by Jacob Whaler
Leo grins. “Matt knows so much about the Stones, and he’s a great fighter.”
Still laughing, Matt bends down and motions for Yarah to come closer.
She stands in front of Kent with her hands on her hips, looking up at him and back at Matt, as if she’s trying to figure out the connection between the two of them.
“And this is Yarah, also from Brazil,” Matt says.
Kent drops to one knee “How are you, Yarah?”
“She doesn’t speak English yet,” Matt says. “We didn’t mean to bring her, but she sort of tagged along. It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got a couple of those myself.” Kent stands up. “And I’ll want to hear all about yours, later. Right now, Jake and I are trying to unravel a mystery. Maybe you can help.” He walks past Jake and reaches into his backpack, coming out with the monkey figurine.
“Any idea what this is?”
Matt’s and Leo’s eyes grow large.
Rushing forward, Matt takes the figurine out of his dad’s hand. He turns it over and over. “This is definitely it. The key. Where did you find it?”
Jake clears his throat. “From a friend named Little John.”
“Little John?” Matt looks into his dad’s eyes. “You said that name before. Who is he?”
“Someone with a Stone, just like yours. The founder of the freedom camps.” Kent’s eyes drift over into the field where smoke is billowing up into the air a hundred meters away. “Ryzaard captured him and took him back to MX Global.”
“He’s my friend. I wish there was something we could do.” Jake shakes his head. “No telling what Ryzaard is doing to him.”
“I think I have some idea. And maybe there is something we can do.” Matt takes in a deep breath. “Ryzaard has Jessica, too. I’m going back to MX Global to find her as soon as we’re done here. Ryzaard has three Stones, so we’ll need at least that many to face him. I would have gone sooner, but if Ryzaard kills me—”
“Her life will be forfeit.” Jake nods. “You’re smart. Most other young guys like you would have just barged into MX Global and gotten themselves killed.”
“I guess so,” Matt says. “But it’s been hard not to go after her. I had a dream about her this morning, and even though I can’t remember anything, I’ve got this feeling that she’s OK. For a little while longer.” His hand drops down and ruffles Yarah’s hair. “There’s still a lot I don’t understand. But I know one thing.” He holds up the monkey figurine. “We need this to get the Stone from the Monkey.”
“The Monkey?” Kent says. “Are you telling me a monkey has a Stone?” His eyes dart back and forth in the air, as if he’s putting something together in his mind. “Now I get it. Makes sense. Little John left us the clues to find a monkey with a Stone.”
Jake shakes his head. “How did a monkey end up with a Stone?”
“Another long story,” Matt says. “There’s a huge monkey, and it’s had a Stone for hundreds of years, keeping it alive and growing. It’s sick and about to die and wants this little figurine. It’ll trade the Stone for it. It’s here at the temple ruins.” Matt looks at the severed arm on the ground a few meters away. “And it’s got quite a temper.”
“No doubt,” Jake says.
A strange sense of loss falls over Matt. He takes his Stone out of his pocket and brings it up to his eyes. It feels cold and dead.
“What’s going on?” Kent says.
“Ryzaard’s got a device that disables the Stones. Calls it a Null Box, or something like that. He used it on me once. He must have just turned it on. I’ll bet it’s in that attack-heli.” Matt pulls himself to the top of the wall and looks out over the field. “There he is.” Matt’s voice drops to a whisper. “Standing next to the beast over there. Looks like he has a pistol in his hand.”
A single gunshot rings out.
Jake’s turns his face to the noise. “It’s a .45 caliber. Must be an antique.”
“Ryzaard is going after the monkey’s Stone. It’ll only make him stronger.” Matt goes into concentration mode, folding his arms. “We have to stop him. If only we had something to knock out Ryzaard while he has the Null Box engaged. Without the protection of his Stones, we might be able to end the whole thing here and now. Not to mention making sure his Stones don’t get into the wrong hands.” He scans past his dad and Jake. “Each of you should have one.”
Kent and Jake trade glances without saying a word.
“I’ve got just what we need.” Kent bends down and picks up one of the silver tubes. “All I have to do is lob one of these within five meters of him, and Ryzaard will be out like a light.”
“Can you really do it, Dad? That’s pretty far.”
“I might not be able to.” Kent turns to Jake and pats him on the back. “But I know someone who can.”
Leo takes a step closer to Matt, eyes wide. “Are you going to kill him?”
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Matt says. “But first I want to talk to him. His people still have Jessica. I need to find out where she is.”
“But what about his pistol?” The color drains out of Leo’s face. “You won’t have the protection of your Stone. Ryzaard might shoot you down if you get near him.”
“It’s risky.” Kent bends to open up his backpack. “But if you’re serious about doing this, Matt, I’ve got just the thing.”
CHAPTER 96
Ryzaard stands over the beast, the HK45 dangling from the fingers of his right hand.
The massive animal stumbles backward onto the ground, its great hulk resting against a half-crumbled rock wall. It grips the Stone in one hand and holds its heaving, bloody chest with the other. Over and over, it opens and closes its eyes, squeezing the Stone between its fingers at the same time.
“What’s wrong, big boy? Doesn’t your rock work?”
The great monkey stares at Ryzaard, its eyes burning with fear and hatred. With visible effort, it manages to stand on its feet on trembling legs.
Ryzaard stands back, raises the pistol, grins and shoots the beast in the chest two more times.
It slumps back down, clutching the Stone to its body, bathing it in blood. A low growl rises from its belly.
“Now, to finish you off.”
He shoots the beast one more time.
Its great hulk topples over to one side and comes to a stop with its great jowls pressing against the ground. It manages to raise its head and pushes itself up on one arm.
The pistol fires again.
The arm buckles and the head crashes onto the rocky ground, eyelids dropping down.
“Tough old fellow.” Ryzaard moves forward and reaches for the Stone.
But the dark fingers still grip it tightly and will not let go.
Ryzaard raises his pistol. Moving closer to the Monkey, he presses the barrel against the hairy forehead.
“Always a bully, aren’t you?”
Ryzaard recognizes the voice.
He twists around and sees Matt.
CHAPTER 97
Little John silently mouths the words to himself.
Eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three.
His tight cannonball posture explodes as arms and legs fling out into space. Using the momentum, he arches his back, lets his head drop and opens his eyes to take a look.
And what he sees is a complete surprise.
Three suns float in the darkness behind him, each at a distance so that it looks like a floating basketball, drowning out the other smaller lights he saw earlier. This time, he hangs in the inverted position for multiple seconds and studies the three stars.
And then he understands.
The stars are connected to Stones. The massive sun blazing away to his front must represent Ryzaard’s Stone, now merged with Little John’s. The three smaller stars shining in the distance behind him might be three other Stones that Ryzaard is trying to draw to himself.
If only Little John can find a way to connect with them before Ryzaard takes them too.
Inevitably, his spread eagle body rotates back into its default position facing the one large sun that occupies his full field of vision. It calls out to him with a constant wail of emotion. His fingers stretch out to possess it, but an unseen force repels it, and it comes no closer.
He is nearing the end of a pain cycle. Concentration and clarity slowly drain away, taking with it the exquisite sensitivity that drives him forward to find a way out of his living hell. He loses the energy to see behind the pain, to analyze and compartmentalize it. He is left with dull suffering that fills every corner of his consciousness, crowding out all things until his own thoughts no longer exist.
He is never sure how much time passes between pain cycles. Time has no place in this alternate reality. When it starts again, he senses the clarity surging back into his body, like a resurrection and rebirth. Slowly, with effort and thought, he pulls his arms and legs back into a cannonball position, leaving no room for light between his knees and chest. As the jagged edges of agony rip through his spine, he drinks it in, feeds upon it, draws strength from it.
And begins counting once again.
CHAPTER 98
Matt is back.
Ryzaard fights the urge to raise his face to the sky and emit an ear-splitting howl, whether out of joy or anger, he is not sure.
“So nice to see you again. What brings you to Thailand on such a rainy day?” Ryzaard straightens his bow tie and brushes the dust off the shoulder of his tweed jacket. The HK45 still dangles from the fingers of his right hand.
Matt takes a step closer. “Just out doing some sightseeing.” Each of his hands drop into side pockets and come out with a Stone. Matt balances them in his palms, moving his head slowly from one shoulder to the other. “And rock collecting. There are some beautiful specimens here. I’m sure you would agree.”
The muscles in Ryzaard’s jaw tighten, and his teeth grind together. He tries but fails to relax them. The pistol feels heavy in his right hand. His index finger caresses the trigger. “Yes. It is a wonderful day for finding Stones. This beast has one that will make a wonderful addition to my collection.” He opens his jacket so that Matt can see the black leather harness on his chest with three Stones prominently displayed. Ryzaard steps to the side and, with an eye still on Matt, shoots the beast behind him in the belly.
No sound comes from its heavy body, but its fingers fail to release the Stone.
Matt is motionless except for the grin that spreads across his face. “Your effort and commitment to your cause is impressive, an inspiration.” He motions to the three helicopters behind him, now reduced to burning metal hulks, and the fallen and maimed bodies that lay scattered around them. “You have such single-minded dedication. I really don’t know how you keep it all up. Do you ever sleep?”
Ryzaard’s eyes feel dry and tired. Weariness spreads through his body. He notices that his shoulders are tense, creeping up closer to his ears. With effort, he relaxes them back down and forces a smile. “With so much going on, I find that sleep has become a luxury I can’t afford.”
Matt shakes his head. “I guess I’m just lazy. Always looking for the easy way to do everything.” He slips the Stones back into his pockets and pulls out a small leather-bound book. “Naganuma was kind enough to leave me this. Sort of a field guide for rock hounds. Tells me exactly where all the Stones are hiding. Actual GPS coordinates. Pretty nifty.” He fans the yellowed pages back and forth, slowly and deliberately, and then stops. “Yes, right here. It says there’s one in Thailand at this exact location. It even gives the name of the Holder. Calls him the Monkey.” Matt looks up and laughs. “Imagine that.”
Ryzaard’s face grows hot. His legs start to tremble with anger. With a racing pulse beating against the inside of his chest, it’s difficult to sustain normal breathing. Deep inside, a tidal wave of rage begins to build, rising from buried recesses until it becomes a churning storm in his belly. His neck muscles tighten into thick sinews.
He’s playing me.
With effort, Ryzaard softens his jaw enough to open his mouth.
“I suspected there was such a book.” He takes a step closer to Matt and calmly adjusts his grip on the pistol. “Naganuma hinted at it on several occasions.”
“It’s a pity that Naganuma is no longer with us.” Matt looks down at the book and back at Ryzaard. “He had such a deep understanding of the Stones. Now all that is lost.”
“He was a fool. Understanding without action means nothing.”
“Yes, but action without understanding is worse.” Matt places one foot in front of the other.
Ryzaard moves one step closer, squeezing the distance between them to less than five meters. “The old priest refused all that I offered him.”
A grin moves across Matt’s lips, squirming up and down before finally ending in a snarl. “What could you possibly offer him?”
“Everything he wanted. Limitless power. An equal partnership.” Rage boils up again, but Ryzaard tamps it down with a slow breath.
“Equal partnership with you? That’s a contradiction in terms. I’d rather crawl in bed with a rattlesnake.” Matt spits on the ground between them.
“I offered it to you as well.”
“You lied to me,” Matt says. “About everything.”
“I would have treated you as a son.”
“No, you would have treated me like your own mother and sister. A slave to your greed. Leaving them to die as soon as it was convenient.”
“You know that’s not true!”
Eyes dropping down to Ryzaard’s pistol, Matt lunges forward, hands outstretched.
Stepping back, Ryzaard brings the pistol up, level with Matt’s belly. Unrestrained rage surges into his hand.
The pistol rings out with four shots.
Matt stumbles backward. The leather book falls to the grass. For a moment, he looks down and tries to reach it, dropping to his knees. But his eyes roll back into his head, and his body crumples to the ground.
“You thought you could goad me into making a mistake, kill me while the power of the Stones is blocked by the Null Box. What a pity.” Ryzaard kneels down and presses the barrel of the pistol just above the bridge of Matt’s nose, exactly between the eyes. “You deserve this.”
Giving voice to a lifetime of fury and hatred, Ryzaard pulls the trigger.
CHAPTER 99
Ten shots fired. The magazine should be empty.
Kent holds his breath until the pulse grenade hits. It goes off, and the shockwave knocks Ryzaard from his feet and drops him to the ground.
“Matt’s still alive,” Leo says. “I can feel his connection to the Stone.”
“Good,” Kent says. “Are you sure you can heal him?”
Leo nods. “Just as soon as I get out there.”
“The helicopter is still too close.” Kent turns to Jake and hands him a silver tube. “See if you can land one next to it. Just enough to scare it away. Aim high.”
From behind the rock wall, Jake holds the grenade in his hand, steps forward and throws it with an audible grunt. It arches through the air and lands twenty meters from the chopper, its rotors slowly churning like a lazy windmill.
Another shockwave of light and heat rolls past.
“The chopper’s not moving,” Jake says.
Kent nods. “We have to get closer.”
“You get closer and you’ll get yourself killed,” Jake says.
Leo jumps to his feet. “I’ve got to begin the healing process now before Matt’s dies from his wounds. I can’t do anything until the chopper and the Null Box are gone.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.” Kent steps out from the protection of the wall and starts sprinting toward the black Chopper on the grass a hundred meters away. He winds up and lets another silver tube fly. As soon as the grenade leaves his hand, he drops to the ground and kisses the grass.
This time, the explosion flashes close to the chopper.
Kent picks his face off the grass and looks up
when he hears the helicopter engine revving. It jumps straight up off the ground for a hundred feet, and then banks sharply to the right and shoots away.
Silence descends on the temple ruins as the thump thump thump fades into the distance.
Leo bends down and kisses Yarah on the forehead, speaking softly in Portuguese. After hugging her one last time, he turns to Jake. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”
“Will do. Now go do your healing.” Jake stands so that his aviator sunglasses rise above the top of the wall.
Leo runs around a high tower and past a series of crumbling arches and broken Buddha statues, heading to the spot where Matt and Ryzaard lie on the grass.
Kent jogs back behind the wall and stares out across the field at the sprinting figure of Leo. “I hope he got there in time.”
“You got a brave son there,” Jake says. “He went out there knowing he was going to get shot.”
“Matt’s never been afraid of anything. From the time he learned to walk. Climbing refrigerators. Jumping off the roof. That was always the problem. But trying to get shot? That’s a first, even for him.”
Jake shakes his head. “If I had a son like that, I don’t think I would have allowed it.”
“It was his idea,” Kent says as he shakes his own head. “You saw it. I couldn’t talk him out of it.”
“You didn’t really try.”
“He’s a grown man now. I have to respect that.” Kent looks down at Yarah and smiles. “Besides, that’s what a Velkor shirt is made for. Direct shots at close range. Toughest fabric known to man. Only available to Navy Seals. Glad I brought one with me that fits Matt.”
Jake puts his head back up over the wall. “Leo’s there now.”
Kent stands up on a rock and watches as the scene plays out.
Leo approaches Matt, kneels down at his side and gently rolls him onto his back. He drops an ear down to his chest.
With lips moving in rapid succession, no sound comes from Kent’s mouth. After ten seconds, he feels his heart grinding to a stop.