by Ron McGee
Danny squatted beside Ryan, his eyes squeezed shut as he muttered to himself.
“Ready?” Ryan whispered.
“Amen.” Danny opened his eyes. “Haven’t done that in a while. Let’s hope it helps.”
Ryan pointed the gun into the air. “Cover your ears.”
He squeezed the trigger, the shot echoing across the compound. The guard on the stairs whirled around, weapon ready. Several men ran from the garage, alarmed. Recognizing Reilly among them, Ryan keyed his radio, imitating Laughlin’s voice once more.
“Compound’s under attack! Everyone to the front gates!”
“What about the prisoners?” Reilly responded.
“Leave ’em—everyone to the front!”
Reilly yelled for the other men to follow him. They grabbed their weapons and ran toward the entrance gates. The guard from the top of the stairs was the last to clear the area. When he was gone, Ryan leaped the half wall and headed for the rooms over the garage.
“Check the cars,” he called back to Danny. “Find one with keys and start the engine.”
Ryan acted on pure instinct. He couldn’t afford any doubts right now. Moving quickly was crucial if he hoped to get them all out of here alive.
Taking the stairs two at a time, Ryan dashed to the second floor. The door was unlocked and opened onto a hallway that ran the length of the building. He flung open the first two doors, revealing an empty bedroom and bathroom. The next door was locked.
“Lawrence? Are you in there?!”
“Hello?” It was a woman’s voice, hesitant and scared.
Ryan leaned in close. “Is that Nadia?”
“Yes—who are you?”
“I’m here to get you out.” Ryan yanked on the knob, but the door wouldn’t budge. He didn’t have time to mess with it. “Back up all the way against the wall—hurry!”
Nadia confirmed she was out of the way as Ryan lifted Laughlin’s gun. He hated guns but was glad he had one now. Ryan fired. The weapon jerked in his hands, the noise deafening in the confined space. But his aim was good and the lock blew apart. Wood splinters fell to the ground as Ryan shoved the door open.
Across the room, Nadia Cain glared at him from the corner. She held a piece of wood in her hands like a club. Ryan noticed the broken remains of a chair on the floor and realized she had fashioned her own weapon. Even frightened and exhausted, Nadia was still ready to fight her way out.
Ryan held up a hand, hoping to reassure her. “It’s okay—I’m here to rescue you.”
She couldn’t hide her surprise. “How old are you?”
“Nadia!” Lawrence’s panicked yell came from next door.
Ryan beckoned to Nadia to follow him, already moving down the hall. Any second now, Laughlin’s men would realize they’d been tricked.
“Lawrence, it’s Ryan—Declan Quinn’s grandson!” Ryan leveled the gun at the door’s lock. “I have Nadia. Back away from the door. We’re getting you guys out of here!”
Ryan fired and the door flew open. Lawrence was still in the suit pants and shirt he’d been wearing when Ryan first met him, but they were now wrinkled and stained, the jacket and tie long gone. Dried blood from a blow to his head matted his hair.
Lawrence gaped, incredulous. “How did you get here?”
But Ryan just waved at him to hurry. “Come on! We have to run!”
Lawrence didn’t hesitate, crossing the room quickly. As he came into the hall, Nadia ran into his arms.
“You’re okay?” he asked, squeezing her tightly.
“Guys—we don’t have time.” Ryan raced for the exit. Lawrence and Nadia followed, hand in hand.
Tearing down the stairs, Ryan was thankful to see Danny standing beside one of the SUVs with the doors open. From the direction of the main house, he heard the men yelling to one another in confusion. This was gonna be close.
As they approached the waiting SUV, Ryan looked back. “You can drive, right?”
Lawrence and Nadia traded a quick glance. “I’m better,” Nadia said, moving to the driver’s door.
“She’s definitely better,” Lawrence agreed.
Ryan pointed out the driveway that curved off to the private entrance. “Go that way. Get as far from here as you can.”
As Nadia and Lawrence piled into the SUV, Danny realized Ryan wasn’t coming with them. “What are you doing? We all have to go.”
“I’ll distract them, try to buy you guys some time.”
“No, we stick together!”
Ryan pushed his friend into the backseat. “I’ll get to the four-wheeler and catch up with you. Head toward the city!”
“Ryan—”
But Ryan slammed the door. Nadia looked at him through the window, unsure. “Go!” Ryan yelled.
She hit the gas, and the SUV lurched forward. As it sped toward the gate, Ryan moved to the three remaining vehicles. He aimed the gun at a tire and fired, blowing it out. Quickly, he shot the tires of the remaining vehicles, disabling them.
At the end of the long driveway, the SUV never slowed down. Nadia blasted through the gate, wrenching it from its hinges. The SUV screeched into a turn and sped off down the road.
Through the bushes, Ryan saw one of Laughlin’s men returning. He dodged behind the garage structure just as the other man saw him. Bullets hit the side of the building as Ryan sprinted for the back gate.
Running hard, he fired the gun into the air a couple more times, then tossed it aside. If he created enough chaos, he might confuse Laughlin’s men and be able to slip away unnoticed. Ryan cornered another building, then stopped short. One of the compound guards was coming at him, cutting off his escape.
“Kusimama!” the guard yelled, raising his rifle.
Ryan pivoted right, heading toward the rear of the chateau. A grand swimming pool with spraying fountains and a cascading waterfall blocked his way. He jumped over a chaise longue, skirting the edge of the pool.
From the opposite side, one of Laughlin’s men appeared. “He’s over here!”
Ryan dodged the other direction as the man gave chase. His access to the rear gate was now completely obstructed, ruining his chance for a quick getaway on the ATV. There was nowhere to turn but back toward the main house. French doors on the patio were propped open. He barreled through, praying he didn’t run smack into Laughlin’s guys.
Ryan entered a glass-walled sitting room. He took a moment to slam the French doors closed and lock them. With luck, the hired men wouldn’t be anxious to shoot up Madame Buku’s luxurious residence. He ran from the sitting room into the hallway, trying to get his bearings.
When he was halfway down the hall, another guard turned the corner in front of him. Moving too fast to stop, Ryan instinctively dropped into a power slide, slipping across the slick marble floor and plowing into the guard’s legs. The unsuspecting man crashed to the ground, dropping his weapon.
Instantly, Ryan was up and on the move again. Shouts could now be heard all over the house. He was running out of time and options.
Ryan dashed through an arched opening and found himself back in the giant vestibule at the entry of the chateau. Through the gold-and-glass front doors, he saw Laughlin’s men heading his way. There was nowhere to go but up.
As he reached the top of the stairs, Madame Buku suddenly stepped into his path. Ryan froze as two guards flanked her, rifles pointed at him.
Madame Buku examined him in surprise. “He’s just a child!”
Desperate, Ryan turned back the way he’d come. But Reilly now blocked the bottom of the stairs. Then Laughlin himself pushed past his lieutenant, rubbing the side of his head where Ryan had hit him.
“Give me that,” he growled, taking Reilly’s gun. He climbed the steps toward Ryan. “I’m gonna teach this little sod a lesson.”
“No.” Madame Buku’s tone was commanding. Ryan looked between them, caught in the middle.
“I wasn’t asking permission.” Laughlin took another step toward Ryan.
“T
he boy may prove useful.” She waved a hand at her guards, and they started down the stairs. Ryan looked around for any possibility of escape. But there was nowhere left to run.
Laughlin reluctantly stood down as the guards grabbed Ryan from each side. Madame Buku stared at him with a predatory gaze.
“Besides,” she purred. “There are punishments much worse than death.”
CHAPTER
27
LAKE TARU,
LOVANDA, AFRICA
Ryan had lost track of time. He believed he’d been sitting in the dark room with his hands bound to the chair for two or three hours, but he wasn’t sure. When the guards left him there, he tried desperately to get loose. It was useless; the ropes were too tight. They chafed his wrists if he moved at all. Ryan kept expecting Laughlin to walk in and get his revenge.
But no one came.
The door was heavy and the walls were thick, so Ryan couldn’t hear what was going on in the compound. With no windows and no light, he had nothing to focus on but his own chaotic thoughts. Did Danny, Nadia, and Lawrence get away? Had Kasey managed to get his messages to Mom and Dad?
Ryan tried some of the “games” his parents taught him over the years. Ways to distract his mind and stay calm. To focus on happier thoughts. But thinking of his parents just sent him into another spiral of worry and confusion.
His mind kept coming back to that photo album. The fact that he couldn’t recall any pictures of himself as a newborn seemed odd. In all his parents’ pictures he was already at least a year old. Even if some photos had been lost or destroyed, wouldn’t someone have had a few? His grandfather? A friend of his parents? It didn’t seem possible that there were no pictures of his mom pregnant or of him when he was born.
Unless, of course, they never existed.
Alone in the dark room with his questions and doubts, the most absurd and frightening possibility crossed Ryan’s mind: What if Mom and Dad weren’t his real parents?
He told himself he was being ridiculous. But the more he thought about it, the less absurd it seemed.
Ryan tried to focus on what he knew to be true. Mom and Dad were good people—the best. They loved him and had even secretly trained him so he could be involved in the most private part of their lives one day.
So why not tell him the truth? Ryan’s thoughts bounced around wildly, but kept coming back to one question: If he wasn’t born Ryan Quinn, then who was he?
The door flew open, startling Ryan. A light flicked on, and he squinted, momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness. He could just make out the figure of Madame Buku glaring at him.
“Where are they?” she demanded. “Tell me where to find Anbo and Delilah, and I will let you go.”
Ryan didn’t respond. If Madame Buku was asking him where the others were, it meant they got away. If she had found them, he’d already be dead.
“Who are you?”
Ryan met her gaze. “Just a tourist. I got lost. Wandered into your compound by mistake.”
Her faint smile was chilling. “Yes, that happens often. We find so many teenage white boys inside our walls.”
“So if you’ll just let me go … ?”
She ignored the comment, circling his chair. “I must admit, I’m fascinated. My men found no signs that anyone else helped you in your attack on my home.”
“I didn’t exactly attack.”
“You’re clearly a brave young man.” Ryan wasn’t sure how to respond to the unexpected compliment. She continued to circle, like a predator stalking its prey. “I think we’re similar, you and I.”
“We’re nothing alike,” Ryan said.
“I named my company Sekhmet after an Egyptian deity. Do you know of Sekhmet?” She sounded like a teacher.
“It’s some kind of lion god.”
“Very good. Sekhmet was a warrior goddess. A fierce hunter with a lion’s head and a woman’s body. For three thousand years, they say she protected the pharaohs and allowed them to rule a vast kingdom.”
“Where they treated all the regular people as slaves?” Ryan couldn’t resist the dig. Madame Buku carried herself like a queen. Her smug arrogance annoyed him.
“Society needs order. It’s up to those who are strongest to provide it.”
“All the people in that shantytown don’t need order. They need help. They need food and a decent place to live.”
Madame Buku seemed amused. “You know, you really should be more frightened of me.” She stopped in front of him once more. “Do you know what I enjoy most about seeing someone so young with such courage?”
Ryan didn’t say anything. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer to her question.
She leaned in close. “It’s such an effective lesson for the people when that fearless spirit is crushed. Broken. Destroyed.”
Madame Buku crossed to the door, then looked back at Ryan. “I have eyes and ears everywhere. Even without your help, I’ll find Anbo and Delilah—there’s nowhere for them to run.”
“They got away from you once. Maybe they’ll do it again.” Provoking her wasn’t smart, but Ryan couldn’t help himself.
Madame Buku’s nostrils flared at the reminder of her earlier failure. “That will never happen! I’ll watch them both hang in Liberty Plaza. And once I figure out exactly who you are, maybe you’ll join them!”
Ryan didn’t react, determined not to give her the satisfaction of seeing even a glimmer of fear. She took a breath, regaining her composure. Her unnatural calm returned.
“I have a feeling you’re going to prove useful. Of course, I can’t risk anyone finding you here. I’ll have to hide you somewhere that no one will ever look.” Madame Buku was enjoying herself again, toying with him. “Before I started Sekhmet Technologies, do you know how the Buku family made their fortune?”
“I bet it wasn’t from anything nice.”
“Gold. Our mine on Mount Satori was the first in Lovanda. Others came and went over the years, but only the Buku mine is still in operation today. The miners who work there call it nyumba ya shetani. The Devil’s House.” She opened the door. “Let’s see how brave you are after you’ve spent a few days in the Devil’s House.”
Madame Buku walked out, shutting the door and leaving Ryan alone in the dark once more.
CHAPTER
28
HOUDALI,
LOVANDA, AFRICA
Ryan might be dead, and it was all Danny’s fault. If he’d listened to the Quinns and stayed out of the ERC’s business, he would’ve never found out about Madame Buku and never jumped on that plane. Danny sat alone in the corner of this no-frills apartment. He had curled himself into a ball, knees to chest and arms wrapped around his legs. From the street below, the sound of cars honking and people yelling wafted up to the third floor.
The last couple of hours had been tumultuous. After Ryan forced him into the SUV and insisted they go without him, Danny had demanded Nadia stop and turn around. They couldn’t leave Ryan behind. But Nadia just drove like a demon as Lawrence tried to calm Danny down.
“Your friend is smart. He’ll get out,” Lawrence assured him, but Danny could tell he wasn’t very confident.
Nadia promised they’d find some way to help Ryan once they got to safety. But for the moment, there was nothing the three of them could do against a group of armed men.
Danny knew they were right, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d abandoned his best friend. He kept looking out the back window as the compound receded in the distance behind them.
Worried that Laughlin’s team would soon be after them, Nadia turned off the main road. It had been several years since they’d lived here, but she and Lawrence still knew the area well. They took back roads until they finally arrived at the outskirts of Houdali.
During the drive, Lawrence and Nadia came up with a plan. They would contact their good friend Jaz. One of the only female rappers in Lovanda, Jaz knew every musician in the underground hip-hop scene and had helped organize the
ir concerts. They could hide out with her to wait for Ryan and figure out what to do next. The problem was, they hadn’t had any contact with people from their old lives for years. They weren’t sure how easy Jaz would be to find.
The city of Houdali was loud and crowded. Narrow, twisting streets were lined with boxy apartment buildings in a general state of disrepair. As they drove, Lawrence and Nadia expressed surprise at the piles of uncollected trash on street corners and all the businesses now closed and boarded up. The city looked much worse than when they escaped. Only half listening, Danny stared out the window, numb, barely registering anything but his own fear.
Once they were inside the city, Lawrence had insisted they ditch the SUV and walk. Out on the streets, Danny was overwhelmed. All the things that should have felt exciting—the crowds of colorfully dressed locals, strange smells from steaming food carts, exotic music that drifted from sidewalk cafés—just seemed strange and scary. Danny stuck close to Nadia and Lawrence like a lost little kid.
After finally arriving at Jaz’s building, they had a little luck. Jaz still lived in the same apartment and couldn’t have been more excited to see them. She was a petite woman with beaded braids that hung down the length of her back. She pulled Lawrence and Nadia into her arms as tears ran down her cheeks.
Inside, Jaz had offered Danny something to eat. He shook his head, afraid that he was being rude, but not having the energy to care. In fact, he hadn’t said a word to anyone since they’d arrived in the city. He retreated to a corner and slid down the wall.
Danny checked his phone. He was such an idiot—he’d forgotten to turn it off! He barely had any battery left. He needed to borrow a phone that had cell service and call the Quinns.
He looked over as Nadia sat next to him.
“Jaz knows some people who work for Madame Buku’s company,” Nadia said. “They’re trying to find out what they can about Ryan.”
Danny nodded, then looked away again. Nadia reached out and took his hand.