فصل 39

Chapter 39: Waffles and Maps

When I woke up the next morning, Ostin was standing next to my cot.

“What’s up?” I said groggily.

“Not you.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s like noon,” he said. “Can you smell that?” I breathed in. “Yeah. It smells good.” “Good? Dude, Ben’s making waffles.” I sat up. “There aren’t waffles in Taiwan.” “Do not be too sure of it,” Ben said. I looked up to see Ben standing in the doorway. “Get up. I have made American-style breakfast.” “Give me a minute,” I said.

After Ostin and Ben had left the room I pulled on my pants and shirt, then walked barefoot out to the kitchen. There was a plate stacked tall with waffles. Taylor was standing at the stove making omelets with ham and peppers. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said.

I walked over to her side. “Omelets?” She pecked me on the cheek. “Yes, but without cheese. Apparently the Chinese aren’t into cheese.” “Nearly ninety percent of people of Asian descent are lactose intolerant,” Ostin said. “That means they can’t digest milk.” “I’m not,” McKenna said.

“That’s because you’re special.”

“I know,” she said, smiling.

“Would you like an omelet?” Taylor asked.

“Yes. Thank you.”

She scooped up an omelet and put it on a plate. “There you go. Waffles are on the table.” Nichelle was sitting at the end of the table next to Ian and McKenna. Jack was sitting on the opposite end next to Abigail. She was rubbing his back.

“How are you feeling?” I asked Jack.

“Better. Now it only hurts when I breathe,” he said wryly.

“I think they broke every rib he has,” Abigail said.

“Not all of them,” Ian said.

“I forgot we had a human X-ray,” Jack said. “So how many are broken?” “Eleven.”

“How many ribs does he have?” Abigail asked.

“The human body has twenty-four ribs,” Ostin said. “Though ten of them are called false ribs since they aren’t connected to the sternum.” “Another lesson,” Abigail sighed.

“How are you feeling?” Jack asked me.

“Better. I think Nichelle did a good job with those stitches.” Nichelle smiled. “Anytime.”

“I hope not,” I replied. I took a waffle from a stack on the table, then sat down next to Nichelle. “Where’re Zeus and Tessa?” “They’re on the roof,” Jack said.

“What are they doing on the roof?” “They’re on lookout.”

“When did we start doing that?”

“This morning.”

“There’s syrup,” Taylor said. “At least a version of it. It’s made from boiled sugar.” She pointed to a saucepan on the table. “It might be cold.” “I can take care of that,” McKenna said. She put her hand above the pan and it heated up. Within seconds the syrup started to boil. She handed me the pan.

“Thank you,” I said. I poured a little on top. It didn’t taste like maple syrup, but it wasn’t bad.

“Does the waffle taste correct?” Ben asked. “I learned the recipe from the Internet.” “They taste great,” I said. “Where did you get a waffle iron?” “From the same place I got my weapons,” he replied.

“I’m glad they’re thinking of us,” I said. I ate for a few minutes, then asked Ben, “What’s on the agenda today?” He looked at me blankly.

“What are we doing today?”

“We wait inside,” he said. “Everyone is looking for us. The Elgen, the Taiwan army, and the police. There has been much on the television about the attack. They say the terrorists tried to shut down the Elgen plant but the Taiwan army stopped them.” “Yeah, right,” Ostin said. “We walked through the middle of their camp, and they didn’t even see us.” “Public relations,” Ben said.

I looked at Taylor. “I guess that means no night markets.” “I’m heartbroken,” Taylor replied. She put an omelet on her plate, then came over and sat next to me.

“No going outside at all,” Ben said. “They will be looking for Americans. And you look like Americans.” He looked at Abigail. “Especially you. Your hair is very light.” Jack ran his fingers through it. “And very pretty.” “Thank you,” Abigail said.

I noticed Nichelle staring at Jack. She saw me looking at her and turned away.

Ben said, “We need to go over our plans.” “We need Zeus and Tessa,” I said.

“I’ll get them,” Ian said.

We cleared off the table and Ben laid out a map he’d drawn of the Taiwanese coastline near the Starxource plant.

“We’re back,” Ian said, walking toward us with Zeus and Tessa.

“What’s up?” Zeus asked.

“We’re going through our rescue plan,” I said.

We all gathered around the table. Ben leaned over his map. “This is the plant,” he said, touching a pen to the paper. “The Volta will likely anchor here.” He drew a small rectangle to represent the boat. “That means the Elgen will transport YuLong maybe about here.” He ran the pen in a straight line between the plant’s dock and the Volta. “If the sea is calm, to go that distance will take only two or three minutes. If we wait until they leave the dock, we can catch their boat halfway.” He drew an X between the Volta and the shore. “That means we need to be about ninety seconds away from the middle point. I think we should wait with our boat here.” He touched a spot on the shore opposite the plant.

“That’s by the coast guard base,” Ostin said.

“Yes,” Ben replied. “Very close.”

“That won’t work. We’re going to be in one of their boats. They’ll see us,” Ostin said.

“He’s right,” I said. “We’ll have to capture the coast guard boat before the Volta docks, but we don’t know how long the Elgen will wait to transport Jade Dragon. If the Elgen delay, the coast guard will know something is wrong and send their boats out looking for us.” Ostin looked at the map. He ran his finger in a circle around the Volta. “Assuming the coast guard boat can do at least forty knots, to intercept in ninety seconds, we could be anywhere in this radius.” “Yes,” Ben said.

“Then how about here?” He drew an X in the ocean behind the Volta.

“Hide behind the Volta?” Zeus said.

“Why not? Neither the Elgen nor the coast guard will be able to see us.” “But the Volta will.”

“The Volta won’t think anything of it. They’ll be taking orders from the Elgen inside the plant.” I looked at the map. “That would allow us to stay out longer.” I turned to Ostin. “But if they can’t see us, how will we see them?” “Ian could see them,” Abigail said.

“I should be closer,” Ian said. “I get some electrical interference from the plant. I could miss something.” “What if some of us hike up to where we were the last time Ben took us?” Ostin said. “When the Elgen are ready to move, we’ll radio the boat. Then they’ll speed in and intercept the transport halfway between the shore and the Volta, where it’s most vulnerable.” “That could work,” Jack said.

“Who will be on the boat?” Taylor asked. “And who will be on land?” I thought about it a moment, then said, “Taylor, Ben, Zeus, Tessa, Nichelle, and Jack should be on the boat.” Zeus dropped his head. “You know I hate boats.” “I know, but we’ll need your firepower. With Tessa near you, you’ll be able to take out a few Elgen boats if things go south.” “I’ll go,” he said, “but I don’t have to like it.” “Great, because you’ll be in charge.” “You won’t be with us?” Taylor said.

“No. They’ll need me on land. I’ll take Ian, McKenna, and Ostin up the coast. Ian will be able to tell us when they’re ready to transport. If we encounter Elgen, McKenna and I can protect the group.” “Shouldn’t I be with you?” Nichelle asked. “In case they send the Glows?” “No,” I said. “It’s more likely they’ll put the Glows on the transport with Jade Dragon.” “If Quentin is there he could shut down our coast guard boat before it can escape,” Ostin said. “We’ll be sitting ducks.” I looked at Nichelle. “You’ll have to shut the Glows down first.” “I can do that,” she said.

“We’ll need radios,” I said to Ben.

“I can get those.”

I looked around the table. “What do you think?” “What about me?” Abigail asked.

“You want in?”

She looked insulted. “What, you think I’m worthless?” “No, your powers just aren’t . . .” I searched for the right word. “Aggressive.” “Neither are Ostin’s,” she said.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” Ostin said.

“At least I have powers,” she mumbled.

“You come with us,” Jack said.

I continued, “After we stop the transport boat, Taylor, with Tessa’s help, reboots everyone while Jack and Zeus go on board, grab Jade Dragon, and bring her back to our boat.” “What if they’re wearing mindwave helmets?” Taylor asked.

“Then it will be easier for me to shock them,” Zeus said. “Those helmets of theirs make great conductors.” I looked at Ben. “Where do we go after we have her?” “There is a small dock here,” Ben said, pointing to a spot on the map. “It is south, around the rocks from the coast guard. We can dock there.” “Okay,” I said. “As soon as you have Jade Dragon, we’ll leave our point here, drive down and pick you up, then drive back to the safe house.” “Who’s going to drive?” Taylor asked. The question stung a little. Usually it would have been Wade.

“I’ll drive,” McKenna said. “I learned at the academy.” Then she added, “Before purgatory.” “McKenna drives,” I said. I looked around the table. “Are we good?” Most everyone was nodding.

“That’s a plan,” Ostin said.

“Yeah,” I said. “Let’s just hope it works.” * * *

A few minutes after our meeting, Ian and I took Ben aside.

“We need to tell you something,” I said. “In private.” Ben’s expression fell, mirroring ours. “We can go downstairs.” After we were alone in the garage I shut the stairwell door behind us, then said, “We need to warn the voice that the Elgen might know where the ranch is.” He looked back and forth between us. “How would they know?” “Because I told them,” I said.

Ben looked stunned. “Why did you tell them?” I felt like a fool. “After they captured us . . .” I shook my head. “I thought Hatch was my father. He asked where my mother was. And I told him.” Ben looked even more distraught. “I don’t understand. Why did you think Hatch was your father?” Ian stepped in to defend me. “It’s not Michael’s fault,” he said. “Tara can do things to your brain. She made Hatch look like Michael’s father. Michael didn’t know.” Ben nodded slowly. “What did you tell him?” “I told him that the ranch was three hours away from Los Angeles.” “That is all?”

“And I told him the weather.”

He thought for a moment, then said, “I will tell the voice.” I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “I’m sorry. I’m really worried. I don’t know what else to do.” Ben looked into my eyes then said, “There is a Chinese saying. If a problem has a solution, to worry is no use, for in the end it will be solved. If a problem has no solution, there is no reason to worry, because it cannot be solved.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “We do not have time to worry. For now we have other things to use our minds for. We need to rescue Jade Dragon.”