“Fine. Just her and a pilot. Now … the book. Have her hold it up to the camera on the G pole in the parking lot.”
“You understand I have to activate my communication unit?”
“Do it.”
“Keena,” I spoke into my headset. “Find the lamp with a G on it and hold the book up towards the surveillance camera.”
A minute later the voice was back. “You have passed the first test. Now go.”
I turned toward the Jeep but stopped and turned back to the camera one last time. “I know you can see me, and I know you can hear me. I’m trusting that everything you say is true. If you want to live, they better all be okay when I get back.”
I knew my words meant nothing to them. They weren’t afraid of me. I said it for the benefit of Reagan and the girls, on the off chance they were listening. I needed to keep them believing there was a way out, so they didn’t try anything foolish. I knew full well the captors had no intention of keeping the girls alive in the end. You don’t take prisoners in a war like this with the thought of ever letting them go. You don’t kill four hundred million people and suddenly change course for three girls—or four, whoever the fourth prisoner was.
Of course, I hadn’t told Tara that. Hadn’t said it to anyone. The rest of the Pack probably figured as much and followed my cue. They didn’t bring it up. From what we’d gathered in military training, we knew Tara would probably never see Emily again. The captors would keep the prisoners safe until they knew I had delivered on my end, and then the captors would disappear. They’d have no reason to keep the girls alive. It’s not pessimism when it’s reality.
But the same writing wasn’t necessarily on the wall for Hayley. If I could get to her, there was a chance she could make it through all of this. A lot of that was going to be up to Lazzo, and I couldn’t help but feel there had to be more to this story I didn’t know. I was holding out hope on my end that Lazzo was being forced to do this and that there was an alternative to killing Hayley. Maybe he’d take me for her if he needed one of us. I was only going after her because I still believed I could save her. If I thought she was dead, I’d never risk the transaction I was expected to make. This book in the wrong hands would mean the permanent end to America. I had to figure out a way around that to save Hayle—and pray for a miracle. I was also putting my faith in a man I believed was good, even if he had killed Sam. There has to be more to this story.
As I raced back to the bay, grateful they were letting me take Axel and Keena, I knew I couldn’t chance letting Blake be seen until we reached the mainland. To that end, I also knew I couldn’t afford to communicate with anyone on Redemption or even say much to Axel or Keena. I’d told Keena I’d talk to them when I could, but until then I needed them to follow my lead and instructions. Any slipup at all—by any of us—could mean the end. We were laying all our cards out on the table for the captors to see. That was why we’d brought the boat over instead of the plane. If they had eyes on it, they’d know we weren’t trying to sneak anything past them. I’d told them about Keena because I figured they already knew she was there. I didn’t want to give them any reason not to trust me.
We hopped into the boat and cut across the choppy water toward Oahu. We rode in silence the entire way. When we arrived at the airport, Axel led us to the plane where he’d hidden Blake, and we taxied down the runway. As we lifted off, I looked down at the dim lights slowly fading away. I shook my head. After all it had taken to escape the mainland, you never could have convinced me I’d be going back so soon. After defying Captain Baker to stay here, now I was following him there anyway. But I knew our missions were unrelated. The other planes would’ve already left the carrier by now. We’d be landing on the carrier, refueling, and following them a good five hours behind. I reminded Axel to let the carrier know we were on our way. He held a thumb up and I unbuckled, heading to the back.
I didn’t care about the NORAD rescue mission anymore. I only had Hayley on my mind. And Kate. And the baby—my baby. Okay, so I have a lot on my mind.
I walked over and lay down next to a crate in the cargo hold with a painted red X on it. I pulled a blanket up over my head and turned to face the crate. I knew there were cameras on us—probably both in the cockpit and in the back. As loud as it was back here I doubted they could pick up any decent audio, but I didn’t want them to see me talking to this crate. “You okay, buddy?” I whispered through the cracks in the wooden box.
“Yeah,” Blake replied from inside the crate. “Face still hurts a little.”
“I can’t let you out until we leave the carrier. Might not even be able to come back here after I get up.”
“That’s fine,” he answered calmly. “It’s tight but I’ll be alright. Hey Danny?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“I’m sorry, man.” I knew he was talking about Hayley. “We’ll find her.”
“Hope so.” I closed my eyes. I needed a little sleep. “Can you wake me in an hour, Blake? Knock on the crate or something.”
“Sure thing, Rocky.”
I smiled and shook my head. There was silence for a few seconds and then I heard Blake add, “You know, I’m sorry too, Blake. I really didn’t mean to hit you in the face as hard as I possibly could. Awww … thanks Dan. That’s so considerate of you.”
I chuckled but kept my eyes closed. “Jackass.”
“Apology accepted.” Blake laughed quietly inside the box. “But—just sayin’ Danny—you hit like a little girl.”
Maybe I should keep you in that crate.
TWENTY-FIVE – Fuel (Hayley)
Early Morning Hours.
---------- (Thursday. August 4, 2022.) ----------
Aboard the USS George Washington.
Flynn had two large black SEAL packs for Lazzo and me, and we jammed them full of the supplies we thought we’d need. We snuck our way back through the channel toward the grate exit. It was pitch-black above the exit and relatively silent. Too silent. “Flynn,” I whispered. “Is there another way out?”
“Yes. But it would take more than an hour to crawl through it. It’s a drainage channel like this one, but it runs the full length of the carrier. There’s an exit halfway down, but it brings you up right in the middle of the deck. The other exit is all the way at the opposite end.”
“I don’t like this. This has to be a trap. They know we’re down here.”
“Let me go check.”
“Flynn, no—”
I felt Lazzo grab my shoulder. “Let her go.”
“Hayley, I’ll be fine.” She started to lift the grate, and I saw the red laser line a second before the grate crossed it. An alarm screeched loudly in the hallway above us. Flynn dropped the grate and slipped back down into the channel. “We’ve gotta go.”
We turned and scrambled back toward the flood room. We dropped into it and followed Chase up another ladder into the other channel. We had scrambled halfway to the midway exit when I heard the unmistakable sound of running water behind us. Someone had intentionally flooded the other channel. When the water filled up the flood room, it would fill this channel too. “Hurry!! They’re trying to drown us.”
Chase was grunting loudly, pushing himself as hard as he could. The water had caught up to us. It was only a half-inch deep but was rapidly rising. We reached the grate at the midpoint, and Chase looked up through it.
“There’s a plane running about fifty yards from us. I think you can get there.” He stood up, pushing the grate up.
“Chase, wait.” I reached out for him, but it was too late. He pulled himself out of the channel and took a few steps toward the plane.
I popped my head up out of the hole and had a look for myself. The plane was indeed running, and close, but there was no one around. This isn’t right. “Chase, stop.”
He turned around and motioned for me to follow him. Before I could object and convince him to come back, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Two men in black had crawled out from behind the wheels
of the plane. They had raised their guns and had Chase in their crosshairs. “Chase, watch out. They’re going to shoot you.”
The sudden terror in his eyes was unmistakable. He saw the men and backed toward me. Then I saw another two men step out from behind a stack of crates on the plane. Captain Baker and Brock. Baker had a megaphone. Brock had a rifle. It too was pointed toward us. “Do not move,” Baker barked.
Chase was standing above me, blocking me from the three rifles pointed in my direction. “Chase, step aside, son,” Baker said calmly, taking a couple steps down the open cargo door of the plane.
Flynn had pushed her way up beside me. “Chase, just move,” I said. “They want me. I’m here.”
But Chase shook his head and yelled back at his father, “No, Dad. You don’t need them.”
“Son, this is no time to be something you’re not,” the captain replied. “You are not a hero.”
“And you are?” Chase laughed in disgust.
“Chase …” Flynn begged him not to taunt their father.
“Just leave, Dad. Stick to the plan … they can’t stop you.”
“Last warning, Chase.” Captain Baker was visibly irritated.
“Chase, move!” Flynn yelled at him.
“Lazzo, give me my bow and hold the arrows up for me,” I whispered down at him. He scrambled to pull the bow out of the bag and handed it to me.
“Don’t make me do this, Chase. They’re not worth it.” Baker motioned for Brock to move a little left.
“You’re wrong, Dad. You’re always wrong.” Chase reached into the back of his pants and pulled out a handgun. “You’re not worth it—”
“Chase, no.” I reached up to grab him, just as he fired a shot at the plane.
I don’t think he was shooting at his dad. I think he was just trying to scare them off—to make them leave. In any case, Baker wasn’t as merciful—he wasn’t merciful at all. I heard him yell, “Shoot him,” when Chase fired, and then three shots rang out as one. I heard Flynn scream a millisecond later as Chase’s chest exploded, and he fell backward onto Flynn and I. As he fell, I pushed Flynn back down into the channel and raised my bow. I got off the first arrow quickly and cleanly. It flew true into Brock’s throat. I saw him clutch the arrow and fall to his knees as I ducked back down into the flooded channel. I heard the captain scream, “Take off,” and bullets clanged off the steel surface above us. I peeked up as the other two men with guns boarded the plane and it rolled away. It rolled to the end of the ship and turned, then passed over us and took off, another plane following a minute behind it.
Everyone knew where we were now, and people were coming toward us, but I knew Baker had to have taken the experienced soldiers with him. He wouldn’t short himself on force. “Flynn.” I grabbed her arm.
She was a sobbing, shaking mess. “She k…k… killed. He … she …” Her shivering he’s were coming out as she’s.
“Flynn.” I shook her. “I know. I know this sucks.” Understatement. I realized then I was covered in Chase’s blood. I tried to at least wash it off my face in the flooded channel water. “But you can get him back—you can get your Dad back for this.”
She looked into my eyes, clearly in shock, but also listening.
“I need you—right now—to stand up and get the people coming to listen to you. You need to get Lazzo and me on one of the other planes.”
She nodded and stood slowly. She crawled out of the hole as a large group of people tentatively approached us. Flynn stared down at her brother’s body. She knelt down beside him and lifted his head into her lap. She eyed the people who had drawn close but since stopped. A few peeks out of the hole told me there were about thirty of them, six or seven with guns—including two of Baker’s men—and a handful of women scattered among them.
I heard Flynn start to speak. “Did you see what he did?” I could only see her face from my crouched position, but that was enough. It was sad but determined. “Did you? Did you hear my dad order them to kill my brother? Did you see him shoot his own son?” There were murmurs but no one spoke. “Is that the kind of man you want to follow? Is that a leader?”
I peeked up, as the water was now almost three feet deep. People were shaking their heads. Baker’s two soldiers still had their guns trained on Flynn. We only had about five or six minutes of air space left. Come on, Flynn.
“Well, here’s how it is. I have two people behind me who need a plane to get to America. They’re not going after my Dad. They’re not here to stop the rescue. No one has to go with them, but they’re going to take a plane.” Flynn pulled two pistols out of the back of her jeans but remained kneeling. “Is there anyone here who wants to die over that?” She specifically eyed her father’s men. They didn’t look like they were going to back down.
“Frankly, I don’t care anymore.” Flynn stood up. “My dad—my dad—killed my brother because Chase didn’t believe in letting innocent people die. If anyone wants to kill these two behind me, you’re going to have to kill me first.” She pointed the guns at the SEALs. “And I. Don’t. Care.”
Flynn was in a standoff with the two SEALs. Ninety-nine out of one hundred times that was a terrible idea. But neither of these men probably wanted to shoot a teenage girl who had just watched her brother die. If they shot her, everyone would turn on them. No one else wanted anything to do with this. The group of onlookers disbanded. Pretty soon it was only Flynn and the two SEALs. I whispered up to her, “Flynn, point both guns at the guy on the left. I’ve got the guy on the right.”
Flynn did as I asked, and I stood up with my loaded bow aimed at the other soldier. “Two on two, y’all.” I stared down my opponent. “You’ve got ten seconds to lower those guns before you both die.”
“How about nine before you both die?” Flynn’s man wasn’t flinching.
“Okay then, we all die.” I wasn’t backing off either.
“Why wouldn’t you just kill us anyway?” My SEAL asked.
“Did either of you shoot her brother?”
They both shook their heads. “No,” the one on the left said.
“Then that’s why. Lower your guns. Take the only way out of this.”
“We can’t let you take a plane,” my guy chimed in.
“Look to your left, will you?” I nodded in the general direction. “You see that guy lying there with an arrow through his throat?” Before they could answer, I went on. “That’s you in three seconds if you say one more word to me. Now lower your damn guns.”
He must have taken me seriously—both of them in fact. They glanced at each other, nodded, and lowered their weapons. “Flynn, go get their guns.”
“Now hang on,” my guy responded, his gun back up. “We don’t give our guns to anyone. Why don’t we just let you go?”
“Tell you what, you can take your guns into the cell with you for all I care. It doesn’t matter. If—and that’s a big if—your captain ever does come back, he’ll understand your dilemma. He’ll know you couldn’t shoot us in front of all these people.” There was no one else outside, but they knew people were watching. They were looking back and forth at each other, but still not lowering the guns. “Look, I get it, we’re girls and you’re SEALs. But Baker was standing next to Brock when I put the arrow through his throat. He knows I could kill you just the same, but I’d rather not. None of us has to die. Just do the right thing. Give us your guns, and we’ll give them back.”
Flynn was standing next to her guy now, and he reluctantly handed her his gun. My guy held his out, and Flynn collected it as well. Lazzo climbed out of the channel behind us. I briefly took Flynn’s hand in my own, as Lazzo lifted Chase up off the ground. “I’m so sorry. I tried to—”
“It’s not your fault.” Bitterness was thick in her voice. “His entire life he’s been told he wasn’t good enough—that he wasn’t man enough.” She put her hand on Chase’s forehead and closed his eyes. “You were man enough tonight, Chase. You were …” Her voice faded into a choked sob.
She nodded and we led them down to the cells Lazzo and I had been in the night before. As promised, we left their guns with them. Lazzo stopped down the hall to leave Chase in the infirmary. The doctor in there volunteered to take care of his body—to wrap it for transport back to Hawaii. Flynn gave her consent.
I couldn’t imagine what she was feeling and felt terrible that I had to leave her like this. I turned to her. “Flynn, Lazzo and I have to leave.”
She shook her head. “No.”
No? “Flynn, what—”
“No, you don’t have to leave.”
I objected as she walked past me. “Flynn—”
“We have to leave.” She turned to the doctor. “Let those SEALs out tomorrow at daylight, okay?”
He nodded as she stepped out of the infirmary and climbed the stairs toward the remaining airplanes. “Hey, Flynn.” I scrambled after her. “You don’t have to—”
She stopped walking and turned toward me. “Yes—Hayley—yes, I do have to.”
What could I say? Lazzo caught up to me and grabbed my arm. “Hayley, she’s not coming with—”
“Yes, Lazzo.” I shook his arm off me. “Yes … she is.”
TWENTY-SIX – Catching Up (Danny)
Early Morning Hours.
---------- (Thursday. August 4, 2022.) ----------
1200 miles southwest of Los Angeles, CA.
We landed on the USS George Washington to refuel shortly after 3:00 a.m. The next twenty minutes were extremely difficult to understand.
Only a few deckhands greeted us initially. They knew who I was from the meetings back in Hawaii, but they seemed reluctant to talk to me now for some reason. In fact, they pretty much scattered and hid. So bizarre.
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