“Zoom in.” There wasn’t a lot of light, so it was blurry, but the military’s digital technology was amazing—and that definitely wasn’t Hayley. My shoulders slumped and I sat back in my chair. There were no I told you so’s to go with the sympathetic looks I got. Jenna squeezed my shoulder. I sighed. At least they’re still alive.
Nicole flipped to infrared and continued the feed. We saw five dots move towards the back of the shed then disappear one by one. What the? A sixth dot was hanging out near the back of the van while two more dots stayed relatively motionless, essentially in the middle of the giant dot—the van.
“Why—” Tara started to ask.
“Tunnel,” Danny said. “They had to have gone underground.”
Or into a freezer. Glancing back at the van, a third dot was now visible towards the back . The van backed out, returned to the driveway, and disappeared again into the larger blackout zone when it neared the gate.
Nicole replayed that last part around the shed again but it didn’t provide anything new. At least we’d learned a few things. Reagan and the girls were taken into that house by two men—or we assumed they were men. It hadn’t been Reagan, Emily or Abbey who had fallen out of the boat. Another person—Hayley, Sam, Lazzo, or someone else entirely—stepped out of the van for a couple minutes then hopped back in. The van left and came back almost fifty minutes later with just one passenger, who also disappeared in the garage. I agreed with Danny’s tunnel assessment now. Seems everyone did. Best guess was the returning person was the one we’d seen climb into the back of the van—not Hayley, Sam, or Lazzo. The other two passengers had taken the boat out toward the USS George Washington. If all of that was as it seemed, then two of the three had disappeared with the carrier.
Still, none of this explained anything, and no one wanted to jump to any further conclusions. It was time to take action. By 8:00 a.m. Danny and the Pack were on a plane with all their gear, headed for Kauai. It was time to breach that house. The rest of us stood or sat around the satellite room in Area 52, watching the big screen. Another Area 52 operator—Damien—had come in to replace an exhausted Nicole. He was following the plane on the screen, and we’d be able to see everything unfold from here.
I looked up as Tara walked over to me, and I stood tentatively to meet her, unsure what she wanted. She raised her arms and wrapped them around me, burying her head against my shoulder. I breathed in deeply, reveling in her scent and appreciating this opportunity to squeeze her tightly—finally.
“I’m scared, Ryan.”
Chills zigzagged through my body, and I rubbed her back with one hand. “Danny’s gonna get her back, babe.”
“But what—”
“No, Tara. But nothing.” I lifted her chin to look her directly in the eyes. “Danny’s getting her back.”
She pulled me tightly against her again, her head back on my shoulder.
Come on, Danny.
SEVENTEEN - One Thousand Miles (Hayley)
---------- (Tuesday. August 2, 2022.) ----------
Aboard the USS George Washington.
I didn’t care how old the bread was. It tasted wonderful. Two buttered pieces, a chugged bottle of water, and a hard striped mint—all courtesy of Chase and Flynn—and I was acceptably full. I sat by the door of the room, listening to the sounds of the ship. We’d been moving east for twenty-eight hours now. Best guess—we’d gone a little over a thousand miles. Tomorrow evening the planes would take off for Colorado, and we had to be on them. I had no idea how we were going to pull that off.
Lazzo was across the room from me, sitting by the other door. Occasionally he would glance at me, but I was doing my best to ignore him. Still, some thoughts were eating at me. He’d told me I couldn’t ask him any questions, but he’d softened a little thanks to my correct reading of Flynn. He’d even let me practice with his set of throwing knives. But he held onto the gun.
I was fine with that. I didn’t like guns anyway. But I sure did miss my bows. I’d fired a hundred arrows—at least—almost every day since we’d arrived at Redemption. That was my own little escape there—my therapy. Occasionally Blake would come shoot with me, or Sam…or Dad would swing by and toss a few cans. But everyone else left me alone while I was shooting. That was how I liked it. I didn’t have that peace here. Here I was extremely tense.
It was a weird situation knowing I could stand up and run out into the hall now and be safe. Lazzo couldn’t stop me. I could get to a guard with a gun and have Lazzo shot dead before he could get to me. Instead, I chose to stay here, to stay stressed, to keep my nerves on frayed alert. I chose to believe the threats of this man who had fooled us all—who had lied to us all.
What if Lazzo had been lying? What if he didn’t have a bomb on the island and was merely desperate? What if I’d played right into his hand by falling for his story, because he was waving the gun at the girls and Reagan? Was that even possible? It would make sense. He’d killed Sam not only because he was a physical threat but also to convince me he was serious about his other threats. Why wouldn’t I believe him, then?
It didn’t really matter now. Even if the bomb had been a lie, Reagan, Abbey and Emily were being held captive. Their lives were on the line every single minute. Killing Lazzo—or letting someone else do so—was the same as killing them. Lazzo had to be in communication with someone stateside somehow. If that link didn’t stay open …
I can’t take any chances.
I found myself staring at him now, without even realizing he was staring right back.
“I don’t like that look, Hayley.”
I laughed. “You think I care which looks of mine you do or don’t like?” I stood up and walked toward him. “You think I don’t know you need me more than I need you?”
“Watch it.”
“Why? Huh? Do you want to kill more innocent people? Is that what the Special Forces taught you? Have you missed it so much that—”
“Hayley.” He stood, but only to be at eye level with me. He hadn’t raised the gun.
“What? I’m following your rules. I’m not asking you any questions…okay, not the ones you’re afraid to answer anyway—even though none of this makes sense.”
“I’m not scared.” He turned away from me. “Not of you anyway.”
What is that supposed to mean? Who would he be afraid of? “Then what is this, Lazzo? Is someone holding something over you? What did it take for you to go all Judas on us?”
“Judas?”
“Never mind.”
“Hayley.” He shook his head.
I turned away from him. “Fine. People actually liked you, you know? You had it made—for life. And then you become this monster that kills my boyfriend—who did nothing to you by the way—and I’m supposed to…let it go?” I flipped a mattress up against the wall and stepped ten paces away from it. I threw the knives in rapid succession, all three clustering within inches of each other. Lazzo had walked over to the other door, and as I gathered my knives I saw him wipe his face with his hand—twice. Is he crying? Why do you even care? Because it’s not normal. This doesn’t make sense. I knew something else was going on, but if he wasn’t going to tell me about it, how could I possibly find out?
I threw the knives a few more times and then crawled under the bed onto my mattress. Lazzo was sitting by the door now, where I usually sat, and he watched me out of the corner of his eye. Strangely I felt a little guilty now. I sighed, closed my eyes, and replayed the past few days. Lazzo didn’t seem to want to be doing this. None of it. But he apparently really needed this book Danny had. A thought struck me then—something Kate had mentioned to me.
Kate told me she’d caught Lazzo coming out of her room and he’d said he was looking for underwear—he was all out. He’d been embarrassed and asked her not to say anything, but Kate had thought it rather funny and told me. What if he wasn’t looking for underwear at all, but that book he talked about? Danny had a safe in his room. Was Lazzo in there for that? And couldn’t
find it? The only way Lazzo would even know about the book was if someone in the States had told him to look for it. If that were the case, then Lazzo had planned this since—when exactly? The beginning? And now he was supposed to take that book to Colorado to give to … whom exactly? Who was behind all this, and what did they want? What was in that damn book? And why would Lazzo want to do this for them when he was safe in Hawaii, where he had a home, and friends, and…”
Unless they did have something he wanted in return. Something he would risk his life to get back. My accusations from earlier had to be spot on.
I pulled myself out from under the bed. “Lazzo, do they have Eddie?”
My question floored him. “Wha … what? They? Who? What are you talking about?”
I could tell I’d struck a nerve. “Do they have Eddie? Does someone have Eddie?”
“Hayley, stop—”
“Just tell me. Whoever they are, what do they have? What are they promising you for this book?” I could see he didn’t know whether to answer or snap at me again. He held his hands up in the air, pleading for me to stop.
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, Laz!” I nearly shouted at him. “There had to be a good enough reason for you to turn on the people who saved your life…for you to kill Sam after all we’ve done for you. I don’t believe you are that man. I think you’re good…so why the hell did you do it?” So much for agreeing to not ask him any questions. But now I understood why he didn’t want me to ask them. He doesn’t know what to say.
“I can’t talk about this right now. I can’t.” His voice was barely a whisper.
Before I could answer, there was another voice in the room, a deep, loud male one. “Aww. And it was just getting interesting.”
Shit. I hadn’t even heard anyone coming. I’d been so involved in pressuring Lazzo. This one was on me completely.
Brock was standing against the far wall with an automatic rifle pointed at the two of us. Three other men stood beside him, and two more came in the door by us. Too many for my knives, and their guns were far more deadly. Lazzo looked at me, the fire raging once again in his eyes. I’d blown it. Whatever it was he was up to, I had ruined it. I may have just killed Reagan, Abbey and Emily. Damn it, Hayley.
Brock smiled. “Someone’s been looking for you two.” He snatched the gun out of Lazzo’s hands. “And for this.”
EIGHTEEN – No Choice (Ryan)
---------- (Tuesday. August 2, 2022.) ----------
“They knew we were coming.”
We could hear Danny loud and clear—through his transmitter—as he stood outside the gate of the compound and looked up at the sky. He looked back down at the piece of paper in his hand. “Tara, you’re going to want to sit down.”
She didn’t ask why. She sat down and grabbed my hand.
Danny sighed deeply. “This is what it says.” He cleared his throat and read the note—aloud—that had been in the envelope taped to the gate.
“There is a live video feed to your left …” Danny pointed out the camera. “… and there are cameras throughout the compound. The house is wired with explosives. If anyone trespasses, we will blow up the house and everyone inside it. We are not afraid to die. If you would like to test us, go ahead. If you obey, we will not hurt the girls. They will not be touched. Disobey any of these instructions and they all die. Do not come back to Kauai again until Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m. ONLY Danny may return here for the next set of instructions. Come prepared.”
Danny looked back up at the sky. “That’s it.” Then he turned to the others with him and said, “What choice do we have?”
Tara stood up then and said loudly, “You don’t have a choice, Danny.”
Damien looked at her. “He can’t hear you. I’m sorry.”
“Then tell him through his earpiece. He doesn’t have a choice. We have to listen to them.”
“Ma’am—”
“Don’t! Don’t you ma’am me. You tell him to leave. Right. Damn. Now.”
Dad moved over to Tara and put an arm around her. I’d already tried and she’d pushed me away. Awesome. Damien spoke into the headset. We watched Danny nod and give the “round it up” signal. The Pack climbed back into the jeeps, and they drove off.
On our end, Governor Barnes had a former Navy pilot fly us back to Redemption. When we landed we coasted up to the dock—parking next to our seaplane. Danny and the rest of the Pack were already there. Tara was first out, and she ran to Danny—who was approaching us on the dock. He wrapped her in his arms, his eyes on me. She pulled back as the rest of us approached and asked him, “What do we do now?”
Danny waved at the Navy pilot as he pulled the plane away from the dock and headed back toward Oahu. “Right now I don’t think there’s anything we can do.”
No one argued.
“They were waiting for us,” Blake chimed in. “This is all some big plan.”
“Who is they?” I asked. “Do we have any idea who is doing this?”
“Actually, yes. Axel found this on the boat yesterday, taped to the console.” Danny held up a patch with an emblem on it. “This same emblem was carved into the stone pillars of the gate at the compound we just left. I had Keena look it up.” He took a deep breath. “It’s Libyan Intelligence.”
“Did you say it was taped to the console?”
Danny nodded. “Someone wanted us to find it.”
“Who? And are you saying these people are connected to Qi Jia?” Other people have to be wondering the same things. “Are you saying there are some of them here?”
“One question at a time, Dad. First of all, we don’t know who left the patch. Whoever it was couldn’t have known for sure we’d find it. Hoped? Maybe. Known? No way. Secondly, we don’t know that this is connected to Qi Jia—though it certainly could be. And…” Danny held his hand up as I was about to interrupt. “And finally, whether or not it is connected, they surely had operatives in every single state of the US to make sure the attack went off as planned. If these are their people and this is their compound that would not surprise me. They would have known where to be to survive the chemical attacks.”
It sure surprised the hell out of me.
“These are professionals,” Danny continued. “They asked for me specifically for some reason. I take that to mean they know far more about us than we do about them. The note was written in perfect English. Not that a Libyan couldn’t know perfect English, but it implies someone on our side could be working with or for them. They have this entire thing staged—and maybe have for some time. I actually believe they left that satellite gap intentionally. They wanted us to get their message.”
I don’t get it. “So why make it so hard? And why tell you to come prepared? For what?”
“I don’t know, Dad. Come prepared doesn’t mean anything to me right now. And truthfully, I don’t think they expected us to find them that soon. I think they were ready for it just in case, but most likely they were going to deliver the next instructions somehow tomorrow night.” Danny looked at all of us. “If anything, we tipped our hat at how connected we are. If anything, we just made everything worse.”
I heard Tara mumble, “Not possible.”
“Oh yes.” Danny apparently had heard her too. “It is possible. You and I both know that.”
Tara apologized, blushing.
“Don’t. I know what you meant. But we all need to realize this can get worse. Right now we have to do exactly as we’re told. We need to sit and wait. No one leaves this island. Period. Everyone got that?”
We did.
Just then Danny held a finger up and cupped a hand over his earpiece. I watched his expression change from calm to fear, and I saw the color drain from his face.
“What?” I asked.
Danny sank to his knees, staring at the water.
“Danny, what?” Tara demanded.
“They caught the terrorists on the carrier …” A sudden and absolute hush fell over us. “And they ki
lled them.”
NINETEEN – Shock and Awe (Hayley)
---------- (Tuesday. August 2, 2022.) ----------
Lazzo and I were cuffed and being pushed across the carrier deck toward the command tower. Brock had already radioed in to Captain Baker, “I’ve caught them.” So they had been looking for us!
The captain stood up on the deck with a smug expression, looking down on us as we approached. “Welcome,” the jackass said sarcastically. “So good to see you.”
“Whatever happens, Laz,” I whispered with my head down. “Don’t say a single word.”
“Shut up!” Brock shouted, striking me in the back of my shoulder with the butt of his rifle. “Another word and I shoot you on the spot.”
“You better ask your dad first.” Asshole. My shoulder stung, but my own stupidity hurt me more. Now what are we going to do?
“He’s not my dad,” Brock mumbled.
I looked away from him and allowed myself the smallest of smiles. Idiot.
Quite a crowd had gathered, but I didn’t see anyone I recognized. Fortunately. Nonetheless—with that audience—the captain was forced to rein in his natural tendency to be an all-around dick. Some women watching us probably wouldn’t like him condoning my abuse. He scolded Brock briefly and warned him not to strike me again. I could see right through it. I knew Baker probably knew who I was and probably—therefore—wanted to hit me himself. I’m sure you’ll find the time.
“Put them in the holding cells. And not together. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
Baker’s “few minutes” turned into a full hour. Brock individually searched us before Baker arrived. Brock enjoyed his frisk and squeeze a little too much with me—particularly between my legs, all the while smiling and claiming he had to be extra diligent with girls, “given all the extra hiding spots.” Then he added that maybe I should reconsider talking back to him next time. “See where it gets you? Who got the last word now, bitch?”
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