Ryan Quinn and the Rebel's Escape

by Ron McGee

  Ryan understood what had happened. “Cell phones can be traced and the number identified. Even when you’re not making a call.”

  “Which means it really was my fault. Them finding you, your mom getting taken …”

  “Don’t say that,” Ryan said. “You were just trying to survive, doing what—”

  “Ryan!” Lan leaped forward, shoving Ryan so hard that both of them tumbled to the ground as—boom!—a shot echoed across the mountainside. As they scrambled to their feet, she pointed down the hill. “There!”

  Far below, Ryan saw soldiers spreading out across the landscape. They weren’t getting past them. Ryan looked uphill instead. “This way!”

  Ryan veered toward a thick clump of trees as more shots rang out. Using the foliage as cover, they ran, jumping rocks and fighting through underbrush. Lan stumbled and hit the ground hard. Ryan ran back, grabbing her hand and forcing her to shake off the pain and keep going.

  They made it to the top of a ridge. In the distance, Ryan spotted more military vehicles racing toward their location. As he tried to figure out which way to run, Lan held the radio to her ear, listening closely. “They called for helicopters,” she reported.

  They couldn’t go back down the mountain. But up above, the jagged cliffs appeared impossible to scale. That left no choice but to keep moving around the side of the mountain, the opposite direction from where they wanted to go. Every step was taking them deeper into Andakar and farther from the border with Thailand.

  “They’re getting closer,” Lan warned.

  “Let’s go.” Ryan forged a trail, choosing at every fork to go deeper into the underbrush and, hopefully, make it harder for the soldiers to follow. They might be able to hide if they could put enough distance and obstacles between themselves and the enemy.

  After fifteen minutes of relentless running, Lan was out of breath and struggling to keep up. A dull roar became noticeable as they made it through a rough patch of underbrush. “Is that a helicopter?” Lan asked, looking up.

  Ryan searched the sky but couldn’t see anything. The roar seemed to be coming from all around. Ryan was starting to get a bad feeling about it when he burst through a thick growth of trees and into a clearing. He came to an immediate halt, not believing what he was seeing.

  “They’re catching up,” Lan said as she crashed through the underbrush. She rushed into the clearing and nearly knocked into Ryan.

  Lan froze, seeing what Ryan was staring at: Ten feet ahead, the ground abruptly ended in a sheer drop into a deep chasm. The source of the roar became clear. Fifty feet below, a raging river with white-tipped rapids swept its way through the jungle.

  They were trapped. There was nowhere left to run.

  CHAPTER

  37

  MOUNT BANA,

  ANDAKAR

  We don’t have time for this—we have to run!” Lan glanced nervously back at the trees.

  Ryan ignored her. He put the fake passport his dad had given him into a plastic Baggie and sealed it up. “Hold this against your stomach.”

  Lan was confused, but lifted her shirt and did as Ryan requested. Quickly, he wrapped the fabric tape around her middle, circling her body twice to secure the Baggie. “Do we have to do this now?” she asked impatiently.

  “We can’t risk losing the passports.” Ryan pulled his cell phone from the pocket of his jeans and transported it into another Baggie with his own passport, resealing it quickly. “This phone’s supposed to be waterproof, but I’m not risking it.”

  Lan suddenly understood: “Waterproof?” She looked at the rapids below them. “I’m not a very good swimmer.”

  “Bet you’re better at it than dodging bullets.” Ryan taped the Baggie with the passport and phone around his own torso, and then took Lan’s hand. He had to practically drag her to the edge of the cliff. Down below, the river snaked along the canyon, cutting through the bamboo and boulders with ferocious power. “When you hit the water, cross your arms over your chest and try to stay on your back. Keep your feet out ahead of you so your boots hit the bottom first. Okay?”

  “No, not okay!”

  Ryan tried to sound like this was no biggie, but he didn’t quite pull it off. “One—two—” Ryan yelled, grabbing her hand once more.

  “I can’t—” Lan jerked her hand away as a bullet struck the tree just behind them, scattering leaves everywhere.

  “THREE!” Ryan yelled and they leaped from the cliff. For a moment, it felt as if they hung suspended in air. Then, both screaming, they plummeted to the water below.

  Ryan hit the river at an angle, slicing through the current. He spun around as the water tossed him end over end. Unable to tell which way was up, he struggled to keep his mouth closed. If water got in his lungs, he’d be done. He had to get to the surface.

  His shoulder slammed into a boulder, knocking the air out of him. But then he saw bright light above—the sun! The current slowed slightly and Ryan kicked, propelling himself toward the light. He was running out of breath, but he forced himself to keep kicking.

  Ryan finally burst to the surface, gasping for air. Paddling hard, he turned himself around so he was facing forward and tried to float on his back. It was nearly impossible—and now he was heading right for a series of rapids.

  He tried to slow himself, paddling backward furiously as he looked around for something, anything to slow him down.

  “Lan!” he yelled, though it came out more a strangled cry than the shout he was attempting. Ryan felt the first stirring of panic that she might have drowned—

  But then Lan popped to the surface ten feet ahead of him! Her arms thrashed in desperation as her head bobbed up and down under the water. She wasn’t going to make it, Ryan realized. She’d swallowed a lot of water and would drown unless he did something. “On your back,” he yelled, but she either couldn’t hear him over the rapids or wasn’t paying attention to anything but her own survival.

  The next set of rapids was just ahead. Lan needed help. With a surge, Ryan swam toward her, the river’s momentum helping him close the distance.

  Ryan was going so fast, he practically slammed into her. He grabbed Lan and the look of utter panic in her eyes was all the motivation he needed. Exhaustion creeping in, he spun her around so she faced the sky. “I’ve got you. Just relax—trust me!”

  Ryan pulled her close on top of him and wrapped his arms around her waist. She was small enough that his legs extended beyond her own and, as they hit the next set of rapids, he was able to use his feet to help them navigate the boulders.

  They rode the white water, twisting through the curves like they were riding an Olympic toboggan. Ryan’s hip slammed into a rock and his head bashed against a branch, but he held her tight. No matter what, he wouldn’t let go.

  At last, they shot out of the final rapid and into a quieter section of the river. For several seconds, they floated, but Ryan could already feel his feet starting to sink. Not wanting to let Lan go, he held her with one arm while using the other to keep them above the surface.

  “You okay?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.

  Lan gasped, having difficulty catching her breath. “Fantastic.”

  Ryan couldn’t help but smile. Up ahead, he could see the wide river made a sharp turn. On the side closest to them, an island of rocks and broken bamboo stalks offered the best opportunity to land. He paddled in that direction, but as they approached, the current accelerated.

  “Ryan,” Lan said, “do you hear that?”

  A sound like low, rolling thunder was coming from around the bend. Ryan used his one free arm to stroke even harder, steering them toward the island. Stretching out, Ryan managed to grab hold of a thick bamboo pole, hoping to use it to pull them to safety. But the bamboo wasn’t rooted in anything and it wrenched free in his hand.

  As they whipped around the bend, the river flowed faster and the lip of a waterfall came into view. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep hold of Lan against that kind of force, Ryan dragged
the bamboo pole under their arms.

  “Hold on!” he yelled, as they raced toward the falls.

  The bamboo offered just enough resistance to allow them to keep their legs raised high, avoiding the rocks below the surface.

  Screaming in unison, they flew over the edge!

  CHAPTER

  38

  NEW YORK,

  USA

  Danny glimpsed the shadow of someone sneaking up behind him just as a hand grabbed his shoulder. Certain he was about to be killed, he screamed, spinning around so fast he lost his balance and fell backward, landing on his butt.

  But it was only Kasey, who shook her head. “Jumpy much?”

  Danny picked himself up, checking to make sure he hadn’t damaged his remote control in the fall. He was happy to see her, even if he wasn’t going to let her know that. “Get in here before someone sees you!”

  Danny stepped aside so Kasey could join him in the alcove where he was hiding. Across from them was the final address on the list of properties owned by Andakar’s government that Danny had found. It was an old building on this cobblestone street in SoHo, a trendy section of New York that had once been nothing but factories and sweatshops. Though some of the stores along the block had been updated and turned into stylish shops, the area maintained its oppressive, industrial feel.

  Danny and Kasey were hidden in the shadows of a stairway that led down to the basement entrance of a bakery. The shop was closed for the night, so Danny thought it was probably safe.

  “I didn’t think you were gonna come,” Danny said.

  “My brother was watching me pretty close. I finally told him I was going to do homework and go to bed, and just shut my door. Didn’t you get my text?”

  “I left my phone at home,” Danny explained. “My mom’s out late tonight, but she checks the GPS on my phone so she always knows where I am.”

  “I thought you were this tech genius. Can’t you just disable it?”

  “Of course I can—give me a little credit. But sometimes it comes in handy. Like tonight, because she thinks I’m still at the apartment doing my homework.”

  Kasey noticed the remote control Danny carried. It had a short antenna, two separate joysticks, and a screen right in the middle. “What’s that?”

  “It’s how we’re gonna see inside without you doing anything crazy again.” From the ground, Danny picked up a remote-control flying drone that had mini helicopter rotors at the end of each appendage. “The XTL Specter with a few Danny Santiago upgrades!”

  Underneath the rotors was an electronics rig that housed a tiny camera mounted on a swivel platform. Danny moved the joysticks on his controller and the camera pivoted back and forth. The camera’s video feed appeared right on the controller’s display screen.

  “Your very own spy cam.” Kasey looked across the street at the building. “The apartments all look empty. Is anybody even living there?”

  “We’ll find out. Everything’s closed up in the front, and there’s no way to get around the sides.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “We go over the top.” Danny punched a button on the Specter and the rotor blades started to spin faster and faster, until the drone suddenly lifted straight up. Kasey stepped out of the way as Danny told her, “I made it superquiet—like a stealth drone. Plus, I improved the electronics so it has a five-hundred-yard range and can fly faster than thirty miles an hour.”

  Eerily silent, the Specter rose above the empty street, zipping sharply from side to side as Danny tested his reflexes with the controls. Kasey looked over his shoulder at the display screen, amazed at the crisp images the camera transmitted.

  Danny guided the Specter up the front of the five-story building. All the windows had drapes or blinds pulled across them, and there were no lights on anywhere.

  “Weird in New York not to have anybody home,” Kasey said.

  “I know.” Danny manipulated the controls and the drone flew up and over the roof. In back of the building was a private courtyard. He carefully steered the Specter down, allowing it to hover so they could inspect the apartments.

  Kasey peered at the screen. The windows back there weren’t covered up, but they were still dark. “Go down to the next floor,” she said. “I think I see a light.” Danny directed the Specter down into the courtyard.

  “See?” Kasey pointed. Sure enough, there were lights on inside, but the curtains were drawn, keeping them from seeing much. “Maybe someone’s in there, but they don’t want anyone to know.”

  Danny tried to get a better angle, moving the drone in different directions. Suddenly, the curtain jerked aside and a man’s face peered out! Danny impulsively pressed both joysticks forward so the Specter rocketed up into the sky.

  “It was a guy, but I couldn’t see him very well.”

  “That’s okay, I saw him enough for both of us.” Danny was urgently guiding the Specter back toward them. “I know who it was.”

  “You recognized him?”

  “It’s the same guy who kidnapped Ryan’s mom. The big one—the bodyguard.”

  “We have to call the police.”

  “We can’t. They said no cops.” The Specter soared down as Danny brought it in for a landing on the stairway next to their hiding place.

  But Kasey was adamant. “Danny, think about it. Ryan’s on the other side of the world and his mom may be right there. If they’re able to save her now, it means this’ll all be over.”

  “But what if they can’t? What if she’s not there, or something goes wrong and these guys get pissed off?”

  “They’re the police. They’re good at this. A lot better than we are.”

  Danny knew that Kasey was making sense. He didn’t know what to do. He needed to talk to Ryan. “You have your phone, right?” Kasey nodded. “Call Ryan. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll answer.”

  Kasey took out her phone and hit a button—Danny noted that she already had Ryan on her Favorites screen—and waited. Please answer, Danny thought, don’t make us decide this on our own!

  But Kasey shook her head. “Voice mail.”

  Disappointed, Danny looked at the dark apartment building. “Okay, he finally said. “Let’s call the cops.”

  CHAPTER

  39

  LAZU RIVER,

  ANDAKAR

  Ryan soared through the air, arms windmilling uselessly, then plunged into the water. He hit feet first, going deep. The current tugged him forward, and he was somersaulting underwater—again.

  When he finally made it to the surface, Ryan coughed and gasped for air. He scanned the water around him but saw no sign of Lan. The current was slowing, but continued to pull him relentlessly forward. Just ahead, the river they had been traveling along merged with a much larger body of water, wider and slower moving. Ryan finally spotted Lan, clinging to the bamboo pole like a lifeline. She had drifted even farther out into the larger river than Ryan. He swam to her, knowing he needed to calm her before she got more water in her lungs.

  “You’re okay—take deep breaths,” he said, easing her onto her back. The shore was far away in both directions. This river was wider than a football field, and they were dog-paddling right in the middle.

  “Look …” Lan wheezed, gazing over his shoulder. Ryan shifted around, relieved to see a large fishing trawler heading in their direction, its occupants calling out to them. The vessel was old and dilapidated, but had been painted bright blue and green. It had a festive appearance even though it looked ready to fall apart.

  Lan was worried. “What do we do?”

  “I don’t think we have a choice. Let’s just hope they’re friendly.”

  When the trawler eventually pulled alongside them, the fishermen lowered nets from the side of the boat. Ryan helped Lan grab hold of one and, climbing it like a ladder, she made her way to the boat’s deck where the fishermen pulled her aboard. Ryan followed, aware that out here in the middle of nowhere they’d have no easy way to escape if this went bad. At the
top, rough hands grabbed him and hauled him over the rail.

  Ryan and Lan lay on their backs, drenched and panting. Curious faces surrounded them on all sides, many of them decorated with white paint on their nose and cheeks. There were rough-skinned men and women here, and Ryan even saw several children. An extended family, all living together on this fishing boat. They seemed to view the rescue as something pretty remarkable.

  Lan tried to speak to them, but she was having trouble communicating. After a moment, she explained: “They’re Nachine—River Gypsies. They have their own language.”

  “How many languages does Andakar have?”

  “Fifty or sixty. Maybe more. Their language and traditions are the only freedom some people have. They don’t let go easily.”

  A gruff, weathered-looking man squatted in front of them, openly appraising these two strangers. He motioned for them to take off their shoes and socks to let them dry, then turned back to his family and crew, snapping orders. With backward glances and whispered exchanges, they did as told, preparing the nets and manning the boat.

  “Do they all live onboard?” Ryan asked, checking out the boat. In addition to the fishing gear, the trawler had clotheslines with laundry hanging to dry, an outdoor cooking area, and a sitting area with small chairs. They’d even hung twinkly lights and colorful flags all around.

  “They do for several months each year,” Lan told him. “The rest of the time, they live in temporary villages along the riverbanks, usually with a bunch of other families. They work together to make it through the rainy months. It’s not an easy life.”