by Joss Ware
That answered one of the questions he and Jade had discussed: apparently light, at least this bright, was painful to the gangas.
Elliott managed to get the tanning bed arranged so that it blocked the doorway into the hall, trapping the gangas on one side of the backroom door—and those coming from the mall. That left him and Theo an expanse of service hallway down which to dash and find an exterior door that actually opened.
“Go,” Theo gasped. “I’ll stay here until you have the door open.”
“What— never mind,” Elliott said. He’d figure it out later, but the best he could tell was that Theo’s hand was inside the box into which the tanning bed had been plugged. Was he giving it some sort of energy? A power surge?
He ran down the hall, prepared for any straggling gangas, looking for a door illuminated by the glow from the tanning bed.
At last, he found one, two storefronts away from TropiTan. He began to work on the door immediately, kicking and slamming it as he’d done the other service door—but he needed the metal clothes stand that he’d used last time.
There was nothing in the hall that would help. Elliott glanced back down toward the tanning bed and its glow.
Theo was on the ground, pack over his shoulder. He wasn’t moving. Shit.
Elliott had one bottle bomb left. If this didn’t work, they were fucked. Digging it out of his pack, he shoved the wick into the bottle and set the whole thing on top of the door’s push-bar apparatus. He lit the wick, praying, and took off back to Theo.
Ka-boom!
The explosion rocked the small passageway, sending echoes reverberating through his ears and debris flying just as Elliott reached Theo in a base-stealing dive.
He picked him up, saw that Theo’s hand had slipped from inside the bricklike thing, and snatched that up too, yanking the tanning bed’s plug free. The gangas he’d been blinding were nowhere in sight, but the sounds of their groans still rumbled through the murky darkness. They would be back as soon as they realized the light had gone.
Praying that the bomb had destroyed or at least loosened the doorknob apparatus, he dashed unsteadily back down the corridor. Theo was a solid sonofabitch, and with that pack, he was even more of a burden.
He got to the door to find it still completely closed. Shit. He’d hoped it would be blown wide. He gasped for air, trying to catch his breath, and let Theo slip gently to the ground. He was a deadweight, and lay there unmoving. What the hell had the guy done to himself?
Elliott didn’t have time to worry about it now. The moans were coming closer again, and he had one more chance to get this door open. He examined it in the dim light and found, with relief, that the push bar seemed to be loose.
Saying a prayer, he slammed his foot against it as hard as he could . . . and the door flew open. Sunlight splashed over him and the prone Theo, and, after a quick look to make sure there weren’t any nasty surprises on the other side, Elliott wasted no time in pulling Theo out with him.
“Theo,” he said, bending to his companion.
The man groaned, opened his eyes, then squinted in the bright light. “Good going,” he said. “Let’s go. I’ll be fine in a bit.”
Elliott took him at his word, and moments later he shoved Theo into the passenger seat and helped him buckle in his limp body. Then he slid into the driver’s seat after retrieving the keys he’d hidden.
He started the engine and realized he had absolutely no fucking idea which direction to go.
Chapter 20
Elliott had started to drive west, toward the ocean, hoping that he’d either pick up the trail of the other humvee or that some other brilliant idea would strike him.
“Any ideas where we’re heading?” he asked, glancing over at Theo.
Theo had pulled himself up a little and seemed to be regaining some color. “Hemps Point. Maybe.” He nodded in approval, but remained slumped. “It’s got to be west, by the ocean.”
Elliott frowned. Why did that sound familiar?
“It’s my best guess, based on what I was able to find out at Valley Way,” Theo continued. His voice was getting stronger, but Elliott noticed his fingers had tightened over the handle next to him. “This was the first time I was able to hack into the system that the Strangers use to communicate with their bounty hunters like Marck. That’s why I was there so long, I got in and was able to keep a good connection because Valley Way is an access point—you know, one of the anchors of the system.”
“Did you know about the slave cargo?” Elliott asked grimly.
“I got that there was going to be an important shipment, that part of it was coming from Envy, but I didn’t know it was freaking people. I thought what Jade did—furniture or some other goods. But Hemps Point kept coming up in the Chatter, and the Friday date too, so I think it’s a good guess—”
“The map!” Elliott exclaimed, cutting him off as he slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “That’s it. It is Hemps Point. That’s why I knew it.” His mind raced as he tried to remember the details of the drawing he’d only glanced at. Shit.
“Map?”
He quickly explained about Geoff Pinglett and his friends, and the map that had been found in their van by the mysterious archer. “Hemps Point was on the map—that’s how I know the name.”
“Do you have it with you?”
“Dammit, no. It’s back in Envy. Jade and I didn’t see any reason to bring it with us. What?”
Theo had bent to dig in his pack. “I can take care of that,” he said. “I should be able to connect through the Strangers’ network back to the one in Envy. We’re still close enough to Valley Way to get access, I think—and if I know Sage, she’ll be at the computers anyway. We can get the information about the map from her. But you’re going to have to stop so we don’t go out of range.”
Elliott pulled over under a tree that had sprouted next to a decrepit supermarket, and watched as the computer geek pulled out a small, paperback-sized computer and the little bricklike plug he’d used to power the tanning bed. And then another small object that looked like it had antennas.
“What are you, a walking Radio Shack?” he asked. “And a library?” He saw that a couple of books had fallen from the pack—probably scavenged from the mall. And they weren’t computer manuals. “Gone with the Wind? Nora Roberts?”
Theo snatched them back and stuffed them into the pack. “They’re not for me.”
“So you gonna tell me what’s up with that plug thing?” Elliott asked. Although he figured he sort of knew.
While the computer was booting up, Theo turned in his seat so that his back was to Elliott. He yanked the hem of the stained T-shirt from his jeans, exposing his lower left back.
Elliott saw another dragon tattoo curling around his hip and disappearing down behind Theo’s belt . . . and then he saw the eye of the dragon. Right where, just a little while earlier, he had noticed an odd formation when he scanned Theo, in the fleshy part near the spine.
“Is that a crystal?” he said. “Embedded in your skin? Like the Strangers.”
“I didn’t have it embedded, it was an accident. And it’s not really a crystal. It’s an IC—an integrated circuit. When the earthquakes hit during the Change, I was three floors beneath the surface in a safe room working on the backup systems for one of the casinos. Things went ballistic, computers exploded and imploded, and I got knocked out . . . and, apparently, an IC embedded in my skin.”
“Talk about being wired,” Elliott said as Theo replaced his shirt and began to type on the small keyboard.
Theo rolled his eyes. “As if I haven’t heard that one before.”
“Why didn’t you remove the circuit?” Elliott asked.
“Believe it or not, at first, I didn’t realize what it was. I thought it was just a cut—it didn’t hurt, and it’s not in an area that I could easily look at. I wasn’t really hurt anywhere so I never had a thorough look.” He shrugged, tapped a few keys, and looked at Elliott. “There were so many m
ore important things to be taken care of in that time. Three weeks after the world was destroyed, I wasn’t worried about a fucking cut, or even a little piece of metal or glass—especially if it didn’t hurt or wasn’t noticeable.”
“I guess you had a few other things on your mind.” Elliott nodded. “But later. . . .”
“I feel a sizzle of energy in that area when I need the extra . . . I guess . . . adrenaline.”
“But you don’t age. Does this mean you’re immortal?” Elliott asked, wondering about Fence’s stubble . . . and whether he’d ever have to shave himself again.
“It took a long time, but my body has finally started to age. I’ve acquired some gray hairs in the last five years. Am I immortal? How would I know?” He laughed sharply. “I hope the hell not, but I’m not interested in any experimentation.”
“So the plug thing? What does that do?”
Still typing, adjusting the little antennas on what was likely some sort of wireless router, Theo explained, “I can gather and pull up the energy as needed. Although, as you saw, I’m wiping the floor afterward. But this little device helps to channel it more easily into anything that plugs in. I don’t need it, but it’s more efficient and fast.”
As he spoke, he slipped his hand into the little brick and plugged the other end into the router. Lights began to blink and as Elliott watched, Theo’s face began to lengthen and pale. He obviously wasn’t fully recovered from the previous exertion of energy.
“Want me to type?” Elliott asked, watching him try to do so with one hand.
“Thanks, s’all right. I’m hacking, so it’s not . . . straightforward,” he replied, his words a bit slurred.
This left Elliott with little to do but watch and wait and chafe . . . knowing that as the moments passed, Jade was getting farther and farther away. And Theo, his link to Envy and the others, was getting weaker and weaker.
“I’m in,” Theo said after what seemed like forever, but was probably only a few minutes. “Now, come on Sage, baby . . . be there for me.” The keys clicked softly, and Elliott watched over his shoulder.
“Ah, there she is. I knew it,” Theo said a second later. A smile lit his strained face, and Elliott suspected it wasn’t just because he’d succeeded in the connection. So that was the way that wind blew. The books must be for Sage.
Hi, Theo typed, with the speed of light, not even looking at the keys or screen. I’m fine. Elliott w me. Jade w Marck. Nd map frm Geoff P’s van. ASAP. BRB fr info.
He pulled his hand out of the little brick, eyes glazed, sweat trickling down his temple. His breath rasped loudly through the vehicle for a moment, and Elliott wished there was something he could do to help, other than sit. And wait.
Wait. Hope.
Not think about Jade.
Not remember with every agonizing detail what it had been like . . . every touch, taste, sound . . . the warm silk of her skin, the fresh lemony-Jade smell, the heavy weight of her hair. Hair that she’d shaved in defiance of Preston . . . the man who would soon have her in his possession again.
Thanks in part to Luke of the mega-fucking-crystal. A wash of red glazed his vision for a moment. He was going to kill Luke when he was done here.
There would be an innocent little trip to Greenside, where he’d scan and heal Della . . . and then he’d fucking shake Luke’s hand, beat the living shit out of him, and leave the bastard to die somewhere alone. Where the gangas wouldn’t even find him, so it would be long and slow and agonizing. . . .
Elliott flattened his lips, pulling out of the fantasy, uneasy with how quickly his thoughts had moved along that trail. Yet the desire lingered, deep and dark.
For what punishment, what law enforcement was there in this world?
He looked at Theo. “I’m going after Luke Bagadasian when we’re done here. I’ll bring him back to Envy, to Rogan, or whoever . . . but he’s got to pay for what he did to Jade, selling her out.” He’d even had a picture of her in his desk, Elliott remembered. Likely to help identify her to the Strangers.
Theo met his eyes and shook his head regretfully. “There are law enforcement and security guards that keep order in Envy,” he said, seeming to choose his words carefully as much from weariness as thought, “but outside . . . well, it is a little like the Wild West. There’s no far-reaching authority, no real governing body over all of the little settlements. That’s one thing Rogan’s trying to do—to create some sort of system of marshals and law enforcement. It’s difficult, too, with the added threat of the Strangers and their hold over us.” His eyes were dark and very sober. “It’s a different world we live in. Very . . . gray.”
Elliott looked away. Did that mean each man was a law unto himself? That if he wanted justice, he must mete it out on his own? He looked at his hands. Healing hands. Not murdering ones.
He drew in a deep breath. One thing at a time. Jade first. Always.
“So can you use your energy for things like . . . well, like if we run out of gas in this thing?” Elliott asked, changing the subject. He realized with a shock that he’d never noticed the gas gauge since they left Envy. That would just be about right if they ran out of gas halfway to Hemps Point.
Theo nodded. “In some cases, but not for an extended time.”
“Good to know.”
They waited another three or four minutes, then Theo stuck his hand back into the brick and turned on the router again. Moments later, he’d connected once again and Sage, efficient as she was, had the information ready so that it came through almost as if they were on a live chat.
Ur amazing. Tx. Have bks 4 u. Back soon.
Elliott almost—almost—felt guilty reading that over his shoulder, though the exchange wasn’t really that intimate. Still. Though the words were innocuous, the expression on Theo’s face said it all: he was just as desperate to return to this woman as Elliott was to find Jade.
He saw Sage’s return message: Help’s coming. Tell Elliott: Simon, Wyatt, Fence. On their way to Hemps Point.
Theo replied: Sage U rock my wrld. Hi to L.
And then, as if bidding a final farewell, he unplugged himself slowly from the brick, face white and tight, his mouth so flat the little bristles of his soul patch stuck straight out. “Let’s get the hell going and hope we can do this.”
Elliott had no reason to argue.
Sage’s directions were clear and explicit, and by the time the sun had settled just above the horizon, Elliott and Theo saw the sparkle of the ocean beyond the low rise of a hill. Near the shore, which bumped out into a little point, was a large structure that at first glimpse looked like a small island with a house on it.
They’d made it without running out of gas, but the humvee was low on fuel. Elliott had a feeling he was going to need Theo’s energy to get them far away from there . . . if they made it out safely.
Parking the vehicle inside an old McDonald’s—which had huge drive-in holes where a play area had once been—Elliott once again secreted the keys for a quick escape.
“What’s the plan?” asked Theo, digging through his pack. He pulled out the books for Sage, and a few other items that didn’t appear to have any bearing on his electronics or their capabilities, and left them on the floor of the truck.
“Find Jade, find the kids, get the fuck out of there,” Elliott said, already knowing it wouldn’t be that easy. “If we get separated, you go for the kids. I’m not leaving without Jade.”
Theo met his eyes with clear blue ones, like Lou’s . . . but younger. Hard to comprehend they were twins, but for those eyes and the way their mouths moved when deep in thought. “Deal.”
“Uh . . . there’s one other thing you should know,” Elliott said as they got out of the humvee. “I’ve got my own super power.” He explained the situation, ending with, “So if something happens, and I touch someone to heal them . . . don’t touch me.”
“Holy pups,” Theo said. “And I thought my problem sucked.”
“Not nearly as much as mine.” E
lliott bared his teeth in a humorless smile. “First things first . . . let’s stake out the place.”
He didn’t think anyone would have seen the vehicle approaching, for the terrain was ripe with trees and tall grasses, and lots of buildings. A state highway must have passed through here, and settled in a small town, for there were fast-food places, stores, and gas stations galore—plenty of structures that had once held the essence of America.
As they drew closer, Elliott realized it was not an island, but some sort of floating platform. The building on it had three rows of windows and was long and low and white, with balconies that circled it at every level. It looked a little like a square cruise ship plopped on top of a low, compact aircraft carrier.
Other than the houseboat, there were no other water vehicles.
“That’s got to be the boat,” he whispered to Theo. “They’re going to put the cargo—the kids—on there, if they haven’t already, and take the whole damn thing. It’s big enough.”
“Nothing like traveling in style,” Theo said.
Elliott noticed two other humvees parked inside a large structure with an entire wall missing, and hoped that one of the vehicles was the one Jade had been transported in. “That way,” he said, pointing to the right, where a whole line of trees shaded an old road that led down to the water. There didn’t appear to be any guards or watchtowers, or anything to suggest that the houseboat was protected. Bold bastards.
But then again, what did they have to fear? They had engineered the destruction of the whole damn world. They were immortal. They had the advantage of power and secrecy. Why would they expect anyone to know or even care about a small little houseboat fifty miles from Envy or any other human settlement?
Elliott and Theo cruised along the ridge of trees, keeping out of sight but moving quickly. By the time they got close enough to see a single person standing on the deck of the houseboat, another humvee had approached.
Dodging inside an old garage, Elliott and Theo watched as the humvee pulled up and a single man got out. Luke Bagadasian.