Slayers (Jake Hawkins Book 1)

by Matt Rogers

  “That’s confidential, brother,” Sam said. “But when Dan says he’s going to do something, he does it. Besides, he owes me his life. He wouldn’t let us down.”

  “The Department of Defense can usually get whatever the hell they want,” Felix said.

  The Hummers pulled off the freeway into the airport turnoff. Sam led them past the usual departures drop off points, to a guarded route leading directly to the runways. A supervising officer glanced briefly at Sam.

  Then he waved them through onto the tarmac.

  “Whoever Dan is,” Jake said, “he knows what he’s doing.”

  Sam planted his foot down and the Hummer picked up speed. They were heading for a cluster of private planes in the distance.

  “There’s our ride,” Felix said, pointing through the windshield to a sizeable private jet. It was standing alone on the runway. The boarding steps were in the process of descending. There was a girl standing in the entranceway.

  “Dan’s daughter,” Sam said upon seeing her.

  Jake stared intently. She looked around his age.

  “She’s seventeen now,” Felix said.

  “Jesus. Time flies.”

  “Are we sure about this?” Jake asked. “A seventeen year old flying a private jet?”

  Sam glanced back. “Dan said to trust her. He’s a selfless guy, but he wouldn’t sacrifice his own daughter for our sake. If he’s taking responsibility for putting her in the cockpit, then we’re going to be fine, brother.”

  Sam pulled the Hummer over by the stairs. The three of them got out.

  “Zoe!” Sam called out.

  “That’s me,” the girl said gently, extending a hand.

  “You don’t recognise me?” Sam said.

  Zoe cocked her head. “No, sorry. Dad told me I had to fly a group of people to Iquitos, no questions.”

  “You were too young when I last saw you,” Sam said. “Your dad and I go way back. Don’t be scared. We’re not here to hurt you.”

  “I know.”

  Jake was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Zoe to be this attractive. Up close, he noted her long, auburn hair and piercing blue eyes. She was dressed casually in a long-sleeved shirt and tracksuit pants, but even through the loose-fitting clothing he could see her curves.

  He couldn’t stop staring at her eyes. They were stunning.

  She introduced herself to Felix, and then in turn to Jake. As they shook hands, he thought her gaze lingered on him just a fraction too long. Maybe she had recognised they were about the same age.

  “I’m Zoe,” she said with the hint of a smile.

  “Hi. Jake.”

  “How old are you?” she asked. “You’re not as old as the rest of these guys, are you?”

  She beckoned over Jake’s shoulder. He turned to see the other three men piling out of the second Hummer.

  “No, I’m only sixteen.”

  “Huh,” she said with nonchalance. “Well, load up the plane with, um, whatever you’re carrying. I’ll be – uh – I’ll be in the cockpit.”

  She gave a forced smile, then spun on her heel and began climbing the stairs. Jake couldn’t be sure, but he swore that her eyes gave him a quick cast-over before she turned. She disappeared into the cabin.

  As soon as she was out of sight, Sam elbowed him lightly in the ribs. “She was checking you out.”

  “Do you think?” Jake said. He hadn’t intended to be so forward.

  “Oh, don’t even consider it, my man. If Dan found out anything was going on, slayers would be the least of your concerns.”

  With that, Sam tossed a Samsonite case over his shoulder and headed off up the stairs, chuckling.

  *

  It took them five minutes to unload. They set up their gear in the cabin of the Gulfstream. Zoe was preparing for take-off.

  The cabin was luxurious, fitted with large, circular windows, plush carpet, ten reclining seats and one couch. There was space to stretch out, to relax, something Jake had never imagined an aircraft would be like. He guessed commercial flights were much more cramped. He sprawled out across the couch, taking up all three seats while the other five men pored over maps and laptop computers, planning their route through the Amazon.

  “Has Wolfe landed?” Jake asked, staring at the ceiling.

  Link shook his head without looking up. “He’s still over the Pacific.”

  “Zoe!” Sam said again.

  “Mmm?”

  “How long is this flight expected to take?”

  “Just over eighteen hours. It’s sixteen from here to Iquitos, but this plane can only do around eleven thousand kilometres before the fuel runs out. We’re going to refuel at LAX. Courtesy of Dad.”

  “Los Angeles?”

  “Yes.”

  The group delved into murmured conversation. Jake felt left out. Uninvolved. He relaxed back in his seat.

  Zoe took off successfully, without question by air traffic control. Dan had obviously ensured their safe passage through to Peru.

  *

  They had been cruising at a steady altitude for a couple of hours. The five men were planning their every move, considering all possible scenarios. Jake picked up snippets of conversation every now and then, but for the most part he tried to get some rest. It was impossible.

  At five a.m. Melbourne time, the group decided to sleep. Within ten minutes, they were all snoozing peacefully, stretched back in their chairs. Jake had no idea how they did it. He wasn’t used to stress like they were. He wasn’t accustomed to dropping everything on a whim to chase a monster halfway around the world.

  “Can’t you sleep?” a soft voice said.

  Jake sat up. Zoe was peering through the cockpit door, watching him.

  He shook his head. She motioned for him to come closer so they could talk. He swung his legs off the couch and headed into the cockpit. Zoe was sitting in front of an enormous array of controls and blinking lights, staring out through the windshield, watching the clouds roll past. The co-pilot’s seat was empty. Jake took it.

  “Those guys know how to handle themselves,” he said. “I’m new to this. I can’t sleep.”

  Zoe said nothing.

  “You must be confused,” he said. “About all this.”

  She shrugged. “When your dad is in the D.O.D., you tend not to ask many questions.” There was a brief pause. “He’s never asked me to do anything like this before, though.”

  Jake sensed her apprehension.

  “Are you scared?”

  “I was. Now, I’m just wary. You guys don’t seem harmful, really. Apparently I’ve met that guy called Sam before, too.”

  “You don’t remember him?”

  She shook her head. “I must have been too young.”

  “I can’t imagine how the conversation with your dad went,” Jake said. “‘Honey, I need you to fly six men to Peru for me.’”

  She laughed quietly. “Truth is, I don’t even have my commercial pilot’s license. You can’t get that until you’re eighteen.”

  “So this is illegal?”

  “Technically. Don’t worry, though. You’re safe.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “That’s not totally convincing. Have you flown this thing before?”

  “Never alone,” she said, “but I practically have. I’ve been interested in flying since I was a little kid. I do training for my commercial license separately, but I spent half my childhood in this plane. Dad has meetings in dozens of different countries. He taught me the ins and outs of the controls years ago. I take shifts when we’re together.”

  “This must be scary, though,” Jake said. “Being all alone.”

  “This is terrifying, to be honest.”

  “That’s how I feel right now too,” Jake said. “About where we’re headed.”

  She looked at him. “Why are you here?”

  “Our friend was kidnapped,” Jake said. “We need to get him back.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry. Who – you know –
who did it?”

  Jake smiled. “Even if I told you, Zoe, you wouldn’t believe me.”

  She gave him a quizzical look, then realised he wasn’t going to continue. “By the way, I meant why are you here? You’re sixteen. They’re all men back there.”

  Jake sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t. Why are you? Most teenagers wouldn’t even unpack the dishwasher for their parents, let alone do this.”

  “Because I’m sick of being Daddy’s little girl,” Zoe said. “I grew up on military bases all over the world. I was never at the same school for more than six months. I had to follow Dad everywhere. I can do this by myself. Truth is, Dad called me and told me he was getting a commercial pilot to fly you guys. I practically forced him to let me do it. He was … reluctant.”

  “Why would you do that?” Jake asked, flabbergasted.

  “I want the experience,” she said. “And I want the freedom. Besides, I could tell Dad was having trouble finding someone so quickly, and I knew this was an emergency. He was desperate. I’d do anything for him. He’s taken care of me all these years.”

  “I wish I could say the same.”

  Zoe glanced back. “Which one of those guys is your dad?”

  Jake smiled. “None of them. Dad wouldn’t set foot near me in a million years.”

  “You don’t get on?”

  Jake shook his head. “That’s kind of the reason I’m here. I had nowhere else to go. He didn’t want me.”

  “Every parent wants their kid.”

  “He didn’t…”

  Jake trailed off. There was quiet in the cockpit for a while, and he took a moment to savour the calm. Zoe was just like any other regular schoolgirl. He could be back in the classroom right now, having a normal conversation. Not ten thousand feet above the Pacific, en route to a tropical death trap.

  Suddenly Zoe was there, right in front of his face, moving forwards, touching her lips to his. Her hair hung over his shoulders. He recoiled slightly, surprised by the advance.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, panicking. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what just happened.”

  Jake slowly started to grin. “I didn’t mean to break that off. I was just shocked.”

  “Shocked?”

  “You’re normal. A normal person, in amongst all this … madness. Sorry, it was just weird getting a reminder of what life used to be like.”

  Zoe hesitated.

  “I must sound like an idiot,” Jake said.

  She smiled, showing pearly white teeth. “That’s why I kissed you. I could do with some normal in my life, too.”

  She was beautiful. Jake couldn’t believe this was happening. He kissed her first this time, running a hand through her hair as she ran her palms over his chest. It was incredible. After a full minute, she pulled away.

  “Do you usually do this to every guy you fly round the world?” Jake said. They were both smiling. For the first time in months, he was happy.

  “Only the ones as good-looking as you,” Zoe said.

  “We barely even know each other.”

  “I know. But we’ve got another fourteen hours of flying. I think we can get to know each other. Let’s just be—you know—normal.”

  She leant back and swung the cockpit door closed.

  “I like normal,” he murmured as she leant in once again.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  They began their descent just after five-thirty in the morning, Iquitos time. Jake stretched awake. After he and Zoe had become acquainted, he had managed to drop off to sleep, and had subsequently slept through the whole flight. The rest was much needed. The past sixteen hours had been chaotic.

  “Did we refuel?” he asked no-one in particular, still waking up.

  Thorn glanced across. “Yeah, buddy. We landed at LAX. You didn’t even stir.”

  “Did I miss anything?”

  “We didn’t even leave the plane. It was over in ten minutes. Nothing exciting.”

  The jet touched down on the runway. It was a smooth landing: Jake hadn’t been strapped in and he still barely felt it.

  “Gentlemen,” Zoe said over the intercom. “Welcome to Coronal FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta International Airport.” She deliberately drew out her words, putting extra emphasis on the long name. “To put it more simply, welcome to Iquitos.”

  As the Gulfstream taxied down the runway, Jake stood up and walked to the front of the plane.

  Zoe was sitting in the pilot’s seat, taking animatedly into a headset. Jake watched her speak with the confidence of a seasoned flyer. After a few seconds, she paused and brushed the headset back down so that it was resting around her neck.

  “Hey,” Jake said.

  “Hi there,” Zoe said with a playful smile. She lowered her voice. “Did anyone hear us last night?”

  Jake gave his head a quick shake. “Don’t think so. No-one mentioned anything.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Thanks for flying us, Zoe. I can’t imagine any other girl who would do something like this.”

  He held out a hand and she took it. He gave it a quick squeeze.

  “Like I said, I’d do anything for Dad.” She grinned. “Besides, it has its benefits.”

  Someone coughed loudly from behind.

  “I’d hate to interrupt my darling lovebirds,” Sam said, flashing a dark look at Jake, as if to say ‘What did I tell you?’, “but what happens to you now, Zoe? Now that we’ve landed.”

  She quickly released Jake’s hand. “Our fate is in Dad’s hands. If he did what he said he was going to do, we should be fine. I guess.”

  “You don't seem completely sure.”

  “Well I don’t do this often, okay?” She was agitated now.

  “That’s fine, that’s fine,” Sam said, raising his hands in retreat. “Don’t worry. I trust Dan with my life.”

  Crank called out, “Then who the hell is this?!”

  He motioned out one of the circular windows. Jake and Zoe moved into the cabin, and all seven of them peered out at the runway below. A middle-aged Peruvian woman was marching across the tarmac toward their plane, dressed smartly in a business suit. She had come from the terminal.

  “Don’t worry,” Zoe said, repeating Sam’s words. “She’s probably just going to welcome us to the country.”

  She released the stairs. A few moments later, the woman was face-to-face with them in the cabin. They eyed her warily.

  “Hello, gentlemen.” Her heavily accented English had an air of forced politeness. “I’m afraid that unfortunately we just need to process some official documents before we let you off the plane. If you could be so kind as to remain on board for just a few minutes more, we’ll have you on your way in no time at all. Thank you very much.”

  She smiled, a gesture that once again seemed forced.

  “No problem, ma’am,” Felix said, grinning back. The woman gave a nod of farewell and stepped off the plane.

  Felix kept the friendly demeanour up just long enough for the woman to move out of earshot. Then he spun on his heel to face everyone, instantly serious.

  “She’s lying,” he said. “We’re screwed.”

  Crank said, “I thought you said Dan was reliable, Sam.”

  Sam said, “I thought he was.”

  Thorn said, “What are we going to do now?”

  Jake held out a palm. “Hold up. How do you all know she’s lying?”

  “You haven’t had enough experience in the field.” It was Zoe talking. Jake couldn’t believe his ears. “When you have a dad like mine, you’re exposed to some things that no teenager should be exposed to. I’ve been around professional liars and criminals my whole life. It’s easy to know when someone’s feigning cooperation.”

  “Definitely,” Link said. “Jake, up until a few months ago you’ve lived a life where everyone’s courteous and polite and almost always has good intentions. In the real world, it’s different. Those assholes in there have had a whole day
to verify those so-called ‘documents’. Dan gave us the all clear before we even got on the plane.”

  “So then why are we standing around doing nothing?” Jake said.

  “What can we do, brother?” Sam said. “Shoot our way out of an airport?”

  There were pounding footsteps on the plane’s stairway. A second later, big, stocky figures rushed into the cabin, brandishing silenced submachine guns. Jake recognised them as MP-5’s. There were a few back in their basement in Melbourne. The men who stormed aboard wore combat fatigues and heavy-duty boots. They moved fast and efficiently. Jake guessed they were military.

  This situation was way out of his realm of experience. He bowed his head and felt the early stages of a panic attack begin to develop. Cold tremors ran up his spine.

  The men barked commands in Peruvian, short and sharp. He couldn’t understand a word. He saw Crank and Link raise their hands above their heads. That was the cue he needed to follow suit.

  The seven of them were arrested almost immediately. The soldiers grabbed Jake’s hands and shoved them down roughly behind his back. They clipped a pair of metal handcuffs over his wrists and shoved him down into one of the chairs. He stewed, bitter. If the soldiers had not been armed, Thorn alone could have overpowered them in an instant. But the men moved with precision, always keeping two guns trained on the man being handcuffed. Zoe was cuffed last.

  They were ordered to stand in single file. The MP-5’s stayed dead on target, unwavering. Jake didn’t dare move. One of the soldiers yelled out the doorway of the plane, presumably giving the all-clear, and not long after a man entered the cramped cabin. He had light brown skin and a thin, exhausted face. He stared at them with contempt in his eyes. He was wrapped in a thick coat, despite the heat swarming in through the doorway. He flashed a badge.

  “My name is Andreas,” he said in perfect English, albeit with a slight Peruvian accent. He spoke slow and meticulous. “I am the chief of police here in Iquitos. We have been informed that the persons on this aircraft are involved in illegal activity. Therefore, we are going to conduct a search of this aircraft and quite frankly, there is nothing you can do to stop us. You will each be questioned individually.”