forward again. “But we can use that to our advantage.”
They settled on the hill on their stomachs. Mattson rested his head on his arms and pretended to snore, which prompted Charlie to slug him on the arm. Sam and Javier claimed a spot next to each other on the edge of the group.
Waiting in silence, Liz started to doze until a roaring engine woke her. A military vehicle drove to Jonah’s SUV. A couple of men dressed in dark uniforms and holding large guns inspected it while speaking to each other.
“What are they doing?” Mattson asked.
Charlie shushed him.
The men searched the area. Liz kept their eyes on them, holding her breath as they faced the hill.
One of them pointed to her. “Over there!” The men hopped back into their truck.
“Shit.” Standing, Liz directed the others, “Come on. They won’t believe we’re lost tourists hiding here.” She led the way down the hill, meeting the vehicle at its base.
One of the men opened the driver’s door and jumped to the ground. “May I ask what you’re doing here? State your business.”
“Uh . . .” Jonah approached him. “We’re on our way to a family reunion in Tennessee, and we got lost.”
“I’ll say.” The man tipped up his chin, glaring down at Jonah.
Three more soldiers jumped out of the vehicle, circling the group. They each grasped large, semi-automatic weapons.
Liz tried to appear unaffected by the display. This felt more like showing off than a real threat.
Javier stepped towards the guard. “Our car started acting up and we thought we could get help down this road. We didn’t know what this place was. We just need help.”
He nodded to another guard, who opened the tailgate of the vehicle. “Everybody, climb in.”
“Please.” Jonah held up a hand. “I don’t know what we stumbled onto, and that won’t change if you just let us go.”
“We have to question you and find out what you’re doing here.”
Liz crossed her arms. “We already told you that.”
“Procedure, ma’am. Now let’s get moving.”
The soldier near the truck shook his weapon, as if she needed the reminder that he had it.
Charlie limped to the truck bed and climbed in, followed by Sam and Javier. Jonah waited until it was apparent Liz had no intention of boarding.
Liz tilted her head up. “You don’t intimidate me. My husband was military. I know how you guys operate.”
“We aren’t military.”
“Coulda fooled me.”
“Ma’am,” he stepped close, towering over her with disdain, “I suggest you get on that vehicle. We have procedures to follow. If you’re telling the truth, you’ll be free to go, but we don’t get many accidental visitors.” He tilted his head to the truck. “I don’t think you want to know what we do to those who refuse.”
“Liz, come on.” Javier leaned over the edge of the truck bed. “It’ll be fine.”
How can he say that? With no arguments left and not wanting to get shot tonight, Liz staggered over to the truck bed and climbed aboard.
Two of the guards joined them in the back, while the others returned to the cab. After they were inside the compound, the thick garage door slammed closed behind them.
Chapter Seventeen
Charlie shifted his weight on the metal chair the guard had told him to use, making it rock on its uneven legs. Dark, small, and nearly empty, this room likely served only one purpose: interrogation.
“I told you already.” Charlie leaned onto the table to keep the chair from rocking. “We were lost. That’s it. I don’t know what you’re trying to discover here.”
“And I told you. Procedure.” The pudgy guard tapped a clipboard with his pen. “Why were you behind that hill?”
Sitting back, Charlie crossed his arms. “My answer’s not gonna change. And if everyone else is locked up in these little rooms, I’ll save you the suspense—they have the same answer I do.”
“I’m sure they do. What happened to your hand?”
Charlie withdrew his hand, hiding it under the table. “Cut it fixing a sink.” If the guard figured out he’d had a chip, this would be m
uch more complicated.
Pudgy chuckled. “Not too handy, huh?”
Shrugging, Charlie played along. “Just trying to keep the wife happy.”
“I hear that.” He stood. “We’re done here. You’re staying in a cell with one of the other men.”
“A cell?” Charlie bolted to his feet. “Are we under arrest?”
“No. This isn’t a prison. It’s—”
“Procedure. I get it.” Charlie clenched his jaw. The longer they were here, the less likely an easy escape became.
“If you all check out, you can go in the morning. And hey,” Pudgy playfully slapped Charlie on the arm with the clipboard, “you’ll get a free meal or two out of it.”
“Great.” Maybe he could take advantage of the guard’s friendly demeanor. “What is this place, anyway?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Charlie rolled his eyes as he followed Pudgy out the door, expecting to be led down a hallway and into a cell. Instead, they headed out of the building, allowing Charlie to get his first decent look at the compound—or as decent a look as possible at two in the morning.
The guards outside had said it wasn’t a military base, but it could have passed for one. Buildings surrounded an open area with a flag pole in the middle, where Charlie assumed morning and evening formations would occur. A few people uniformed in black jump suits—soldiers?—walked across the space, heading from one building to another.
“Hey, this isn’t a military installation, is it?” Charlie decided playing dumb might get more information out of the guy.
Pudgy shook his head.
They entered what looked like an apartment building, though a locked door separated the lobby from the hall. Pudgy used a badge to open the door and led Charlie to the end of the hall and up a flight of stairs.
“Ow.” Charlie limped his way up as pain shot through his hip. Stairs were harder to negotiate with a gunshot wound.
“What’s wrong?”
He winced. “Nothing.” If needed, he’d use the injury as a way to get out of wherever Pudgy planned to put him.
They exited the stairwell on the second floor, and halfway down the hall, Pudgy opened another door. Inside, Javier rested on a top bunk.
The Seventh Seed Page 14
