“Noon it is,” I said.
The next morning, Ostin and I went down to breakfast together. Tanner, Jack, Zeus, Tessa, and Abigail were already there. Everyone looked tired.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Is it?” Tanner replied.
I ignored him.
“How was the park?” Zeus asked.
“Kangaroos and koalas,” I said. “What’s not to like?”
“Did you know kangaroos can box?” Jack said. “I’d like to try boxing one. I hear they’re pretty good.”
“It’s cruel,” Abigail said.
“Boxing is cruel,” Jack replied. “That’s the point.”
“I didn’t know it had one,” Abigail said.
“Sounds like everyone’s having grouchy flakes for breakfast,” Ostin said.
“No one’s cheerful on death row,” Tanner said.
“I’m out of here,” I said.
Ostin and I walked over to the buffet tables. I got a stack of pancakes and some link sausage. While I was waiting for the chef to make me an omelet, Taylor walked up behind me.
“What’s up with the cheer squad?” she asked.
“You talked to them, huh? They could use a cheerleader. Know any?”
“Not anymore. McKenna and I saved a table over there. Far away from the table of gloom.”
“I’ll be right over,” I said.
* * *
By the time we finished eating, the rest of our group was in the restaurant, including Gervaso and Welch, who sat alone in a corner and spent more time talking than eating. I couldn’t hear them, but their facial expressions seemed especially tense. When Gervaso stood, we all got up to leave.
Hardly anyone spoke as we took our bags out to the shuttles and drove to the airport. The weather had cleared up, with just a few scattered clouds, not that you could tell. We had brought our own storm cloud. Only McKenna seemed cheerful. I don’t think she had rose-colored glasses; she just preferred being happy. I was grateful for that.
We boarded the plane at a quarter of twelve. Even Scott and Boyd, the pilots, seemed more sullen than usual, taking our luggage from us without the usual greetings. After we were airborne, Gervaso stood up at the front of the plane.
“Let me have your attention. We’ve had a few days of reprieve and anonymity. Those days are gone. From here on out we are on the battleground. My contact in Fiji informs me that the islands are crawling with Elgen, many of whom are not in uniform.
“Fiji is Tuvalu’s front porch, so the Elgen are making a point of knowing who is playing in their yard. They will want to know who you are and what you are doing there. So take no chances and stay invisible. That means no wandering off. No being alone. Talk to no one. Under no circumstances are you to speak, type, or write the word ‘Elgen.’ If someone asks you why you are there, you must assume they are informants.
“Our flight is four and a half hours. Tonight at dinner we will be meeting with my friend who will be sailing us into Tuvalu. He’s taking a great risk in transporting us, both to his job and his life. I do not want him endangered any more than he has to be. His name is J.D. and, as I said back at the ranch, he took a bullet for me. I’d do the same for him. Don’t make me.” He looked around the cabin. “All right, then. Captain Welch has asked to say a few words.”
Welch stood. “It’s no surprise to any of you that I consider this a highly risky mission. I did not say suicide mission, but I do not suspect that we will all return. This is our Normandy beach. The Elgen do not expect us to make such a bold move. If they did, I would call it off immediately. I agree with Gervaso that it is our best chance to deal the Elgen a fatal blow.
“But make no mistake, this is like walking into a rattlesnake den with a machete. No matter how many snakes you kill, someone is still going to get bit.
“So you know, I will not be captured. For me—perhaps for all of us—being captured is the same as death, only one that Hatch can prolong and enjoy. So the only option for me is to fight to the death. I suggest you come to a similar conclusion. I hope it doesn’t come to that.” With that, he sat down, leaving us all in a state of despair.
“If that was our pregame inspirational speech,” Jack said, “I can wait for halftime.”
* * *
The clouds inside the plane were thicker than those outside it. Then, in the midst of it all, Ostin turned encyclopedia on us again.
“Hey, it’s time for facts about Fiji. Did you know”—I don’t know why he asked that, as we never did—“Fiji has a population of almost a million people and is made up of 332 islands? About one-third of them are inhabited.
“The international date line runs through the Fiji island of Taveuni, so you can be in two days at the same time. Also, there’s a red-and-white flower in Taveuni that blooms nowhere else in the world.”
“If I see it, I’ll pick it and you can wear it in your hair,” I said to Taylor.
“It’s probably protected,” Taylor said.
“Fijians used to be cannibals,” Ostin said. “People used to call the place the Cannibal Isles. The last guy they ate was a missionary named Thomas Baker. Natives said he was doing okay until he touched the chief on his head. That’s a big ‘don’t do’ in Fiji. So they ate him.”
“The lesson I’m taking from this is don’t touch anyone on the head,” Taylor said.
“So you can eat people, but you can’t touch them on the head?” Jack said. “That’s messed up.”
“Crazy messed up,” Tessa said. “So, Michael, they won’t arrest you if you pick that flower; they’ll eat you.”
“They don’t eat people today,” Ostin said. “That was a long time ago. But they still sell cannibal forks.”
“What’s a cannibal fork?”
“I think that’s pretty self-evident,” Tanner said. “It’s a fork for eating people.”
“Can we not talk about eating people?” Abigail said. “It sounds like something Hatch would do.”
“Don’t give him ideas,” Nichelle said.
“Hatch doesn’t need help coming up with evil ideas,” Tanner said. “He’s a freaking evil idea factory.”
Ostin continued. “The cannibal fork, or as it’s called in Fijian, the ai cula ni bokola, was used during ritual feasts by those considered by the tribe too holy to touch food, such as their chiefs and priests.
“One of the Fijian tribal chief’s most important ceremonies was the eating of their tribe’s enemy. Since the chief couldn’t use their hands for this important ritual, they came up with a special fork. Forks became a way to show the chief’s power. The fancier the fork, the more important the owner.”
“That’s some freaky kind of status symbol,” Tessa said.
“I’d like to see them try to eat me,” Zeus said. “I’d light them up like a Christmas tree.”
“They wouldn’t eat you,” I said. “They’d worship you. You’d be the Fijian god of lightning.”
“Were the people of Tuvalu cannibals?”
Tanner said, “We should ask Welch.”
“I know things about Tuvalu,” Ostin said.
“Of course you do,” Tanner said. “We should ask Welch.”
Ostin ignored the slight and continued. “Did you know that Robert Louis Stevenson visited Niutao? That’s the island we’re going to. The one Hatch named Hades.”
“Who’s Robert Lewison?” Tessa asked.
Ostin raised one eyebrow. “Oh, please. Really? What did they teach you at the academy?”
“How to take over the world. Mostly.”
“I’m down with that,” Jack said.
“. . . Stevenson is only one of the greatest writers of all times. Ever heard of Treasure Island? Or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Treasure Island alone has more than seventy-five movies, television shows, and stage productions.”
“So what was he doing in Tuvalu?”
“He was visiting Australia when he decided to book a trading steamer called the Janet Nicoll. They anchored off Niuta
o for a while to take on copra.”
“Who’s Copra?” Zeus asked.
“I know this one,” Tessa said. “He’s that movie director. He did that one Christmas movie where that guy rips off a bank, then meets an angel—”
“It’s called It’s a Wonderful Life,” Taylor said. “And he didn’t rip off the bank. The stupid old guy lost the money, and it was stolen by the evil old dude in the wheelchair.”
“Potter,” McKenna said.
“Yeah, that one,” Tessa said. “Except he wasn’t a potter; he was a banker.”
“His name was Potter,” McKenna said.
“Oh, yeah.”
Ostin just looked at them like they’d lost their minds. “Copra is dried coconut meat. It’s where they get coconut oil.”
“Like any normal human should know that,” Taylor said.
“I’m sticking with the movie director,” Tessa said.
For a moment Ostin was speechless. “Anyway, while they were picking up copra, Stevenson’s wife, Fanny, wrote about it. She published her story under the title The Cruise of the Janet Nichol.”
“I like that,” Taylor said. “The Janet Nichol. Why do they name ships after women?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Why do they name hurricanes after women?”
“I know,” Ostin said. “It’s because . . .”
McKenna and Taylor both looked at him.
“Uh . . . because they’re powerful.”
I grinned at him. “Good save, man. Good save.”
“He’s getting good at this,” Taylor said.
“Stevenson said something I think is relevant to our situation,” Ostin said. “ ‘Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.’ ”
“We’ve got the poor hand part right,” Tanner said.
Ostin looked at him with an uncharacteristic dark glare. “He also said, ‘The world has no room for cowards.’”
Tanner said nothing.
Our plane landed on the Fiji island of Viti Levu, the largest island in the Republic of Fiji and the location of the nation’s capital city of Suva.
As we got off the plane, the air was hot and especially humid, even more than in Taiwan, which I suspected had something to do with the recent storms. I wasn’t sure that we were through with them. Even though the sky above us was blue, I noticed a mass of accumulating dark clouds in the east.
There were more non-Fijians around us than I expected, with a lot of tourists from Australia and New Zealand. After Gervaso’s talk, I found myself suspicious of everyone. Anyone could be an Elgen.
We split up into three groups and took taxis from the airport to a hotel near the center of the island. Gervaso told us that the hotel had not been checked out for security, so at his friend’s suggestion, we met up in a small café called the Bad Dog. It was a simple burger and pizza joint with a lot of wood paneling and vines growing across the ceiling. Gervaso spoke briefly to the woman at the counter, and she led us to a back room.
“We’re safe here,” Gervaso said. “We can talk.”
“When are we going to meet your friend?” I asked.
“Soon,” Gervaso said. Then his expression changed. “Actually, that’s him right now.”
I followed his gaze to a man coming in through the door. He looked to be about Gervaso’s age, short with dark brown skin contrasted by piercing blue eyes. He had a shaven head, and a large scar ran across his throat and jaw.
He limped toward us, leaning on an ebony cane inlaid with red, blue, and yellow gems.
“J.D.,” Gervaso said, standing.
The man smiled. “Gervaso, my friend.”
The two men embraced.
“I did not think I would see you in my part of the world.”
“Appropriately, fate is not through with us,” Gervaso said. He turned toward us. “Everyone, this is my friend Captain J.D.” He looked back. “J.D., these are my friends.”
J.D. nodded. “Your friends, my cargo.” As his gaze panned over us, he stopped on Taylor. “And beautiful cargo.”
Taylor blushed a little. The captain stepped forward, offering his hand. “Lovely lady, what is your name?”
“Taylor,” she said, extending her hand uneasily.
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I might just have to keep this one for myself.”
Taylor looked uncomfortable with his comment. Blinking, I stood up and put out my hand so he would release Taylor’s. “I’m Michael.”
He took my hand but suddenly jerked back. “You shocked me.”
Gervaso frowned at me even though I honestly hadn’t intended to shock him.
“Must be static in the air,” I said.
J.D. grinned. “Indeed. You must be Michael Vey. Am I to understand that this ruby belongs to you?”
“She’s my girlfriend,” I said. “Not a rock.”
He raised his hands. “Forgive me. I meant no offense, brother. You are a lucky man.”
“Thank you,” Taylor said softly.
He looked at all of the girls. “So many beauties.” Then he turned to Gervaso. “There is one extra with you.”
Welch stood. “I’m John,” he said. “John Watts. I was a last-minute addition to the party.”
J.D. looked at him with a peculiar gaze, then said, “Mr. Watts, welcome to our adventure.” He looked back at us. “Have you ordered any food yet?”
“No,” Gervaso said. “We were waiting for you.”
“Please, allow me.” He turned and raised his hand to signal a server standing outside the door. “You all like pizza, yes?”
“Yes,” Ostin said.
“Here, they have cannibal pizza.”
“I just threw up,” Taylor said.
“Do not worry your pretty face,” J.D. said. “It is not man flesh. It is lamb meat.”
“Not much better,” Taylor said.
“Speaking of man flesh,” Jack said. “I hear that you took a bullet for Gervaso.”
J.D. cocked his head. “Oh? Where did you hear that?”
“Gervaso,” Jack said.
J.D. lifted a fork and rammed it into his leg so it stuck.
McKenna screamed, and J.D. smiled. “Yes, I took a bullet. But I got this leg as a souvenir.”
“Always dramatic,” Gervaso said. “You always were.”
* * *
A waitress walked into our room, and J.D. ordered eight pizzas and five garlic breads, plus bottles of water and grape juice. Surprisingly, the cannibal pizza was actually my favorite.
By the time we finished our meal, it was dark outside and the restaurant was mostly empty. Gervaso walked over and looked out the door, then shut it. “Ian, keep an eye out,” he said.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’d like you all to hear from Captain J.D.,” Gervaso said. “He will go over our plan.”
“Thank you, my friend,” J.D. said. He looked us over. “You missed a very big storm. There was a lot of flooding. It’s just today that the city is back to normal.
“As you know, this adventure we are on is very risky. The plan was to leave tomorrow. That is, if we are crazy enough to stick to that plan.”
“What do you mean?” Gervaso asked.
“When you got off the airplane, did you see the clouds in the east? There is another big storm coming. It is scheduled to hit the islands about three days from now.”
Gervaso’s face turned pale. “The same time we arrive in Tuvalu.”
“That means we can’t sail back,” Zeus said.
“We can in the Joule,” I said.
Gervaso breathed out heavily. “How long will the storm last?”
“The weather service says three days.”
“We’d never survive three days in Tuvalu. So what are our choices?”
“We stay in Fiji another week.”
“And abandon Tara and Torstyn,” Welch said. “They’ll be fed to the rats by then.”
“Better them than us,” Zeus said.
“But this way there’s no backup plan,” Tessa said.
“I know.” I breathed out heavily. “I think we all know that there never was a failure or retreat option. What were we going to do if we failed—try to sail back? There’s no way that we could go undetected. The Elgen have planes, missiles, and speedboats. They’d just sink us at sea.” I shook my head. “There’s no turning back. There never was.”
“Burn the boats,” Ostin said.
“What?” Tessa asked. “Burn what boats?”
Ostin breathed out. “Cortés sunk his ships so that his men would have to conquer or die.” He looked around at all of us with a serious expression. “It’s happened throughout history. The Chinese warlord Xiang Yu at the battle of Julu ordered their ships to be burned so there could be no retreat. So did the Burmese King Bayinnaung when facing a superior army. They both went on to win their battles.” He looked at me. “There is no other option. We burn the boats.”
I think that might have been Ostin’s most courageous moment.
Gervaso looked around the room, then turned to J.D. “Will you sail?”
He thought for a moment, then nodded. “If you will go, I will sail.”
Gervaso took another deep breath. “If anyone wants out, now is the time. Just raise your hand.”
I looked around the room. I kind of expected Tanner to raise his hand, but he didn’t. No one did. After a minute Gervaso said, “Okay. We leave first thing in the morning. May God sail with us.”
As the rest of us were leaving, Ostin walked up to J.D.
“I’m Ostin. I don’t mean to bother you, but I was wondering how you reached a contractual relationship with the Elgen. Did they come to you, or did you go to them?”
J.D. looked at him with an annoyed expression, then turned away without answering.
“It was a valid question,” Ostin said softly.
* * *
That night most of us gathered in Jack’s room to play cards. In the middle of our second game, Ostin said, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this J.D. guy.”
“Why?” Zeus said. “Because he stuck a fork into his leg?”
Fall of Hades Page 18
