by Paul Moxham
Muscles nodded. “It’s a last-ditch effort. All or nothing. If we pull it off, we can get rid of Sanchez as well as rescue Lucy. Now, if that’s all, I’m going to lie down and get some rest. I suggest you do the same. We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”
Logan didn’t feel tired, but as everyone else followed Muscle’s advice and found somewhere to lie down, he decided that he’d also get some rest. Before long, he was sound asleep, dreaming about Lucy.
Within half an hour, almost everyone had fallen asleep. Ten minutes later, the back door creaked open and a figure stealthily crept out. He silently closed the door behind him and hurried down the garden path.
~*~*~
Fortunately, the Seod in the water started thrashing right away. Within a couple of seconds, the other creatures pulled him out.
Glancing around, Molly saw that the others had also surfaced. Despite the amount of swimming that they had already done, they were smiling. They had evidently seen what she had seen.
The others waited for her as she swam toward them. Once they were all together, everyone tried swimming backstroke.
Molly found that this was easier than freestyle, despite the stinging cold.
As the seconds passed, they got closer to the island. By now, the Seods had stopped using their silencers and were talking to one another.
Molly and Derek soon found themselves in the lead, and looking back, saw that Kenneth was a fair way behind. They didn’t know if the backpack was slowing him down or he was just a really bad swimmer.
Molly glanced at Derek. “We should carry the backpack.”
“Just what I was thinking,” Derek replied. “If we hold it between us, we can still use the other arm to swim.”
They swam back to Kenneth. He smiled, his teeth chattering. “Sorry I’m taking so long. I just can’t swim as fast as you.”
“Let us have the backpack,” Derek said.
“Are you sure?” Kenneth asked.
Molly nodded. “We’ll be fine.”
The teens helped Kenneth get the backpack off and then swam back to the island.
It didn’t take long for the three to arrive at Fannette Island. Breathing heavily, the teens pulled themselves out of the cold water and onto the rocks.
Kenneth joined them a moment later. “Thanks for taking the backpack.”
“You did well for not having swum in years,” Derek said. “Molly and I usually go swimming at the beach when we stay at our grandmother’s. That’s why we’re pretty good.”
“Yes, well, I wouldn’t have wanted to swim any farther than that,” Kenneth said. “I could feel my legs and arms giving up during those last few feet.” He looked at the ice. The Seods were gone. “I wonder where they went.”
“Hopefully they’ve given up,” Molly said. “I saw one of them go into the water, but he didn’t get far before he was pulled back out.”
“So that’s their weakness,” Derek said.
“What?” Molly said.
“They can’t swim,” Derek said. “Judging by what happened to Kenneth at the lake yesterday, I thought it was a good possibility, but at least we know it’s a fact now.”
Kenneth stood up. “I don’t know about you, but I’m freezing in these wet clothes. Let’s see if we can get a fire started.”
“With what?” Molly asked.
Kenneth reached for the backpack and hunted inside one of the small pockets. A few moments later, he pulled out a box of matches that had been wrapped in plastic. “I found these, along with a first aid kit, in that cabin on the top of the hill. Not knowing what happened to you, I decided to play it safe and take the essentials. Fortunately, I wrapped the flashlight in the plastic as well, so we can use that tonight.”
“Tonight?” Derek said. “You don’t intend to stay here all day, do you?”
Kenneth nodded as he picked up the backpack. “It’ll be dark in a matter of hours, and with no vehicle waiting for us at the other end of the ice, we’ll be stranded. I don’t intend to walk to Sparks, so I’m staying here until I think of something. You’re free to do as you wish but—”
“What about the Seods? What if they send a Striker?” Molly asked.
“Well, that is possible, but what else can we do? If we were to swim to the mainland, the Striker could still find us there. Make no mistake, this island isn’t going to be a hundred percent safe from the Seods. No place is. So are you staying with me or not?”
“We’ll stay,” Molly said. “Won’t we, Derek?”
Derek hesitated. “Okay. But Molly and I had a talk the other night and—”
Kenneth put up his hands. “Wait! Let’s get a fire going and then we can have a talk about the future as we get warm, okay?”
Derek nodded. “Sounds good.”
With Kenneth leading the way, the group climbed up the rocks and past the few trees and bushes that lay scattered across the island.
“Where are we heading?” Molly asked as she wrapped her arms around her body, the cold starting to get to her.
“You’ll see in a moment,” Kenneth replied.
The teens followed him as they walked on what had previously been a path, but was now overgrown. It led all the way to the highest point of the island.
After reaching the top, Kenneth came to a halt. In front of him stood a small stone building. “This is all that remains of the tea house.”
“The tea house?” Molly frowned as she brushed her wet hair away from her eyes. “You’re joking, right?”
“I read something about this in a history book,” Derek said. “It was built a long time ago, wasn’t it?”
Kenneth placed the backpack on the ground and stepped into the small stone building. “Yes, around the 1930s if I remember correctly. As strange as it might seem, this was built as a tea house. Though the years haven’t been kind to it, as you can tell.”
Molly gazed at the bare walls. There were a few holes where windows should have been. The small, square room didn’t even have a roof. “Not much survived.”
“No, but at least it’ll protect us a bit from the wind.” Kenneth glanced around. “Let’s go hunting for some dry wood and get a fire going.”
Splitting up, the three got to work. It took some time to find wood that was dry enough and even longer to get a fire going, but within an hour, the three were sitting around a roaring fire.
They had taken off their shoes, socks, and outer layers and draped them on the bricks near the fire.
“It’s good the sun is still shining,” Molly said, gazing up at the clear blue sky.
Kenneth nodded. “We can’t go anywhere with wet clothes, so hopefully they’ll be dry by tonight. Now, what was it you two wanted to talk to me about?”
Chapter 19
The seconds seemed to drag on like minutes while Logan waited by the corner of the drugstore. It was almost four, and he hoped that nothing had gone wrong.
It wasn’t as though he didn’t trust Alpha—he was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt—but it’d be good to finally put a face to his name. Also, not a whole lot of things had gone right so far, so he was tense.
A gust of wind blew his blond hair into his eyes. It hadn’t been cut for some time. He smiled as he thought about all the times he had looked at himself in the mirror and how long he’d spend grooming himself.
He was proud of his good looks, but as the past three weeks had shown him, there was more to life than looking good. In times like this, it wasn’t if the person was good looking on the outside, but what they were like on the inside.
He glanced over at Peter. Admittedly, he’d judged the young man by his looks, but he was wrong to do so. From the times that he had spent talking to him, he realized that his heart was, in some cases, stronger than his. He’d lost his one true love and was determined to set things right. He was someone whom you could call on in a tough spot, and Logan appreciated that.
As for Baldy, he wasn’t sure what to make of him. What with the scars on his face,
as well as the ones on his back, Logan wasn’t sure what the man had been doing before the alien invasion. He had asked many a time, but he was one of those people who answered a question with another one.
On the surface, Baldy and Muscles seemed firm friends, but Logan sensed that there was some tension. Whether or not that had always been there, he had no way or knowing, but the scars on Baldy’s back were fresh, probably only two weeks old.
Logan turned to Muscles, who was engaged in conversation with his son. They were very similar, he thought. However, Jet was one to let his emotions rush him into things, whereas Muscles did not. Jet wasn’t one to back down unless he thought he was truly beat, and Logan appreciated that. But he couldn’t stop thinking about the threat Jet had made the other day.
Logan wasn’t sure if someone was working against them or if it was just bad luck, but he knew that if he didn’t put an end to the reign of Carlos Sanchez, things would not be pleasant with Jet.
A truck rolled around the corner and came chugging down the road. Logan hopped to his feet and made his way over to the others. “Is it the one?”
“I can’t tell,” Muscles said. “We’ll know if it stops.”
The group huddled by the corner as the vehicle rumbled closer. Just when it seemed as though it was going to pass them, it screeched to a stop.
“That’s our cue,” Muscles said. “Let’s go.” After walking over to the driver, he handed him an envelope full of cash.
The man took it without uttering a word. He didn’t even smile. He just flicked a thumb toward the back of the truck.
Muscles and the rest of the group opened the back door and climbed in. As soon as it closed, the vehicle continued on its way.
After pulling his flashlight out of his backpack, Muscles searched around. The truck was half filled with an assortment of crates, food, tins, and other essential items.
“There should be six crates by the back that are empty,” Muscles said.
Logan led the way to the back of the vehicle and soon found the crates. “There’re six here.”
“Are they empty?” Peter said.
“I’ll check.” Logan pulled off the top of one of them and nodded. “This one is.”
The group verified that the rest of the crates were also empty.
Xavier breathed a sigh of relief. “Everything’s going well so far.”
“This is the easy part,” Peter said. “It’s when—” He paused as the vehicle suddenly came to a halt.
Everyone became quiet, unsure of what was going on. Hearing the sound of other voices, Logan thought that it might be a checkpoint. “We should get into the crates in case someone opens the back.”
“Let’s do it,” Baldy said.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, the six men climbed into separate crates. Just as Logan was putting the top of his back on, the truck rumbled on its way again.
Logan breathed a sigh of relief. It could’ve been much worse, but they had just started their journey, and he was sure that they’d be stopped again, especially after their antics the previous night.
Logan was proven right as they were stopped not once, but twice. Both times men opened the back doors and had a quick look around. He hadn’t been able to see what they were looking at as he had been tucked away in his crate, but they hadn’t stayed that long and the truck continued on its way without any trouble.
It wasn’t the most comfortable way of traveling, sitting cramped in a wooden box, but Logan wasn’t thinking about any of that. He was thinking of the next part of the plan. It all rested on what Alpha had to say. If he could tell them exactly where Lucy was, it’d be a big help.
Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a small item. It was the key pass—the one Mr. Thorn had given him three weeks ago. He didn’t know if it would still work or not, or if they would need it or not, but as long as he had it, that was all that mattered.
He had just decided that the pass would be safer in his jeans pocket when the truck started to slow. Logan frowned and listened carefully. Was it another checkpoint?
The truck went down a small hill. Then, a minute or so later, it came to a stop. What was happening?
Logan kept listening as the driver climbed out. He then rapped on the side of the vehicle four times before walking away. Logan grinned as he realized where they were. He waited a moment before pulling the top of the crate off and standing up. The others were doing the same, and before long, they were standing about in the back of the vehicle.
“So far, so good,” Peter said.
Logan nodded. “Yes, though I don’t like the idea of waiting in here for an hour and a half.” He walked to the back door and slowly opened it.
Peering out, he saw that they were in the parking garage, just as he had suspected. He could make out the entrance, indicating they were near the back of the garage, which suited him. The fewer cars that drove past them, the better.
Muscles joined him at the door. “Everything look good?”
Logan nodded. “What’s the time?”
“Four twenty. So another hour and forty minutes.” Muscles glanced around the dimly lit garage. “It seems pretty desolate here, but we’ll stick to the plan and stay in here. All we need for something to go wrong is just for one person to see us.”
Logan nodded and closed the doors. He switched on his flashlight and turned to the others. “Let’s get comfortable. We have an hour and a half until the meeting.”
Time seemed to pass awfully slow, so it was with a sigh of relief that Xavier, who was currently keeping guard by the truck door, heard footsteps. He glanced at his watch. They were right on time.
He carefully pried open the door just a tad and glanced out. Looking to the left he didn’t see anyone, so he turned to the right. He frowned, blinked, and blinked again.
Strolling between the cars as she made her way toward the truck was a beautiful brown-haired woman. He had seen many a good looking woman in his time—he had even been married to one—but to see one dressed up at a time and in place such as this was unexpected.
“What can you see?” Logan asked, walking over.
Xavier shut the door and turned to him. “You’ll never believe what I just saw.” Briefly, he told him.
Logan frowned. “I wonder what …” He paused. As the footsteps got louder, they passed right by the truck. Holding his hands up, he motioned for everyone to be quiet.
The footsteps paused. A moment later, the door opened.
Xavier stared at the woman for what seemed to be an eternity that lasted but a few seconds. She was dressed in a strapless black dress and wearing diamond earrings, along with a pearl necklace. Red lipstick made hers the most coveted kiss within miles. She smiled at them sweetly. A pair of stilettos complemented her elegant, long legs.
Jet pushed between Logan and Xavier and helped the woman up. “Hi, Sabrina.”
As they hugged, Logan looked at Muscles. “Is she your spy?”
Muscles nodded, smiling. “I imagine you were expecting a man.”
“We all were,” Peter muttered, also smiling.
Sabrina glanced at Muscles. “There’s a storage room not far from here where we’ll be able to talk in quiet.”
“Lead the way,” Muscles replied.
Jet leaped down before he turned and gave a helping hand to Sabrina. “I was worried when I didn’t hear from you the other night.”
Sabrina smiled as she clutched Jet’s hand. “I had something that I needed to attend to. I wanted to meet you, but I couldn’t. I’m sure you understand.”
As the two of them walked off, the others followed, with Logan and Muscles bringing up the rear.
Logan turned to his newfound friend. “Does Sabrina always dress this way?”
“There’re a couple of things that Sanchez is known for, and those are women and parties, so yes, she’s never one to put on pants and a t-shirt.”
“She must be pretty close to Sanchez then,” Logan muttered.
Musc
les paused and gazed at Logan. “What are you inferring?”
Logan started. “I’m not inferring anything. I’m just saying—”
“You think she might be the traitor,” Muscles said accusingly.
Logan changed the subject. “Let’s get to that room where we can discuss this without worrying about anyone who might overhear us.”
The two of them fell silent as they headed to a small storage room that was relatively close to an elevator.
Once everyone was inside, Sabrina spoke. “I have to get going soon, so speak fast.”
“Do you know where Lucy Thorn is?” Muscles asked.
Sabrina nodded. “Sanchez is holding a party tonight. I’m a guest, and so is Lucy.”
“So she’ll be in the penthouse suite, right?” Logan said.
Sabrina nodded. “The party will start at seven and go till ten.”
Peter frowned. “Does Sanchez go to bed early?”
Sabrina shook her head. “No. Usually the parties start later and go until early morning, but not this time.”
“Where will Lucy be after the party ends?” Logan asked.
“She’ll be in one of the rooms just above the party room,” Sabrina said.
Logan thought. “So on the eighty-second floor.”
Sabrina nodded. “Correct. But if you plan to snatch her out of her room, you’d better think again. Those two floors, eighty-second and eighty-third, are heavily guarded.”
“Why?” Peter asked.
“Because the eighty-third floor has the penthouse suite on it, so that is where Sanchez lives, correct?” Logan guessed.
Sabrina smiled at him. “I see you’ve studied the layout of this building.”
Logan nodded. “I have, but I’ve also been there.”
Xavier glanced at his watch. “What if we were to grab Lucy before it started? Where would she be then?”
“I’m not sure,” Sabrina replied. “Probably in her room.”
“How do we get up to Lucy’s room?” Xavier asked.
“You could use the elevator like I do, but it would be better to use the service elevator or stairs. They should keep you out of harm’s way.” Sabrina looked at her watch. “I had better get going.”
