“That’s all we need, Supreme Commander,” said Ryan. “Amanda already thinks she’s superior. Now you’ve made her a goddess.”
Ryan’s father came to join them. “I heard something about a goddess in our midst. Between Amanda and the queen, I’m surrounded by real royalty. I guess a fleet commander is small potatoes these days.”
Ryan turned to Amanda. “You know you’re never going to live this down,” he said.
“Bow down when you say that,” she said.
Ryan smiled. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s eat and get back to the carrier.” He held his arm out for her to go ahead of him. “Goddesses first.”
Amanda elbowed him. Everything seemed to be falling into place. By the end of the day they’d finally be on their way back to Fleet Headquarters. He couldn’t believe they’d actually pulled it off. Maybe his superstitious hunch was wrong after all.
As soon as the thought left his mind, Ryan noticed the Altarrans looking around them with quizzical expressions on their faces. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I hear something,” said Granthaxe. “Above us, in the sky.”
Ryan looked up. “I don’t hear any—wait, I do hear something.” High above them, he could hear a slight buzzing noise. Then it grew louder. What was it? The sun was shining down through the trees, but soon it was eclipsed by a shadow. The sky grew darker and the noise got louder.
He turned to his father. “Is this one of ours?”
But his father wasn’t paying attention to him. He, too, was looking up at the sky. All of a sudden, as the sound grew deafening, Ryan spotted something heading toward them from above. His father yelled out, “Incoming! Hit the deck!”
Ryan dove toward Amanda to shield her, but in mid-dive a huge explosion shook him to the bone. He felt his body being thrown in the air, and just as his back hit a tree, everything went black.
Chapter 52
Dazed And Confused
Ryan slowly opened his eyes. His head was throbbing and his ears were ringing. He felt like he’d been hit with a baseball bat. He tried to stand, but his feet gave out from under him. Shaking his head, he looked around, trying to figure out where he was and what the hell had happened.
He saw Amanda, his father, and five of the special ops soldiers on the floor. They all appeared to be unconscious. There was no sign of the Altarrans, and Lieutenant Evans, who’d seemed the strongest of the lot, was missing.
He crawled over to Amanda and could see that she was breathing. Thank God, she was alive. He heard shuffling and turned to see his father waking up. “Dad,” he said, “are you okay?”
“I’m alive,” said Thompson squinting at him. “Not really sure about anything else at the moment. Any idea where we are?”
“Not a clue,” said Ryan. “I came to about a minute before you did. It looks like we’re inside a brig on a ship. The last thing I remember was a loud explosion. Then I woke up here.”
The admiral struggled to sit up. “That was a concussion bomb. And it was a damn big one. Probably took out the entire village.”
The rest of the soldiers were coming to. Ryan felt Amanda move and turned to see her sitting up. She had a glazed look in her eyes. “How are you feeling?” he said.
“Like an elephant sat on my head. My ears are ringing. Other than that, I’m okay. What happened?”
“We’re trying to figure that out,” he said. “We’re locked up somewhere.”
The sound of footsteps coming toward them caught his attention. “Someone’s coming.”
Ryan felt a huge sense of relief when Lieutenant Evans appeared.
“Evans!” said Ryan’s father. “Thank God. Get us out of here!”
“Now why on Earth would I do that,” said Evans, “when I went through so much trouble to get you in there?”
Ryan was dumbfounded. Even his father was speechless. Almost.
“Evans,” said the admiral, “I don’t know who or what brainwashed you, but I’m your commanding officer, and you’re dangerously close to a court martial.”
“I’d think you’d have trouble arranging that from in there, Admiral. Now, I’d back away from those bars, as you’re dangerously close to, well . . . dying.”
Ryan watched anxiously as Evans took his pistol out. Ryan tried to distract him. “Where are we?” he said.
“Where you need to be,” said Evans.
“You can’t go rogue, Evans,” said the admiral. “The ministry will come looking for us, and trust me, when they find you, they’ll be all over you like a cheap suit.”
“Oh, I’m not rogue, Admiral. And I think the ministry will be quite okay with my actions.”
“Oh they will? I think you’re in for a surprise.”
“Did I hear something about a surprise?” said another voice from the other end of the room. Ryan turned to see who it was, and nearly fell over in shock. Amanda gasped.
It was the defense minister, Ian Rupert—Ryan was sure of it. And his father confirmed it when he walked to the other end of the cell to face the man.
“Rupert,” said the admiral, “what kind of game is going on here? Our mission was sanctioned. Not officially, but it had to be done. And it worked.”
“You’ve never been more right, Admiral,” said Rupert. “It did work. It worked absolutely spectacularly, and I commend you for it.”
“Then why are we in here?”
“Because, my dear Admiral, you failed to blow your simian friends to pieces while you had the chance. Their most important leaders were all on that island, and vulnerable. And you call yourself a military man. I’m disappointed.”
Ryan had had enough. “You’re a lunatic, Rupert,” he said. “In case you didn’t notice, we were able to end this peacefully, dumbass.”
“Ah, the prodigal son speaks. And so eloquently.”
“How the hell did you even find out about this mission?” said the admiral.
“The question isn’t how, my crude friend—it’s when. I told you the mission went spectacularly. Much better than even I could have imagined it, I might add.” Rupert grabbed a chair from the corner and placed it in front of the cell. “Do you mind if I have a seat?”
Nobody answered.
“I’m sure you don’t,” said Rupert. “Anyhow, let’s go back a little. Let’s say to the mid twentieth century. Around the time of rumored incidents such as Roswell, and a few others I’m sure you know and love, there was a little government organization—we’ll call it an offshoot—known as IC-12. The IC stood for inner circle. Clever, I know. And just like your mission, theirs was ‘unofficially sanctioned.’” Ryan cringed while Rupert made quotation marks with his hands. “And also like your mission,” he continued, “the government looked the other way while the IC-12 made sure that our nation was safe and secure, through whatever means necessary. Sound familiar?”
His sing-songy tone was incredibly annoying.
“What’s this got to do with us?” said the admiral.
“Nothing, my friend. Absolutely nothing. But it has everything to do with me. Because the IC-12 is still very much alive, and yours truly . . . runs it. You see, ever since Miss Williamson’s dear ancestor decided to go against orders and assist a dangerous species, our organization has been searching for them.”
“They’re not dangerous,” said Amanda. “And my great-great-grandfather was ten times more patriotic than you’ll ever be.”
“He was a traitor, Miss Williamson, very much the same as all of you. He let wounded enemies go free, and wounded enemies make very poor neighbors.”
“They were only enemies because of your idiot group,” said Amanda.
“Rupert, I’ll see you burn in hell for this,” said the admiral.
“Oh, do you have pull there?” said Rupert. “Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted, I was about to tell you how I suspected, from the moment we received the level two alert from Pluto, that the incoming visitors and the missing species were, in fact, one and the same. We even had warnings
of such a visit, left by my predecessors.”
“And you didn’t tell me about them?” said the admiral.
“I did more than tell you. I practically led you straight to the general’s cryptic little note, a note my predecessors found many years ago, I might add. So you see, Admiral, I had faith in you about one thing. I knew if anyone could decipher that code, you could. I, for one, could not. And so, I commend you. Excellent job.”
“Wait a minute,” said Ryan. “So that means Evans told you where we were heading when we finally cracked the code.” He stared at Evans, who gave him the finger.
“A bright son you have, Admiral,” said Rupert. “But just in case, I had the note treated. We’ve been tracking you ever since.”
“Listen to yourself,” said the admiral. “You’ve been chasing a peaceful species. They intended no harm. They can help us.”
“Oh, they have helped us,” said Rupert. “A great deal. When they first crash-landed here, we escorted them to our friendly private facility. You’d be amazed at the technology we learned from them with a little prodding. In fact, many of our weapons and engine designs are a direct result of their teachings.”
“Yes, we saw pictures of your facility,” said Thompson. “More like a torture chamber. I can’t believe Hawking would support a group like yours. He’d never be behind this.”
“How right you are. That is if he knew about us, which he doesn’t. We’ve been privately funded for the last fifty years. Not like the old days. And besides, who’s going to tell him? You? Your ape friends? You should know more than anyone, Admiral, when it comes to national security, all bets are off.”
“What did you do with them?” said Amanda. “You and your coward friend.”
Evans walked up to the cell with his gun pointed at Amanda. “Don’t make me kill you a day early,” he said.
“Now, now,” said Rupert. “Let’s not get them all stressed. After all, they’ll be heroes soon.”
The admiral glared at Rupert. “What do you mean ‘heroes’? We’re not doing anything for you.”
“I second that,” said Ryan.
“None of us are,” added Amanda.
Rupert laughed. “Oh, but that’s the beauty of it. You don’t have to do anything at all. You’ve already done it.”
“Done what?” said the admiral.
“Found the missing apes, of course. But then, sadly, they turned on you, as did the vicious islanders. You and your men fought valiantly and even managed to kill the apes and half the tribe. It’s just unfortunate that the only survivor was Lieutenant Evans, who barely escaped the island. And there it is, Admiral. Tomorrow’s news today.”
“You’re insane,” said Ryan. “You can’t kill them. They have thousands more that will come.”
“And thanks to all of you, we know how to disable their shields, so again I must commend all of you on a job well done. I hope you understand why I can’t let you live.”
“Did you kill them?” said Amanda. “Did you kill the Altarrans?”
Rupert put a finger to his lips as if he was about to share a secret. Then he turned around. “Bring the admiral to my office,” he said to Evans as he left the room.
With his gun pointed, Evans ordered them to all back away from the bars. Two other guards came in, cuffed the admiral and took him away. Oddly enough, they cuffed him from the front. They were either the dumbest guards in the world, or they had a good reason.
Evans leered at Amanda before joining them. “I’ll be back for you later.”
She spit at him.
He grinned as he wiped his face. Then he turned and left to join the others.
Ryan hoped his father would be okay. If anyone knew how to handle himself in tough situations, the admiral did.
“The fleet will probably send help, right?” said Amanda. “We’re supposed to report to our backup team every four hours.”
Ryan shook his head. “Evans is the communications officer. They knew what they were doing by placing one of their men in that position. He’s probably reporting like clockwork. And it’s probably why they need us alive another day, so he can stop the reports at the last minute, since he’s supposed to be the only survivor. Otherwise the forensics would show we died earlier.”
“Damn them!” said Amanda. Her face looked like she was ready to explode.
“Listen,” said Ryan. “We need to keep our cool. We can’t get out of here with force, so we have to use our heads. Try to think of ideas and I’ll do the same.”
He looked at the remaining five special ops soldiers. He knew that every single one of them understood the dire situation they were in. And special ops soldiers weren’t the type to sit still and wait to die. He could see them all scoping out the ceiling, as well as all the corners of the cell. But he could also see in their eyes that they knew it was a fruitless cause. He realized then, that if there was any way out of this, it was going to be up to him and Amanda.
Chapter 53
Wounded Enemies
Ryan was pacing the cell when he heard footsteps. Two guards rounded the corner dragging his father with them. The admiral looked bruised, but at least he was walking upright and had the usual unyielding expression on his face. The guards opened the cell doors and threw him to the ground. Ryan tried to rush the door, but all he got for his trouble was the butt end of a rifle in his stomach, knocking him down as well. He crawled over to check on his father as the guards exited the cell and locked it.
“I’m okay, said the admiral, waiting for the guards to leave the area. He got to his feet slowly, as did Ryan. “They wanted information about the Altarran fleet and the amulet. They have no idea what was in the amulet, only that there were microchips we were studying. They also know it means something to the queen, but they’re not sure what. They must think it’s some kind of beacon or signal device. I assume you know what this means.”
“I’m not following,” said Ryan.
“It means they need us alive, for one. I couldn’t tell if the queen was alive, or any of the Altarrans for that matter, and they sure as hell weren’t about to tell me. But the more we can string them along, the more opportunities we’ll get.”
“This gives me an idea,” said Amanda. “That Evans creep keeps staring at me. If I can somehow get them to bring me and Ryan together for interrogation, we might have a chance of distracting them.”
“Too risky,” said the admiral. “These aren’t soldiers to mess around with.”
“What do we have to lose?” she said. “We’ll be dead anyway soon, and we won’t get too many opportunities like that.”
“I hate to day it, Dad,” said Ryan, “but she’s right.
Just then they heard footsteps again, as the two guards emerged from the hallway.
“Just go along with me,” Amanda whispered to Ryan.
“You need a plan,” said the admiral.
“I have one,” she said. Then she looked at Ryan. “Whatever I say, argue with me.”
The guards approached the cell and made everyone back off. “You,” said one of the guards to Amanda, “come with us.”
As the guard fiddled with the lock, Amanda stepped forward. “I know what you want,” she said. “But I only have half the information. Ryan here has the other half.”
Ryan remembered what Amanda had said about arguing, but he wasn’t sure if she meant now or later. He decided to go for it.
“Amanda,” he said, stepping forward, “there’s no way we’re giving them anything. Not from me, anyway.”
“We have to, Ryan,” she said. “Now isn’t the time for your stupid pride. They need us both. If we help them, they may let us all go.”
“Are you nuts?” he said. You actually think they’ll—”
“Enough, you two,” said the guard. “The girl comes alone.”
The guard aimed his rifle at Ryan. Ryan yelled to Amanda, “Don’t tell them anything. They’ll kill us all.”
“Wait!” said a voice from the far end of the room
. It was Evans. “Bring them both. I think the admiral’s son needs some incentive.”
Ryan didn’t like the smirk on Evans’s face. He sure hoped Amanda knew what she was doing.
The guard turned to Ryan. “You heard him. Step forward.”
Ryan did as he asked, and the guards opened the cell again. They cuffed him and Amanda, again from the front, and led them toward the corridor, locking the cell behind them. Ryan tried to turn to see his father, but the guard knocked him in the back of the head with his gun.
As they proceeded up the corridor, Ryan could tell for sure he was on an airship. And it was apparently docked, because it certainly wasn’t in flight. He wondered what kind of interrogation tactics awaited them. He’d find out soon enough. If there was one thing he’d learned, though, it was to trust Amanda’s instincts.
They approached a room on the right, and the guards led them inside. It was empty, except for a few chairs and a metal table. The guards left and shut the door, which automatically locked with a hiss. Only a few seconds had gone by when the door opened and in came Rupert, along with Evans.
Ryan’s fists tensed.
“Please,” said Rupert. “Have a seat. We have much to talk about.”
“We have nothing to talk about,” said Ryan, still standing. “So you can take us back to the brig and save your time and energy.”
“Don’t speak for me, Ryan,” said Amanda. I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to die.” She sat down.
“She’s much wiser than you,” said Rupert. “Better genes, I suppose.”
“Ryan wasn’t quite sure what to do, so he continued arguing. “What the hell are you doing?” he said to Amanda.
Amanda looked at him and motioned with her eyes to the chair next to her. Ryan shook his head.
“Evans, call the guards,” said Rupert. “I think our friend needs convincing.”
“You won’t torture it out of me,” said Ryan. “I’m as stubborn as my father.”
“Oh, we’re not going to torture you, Mr. Thompson. We’re going to torture her.”
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