فصل 30

Chapter 30: A Leopard’s Spots

The sun still hadn’t risen when I was woken again by pounding on our door. “Michael, open up!” a voice shouted.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Ian. Open now!”

I stumbled to the door and opened. Jack and Ian pushed past me into the room and slammed the door behind them. “The Elgen found us.” The words sent chills through me. “Where are the girls?” “They’ve already captured them. The guards have them down the hall with RESATs on.” “What about Nichelle?”

“She’s with them,” Jack said. “She’s the one who led them to us.” “What’s going on?” Ostin said.

“Get up,” I said. “The Elgen are here.” “Crap. Where?”

“They’re right outside,” Ian said.

“Let’s block the door,” Jack said.

Jack and Ian slid our dresser lengthwise up against the door.

Then a voice from the hallway shouted, “Open up!” “Yeah, right,” Jack said.

“We’ll blow a hole through the wall if we need to,” the voice said.

“They’ve got explosives,” Ian said. “They’ve strapped explosives to McKenna.” “No,” Ostin said.

“So if she flares she kills herself,” I said. “They’re getting smarter. How many guards are there?” “At least thirty.” He paused. “Some of them are dressed differently. They’re wearing all black.” There was suddenly a high-pitched metallic sound.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“They’re drilling,” Ian said.

Within seconds a drill bit poked through the middle of the door. The bit was removed and replaced by a miniature camera lens.

“They can see us,” Ian said.

“The ones in black,” Ostin said. “Is there a patch on their uniform?” “Yes. It’s a dragon head.”

Ostin shook his head. “Looks like we’re going to meet the Lung Li after all.” “Come out of the room,” Nichelle said, “and no one will be hurt. They promise.” “The Elgen don’t make promises!” I shouted. “And if they do they don’t keep them. Just like you.” “Your plan was a suicide mission from the beginning,” Nichelle said. “They would have caught you and executed you. This way they’ll let you live.” “No, they won’t,” I said.

“She’s telling the truth!” Taylor shouted through the door.

Ian suddenly grabbed his eyes, groaning. “Ah!” He fell back. “It’s Nichelle.” I could feel her too. For a moment there was a struggle between us. I began pulsing and pushing against Nichelle until I heard her scream. The pain stopped. Ian staggered to his feet. He was soaked with sweat.

An amplified voice said through the doorway, “Admiral Hatch has authorized us to kill you all. Starting with this one. I am counting down.” I looked at Ian. “Who is he talking about?” “He’s holding a gun to McKenna’s head.” I glanced at Ostin. He looked terrified. “Can you deflect their bullets?” “I don’t know,” I said. “Not if he has the gun to her head.” “Ten, nine, eight . . .”

“All right!” I shouted. “I’ll come out.” “You’ll all come out, or we’ll shoot her, then open fire on you. We’ll shred the entire room.” “They’ve got machine guns,” Ian said. “Big ones.” “We’re dead either way,” I said.

“Seven, six, five, four . . .”

“Stop!” I shouted. “We’re coming.”

“Hold your fire,” the voice said.

“What are they doing?” I asked Ian.

“They still have the gun to McKenna’s head.” “Michael Vey, before we open the door, let me be very clear. If you don’t do exactly what we say, there will be no warning. We’ll kill the girls first, then we’ll blow the rest of you away.” “We’ll do what you say,” I said.

“Move the furniture from the door.”

I looked at Jack. “Do it,” I said.

Ian and Jack pulled the dresser back.

“Now open the door,” the voice said. “I want you in front, followed by Ian, Jack, and Ostin, in that order. All of you put your hands on your head. Do you understand?” “We understand,” I said.

I opened the door. An Elgen captain in the requisite black-and-purple uniform was standing in front of the door.

“Vey, come forward and kneel. Put your hands behind your back.” I walked into the hallway, then knelt down in front of six guards holding guns and RESAT guns. Through my peripheral vision I could see the Lung Li in their solid black uniforms and helmets. Something about them sent shivers through me. They seemed almost nonhuman. Taylor was kneeling on the ground next to them. I hoped she would look at me, but she didn’t.

A guard holding carbon handcuffs said to the guards next to me, “If he shocks us, shoot him, then the girls.” “I won’t,” I said.

A guard grabbed my wrists and pulled them up while another guard handcuffed me, then strapped a RESAT over my chest and turned it on. So much pain shot through my body that I fell to my side, unable to breathe.

“Stand up!” the first guard shouted. He might as well have commanded me to fly. The pain was so intense that I couldn’t even answer him. He and the other guard lifted me and pushed me against the wall, but as soon as they released me I collapsed again.

“Stand up!” the guard shouted again.

I somehow forced out, “It’s . . . too . . . much.” They looked at each other; then the second guard pulled out a remote and adjusted my RESAT. The pain lessened. It was still high but not so much that I couldn’t stand.

They followed the same routine with the others, strapping boxes on Ian, Jack, and Ostin. This time the boxes they put on Jack and Ostin looked different. They looked like RESATs but they were black and red. Ostin groaned when they turned his on.

“They figured it out,” he gasped.

A door across the hall opened and a middle-aged Chinese man looked out.

“Ni gan shemma?” he shouted.

One of the Lung Li fired something at the man, and he fell forward unconscious at their feet. Two of them dragged him back into his room, disappearing for a few minutes before emerging back out into the hall.

The captain spoke into his radio, saying that the enemy had been secured, and then, with the Lung Li guards at the front and back of our procession, the guards marched us down the hall to a utility elevator. As we walked past Nichelle, Jack lunged at her. One of the guards caught him and slugged him in the stomach. He fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

“Get up!” the guard shouted. “Or we’ll throw you out one of these windows.” Jack struggled to his feet. He looked at Nichelle. “How could you do this?” Nichelle’s eyes narrowed. “Ian said it. ‘A leopard doesn’t change its spots.’ ” As I walked by her I looked her in the eyes. “I believed in you.” “Then you’re an idiot, Vey. I don’t even believe in me.” “Shut up and keep moving,” the guard behind me said.

They were in a hurry to get us out of the hotel, so they crowded us into two elevators, with two guards holding each of us. Ostin was in front of me and Taylor was in front of him. I noticed she was leaning against the elevator’s sheet metal wall. I leaned against the side wall and thought, Taylor, nod your head if you can hear me. She didn’t move. We’re going to get out of this. Move your head against the wall. Still nothing. The RESAT must have been sucking everything out of her.

The doors opened below ground level into a room with concrete walls, electrical panels, and thick floor-to-ceiling pipes. “Move with your guards,” the captain ordered. The Elgen took us out a back door to where four large vans were idling. The vans were tall and black with the sky-blue Elgen logo and the words STARXOURCE POWER written out in English below Chinese characters.

Ostin and I were taken in the first van, Ian and Jack in the second, and McKenna, Nichelle, and Taylor in the third. I hoped that Nichelle wouldn’t torture them, but she didn’t need to—the RESATs were doing it automatically.

They strapped me to the wall, then pushed some buttons on my RESAT, and the machine hummed louder as more pain shot through my body. I gasped in agony.

Ostin was strapped to the opposite wall. His shirt was soaked in sweat. “I liked the old RESATs better,” he said.

They slammed the van’s back doors and the vehicle immediately lurched forward, rocking us from side to side. The only light in the back of the van came from the green and amber LEDs on our RESATs and from my glow, which was dimmer than usual, affected by the RESAT.

“Something’s not right,” Ostin groaned.

“No kidding,” I said.

In spite of his pain, he continued to puzzle. “If Nichelle led them to us, she would have told them who was with us.” “She did,” I said.

“Then they would have known Taylor was with us. Why weren’t they wearing those mind helmets?” “Because they had guns,” I said. “And they outnumbered us five to one.” “That’s never stopped them before. And the light on her RESAT wasn’t even on.” I had no answer.

“Remember at the night market when you asked Taylor about her roommate, and she acted like she didn’t know who it was? After we left did she do anything else out of the ordinary?” I thought about how strangely she had acted when I went to kiss her. “Yes, but she had that headache. She said she wasn’t feeling like herself.” Sweat was dripping down Ostin’s face and he groaned out in pain. Then he said, “Maybe that’s because she wasn’t herself.” “What are you saying?”

“I don’t think that was Taylor.”