I slipped by her into the pod, not daring to look her in the face. That would make it worse. James was laid out on a bench. His wounded shoulder was bleeding again and both of his legs looked—wrong. I thought he was unconscious, but he must have heard me because his eyes moved.
“Nik. You made it out.” His breathing was labored. “We got their pod and a few others.”
“What—How . . .” I didn’t know what to say.
Lily stepped in. “We got out here and saw the Ranjers moving in almost right away. We told Pol and waited. He said you didn’t want us drawing them away.”
How different would it have been if I’d told them to go? Melissa and Pol would probably still be alive. My knees went weak. I locked them. Not now.
“Then they attacked,” James said. He shifted. “We knew you couldn’t win alone, so we took down their pod with the only rocket this one had left.” He blinked slowly, then focused on me. “Wait a minute. Pol and Melisa?”
I couldn’t say it. I needed to stop thinking it. There would be time for that after Holland and the Ranjers had paid for all they’d done.
“They didn’t come out,” Lily said. Her voice got rougher with each word. “Clouds and stars, they’re gone.” She started to cry.
“Are you sure they’re . . .” James trailed off.
“That upper floor collapsed onto them,” I said. I tried to block out the sound of Lily’s sobs.
James got quiet. “I’m sorry, Nik.”
“We have to go,” Lily said, her voice thick with tears. “They might have called in the attack. They must have. They had plenty of time. And those fires are still burning closer to the cavern.”
“I wish we could communicate with Krista. Or Annie,” James said. “We might be too late already.”
“Yeah, but we have to go, at least somewhere,” Lily said.
“We’re going to Edwards Air,” I said. “Even if we’re too late. Especially if we’re too late.”
I took in the damaged pod. Lockers were knocked free of the walls and scattered all over. Keepers, too. One of the benches had partially broken free from the floor. The pilot chair had come loose and was jammed right up against the front panel of the pod. I looked back to James’s legs, putting together what had happened.
“Does this still fly?”
“Don’t know yet,” Lily said. “You want to check?” She scrubbed her face and bent towards James.
“Sure,” I said.
“Wait, Nik,” Lily said.
Before I could turn back to her, she wrapped me in a tight hug. She put her face close to my ear. “I’m so sorry.”
I squeezed back. My throat was so tight I couldn’t say anything. I wiped my tears on her shoulder and tried to keep myself from snapping in half.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
Lightning shot from my head to my feet. Pol.
I spun. Pol and Melisa, with a bunch of Outcasts behind them in the darkness, stood in the pod doorway.
Chapter 37
For a half second, I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. How? I ran to them and pulled them into a hug.
“What the Bug happened? What were you doing?”
“Are you mad we’re alive?” Pol asked, hugging me back and then peeling off with a wince.
Leaving just me and Melisa. She squeezed tighter. She felt warm and perfect and alive.
“I thought you were dead,” I said.
“We weren’t,” she said.
I held on for another few seconds. Words came unbidden to my lips, but I bit them back. Now wasn’t the time.
When I stepped back, Lily moved in and gave Melisa a quick embrace. “Well, Nik was the one who told us you two were dead, so it’s not our fault we were about to leave without you,” Lily said.
“The entire upper floor fell on them,” I said.
“Fell where we were,” Melisa said. “I saw Pol get shot so I ran to help him.”
Pol nodded. His right shoulder was a mess and he was moving very carefully toward the front of the pod. “They hit me twice. I fell, but Melisa helped me get up.” He eased into the copilot’s seat.
“I saw you on the balcony and knew you were in trouble,” Melisa said, “but they were all shooting at us. Luckily, the Outcasts had left all their stuff, so there was lots of cover.” She knelt by James and looked him over. “So we ran after the Outcasts. The ceiling fell in like a second after we got into the hallway. We got hit by some of the debris, but it’ll only leave bruises.”
“You’re forgetting that you got shot too,” Pol called back. “And this pod is basically done.”
“Where?” I asked Melisa.
She lifted her shirt. She was going to have a scar like mine on her left side. It wasn’t bleeding, so it couldn’t be too bad. “It’s okay.” Melisa finished examining James. “What happened to him?”
While Lily filled her in, I joined Pol. The Outcasts were still gathered outside, their forms dark and weirdly shaped. They obviously had no idea what to do.
“Pol,” I said. “What do you mean by ‘basically done?’”
“The controls are mostly shot.” Pol pointed at the panel. “Propulsion’s at 70%, although we still need fuel. We could get it in the air, but it won’t go high and it will burn through fuel faster. Also, it will be hard to control.”
“How do you mean?” I asked.
“Imagine throwing a rock,” Pol said. “Before it leaves your hand, you pretty much have control over it. But once you let go—”
“It’s going in pretty much one direction,” I said. “So we have to make sure we point it in the right direction?”
“Exactly.” He turned, being careful not to move anything more than his head. “Midair controls might respond a little. All the sensors are out too.”
“So we’ll be a blind rock full of beat up ugly blanks,” I said. “Flying straight at the evilest man in humanity’s history.”
“Exactly,” Pol said again.
“I like this plan.”
“You would.”
“Let’s fuel up and go,” I said. “Melisa and I will get the cells while Lily cleans you up.”
“No,” Melisa said. “I need to help Lily do something about James’s legs.”
James’s eyes fluttered open. I hadn’t seen him lose consciousness. He looked at Melisa. “Hey,” he said, “Nik was wrong?”
“About us being dead?” she asked. “Yes.”
“Typical,” James said. Pain made his voice tight.
“All right,” I said. “But work fast. And Pol, get ready to leave in a hurry.”
I surveyed them all. Melisa and Pol had been with me from the start. James’s experience as an Enforser had saved us more than once, and even though Lily had grown up not fighting, she had thrown in with us.
It was time to stop running away and stop living in fear.
“I’ll be right back,” I said. “I have an idea.”
Chapter 38
I set my bag down in the pod and ran back outside to find Evum. She looked battered and scared. A lot like the other Outcasts. I couldn’t tell how many were there—or how many they had lost. Lyn and Mintz were talking to a large group of them.
“Evum, can you show me where you came out of the building?”
“Leave her,” Mintz said, hurrying over to us. “She can help Lyn get the others moving. We need to find another place for now.”
And hope the Ranjers don’t find you again and finish you off. Another reason to finish them and Holland off first.
“I need those fuel cells,” I said.
“I will go with you,” Mintz said. His odd distracted manner had disappeared. He led me around the back of the building and down a somewhat hidden flight of stairs. The door at the bottom had obviously been reinforced, because it looked as strong as the door on the vault had been.
Using my chest light to see, we crossed a room, went through a hallway, found another flight of stairs up, and a minute later stood in Mintz’s laboratory.
; “Do you have a bag or something I can use?” I started neatly stacking the best fuel cells I could find in his pile.
Mintz looked around. Most of his hair spikes had drooped; now he looked like some kind of depressed tree. “I’m not sure.”
I tugged at a blanket hanging from a doorway. “Can I use this?”
“Certainly,” Mintz said.
Moving the cells to the blanket, I watched Mintz. He ducked through the door at the back of his laboratory.
I called after him. “Hey, thanks for catching me.”
His voice was faint. “You’re welcome.”
“What was that thing you were using to fly?”
“Float, really,” Mintz called back. “It doesn’t go very high yet.”
I remembered the reflective cloth. “And why were you wearing that stuff?”
“It’s a heat shield. The propulsion units on the pack emanate a significant amount of heat,” Mintz said. His voice got louder. “That part is still in progress too, as it is particularly ugly.” He reappeared, carrying two wide bags of projects over his shoulders. “I’ll come back for the rest later.”
I gathered the corners of the blanket and lifted it over my shoulder. “I’m ready, let’s go.”
We headed out. “So the point of the harness and pack—that’s to fly?” I asked.
“Eventually yes. It’s so much quicker and more efficient than walking,” Mintz said. He was breathing hard as he struggled to carry the heavy bags. “We must slow down, I don’t need the knockout right now.”
“You should just take the Papa off,” I said. I took one of his bags and slung it across my chest. “I promise you the Bug isn’t in the air; it’s in the knockout itself.”
“We’re not going to argue over this,” Mintz said.
I led the way down the stairs to the basement. “Great, then keep your heart rate under 140 for a couple weeks to get the Bug out of your system and—” I realized something weird about the Outcasts. Beyond the ‘work’ and stuff, at least. “Hold on, how are you not knocked out right now? Doesn’t it make you go to sleep at the same time every night?”
“We deactivated that part,” Mintz said. “We only get the knockout when it’s necessary.”
“When was the last time you had it?”
He thought for a moment. “Several days ago. I became somewhat agitated over a breakthrough on my fit pack.”
“Fit pack?” We crossed through the long, wide hallway.
“Ah, yes. I call it a Flying Individual Transporter—Fit pack for short.” He went on. “In any case, I finally worked out the right angle to direct the propulsion units for maximum forward thrust and found myself awaking on the floor of my laboratory.”
“Do the Ranjers know that you deactivated the nightly knockout?” Why were the Outcasts even allowed to be out here—since it was obvious the Ranjers knew where to find them?
“I assume so. They never said anything.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. Why are you allowed to be out here doing whatever you want to the Papas?”
Mintz thought for a moment. “I have no idea. All they’ve ever said is that the Prime Administrator expects us to behave ourselves.” He was walking behind me, but I heard him stop. “Now that I think about that, I believe the Enforsers in Mento do not know we are out here.”
“What? Why?” I faced him.
He blinked as my chest light shone on him. “We still have to sneak into the city in order to get Papa refills.”
“Okay, that makes zero sense,” I said.
“I suppose,” Mintz said. “We really are doing nothing to threaten the Prime Administrator, though. We simply like to live our own way.”
I continued walking. He’s right; as far as Holland’s concerned, the Outcasts are still totally under his control with the Bug, since they still think the Papas keep them safe. So they must still be playing part of whatever his plan was.
By the time we got back to the pod, most of the Outcasts were out of sight. Evum and Lyn were talking to Melisa.
“Let’s get going,” I said.
Melisa nodded. Evum extended a fist at her and said something. Melisa extended her fist and punched Evum’s lightly. They both smiled and Evum and Lyn walked away.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Knuckles,” Melisa said. “It’s something they do, apparently.” She took the blanket-wrapped fuel cells and crouched next to the pod.
I gave Mintz his heavy bag. “Thank you for your help.”
Mintz gave a flat smile. “I wish I could say our encounter has been a pleasure, but I cannot.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“No, you had no inkling that this would be the consequence of your visit. It was the Ranjers who did this,” Mintz said. “Nonetheless, you, Nik Granjer, are leaving a wide wake behind you. Difficult it is to be caught in that wake.”
It took me a moment to figure out what he was saying. Then I just felt worse.
“We won’t bother you again.” I turned to help Melisa, then turned back to Mintz. “Wait, how’d you know my last name?”
“As I said, you leave a wide wake. A well-known wake.”
Mintz walked after Lyn and Evum. His sagging hair and visible exhaustion made him look really sad. Guilt welled up in me as I bent to help Melisa. She had the power compartment open under the pod and had already gotten most of the old fuel cells out.
“We really need to end this,” I said, handing her a new cell. “We’re messing with too many people’s lives.”
“This is true,” Melisa said.
It took us maybe a minute to get the fuel cells installed. As we finished, I asked, “Knuckles?”
“It’s like a greeting and a goodbye, I guess,” Melisa said. “They do it with friends.”
“Evum’s a friend?”
“We did almost get killed together,” Melisa said. “So yeah.” She followed me into the pod.
“Okay, I’m at 100% power,” Pol said from the copilot seat.
Lily sat at James’s feet. She was strapping his legs to the bench he was lying on. His legs had keepers tied tightly against them.
“Let’s get going,” I said to Pol. I joined Lily. “How’s he doing?”
“Melisa and I got his legs splinted,” she pointed at the keepers. “We gave him some painkiller. His pulse and breathing are strong.”
“Where to?” Pol called as the whine of the pod grew louder.
“Our old campsite,” I said. “Where we left those projector bombs.”
Chapter 39
“What the Bug?” Pol asked. “I thought we were going to Edwards something.”
“That’s next,” I said. “You think you can get one of those bombs open?”
“Without blowing myself up?” Pol said. “Sure. Maybe. If I had a nano-cutter.”
We were about ten meters off the ground and leaning to the right. Melisa was poking at the activator to close the door.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her.
“Door won’t close,” she said.
I moved to help her out.
“Wait, Nik,” Pol called back. “Why do you need a projector bomb?” He furiously slid power and yaw controls, the amber readouts flashing crazily.
“First, we need a picture of Holland,” I said. “And if we can get a recording of his voice that we can cut up, that would be really great.”
Melisa had the panel around the actuator opened and was using a thin tool to separate wires.
“Want help?” I asked.
“Yes. You fix wires and I’ll stick to shooting guns and stuff,” Melisa said.
“And running faster than me. And learning to swim in like two seconds,” I said.
“Well, at least you’re useful for something.” She stepped away from the panel. “Talk while you work. What’s this plan?”
“Exactly,” Lily said, “fill us in, plan boy.”
“Talk loud!” Pol yelled back. We had to be going thirty kilometers per hou
r and the air displacement from the open pod door was making it feel like we were in a windstorm. “And get that door closed!”
“Trying,” I shouted. “I got some nano-gel from Evum. She says this computer thing” —I waved the thin band on my wrist, which uncomfortably reminded me of the Papas— “can scan a picture of a person and shape the nano-gel to make another person look like the scanned person. Like Adam Holland.”
“Are you s—” Lily cut off. “You’ve lost it.”
“So you’re saying you want to have the nano-gel shaped to make you look like the Prime spamming Administrator?” Pol looked like he was trying to divide himself into two people so he could fly the pod and talk to us at the same time.
“Yes,” I said.
I found a patch of open darkness—a hole had been blasted through the wall of the pod, completely evaporating a bunch of wires. Now there was a small, jagged window to the night. With all those wires gone, what else wasn’t working? Melisa reached in and helped me separate more wires and strip them.
“We’ll make me look like Holland, then sneak me into wherever he’s hiding—or at least near to it. The Ranjers won’t know it’s not their boss. If I can get to Holland, I’ll stop this. If not, I’ll get to some place I can call off the Ranjers.”
“You are completely insane,” Lily said. “You want to walk right into this place? It’s got to be crawling with Ranjers.”
“And you think we can scan the projected image from those bombs?” Pol called back.
“It’s the only way I can think of to scan his face,” I said. I turned to Melisa. “Which wires for the door?”
She shrugged.
“Pol, how bad is it if we don’t get this door closed?”
I had ten wires. I was pretty sure that the green ones controlled the door. I pulled the two blasted ends together. The section of wire that I figured led to the door slid out a bit, then stopped. The other section didn’t budge. The two blasted ends were still separated by twenty centimeters. Maybe more.
“Bad,” Pol said. “I’m using three times the power to keep us from spinning. We already had depleted directional control so I’m putting pretty much everything into us going the right direction.”
Push (Beat series Book 2) Page 23