فصل 25

Chapter 25: A Second Look

I woke the next morning to Ostin shaking me.

“Ben just called,” he said. “We need to go.” “Go where?” I said, rubbing my eyes.

“To the plant.”

I sat up. “What time is it?”

“Late. It’s almost eleven. Didn’t you sleep last night?” “Not like you did.”

“I love to sleep. It’s like being dead without the commitment.” I pulled on the same clothes from the day before, and we walked out of our room at the same time as Taylor, Nichelle, Tessa, McKenna, and Ian. The hallway was empty except for the housekeeping staff who were cleaning rooms.

“Where are Jack and Zeus?” I asked.

“They’re already in the lobby,” Ian said.

As we walked toward the elevator Taylor asked, “Should we split up?” “We better,” I said.

Ostin, Ian, and I waited as the four girls went down on two different elevators. We caught the next elevator that opened on our floor; then we walked out of the hotel to the idling van.

“Dzau an, good morning,” Ben said as we climbed in. “Are you tired?” We all looked as if we’d been woken in the middle of the night.

“Lei szle,” Ostin replied.

Ben started laughing. “That is very good.” “What did you say?” I asked Ostin.

“He said he is tired to death,” Ben said.

“He’s the one who slept,” I grumbled.

Ben weaved the van between several idling taxis, then pulled out of the hotel’s driveway. The weather was better than it had been the day before, with only a few passive clouds blotting a beautiful blue sky. There was also less traffic, and we made it to our destination in less than a half hour.

As we neared the plant we veered off on a different road—one that led us to a coastal outcrop just south of the Elgen’s peninsula and the coast guard station. Ben parked the van at the end of a vacant tree-lined street near a small temple, and we walked, single file, along a stone path to the water, staying behind the trees to conceal ourselves. We could see the silhouette of the Starxource plant from its southernmost exposure. It may have just been the contrast of the clear sky, but the plant seemed to be emitting more steam than the day before. There was a large white-and-red fishing boat docked on the south end of the compound.

“So that’s it,” Zeus said, his voice heavy with dread.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

Ben looked out through his binoculars for a moment, then pointed to a place about two hundred yards from the end of the peninsula. “I think that is where the Volta will anchor. I have found maps of the depth of the water in this bay. The water near the peninsula is shallow with reefs and sand bars. The size of the Volta will keep it from coming too close to the plant.” He handed me the binoculars and I looked out over the water, following the horizon to the end of the peninsula.

“What is that boat doing there?” I asked. “It doesn’t look like an Elgen boat.” “It is a fishing boat. The local fishermen catch fish and bring them to the plant. They are there all the time, night and day, bringing tons of fish.” “Why do the Elgen need so much fish?” Taylor asked.

“For the rats,” Ben said.

“Of course,” Ostin said. “Remember in Peru the Elgen built their plant around a cattle ranch so they would have fresh meat to feed their rats. Here they’re on the sea, so they bring in fish.” “That is correct,” Ben said. “They have a very interesting process. They drop the fish in a large pool so the fish stay alive until they are fed to the rats.” “Is that the only pool?” I asked.

“No. There is a pool inside near the bowl.” “How do the fish get from the pool to the bowl?” “There is an underwater pipe,” Ben said.

“It’s a huge pipe,” Ian said. “Like ten feet in diameter. It’s located on the bottom of the pool on the side next to the plant. It goes about sixty yards underground into another pool inside, near the bowl.” “Then what happens?” I asked.

“Hydraulic scoops lift the fish from the inner pool and drop them on the chutes that feed the rats,” Ben said.

“How do they get rid of the water?” Ostin asked. “They can’t get water in the bowl or it could electrocute the rats.” “The scoops are like cages. Lift the fish but not the water. Then they pass through fans. When they reach the chute, they are dry,” Ben said.

“How many fish do their pools hold?” I asked.

“Maybe tens of thousands,” Ben said. “The pools and the pipe that connects them are as crowded as a Taiwan subway train at rush hour.” “Could we enter through the pool and go through the pipe?” I asked.

“Not any easier than on land,” Ian said. “There are soldiers and guards watching the outside pool, and the four fences extend down into the pool and the pipe. Breaking in would be the same as aboveground, except you would be underwater, which means you’d be slower and couldn’t breathe.” “We could use scuba equipment,” Jack said.

“We would still have to get into the pool without being seen,” I said.

“What if we stowed away on a fishing boat and got dropped into the pool with the fish?” McKenna said.

“There’s no way I’m going to get buried in fish,” Taylor said. “I can hardly stand swimming in a lake knowing they’re there.” Ian shook his head. “Even if it worked, you would still have to somehow cut through four fences underwater. There are guards on top and underwater cameras on each of the fences. It would not be easier.” I thought about it for a moment, then said, “Okay, then we stick with the original plan. We attack as they transport Jade Dragon to the Volta.” “Which they will have to do with a boat,” Ostin said. “Since, if Ben is right, they cannot dock the Volta next to the plant.” “Yes,” Ben said. “I am right.”

Looking through the binoculars, I could see a floating aluminum-planked dock jutting out from the rock. There was a road coming out of the back of the plant that led to the dock. I handed the binoculars back to Ben. “There’s a small dock there. Is it the only one they have?” “They have the large dock for the fishing vessels, but for transport vessels there is only that one.” “So they’ll be taking her from there.”

“What if they use a helicopter?” Jack asked.

“They won’t take the chance,” I said. “They don’t know if Tanner is with us.” “We wouldn’t crash the helicopter with the girl on it,” Taylor said.

“They don’t know that,” Ostin said. “In fact, we don’t know that.” Taylor’s forehead furrowed. “What are you saying?” “If it was a question between killing the girl or letting the Elgen get information from her, we’d have to kill the girl.” “I can’t believe you just said that,” Taylor said.

“Don’t look at me like I’m crazy,” Ostin said. “Wouldn’t you kill someone to save a hundred million lives?” “I wouldn’t kill anyone.”

“But what if you don’t kill someone, and they end up killing millions more?” Taylor just looked at him.

Ostin turned to me for validation. “It’s the logical choice.” “Let it go,” I said.

“The Volta does not have a helipad,” Ben said. “They will have to use a boat. That means there are two places the Elgen will be weak. We can attack the shuttle boat on the way to the Volta, or we can attack the shuttle boat at the dock.” “Three ways,” Ostin said. “We could also wait until Jade Dragon’s on board the Volta and kidnap her from there.” “There will be many guards on the Volta,” Ben said.

“After the Ampere they’ll be expecting that,” I said. “The shuttle will be the weakest link.” I looked at Ben. “How far out from shore will the Volta dock?” “Maybe a hundred meters,” Ben said.

“A hundred meters won’t give us a lot of time to intercept the shuttle,” I said. “Does the Volta have guns?” “All the Elgen ships have guns,” Ostin said. “And there are guns on land, too.” He pointed at the towers at the back of the plant. “Fifty millimeter machine guns. The Elgen love those.” “Whatever shuttle they use will probably have a gun as well,” Jack said. “As well as the guards.” “Which means they will be shooting at us from the shuttle, the Volta, and the shore.” “At least until we get on the shuttle. They probably won’t shoot at the shuttle with the girl on it.” “What if they can’t see us?” Taylor said.

“What do you mean?”

“If we could fill the area with smoke, then they won’t know what to shoot at.” “Yeah, but then we can’t see either,” Zeus said.

“Ian could see,” Taylor said.

“It will not work,” Ben said. “It is too much area to create smoke and the winds are usually strong. It will blow any smoke away.” “So how do we get to the shuttle without them blowing us up?” I said.

We were all quiet a moment; then Ostin said, “I’ve got it.” We all looked at him. “They wouldn’t shoot at one of those coast guard boats. We’ll use one of those to rescue her.” “I do not think they will let us use one,” Ben said.

“Of course they won’t,” Ostin said. “We won’t ask, we’ll just take one.” “How do you take a coast guard boat?” Zeus asked.

“Easy,” Ostin said. “We go out in a boat and send out a distress signal. When the coast guard arrives to rescue us, Taylor reboots everyone on board and we trade boats. It’s like we did in Peru to get into the plant.” “That could work,” I said.

“It’s brilliant,” Ostin said. “We take the coast guard boat, then patrol the waters around the Volta until we see the Elgen shuttle. Then we stop the shuttle, reboot everyone on board, rescue Jade Dragon, get back on our boat, and speed off to safety.” “But if the Elgen see a coast guard boat around, they won’t leave the dock,” Ian said. “They’ll just wait until it leaves.” “Yes,” Ben said. “If there is anything suspicious, the Elgen will think something is wrong.” “What we need,” Ostin said, “is to have someone on the shore watching for the Elgen’s transfer. That way the coast guard boat can stay out at sea. As soon as they put her on the boat we signal the coast guard boat. The Elgen won’t even notice it, they’ll just think it’s coming back to dock, but then, at the last minute, we intercept them. We’ll catch them in the water.” “That could work,” I said.

“We need a boat to be rescued with,” Taylor said.

“I can get a boat,” Ben said.

“We’ll have to time our boat-jacking with the arrival of the Volta,” I said. “Assuming the Elgen want to get her on board as soon as possible.” “That’s a logical assumption,” Ostin said.

“But what if they don’t?” Tessa said. “We’re going to be floating around in a stolen coast guard boat.” “We should discuss this back at the hotel,” Ben said. “We have been here too long.” I looked back out at the Starxource plant and then past it to the ocean. “I think this will work.” “Will we still need to attack the other plant?” Taylor asked.

I nodded. “The diversion will still take pressure off of us.” I turned to Ben. “Any word from the voice?” “I hope to hear from him this afternoon,” he said.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s go back and wait for his call.” * * *

The drive back to the hotel was much more relaxed than it had been the day before. At least this time we had a workable plan. Not an easy one, but workable.

As I got out of the van Ben said, “I will call you when I hear from the voice. You will not hear from me until then.” As Ostin and I walked back into the hotel I said to him, “Good job. I think your idea could work.” He nodded. “It’s no more difficult than attacking the Ampere.” I stopped and shook my head. “Yeah, because that was so easy.” * * *

Our room phone rang around two in the afternoon. Ostin and I were both sleeping. I answered the phone groggily. “Hello?” “Michael, this is Ben. Please you and Ostin come to my room. The voice wants to talk to everyone except for Nichelle.” He hung up.

I sat up. “Come on, Ostin. We’ve got to go.” “Go where?” Ostin asked sleepily.

“We need to go to Ben’s room. The voice wants to talk to us.” Taylor was the last to arrive. “Sorry I’m late,” she said as she walked into Ben’s room. “Nichelle wanted to know why she wasn’t invited. She wasn’t real happy.” “Tell her it’s because we don’t trust her,” Zeus said.

“That’s direct,” Taylor said.

“We’re just being careful,” I said. I looked at Ben. “Go ahead and call.” Ben dialed a number, then hung up. A moment later his phone rang. He put his phone on speaker and answered. “Wei.” A voice said, “Please confirm.”

“This is white dragon to lightning rod,” Ben said.

“White dragon, please confirm.”

“Yi, ling, yi, yi, yi, jyou, lyou, er.”

“White dragon confirmed. Just a moment please.” There was a pause; then a familiar voice spoke. “Good afternoon, Electroclan. Ben. How is everyone?” “We’re fine,” I said.

“Good. I have been discussing your request with the council, and we agree with your assessment that attacking the compound is too risky.” “Ask him if by ‘risky’ he means ‘certain death’,” Tessa whispered.

Taylor shushed her.

“We agree that intercepting Jade Dragon in transport is more logical. We also like your idea of creating a diversion. We have discussed our options and have concluded that the easiest plant to attack is in Samoa. It is a short flight from Taiwan and the Elgen have their smallest presence there—only twenty-seven guards. They also take their water from the sea, but they have an aboveground pump house and desalination plant. We have an agent there who can provide you with enough explosives to take it out.” “If it’s that easy then why don’t you guys just take it out?” Jack asked.

“That would defeat the purpose,” Ostin said. “The Elgen need to think that we’re there.” “That’s right,” the voice said. “Have you thought about who you want to send?” “Zeus and Tessa,” I said, glancing over at the two of them. “The plan is that they attack the plant just before the Volta arrives, and then fly back and meet us here to help rescue Jade Dragon.” “That will do,” the voice said. “We’ve already contacted our Samoan agent, and he’s making preparations. Right now the Volta is only a little more than a week out. Zeus and Tessa will have to leave immediately. Tomorrow afternoon Ben will drive them back to the Taitung airport. That will give them some time to meet with our operative and prepare.” “No sweat,” Tessa said.

“Just as long as it’s not raining,” Zeus said.

“We’ve checked the weather. There is less than a five percent chance of precipitation. Is there anything else we should discuss?” I looked around the room. No one said anything. “I don’t think so,” I said.

“Then good luck, Electroclan. We’ll be waiting with great anticipation.” He hung up. For a moment we all just looked at one another. Then Ben turned to Zeus and Tessa and said, “We will leave tomorrow.”