“GlobaTech?” he offers.
“They certainly have the resources. But what’s their angle? We’re on pretty good terms with them last I checked.”
“Maybe they’re pissed that you blew that military compound into a billion pieces?”
“I think they would have conveyed their displeasure before now. This sounds too… I dunno, too personal.”
We fall silent again and I re-focus on the immediate issue. I’m not sure what to expect when we get to this Academy, and I must admit I’m feeling a little out of my depth. I try to picture how it would go down. I imagine the bus will be parked up in an inconspicuous way. Will The Shark be there? My instinct says he won’t be, but he’ll be watching from a safe distance. From speaking with him earlier, he seems to have a good idea of where the FBI are up to with the investigation, which immediately says to me that he can either see them himself, or he has an inside man. Neither possibility bares thinking about.
Assuming he won’t be on site, how is he keeping the kids on the bus? They must know they’re in danger, surely? I figure it won’t be much fun for him if he can’t see people afraid.
I have no idea how to actually stop this asshole, either. I still haven’t worked out why he’s doing all this just to get to me.
I hate not knowing everything...
“Trying to figure it all out?” asks Josh, breaking my train of thought as well as the silence.
“Just trying to prepare for what we’re walking into here, yeah.”
“I don’t think anything can help with that. This is painfully new territory for the both of us.”
I look ahead and can see Wallis and Johnson a few cars in front of us. I wonder how far behind us Agent Chambers is…
Grace Chambers.
I like her. She definitely doesn’t take any crap from anyone, and is undeniably in charge. But she has a kindness about her at the same time.
We turn right on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. I check the clock again. We’ve got just under ten minutes before the deadline is up, but we’re almost there now. After another quarter-mile, we turn right on Music Concourse Drive and follow the road as it doglegs to the right, bringing us to the main entrance of the California Academy of Sciences. The building is one of the largest natural history museums in the world and looks impressive as we approach.
I sigh heavily as I look around. Why am I even here? Things like this are the FBI’s show for God’s sake, what use am I going to be? I've just pretty much admitted to a room full of agents that I’m the assassin they all think I am… what’s to stop them arresting me the moment all this is over?
Assuming I don’t get blown up or shot first.
Shit.
“We’re here,” says Josh, pulling up on the side of the road opposite the main entrance. The scene is complete and total chaos, and despite my efforts on the way here, I now realize nothing could’ve prepared me for what I’m about to walk into.
The local SWAT team must’ve been here for at least fifteen minutes or so, given how organized they are. There’s a yellow school bus parked at an impromptu angle in the middle of the road, on the crossing right outside the main doors to the Academy. The area around the bus is cordoned off in roughly a hundred meter radius. All around, police, SWAT guys, reporters and onlookers are standing and staring at it with a mixture of shock and uncertainty and regret. A chopper’s hovering overhead. I can’t see any markings, but it’s more likely to be the police than the media.
As we get out of the Winnebago and walk toward the scene, I’m able to catch a glimpse inside the bus. It’s full of schoolchildren, just like The Shark told us. They look terrified. I can see them crying and screaming, although I can’t hear them from where we’re standing.
So they are fully aware of the danger...
Agents Wallis and Johnson have parked across the road and are talking to someone who looks in charge at the scene. Johnson looks over and sees us approaching. He taps Wallis on his arm and they both walk over to us.
“Well, I’m here,” I say to them as we meet them. “Not sure what I’m meant to do though.”
“Neither are we,” says Johnson. “I’ve spoken to the SWAT team leader and they’ve seen nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Apart from the bus full of terrified school kids?” observes Josh.
“He means there’s been no sign of any suspects and no communications,” says Wallis, professionally. He checks his watch. “We’ve got seven minutes until The Shark’s deadline is up. I think we need to wait for him to contact us. He’ll be watching, I’m sure.”
I completely agree. Turning a slow circle, I scan the crowds of people and the surrounding area. I can’t see anyone who looks like they could be him, but I didn’t expect to. If it were me, I’d be looking on for sure—but from a long way away.
The cordon stretches all the way to the main entrance, so the building itself and the immediate area is clear. Just over the road from where we’re standing, the SWAT team are milling around, seemingly unsure of what to do, but doing their best to look like they’re in charge anyway. They won’t be sure what move to make, as no one knows what the endgame is, only that I need to be here.
Well, I’m here… come on, you sonofabitch, show yourself.
I’m sure the SWAT team would’ve done a full assessment of the situation when they arrived, but for my own piece of mind, I lie down on my stomach and look over at the bus. It's been parked with the back facing the Academy's entrance at a slight angle. I scan underneath it as best I can from where I am. I can just about make out a red flashing light.
So he wasn’t bluffing about the bomb either.
Shit.
I stand back up and find Johnson looking at me funny.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he asks, with more than a hint of disdain in his voice.
“I was seeing if I could see the bomb he told us about,” I reply, like I’m talking to an idiot.
“And what, are you some kind of expert on car bombs?”
I flash back in my mind momentarily to Heaven’s Valley, standing outside the hospital as Clara’s car blew up, sending me hurtling backward.
“I’ve had some experience with them, yeah,” I say, after a moment. “You have a problem with me trying to help?”
We square up to each other, our faces only inches apart. It’s not even funny how quickly I could kill this prick with my bare hands, but I restrain myself. If only for the fact we have bigger problems to deal with at the moment. But I’m not backing down from him.
“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are,” he begins. “But—”
“I’m the man you think you are,” I say, cutting him off. “Now take a minute to remember we’re meant to be on the same side, then take three steps back before you find yourself waking up with a crowd of people looking down at you.”
“I thought I told you boys to play nice?” says a voice from behind us.
I turn to see Senior Special Agent Chambers walking toward us. Even though she’s harassed and in a hurry, she has a casual demeanor about her, which seems to stop you from getting stressed when she’s nearby.
“Ma’am,” says Johnson. “We’re just discussing how best to approach the situation.” He turns to look at me. “Aren’t we?”
He emphasizes the words, in that way people do when they’re trying to drop hints to get someone to say what they want them to.
Rookie error.
I look at Agent Chambers and smile.
“Actually, Grace,” I say. “I was just checking to see if there’s a genuine bomb threat here, and Agent Johnson decided to take his life into his hands and start mouthing off at me. When you arrived, I was simply explaining how quickly and painfully the conversation could end for him.”
Petty? Yes, I’m afraid it probably is. But the guy’s an asshole, and I’m not doing him any favors. Besides, my comments make her smile a little bit, which is what I was aiming for and is nice to see. She has a great smile…
/>
Ultimately, she dismisses the comment and returns to the matter at hand.
“We’ve got three minutes until The Shark’s deadline is up. We’ve heard nothing as yet. Adrian, have you any ideas about what this has to do with you?”
“Not a clue,” I say, honestly. “Given that his previous clues seem to reference me or my history in some way, I’ve been looking for something along the same lines here, but I’ve got nothing. Josh?”
Josh shrugs, which isn’t like him at all. “I have no idea what this guy’s angle is,” he says, the words visibly hurting him. “We have no clue as to who he is, what he’s got against Adrian—aside from the fact he’s clearly met him once, which is enough for anyone to want to kill him, frankly—and worst of all, we don’t know what the point of all this is.”
He gestures to the scene around us.
Agent Chambers’ phone starts ringing. She takes it out of her pocket and looks at the Caller ID on the screen. Looking confused, she answers. “Chambers.”
I can’t hear the voice on the other end of the line, but given how wide her eyes are, I’m guessing it’s our guy.
“Okay,” she says after a moment, then holds the phone out to me. “It’s him. He wants to talk to you.”
I take the phone from her and put it to my ear, but say nothing. I listen. I’m convinced he’s nearby. Even though he’s distorting his voice, there could still be some background noise that might offer a clue as to where he is in relation to where I am. But I get nothing.
“What?” I ask, finally.
“I’m glad you could make it, Adrian,” says The Shark. “Are you ready for my next message?”
“Just get on with it, you arrogant bastard.”
“Now, now, Adrian. There’s no need for name-calling. Put me on speaker so all your friends can hear.”
I do, and we gather round close to the phone in a tight circle, listening intently. Josh is on my left, with Johnson next to him. Wallis is on my right, with Chambers next to him.
“Here’s my message, Adrian,” he says. “I can do things even you can only dream of. You once did what many thought was impossible. And in doing so, you took everything from me. Now, there are no clues this time. No hidden meanings. Just a demonstration of what real power can do.”
He hangs up, leaving us all looking at the phone and listening to a dead tone.
“What the hell does that mean?” asks Johnson, confused.
Before I can answer, the whole world suddenly goes to shit…
7.
16:34
WE ALL INSTINCTIVELY hit the ground as the deafening roar of an explosion sounds out nearby. I can just about make out the screams of people around us over the ringing in my ears. I wait maybe ten seconds before standing and looking at the school bus, expecting to find a flaming wreck and the bodies of forty-three dead kids. But I’m relieved to see it still intact. Agent Chambers appears next to me. We exchange a confused glance.
I’m obviously happy the kids are still alive, but what the hell blew up?
Disoriented from the blast, I quickly scan the area and soon find out. The SWAT van’s completely destroyed, along with the entire team who were either inside it or standing close by.
Jesus Christ...
I hear what sounds like two gunshots, but they’re faint amid all this noise and chaos. I look around trying to see where they came from, but it’s futile. There’s too much smoke and too many people running around and screaming. My gaze rests momentarily on some scattered body parts on the road—probably what remained of the SWAT team…
I see Agent Johnson running over to a small crowd of people nearby, waving at them wildly and imploring them to get back. Agent Wallis takes his time standing up, and looks a little concussed. He would’ve been standing closer to the blast than the rest of us, so he probably caught more of it.
I know what that feels like…
“What the hell’s happening?” shouts Chambers. “Where is this guy?”
I shrug. “I have no idea!” I shout back.
A second explosion sounds out, further away than the first. We all half-duck again before realizing it isn’t nearby.
But it must be…
I look up, trying to see the tops of the buildings in the mid-distance in the vain hope of seeing a small figure looking down at us or something, but instead I see the chopper that's been hovering above us spinning out of control and plummeting quickly toward us in flames.
Straight for the bus.
“Oh, shit!” I yell.
Without thinking, and before anyone else can react, I race over to the school bus and yank the doors open, no longer caring about the initial bomb threat. The way I see it, if he was going to detonate the bomb under the bus, he would’ve done it already.
I climb on board and look at the sea of shocked and scared children. I have no idea what to do, and for a valuable second, I freeze completely as I gaze down the bus and see nothing but small faces, mouths hanging open in unimaginable horror.
Then my brain resumes normal service.
“Everyone, I need you to listen carefully and do exactly as I say. I want you all to make your way to the front of the bus as quickly as you can and jump off, okay? Single file, right now. Once you’re off, you have to run as fast as you can and get as far away from this bus as possible.”
I clap my hands together to speed them along.
“Come on,” I said. “Now!”
They don’t need telling twice. A stampede of small feet run to the front of the bus and jump down to the parking lot. I look for the teachers in the crowd.
“Hit the ground running and get them as far away from here as you can,” I yell. “You’ve got less than ten seconds!”
I stand watching as the last of the kids escape the bus. The last one jumps off and starts running, but loses their balance and falls forward on their face. It’s a little girl, probably about seven years old. She has pigtails in her hair…
I look at her lying on the floor, crying and screaming, and I think of my own daughter, Maria. She was roughly the same age when she was taken from me. Everything stops and I feel my heart breaking all over again.
I’ll be damned if I’m going to lose another little girl...
I jump off and rush to her, scooping her up in my arms and run as fast as I can. A couple of seconds later and I hear the flaming chopper hit the bus. The impact is deafening, and the explosion it causes knocks me off my feet. I’d managed to get maybe thirty feet from the bus, but the blast hits me like a freight train and I’m thrown forward. Instinctively, I throw the little girl out in front of me—I’ll crush her if I land on top of her. It’ll hurt her, but it’s better than the alternative and I’m sure she’ll forgive me.
I hit the ground hard, landing face down. My head smacks against the concrete. As my skull bounces up again, I catch sight of the little girl landing some feet in front of me, seemingly safe from the blast.
Everything goes quiet. People’s screams are reduced to a small echo, drowned out by the loud, constant ringing in my ears. My body feels hot and my eyes are stinging. Disoriented, I roll over on my back and look down my body.
Holy shit, I’m on fire!
I quickly roll over and over, mindlessly slapping at the flames to put them out. People are surrounding me that I don’t recognize. They cover me in a blanket and after a minute help me to my feet.
My eyes are sore and my vision’s blurring…
I wipe my hand across my face. It feels wet and I look down to see it covered in blood.
The world around me keeps fading to black and back again in slow motion. I look around and see blurry outlines of people running toward a body on the floor a few feet away, then toward me…
I’m lying on the ground again. I open my eyes. I must’ve blacked out. I struggle to push myself up on all fours, but Johnson and Chambers appear next to me and help me. They lift my arms around their necks and help me walk away. They’re saying something, but I can’t m
ake out what.
I stumble and they guide me to the ground. I’m on a grass verge off the right, away from the carnage and chaos behind me. I wipe my eyes again and look over to the entrance of the Academy. On my left is a burning wreck that was once a SWAT van. Across the front of the building, whoever isn’t dead or injured are running and screaming trying to get away, but ultimately falling over each other. Just to the right of that is what’s left of the school bus, and the remains of a chopper sticking out of it on fire.
Sweet Jesus… this is insane!
I look up next to me and see Chambers talking hurriedly into her phone. Johnson’s kneeling beside me with his hand on my shoulder. I can’t see where Wallis has gone. He’s probably helping anyone who’s injured or something.
Johnson is saying something to me and nodding, but I have no idea what—his voice sounds hollow, drowned out by a loud ringing. Looking at his face, I think he seems positive…
My head starts to spin, and I lie back, preparing for the world to turn black once again. In my mind, all I can see is an image of The Shark looking on, laughing. I can’t believe he would endanger the lives of so many innocent people—innocent children—just to get to me.
This has to stop. It’s just too much. I’ve always said my anger is kept behind a closed door. Every now and then, someone will try to push that door open, and they never like what awaits them on the other side. This guy just kicked my door off its hinges… He has no idea what’s coming for him—what I’m prepared to do to put a stop to this. The scary thing is, as I close my eyes and feel the world slipping away from me once more, neither do I.
21:02
“He’s awake,” says the voice, sounding miles away. “Go and tell Agent Chambers.”
I open my eyes, blinking a few times to clear the fog. I look to my right and see Agent Wallis standing next to me. He isn’t smiling, but he seems glad I’m not dead, which is something I suppose.
Hunter's Games Page 6