“Three…no, four SUVs,” Simeon said. “Has to be Thule.”
“What do we do?” Chandi whispered unnecessarily, her face streaked with dust and sweat. “Do we hide?”
“They left a couple of vehicles at the bottom of the foothills. That’ll be a roadblock, waiting for us to try and break out. There’s probably a perimeter that we can’t see. Those SUVs will secure the site, and then they’ll search the area between here and the roadblock. If we hide, we’ll get stuck between.”
“Well, what do we do, then?”
“We need to move. The only question is how to get through whatever perimeter they’ve set up, without…”
“I might be able to help,” Daniel said, suddenly crouching beside them in the dead grass. “Assuming we survive getting there.”
“Daniel!” Chandi’s eyes widened. “How long have you...?”
“I just caught up with you two,” Daniel said, uncapping his canteen. “God, it’s really hot today, isn’t it?”
Simeon glanced back at the hills behind them and frowned. He pointed at a rising column of smoke, lazily climbing into the brightening sky.
“Is that what I think it is?”
“I set a fire,” Daniel said, smiling modestly. “Judging by how dry the hills are, I think the whole place might go.”
“But, that’s…” Chandi looked at them with alarm. “What if we get caught in it?”
“We just have to move faster than the fire,” Daniel said, pouring water into his mouth, and then over his head. “Not a big deal.”
“That’s debatable,” Simeon grumbled, shoving his field glasses back into his pack. “A fire was not part of the plan.”
“No, it was not,” Daniel agreed, wiping his mouth. “The situation changed. I had to improvise.”
Simeon hesitated. Chandi watched them both closely, clearly aware of the rising tension.
It was not the time, Simeon decided. Daniel was a problem that he would solve later.
“Come on,” he said, hoisting his pack. “Let’s get moving. Stay off the road. You can explain how the situation changed on the way.”
Simeon led, crushing the sun-beaten straw beneath his drab boots. It was a relief to his aching legs to be moving downhill, but his pack felt heavier than when he had arrived, straps digging into his shoulders and hips as he moved. Chandi followed at a small distance, the thorns and thistles wreaking havoc on her blouse and slacks, pebbles and coarse dirt sliding from beneath the soles of her sensible, square-heeled shoes. Daniel brought up the rear and kept a close eye on Chandi, grabbing her arm whenever she was in danger of slipping.
“You said the situation changed.” Simeon forced a path through a thicket of aromatic bushes. “What happened?”
“Aníbal was not the only Thule Operator who survived our entrance,” Daniel replied. “There was a telepath concealed in one of the back rooms. If she hadn’t knocked over something while she tried to slip out, I never even would have noticed her.”
“A telepath? Shit. Who?”
“I’m not sure,” Daniel said. “I didn’t get a chance to ask any questions. As soon as she realized her telepathic invisibility was compromised, she went at me.”
“You killed her?” Chandi looked disappointed. “Did you…?”
“A bullet to the head,” Daniel said, putting a finger gun to his temple. “The only cure for telepathy.”
“That’s terrible,” Chandi said, pulling stickers and barbed weeds from her pilled sweater. “What about Aníbal?”
“I kept my promise,” Daniel said. “He was alive when I left.”
“Do you think he followed you?” Simeon asked uneasily. “I don’t see anyone on the road...”
“He did not. I’m sure of it,” Daniel said, smirking. “I tied him to a chair after you left.”
“Daniel!” Chandi stopped in the middle of the trail, horrified. “You promised!”
“Relax, relax! I cut the cord around one of his hands before I left,” Daniel explained, patting Chandi on the head condescendingly. “He should have had no trouble freeing himself before the building caught. He seemed very motivated.”
Chandi smacked his hand away.
“That was not necessary,” she said forcefully. “That boy was a pawn at best…”
“A pawn who tortured people, civilians and Operators alike,” Daniel said. “He deserved worse than he got.”
“That’s enough talk,” Simeon said, glaring at them. “We need to keep moving.”
Chandi nodded, eyes blazing behind the scratched lenses of her glasses.
Daniel grinned and followed behind, his hands in his pockets.
Simeon pushed his way through the weeds, pausing occasionally to make sure they were well away from the road, but still parallel with it, and to check the progress of the fire behind them. The wind was cooperating for the moment, blowing infrequently and uphill, curbing the spread of the blaze. He moved as fast as he thought Chandi could safely manage, wincing each time he heard her slip, aware that a rolled ankle would leave him with a difficult decision.
The morning was as hot and bright as the perpetual cloud cover of Central would allow. Simeon’s fatigues clung to him and weighed him down, sweat pooling at the small of his back and in his wrinkled socks, making the interior of his boots slick. The air was dusty and smelled heavily of smoke, though it was mostly clear in their immediate area. The foothills were quiet but for the sound of their breathing as they struggled forward, and the crunch of the brush they forced their way through.
A stubborn thorn bush took a moment to navigate, leaving deep scratches along Simeon’s exposed forearms, and a sticky residue that made his skin break out in crimson hives. A gulley on the other side offered slightly easier progress, though they had to pick their way carefully through an accumulation of stone and gravel at the bottom. The depression provided a certain amount of shade and concealment, cutting a rough diagonal path across the grasslands, within easy distance of the nearby road.
The heat continued to increase, and the smoke in the air grew denser, fragrant with burning sagebrush. Simeon hurried them along as best he could, not pausing even for water, despite the increasing urgency of his thirst.
The sound of the engines did not carry well, but the sound of gravel crushed beneath tires was more obvious. Simeon called to Chandi and Daniel as he dropped to the ground, and both followed suit. Shedding his bag, Simeon wormed his way up the side of the gulley, peering at the road through dense mesquite. A moment later, Daniel crawled up beside him.
Two SUVs crept into view, one black and one off-white, picking their way carefully up the poorly maintained dirt road.
“Is that them?”
“I think so. That isn’t everyone I saw. There should be two more vehicles.”
“They must be setting guards,” Daniel suggested. “Something to trip us up if we sneak past this first lot.”
“Or they saw the fire and decided not to risk it.”
“Or that.”
“What do you think?”
“I thought you were in charge,” Daniel said, grinning. “You sure were acting like it. Run out of ideas?”
“If you want to turn invisible and slip out of here on your own, be my guest,” Simeon offered. “The mission is the important thing. No reason for both of us to die here.”
“I can hear you, you know!” Chandi called out.
“You can also see the future, or so I hear,” Simeon replied. “Should I pretend to spare your feelings?”
“I’ll bail if I feel like the two of you are completely screwed,” Daniel said. “I’d rather not lose a precog if I don’t have to.”
“You have a very strange relationship,” Chandi said. “Are you not friends at all?”
“We need to keep moving.” Simeon slid down the slope. “We’ll move further from the road, and…”
“Moving further from the road will slow us down,” Daniel said, sizing up the terrain. “It gets thicker out there. We really mi
ght get caught by the fire if we go that way.”
“Too bad someone set that fire, then,” Simeon said. “Do you have a better idea?”
“I’ll say something if I have something,” Daniel said, completely relaxed. “You’re doing such an excellent job, Simeon. I don’t want to mess with what’s working.”
“You are as difficult to read as your father,” Simeon said, pulling his pack on. “Let’s get moving, then.”
Simeon did his best to break a suitable path, but the bushes and thick grasses were resilient, springing back into place as soon as he passed. Chandi struggled gamely along, but her slow progress through the scrubland slowed their pace to a crawl.
He pushed his way through a thicket of intermingled blackberries and poison oak, and discovered a dry creek bed, the river stones beneath his boots as smooth and dry as polished bone.
“Come on,” he said, glancing back at the advancing wall of smoke, feeling heat across his face. “Let’s try this way.”
He helped Chandi down into the seasonal creek, and then waited for Daniel to climb down after her. She looked utterly spent and near collapse, while Daniel appeared fresh and untroubled. Simeon set off along the creek bed without a word, his head filled with a muddy stew of resentment and apprehension.
Their progress was much quicker along the stone floor of the creek, with a level surface to walk on and minimal plants and obstacles to contend with. They started to make time on the fire, the smell of smoke and the heat receding slightly as they went. Simeon got occasional glimpses of the road in breaks between the groups of bare elms and thirsty willows, tracking the progress of the two SUVs, which continued their cautious advance toward the fire.
“They have to turn soon,” Daniel observed, helping Chandi over the trunk of a fallen tree. “They can’t go up much further, or…”
“I know,” Simeon said. “We’ve got to keep moving.”
Chandi hesitated, staring back at the advancing front of grey smoke, now billowing black in the distance, where it was rapidly swallowing the former estate.
“There’s someone else,” Chandi decided, studying the burning brushland. “Behind us, not too far. The probabilities almost demand it.”
“Doesn’t matter either way,” Simeon said. “We are committed. Let’s keep moving.”
They hurried along the creek bed as fast as Chandi could go without falling. It was only timely interventions from Daniel that prevented her from tripping a dozen times on the treacherously smooth stone.
***
No one said anything on the van ride back to the hotel.
Hayley ended up seated beside Min-jun, spending the entire drive through Vegas traffic as far away from him as the bench seat would allow.
She glanced up as they neared the hotel, and noticed Xia looking at her in the rearview mirror.
Hayley met his eyes, and then slowly nodded.
“Hey,” she said. “Anyone want to watch a movie when we get back?”
***
They lay prone inside a thicket of brambles that worked its way into their clothing and pricked at their skin, watching a group of buildings a few hundred meters down the slope. Maxim stoically ignored the buzzing insects that pestered him and the sweat that dripped into his eyes, while Gabby flailed and swatted, cursing when the thorns dug deeper as a result.
He stopped scolding her after a few minutes, tiring of repeating himself.
“How long are we going to stay here?”
“Until I figure out what they are doing.”
“Who? Who are they?”
“The three down there in the brush. I know them,” Maxim said grimly. “Simeon Yurchenko and Daniel Gao. Black Sun Operators, and…”
“Your rivals, in Anastasia’s sick competition to kill my family.”
“That’s the one,” Maxim said. “That’s Chandi Tuesday with them.”
“That’s good, though, isn’t it? It saves you the trouble of having to rescue her. You think they are up to getting her out of there, right?”
“Oh yeah, if it comes to fighting,” Maxim confirmed. “Daniel’s probably up to it on his own.”
“Then all we need to do is climb that hill and go around.”
Maxim removed the scope from his rifle and stowed it in a padded pouch attached to his pack.
“We could do that…”
Maxim strapped his rifle to his pack. Gabby sighed and futilely tried to brush away the midges that continually probed her eyes and mouth.
“Or we could go meet your friends,” Gabby said. “Have you decided to introduce me?”
“Simeon might at least think about a conversation,” Maxim said, tightening straps. “Daniel, you don’t want to meet.”
“Okay, what do we do, then?”
“I’m thinking this is my last chance,” Maxim said. “To do something about you.”
Gabby folded her arms, and then laid her head on them, facing him with her eyes closed.
“We can’t just keep moving forward without a plan. You have the gun, and I’ve dropped my shields,” Gabby said. “The decision is entirely yours.”
Maxim looked at the gun on his belt.
“Yeah,” he said. “I suppose that it is.”
***
“Look,” Daniel said, pointing straight ahead. “We’ve got a problem.”
Simeon raised his eyes wearily, and then came to a sudden stop. Chandi nearly collapsed behind him, her hands on her thighs and her chest heaving.
“Smoke,” Simeon said unnecessarily. “The fire must have…”
“Fire is unpredictable,” Daniel said cavalierly. “We’ve got to turn around.”
“Toward the road?” Chandi gasped. “They’ll be waiting!”
“They’ll be waiting for us at the gate, too,” Daniel pointed out reasonably. “If we stay just in front of the fire, we might be able to hit those SUVs when they’re about to abandon their position. You saw how they struggled with that first turn.”
Simeon took another look at what was in front of them. Now that Daniel had pointed out the smoke rising from behind the hill, he was starting to think he could see the faintest glow of the flames, too.
“I’ve got nothing better,” Simeon said, shoulders slumping beneath his weighty pack. “Let’s do it.”
“We’re going to die,” Chandi said, her voice robotic in its emotionlessness.
“Is that your opinion as a precog?” Daniel asked flippantly. “Or are you just scared?”
“It’s not an opinion,” Chandi said. “And it’s not for certain. I’d describe it as extremely likely.”
“Worry about staying alive right now,” Simeon said, urging them on. “The future will take of itself.”
“That’s a common misconception,” Chandi said, limping on sore feet, the heel broken clean off her right shoe. “It never does.”
Daniel opened his mouth to retort, but never got the chance, as Chandi took a wrong step, and tumbled to the dirt, clutching her ankle.
***
Just behind him, Gabby groaned.
“Oh, God! They went the wrong way!”
“Yeah,” Maxim said, a sour look on his face. “Simeon and Daniel are brilliant Operators, but I don’t think either of them knows much about orienteering.”
Maxim glanced at the hills across the valley, where the red glow of a rapidly expanding grassfire was cresting the ridge.
“They must think the fire is only behind them,” Maxim said. “In a minute, they are going to realize they are headed right for another fire, but by then…”
“It’ll be too late,” Gabby said, grinning. “Do you care?”
“What?”
“Do you care enough to get involved?” Gabby gestured at their perch atop the ridge, opposite the burning hills. “We picked the right way. We can loop around the fire and whoever my cartel has stationed at the bottom of the hill and hit the main road halfway to Central. We could be there before it gets dark, if we hurry.”
Maxim gave her a
resentful glance but did not argue.
“Those are your rivals, down there. If one of the four is already dead, then that’s your entire competition.”
“They would kill you in a heartbeat,” Maxim grumbled. “Let’s be honest about our motivations.”
“I am being honest. I’ll say it as many times as you need me to. I want to live, Maxim. I want you to live through this, too.”
“Why would you care?”
“I’m an empath, and it’s been an intense day and a half, filled with trying experiences,” Gabby explained matter-of-factly. “We’ve already become quite close, don’t you think? I’ve honestly never had a friend before. I don’t want to lose the first one I’ve ever made.”
“We aren’t friends,” Maxim said. “Get it through your head. I’m just buying time.”
“Before you shoot me?” Gabby asked calmly. “I suppose you’ll have to cut my head off, so your Mistress can have her sick trophy. Could you cut my head off, Maxim?”
“Shut up,” Maxim said, staring out over the valley, now about half alight. “I’m trying to think.”
Gabby smiled at him and sat down on a nearby rock.
Maxim watched the two SUVs that had attempted to reach the estate perform the laborious process of turning about on the narrow dirt road, taking turns maneuvering the four- or five-point turn for fear of ambush. Two other vehicles waited beside the stone gates of the estate, blocking the most obvious point of egress.
Daniel and Simeon were following a dry creek bed across the lowest part of the valley, toward the hills on the other side of the valley, making slow progress, likely because Chandi Tuesday was damaged from her captivity. He imagined that Daniel would be frustrated, but truthfully, she was saving them from walking straight into an inferno.
Any moment, and one of them would notice, and they would turn around.
If they ran for the road, they might still be able to beat the fire, but there would be no other option.
There was no place from them to go but where Thule forces waited, no doubt confident that they could beat the fire in their vehicles if it came to that.
The Church of Sleep (Central Series Book 5) Page 25