Battle of the Ampere

by Richard Paul Evans

  “And you know how to find it,” I replied.

  “We have thirty seconds,” Jack said.

  We all looked back to watch the explosion. Jack started counting down and we all joined with him. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one . . .” Nothing.

  “It didn’t blow,” Jack said.

  “Did you set the timer right?” Ostin asked.

  “I did exactly what Dodds told me to do,” Jack said. “You saw the detonator, it was counting down.”

  “Maybe they disarmed it,” Taylor said.

  Suddenly there was a massive explosion. Even as far away as we were, the sound made my ears ring, reverberating throughout the bay and throwing up tons of shredded debris that showered down on the shore and water. The sky turned orange and yellow as a giant fireball engulfed the Ampere. There were two more explosions; the third one was even larger than the first, and the ship broke in two and collapsed into the sea.

  “We did it!” Taylor shouted.

  “Veni, vidi, vici!” Ostin shouted. “We came, we saw, we kicked Elgen butt!” He shook his fist at the boat. “You’re shark chum now, Hatch. You stinking, maniac, sicko freak of nature. You’re shark chum.” He turned to me, out of breath. “Man, I hated that guy.”

  For several minutes Jaime just stared at the burning wreckage of the Ampere, as if he were in a trance. Our speedboat started to rock more as the waves from the explosion’s shock waves caught up to us. The first streaks of dawn had begun to brighten the indigo sky. Set against the gradient horizon, the Ampere’s orange-red flames and sparkling cinders looked oddly beautiful.

  Then Jaime said, “You did it, hermanos.” He turned back to us. “We now must go before the guardacostas arrives.”

  “Dodds is about a mile up the coast,” Ian said. “It looks safe.”

  “You know Dodds?” I asked.

  “How do you think we got here?” Ian replied.

  “Everyone hold on,” Jaime said, and he hit the throttle again. The boat lunged forward, gaining speed until we were bouncing from crest to crest. I looked over at Zeus. He was wearing a hoodie and wrapped completely in towels, sitting on the floor in the center near the front of the boat. For Zeus, even the refreshing ocean spray was dangerous to him. We might as well have been floating on a sea of acid. I couldn’t help but think how courageous he was.

  “What happened to the Watt?” I asked.

  “Zeus did that,” Tessa said. “From the deck of the Ampere.”

  “It was a fluke,” Zeus said. “They were loading torpedoes on top and I couldn’t resist. I didn’t think it would go up like that. Ka-boom.”

  “Ka-boom is right,” Taylor said.

  “You rock, dude,” Jack said. Jack went to high-five Zeus, but Zeus quickly pulled back.

  “Sorry, man,” he said. “Your hands are wet.”

  “My bad,” Jack said. He wiped his hands on his shirt, then they high-fived.

  *

  Ten minutes later Jaime careened the boat toward shore, which was now visible in the early light. As we approached the dock, I could see a white van in the distance with two figures leaning against it.

  “Who’s that with Dodds?” I asked.

  “It’s Abi,” Ian said.

  “Abi came back?”

  “It was her idea to come back,” Ian said. “But we were all thinking it. None of us could stand the idea of you guys doing this alone. We tried to radio you the same day we landed, but there was a communication problem.”

  “That’s because we were compromised,” Ostin said. “We lost radio contact.”

  “So you touched the States,” I said.

  “For a day,” Ian said.

  “More like a few hours,” Tessa said.

  “Did you meet the voice?” I asked.

  “No. But I saw your mother,” Ian said.

  “You did?”

  He nodded. “She gave me a hug. She looked good. Probably because she was eating something better than rat biscuits. She asked me to tell you that she loves you and to be careful.” He grinned. “I didn’t tell her that you were planning on blowing up the Elgen’s main boat.”

  “Probably for the best,” I said.

  “I thought so,” he replied. He turned to Ostin. “I met your parents too.”

  Ostin’s eyes opened wide. “You saw my mom and dad?”

  “Yes. They were very proud of you. Your mom said something like, ‘I always knew he would make a difference in this world.’ ”

  “Awesome,” Ostin said. He was grinning from ear to ear. “Totally awesome.”

  *

  As we pulled up to the dock, we could clearly see two massive pillars of black smoke rising from the port a mile south of us. Dodds and Abigail walked out to meet us. Abigail was frantically counting heads on the boat.

  Jaime said, “Jack, please throw out the rope.”

  “Got it,” he said, climbing to the front.

  Dodds caught the rope, pulled the boat up to the dock, and tied the rope to a metal cleat. Then he stood and raised his arms out to us. “The warriors return.”

  “You’re all here,” Abigail said.

  “We thought of dying,” Tessa said. “But no one wanted to miss the after party.”

  Jack climbed out first, then helped everyone else out. Taylor and I were the last to disembark.

  “Michael Vey,” Dodds said. “Your Electroclan has lived up to its reputation.”

  “We survived,” I said.

  “That’s good too,” he said. We embraced.

  Then Dodds stepped back, leaving Taylor and me standing next to Abigail.

  “Welcome back,” she said.

  “You too,” I said. “What brought you back?”

  “Something you said.”

  “What was that?”

  “You said not to regret my decision. I couldn’t. If something had happened to you, I would have regretted it the rest of my life.” She put her arms around me. “You were right to stay. But mostly I’m just glad you’re safe.”

  When we parted, Taylor hugged her as well. “You saved our lives.”

  Abigail held her tight. “They were worth saving.”

  *

  The ride back to the villa at Miraflores was happily crowded, with Taylor and Abigail sitting across our laps. As we pulled up the villa’s palm-tree-lined drive, I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful everything looked. I remembered wondering as we drove off if I’d ever see it again.

  Jaime pulled the van up to the front of the house and everyone piled out.

  “I’m getting out of this clown suit,” Jack said, pulling off his sailor shirt. “Dodds, where are my clothes?”

  “I put them in the bags your sailor suit came in,” he said.

  “I’m keeping mine for a souvenir,” Ostin said.

  “I’m burning mine,” Taylor said.

  “We burned a few of them on the boat,” Zeus said.

  The idea of that didn’t bring me joy. We had sunk a ship. I didn’t want to think about all the people who were on it—even if they were part of Hatch’s navy.

  Taylor was holding my hand and she looked over at me with understanding.

  *

  After we were all inside, Jaime shut the door behind us. Jaime said, “In a few minutes Mr. Dodds and I will be going to Lima to see what the Elgen are doing and how the government is responding.”

  “We will also be making arrangements for your flight home,” Dodds said.

  Home. The word sounded sweet even if I wasn’t sure where “home” was anymore.

  “Someday, the world may talk about what happened here today,” Dodds said. “But until then, we are very proud of you. You should all get some rest. You deserve it.”

  “Tonight we will be having a big fiesta to celebrate our heroes,” Jaime said. “While we are in town, we will shop for food. Does anyone want anything special from town?”

  “Inca Kola,” I said. “Muy cold.”

  “Sí, Kola,” Ja
ime repeated.

  “And some granadilla,” I said.

  “Granadilla,” Tessa said. “You mean that snot fruit?”

  I shrugged. “It kind of grew on me.”

  “There’s something I need you to pick up,” Taylor said. She walked up to Jaime and whispered something in his ear. Jaime nodded and smiled. “Sí, senorita.” He turned to Dodds. “Vámonos.”

  The two of them walked out the front door. Taylor came back and took my hand.

  “What did you ask Jaime for?”

  “Just some things.” She looked into my eyes. “May I talk to you? In private?”

  The gravity of her voice worried me. “Of course.”

  We walked into a room and Taylor shut the door behind us. She looked a little uncomfortable. “I wanted to talk to you about what I said in the engine room—in those last seconds when we thought we were going to die.”

  I frowned. “It’s okay,” I said. “I understand. People say crazy things when they’re scared.”

  “I meant every word of it.”

  We looked at each other, then my mouth rose in a large smile. “Me too,” I said. “Someday I’ll make good on it.”

  She smiled that beautiful smile. “I’ll be waiting.”

  Taylor and I slept until late afternoon, then woke and talked for about an hour before we heard the van return. We walked out to the front room as Dodds opened the door. He was followed by Jaime, who was holding the hand of a young Peruvian woman.

  “Who is she?” Taylor asked Dodds.

  “Roxanna is a friend of Jaime’s,” he said. “She’s going to help cook our feast.”

  “Did you find anything out about the Elgen?” I asked.

  Dodds frowned. “Yes. Much.”

  Jaime looked over at us.

  “Good news or bad?” I asked.

  “Both,” Dodds said. “We’ll talk after dinner.”

  “Yes,” Jaime said, walking toward us. “We talk after dinner. But not now. Now we fiesta.”

  “Did you remember my things?” Taylor asked.

  “Of course, senorita. Your surprise.”

  I looked at Taylor. “Your surprise?”

  She nodded. “There’s something we need to do.”

  *

  Jaime and Roxanna worked for nearly three hours to put together our feast, filling the villa with the pungent aroma of their cooking and crowding the table with colorful Peruvian delicacies, which Jaime introduced to us.

  “Welcome, friends. We have made for you kalea mixta, a fried seafood platter with shrimp, squid, mussels, fish, and yucca sticks, tacu tacu, steak with bean cake, and ají de gallina, chicken in spicy sauce.”

  We applauded.

  “Epic!” Ostin shouted.

  “This is my friend Roxanna,” Jaime said. “She does not speak English, but she helped me create our feast.”

  “Roxanna rocks!” Ostin shouted.

  We applauded for her, too. She shyly bowed. “Thank you.”

  Jaime turned on some festive Peruvian music and we all took plates and started eating. Throughout the party I kept my eye on Jack, who sat alone. Abigail went to sit by him. I couldn’t hear what he said to her, but she looked upset as she turned away, walking across the room to sit next to Zeus and Tessa. It seemed to me that now that the fear and danger were over, his mind had returned to his grief over Wade. Perhaps it was survivor’s guilt.

  When Jack finished eating, he got up to leave.

  Taylor turned to me. “We better do it now,” she said, standing.

  As she walked to the kitchen, I shouted, “Jack!”

  He turned back. “Yeah?”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To bed. I’m done eating.”

  “There’s dessert.”

  “I don’t do desserts,” he said.

  “This one’s especially for you.”

  Everyone looked over at us. Jaime switched off the music and McKenna turned out the lights, then disappeared into the kitchen with Taylor.

  “What’s going on?” Jack asked.

  Taylor walked out of the kitchen holding a birthday cake lit with seventeen candles. She began to sing, alone at first, then joined by the rest of us. “Happy birthday to Wade.”

  Jack stood there, speechless.

  When we’d finished singing, Taylor said, “Would you blow out the candles?”

  Jack hesitated for a moment, then he walked up and blew out the candles. Everyone clapped. McKenna turned the lights back on.

  I walked to Taylor’s side in front of the room. “In light of this being a special day,” I said, “I have a special announcement to make.”

  Taylor handed me a rolled piece of parchment tied with a silver ribbon. I slid the document out and unrolled it.

  In my most dignified voice I said, “With the power vested in me as president of the Electroclan, I hereby award our highest honor, the Electroclan Medal of Valor, to Wade West, for his courage, loyalty, and dedication in the line of duty. Jack, as his mentor, best friend, and brother, we think it is appropriate that you accept this honor for him.”

  Jack took the paper from me. He looked down at the award for a moment, then said, “Can I say something?”

  “Of course,” I said. I stepped back.

  “I don’t know how well you really knew Wade. Wade was the kind of guy who some people thought was hard to get to know. He didn’t trust many people. It wasn’t his fault. The people who should have taken care of him let him down.” Suddenly, Jack choked up. “But I loved him. I didn’t always treat him the best. But I always loved him.” Jack wiped his eyes. “What hurts the most, is that I wish I had told him that. I just wish I had treated him better. That’s all.”

  The room was silent. Then Taylor stepped forward. In her hand she held another piece of paper. “I would also like to say something. I’d like to read something.” She held up the piece of paper. “This is dated January twenty-first, 2011.” She cleared her throat.

  Today my grandmother hit me again. She bashed me like a hundred times with a wooden spoon, and then with a tennis racquet. I have cuts and bruises all over. It takes all I have not to just haul off and knock her one, but I know they’ll throw me in jail if I do. The last time I stood up to her she called the police, and when they came she acted like a sweet old lady who got stuck with a low-life juvie. Of course the police took her side. Once you have a record, cops don’t bother to think. Every time I tried to say something they just told me to shut up. One of them threatened to tase me. Sometimes I feel like this crummy world is completely stacked against me and I want to give up.

  Then I think about my best friend, Jack. Jack’s been dealt a bad hand too. His old man’s an alcoholic. His mom left him, and one of his brothers is a drug head and in prison, but Jack never gives up and he never complains. He conquers. He’s a warrior. He’s the kind of warrior I want to be someday. If it wasn’t for him I probably would have just ended it a long time ago. I know Jack will never read this, but if he did, I’d say “I love you, man.”

  Taylor looked up from the letter.

  Jack was crying. When he could speak he said, “Where did you get that?”

  “Jaime,” she said. “The voice did background checks on all of us. You didn’t know it, but Wade kept a secret blog. I guess he thought you wouldn’t think he was a very good warrior if he shared his feelings.”

  Abigail walked over to Jack and this time he didn’t reject her. This time the dam broke. He fell onto his knees, sobbing. “My heart is broken,” he said. “It’s just broken.”

  Abigail wrapped her arms around him and held him to her. “I know, honey,” she said. “But you’re going to be okay. We’re going to help you get through this. All of us are.”

  She pulled him in tighter. Jack just wept.

  It was at least fifteen minutes before Dodds spoke. The emotion in the room was still very strong. Jack was quiet, lying in Abigail’s arms.

  “This was a very special evening,” he said. “I share
my deep condolences for all of you. Especially you, Jack. I wish I could delay what I have to say, but it’s late and time doesn’t afford me that luxury.

  “As you know, Jaime and I went into Lima today. We went as close to the dock as we dared. But we learned what we expected. The government is blaming the attacks on the American terrorists. They have matched the Elgen’s bounty of two and a half million soles on each of your heads.” He looked at Jack and Ostin. “That includes you two as well.

  “In a country where more than a third of the people make less than a dollar a day, a million dollars makes you quite a target. We need to get you out of here as soon as possible. Our jet will be here in the morning.” He glanced at Jaime, then breathed out slowly, as if in exasperation. “We have some unfortunate news. Hatch is still alive.”

  We all gasped.

  “What?” I said.

  “His security detail rushed him off the boat as soon as the Watt blew up.”

  We were all quiet, stunned, then Zeus said, “You mean I saved his life?”

  “Indirectly,” Dodds said.

  “I screwed up big,” he said.

  “No you didn’t,” I said. “If you hadn’t blown up the Watt, none of us would be here.”

  Dodds continued, “We’ve slowed Hatch down. We’ve given Tuvalu a chance to respond to their threat, if they’re smart enough to make use of it. You’ve freed Chairman Schema and the Elgen board. I admit, that’s a wild card. We don’t know where that will lead. But Schema isn’t stupid. He’s going to fight Hatch to gain back control of the corporation. That might sound like the lesser of two evils, but so be it. Schema’s about profits, not conquest. We can live with that.

  “Michael, tonight, you and Taylor gave us all a nice surprise. We have a surprise for you as well.”

  Jaime left the room, then returned carrying the radio. He set it down on the kitchen table and motioned me over.

  “We cannot stay in contact for very long,” Dodds said. “But there’s someone who would like to speak with you.”

  Jaime turned up the radio’s volume. There was a blast of static, then a voice said, “Michael. Are you there?”

  “Mom!”

  “How are you, son?”

  “I’m good. I’m really good.”