Mutiny (M.E.R. Series)

by Jacqueline Gardner

  “Davis?” I whispered. “He’s alive?”

  * * *

  I sat next to Frankie, watching Anchovy down a sugary donut. The sun was rising and mist from the ocean waves hit our faces. I had so many questions for Davis I didn’t know what to ask first. He sat quietly next to us while the old man covered in scars brought over some coffees.

  “Where have you been?” Frankie asked. Davis laughed and took a cup a coffee from his friend. “And who are you?” Frankie accepted the coffee that was handed to him.

  “I’m Lou.”

  “I went with Lou that night,” Davis said, taking a sip.

  “But why?” Frankie asked. “You should have seen Brian after you left. He was devastated. Why would you abandon your team like that?”

  “I tried to get Brian to come with me!” Davis protested. “I’d tried to tell him what was going on but he wouldn’t listen.”

  “Hold it,” Lou said in a calm voice. “What were y’all doing at the bottom of the ocean?”

  “The Commander,” I muttered. “We were being punished.”

  “For what?” Davis interrupted.

  “For being human.” I set my cup on the ground. I couldn’t stop thinking about Mariella.

  “I don’t get it. Did you guys break the rules?” Davis asked.

  “Big time,” Anchovy said with a mouth full of food.

  “Never mind that,” I said. “Lou, why are you following us?”

  “I need your help,” Lou replied. “I’ve been tracking your group for years trying to make contact. Davis here was the only one who would listen.”

  “Things aren’t what they seem,” Davis said quietly. He looked a little tired but otherwise healthy. He had gone a long time without serum. There didn’t seem to be any noticeable effects but who knew what he was feeling inside.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t have to be this way. Our parents are out there looking for us!”

  “How do you know that?” Frankie asked.

  “Because I’m one of them,” Lou commented. The conversation was moving so fast. I was having trouble keeping up. I stared at Lou and studied his face. He didn’t look like anyone I knew. “My son was taken from me almost twenty years ago. I’ve been looking for him ever since.” Lou looked out at the ocean. There was sadness in his eyes.

  “And you thought we could just pass him a secret message or something? Things don’t exactly work that way. Outside our teams, we don’t know very many others.” Frankie sounded frustrated. He stared at the ocean with his arms folded. He had a look on his that I’d only seen once before. The night before Frankie left Neptune House to become a full soldier, the two of us talked. Frankie remembered his mother - her face. He often dreamt of her. He had whispered it to me that night, wondering if that thought made him weak. I had answered his question with another question - was she happy? Frankie had nodded, mentioning that that was the way he’d preferred it.

  I went to reach for my backpack but soon remembered the Commander had taken all our supplies. We had no serum. A serum timer was set in my head again.

  “Davis,” I said in a shaky voice. “What’s it like? I mean, what’s it like . . . without the serum? Does it hurt?” Davis grinned and took another sip of coffee.

  “It feels strange but every once in a while, I forget about all it.” Davis replied. “I don’t know how long we can go without serum but I feel fine. And I’ve decided I’m going to do as much I can to help Lou.”

  “So,” Frankie chimed in. He directed his question at Lou. “You’re not the guy the Commander is looking for?” Lou shook his head.

  “The one they’re after is a regenerator.”

  “Have you ever seen him?” I asked curiously.

  “Once,” Lou sighed. “It was a while after my son was taken. I’d made a scene at just about every government building in Texas. Then one night, a man came to me. His soldier name was Zero. He said he was a regenerator – one of the first M.E.R. soldiers in fact. He told me about my boy’s abilities then encouraged me to keep searching. He said one day I would find a way to get him back.”

  The hot sun made my forehead moist. The air was getting humid again, but this time I could relax. To the rest of the world, the five of us were just normal guys hanging out on the beach.

  “The Commander said he was dangerous,” Frankie continued. “He told us in our briefing that he was a threat.”

  “That’s because he has the Triton,” Lou answered. “Well, had the Triton.” Frankie and I immediately looked at each other. In a weird way, things were starting to add up. It seemed like my team and I were the only ones who didn’t know about the Triton. Anchovy’s eyes were wide.

  “Hey! That’s-” I rubbed Anchovy’s head, stuffing another donut in his mouth before he could say any more.

  “So I guess next you’re going to tell me you know about Atlantis too?” I was ready to laugh but Lou didn’t change his serious expression. “You know about Atlantis?” I said again. Lou nodded.

  “Zero did some explaining before he left. It didn’t make much sense to me back then, but it does now. Atlantis is the codename for the Triton’s hiding place. The Triton has to be re-found every twenty years. It doesn’t allow the owner any more time than that. You find Atlantis, you find the Triton.”

  “Look Lou,” Frankie chuckled. “I don’t mean to put a damper on your spirits but this Zero guy sounds like a hoax to me. I mean, he couldn’t be the first M.E.R. soldier ever. He’d have to be older than the Commander! Despite what you may think Lou, we all age just like everyone else.” Lou smiled, looking at Davis.

  “Anything is possible with the Triton,” Lou replied. “He probably looks the same as the day he left the M.E.R. program. Why do you think everyone wants it?”

  “You’re really expecting me to believe that Triton thing is magical? Come on.” Frankie looked at Lou like he was crazy. I was shocked too. Anchovy just stared, keeping his mouth shut.

  “Look in the mirror,” Davis replied. “A lot of people don’t believe someone like you exists.”

  “Good point.” Frankie relaxed, slouching his back. Logically, it did make sense. If the Triton indeed was a magical object that could prevent its owner from aging, it was no wonder why the Commander wanted to find Atlantis so bad. This guy Zero would have led him straight to it.

  “How did you know we would be here?” I asked.

  “Another one of my secrets,” Lou smiled. He unclasped the necklace from around his neck, dangling the charm in front of me. The same symbol Davis had drawn on the wall by his bed. “Zero gave this to me.”

  “Geez,” Frankie said again. “I thought you only spoke to him briefly?” I nudged Frankie so he would be quiet. I was just as shocked as he was, but I wanted the whole story. Maybe things wouldn’t end in disaster. Lou seemed to know what he was talking about.

  “This charm can track regenerators. All I have to do is think about my son and the flame lights up. It took me years to understand how it works. But one day I was thinking of my son and the flame lit up. I happened to be standing next to a map in my office. The charm flew straight to a spot on the Pacific Ocean. It was attracted to that map like a magnet.”

  “And Zero made it?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure where it came from. But I can’t complain. It has never steered me wrong.”

  “So, what are you trying to do exactly? Why make contact? Now the Commander knows what you’re up to.”

  “It’s worth it,” Davis whispered. “The Commander has a list of every family he’s ever visited. If we steal that list, we’ll be able to find our families.”

  “Zero’s around here somewhere,” Lou added. “That means he is on the hunt for the Triton. His twenty years are up.”

  “Have you met any others?” I asked. “I mean, anyone else searching for their lost kids?”

  “No but I’ve heard rumors.”

  “And what about us?” Frankie yelled. “If the whole world fi
nds out about regenerators, do you really think they’ll be okay with it?” I nudged him again.

  “Of course they won’t,” Lou said calmly. “That’s why we’ve come up with a plan. We always have a plan.”

  13

  Followed

  Lou pulled out a map of Curitiba and laid it across his lap, closing his eyes and kissing the charm on his necklace. He smiled for a minute then dropped the charm. It slid like a magnet to a spot in the center of downtown.

  “They’re still here,” Lou smiled. “My son is still in Brazil.”

  “So what’s the plan exactly?” Frankie asked. “You want us to just walk right up to the Commander, apologize, and hope he lets us back on the team? That ain’t gonna happen, old man.” Lou kept smiling despite Frankie’s pessimistic comments.

  “We’re going to get the Triton first,” Lou replied. I stared at the ocean waves. My only hope at saving Mariella would be to go along with Lou’s plan. If we found the Triton first, maybe Commander Z would agree to a trade.

  “Whoa,” Frankie said. “Get the Triton first? The Commander would hunt you down, and steal it away. And we’ll all be thrown in the ocean again - this time with tighter chains!”

  “Calm down, Frankie.” Davis was listening intently, waiting to interject. He seemed to be completely sold on Lou’s idea. “Z won’t try anything, trust me.” His mischievous grin took me by surprise. Davis was usually the quiet one. When he and Brian were together, Brian would take the lead and Davis would follow.

  “You can’t know that,” Frankie replied. “Look what he did to the three of us. I’m willing to bet we would’ve never been given a second chance. I think the Commander meant to leave us at the bottom of the ocean forever!”

  “The Triton doesn’t exactly make you immortal,” Davis said. “But it can kill a regenerator before it’s his time to die.” The three of us had never even heard of a way to kill a regenerator. We were always reassured M.E.R. soldiers were invincible.

  “You’re kidding,” I said in a low voice. For once, Frankie was silent. Anchovy finished chewing his food and gulped. Frankie turned and gave me a distressed look. “Uh, you mind if we step away for a minute?”

  “Yeah I guess,” Davis replied. “But let me just ask you one question, Frankie. Don’t you think we should’ve been able to choose this life? It’s always been Z’s way or . . . the bottom of the ocean.” Frankie stood up. I grinned at Davis and followed.

  “What’s on your mind?” I asked, walking towards the beach.

  “I don’t know about this. Is this really a good idea? I mean, what if everything goes wrong?” He looked down at the sand. The crashing waves reminded me of Mariella and the night we first met. We didn’t have any time to waste. The Commander could have tortured her to death by now. My chest hurt just thinking about it.

  “Well, wouldn’t it be nice to not have to follow orders?”

  “Yeah, but what if Lou’s plan doesn’t work?” he repeated. I stared at the endless coastline. The city was starting to get noisy and girls in bikinis were making their way to the sand.

  “Face it, Frankie. We have no other options. The Commander betrayed us. Our own teammate turned us in. All this has got to stop!” Frankie was silent for a minute. He stared at the sunrise and cleared his throat. “Don’t I always have your back?”

  “Ever since Ms. Conelly ripped up my stuffed animal in front of the entire class.” He smirked, turning back towards Lou and Davis.

  “We can do this,” I added. “A lot has already happened we never thought possible, right?” Frankie chuckled and hit my shoulder.

  “It’s amazing what a chick can do to you,” he laughed. I could feel my cheeks turning red. I rubbed my forehead, laughing with him.

  “Whatever,” I muttered. Frankie stepped in front of me, still laughing. Davis was in a deep conversation with Anchovy. Anchovy sat still with a shocked look on his face.

  “Telling the new guy about all the crazy missions we went on?” Frankie asked.

  “The first mission is always the toughest,” Davis replied. “So, are you guys in?”

  “All the way, man.” Frankie held out a fist and Davis hit it. Lou leaned forward, keeping his eyes on the map.

  “Let’s get moving,” I said. Lou looked up at us. “First, how do we find the Triton?”

  “The best part is your operations leader, Commander Z, thinks he knows everything. But I know one thing he doesn’t.” Our huddle was so silent that I could hear Anchovy’s heavy breathing. “There’s a map to Atlantis.”

  “If there’s a map out there, then why hasn’t the Commander found it already?”

  “The Triton’s location is always changing. Therefore, the map always changes. That’s why no one else has ever come across it. But one thing is for certain. Zero is here, which means Atlantis is here.”

  “So how do we get the map?” I asked.

  “It requires a self sacrifice, but you have to be in the right country,” Lou whispered. “Only a regenerator can do it.” My mind wandered back to the article I’d taken from Mariella’s house. It spoke of a guy that sliced his arm off and walked away.

  “The article,” I muttered. I had caught Lou’s attention. He searched through his bag and pulled out a wrinkled newspaper.

  “You mean this?” he asked, pointing to a highlighted column.

  “Yeah, and I’m not the only one who has seen this article. There are other guys looking for Zero.”

  “All the more reason to hurry then!” Lou looked at the four of us. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this day. I’ve never been able to get the map. Only a regenerator can get it, for obvious reasons.”

  “Why did he choose the factory?” I asked.

  “No idea?” Lou folded the article and stuffed it back into his bag. “But we need to retrace Zero’s steps.” I jumped up and Lou looked surprised.

  “What are we waiting for?”

  “Are you volunteering yourself for ‘you know what’?” Frankie said. I’d broken bones and lost limbs so many times it didn’t seem like a big deal anymore. Besides, the sooner we found the Triton, the sooner we would find Mariella.

  “What if those guys are waiting for us again?” Anchovy asked. Our run in with Clark would be on his mind for a while. My first gunfight had been against a group of smugglers in Japan. They’d cornered me and Frankie, and I’d been so oblivious, I hadn’t remembered I had a gun in my pocket. I’d regenerated quickly and since learned my lesson.

  “What guys?” Davis asked looking confused.

  “Clark,” I replied. “He is after the same thing we’re after. He knows about regenerators.” Davis looked shocked. No one we had ever come across knew our secret.

  “He would have to be an idiot to go back to the city,” Frankie commented.

  “But he’s looking for us,” I replied. “Clark can’t return to his employer until he finds the Triton. He might be hanging around the factory. We’ll just have to be on the look out.”

  “We’ll be ready for him,” Lou said, opening his bag and pulling out a shiny gun.

  “We just have to go in, do our thing, and leave.” Davis said anxiously. “Let’s not waste any more time. I might not have much of it left.”

  “I agree,” I replied. “Let’s get the limb slicing over with.” Mariella’s face kept popping into my head. It killed me that I wasn’t around to protect her anymore. Hopefully it wasn’t too late.

  “Do you have a preference?” Lou asked. He flashed me a glance at the gun collection hidden in his bag.

  “I don’t care as long as it does the job.”

  “I want that one!” Anchovy said pointing to the smallest. It was the only one small enough to fit comfortably in his hands.

  “Guys,” Frankie muttered. “I don’t think we need to worry about Clark being at the factory anymore.”

  “And why is that?” Lou asked.

  “Check that out.” Frankie discreetly pointed to a car parked down the street. It had tinted
windows and sat quietly on the cobblestone. I sniffed the breeze. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it before Frankie. The car reeked of Clark’s scent. His sweaty body was sitting in that car. I was sure of it.

  * * *

  “Do we really have time for this?” Frankie was growing impatient as we stood with our backs stiff against a brick wall. We had split up and paraded all across the city. Clark followed thinking he was clever enough to stay under our radar, but we lost him in minutes. Lou was watching the main entrance of the factory, waiting for all its workers to leave for lunch.

  “If these guys see another person slice themselves up,” Davis asked. “Z will know what we’re up to.” My chest was beating fast. None of us knew what would happen once the sacrifice was performed. Frankie tapped his foot and glanced around the corner.

  “Come on,” he muttered. We all felt the need to hurry and figure things out. We all had one thing on their minds besides the Triton – serum. The fact that Davis was still alive made me realize I had a couple days. But then what? If I was going to drop dead, I might as well take my own orders. Do what I want to do. My mind was already made up. My days following the Commander’s orders and being Poseidon’s little puppet was over. We all heard a faint whistle.

  “It’s time,” Davis whispered. The four of us searched the busy street and crept towards the factory entrance one by one. It was just like old times.

  Frankie went first, rushing over towards Lou. He looked ecstatic. No doubt he was thinking the same thing I was. All these years, we had been told what to do. The serum was kept under lock and key. It was Poseidon’s assurance that we all did what we were told. But perhaps with the Triton, Frankie and I could change all that.

  I wiped the sweat off my forehead, stepping into the dimly lit factory. It was empty and silent. The whole placed smelled like sweat. Lou paced around the large machines and eyed one in particular.

  “Step aside, I’ll do it!” Frankie shouted. He ran up to a machine with a wide metal blade. He ran his fingers along it for an ‘on’ switch. The sound of grinding metal filled my ears. I covered my earlobes with the palms of my hands and watched as Frankie started taking rapid breaths. Lou stared at Frankie. It wasn’t everyday you saw someone ready and willing to chop their own arm off.