Aubrey shrugged. “I guess. But remember—we’re not going after him right now. We’re looking for this Dan guy.”
“I wish we were looking for our friends, not hers.”
“Exactly,” Aubrey said.
She glanced over at the bathrooms. Laura was still gone. Aubrey lowered her voice. “I don’t know if I totally trust what we’re doing. Are we actually getting help? Or is Laura just going AWOL and wants our help to find her friends? You and I are the recon team—she couldn’t contact Dan without us.”
Jack chewed thoughtfully for several seconds, watching the bathroom door. He finally swallowed. “I’m open to other ideas. I just don’t know what to do. This seems dumb, but we’re on the run from the friggin’ US Army. What’s dumber than that?”
The bathroom door opened.
“I don’t know,” Aubrey said.
Maybe Dan could help them hide out. Maybe they really did have storage hidden somewhere—some kind of bomb-shelter hideouts where they could be safe.
Jack took another bite of hamburger and stood up. “I’m going to go check out this cut,” he said as Laura came back.
“The bathrooms aren’t very clean,” Laura said. “Take some of the antibiotics with you.”
He nodded and Aubrey dug through her purse for another packet of medicine. They were running low.
Jack took it and headed off.
“So,” Aubrey said. “Any idea how we’re going to find Dan once we get to the city?”
“There’s a military base,” Laura said, pulling out the smartphone. “I looked it up. Camp Parks. It’s training for the army reserve, but I bet that’s where they’re running things.”
“I don’t know if I can do a real army base,” Aubrey said. “Remember—anything with a long line of sight is dangerous. Plus, I can be invisible, but what about Dan? How will he get out of there?”
“What if we can arrange a meet-up somewhere?” Laura said. “Find out where their next mission is, and help break him out.”
Laura was digging into her food like it was the first thing she’d eaten in days. Maybe superstrength gave her a high metabolism. Or it was recovery.
“I’ve got a question,” Aubrey said, nerves sending a chill down her spine. “You said that Alec is from Denver.”
“Yep.”
“How long have you known him?”
“Forever, I guess,” she said. “It seems like we’ve always been friends. Kinda like you and Jack.”
Aubrey ate a french fry, slowly, wondering if she should continue. Laura made her nervous.
“I think I met him,” Aubrey finally said. “In the quarantine zone. He said he remembered me from school—and I kind of remembered him. He said he grew up in Mount Pleasant.”
Laura looked startled. “Well—well, maybe you’re thinking about someone else.”
“He looked just like the picture on the army computer.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Laura took a huge bite of her Quarter Pounder, and looked down at the paper advertisement on the food tray.
“And another thing,” Aubrey said, her voice soft and careful. “You said that he was a Lambda, like you and Dan. But he was in the quarantine zone, and they let him go.”
Laura seemed to chew for a lot longer than was needed. Aubrey wished Jack was back. Not that he could help, but she didn’t like being alone with Laura.
“You were in the quarantine zone,” Laura finally said. “You wouldn’t have been caught if you hadn’t tried to escape.”
“I wasn’t—” Aubrey stopped herself. She didn’t want to argue. “What is Alec’s power?”
“He can talk to you with his mind,” Laura said, still staring down at the paper. “What’s that called? Telepathy? Even if he was tested, the army probably wouldn’t have any purpose for him, I don’t think. They probably would have labeled him a Lambda 1 or 2, and he’d have to sit out the war in those Dugway dorms.”
Aubrey glanced at the bathrooms, wishing Jack was back.
“Laura,” Aubrey said, her hand gripping the edge of the table. “Do you really think this will help? Getting Dan and Alec, I mean? Or is this just . . .”
“Just what?” Laura said, finally looking up.
“Just—I don’t know. Are you . . . are you just going AWOL?”
“Excuse me?” Laura said, her eyes suddenly furious. “Didn’t you see that bastard shoot me? Try to kill me?”
“Yeah, I—”
“And didn’t you see me save you and your boyfriend?”
She pointed to the bathroom, where Jack was coming out of the door. He looked concerned. He’d been listening.
“I know you did,” Aubrey said. “I just—I don’t know if this is—”
Laura grabbed Aubrey’s wrist and began to squeeze. It felt like the bones were grinding together, and Aubrey let out a yelp.
“Stop it,” Jack said.
“What the hell do you people want from me?” Laura said, still crushing Aubrey. “I’m trying to help you. Haven’t I always tried to help you?”
It was hard for Aubrey to talk through the pain. “Are you trying to help us?” she wheezed. “Or are you using me because you can’t get in there yourself?”
Laura’s eyes widened, and she released the grip. Aubrey immediately disappeared, slipping away from the table.
“Maybe you can talk some sense into her,” Laura said to Jack, glaring at the empty space where Aubrey used to be.
“Let’s all calm down,” he said, looking only at Laura. “Aubrey’s sticking her neck out for you. I think it’s only fair that she ask some questions.”
“There’s a difference between asking questions and making accusations,” Laura snapped. She grabbed her hamburger and took another huge bite.
Aubrey sat down at the table across the aisle and reappeared. Laura glared at her.
“Listen,” Jack said. “We can work together, or we can split up right here. It’s your choice, Laura. But if we’re going to work together—if we’re going to be a team—then we all have to be on the same playing field.”
“So what do you want to know?” Laura snapped. “Am I lying? After everything I did for you guys, you want to know if this is a big con?”
“For starters,” Jack said, “you can swear on whatever you love most that you won’t touch Aubrey again.”
Laura laughed darkly. “Or what?”
“Or we’re gone, and you can do this all on your own.”
“Fine,” Laura said. “And in exchange I’d like a little bit of trust. I think I’ve more than proved myself to you. I don’t deserve this crap.”
Jack looked at Aubrey and she stared back at him. Jack didn’t look certain—didn’t seem like he knew what to do.
“Fine,” Aubrey said. “We’ll help you, and we’ll work together. But that doesn’t mean I trust you—not after what you did.”
Laura took the final bite of hamburger and chewed slowly as she eyed Aubrey.
“Fine.”
FIFTY-THREE
THERE WAS A PROTEST OUTSIDE Camp Parks. Jack could see tents in the distance—the camp was another quarantine/training facility, and the angry mob at the fence were parents and family.
Well, they didn’t seem angry anymore. The protest was weak and tired, with families sitting in camp chairs and talking among themselves, only getting angry and yelling when a Humvee or armored vehicle went in or out of the gate. A few people held signs—“Give us back our children!” and “Rest in Peace: US Constitution”—but the wind seemed to be taken out of their sails. And, Jack guessed, anyone in those vehicles wasn’t very important. There was a steady stream of helicopter traffic—those were probably all the special forces teams, all the VIPs.
Jack stood back from the fence, wearing a woolen winter cap to hide the bandage around his head. It wasn’t that cold in California, but he didn’t look entirely out of place or suspicious.
And he listened. He listened to the patrols, the radio chatter as they monitore
d the fence. There was no mention of him, which was good. He didn’t know if there were wanted posters out for the three of them, but he hoped the hat would help with that, too.
Farther inside the base it was a mess of noise—talking from the quarantine zone, radio blasts from somewhere inside the buildings. Phone calls, arguments, orders given and orders received. A lot of “yes, sir” and “no, sir.”
He stood outside that fence for hours, shifting his focus from one building to the next, room to room, listening for any mention of ODA 9128, Dan’s team. Somewhere in the suburbs behind him, Aubrey and Laura sat in the car, not speaking to each other and waiting for him to give them news.
In a way, he was relieved. If they couldn’t find Dan, then that would still keep the odds in Jack and Aubrey’s favor. He still wasn’t sure if that mattered, but it felt like it did. After the way Laura had acted at the McDonald’s the night before, Jack was nervous around her. She wasn’t who he wanted to be on the run with.
He just didn’t know where else to go. At least she seemed to have a plan, which was more than what he and Aubrey had.
Mexico was looking more enticing. They could go there and live completely off the grid—live like kings. They’d be criminals—they’d have to live on whatever Aubrey could steal until they could get on their feet, but that’s no worse than what they were doing now—stealing cars and wallets and breaking into abandoned homes.
But he had his family to worry about. The US could fall into ruin and he might find safety in Mexico, but what would happen to his mom and dad? They ran the thrift store, after all; they hardly had any income as it was—they’d be hurting really bad now that people moved into a survivalist mode: no one would be giving them donations, and no one would be spending money.
Going back to them wouldn’t solve anything. It would just be one more mouth to feed. If it was true that Laura, Dan, and Alec had stockpiled supplies, then he could take care of himself and Aubrey at least, and if things went well then he could help his family, too.
“—the 9128 is on their way out there right now.”
Jack’s focus narrowed instantly on a blocky, two-story building, an upstairs room.
“They’re not going to be there in time,” a woman’s voice said.
“It’s the best we can do. Besides, the place was evacuated weeks ago.” It was a man. He sounded tired.
“It’s San Francisco City Hall. It’s a national landmark!”
Jack started walking away, back to the car.
“Do you think that matters now? They’re hitting landmarks because all the important targets are either hit or guarded too tightly.”
“So we should just give up on it?”
“I told you,” the man said, “9128 is on their way out there right now.”
Jack broke into a jog.
“Isn’t the 9128 the one that accidentally destroyed the Dumbarton Bridge? With Lambdas like these, who needs terrorists?”
“I don’t need to remind you,” he said, “at this point, our goal is not to save monuments and buildings. Our goal is to find and destroy these terrorist cells. If city hall comes down, so be it. Besides, how big of a deal can it be? I’ve never heard of it.”
Jack broke into a run. He’d only ever seen San Francisco on maps, but he knew they were on the wrong side of the bay. Hopefully the roads were as empty as the city seemed to be.
FIFTY-FOUR
THE CAR RIDE WAS TAKING forever.
Laura sat in the backseat with the smartphone, keeping an eye on the battery. She didn’t have a charger, and it was already down to half power.
Military targets. That was what she was after. Military targets she could hit with Dan. And, maybe if Jack and Aubrey were dumb enough, they’d help out. Alec had always thought Laura was the dumb one, but she’d played these two kids easily. They had a common enemy, and Laura had slipped into a position of authority—she was the oldest, the most powerful. And they were scared; they were scared of her, but they were also looking for someone to tell them what to do.
She scrolled through websites over and over again, searching for something good—something important. Some of the sites had obviously been censored in recent weeks, removing a lot of information about the military, but nothing was ever entirely erased from the internet. She just needed to find it.
Dan was in San Francisco, but there weren’t many targets nearby—a couple of Coast Guard stations. Farther to the east were three air force bases, but she doubted that there was much Dan could do there—he couldn’t get close enough to disrupt a runway or knock down a tower. And Laura didn’t feel like taking any more bullets.
There was a naval college to the south. That was probably the least protected option, but it didn’t seem like a very enticing target: any damage she did there wouldn’t make an immediate impact in the war.
But the farther south they went, the more bases popped up: air force, army, navy—even marines. There had to be something good in one of them, some weakness that could be exploited.
She looked at maps of the bases, and she focused on mountains—somewhere Dan could bring down another avalanche, or cause an earthquake. But there just wasn’t a lot in Southern California. Plenty of bases, but nothing next to a hill or a cliff or a mountain range.
She scrolled farther south.
Wait a minute.
She pulled up a topographical map.
It was a gamble, but if it worked . . .
She turned off the phone and leaned back in her seat, a plan already forming in her mind. Now she just needed Dan.
FIFTY-FIVE
IT TOOK THEM THREE HOURS to get to San Francisco. The Bay Bridge was bumper-to-bumper traffic with a military roadblock at each end. Still, the bracelets and cover story seemed to work just fine. The military was obviously looking for someone else—something more specific. They checked the trunk, and looked under the car with long mirrors on sticks, but eventually let them pass. Aubrey drove as quickly as she dared through the hilly streets of San Francisco until they got within a quarter mile of city hall.
There was no plume of dust and smoke, no sounds of settling steel. If the terrorists were really going to come for city hall, they were taking their time. But that was no different from the attack on the Space Needle—an anonymous tip that didn’t pan out for hours.
They parked near a tall office building, and Jack got out of the car and listened. Aubrey stood next to him, holding his hand and trying to make him look as little like a terrorist as possible. With her other hand, she was downing power bars, loading up on calories. “They’re there,” he whispered, leaning in close so his voice was barely audible. “I can hear the radios. I’m not sure where they’re stationed. I haven’t heard specific mention of a sniper. There’s a Lambda who seems to have some kind of night vision. That shouldn’t do anything right now. The other one is really fast.”
“Do you think the night-vision one can see me?” she asked.
Jack shook his head. “They’re not even having her do anything. She’s sitting back with the warrant officer.”
“Any snipers?”
“There have to be,” Jack said. “It seems like they’d set it up similarly to the Space Needle. I just don’t know.”
“Are there other people there?”
“City hall is empty,” he said, “but some of the other buildings are still occupied. There aren’t many people on the streets, but there are a few.”
Aubrey turned to Laura. “Then let’s do this. You two walk together down there, out in the open, and don’t do anything. You’re the right age for terrorists, so they’ll watch you. I’ll walk with you, and Jack, when you can find Dan or the warrant officer, then you let me know.”
“Why do you need the warrant officer?” Laura asked.
“Because he’s got the detonator,” Aubrey said, annoyed that no one else seemed to have thought of that. She had to do more than just walk away with Dan—she had to disable the bomb on his ankle. She’d made the deletio
ns on their files, but did that really mean anything? Did that automatically deactivate the detonator? She didn’t want to take the chance.
Laura nodded. “For all we know, his detonator works on our bombs, too.”
Aubrey rubbed her hands over her face. “Let’s get this over with. Dan had better be worth it.”
There was a large open plaza a few streets up from them, with dried autumn lawns and rows of flags. No one was in sight, and the three of them strolled out into the middle. Aubrey wasn’t invisible yet—there was no point. Any sniper would see her out here, but it wasn’t her plan to stay in the center of the action for long.
“I can hear them,” Jack said. “But . . . I just don’t know where it’s coming from. It should be over there.” He gestured with his head toward an empty playground.
“Could they be invisible?” Laura asked.
“No,” Jack said. “We already know what they can do.”
Aubrey’s hand slipped down into Jack’s and she laced her fingers with his. “I want you to be careful,” she said, her voice so quiet that she could hardly hear it.
He replied with a squeeze.
“I mean it, Jack.”
“It’s under us,” he said out loud, and smiled. “There’s a parking garage underneath us.”
Aubrey looked over at the playground and saw the now obvious railing that blocked the ramp downward.
“Is Dan down there?”
“They’re talking to him on a radio,” Jack said. “But he hasn’t responded to pinpoint him yet. They’re also talking about us. They don’t seem to think we’re a threat, but they’re wondering why we’re all standing here.”
“Well,” Aubrey said. “You guys get out of the plaza, away from snipers. I’m going down the ramp.”
She disappeared, and even though she knew he couldn’t feel it, she kissed Jack on the cheek. She didn’t know how long it would be before she’d see him again, or if she would.
Aubrey made her way to the playground. The ramp was more visible now, but she wondered what the best way was to enter it. Should she hop over the side to suddenly get out of the snipers’ view? Or should she casually stroll down so she didn’t look like a threat?
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