MOMENTUM

by Imogen Rose

  “It’s time, sir,” announced a boy who didn’t look much older than me. Mitch put his hands on my shoulders, and we were off.

  I closed my eyes even before they were closed shut for me. I needed the little time I had to focus my thoughts, though I wasn’t quite sure what to think. I thought back to the beach in the Bahamas. That was where we were supposed to make the landing. I wished I had made an effort to have a peek at where Raj was staying the last time I had been there. Then I would have at least been of some use. As it was, I was just preventing Mitch from fully participating in the rescue by having him babysit me. Nothing in his demeanor revealed it, but I bet he wasn’t pleased about not being able to take part in the actual rescue.

  I tried hard to keep images of Kellan from my mind; I was so conflicted about him. Every facet of our recent interactions elicited strong emotional responses, and I couldn’t explain it. Even just thinking of him made me light-headed and, at the moment, sick with fear. There was nothing I wanted more right now than to see him safe and unhurt. However, all I could see flashing through my mind were images of him lying hurt and still. All because of me. My stomach was tied in knots.

  Then I felt the soft sand under my shoes and steadied myself by holding on to Mitch. I opened my eyes. It was dark, but the moonlight offered a view of the glimmering water in front of me. Dad was already there, his expression grave and carefully guarded. One by one, the rest of the team appeared. Hensen appeared with David, and they both walked over to Mitch and me.

  No one said anything. David quietly coiled his fingers through mine as we followed the others away from the water, up the beach, and toward the road. Apart from David and me, everyone moved in a single file ahead of us. Mitch and Hensen stayed behind. In front of me, Dad glanced back every so often, to make sure I was keeping up, no doubt. We didn’t get too close to the road, darting and ducking around the trees instead to keep hidden–not that we saw any signs of life.

  The Sigma-W trooper at the front brought us to a halt. We gathered around him. He turned and pointed through the trees across the road. I peered through, vaguely detecting a building of some sort with one or two dimly lit windows.

  “The motel,” David whispered so softly that I barely heard him. We slithered across the road into the parking lot and hid between the cars and vans. I had a good view of a stairwell leading up to the upper floor of the motel from where David and I stood sandwiched between two vans.

  At the sound of a car engine, Mitch pulled me from David and pushed me down, shoving me under the van next to me. I was taken by surprise and yelped a little, causing him to put his hand over my mouth. I fought the urge to bite him and glared at him instead. He just smirked in return, so I pinched him. His eyes widened in surprise, then they suddenly darted to the front as the lights from a car flashed past and stopped a few car spaces away. I wriggled my mouth out of his hand, and he turned to give me a warning look. I raised my eyebrows and widened my eyes to let him know that I wasn’t totally stupid.

  At the sound of a car door opening, I stopped breathing. I glanced underneath the van next to us where David was lying still, staring straight ahead. I heard some voices, but couldn’t quite make out what was being said. David’s eyes looked like dark balls of fear. I was too afraid to make a sound, to ask him what was going on. I turned to Mitch instead, whose face was so close to mine, I could feel his every breath. “Who was that?” I whispered softly right into his ear, causing him to rub it.

  He shrugged, putting his finger to his lips.

  Whoever it was, it was a man; I could tell from the shape of the jeans and the sneakers, not the kind Dad would wear, but really hideous ones. The man–or legs, as that was all I could see–made his way up the stairs. Then the car left, a taxi, I guessed. I heard a knocking sound, followed by the creak of a door opening. That was the end of the quiet. A lot of angry-sounding shouting ensued. I could clearly make out Raj’s voice, and the other voice–male–sounded vaguely familiar, but it was too hard to make out from under the van. The shouting became muffled as the door slammed shut with the people obviously inside the room.

  David rolled over to my van, and I pushed Mitch over so we could all fit. David’s arm encircled my waist, drawing me close to him. I wanted to ask him what was going on; he definitely seemed to know something. But like Mitch’s finger, his was over his lips as well telling me to hush. I heard a rustle of bodies slip by the van and spotted two pairs of Sigma-W combat boots slinking up the stairs. I was dying to know what was up there, but lying sandwiched between David and Mitch made a quick escape impossible. “What’s happening?” I whispered.

  “Shush!”

  “Don’t shush me! Tell me, or I’ll ask again, but louder,” I hissed.

  Mitch rolled his eyes. “Two Sigma-Ws just went up the stairs to scout the area. They’ll be back in a moment to tell us what to expect. Well, not us, but the rest of the team.”

  “Why not us?”

  “Because we’re irrelevant to the rescue. We’re to keep out of trouble and just watch from here.”

  “Well, I want to know what’s going on. Move over. I’m going to ask Dad.”

  He sighed. “No, Your Highness, with all due respect.”

  “David, move over,” I whispered. “And who was that man who went up the stairs?”

  He shook his head, his finger on his lips again.

  “Dad!” I whispered loudly.

  Mitch’s hand came over my mouth. Thankfully, Dad must have heard me because, moments later, he was peering under the van at me, concern written all over his face. I felt a bit guilty.

  “Arizona, are you okay?”

  “Yes. I just want to know what’s going on.”

  His eyes went hard, his lips curling into a frown, but his voice was soft. “Hon, we don’t know yet. I’ll give you an update when I can, which may not be for a while. You just do what Mitch tells you.” He turned away and crawled off without waiting for a response. I avoided looking up at Mitch, who would, no doubt, have an I-told-you-so expression written all over his smug face.

  Like Dad had warned, nothing happened for ages. Apart from my legs turning to Jell-O, I had pins and needles shooting through them, and I squirmed uncomfortably. Nice as the combat boots looked, in this position they were the most uncomfortable footwear in the world.

  I was about to try and roll over onto my back, just for a change of position, when I heard footsteps creeping down the staircase, and the two pairs of combat boots appeared again. As soon as they were down the stairs, they crouched and crawled past us. I heard rushed muffled whisperings followed by a Sigma-W appearing next to the van.

  “Mitch, Hensen, we’re going to need you. David, you’ll be okay here with Arizona?”

  “Yep, fine,” David whispered.

  “Why do you need them?” I asked, but received no reply as Mitch and Hensen crawled off after the other Sigma-Ws. “What was that all about, do you think?”

  “Well, it can’t be good if they need reinforcements.”

  “Who was that guy who went up to the room? The guy who arrived in the car before wearing the ugly jeans?”

  “Not sure,” he replied vaguely.

  “Not sure? So you have an idea?”

  “No, I’m sure enough it’s an idea not worth sharing.”

  “Come on, David! Quit being so difficult.”

  “I’m not. I just don’t know, that’s all. Anyway, we better hush.”

  “I’m going to crawl over to Dad and see what I can find out.” I turned away from him.

  “Oh, no you’re not!” he snapped in a hushed voice. “Stay here!”

  I started to wriggle out from under the van, which was a challenge with my legs practically being dead. Still, I scooted forward. Then an arm clamped down hard around my waist, roughly drawing me back so hard against David that I could feel his taut muscles through his clothes. “Ouch! That hurts!”

  “Stop that, then!”

  Pinned against his body, I didn’t have mu
ch choice. A momentary urge to turn and put my arms around him was quickly put to rest when he snickered. Flipping mind reading! Then I heard movement coming toward the van, and Dad appeared.

  “You two stay here. Don’t move a muscle. That’s of course unless someone tries to drive the van away, in which case move over to the one beside–”

  “Dad, what’s going on?”

  “There are more people than we thought up there, so we’re figuring out the best strategy.”

  “Please let us listen in. We won’t be any trouble.”

  “No. You have to stay here.”

  “I’ll be happy to help if you need more bodies,” David offered.

  “Me, too,” I chimed in.

  “We’re good, but thanks. At any sign of trouble, wander Arizona to a safe place. Okay?”

  “Of course.”

  Once he was gone, I tried to persuade David to move up a few vans so we could listen in. He was having none of it, so we just lay there with me trying to listen for any voices I could. All I could hear was a low murmur.

  Then I had my chance.

  David let go of me just for a second to scratch his nose or something. I rolled away and got under the car next to the van. I was happy it wasn’t a van; there was no way David would fit under there. I knew he would be furious so I didn’t look back, but rolled again to the other side of the car and then to the next. I could finally hear a bit more than a murmur. I strained my ears, listening in on the conversation, which was coming from a couple of cars away.

  I picked up my dad’s voice. “So we’re sure there are only two Sigma-W-Pis in the room?”

  “Yes,” someone muttered in a hushed tone.

  I tried to peek, but all I could see were a bunch of boots and the backs of people sitting down, leaning against the car where they had gathered.

  “One wanderer and five humans, including the injured boy?”

  Injured? Kellan was hurt? I had to go and look for myself. I rolled out from under the car and crawled toward the stairs until someone grabbed my ankles and pulled me back, rocking my shoulder and causing my face to fall flat on the ground. I was beyond furious at David. I kicked, my boot landing right in his face. He dropped my ankles, and I fled up the stairs.

  Then I nearly died as I heard a door open. I pushed my back against the wall to make myself as inconspicuous as possible. I could hear footsteps around the corner, and every hair on my neck stood up as I trembled in fear.

  I was suddenly turned around, and David enveloped me, his lips coming down on mine hard, pushing me against the wall with his body covering mine. Someone passed in the hallway behind him and proceeded down the stairs. His lips kept moving against mine the whole time, parting my lips slightly, but he seemed disconnected, which left me disappointed and empty. And angry. When he moved away, he glared at me furiously. His nose was bleeding from where my boot had landed on his face. I started to apologize, but he hushed me. Then we heard footsteps again, a lot of them. David led me along the hallway, passing a few doors. Approaching the corner, we passed a window with a small crack in the curtains, I had a little peek inside the dimly lit room. I stopped dead and pulled David back, pointing to the room. We could clearly see Raj. The footsteps behind us were getting closer, and David dragged me around the corner where we could still peer over to see what was going on.

  Just in time. We saw a mass of dark-clad bodies slither down the corridor. Dad led the group and reached the door to Raj’s room first. The door opened, and Raj gaped at Dad for a second. The rest was a blur; everything happened so fast. I tried to run toward the door, shrugging to get David off me, but he held me firm. I struggled to see what was happening through the tiny opening in the curtain and the half-closed door. There was a blur of activity with a lot of shouting. The lights in the other motel rooms were starting to turn on, and I could the see curtains flicker with curious eyes peering out. I knew Dad needed to hurry before the police arrived; it was just a matter of time before someone called them.

  Thankfully, the Sigma-Ws were coming back out again. I couldn’t see much with the light behind them, but I could tell the Sigma-Ws by their outfits. The first two came out with a tallish woman between them. She furiously kicked out as they led her downstairs. The next two came out surrounding a large man, who also kicked and punched. The next one came out accompanying a calm, smallish woman. Then Simla emerged, accompanied by another Sigma-W, her father, accompanied by another one, both followed by a final Sigma-W firmly holding another man. I felt David tense behind me, and I squinted to make out who the final man was in the darkness. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t see well enough to identify him. Dad came to the doorway and watched them walk away.

  “Arizona, David, come on in and close the door behind you.”

  We walked into the room as the sound of sirens rose in the distance. My stomach flip-flopped as soon as I spotted Kellan lying on the floor, his hands tied behind his back, and his ankles tied to one leg of the bed. He wasn’t moving–his face bruised and bloody, his eyes swollen shut, and his mouth covered in tape. My body shook violently, and I turned and hurled in the corner. David steadied me as my legs wobbled. He put his arm around my chest to hold me up.

  “Is he dead?” I gagged on the words.

  “No, he’s alive, but just. We need to get him to a hospital. And we all need to get out of here before the police arrive.”

  “Where did the others go?”

  “They transported back to HQ. All but Hensen, he had to help get Madison out of here before she was transported. He’ll be back any second then we’ll transport out. I’ll take Kellan.”

  There was a soft knock on the door, and Hensen let himself in. He didn’t say a word. He just went and stood behind David, and they were gone. Mitch got behind me.

  “Mitch, hold on. Let’s help Dad get Kellan free first.”

  “No need, Arizona. I have it under control.” He brought out a knife and proceeded to cut Kellan free.

  “All the same, we’ll wait until you’re ready and make sure that you’re able to transport him.”

  Dad nodded and finished getting off Kellan’s restraints. Kellan didn’t so much as flinch. Dad positioned himself behind Kellan as he lay on the floor and put his hands on his shoulders. We heard a knock at the door.

  “Police! Open up!”

  We wandered off as soon as we heard the cops. David and I were transported back to Alfred’s house in London. Gramadea and Ella were sitting down on the floor playing Scrabble when we arrived. Ella got up and flung her arms around me. Her little puppy squirmed between us as she hugged me, so she stopped to put her on the floor.

  When Cleopatra came bounding over, I panicked and bent to pick up Tallulah.

  Ella laughed. “It’s okay, Arizona. They’re friends. Look.”

  Cleo had rolled onto her back, and Tallulah was climbing all over her trying to play-bite her snout. “Phew! I thought she’d eat her.”

  “No, they’ve been playing ever since we did boggly-woggly with Cleo. She’s a silly dog! She doesn’t even like playing dress up, but she sits and watches me play it with Tallulah. So, where have you been, Arizona? Why are you dressed so funny?”

  “We went to find Kellan,” I said cautiously.

  “Did you find him?”

  “Yes. He’s not coming back here, though.”

  “Why not? Oh, is he gonna go and see his dad in the hospital? Dr. Fox woke up just a little while ago,” Gramadea said.

  “I guess.” I looked over at Gramadea. “Is Kellan’s dad okay?”

  “He’s apparently sitting up and talking. There are some new developments in Mountain View, but we’ll discuss them later when your dad gets back.” Hensen and Mitch had left while we were chatting, so David and I followed Ella and Gramadea into the kitchen.

  “Is there any news about Mom?”

  “Alfred is sending his specialists over to examine and treat her. They should be there later today. There’s no change thus far, or I’m
sure Grayson would have contacted us.”

  “When do you think Dad will be back?” I untied the laces on my combat boots.

  “I’m not sure. Group two is ready and waiting for him to return so they can get going.”

  Group two. We still needed to rescue Harry. I was exhausted and wanted to go and see Kellan more than anything else but, for right now, until Dad was back there was nothing more to be done, apart from getting out of these clothes and getting cleaned up. “Gramadea, can I take a shower somewhere?”

  “Yeah, you need one!” Ella scrunched her nose. “Have you been sick? You kinda smell like it.”

  “I do stink a bit.”

  “You and Ella have rooms next to each other down here in the basement. Ella, will you show Arizona to her room? I’ll show David to his.” Gramadea got up and brushed down her skirt.

  My room was very basic and badly lit. It had a small shower room attached, with fresh towels and everything else I needed. Once showered, I collapsed on to the metal-framed bed and closed my eyes. I felt like I hadn’t slept in forever and quickly fell into a dreamless slumber.

  “Arizona, wake up!”

  I felt wet licks covering my face and sat up in horror. I stared into Tallulah’s puppy eyes.

  “Ella! You scared me half to death.”

  “Sorry! You have to get up. Dad said he wants to talk to you.”

  “Dad’s back?”

  “Yeah, he’s been back for hours and hours. You’ve been a real sleepyhead.”

  “Okay.” I looked around for some clothes. I couldn’t bear the thought of wearing the leathers again.

  “You looking for clothes? Gramadea put some in that closet for you.” Ella pointed to a door. “Do you want me to pick you something?”

  “Thanks, I’ll do it.” I got up and rummaged through the selection, finally deciding on an Abercrombie dress. After the adventure in those heavy leathers, I felt the need to put on something flowy and pretty. I combed out my hair, pulled it back with a hairband, and applied some lip gloss before heading out with Ella. My stomach grumbled, so I was happy when she led me right to the dining room where Dad was having lunch with Gramadea, Granddad, and David.