The Collection

by Shannon Stoker

  Chapter 25

  Scientific advancements all but stopped outside of America. We need to start funding our scientists and engineers to become less dependent on America’s inventions.

  —Global Reporter

  The moonlight shone down on Mia. She watched for rustling branches and kept her ears open for any movement. This time she was ready. She spun around right as Riley came barreling out of the trees. Mia lifted her arm to block Riley’s swing. She lowered her arm to catch Riley off guard and tapped her in the stomach. The two continued sparring for several minutes, with Mia anticipating Riley’s kicks and managing a few would-be blows. Riley still outmatched her, but Mia was holding her own.

  “You’re much improved,” Riley said.

  “Not perfect,” Mia said.

  “Nobody is,” Riley said. “Not even me.”

  “How much longer till I’m ready?” Mia asked.

  She swung her arm forward and Riley ducked her head out of the way. Mia moved to the side in time to avoid a tap from Riley in the gut.

  “Enough for tonight,” Riley said.

  She dropped her defensive stance. Mia kept her shoulders back, still unsure if Riley was tricking her.

  “I can drive now, I can fight, I have the plan memorized,” Mia said. “I’m ready.”

  “Ready for what?”

  “To rescue Andrew, Carter, and Nathan,” Mia said.

  “You’re not,” Riley said.

  “It’s been more than three weeks,” Mia said. “I can’t wait any longer.”

  Riley ignored Mia and walked back to the cabin. Mia wanted to scream. If she waited until she met Riley’s standards, it would be years. She turned around and walked back to the shack, ready to plead her case to Riley again. She opened the door and saw Riley setting up the chess set, the same as every other night. Mia sat down opposite her and started putting up the pieces.

  “I give my fake story to the first person I see,” Mia said. “They call Dalmy. I go with her, wait until I have a chance, and take her hostage. Then trade her for the men.”

  Riley didn’t look up as she made her opening move. Mia was quick to take her turn. Riley didn’t say anything.

  “I have forty-eight hours,” Mia said. “Then I have to get out of there. If I don’t find a weapon by then I run away. If I think they are onto me I run away.”

  “And what weapon will you look for?” Riley asked.

  “A knife or a gun,” Mia said. “Hold the knife to her throat, hold the gun to her temple. I keep myself in line behind her the whole time.”

  “What if we overestimated the love Joseph has for his daughter? What if he’d rather see her killed?”

  “Then I’ll die knowing I tried to save my friends,” Mia said.

  Riley frowned and narrowed her eyes. She continued with the match and Mia kept right on playing.

  “That is a stupid thing to say,” Riley said. “We don’t move in until that isn’t an option. We have one chance. I don’t want to screw this up.”

  “Bad joke,” Mia said. “I’m sorry, but one more week of practice won’t make enough difference. Carter and Andrew have already been in there too long. I need to save them.”

  Riley was keeping pace with Mia’s quick chess moves.

  “The fact that you’re able to make jokes about this situation tells me you’re not ready. What if they’re expecting you? What will you say if your boys ratted you out and the militia discovered you are alive?”

  “Checkmate,” Mia said.

  “Very funny,” Riley said.

  “No,” Mia said. “Checkmate.”

  Riley’s eyes went wide and her mouth hung open a bit. She looked down at the board and examined the layout in detail. Mia didn’t want to act smug, but after weeks this was her first real victory. The confidence she got from this win alone told her she was ready. Riley shook her head from side to side before looking up at Mia. She let out a loud sigh.

  “Tomorrow,” Riley said.

  “Really?”

  Riley nodded her head and scooped the pieces off the board. Mia’s happiness from her chess win and the possibility of seeing Andrew alternated with feelings of worry. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily, knowing it wasn’t time to show fear. Tomorrow the plan would come into play. Mia needed to hold on to that feeling.

  Chapter 26

  The modernized world should band together. If we combine our forces and take out America, peace will be restored to all women.

  —Comment from the Global Reporter message board

  Today was the day. Mia had spent the night going over the operation with Riley. It would be simple. Mia needed to act the part of the scared, naïve, lost girl Dalmy could take under her wing. Once they were alone Mia would display what a capable woman she really was and barter Dalmy for Andrew, Carter, and Nathan. Riley would watch from a distance; they’d meet up at the cabin and the five would head into Guatemala. Still, Mia was nervous. She started asking questions that had never occurred to her over the past several weeks but now seemed so pertinent.

  “What if they recognize me?” she asked. “I mean, my picture was everywhere as the missing girl.”

  “You’re not missing. You’re dead. The government removed any evidence of you. Unless those men were following the case as it unfolded you’ll be fine.”

  “How can they do that? How do you know that?” Mia asked.

  She hadn’t anticipated the feelings of anger she felt upon learning her identity had been demolished.

  “I searched for information on you, once you gave me your name, that is,” Riley said. “Your husband is front and center, but even he knows to focus the interviews on himself. He leaves any mention of you out.”

  “He’s alive?” Mia asked. This whole time she had pictured him dead.

  “Not even injured,” Riley said. “Did you think you killed him?”

  Mia shook her head. “Why are they leaving me out of the news?”

  “In case you ever pop up again and claim you made it out alive. There will be no way for you to prove who you are, so you’ll seem like a crazy person,” Riley said. “Plus they want little American girls to swoon over your husband, and that can’t happen if he’s focusing on his dead wife. I have to say you bagged yourself a pretty big fish.”

  Mia wrinkled her nose.

  “Even my grandma understands that saying,” Riley said.

  Mia had heard stories of grandmothers. She never thought anyone ever really had one though. The idea of generations of women guiding each other gave Mia another feeling of warmth.

  “Your husband, he is attractive and wealthy, and smart too,” Riley said.

  “And cruel and murderous and evil,” Mia replied.

  “Time to get your costume on,” Riley said.

  She handed Mia the tattered pink sundress. There was some blood and ash, and it was stiff from the salt water. Mia pulled it over her head, alternating between remembering the brave girl who wore it when she fought Grant and the terrified, shaky one who froze on the beach as her friends were taken. She focused on the former, remembering flying over the border into freedom, emptying the helicopter of all Grant’s weapons, and jumping into the unknown. Mia wondered what Riley had discovered among the wreckage of the chopper.

  “You scavenged the beach, right? Did you find a plastic bag with some papers and money?” Mia asked.

  Riley reached into a drawer and pulled out the see-through baggie. Mia’s eyes widened and she grabbed for it. The getaway kit Rod had prepared. She dumped the contents on the bed and started sorting.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Mia asked. “This is important.”

  “According to that passport your name is Jeanette Rowe,” Riley said. “Then you told me Amelia Morrissey and I wasn’t sure which was accurate. By the time I realized I could trust you it had slipped my mind.”

  Mia grabbed the small blue books and flipped them open. There was a passport with a picture of her with the Jeanette name, one f
or Carter, and one for Rod. Andrew’s was missing.

  “They were part of an unfinished plan,” Mia said.

  There was a marriage certificate between Jeanette and Roderick, some strange-looking money, and a cell phone. Mia flipped the tiny device around, curious whom Rod had planned to phone.

  “Were you planning on making some calls down here?” Riley asked.

  “I don’t even know how to work this,” Mia said.

  “I’ll show you,” Riley said.

  She grabbed the phone from Mia’s hand and flipped it open. On the keypad she started pressing numbers.

  “Everyone has a specific phone number,” Riley said. “To call me you have to enter a country code, but any American phone number is ten digits.”

  Once Riley was done pushing buttons she put the phone back in Mia’s hands.

  “Push ‘send,’ ” Riley said.

  Mia did and held the phone up to her ear.

  “It’s ringing,” Mia said.

  Riley nodded. After a few minutes a voice came on. It was Riley’s. Mia didn’t understand. There was a short noise.

  “Hang up or leave a message,” Riley said.

  “How is this possible?” Mia asked.

  “It’s a recording,” Riley said. “Then you speak and I’ll get the option of listening to your voice later, and a transcript will be sent to me as well.”

  Riley leaned over and pulled the phone away from Mia’s ear. She flipped the lid shut. Mia didn’t want to ask the million questions she had about the device. There were more important happenings at the moment.

  “Should I take this with me?” Mia asked. “Say my name is Jeanette Rowe?”

  “If that’s the same last name as one of those boys, I wouldn’t,” Riley said. “They’ll realize you’re with them.”

  “It’s Carter’s,” Mia said. “Andrew’s is CMW1408.”

  “That’s a strange one,” Riley said.

  “If that guard woke up they’ll suspect someone is coming anyway,” Mia replied. It was starting to sink in that he couldn’t have survived the fall, but Riley still didn’t want to acknowledge this.

  “Most American females aren’t capable of sending a man over a cliff,” Riley said. “And it was dark. He won’t recognize you. We don’t have to use this idea. The whole plan is canceled if you’re not comfortable. I think you need more time anyway.”

  “I’m ready,” Mia said.

  “Then let’s start walking before I change my mind,” Riley said.

  She opened the door of the small shack and walked outside. The two began heading north, toward the city. The afternoon sun made the walk much harder than Mia remembered.

  “I’ll take you as far as I can,” Riley said. “But you’ll enter the city on your own. Tell me the details again.”

  Mia repeated back everything they had worked on. Her secret identity, the inflection her voice required. There were no holes in the story.

  “One change,” Riley said. “Don’t bother asking for Nathan. He’s not here.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mia said.

  “New intel is sending me to Australia after this,” Riley said. “Sometimes I think I am chasing a ghost.”

  “He’s alive,” Mia said. “If he wasn’t you’d know.”

  “Sixth sense?” Riley asked. “Do you think your boys know you’re alive and coming for them?”

  “They have to,” Mia said. “We’d never give up on each other. When did you find out?”

  “Two weeks ago,” Riley said.

  “And you stayed,” Mia said. “To help me.”

  “I’ll see you through to the end,” Riley said. “If you want to join me the offer is on the table. We could travel the world and I will teach you more.”

  “Carter and Andrew?” Mia asked.

  “You’re serious about the Guatemalan reserve, aren’t you?” Riley asked.

  Mia nodded her head. She appreciated Riley’s offer, but she would never abandon Andrew. Never.

  The walk continued in silence until the city appeared in the distance. Then Riley stopped.

  “Remember, I’ll wait for you at the shack,” Riley said. “If anything goes wrong, get out of there and we’ll find another way. Forty-eight hours is all you have. If it doesn’t happen by then it won’t. You’ll need to run away.”

  “I know,” Mia said.

  Two days. That was all the time Mia needed. If she spent any more time undercover like this it would require too much. She winced at the idea.

  “We can turn around,” Riley said.

  “Thank you,” Mia said.

  She leaned in and wrapped her arms around Riley. The Irishwoman stiffened up at Mia’s touch. Then she returned the hug, her body relaxing.

  “I’ll meet you at the shack in forty-eight,” Mia said.

  “Good luck,” Riley said.

  Mia pulled away.

  “You were wrong,” Mia said.

  “About?” Riley asked.

  “My favorite piece is the queen,” Mia said. “She’s a woman and has the most power.”

  Riley smiled. Mia thought she saw Riley’s eyes glisten but didn’t say anything. Mia took a breath and turned toward the town. She closed her eyes as she walked, envisioning Andrew and Carter. They needed her. Even though she wanted assurance from Riley, Mia focused on the future and didn’t look back.

  Chapter 27

  The fact that the Americans keep their borders closed is worrisome enough. They are hiding dangerous weapons. If they aren’t stopped the whole world is at risk of another war.

  —Comment from the Global Reporter message board

  A bead of sweat rolled down Mia’s cheek. Not a soul was on the street. It wasn’t much of a street either. Only two blocks long. Mia followed the plan and turned into the first building on the left. The wooden doors swung open. It was a large room with a bar spanning its entire length. Unoccupied tables took up the center space and a balcony lined the upstairs.

  “Hello?”

  Mia’s voice didn’t echo against the wooden building.

  “I’m lost,” Mia said. “Can anyone help me?”

  No response came. It was time to try the next building. Mia had just turned to walk out when a door behind the bar swung open. A man came out. His eyes widened when he saw her.

  “¿Qué es esto?”

  “No hablas español.”

  Mia said the words Riley taught her. The man continued to speak in the foreign tongue. Mia repeated the phrase. He repeated himself; she couldn’t begin to comprehend what he was saying. She tried to speak again but he broke into English.

  “ ‘You don’t speak Spanish, you don’t speak Spanish,’ ” he said. “No, I speak Spanish; it is you who cannot.”

  “I’m lost,” Mia said. “Can you help me?”

  “Pretty little American girls don’t get lost,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m lost,” she said.

  He reached behind the bar and pulled out a knife. The air rushed out of Mia’s lungs. His hands went back down and he pulled out an apple, slamming it against the bar. He brought the knife down and sliced off a piece, handing it to Mia. She reached forward and took it from his hand, devouring the fruit.

  “I’m so hungry,” Mia said. “I’ve been walking for hours.”

  “From where?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” Mia said.

  He gave her another piece.

  “Where’s your husband?” he asked.

  “I’m not married,” Mia said.

  “Well, in that case I’ll get ahold of deportation,” he said. “Confirm your single status.”

  He started walking toward the back again.

  “Wait,” Mia said. “Your country doesn’t deport unwed females. I know that.”

  “I bet you’re married and dying to reunite with your husband,” he said.

  “No, please, not that,” Mia said. “I’ll kill myself first.”

  This raised an eyebrow. Mia relaxed; t
he plan was working.

  “Have a seat,” he said.

  “Are you going to turn me in?” Mia asked.

  “Not my call,” he said. “I’m going to get someone who can help you. Eat the rest of the apple.”

  It was working. Mia was doing it. He kept his eyes on her as he walked into the back room. Mia left the apple untouched. It didn’t take long for him to come back into the room.

  “Someone is on their way to get you some help,” he said.

  “Thank you,” Mia said.

  The two sat in silence. He looked annoyed while she ate her apple. Once enough time passed it was time for phase two of the plan.

  Mia thought back to the train station in Saint Louis. Grant was there with his thugs. Mia and Andrew almost outsmarted them, but Grant won. He held a gun to Mia’s head. She was about to admit defeat when a force knocked her onto the tracks. Andrew pulled her to safety just in time for her to see a train wipe Whitney from sight. Mia’s best friend died that day. She focused on that image until the tears started flowing.

  “Hey now,” the man said. “No tears here. I said we were going to try to help.”

  He set a box of tissues down.

  “It’s awful,” Mia said. “I’m so tired and hungry and lost.”

  “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “We don’t get many strangers down here.”

  “But you pulled out that knife and you threatened to deport me,” Mia said. “I can’t go back there.”

  “Don’t mind Henry.”

  The words were purred from the doorway. Mia turned to look as Dalmy Ruiz strolled into the bar. She was more stunning in person. Her thick black hair was shiny and it flowed down her back. Her white pants swayed at the bottom, making it look like she was floating, and her red tube top brought out the perfect tan in her skin. Mia looked like trash next to this woman.

  “I heard you were in trouble,” she said. “Maybe I can help you. Henry, get us some water and leave.”