فصل 50

chapter-50 Marching with providence

Gervaso took control of the boat while Jack, Zeus, Ian, Taylor, Welch, and I rounded up the rest of the Risky Business crew and brought them down to one of the berths. We tied them up, leaving them in a row on their stomachs. Everyone except for J.D., who we kept tied up on the control deck.

“If the boat sinks,” Jack said to the crew, “you drown. Choke on that karma.” We returned to the control deck and told them what had happened. It was like reading the jury’s verdict of death. Everyone was quiet. Only Tanner seemed undisturbed, which was disturbing in its own way. I couldn’t get Hatch’s plan for me out of my mind.

“Maybe J.D.’s lying,” Tessa said. “Maybe he just made the whole thing up.” “That would be like confessing to a murder you didn’t commit,” Jack said.

“He’s not lying,” Taylor said. “He sold us.”

“We’ve got to get out of here,” Welch said. “We’ve got to turn the boat around.” “And go where?” Gervaso said. “We don’t have enough fuel to get anywhere, we’re not fast enough to escape their boats, and even if we could, the cannon on their battleship can shoot more than twenty miles. They’ll just blow us out of the water.” “Then where do we go?” Tessa asked. “The Joule?”

“No, we don’t have that option now,” Gervaso said. “It’s too far. Our best chance is to dig in at Hades and defend ourselves. Hatch built an inescapable prison to keep people in. Let’s see if it can keep them out.” “They’ll surround us,” Jack said.

“We’re already surrounded,” Welch said.

“What if they decide to just starve us out?” Tessa asked.

“The prison’s got to have food and supplies,” Welch said.

“No,” Quentin said. “Hatch isn’t that patient. He’ll fight.” “We’ve got to reach the island and break into prison before they reach us,” Gervaso said. “Jack, get us there.” “Yes, sir.” Jack pushed the boat’s throttle all the way, and the front of the boat lifted with our speed.

“What do you see, Ian?” Gervaso asked.

“The Faraday is being loaded with soldiers. It looks like they’re bringing their whole army.” “Fifteen of us versus ten thousand of them,” Welch said.

“Seventeen of us,” Quentin said. “We’ve got Tara and Torstyn.” “And the prisoners and GPs,” Welch said. “They’ll fight. There are at least two hundred being held captive. They’ll fight for their lives.” Gervaso turned to Welch. “Is there anything we should know about how the Elgen will fight?” “Hatch likes spectacle. There’s no other reason why he didn’t just sink our ship. He did the same thing to me. If he weren’t a slave to his ego, he would have just executed me on the spot. Instead, he wanted to make a show of me being fed to the rats. I think this is what he’s doing now. The final battle of Elgen versus Electroclan. He wants a spectacle, something for the history books.” “The bigger army doesn’t always win,” Ostin said. “Like George Washington crossing the Delaware to attack Trenton. He was outnumbered, with two thousand hungry, sick, poorly equipped soldiers when they attacked the superior, well-armed, rested mercenary Hessians—the most feared, well-trained soldiers in the world. Washington not only won, but he didn’t have a single soldier killed or wounded. Providence marched with them that day.” As if to punctuate the point, lightning lit the sky around us, followed by a loud thunderclap.

Welch looked up at the sky, then said, “Let’s hope providence is with us, too.”