Disruption

by Shirvington, Jessica

  ‘This goes beyond reasonable,’ Gus grumbled as another tree branch smacked him in the face. ‘I really think I tore a muscle climbing over the fence.’

  ‘I’m sure you’ll survive,’ I mumbled, trying not to think about the last time I’d climbed a fence. Or more accurately, who I’d been climbing it with.

  ‘Are there snakes out here?’ Gus went on.

  I didn’t respond. Mostly because I didn’t know the answer. All I knew was that we had approximately five minutes left to make it to the southern point of the eighty-eight-acre island between Arlington and Washington DC. Given that the island was officially closed from dusk and easily visible from the mainland, we couldn’t even risk the aid of a flashlight to help us find our way.

  It felt dangerously exposed, and yet, even as we heard the sounds of the multi-lane highway that travelled over the top of us, the island itself was deserted.

  ‘It should be just through these trees,’ I said, pulling out my tranq gun and checking it was loaded. No secret Travis and I weren’t besties. I’d shoved my taser in my back pocket too.

  Gus and I followed the directions we’d been given and arrived at the small clearing at the highest point of the southern plateau.

  ‘Ever get the feeling you’ve found yourself smack bang in the middle of a low-budget horror movie, and you’re only an extra?’ Gus whispered beside me.

  I nodded. This was so wrong.

  My hands twitched at my side and I was about to give Gus the green light to run screaming when a guy emerged from the nearby trees.

  ‘You Maggie?’ he said, keeping his distance and staying in the darkness.

  ‘Yep,’ I said, impressed it hadn’t come out like a whimper. Yeah, not scared at all.

  ‘Travis is waiting for you. Follow me.’ He turned and started walking.

  ‘Maggie, Maggie, Maggie,’ Gus groaned as I began to follow. ‘We’re about to die.’

  I shrugged. ‘If you’d prefer to stay out here on your own, go ahead.’

  Gus ran to catch up.

  The guy – staying a few paces ahead – led us into a group of nearby trees and an area that seemed to have more rocks, judging by the amount of times Gus tripped. When I spied a collection of large bricks with tangled vines embedded within, I asked the guy if there had once been something there.

  He turned to me briefly, but it was still too dark to get a close look at him. All I knew for sure was that he had a stocky build, wasn’t tall and could use a lot less aftershave. Eventually he replied, ‘The old Mason Mansion. It was demolished back in the early 1900s.’

  The guy looked up at me, pushing back a mass of vines on the ground to reveal a large vault-style door. Through the darkness his teeth shone as he flashed a smile. ‘But they missed some.’

  ‘Oh goody. A place that no one else in the world knows exists,’ Gus said sarcastically. ‘By all means, after you, Maggie.’

  The guy chuckled. It wasn’t comforting.

  ‘Was this the basement?’ I asked, following him down the stone stairs.

  ‘Nah. The house was up over there,’ he said, pointing north. ‘This was a separate ice house and cellar.’

  At the base of the stone staircase was a small room. It fit little more than a set of sofas, a work desk and a small table with four wooden chairs. My attention zeroed in on the fold-up work desk, or more importantly the person seated behind the desk.

  I gestured to the sofa, where I’d already clocked another guy, but kept my attention on Travis. ‘Blow-up sofas?’

  Travis grinned. ‘You wanna try carrying a set of lounges all the way here?’

  ‘Not really,’ I agreed. There was no vehicle access to the island. It must’ve been hard enough getting what they had there.

  Travis addressed the guy who’d walked us in. ‘Ned, go back up and walk the perimeter.’

  I kept my eyes on Travis, but heard Ned returning up the stairs.

  My eyes couldn’t help but flicker to the closed door that sat ambiguously behind Travis’s chair. ‘Storage,’ he said, following my line of sight. I didn’t bother asking him to expand on the contents. It had to be black-market goods – it was better not to know specifics.

  ‘Why all the way out here?’ I asked.

  He placed his hands down flat on his desk, stretching back in his chair. ‘It’s just one of my locations, but I do like it. It’s isolated, close to the city, defensible.’

  I wasn’t quite sure how it was defensible.

  ‘So, what do you want this time, Maggie?’ He said my name like he was trying out the sound of it, which made me want to shudder.

  ‘We brought you intel. Or at least, a sample of it and a list of what else will follow.’

  ‘Of course. To sell or trade?’

  ‘Both.’

  He laughed. ‘Must be good if you think you’ll get both.’

  ‘It is.’

  ‘Then by all means, let’s see.’

  I didn’t move. ‘What guarantee do we have you won’t try to steal it or kill us for it?’

  Travis’s eyes were twinkling. He was enjoying the conversation and it left me with an uneasy vibe. ‘Why would I do that?’

  ‘You won’t need to ask that question once you know what the intel is.’

  ‘I like repeat business. And that requires a code of conduct,’ he responded, sounding slightly offended.

  I glanced at Gus. He rolled his eyes. He already knew I was going to hand the intel over.

  ‘It’s delivery schedules,’ I said, handing him the information zip.

  ‘For?’ he asked, feigning disinterest.

  ‘Lust-enhancers. International arrivals and departures, along with the lab locations.’

  He raised his eyebrows. He knew what I meant.

  ‘And access codes,’ I added, just in case he wasn’t fully salivating.

  Travis leaned back in his chair and I imagined it took considerable restraint for him not to fist-pump the air. We both knew I was putting a goldmine in his lap.

  He ran his hand over his mouth. ‘I’ll have to have it verified.’

  ‘Expected,’ I responded. ‘But you have less than twelve hours before I shop it around.’

  He nodded once. ‘And in return for this information?’

  ‘You mean in return for making you richer than your wildest dreams?’ I smirked. ‘Not much really. A finder’s fee – I’ll consider a fair offer, though if you lowball me, don’t think I’ll wait around for a second offer.’

  ‘And?’

  I placed my hands opposite his on the desk and leaned in. ‘Access codes and a clear line through to the core.’

  His eyes narrowed. ‘Suicide. Even with the line in and the codes, which will cost me more than I care to consider, you’ll never make it out alive.’

  I shrugged. ‘I’ll make sure you get all of your intel as soon as your codes check out, or I’m dead. Either way, you’ll get what you want. So let’s agree to disagree and move forwards.’

  Travis seemed to be considering, but was distracted by his phone beeping. Like Gus and me, he had an old-style handheld model.

  He stood abruptly. ‘Ned says we have company. We need to get out of here now.’ He was already moving towards the stairs when he turned to the guy on the couch. ‘Activate the mines.’

  ‘Activate the what?’ I said.

  He spun towards me, his teeth bared. ‘If this is your doing, you’re dead!’

  ‘If what is my doing?’ I said, holding my ground.

  ‘We’ve got a raid on the way.’

  I shook my head. ‘You think I’m that stupid?’

  He tilted his head. ‘From what I know about you, yes. But you need me more than I need you, so I don’t think you did this.’ He smiled, his demeanour suddenly carefree. I wasn’t buying it. ‘Just bad timing, sweetheart.’ He gestured to the guy on the sofa, then handed him a package from his desk and instructed the guy to meet him at the safe house later. The guy shoved the package down his pants and disappeared up
the stairs.

  Travis slung a black duffle bag over his shoulder and turned back to me. ‘They’ll be here in three minutes. In two minutes their way in will start exploding. If you want to get out, I suggest you start running. Carefully.’

  ‘I told you we were going to die,’ Gus said, leaping up the stairs three at a time.

  Once we reached the clearing, Travis pulled up suddenly.

  ‘Shit!’ he yelled.

  ‘What?’ I said, already hearing the steady whop-whop-whop of incoming helicopters and dogs barking in the distance. This was not good. Not good at all.

  ‘I can’t remember where all the mines are.’

  ‘Did you hear that, Maggie?’ Gus said, sounding like he’d lost all reason. ‘He can’t remember where the mines are!’

  ‘Perfect,’ I said. About five hundred metres to the north the first mine exploded.

  ‘Run!’ Travis yelled, taking off.

  I sprinted after Travis, trying to follow his path. Gus trailed behind as more explosions detonated, each one closer than the last.

  When I caught sight of Travis reaching the edge of the island, I felt the first spark of hope and picked up speed only to be thrown off my feet with a much closer eruption.

  Flaming debris flew at me as I tucked myself into a foetal position. It only took a few moments to register two things:

  One, the blast had come from right behind me. And two, my hair was on fire.

  I rolled on the ground frantically to extinguish my flaming hair and jumped to my feet. I could see Travis by the river’s edge, signalling for me to hurry. But when I looked behind I saw the explosion site. And the limp body on the ground.

  I struggled to regain equilibrium as I staggered to Gus’s unmoving body. I dropped beside him. My hands trembled with fear as I felt around his neck.

  His clothes were torn and he was black all over with soot and dirt, but surprisingly Gus had a pulse. It looked as if he’d somehow cleared the main blast or been thrown forwards by his momentum. Either way, I still had a big problem. Gus was out cold.

  ‘Damn it,’ I said, trying to manoeuvre his body into a manageable position. He was dead weight and, as much as I liked to think of myself as strong, there was no way I’d be able to carry him.

  ‘Sorry, Gus,’ I mumbled as I hooked my arms under his armpits and pulled him, legs dragging on the ground, towards where Travis was.

  About twenty metres from the river, another set of hands joined me. I spun around in shock. Travis yanked Gus upright and together we dragged him to the river.

  Mines continued to detonate to the north and while we could still hear the helicopters, they had moved back, away from the smoke and ash.

  ‘You’re lucky I’m always prepared,’ Travis said, pulling small tanks with facemasks out of his bag and shoving them in my direction. ‘One of them is a full mask, put that on him,’ he said, motioning to Gus. ‘Have you got a handheld or anything else that can’t get wet?’

  I nodded, handing over my handheld cell and digging out Gus’s – which had miraculously survived – and handing them over. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, I passed Travis my tranq gun as well. And my taser. He threw it all into an airtight bag along with his own weapons, and shoved them into his bag.

  I studied the facemask and ignored the sinking feeling in my stomach. I wasn’t keen on swimming the Potomac River and even less excited about discovering what might be waiting for us on the other side. But it wasn’t really the time to deliberate. So I fitted the mask, which had a miniature oxygen tube attached to it, to Gus’s face, making sure it was airtight, and then used the remaining mouthpiece for myself.

  Before Travis put his mouthpiece in, he threw me a tight smile and said, ‘Watch out for water snakes.’

  Perfect.

  At least Gus wasn’t awake to hear him.

  Another mine detonated nearby. Together Travis and I dragged Gus into the depths of the water and, holding one arm each, submerged him beneath the surface and swam towards the Arlington shore.

  When we were clear of the water and had hauled Gus to the trees lining the riverbank, Travis pulled the airtight bag out and removed his cell, throwing the rest of the bag at my chest.

  He moved away to make a quick call and then returned, quickly assessing Gus’s condition. ‘He’s starting to come around. It’s a good sign. Come on, I have a car just beyond the footbridge. We need to move fast.’

  I didn’t need to be told twice. The increasing symphony of sirens, combined with the helicopter lightshow nearby, was excellent motivation.

  It was slightly easier moving Gus this time and we reached Travis’s Jeep in less than ten minutes. We were on the road moments after, watching as yet another mine detonated on the island.

  Shaking with adrenalin, I sank into the seat and concentrated on simply breathing. I was out of breath and shivering from the cold. But even clear of the raid, I couldn’t stop the panic.

  ‘What the hell was that?’ I gasped, holding on as Travis took a sharp turn.

  ‘That was the nature of the game,’ he said, like it was so simple.

  ‘You just blew up the Theodore Roosevelt Island!’

  He scoffed. ‘Barely. Just put a few holes in it.’

  A few holes. Less than two miles from the White House.

  ‘People would’ve been hurt. Killed!’

  He gave me a blank look and a shiver ran down my spine. He was fully aware – and unbothered – by that fact.

  My throat was hurting from the smoke and whatever else I’d swallowed in the river. ‘Who’s after you, Travis?’

  He checked his rear-view mirror. ‘Could’ve been anyone. There were definitely government people there, though that doesn’t mean it wasn’t initiated by M-Corp. If I had to guess,’ he smiled slyly, ‘it probably has to do with me pissing off the FBI recently. An unfortunate crossing of paths.’

  Unfortunate my ass. I could see by his cavalier attitude that whatever it was had been well worth the price we were all now paying. At least the FBI was a lot less of a problem than a full-scale M-Corp attack and we both knew it.

  I reached into the back to check Gus’s pulse. It was steady and strong; he would be fine.

  ‘Why’d you help us?’ I asked Travis. He could’ve left without us.

  Travis looked over at me, his gaze curious. ‘Why did you go back and help him? I’ve heard you’re not the type to pick up baggage.’

  ‘Where’d you hear that?’

  ‘Everyone has sources. Answer the question.’

  I bit down on the inside of my cheek and looked out the window. ‘He’s mine. And I still need him.’

  Travis chuckled. ‘Whatever you need to tell yourself, sweetheart. But you and I both know you ran back there to save him. You might not like it, but you have that never-leave-a-man-in-the-field mentality about you.’

  I clenched my jaw, hating to show any weakness.

  ‘That’s why I helped you.’

  I turned to him, eyebrows raised.

  ‘You never know when I might be the man in the field. Might pay off,’ he said, giving me a wink.

  If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that at some point this evening I’d not only solidified my source, but I’d possibly made a new ally. Stranger things, I suppose …

  Gus groaned loudly from the back. ‘Maggie?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m here,’ I said, feeling more tired by the second.

  He groaned again and rolled onto his side. ‘I hate you with the depth, breadth and heat of Hell’s most torturous pit.’

  A smile overtook my face as Travis looked between the road and the two of us. ‘What?’ he asked, looking disgruntled. ‘No thank you? She did save your life, you know.’

  Gus snorted, which only made me smile more. ‘Which part should I thank her for? Destroying my life, or leading me into yet another death trap?’

  Travis shook his head and refocused on the road. ‘And I thought my crew were dysfunctional.’

  Gus pulled
up his wet T-shirt to start wiping the dirt off his face. ‘You want dysfunctional? Spend a day with Maggie.’

  ‘I just might need to,’ Travis said with a small chuckle.

  Trying to mask my relief that Gus was okay, I settled into my seat and looked out the front windscreen only to spin back again when I heard Gus start choking on his own laughter. I recognised the high pitch as his happy-at-someone-else’s-expense laugh.

  ‘Oh, Maggie,’ he gasped, holding his stomach, wincing and grabbing at his ribs before breaking into another hysterical bout.

  ‘What?’ I snapped.

  Gus let rip a number of successive snorts. ‘It’s a shame you’ve already been to the ball. That massive bald spot on the back of your head would have gone perfectly with the hole in your gut!’

  My hand whipped to the back of my head. In all the drama, I’d forgotten that at one point my hair was on fire. ‘Great,’ I mumbled, feeling my way around what was a large area of well-singed hair. It was stupid to care. We’d made it out alive and with no permanent damage. I wasn’t vain. I shouldn’t care. But my hair was … It was mine and in that moment I failed to fight the feelings of resentment that I’d lost it too.

  ‘You all right there, sweetheart?’ Travis said between fits of Gus’s laughter.

  ‘I’m fine,’ I said, shutting down the conversation.

  ‘Whatever you say.’ Travis pulled into a side street and waited for an automatic garage door to roll open. We were somewhere in Ballston. ‘I have to leave this car here, but I have another inside. You want me to drop you two somewhere?’

  Gus was still carrying on in the back. ‘Warned you just the other day you were going to get burned!’

  I think he was delirious.

  I considered Travis’s offer. I was getting the feeling I might be able to trust him. One day. ‘No, we’re okay from here,’ I said.

  He nodded, knowingly. ‘Suit yourself. But Maggie,’ he looked down, as if contemplating what he was about to say, ‘you sure you want to go in there, all the way? I meant what I said before. It’s a suicide mission. I get that you must have your reasons, but maybe take a moment to consider all the reasons why you shouldn’t. And walk away from this.’