فصل 16

Chapter 16: Operation Jade Dragon

The next morning we gathered again for class. For the first time Gervaso was late. When he arrived there was something different about him. Not the way he dressed or anything, but the way he looked at us. There was a gravity to his demeanor.

“Good morning,” he said. “Excuse me for being late. I’ve been in a meeting with the council. Operation Jade Dragon is a go.” While this wasn’t a surprise to any of us, hearing Gervaso’s pronouncement made it real in a way it hadn’t been before.

Ostin was the first to speak. “When do we leave?” “The day after tomorrow. That will give you time in Taiwan to prepare for the Volta’s arrival.” He looked around at all of us. “There’s no class today. I want you to have down time before you go. In the meantime, if I can do anything for you, just let me know.” “Will we meet again before we leave?” Ian asked.

“Tomorrow,” he said.

As everyone walked out I approached Gervaso.

“I’d like to try the bullet thing again.” “Of course. When would you like to go?” “Right now,” I said. “If you have the time.” “I have the time.”

We drove back out to the shooting range. As Gervaso loaded the gun, I stepped in front of the target so the bull’s-eye was directly behind my stomach.

Gervaso looked up from behind the gun’s scope. “What are you doing?” “I don’t want to find out I can’t do this while they’re shooting at me.” For the first time since I’d met him he looked truly worried. “Are you sure about this?” “Just don’t shoot before I’m ready.”

“I’ll guarantee that. We’ll count down. Three, two, one, fire, okay?” “Okay,” I said.

He got behind the gun again. I took a deep breath and pulsed slightly, enough that electricity started sparking between my fingers.

“Ready?” he asked.

I was ticking like crazy. “Let’s do this.” He put his finger on the trigger. “Here we go. Three, two”—I pulsed—“one, fire.” A single round exploded from the gun. It smashed into the cinder-block wall beside me. Gervaso stood and I could see relief on his face. He walked quickly toward me. “You did it.” We walked over and examined where the bullet had hit. It was nearly twelve feet off the mark.

“I think you overcompensated,” he said.

“I was nervous.”

He laughed. “Nervous.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “You may be the bravest person I’ve ever met.”