فصل 47

chapter-47 A terrible mistake.

It was a little past three in the morning when we reached Nike. The rain fell in great sheets illuminated by the shore’s electric lighting. From where I was watching, the island looked deserted. As Gervaso said, it wasn’t the kind of night someone was going to be out on a midnight stroll.

Our team had put on our rain gear and had blended in with the rest of the loading crew who were preparing the crane to lift the crates from below deck. They were carrying canned goods from New Zealand: concentrated milk, butter, cheese, and frozen beef.

As our boat edged up to the main loading dock in front of a landing with warehouses and parked forklifts, there was a bright flash of lightning, followed just two seconds later by a clap of thunder.

“That was close,” Jack said.

“Let’s hope the lightning keeps up,” Taylor said.

I looked up at the angry sky. “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that.” There were three lights on the dock as well as lights inside the warehouse offices, but I couldn’t see any movement, at least not the human kind. The wind was strong and anything not bolted down was flapping or swinging. The waves had also kicked up, and J.D. revved the engine in reverse to keep us from slamming into the dock.

Then two Elgen wearing rain gear emerged from the warehouse. Both carried flashlights, and one of them made hand signals to the control deck.

Three of our crew members came out holding lines and threw them to the men, who grabbed them and wrapped the ropes around the dock’s heavy cleats and secured them. Another man walked out in rain gear carrying a radio.

Our crew members lowered a plank onto the dock, and one of our crew walked down to the man holding the radio. The two of them walked back to the warehouse.

“That’s your cue,” Gervaso said. “Go.”

The eight of us climbed down a ladder near the front of the boat. Then, one by one, we sprinted across the deck into the shadows behind the warehouse, then into the forest.

We met up in a grove of breadfruit trees about fifty yards from the dock. In our outfits I couldn’t tell who was who.

“Who’s here?” I asked.

“Everyone’s here,” Ian said.

“You lead us,” I said.

We followed Ian along a narrow grass path through the dense forest. The sound of the rain covered our footsteps, and it only took ten minutes to reach the center square.

The center was dark. There were only a few lights in the square, and raindrops fiercely pelted the tops of the two monkey cages, pouring down the sides of the cages in a steady waterfall. The cages were dark inside, and I couldn’t see any humans, but Ian could.

“Quentin’s in the corner of the east cage,” he said. “In the back.” “How does he look?”

He turned to me. “Like a man in a monkey cage.” There were two guards, one for each cage, standing at attention with rifles. They were dressed alike, wearing hats, black knee-length jackets, thick-soled shin-high boots, and pants with a purple stripe down the side. They stood perfectly still as the water bounced off the crowns of their hats and ran down the brims and their shoulders. They seemed to be in an almost trancelike state.

“There’s a sign that says ‘King of the Monkeys,’” Ian said, shaking his head.

“Should I reboot them now?” Taylor asked.

“Cameras first,” I said. I could see at least six cameras, revealed by the red diode on top of them. Four of them slowly panned the square. I turned to Ian. “I count six. What have you got?” “There’s fourteen,” he said.

“It’s good to be you,” I said. “Are there any other guards nearby?” “Just the two.”

“Let’s keep it that way. Are you ready, Nichelle? Tessa?” “I’m ready,” Tessa said. “You?” she asked Nichelle.

“Just waiting for lightning.”

We didn’t have to wait long. In less than two minutes there was a double strike of lightning to the east of us. Nichelle’s hand was already extended. The lights went out.

“Did we get all the cameras?” I asked Ian.

“No. There’s one camera next to the building that’s live. But I don’t think it’s panning.” “Will they see us?”

Ian looked at it, then said, “No. Not if we stay close to the cages.” “Then let’s do this. Everyone back off a little.” I turned to Taylor and nodded.

Taylor looked toward the guards, holding her hand up to her forehead. Suddenly the guards froze. One of them dropped his rifle.

“Now,” I said. I reached out and pulsed. A massive wave blurred the air, sizzling with the rain it devoured. Both of the guards were knocked off their feet. A few of the monkeys fell off branches as well, screeching loudly.

“That’s always cool to watch,” Jack said. “Let’s go.” We ran toward the cage.

Jack and Welch grabbed the guards and dragged them over to the back of the east cage, then handcuffed them with their own cuffs.

That’s when I saw Quentin. He was dirty and huddled in the corner of the cage. He had partially covered himself with some of the dead palm leaves, but he was still shivering in the cold. He looked pathetic, and in spite of our history, I felt pity. Even the smell of the cage, somewhat dampened by the fresh rain air, was torture.

“Quentin,” I said.

He looked up at me, and his eyes showed his disbelief. “Vey?” “It’s me.”

“Kill me. Please.”

“I’m not going to kill you.”

Welch walked up behind me. “Quentin, it’s me. We’re getting you out.” Quentin rubbed the water that was running down his face. “Why are you with Vey? I’m already losing my mind.” “No,” Welch said. “We’re working together. Now move away from the back of the cage. Hurry.” As soon as he did, there was a brilliant orange-blue light behind him, followed by the sound of water hissing and monkeys screeching as they fled to the far, opposite corner of the cage. Even fifteen feet away I could feel the air warm up around me.

McKenna stood on the platform behind the cage with Tessa supporting her, McKenna holding the metal chain in her hand, which was too bright to look at.

In less than a minute the chain slid from around the cage’s bars like a metallic snake, then fell to the ground.

“That’s one,” Ian said. “Now the door lock.” McKenna examined the lock assembly, not quite sure where to touch. She put her hand on the bolt and heated up. The entire unit turned orange-red but didn’t collapse. The heat was intense enough that we were all sweating, but still the lock held.

McKenna’s power was different from Bryan’s, as Bryan could force heat in a direct, concentrated path, while McKenna created more heat but in a broader circumference.

After a minute I said, “This is taking too long.” “I can’t do it,” McKenna said.

“Ian, what’s wrong?” I asked.

He looked at the door for a moment, then said, “McKenna, ignore the lock. The weakest part is the hinges. Other side.” McKenna and Tessa moved on the platform. McKenna could get her fingers around the hinges, which meant she could better control the heat between them.

I looked around the square, then at Jack. “Anything?” “Nothing,” he said. “We’re alone.”

Luck seemed to be on our side, which was something I wasn’t accustomed to. It was also something I didn’t trust.

The top hinge broke through in less than a minute. “Got it,” McKenna said. She grabbed the bottom hinge and heated up.

Just a half minute in, the second hinge creaked as it twisted and then broke through and the heavy metal door fell back toward the exhausted girls. Welch must have guessed what was going to happen, because he had run up behind them and grabbed the heavy door as it fell, pushing it to the side. The door landed with a sharp crash on the wet cobblestone below.

“That could have cut off my leg,” McKenna said.

“It didn’t,” Welch said. “Now get back.”

Tessa helped McKenna down to the base of the steps, where Nichelle handed her two open bottles of water.

“Q,” Welch said. “Let’s get out of here.” Quentin forced himself to his feet. He was basically naked, wearing just a loincloth. Welch took his hand and helped him to the cage entrance.

“Can you walk?”

“Yes,” he said, though he seemed unstable on his feet.

“He doesn’t have shoes,” I said.

“He does now,” Nichelle said. She had already removed one of the guard’s boots. “His feet looked about your size.” Quentin stared at her. “Nichelle?”

“You never know who you’re going to run into at the zoo,” she said.

Welch put the shoes on Quentin’s feet and laced them up. I gave him my poncho to wear. “Hurry,” I said. “We’ve got to get out of here.” Quentin looked over at the other cage. “We need to rescue the prime minister.” I glanced at the cage, then at Jack, who was shaking his head.

“Not now,” I said. “We’re out of time.”

Jack and Welch both took one of Quentin’s arms, and we ran directly into the shadow of the forest, retracing our route along the goat path. We were slightly slower with Quentin, but we still made good time.

We stopped at the side of the warehouse. For some reason, the dock lights had been turned off and our boat was a dark silhouette against the turbulent sea.

“How does it look?” I asked Ian.

“Peaceful.”

“Why are the lights out?”

“Maybe the storm took out the generator.” “It’s a Starxource plant.” I took out my radio. “Gervaso. Are we clear?” There was a burst of static, then Gervaso’s voice. “We’re clear.” “Why are the lights out?”

“I don’t know. They just turned them off. Do you have him?” “Yes.”

“We’ll meet you at the aft ladder.”

We moved in the dark to the back of the boat, then crossed the dock in small groups, first Tessa, Nichelle, and McKenna, followed by Jack, Welch, and Quentin.

Taylor, Ian, and I waited until last to make sure no one had followed us, or to reboot any warehouse crew that might take interest in us. No one did. I’m sure it was the hour, but it still worried me that the security was so lax. It seemed suspicious.

I was the last one on board, and Gervaso helped pull me up on deck.

“I sent everyone below,” Gervaso said. “Come with me.” We climbed to the boat’s upper deck.

“How did everything go?” he asked.

“We had a little trouble opening the cage, but otherwise everything went as planned. It was easy.” Gervaso’s brow fell. “Easy?”

“I know. When has anything with the Elgen been easy? It could be a trap.” “Maybe. Or maybe they’re just overconfident. Like they were in Peru.” Gervaso breathed out. “For now we keep to the plan until we know otherwise. Come with me. I need to report to J.D.” I followed Gervaso into the control room.

The captain spun around as we entered the control deck. “You made it, my friends,” he said, sounding relieved. “Did all go well?” “As planned,” I said.

“Very good. And everyone is on board?”

“Yes.”

“Even Mr. Welch?”

I thought it odd that he had singled him out. “Yes.” Gervaso looked at J.D. with a peculiar expression, then said, “We’re all here. We need to go.” He turned to me. “Let’s go back down, Michael.” Gervaso and I walked back out of the control deck into the rain. When we were on the main deck, Gervaso said, “I’ve made a terrible mistake. I think we’re in trouble.” My chest froze. “Why?”

“We never told J.D. what Welch’s real name was.”