by Gini Koch
“Oh, please.” So, Annette Dier was here, too. Good. I’d be really happy to break her neck. “Casualties of war. Look, we don’t have long. Either you’re coming with us or you’ll get to stay here and rot, or worse.”
“We’re your family now,” Ronaldo said. “You’re your father’s daughter.”
“My father, the man who raised me, wasn’t a killer. He was a decent man. He thought war was wrong.”
“And he’s dead because of war, so what does that prove?” Ronaldo asked.
“It proves she’s a liability,” Dier said. Heard a gun cock. “The hell with her so-called talent. We have orders—she comes or she dies. Period.”
Wasn’t sure what to do here, even as I grabbed my Glock out of my purse. But what Gladys did wouldn’t have been in my playbook, constant accusations of recklessness or no. She ran around the corner without looking to see what, exactly, was around said corner.
She ran at hyperspeed, so there was that. Which I guess was so that she could hit into Ronaldo that much harder.
I followed her, in part because it wasn’t like I was going to stay undetected for long and in other part because I didn’t want to give Dier time to recover and shoot the gun I figured she had out and cocked.
As I rounded the corner and could see clearly, I was surprised to see a cell door standing open, though Mahin wasn’t in the hallway. I wasn’t at all surprised to see that Ronaldo and Dier weren’t alone, Mahin still in her cell or no.
There were two other men with them. One was Kozlow; the other was someone I hadn’t seen before. He was younger and appeared to be having a really fun vacation—he looked eager and excited and very one with Ronaldo and his Cause.
He also didn’t look like any of the people here so much as he resembled a younger, male version of Serene. Which might mean he was a full-blooded A-C, or it just might mean that Ronald Yates had sort of had a type when he was being choosy.
All of them were dressed alike, in khaki pants, T-shirts, and hooded sweat jackets. They looked like an odd group of Marines getting ready for a workout. Clearly they’d planned ahead.
Gladys knocked the gun out of Dier’s hand with the clipboard as she slammed into Ronaldo. Those two hit against the wall while Dier’s gun flew into the air.
Unfortunately, while Dier wasn’t able to catch the gun, Kozlow did. Decided I didn’t care and shot at the three of them.
The young kid knocked Dier out of the way, so I missed him and her. Winged Kozlow, though, so there was that. Of course, didn’t hit him enough to stop him from firing right back at me. I flipped into a forward roll, so the bullets missed me. And it was bullets plural—Kozlow fired wildly and emptied the clip. Had the feeling he expected more people coming behind me. You know, like would have been smart. Lucky for whoever would have been there to take bullets, Gladys and I hadn’t been smart.
I was up and had my gun aimed before the three of them recovered. Which would have been great if Gladys and Ronaldo were still fighting. Only they weren’t.
“Tell you what,” Ronaldo said pleasantly, as he wiped some blood off of his lip. “I’ll be nice and leave you here, with the sister of mine who isn’t good for anything, while I take my other sister, who’s really my favorite, along with us.”
“What are you talking about?” Had a feeling I knew, but keeping the bad guys talking was one of my specialties and I saw no reason to hold that move back.
“Some people are easier to control than others, that’s what I’m talking about. You were a fool to bring her with you to try to take me. She can’t say no to her little brother.”
He turned Gladys around, keeping his hands on her upper arms. She looked right at me. “Sorry, kiddo,” she said as she tossed the clipboard down at my feet. “I could kill her for you, little brother.”
Gladys was small and Ronaldo was tall. My gun was out and ready and I was in a good position, so I could shoot him in the head. However, I wasn’t certain that he wouldn’t find a way to throw Gladys up in front of the bullet. He was holding her in such a way I was pretty sure that was his plan, and he definitely had the strength and hyperspeed to do it. Plus I was fairly sure he’d love it if I killed Gladys by accident; it was his kind of thing.
“No, that would upset Mahin,” Ronaldo said with a nasty little laugh. “We have someone much better now, and they’re going to have some fun explaining why this one’s down here trying to break Mahin out while the base is exploding.”
“I really think we should kill her,” Dier said.
“Well, I don’t think we’ll have time for you to reload before she shoots you,” Ronaldo replied. “Russell needs some weapons training. Now, get moving.”
“Who’s the kid?” I asked. “Yet another illegitimate son of Ronald Yates?”
“As if legitimacy mattered?” Ronaldo asked.
“Sure it matters. It matters a lot. That’s why you’re trying to gather up all your half siblings, so that you can claim a seat on the YatesCorp board. Of course, if your father had really wanted you to be able to claim that seat, he’d have written your name clearly on the paperwork.”
Ronaldo’s eyes flashed. “He wanted all of us able to take our rightful places.”
“Hardly. If he knew about you, then why not just list your names on the document? Why force you to have to prove his paternity? Especially since you can’t.”
Ronaldo opened his mouth, but it was Dier who actually spoke. “Stop being an idiot. We leave, right now, or I kill her, right now.” There was something in her tone—she sounded like the one in charge.
Ronaldo reacted like she was as well. He shut up and nodded.
“Um, hate to ask, but how do you think you’re going to get past me?” I got a variety of “duh” looks from all five of them, and then they ran off down a hall I hadn’t realized was there. “Oh. That’s how.”
Trotted closer to Mahin’s cell and looked in. She was against the back wall, looking scared. “What are you going to do to me?” she asked.
“Just ask a question or two. What are they up to?”
“I believe they’re going to blow this base up.”
“Fantastic. Why’d you have your change of heart?”
She shrugged. “Your father . . . he reminded me of my father. He asked me if I was doing what I believed was right, or just what sounded right.” She swallowed hard. “And then I watched them kill . . .” She looked down. “You’d said they were my relatives, too.”
“They are. All the A-Cs are related back there. Like the Jews are.”
“Your father told me. He said . . .” She looked back up. “He said they’d still forgive me and let me be a part of their family. But I don’t see how.”
“You didn’t kill anyone. You tried, sure, but you didn’t succeed. And you actually protected all of us when the plane and tank exploded. And you told Malcolm and my dad where Ronaldo and Dier were.”
“You knew it was him? I didn’t know it was him.”
“Yeah, we figured it out. Looking like someone else is part of his talent. Look, I either have to run after them or we have to run after them. You pick.”
She stared at me. “You’d trust me?”
“I’m stupid that way, yeah. Like to live on the edge, sort of thing. Frankly, I don’t know if they were putting on a show for our benefit and knew Gladys and I were there or not, but I need to go back her up.”
“But, she’s back under his control.”
“Maybe.” I didn’t think so, though. She’d called me kiddo, and I had a feeling she’d done that on purpose. “So, why are you still standing in your cell?”
“I’m not sure that you won’t shoot me if I move.”
Heaved a sigh and put my left hand out toward her. “Come with me if you want to live.”
“You’ll kill me if I don’t go?”
“Wow, really? They didn’t show The Terminator wherever you grew up? No wonder you feel like you had a sad childhood.”
She stepped forward and tentativ
ely reached out her hand. I grabbed her, turned, and ran off the way Gladys and the others had gone.
CHAPTER 67
NATURALLY THE CORRIDOR WAS DARK and also naturally it was long. “Any guess as to where they’re going?”
“I’m not sure, but I believe they’ve planted the bombs underground, so the base will collapse into the sea.”
“Nice. I really hate these people. So, any chance you can use your talents and blow the bombs up or away or something?”
“My power doesn’t work like that. I can move earth, things like dirt and sand. But I don’t control wind.”
“You made a freaking dust storm when you tried to kill me and my team before.”
“Yes, there was so much sand, dust, and dirt, I could control it to make it dance. The dance, the movement of the sand or dirt, makes the wind, not the other way around.”
“That’s what you call it? Dirt dancing? Well, in a way I guess it was like a mosh pit with sand instead of people slamming about. So, you’re not really Storm, you’re more like an earthbender.”
“Excuse me?”
“Seriously? Avatar: The Last Airbender? You’ve never seen it? The movie was awful, I grant you, but the animated series rocked.”
“Aren’t you a little old for cartoons?”
“Oh, my God, animation is more than cartoons, but just as a tip, I still read comics. I used to read them because they were fun and cool and interesting. Now I read them because, frankly, they work really well as a guide for how to survive my life.”
“I honestly don’t understand half of what you’re saying.”
“Few do, Mahin. Few ever do.” We reached a dead end. “Well, either there’s a hidden door—which I would never, ever count out as a possibility—or we’ve missed whatever turn they took. Or, you know, we’re trapped with the bombs and are about to die. I give it even odds, any way you want to call it.”
“Why did they want to leave you with me?” Mahin asked slowly. “They didn’t seem to care that you were there . . .”
“Crap. They planted a bomb in or around your cell.”
No sooner were these words out of my mouth than the sound of an explosion reached us. It was a big explosion, and even though the corridor was long, it wasn’t long enough. Flames and debris billowed toward us.
Contemplated options. They seemed slim. Was about to try to send Jeff an emotional goodbye message, when Mahin put up her hands. The billowing continued, but it rolled back onto itself, then back down the corridor, until it died down.
“So, you can stop flames? Not that I’m complaining.”
“No. There was a lot of dust, dirt and debris. I can control that.”
“Huh.” Looked around as the emergency sirens went off. “You realize, then, that everything around us is, essentially, dirt, dust, and debris that’s all put together.”
She sighed. “Yes, I know that. I can’t move it, though. I’ve tried. But it’s too . . . heavy for me to move it when it’s in a more solid form.”
Decided now wasn’t the time to work on Mahin’s talents. Now was the time to get the heck out of here, find the other bombs, and stop the bad guys.
Of course, now was also the time to discover exactly where in the Guantanamo complex we were. We were underground and, as I noted something starting to swirl toward us, under the water line.
“Um, how are you with liquids?”
“Useless.” She put her hands up and out and a wall of dirt went up between us and the water that was definitely starting to flood this area. “I can hold it off for a little while, but not too long.”
“Okay, hold it as long as you can, I’ll be right back.” Ran down the corridor and looked around carefully. There were no doors here. There was no way Ronaldo and company had teleported out of this area. There was no gate. Meaning there was a hidden door somewhere, because there was no way they’d have set off a bomb in this area until they were safely away from it.
“Hurry!” Mahin called. She sounded strained. “I can’t hold it much longer.”
Considered all the options, which were slim and getting slimmer. Had no clue what to do. Decided going for the crazy was probably in my best interests. Dropped my Glock into my purse, pulled out my iPod, and hit play.
Van Halen’s “Jump” was the current song of choice. “Thanks. You’re really earning the milk and pennies in shoes or whatever today.” Dumped the iPod back into my purse.
Looked at the ceiling as I headed back to Mahin. Just before I reached her I saw what looked like a rectangular outline that wasn’t the same as the rest of the ceiling. I jumped up. Couldn’t reach it. Squatted down and did my best frog jump. Still missed.
“What are you doing?” Mahin asked.
“I think there’s a trick door above us.”
“Why would a military base have something like that?”
“No freaking idea. Maybe it’s part of someone’s old escape plan. We can figure out how it got here once we get through it.”
Ran down the corridor back to Mahin’s dirt wall. Water was starting to seep through it. Turned and ran as fast as I could. Jumped at the last minute and was rewarded by being able to slam my hands against the rectangle. It moved.
I landed and spun around. “Screw the dirt wall. Make a hand stirrup and give me a boost.”
Mahin stared at me for a long moment. Then she nodded and dropped her hands into the classic stirrup boost. I stepped onto her hands, and she grunted but was able to get me up.
Slammed my hands against the trapdoor and this time I was able to move it. Grabbed the lip. “Shove hard!” She did, and I was able to pull myself up. Didn’t stop to take in my surroundings, just lay on my stomach, held onto the edge, and put my hand down. “Jump and grab my hand, wrist to wrist!”
She had the A-C ability to jump, which was good, because the water was pouring in. Mahin and I managed to get a good hold on each other’s arms at the wrist, and then the fun of trying to pull her up began.
I wasn’t losing her, but the water made her heavier and it was causing her some issues. Also, if I couldn’t get her up and into this room with me in time to slam the trapdoor shut, we were both going to drown, just on different levels.
Felt something brush by me, and Mahin felt a lot lighter. I tugged, and she flew up with me. Literally. She looked as though something had her clothes held in its talons. She was in, and I slammed the trapdoor down. “Good job, Bruno.”
Looked around. We were in a dark room with what looked like a lot of boxes in it. Pulled my phone out and used it as a flashlight. Had a lot of missed texts and calls. Decided now wasn’t the time to check them out. Checked out the room instead.
Sadly, we weren’t in Supply Room #30. On the other hand, we weren’t drowned or blown up, so chose to see this as one for the win column. Found the light switch and turned it on. Nothing. So they’d taken out the power, at least to this area.
“Any guess as to where they are or we are?”
Mahin shook her head. “I’ve never been here before. In case you weren’t sure.” Oh good, Mahin had a sarcasm knob.
“Help me shove these boxes onto that door. Hopefully it’ll keep the water out.”
Tried to figure out my next move as we did this. Didn’t have a lot of ideas other than “get the bad guys and save the base.” Didn’t feel this was my most sophisticated plan ever.
Remembered I had help with me it was about damn time to use. Opened up my purse only to see that there were no Poofs in it. “Really? Bruno, my bird, I hope you’re still around, because the Poofs have done a runner.” Either to avoid the water or, more likely, to follow Gladys. However, the bad guys had Poof Traps and I had no Poofs on Board. Both were not things that made me happy.
Bruno squawked. He wasn’t going derelict in his duties, thank you very much.
“Excellent. Get us out of here, preferably before the next bombs explode.”
Bruno went visible and Mahin jumped. “Where did that come from?”
“That is Bruno, and he’s been with us the whole time. I think. He’s what helped pull you up out of the water.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
Bruno looked at her, cocked his head, studied her some more, then went over and nudged against her. Mahin looked surprised, but she bent down and petted him. “I can’t tell by the light from your phone—is he a peacock?”
“Peregrine. It’s an Alpha Four bird.”
“Alpha Four?”
“Wow, they didn’t tell you squat, did they? I’ll fill you in later. Right now, we need to find the rest of the bombs and hopefully defuse them.”
“What if we can’t?”
I shrugged. “Then we do the next best thing and you use your earthbending powers to engulf, control, and contain the blasts.”
Mahin nodded. “I can do that.”
Bruno screeched and headed to the door. Used my phone’s light to follow him, then once I was at the door, dropped my phone back into my purse. Decided I’d spent long enough without music, and besides, why make it hard for Algar to give me musical clues? Clipped my iPod to my jeans and put my earbuds in. “Zoot Suit Riot” from the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies came on my personal airwaves. That boded.
“Let’s go. Be ready for a lot of chaos.”
Opened the door and Bruno trotted out. Grabbed Mahin’s hand and headed out after my big bird.
CHAPTER 68
I WOULD HAVE LOVED to have discovered that Bruno knew where the hell we were and how to get out. What I discovered was that he was better at mazes than I was, but not prescient.
So, we made several wrong turns, backtracked a few times, but did manage to be close but not too close when the next bomb went off on the level we were on now. Mahin did her thing, explosion wasn’t stopped but was contained, and Bruno took off again, with us in hot pursuit.
“He’s trying to find the bombs?” Mahin asked as we ran up a new set of stairs.
“I have no idea. If we find another one, then the answer is yes.”
“Why explode something on each level?” she asked as we crested the stairs and Bruno screamed at us.
