I wiped my eyes and looked to the horizon to see that the big plane had taken off. It banked sharply toward a cliff in the distance and I knew what my dad was going to do.
Something charged through the jungle behind us. I whipped around to see Uncle Becker break into the clearing.
“Start ’er up!” he yelled as he raced toward us. Lacey and Jonesy were alongside him, and Skylar and a big man that I figured was Pete trailed them.
Becker leaped into the truck without slowing. “The bastards are right on our heels,” he said, aiming his weapon toward the trees.
Little Star revved the engine as Jonesy jumped in. Uncle Marshall grabbed Lacey’s hand and yanked her up. Skylar flew up next and slid out of the way as Pete barreled forward like a rampaging rhino, jumping up at the last instant to swivel around and land on his butt with his submachine gun aimed behind us.
“Go!” he shouted. Little Star stepped on the gas.
Angry shouts came from the darkness, accompanied by what sounded like a herd of animals blasting through the brush. But what twisted the knot in my stomach was the buzz of a lone drone whipping back and forth overhead. If one had found us, the others would be here in seconds. A cold sweat sprang over my skin, and I remembered the old man’s parting words:
It’s the promise of death that inspires a man to greatness.
I unzipped my backpack and fit the Spider onto my head.
The truck lurched forward, plowed through the last stretch of foliage, and spun onto the road. Then it screeched to a stop so fast that I nearly fell over. Twin pairs of headlights flashed on in front of us, blocking our path. As my eyes adjusted to the glare, I saw a line of soldiers on either side of the trucks, their weapons raised. I looked in the opposite direction and saw two more vehicles speeding up the road from the village. And then, as the moon broke free of the clouds, I saw my dad’s plane dive toward the twinkling lights of a helicopter. I gaped. So did everyone else. I heard a strangled noise from my mom when the two aircraft collided in a massive explosion of flames and shrapnel.
I stopped breathing. My sister yelped. But when a second bunch of soldiers burst from the jungle behind us shouting orders, we were forced to turn our backs on the scene. Uncle Becker, Pete, and the others tossed their weapons to the ground and we all raised our hands. The vehicles from the village pulled up and more soldiers poured out around us, and the air above us was filled with the buzz of dozens of drones.
A car door slammed and a woman stepped into the light, looking over her shoulder at the distant rain of wreckage. Then she turned toward us with a twisted face and I recognized her immediately as the one who had taken pleasure in sliding a knife into de Vries’s grandson. I’d felt the old man’s rage when it happened, and when I imagined her doing the same thing to my mom, or sister, or brother—or any of my friends—I let that same rage loose inside of me.
My father was dead.
And she was one of those to blame.
Standing on either side of her were two soldiers wearing Spiders. I knew what needed to be done and I had the means to do it. De Vries had made it possible when he sent that final patch of code through the network and created a gateway that allowed me to access the drones.
I searched for my courage and found it in my mother’s tears, and in the blanket of despair that had fallen over all of us. I flipped the switch on my headset, turned toward the two soldiers, and closed my eyes.
My mind leaped forward, hijacking the signals from the other two Spiders. I saw the scene from forty-eight hovering cameras—
And I was back in the game.
Killing.
This time I didn’t hesitate like I had on the bridge, but I still felt the horror as my army of drones rocketed into the people surrounding us. My mind recorded every detail—the cries of pain, the twitching limbs, the double darts plunging into the eye sockets of the woman who’d hurt my family—
And the fear on my mother’s face as she watched me do it.
Death rattled around me, one person after another, and I wondered how this would change my life forever.
Epilogue
Los Angeles International Airport
MY MOM HELD MY HAND while we waited for Doc to work things out with the customs officials. After all the things that had gone wrong since we’d received Mom’s warning text three days ago, a part of me was surprised that the conversation was relaxed and friendly. Maybe things were finally going our way.
The Chinese paratroopers had been falling from the sky when we escaped from the village, and we’d been told that they had gathered up the remainder of Wong’s soldiers. The truck ride out of the jungle had been long and bumpy, and by the time it was over my tears had dried up—until I’d had to say good-bye to Little Star. After dropping us at the border, he’d turned around and headed back toward the village to help his mother and nephew pick up the pieces. Pete’s friends had snuck us into Hong Kong and helped us with the flight arrangements home. We’d said good-bye to Dolphin and Shamer, who were going to join the other teenagers who had survived the building fire, but after everything they’d been through with us, I knew we’d see them again. They were part of the family now.
Pete, Skylar, Becker, and Jonesy had agreed to the US government’s request to come home with us to Los Angeles so we could all be debriefed together. I was glad to have them along. They made me feel safe.
My dad was gone.
He’d made the ultimate sacrifice. He’d given his life in order to shield us all from further harm, and I imagined that each of us had been in his final thoughts. I was proud of him, and I prayed I could live up to the example he set.
Like father, like son.
I’d killed thirty-one people in those final moments above the village. My family and friends were alive because of it. Each of them had asked me in their own way if I was okay but I’d chosen not to talk about it. In fact, I hadn’t said a word since. I’d stuffed the memories into one of my drawers.
But it wouldn’t close all the way.
When we’d landed at LAX, it had taken a while to explain why we didn’t have any checked baggage. But when Doc showed up with a couple guys wearing suits and badges, the customs officials had eased up. I watched as the men shook hands and the customs officers waved us through.
As we walked toward the exit, Doc was studying me but I pretended not to notice. I’d heard Uncle Marshall speaking with him on the phone during our layover in Tokyo, and I knew they were relieved that all the Passcode files had been destroyed. But the curious expression on Doc’s face made me uncomfortable, and I wondered if he knew about the drawer system I had in my brain. After all—
I remember everything.
Doc had learned from the Chinese government that the helicopter Dad had crashed into carried the final backup drive, and a search of the wreckage had confirmed it’d been burned to a crisp, along with the remains of Wong and his granddaughter Zhin...
And my dad.
There had been no mention of the mini so I figured it was destroyed, too. That was okay with me. I’d tried to use it but it hadn’t worked for me, and I knew now that only my dad could summon its power. With him gone, the world was better off without it.
I squeezed my mom’s hand. It felt cold. She looked down at me with one of those smiles that didn’t come from deep inside.
***
What now? Francesca thought as they approached the double doors leading to the lobby of the international terminal. Her immediate concern was with Doc’s insistence at questioning Alex about everything he’d seen on the computer network in China. She hated even thinking about it. Her instinct told her to take her children and disappear before the cycle of danger started all over again, this time with her son at the center of it. But where could they go? When they’d been on the plane, she’d considered Venice—but then Lacey had smiled at her as she’d braided Sarafina’s hair, and Tony had made a stupid joke that made Alex nearly smile, and Ahmed had been enthralled in a discussion with Becker
and Jonesy. And now they all surrounded her and Alex like a protective cocoon, a family like none other, one that would never have existed had it not been for Jake.
Yes, her husband had blamed himself for so much, and she regretted that he’d never been able to savor the good he’d accomplished since the accident that had enhanced his brain and healed his terminal illness. But she’d understood how he felt. It was the depth of his love for her and those around her that had driven him, and the thought that any harm might come to them because of him was something he’d no longer been willing to live with. He died for us, she thought, the final sacrifice of a man who wanted nothing more than to do one good thing before he passed, to make a difference in the world.
Well, you did that, my darling, in a fashion so grand it could never be repeated. A man who could be honored for saving the planet...and loving his family.
She wiped away a tear and pushed through the doors into her new world.
Tony’s wife and two children charged forward to greet him, and Tony beamed with joy. Cal Springman and Kenny were there, too. They’d been freezing on a military mission in the Arctic under strict radio silence when this mess had started. They’d returned yesterday to discover the emergency alert message on their phones. Doc had filled them in and they’d insisted on being here to greet their friends.
There were lots of hugs and handshakes, and a few tears, and Francesca allowed a part of herself to hope that everything was going to be okay.
Then Alex suddenly let go of her hand. He ran ahead to stare at a TV in a sitting area. The words Breaking News scrolled across the top of the screen. Her throat constricted when she saw Jake’s face on display.
“Jake!” Marshall shouted. They all ran forward to huddle beneath the screen.
Francesca’s mind raced to the scene in the barracks prison when Jiaolong had said, Once I hit this Enter button, your world will change forever, and you and your family will feel a pain far worse than death.
The man had died in a gruesome betrayal just moments later, but not until after he’d tapped an entry into his tablet. Nothing had happened at the time, and they’d all assumed that whatever program Jiaolong had unleashed had been destroyed when his dying grandfather deleted the computer files.
We were wrong.
She glanced around and saw that every TV in the terminal was broadcasting the same recorded video of her deceased husband. As she and the others edged closer to the screen, they listened in shock as Jake confessed to being responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, marking him as the terrorist who’d intentionally poisoned the waters of Los Angeles, detonated a nuclear device in Venezuela, and brought the wrath of the alien Grid onto the planet. A voice-over reported that Jake Bronson was being sought by governments around the world, who were suddenly being bombarded with reams of video evidence of the man’s guilt.
A worldwide manhunt for him and his associates had been issued, and one by one, similar testimonial videos of Francesca and the others checkerboarded the TV screens.
###
Author’s Note
IF YOU ENJOYED Ephemeral, I’d love to hear from you! If so, send an email via the “Contact” link at RichardBard.com, or better yet leave a quick review on Amazon. Reviews are a huge help for newer authors like me. Also, if you’d like to get advance notice on new releases, or updates on the progress of the film adaptation for the Brainrush trilogy, sign up here. Thanks!
Finally, if you liked the Everlast duology, you’ll love reading the genesis of Jake’s and Alex’s story in the Brainrush trilogy. With well over fifteen hundred five-star reviews to date, it’s a thrill ride that is sure to capture your imagination. Check out the covers:
The Brainrush trilogy is a story about second chances and embracing every day of your life as though it were your last. Called “a terrifically entertaining thriller” by Publishers Weekly, book one of the series was named The Wall Street Journal #1 action/adventure title in its Guide to Self Published Big Sellers, while book two held a death grip on the top of the Amazon Top-Rated Mystery/Thriller list for ten straight months. This set the stage for the blockbuster release of book three, which was heralded by Suspense Magazine as “part science fiction, part thriller, part suspense, part love story, and part mystery. It’s got it all and that’s what makes this novel one of the best.” You can check them out on Amazon or at my website RichardBard.com.
About the Author
Richard Bard draws on his own experiences as a former USAF pilot and cancer survivor to craft compelling characters who risk it all for love and loyalty. Born in Munich, Germany, to American parents, he joined the United States Air Force like his father. But he left the service when he was diagnosed with cancer and learned he had only months to live. He earned a management degree from the University of Notre Dame and ran three successful companies involving advanced security products used by US embassies and governments worldwide. Now a full-time writer, he lives in Redondo Beach, California, with his wife and remains in excellent health.
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Brainrush 05 - Everlast 02: Ephemeral Page 19
