Subject 624

by Scott Ferrell

“What makes you think I’m not telling you something?” He put as much hurt as he could fake into his voice, but I didn’t buy it.

  “You only say trust me when you’re hiding something,” I said.

  “Well…” He trailed off and looked away.

  I ground my teeth as anger and frustration crept up my spine. “Nathen—”

  “Nathen,” Carina cut in. “Just tell us. We’ve all been through a lot these past couple days and we all just want this mess to end. If you know something, spit it out.”

  Nathen blew out a breath. “He has them. Sorry.”

  “He took them?” Carina asked. “My dad took them?”

  Nathen looked away and nodded. “One of those men up there told…uh, your dad that they had his family and they were going to keep them to lure ‘the kid’ here. Then your dad, uh, you know, and ran off.”

  “We have to go.” I spun on my heels.

  Carina grabbed my arm. “Hold on. We don’t know if they were talking about your family.”

  “What other family would they be talking about?”

  “Conor…”

  “It’s them,” I said through clenched teeth. “We need to go get them.”

  “But, you heard Nathen. They’re using your family to lure you there.”

  “Well, they’re going to get more than they wished for.” I squeezed my fists tight.

  “We can’t just rush in there.” Carina’s voice took on a pleading note.

  “Watch me.” I pulled my arm from her hand and marched toward the parking garage entrance.

  Nathen and Carina hurried to catch up. “Think it through,” he said.

  “There’s no more thinking. I’m done with thinking,” I said, though it sounded ridiculous after it left my mouth.

  “Did you ever start?” Nathen asked.

  Carina cast a glare at him, but I ignored him.

  “They’ll be ready for you,” she said. “I don’t know what they want with us, but it’s obvious that’s their ultimate goal.”

  “This is my family we’re talking about. And your dad,” I added. “I’m going after them.”

  “Can we at least talk about what we’re going to do when we get there?” she pleaded.

  “We can talk in the car.”

  “So, Lindström it is?” Nathen asked.

  “Lindström it is,” Carina said, resigned.

  “Wait,” I stopped. I unclipped the gun holster from the back of my belt and held it out to Carina. “Here.”

  She stared at it in shock.

  “Whoa, where did you get that?”

  “Lifted it from a Sterling Hummer,” I said.

  “You two have been busy.”

  “I don’t want it,” Carina said, taking a step back. “I told you that.”

  “You don’t have to use it unless you have to,” I insisted.

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Please, Carina. You might have your stone skin, but you have no way of defending yourself. Nathen has his sound thing.”

  “Elegantly put,” he said.

  “I have my abilities. You have nothing.”

  “Your abilities don’t— “ she began.

  “I can take care of myself. You know that. You’ve seen that.”

  “I’m the one who pulled your butt out of the fire at Nathen’s house,” she protested.

  “I get the feeling that what’s coming isn’t going to be that easy,” I said.

  “You call that easy?” Nathen said.

  “Please, Carina. If something happens to you…”

  “I don’t need it,” she said.

  “Either you take it or we’ll leave you here,” I said with as hard of voice as I could muster.

  Her eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Try me.”

  “You expect me to shoot somebody?”

  “I expect you to protect yourself if Nathen or I can’t.”

  “Who’s going to protect you two?” she asked.

  “You.” I waved the grip of the gun toward her. “With this.”

  She hesitated, but her stance softened. I pounced.

  “What if Nathen or I get in trouble? What if something happens and we can’t defend ourselves? What will you do? You have a damn good right hook,” I said, touching my still sore jaw, “but what if you’re outnumbered? Are you going to punch everyone? That’s my job.”

  She stared at the weapon in my outstretched hand.

  “He’s got a point, girl,” Nathen said.

  She glanced at him before making up her mind. She took the holster and held it at arm’s length.

  “Here.” I took it back from her and stepped behind her. I clipped it to her belt at the small of her back. “Thank you.”

  She nodded but said nothing. She stood as stiff as a board like I had stuck a snake up the back of her shirt.

  Chapter 35

  5:33 a.m.

  The Lindström building was the exact opposite of Sterling’s headquarters in numerous ways. Where Sterling rose up right in the middle of its downtown brothers, Lindström stood on the outskirts—a nine story building standing outside the grid of tall buildings. Also, unlike the nearly deserted Sterling building, and most of the ghost town that downtown Salt Lake City had turned into, Lindström was crawling with activity.

  The three of us sat a few blocks away, staring in amazement at the building at the end of the street. Large crowds of teens surrounded the building but kept at least a block distance from it.

  “At least now we know where they all went,” Carina said.

  “They don’t look happy at all,” Nathen commented.

  Many threw junk at the building, including bricks, chunks of asphalt, mail boxes, and whatever they could rip from the streets around them. Others tried to push toward the building, breaking the block radius but would quickly retreat, their shoulders hunched like they were in pain.

  “How are we going to get past them?” Carina asked.

  “I wish we still had the Hummer,” I said.

  “What good would a Hummer be anyways?” Carina asked. Her eyes widened. “Shoot!”

  “What?” I said.

  “I left the laptop in the Hummer. Julia has it.”

  “What laptop,” Nathen asked.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “We’re where we need to be. I can feel it.”

  In spite of my assurances, she still looked upset about its loss.

  “We’ll find her when it’s all over.”

  She nodded but said nothing.

  A large vehicle pulled onto the street a block in front of us, turning toward the Lindström building. It stopped and flicked off its lights.

  “Looks like we just got our Hummer,” I muttered.

  I hopped out of the car, ignoring a protest from Carina, and trotted toward the vehicle. Were they scoping out the building? Sterling’s men couldn’t be too happy with Lindström after Marc had ripped through their offices and killed a number of their employees. No doubt, they were eager to get at whoever was in that building. They’d just have to get in line.

  As softly as I could, I climbed up the back of the SUV and slid across the roof. When I reached the front, I reached over the side and tapped on the driver-side window. Several long moments passed as I listened to the side-view mirror whirring, trying to spot the source of the tapping.

  Finally, the passenger side door clicked open. I rolled to that side and snatched the rifle out of the man’s hands as he climbed out and smashed him in the face with the stock. His head snapped back and he tumbled to the ground.

  I dropped to the road and dived into the open door. My fist smashed into the driver before he had a chance to register what had happened to his partner. I didn’t realize there were two more in the backseat until I heard a grunt. I looked up in time to see a black pistol pointed at my face from the seat behind the now unconscious driver. I jerked back, banging my head on the handle above the open passenger door.

  There was a loud c
lap that made my ears ring. A chunk of rubber flew from the dash where the bullet had embedded itself.

  I grabbed the handle and kicked both feet between the front seats, flinging myself into the backseat. The soles of my shoes landed solidly in the face of the man who shot at me. His head jerked back, hitting his window so hard it cracked.

  The last man was struggling with the door handle, apparently trying to get out of the cramped quarters. I didn’t want to give him the distance to aim his rifle. I dove across the Hummer as he got the door open, digging my shoulder into his midsection. We tumbled out of the SUV and across the pavement.

  He recovered first, landing a kick on my chin. My head snapped back, but I rolled with it.

  The man cursed.

  Blinking stars from my eyes, I followed his attention down the street. At least a couple dozen of the mutated teens ran our way. I guessed the gunshot had attracted their attention. I turned back to the Sterling man. I needed to take him out quick. I just might survive if I could get into the Hummer.

  He wasn’t focused on me, though. He slung the rifle over his shoulder by the strap and snatched the little black box clipped to his uniform. He stretched his arm out and wielded it like it was a magic wand. He pushed the button the side.

  And he performed magic with it.

  Okay, maybe not magic. I don’t know what he did, but after a few moments, the charging teens faltered. They stumbled and twitched. Hunching like they were in pain, they turned from the man and his magical box.

  I touched at the lump in my pocket where I had stuck my acquired box. I looked at his outstretched hand and smiled. “Thanks.”

  “Huh?”

  He turned toward me. I launched myself at him, digging the top of my head right under his jaw. He flung back into the Hummer hard enough to make it rock and fell to the ground. I stood and waved at Julia’s car before stooping to pick up the man’s dropped black box.

  “Really, Conor—” Carina started as they ran toward our newly acquired Hummer.

  I shoved the box in her hand. “Take this.” I climbed into the front seat and snatched the box off the driver’s uniform. He didn’t move. I opened his door for him and pushed him out. “Nathen, you drive.”

  “I was hopin’ you’d say that!” He climbed eagerly into the driver seat.

  I handed him the box and climbed into the backseat, pushing the last man out of his door.

  “What is this?” Carina asked, examining the box in her hand. “Is this the radio you couldn’t figure out how to use?”

  “It’s not a radio.”

  “What is it?” Nathen asked, holding his up to find enough light to examine it.

  “I don’t know, but it will get us through them.” I pointed at the mass of teens who had gone back to throwing things at the Lindström building.

  “How?” Carina asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said again, “but it works. Didn’t you see them turn when that dude pushed the button? Let’s go.” I climbed back up front and into the passenger seat. “Get in, Carina.”

  “But, I don’t see how this is going to help get us past them.” She hesitatingly climbed in the backseat.

  “It’ll work. Drive, Nathen.”

  “I can’t run into them,” he said.

  “You won’t,” I assured him, feeling a fever pitch crawling inside me. I wanted this over with. We were so close. I just wanted to get it done and get my family. “Go.”

  “But—”

  “Drive or I will!”

  “You don’t even know how,” he mumbled, turning the ignition key and shifting into drive. “If I hit anyone—”

  “Drive!”

  He stomped on the gas. The Hummer roared to life with so much force; it pushed me back into my seat.

  “Conor!” Carina yelled as we barreled toward the mass of teens.

  “Point your boxes and click the button!” I yelled, lifting mine toward the windshield.

  Nathen and Carina did the same.

  For a moment, nothing happened. Their complete attention remained on the building that they couldn’t reach.

  “Conor…” Nathen gripped the steering wheel harder with one hand.

  “Keep going.”

  Doubt crept up inside me. I was so sure it would work. Was I really about to make my best friend plow into a bunch of people?

  Then, the magic boxes worked their magic. The teens in back twitched and turned at the oncoming vehicle. They flashed angry faces in the headlights before hurrying out of the way.

  “It’s working!” Nathen yelled. For good measure, he laid on the horn.

  Teens dove out of the way like deer jumping from the road at the edges of headlights. There were a couple of times we got so close, I thought for sure we’d hit somebody, but they jumped just in time.

  And then, like driving out of a fog bank, we were through the crowd and the Lindström building rose ahead of us.

  “Woo!” Nathen yelled.

  “Keep going!” I said.

  “What?” he asked, choking off his cry of joy.

  “Step on it!” I ordered.

  “But we’ll run into the building.”

  “I know.”

  “Conor,” Carina said again.

  “Go!”

  Go he did. The Hummer’s engine roared as he pushed on the gas.

  “Hold on,” I told Carina.

  “If we survive this, I’m going to kill you,” she hissed as she leaned back in her seat.

  I cocked a smile toward her. “We’ll be fi—”

  We hit the curb outside the building, taking out a parking meter. I jerked forward, nearly slamming my head into the dash. We zoomed across a small expanse of well-cultivated grass. The building’s glass entrance raced toward us at a high rate of speed.

  “Brake!” I yelled at Nathen.

  He kicked both feet into the brake pedal as we plowed through the glass doors. The Hummer’s tires screeched across the spacious tiled lobby, taking out several chairs and side tables before finally coming to a stop with the bumper buried deep in the reception desk.

  There was a moment of confusion. I blinked and turned to the back seat, grinning at Carina.

  “See! We’re in.”

  That last word caught in my throat as glass rained in from my window. Something thumped the back of my neck and grabbed my shirt. I was jerked out of the window and found myself flying across the lobby like a stone from a slingshot. I hit something along the way and flipped twice before smashing into a wall.

  Drywall dust floated down around me as I lay looking at the dark ceiling overhead, trying to catch my breath. It didn’t come easy. I thought it would never come at all, actually.

  When it did, it brought a lot of pain with it. My lungs felt like they were on fire, but I ignored it and climbed to my wobbly feet.

  An unmistakable hulking figure stood next to the Hummer.

  Carina’s dad.

  Chapter 36

  5:56 a.m.

  I leaped over the couch lying on its back—apparently the offending piece of furniture that had made my flight through the air a spinning affair—and charged across the lobby. Marc stood by the Hummer’s open back door. He was saying something to Carina inside. I couldn’t hear what but didn’t care.

  From my previous two meetings with the large man, I figured I had only one chance to take him by surprise. I had to take him down fast. I closed the distance between us in seconds. I didn’t have a real plan in mind beyond launching myself into the man. Sure he outweighed me by a hundred pounds or so, but I had Newton’s laws on my side—I hoped.

  When I was about five yards from him, I jumped with the intention of planting both feet into his large back. He apparently had other plans and used Newton against me. He twisted at the waist at the last moment and snatched one of my ankles out of the air and used my momentum to change my trajectory, spinning me through the air. I slammed into the side of the heavy SUV. I hit the floor almost as hard.

  Stars poppe
d in my vision as I rolled to my hands and knees. I couldn’t catch my breath. My head felt full of dark mush. It was like somebody had filled it full of mud flavored Slushie. Pushing myself off the floor took way more effort than it should have. I managed, though.