Ryan Quinn and the Lion's Claw

by Ron McGee

  Ryan ran for the stairs that led into the back of the plane. Crouching low, he climbed up, prepared to attack if he ran into one of the crew. But the coast was clear. He was in a kitchen area, sealed off from the rest of the jet. Through a small window, he spotted the flight attendant making her way toward him.

  Ryan looked for a place to hide. There were two doors to his right. He opened one and found a small bathroom, probably for the crew. The other revealed a steep spiral staircase leading down. Ryan stepped inside, sliding the door closed just as the flight attendant entered the kitchen. He froze on the metal stairs, keeping absolutely still.

  He heard the mechanical rumble of the rear stairway being raised, then the exterior door was locked into place. Ryan’s phone buzzed in his pocket as the plane lurched forward. It was probably Kasey wondering what the cryptic text meant. But Ryan couldn’t answer it. Both his arms were wedged against the walls as he struggled to keep his balance.

  Fighting the motion of the plane, Ryan hurried down the spiral staircase to the lower level. The stairs led to a cargo area, which had been converted for personal use. It was dark down here, so he pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight app. He was in a pantry that held food, drinks, and supplies. Across from him was a door that he guessed led to the main cargo hold.

  Ryan crossed the pantry as the jet swerved, throwing him off-balance again. They must be turning onto the runway. He had to find somewhere to settle in and hold on before he got tossed all over the place.

  Beyond the door everything was pitch-black. He went in, flashing the beam of his light across the secured luggage. The plane started racing forward, accelerating by the second.

  “Ryan?”

  He whipped his light around. Peeking out from behind two equipment cases, Danny stared up at him sheepishly.

  “Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea,” Danny said.

  “Ya think?”

  Ryan squeezed in next to Danny and held on tight as the jet lifted off, beginning its long trek home to Africa.

  CHAPTER

  14

  NEW YORK,

  USA

  tell my parents we’re ok but DON’T TRUST TASHA.

  Kasey stared at the text for the hundredth time. The picture Ryan sent was taken from down low and showed the rear of a jet. All she could make out were the tail numbers and a lion’s head logo that didn’t look like any airline she’d ever seen.

  Why wasn’t Ryan answering her text? She’d responded immediately, but that was almost an hour ago. It was like he had just disappeared.

  She knew Ryan was staying at Danny’s this weekend, so she’d texted Danny, too. No response there, either. She tried to look up phone numbers for Ryan’s parents, but couldn’t find anything online. How was she supposed to tell his parents something when they were out of town and she didn’t have their numbers?

  Kasey’s bedroom door suddenly opened, and her brother Drew appeared. “Hey, did you take my headphones?”

  “It’s called knocking.” Kasey hated it when her brothers or father just barged in. It happened less often now that her two older brothers were away at college, but it was still just as annoying. “And, no, I don’t have your headphones.”

  “Then where are they?”

  “How should I know? Maybe Dad borrowed them.”

  “Dad!” Drew left without closing the door. Kasey got up from her bed and slammed it shut. Her brother had been in a bad mood ever since Lan moved to Washington. From the moment they met, Drew and Lan had been crushing on each other. But now Lan had a new identity and, for her safety, they weren’t allowed to contact her. Drew still had a major crush on her, though. He was having a hard time letting go, and he took it out on his family, sulking and picking stupid fights. Kasey tried to be patient, but she still wanted to slap him sometimes.

  Kasey was tempted to tell her brother about the text from Ryan. Drew had helped them out before, and she thought she could trust him. But the moment she considered it, she realized exactly what would happen. Drew would get all bossy, telling her what to do and being overprotective. That’s how it had been since Kasey was little. After her mom got sick and died, the Stieglitz men made it their mission to keep her safe and secure. She adored her dad and brothers, but they could be suffocating at times.

  Kasey was a teenager now. Ryan sent the text message to her, and she didn’t need Drew’s help to figure out what to do. Ryan was counting on Kasey, and she would prove his faith in her wasn’t misplaced.

  The only clue she had was that picture of the tail fin. There had to be some way to find out more about the plane. Grabbing her laptop, Kasey searched online and finally located a website that looked promising. She typed in the jet’s identifying numbers, excited to discover the plane’s registration information was part of the public record.

  A company called Sekhmet Technologies owned the jet. She did some research and quickly spotted the lion’s head logo from Ryan’s photo. Sekhmet operated a collection of cellular and broadband networks in Africa. Their corporate headquarters was in a city called Houdali in the Republic of Lovanda.

  Lovanda. The same country where the rapper they met yesterday was going to be executed.

  Alarmed now, Kasey looked at the text once more: tell my parents we’re ok but DON’T TRUST TASHA.

  No way. Ryan and Danny couldn’t possibly have been that nuts.

  Could they?

  Kasey jumped up, grabbing her coat. Somehow, she had to find Ryan’s parents!

  CHAPTER

  15

  OVER THE

  ATLANTIC OCEAN

  Stowing away on an airplane sucks.” Danny’s teeth chattered as he hugged himself tightly,

  trying uselessly to keep warm.

  Ryan huddled next to him. They were tucked in between the luggage and trunks. A single emergency light emitted a weak glow. “What were you thinking?”

  “I guess I wasn’t.” Danny smiled. “I have made an important realization, though.”

  “Yeah?”

  “When that little voice pops up in my head saying, ‘What would Ryan do?’—I should just ignore it.”

  Ryan grinned back. “I probably should, too.”

  Danny shifted around, trying to get comfortable on the cold floor. “What’re we gonna do when we land?”

  “Hide. When everyone’s gone, we’ll sneak out. Find a phone and contact my parents.”

  “They’re never gonna let me join the ERC after this.”

  “At least we’ll be able to tell them where Lawrence and Nadia are. They can figure out some way to help.”

  But first, they had to survive the flight.

  They’d been traveling for a couple of hours, staying as still as possible. Ryan guessed they had at least another twelve hours to go if they were flying all the way to Lovanda. They needed food, some way to keep warm, and a safe place to hide when they landed.

  The cramped cargo hold was metal on all sides, so it was difficult not to make noise. Ryan pulled off his high-tops, then stood. Even in socks, he was careful to step softly. “We’re lucky this compartment is pressurized. Otherwise, we would’ve passed out already.”

  “Might be better than this.” Danny shivered. “And I thought flying coach was bad.”

  “Stay here.”

  “Ryan, no—I’m kidding. I’m fine. You can’t go out there.”

  “Ssshh.” Ryan carefully turned the metal handle of the cargo door, hoping it wouldn’t squeak. It made a soft, metallic click, not loud enough to be heard over the rumbling of the jet’s engines. Ryan opened the door and peeked out.

  The pantry area was dark and empty. Turning on his phone’s flashlight, he slipped out and inspected the pantry shelves. There were containers filled with packaged foods, coffees and teas, and tins of cookies and biscuits. Most of it seemed to have come from England and France. Refrigerated units held uncooked meat, as well as a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables.

  But there were no blankets or other supplies down h
ere. Ryan went to the spiral staircase and listened. Hearing nothing, he risked heading up.

  At the top of the stairs, he turned off his light and pressed an ear against the door. No sound, no movement from the other side. He slid the pocket door open. Ryan crept out, peering through the window into the main cabin area. The galley kitchen led to a long hallway that was lined with cabinets. Ryan guessed he’d find blankets in one of them.

  He had to hurry before the flight attendant returned. Ryan stepped into the hallway and started opening cabinets. The first revealed a variety of small kitchen appliances and utensils. The next was filled with life vests and emergency gear. In the farthest cabinet, Ryan found what he needed: sheets, pillows, and blankets.

  “I appreciate that, Madame Buku.” Ryan froze at the man’s voice. The hallway opened into what looked like a lounge area. The voice was coming from there. Ryan could see several swivel chairs covered in luxurious leather, but no sign of the speaker.

  “They say you get what you pay for,” the unseen man continued in a lilting British accent. “And since you always pay for the best, I don’t like to disappoint.”

  Ryan crept forward and peered around the edge of the cabinets to get a better view. It was the man with the scar across his face. The leader of the team that took Lawrence and Nadia. His back was now to Ryan as he talked on the phone, sipping a cocktail. He had the cropped hair and muscular physique of a soldier.

  “We’ll bring Anbo and Delilah directly to your compound. My men and I’ll keep an eye on them until Monday morning. Then we’ll personally transport them to Liberty Plaza for the execution. You’ll finally be able to make an example of them the whole country will witness.” He listened a moment. “I assure you, nobody’s getting away this time.”

  Ryan saw a door swinging open from the opposite hallway and ducked back out of sight. He grabbed an armful of blankets, then silently shut the cabinet door.

  Behind him, the scarred man finished his call. “We’ll see you in the morning, then.”

  “I thought you might be ready for another drink, Mr. Laughlin.” That must be the flight attendant.

  “Thanks,” said Laughlin, rattling the ice in his glass. “Here’s to the upcoming extermination of two more rats.”

  Ryan wished he could punch the guy.

  He slipped back into the kitchen area, closing the door gently behind him, then hurried downstairs. Ryan grabbed fruit, cookies, and cans of tuna from the pantry before returning to the cargo hold.

  Danny was worried sick.

  “Can you please never do that again?” But he stopped, noticing Ryan’s grim expression. “What happened?”

  “I just heard the lead guy talking. They’re planning to execute Lawrence and Nadia. On Monday.”

  “That’s less than two days,” Danny said, alarmed.

  “Yeah. It’ll be almost impossible for the ERC to get anybody else to Lovanda in time to help.”

  The boys were quiet for a moment. Then Danny looked up at Ryan. “You know what this means, right?”

  Ryan nodded. “It means this one is up to us.”

  PART TWO

  BACK IN THE GAME

  CHAPTER

  16

  NEW YORK,

  USA

  Kasey had been waiting for almost two hours. She was bored out of her mind. She’d done seven sudoku puzzles, checked Instagram until she was sick of it, and texted some of her friends who were traveling for the holidays. The problem with having a curious mind was that sitting still often seemed like complete torture.

  Finally, a dark blue BMW pulled to the curb at the Quinns’ brownstone. Ryan’s dad got out of the front passenger side and opened the back door for Jacqueline. They both looked tired and worried. Kasey jumped from the stoop, anxious to tell them her fears about Ryan and Danny.

  “Kasey …” Jacqueline’s brow furrowed. “Are you meeting Ryan here? We haven’t been able to reach him.”

  “Me neither. But I think I may know …”

  Kasey froze as a young woman got out of the driver’s side. She had short hair and intense green eyes that focused on Kasey with suspicion. Kasey had never met Tasha before, but felt certain that’s who the woman was. She must have picked the Quinns up from the airport. Ryan said not to trust her, so Kasey had to be careful.

  “You know where Ryan is?” Jacqueline prompted.

  “Yeah.” Kasey struggled with what to say, then remembered something her brothers mentioned. “He and Danny went to the Museum of Natural History to see that new 3D movie on sharks. There’s no cell reception in there.”

  John grabbed a small suitcase from the back. “He should’ve let us know.”

  “He probably thought he’d be back before you got home.” Kasey fought her nerves as Tasha came closer. “Hi! I’m Kasey—we haven’t met.”

  “Tasha.” Tasha turned away, dismissive of Kasey like so many of those snotty upper-grade girls at school. Whatever. Kasey wanted as little to do with her as possible, anyway. Tasha followed John up the stairs.

  “Would you like to come in until the boys get back?” Jacqueline asked.

  Kasey waited until Tasha disappeared inside, then whipped out her phone. “You need to see this.”

  Puzzled, Jacqueline read the text and examined the tail fin photo. “What does it mean?”

  “I think Ryan and Danny may be on that plane.”

  Jacqueline was confused. “That’s impossible. How could they be on a plane?”

  “I checked the registration. It’s a private jet owned by a company in Lovanda, Africa.”

  Realization swept over Ryan’s mom. “Oh no. That young man you all met last night.”

  “Lawrence. Ryan told you about him and Nadia, right?”

  Jacqueline nodded. “We asked Tasha to check on him at the brownstone this morning. She said there’d been a breakin. That Lawrence was …”

  But she stopped, looking again at Ryan’s message: DON’T TRUST TASHA. Jacqueline ran a hand through her long hair, clearly agitated. She looked back up to the door where Tasha had followed John into their home.

  “Ryan sent that text, and then I haven’t heard from him again.” Kasey took the phone back. “Danny, either.”

  “So the museum—you just made that up?”

  “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Tasha.”

  “Smart.”

  “Ryan specifically said they were okay. I don’t think he would’ve said that if it wasn’t true.”

  “I agree. Which means they may not be in immediate danger. Not yet, anyway.”

  Kasey could see Jacqueline’s mind racing, putting the pieces together and figuring out what to do. Knowing Ryan’s parents didn’t want them involved, she expected to be sent home. But Jacqueline surprised her.

  “I need to talk to John and come up with a plan. Unfortunately, right now I’m not sure who in the ERC we can trust, and I don’t think we can do this on our own.”

  “You can trust me,” Kasey said.

  “Good. Because somehow, we have to get rid of Tasha without her becoming suspicious, keep Danny’s mom from calling the police when he doesn’t show up for dinner, and bring Ryan and Danny back home safe from wherever the hell that plane is taking them.”

  Kasey didn’t hesitate. “How can I help?”

  CHAPTER

  17

  FARAJI PROVINCE,

  LOVANDA, AFRICA

  Traveling for so long in the dark cargo hold of the plane was disorienting. Ryan had dozed occasionally, but it was a restless sleep. He was too worried about keeping Danny safe and rescuing Lawrence and Nadia.

  He had plenty of other worries, too.

  Through the hours, his thoughts kept coming back to the photo album Kasey had found in the study. He realized she was right—there were no pictures of him until he was at least a year old. Ryan couldn’t even recall any photos of his mom being pregnant.

  Of course, his family traveled around so much that it was possible all those pictures had somehow
gotten lost or destroyed. But he couldn’t remember Mom or Dad ever mentioning that. You’d think it would’ve been something that had upset them. Something they would have talked about.

  The ear-piercing whine of machinery suddenly filled the metal chamber. Danny jerked up, clenching Ryan’s forearm in a death grip.

  “Oh my god, we’re crashing!”

  “Chill, it’s just the landing gear.” Ryan peeled his friend’s fingers from his arm.

  “Geez—that is not a good way to wake up.” Danny rubbed the heels of his palms into his eyes. He’d had no trouble sleeping. “What time is it?”

  “If we’re landing in Lovanda, it’s about nine in the morning.” Ryan grabbed one of the thick straps attached to the wall and handed it to Danny. “Wrap that around your arm and hold on tight.”

  Danny looked queasy. “I’m really more of a window seat kind of guy.”

  “We’ll try to upgrade on the flight home.” Ryan offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile just as the plane lurched to the right, flinging them both into the wall. “Think of it like a roller coaster. Hold on!”

  “I hate roller coasters!” Danny clung to the strap as the jet abruptly dipped. The boys lifted off the floor, surprisingly weightless as the jet descended. They slammed back to the hard floor, but never let go.

  Several minutes later, the plane touched down. Thankfully, the pilot was skillful and brought them in smoothly.

  “Now what?” Danny asked.

  “Now we make sure they don’t find us.” While Danny slept, Ryan had examined the cargo hold. Behind a white plastic tarp attached to the ceiling, he discovered several boxes filled with emergency supplies. It looked like they were kept there permanently, which meant they wouldn’t be unloaded. He had created a hiding place among the boxes, just big enough for the two boys to fit inside.

  Danny looked at it skeptically. “I know I’m small, but that’s insulting.”

  “The other option is getting shot.”

  The boys wedged themselves into the tight space as the plane taxied down the runway. By the time the plane stopped and the engines shut off, they were safely hidden away. For long minutes, they waited.