By now my vision has cleared to the point that I can make out Alex’s face, which is awash in a mask of anguish and anger. And his hands are shaking like crazy. He seems confused… uncertain… scared. That’s good. That means he’s open to a dialogue. There’s a chance I can talk him out of making the biggest mistake of his life… a mistake I was more than willing to make up until an hour ago.
Alex shoots me the briefest of glances before focusing back on Klaxton. “You… you agree that Klaxton should die?”
“Well, yes,” I say, ignoring Klaxton’s outraged mutterings. “She’s a cold-hearted bitch who deserves a bullet in the skull. But the Chinese want her alive. Why don’t you put down your gun and we can…”
“I’m not stupid, Boom Boom,” Alex says, cutting me off. “I lower this gun, and you’ll deliver a roundhouse kick to the back of my head. Just like you did before. Fool me once, shame on you… but I’m not about to give you another chance to shame me.”
“How did you find us anyway?” I ask in a desperate attempt to buy us some more time.
Alex shakily replies, “I pretended to be unconscious when you were beating the shit out of me back at the river bank. Once you took off for the village, I jumped up and followed you. I crouched behind some bushes and watched you and Lance butcher Pitbull. Then when you guys hopped into a flying car and took off, I ran to the back of the village and found another vehicle. I followed you guys here and made my move. I’m sorry things have to be this way, Boom Boom, but I’m doing what’s necessary to stop this war. Unlike you, I haven’t been brainwashed by Grenade. I still know the difference between right and wrong. And allowing Klaxton to live would be the epitome of wrong.”
“Oh really?” I say. “You’re proclaiming to be the moral authority here? Because of you and your buddy, Pitbull, an entire nation of indigenous natives have been massacred! Was it really necessary to commit genocide just to bring down one woman?”
My words hit Alex like a dagger to the heart. He falters and turns to me. I notice Klaxton beginning to budge, like she’s going to try and attack Alex while he’s not looking. If she does that, she’s dead. I give an almost imperceptible shake of my head and mouth ‘Stay down’. To her credit, she stays put. It’s about time someone fucking listened to me.
With tears spilling out of his eyes, Alex says, “I never meant for that to happen. I wish things could have gone differently. But what was I supposed to do?! You were going to help Klaxton escape justice! You were going to help her kill LeBeau! What happened with the Chiquito was a tragedy, but you… you were going to commit an act of treason!”
“Alex, I… wait, don’t!”
Alex turns back to Klaxton and begins to pull the trigger of his gun. Not knowing what else to do, I whip out my own pistol and press it against the side of Alex’s head.
“You pull that trigger and I’ll blow your fucking brains out!” I scream. “I’m not fucking kidding!!”
Alex flashes a grim smile. Still staring down at Klaxton, he quietly says, “You’re not fooling anyone, Boom Boom. We all know you won’t kill me. I… I love you. And I know you love me.”
“Alex, please, I’m begging you, don’t make me do this,” I say in between choked sobs, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Please… just put the gun down.”
Lance blurts out, “Boom Boom, don’t let him…”
“Shut the fuck up, Lance!” I scream. I’m under enough pressure as it is. The last thing I need is Lance’s unsolicited advice.
The compound suddenly grows eerily quiet, save for Klaxton’s heavy breathing, Krystal’s moaning, and my muffled sobs.
Alex finally breaks the silence. Speaking in a cool, calm voice that contrasts sharply with our tense stand-off, he says, “Like I said, you won’t kill me. I’ve never been more certain of anything in my entire life. I know you, Boom Boom, and you aren’t capable of killing someone you love.”
Alex straightens out his right arm, his index finger nervously twitching against the trigger. For the first time since I’ve known her, I detect the slightest hint of fear in Klaxton’s otherwise cold, calculating eyes.
“Don’t worry, Madam President, I’ll make sure your death is quick and painless,” Alex says so calmly that he might as well be talking about the weather. “It’ll all be over soon.”
“Alex, no,” I whisper.
Alex presses down on the trigger.
BLAM!
“Noooo!!” Lance cries.
I step back and glance down at Klaxton. Her eyes are wide open, as is her mouth. She looks down at her chest, then looks up at me. She’s not bleeding. Her brains aren’t splattered all over the floor. It doesn’t look like she was shot anywhere. But I heard the gun go off. What happened…?
I turn toward Alex. The sight that awaits my horror-struck eyes will live with me for the rest of my days. Alex falls sideways and collapses onto the concrete floor. Blood pours out of the side of his head. Skull fragments and chunks of brain matter litter the ground next to him.
I look down at my gun. A thin plume of transparent smoke spirals out of the barrel.
“No…,” I whisper in revulsion.
I turn toward Lance. He looks as shocked as Klaxton.
The enormity of what just transpired careens into me like an F5 tornado. I drop my gun and fall to my knees.
“Noo!!! I didn’t mean to… I didn’t… Alex… ALEX!!!”
My howls of anguish sound almost animalistic. So many tears spill out of my eyes and trickle down my chest that a puddle of water seeps out from beneath my knees.
Klaxton pushes herself up and grabs my arm. “You did the right thing, my dear. He would have killed me if you hadn’t---”
I wrench my wrist out of Klaxton’s grasp. “Don’t touch me, you fucking bitch!! This is all your fault!! YOUR FAULT!!!!”
Klaxton holds up her hands and says, “I understand you’re upset, but---”
I pull back my fist and sock Klaxton right in the jaw. She falls flat on her back, smacking her head against the unforgiving concrete floor.
“You goddamn bitch,” I growl, grabbing my gun and pointing it at her throat.
Klaxton’s eyelids flutter open and she holds up her hands again. This time they’re shaking.
“Firecracker,” Lance says with a grimace as he staggers to his feet. He immediately falls back against the flying car. “Put the gun down, Firecracker. You don’t want to---”
I point the gun at Lance and fire off a shot. He ducks down and covers his head. The bullet whizzes past his left ear and slams into the passenger side window of the car, shattering it into hundreds of jagged pieces. I merely fired a warning shot, so Lance knows to shut the fuck up. He apparently gets the message because he doesn’t say anything else.
I swing my gun back toward Klaxton. “Give me one good reason, you bitch. One good reason why I shouldn’t end your miserable existence.”
Klaxton looks me square in the eyes and replies, “Because that would make Alex’s execution utterly pointless. Do you really want your boyfriend’s death to mean nothing?”
Klaxton’s response both shocks and infuriates me.
“What the fuck did you just say?” I shout, jabbing my gun at her.
“You heard me,” Klaxton says, sounding much braver than her shaky hands would imply. “You just executed a handsome young man you obviously had strong feelings for. And why did you execute him? Because you felt he was about to make a terrible mistake. Rightly so, I might add. And now I’m supposed to believe that after all that, you’re going to go ahead and make the exact same mistake he almost made? Seems pretty ridiculous to me. Now put down the goddamn gun, help me up, and let’s get the fuck out of here before we all end up as dead as the boy you just murdered.”
I grit my teeth and snarl, “Wrong fucking answer.”
Klaxton’s eyes widen in terror as Lance screams in the background, “Boom Boom, NOOOOO!!!”
Lance’s desperate cries for reason are drowned out by thunderous gunfire
.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
Ten consecutive shots fired, in a matter of seconds. I remove my index finger from the trigger and step back to survey my handiwork. Klaxton removes her quivering hands from her ghostly-white face and stares up at me in a combination of shock, horror, and disbelief. She then looks to her right. Less than two inches from her head are ten bullet holes, all bunched together.
Klaxton looks back up at me and says in a very loud voice, “Shit, I think you just destroyed my eardrums. I also think you’ve made your point. I… I’m sorry if I angered you. What I said was wrong. You stopped that young man from killing me, and for that, I owe you my life.”
I drop my gun and collapse to my knees. Plunging my face into my sweaty hands, I sob, “Alex… what did I do?”
My entire body trembles as I bawl uncontrollably. Darkness has descended upon my soul. Nothing feels like it will ever be okay again.
Lance crouches down beside me. “Come on, Boom Boom, we need to go.”
I shove Lance in the chest and scream, “Get away from me! Just leave me alone!” I know I sound like a petulant child, but I don’t give a flying fuck.
Lance is about to something, but he’s interrupted by the thumping sound of approaching footsteps. Many, many footsteps.
“No. No no no, they’ve found us!” Klaxton cries in terror, pushing herself off the ground. “Quick, get into one of the jets! Hurry up, all of you!”
Klaxton and Lance hoist my arms over their shoulders. As much as I want to attack both of them, I keep my emotions in check. Now is not the time to vent my rage and frustration. Nor is it the time to stand our ground and fight. Now is the time to flee.
Klaxton and Lance push me through the hatch door before turning back to get Grenade, who has finally started to stir. While they’re picking him up, Krystal staggers into the jet, still woozy from Alex’s attack. Klaxton and Lance return with Grenade a few seconds later, grunting under his dead weight. As soon as they drop him onto the floor of the cabin, Klaxton presses the button to close the hatch door. It slides shut just as a dozen soldiers burst into the hangar and open fire. Bullets bounce off the bullet-proof armor encasing the jet. The constant rat-a-tat-a-tat sound only exacerbates my throbbing headache.
“Get us out of here, Krystal!” Lance shouts.
“What the fuck you think I’m trying to do?” Krystal grumbles, lumbering into the cockpit and starting up the plane.
“Get out of the jet, now! You’re all under arrest for treason!” a muffled voice shouts from outside. I barely hear him over all the gunfire.
“Krystal, come on!” Lance says nervously as the soldiers focus their gunfire on the plane’s front windshield. The bullet-proof glass does its job of deflecting the bullets, but the accumulative concussive force of all the gunshots is causing the windshield to vibrate. And a crack begins to form in the middle. If we sit here for another minute or so, that glass is going to shatter. And then we all die.
Thankfully we start to move a few seconds later. Krystal switches on the plane’s propellers and we jerk upwards, causing Lance and me to lose our balance and topple to the floor. We both crawl over to bolted-down chairs and strap ourselves in. Grenade is still on the floor, so he slides a few feet into the back, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
Bullets continue to ping the plane as we fly higher and higher into the air. I hear a whooshing sound, and we burst out of the roof of the compound and into the jungle sky. I look out the cracked windshield to find a circular opening in the jungle floor. That must be the camouflaged roof of the compound. The circular doorway quickly closes back up, swallowing the hail of gunfire that was, until just a second ago, continuing to stream toward us.
“Whew, we made it,” Klaxton says from the cockpit, heaving a sigh of relief.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Lance says glumly. “I’ll feel a lot better once we land in Alaska.”
“Way to ruin the mood,” Krystal comments as she puts the plane on autopilot and joins us in the cabin. “All I know is we are some lucky sons of bitches. There’s no reason we should have escaped from the Amazon alive.”
“Somehow I don’t feel that lucky,” I whisper, blinking back tears.
Krystal sits down next to me and gives me a hug. Seeing as how she’s the only person on the plane I’m not furious with, I gratefully accept her warm embrace.
“Thanks, Krystal,” I say, patting her on the back. I’m still trying to get used to seeing her without her wig. She looks so different with her short, natural hair.
I look over Krystal’s shoulder and glare at Klaxton. She’s decided to join us in the cabin as well. Why, I have no idea. I guess she’s wanting to get punched in the face.
“I hate to interrupt this tender moment,” she says coldly, “but we need to start discussing our game plan once we arrive at Abyss Zone 7. I have a few ideas on how we should go about---”
“Can you give us a minute?” Lance snaps, cutting her off.
Klaxton narrows her eyes and mutters, “As you wish.”
She then retreats back into the shadows of the cockpit.
Lance turns to me and says, “Look, Boom Boom, I’m sorry. About Alex… about everything. I… I know what you’re going through.”
“No you don’t,” I say bluntly.
Lance cocks an eyebrow and replies, “Um, yes I do. In case you’ve forgotten, I watched River die. I was really starting to fall for her.”
I suddenly feel like the world’s biggest jerk. I’ve been so self-absorbed with my own loss, I completely forgot Lance just lost someone he cared deeply about. He knows precisely what I’m going through. Well, almost.
“I’m sorry, Lance,” I say quietly. “I know you liked River. What happened to her was horrible. She didn’t deserve that. But you’re not the one who killed her. Pitbull did. And you got your revenge. I’m the one who killed Alex. It wasn’t Pitbull. It wasn’t some nameless goon in the jungle. It was me. I pulled the trigger. I killed him! I did!”
“Firecracker, he didn’t give you a choice,” Lance says in a feeble attempt to make me feel better.
“I mean, this is even worse than when Arrow died!” I cry, completely ignoring Lance. “At least in that case I wasn’t the one who murdered him. She killed him!”
I point a quivering finger at Klaxton, who turns around in her seat in the cockpit and frowns. She considers me for a moment before slowly turning back around. It’s the smartest decision she ever made. If she kept on staring at me for even one more second with that haughty, disdainful look on her face, I would have blown her brains out.
Grenade starts coughing up more blood. Lance and I rush to his side.
“Grenade, are you okay?” Lance asks, holding his bruised and battered head up.
Blood trickles out of Grenade’s cracked lips as he utters, “I… I… I feel like fucking shit…”
I smile sadly and say, “Hey, if you feel pain, that means you’re still alive. Pain… pain can be a good thing…”
My voice cracks near the end. I don’t know who I’m trying to fool. We all know what’s happening here.
Grenade opens his lone remaining bionic eyeball, which fizzles on and off for a few seconds before finally glowing red. “W… what happened? Where are we?”
“We’re on a plane to Alaska,” Lance says, clutching Grenade’s human hand. “We got out of the Amazon in one piece. Your mission… our mission… is right on track.”
Grenade closes his eye and flashes a faint smile. “Good. That’s real good, kid.”
He then starts coughing again, spitting up so much blood that Lance and I are forced to back away so we don’t get drenched in it.
“Krystal, let’s see if we can find some rags to mop up this blood,” Lance suggests, his voice sounding just as shaky as mine.
While Krystal and Lance open up cabinets and storage closets in the hunt for towels, I collapse into a chair and put my head in my hands. I know now i
s not the time for self-pity, but I feel like I’m on the verge of losing my mind. Is this how people go insane? Nothing makes sense anymore. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. And worse of all, I feel dead inside. Completely, totally, 100% dead. What I wouldn’t do for some pills. Now I understand why Lance is having such a hard time giving up his drugs. I weaned myself off of my addiction a few months ago, but I would throw all that progress out the window if someone handed me a bottle of pills. It’s amazing how quickly and easily someone can relapse. All it takes is one traumatic moment to plunge you back into the dark abyss of addiction. And we’ve had like fifty traumatic moments happen to us, so we’re really at risk here.
World War Forever (Highway To Armageddon Book 2) Page 46