by C. J. Hill
Tori blinked at her in surprise, then smiled and made her way to the open area in the back of the plane. If Bess hadn’t been bent over a jackhammer, wrapping straps onto it, Tori would have hugged her. “You’re coming on a mission?” she asked.
Bess tugged on a strap, making sure it was secure. “I don’t really consider this a mission. I think of it more as an intervention.” She dragged her attention away from the jackhammer for long enough to give Tori a reproachful gaze. “Did you actually go off with Dirk when he had powers and you didn’t?”
“Not before he assured me he just wanted to talk.” Tori scooted by Bess to reach the bin where the uniforms were kept. Might as well start getting ready now. The flight to Lock Haven would take less than an hour.
Bess wrapped straps around a second jackhammer with more force than the job required. “Even with your counterpart sense, you can’t trust Dirk. He found ways to lie to you before, and he’ll do it again.”
Tori took her Kevlar pants, jacket, and boots from the bin. “Or maybe I’ll convince Dirk to leave his father.”
Bess rolled her eyes, letting Tori know what she thought the chances of that happening were. “One way or another,” Bess said, “today’s mission should serve as a reminder that you and Dirk aren’t on the same team anymore.”
Tori kicked off her shoes and stepped into the Kevlar pants. “Dirk hasn’t left his father because he thinks he can temper him. He believes the revolution won’t be as bad if he’s a part of it. He’s not a tyrant like Overdrake.”
“Um, tyrant is as tyrant does.”
Tori did up the pants’ buckle. “Speaking of acting like a tyrant, how did you get away from your grandfather?”
Bess moved to the third jackhammer, attaching straps to it. “Grandpa doesn’t keep me under lock and key. Since no dragons are attacking right now, he has no reason to prevent me from going Christmas shopping with my friends.”
Tori nodded. “You lied to him. Welcome to my life.”
“The hard part will be getting away during an actual dragon attack.”
Tori sat in the nearest seat and pulled on one of her boots. “I’ve gotten really good at climbing out my window.”
On the overhead speaker, Dr. B said, “Please fasten your seatbelts. We’re fourth in line for takeoff.”
Tori waited patiently until the plane was in the air before she got up again and made her way to the supply boxes in the back. She found flashlights, neck mics, earpieces, earmuffs, radar sensors, dust masks, and Dremel saws. Guns and explosives were in separate boxes.
Tori picked up a pair of earmuffs with an unspoken sigh. They were supposed to muffle the sound of jackhammers and explosives. They wouldn’t help her as much as the others. She would hear both things from one of the unborn dragon’s ears too.
Bess and Jesse joined Tori, dressing in their battle gear. The pile of helmets and gloves seemed so small with only three of them suiting up.
“I’m glad you guys came,” Tori said, and tried not to let disappointment leak into her voice. “Didn’t the other Slayers believe my information?”
Jesse paused from putting on his boots to send her a sympathetic look. “No one thinks you’re lying about what Aaron told you. It was a captains’ decision. Only three of us are going because if this turns out to be a trap and we take casualties, the Slayers will still have a healer, fire douser, flyer, and someone who can push guns away.”
Bess tightened her holster around her hip. “And whatever Willow does.”
A captains’ decision. Tori hadn’t been told about the meeting let alone consulted. How long was she going to be on probation for? Dr. B had said he’d reevaluate after a few weeks but a month had already passed.
She checked to make sure her tranquilizer gun was loaded, then slid it into her holster. “Maybe after this mission is successful, Dr. B will trust my judgment again and lift my probation.”
Instead of agreeing, Bess and Jesse exchanged an uncomfortable look. It was only a fleeting glance, but it spoke volumes. Bess turned her attention to adjusting her boots, avoiding Tori’s eye. Jesse checked the safety on his rifle.
“What?” Tori asked. They knew something they weren’t telling her.
Jesse rubbed the back of his neck and turned his attention back to her. “Dr. B is going to have a talk with you about being captain.”
A talk. That didn’t sound good. Having a talk is what you did when you were delivering bad news. “What—he still won’t lift my probation? Isn’t he ever going to trust me again?”
“It’s not that he doesn’t trust you,” Bess said quickly. Her insistence felt more foreboding than consoling. “He just thinks counterparts would have an easier time leading the teams, so he’s making Ryker’s position as captain permanent.”
The air pushed from Tori’s lungs in a disbelieving cough. “Dr. B demoted me?”
Jesse stepped toward her, hands out like he wanted to pull her into a hug. “Sorry, Tori. You were a great captain. I told Dr. B he shouldn’t change things.”
She pushed away from Jesse’s hug, didn’t want pity. She wanted to hit something. “Then why did he demote me? Was it because I had the audacity to make decisions on my own or was it because I’m part dragon lord?”
“Neither,” Jesse said, his eyes soft with compassion. “When A-team and Magnus have to fight as one team, Ryker and I can lead more effectively because we’re counterparts. And the way we’re losing Slayers, fighting as one team may be our only choice.”
It was true, and yet the explanation felt like an excuse anyway—like cold, hard rejection. Hadn’t she and Jesse managed to kill two dragons? They’d worked as a team both times just fine.
She picked up her jacket and yanked it on. After the first dragon attack, she’d told Dr. B she didn’t want to be a captain, but he’d made her one anyway. He said he believed in her. And now when she was actually using her position as captain to make decisions, he’d fired her. His belief, apparently, was a fleeting thing.
“When was he going to tell me?” Tori asked, waving a hand at the cockpit. “Why did everyone else know about it before me?”
“Everybody doesn’t know.” Jesse’s voice was soothing. “Dr. B discussed it with me because I’m the other captain and he wanted my input.”
Bess shrugged. “I just eavesdrop sometimes.” When Tori raised an eyebrow at her she added, “Ryker and Willow stay at my house. I hear stuff. Or at least I did when I lived there.”
Wait, that meant Dr. B had decided to promote Ryker weeks ago. Maybe as soon as he’d found out Ryker was Jesse’s counterpart. The timing didn’t really make a difference in the outcome, but she still wanted to know. She turned to Jesse, hands on her hips. “Did he talk to you about replacing me before I helped Aaron go to Overdrake’s?”
Jesse hesitated, seemed to be judging her mood before answering. Slowly, he said, “He discussed the possibility.”
In other words, yes. As soon as Ryker had come on the scene, Tori’s days as the captain had been numbered. The news should have made her feel better. Dr. B hadn’t made the decision as a punishment. But all she felt was an irrational sense of betrayal.
Tori sunk into one of the chairs, put her elbows on the armrests, and rested her forehead in the palms of her hands. “This must be how Dirk felt when I replaced him.” Used and so replaceable. Completely unappreciated.
Bess put her hand on Tori’s shoulder. “Don’t say things like that. You’ll worry me.”
Tori hadn’t been trying to worry anyone. “Dirk didn’t betray us because of his demotion,” she reminded Bess. “It was in the cards ever since Overdrake sent him to camp.”
“I know,” Bess said. “But still, don’t go all dragon lord on us.”
She meant: don’t go help Dirk. Which was ironic, since Dirk was the one guy who actually valued her help. A petty thought. The Slayers valued her help, even if Dr. B didn’t want her as captain anymore.
Part of her felt like storming into the cockpit and d
emanding why—if Dr. B was so intent on the importance of discussing major decisions—he hadn’t discussed this one with her. But Dr. B didn’t have to consult with anyone about who he chose as captains. If she talked to him about her position right now, she’d get too emotional and do something stupid like cry or yell. Better to wait until she could act like it didn’t hurt so much. She needed to take Jesse’s advice and learn to set her feelings aside when she was fighting.
Tori lifted her head. She would get past this. “Let’s go over the mission plans.” She gestured at a laptop sitting with the supplies. “We’ve got the building specs?”
“Right.” Jesse turned on the laptop and sat beside her. Bess plunked down on the seat across the aisle from them.
As Jesse brought up the satellite picture, he gave Tori a long considering look and his usual mission countenance—all business—flickered and softened into concern. Without a word, he reached over and hugged her.
She didn’t resist this time. She put her head on his shoulder and let his support seep into her.
“You deserve to be a captain,” he said. “You are good enough.”
She hadn’t been questioning her worthiness—or perhaps she had, because otherwise, his words wouldn’t have brought her so much relief.
She was good enough. The rest didn’t matter.
Jesse’s arms around her brought back memories of camp and dating, of all the times she’d laid her head on his shoulder like this. He was sunshine and safety. He was summer nights drifting under the stars. With his arms wrapped around her in sympathy, she could forget everything else that had transpired between them since then.
Only she shouldn’t think like that because he didn’t feel the same way about her anymore.
He held her for another moment, then let her go, checking her expression to make sure she was okay. She forced a smile to show that she was.
From the other side of the aisle, Bess let out a mock huff of offense. “I’d like to point out that I’ve never been put in as a captain and my dad is the one who chooses the position.”
Jesse’s eyes stayed on Tori, even though he spoke to Bess. “Your dad has been keeping you safe.”
Bess waved a hand in his direction. “Don’t try to make this better. If anyone deserves to be hugged, it’s me.”
Jesse leaned over and hugged her, which made her laugh and push him away.
He returned his attention to the laptop. “We’ve got plans to go over.” And just like that, he was back to being a captain. Logical and precise. Summer was over. Tori couldn’t decide whether to admire the way he could switch focus or hate it.
Jesse pointed to a building, a small brown rectangle ringed by snow and trees. “When we get close, Tori, you’ll need to tell us if you connect to a dragon egg.” He paused to let the weight of his words sink in. “Even if you do hear an egg, Aaron’s information might be wrong. Overdrake could have hidden an egg somewhere nearby, and set up this building as a snare.”
Tori nodded. “We’ll be careful.”
Jesse zoomed in on the picture, enlarging the structure and making shadows appear on the snow. “Theo drove out to Lock Haven two days ago and has been doing surveillance ever since. He hasn’t seen any security guards outside, but the place has a dozen cameras. Some are noticeable, others are hidden. None Theo can’t deal with. Once Dr. B drops us off, Theo will break into the cameras’ signals and feed them a loop so the security guards won’t see us approach the building. As far as our radar can detect, four guards stay in the building, round the clock.”
“Our radar isn’t sure?” Tori asked.
In another tab, Jesse brought up a blueprint of the building. A mid-sized room in the middle was completely black. “We can’t get readings here. The walls are metal. It’s probably a vault of some sort.”
“Then that’s where the eggs are,” Tori said.
“Or the gunman waiting to ambush us,” Bess put in. She’d apparently already gone over the plans with Jesse because instead of looking at the blueprints, she was messing with her earpiece.
“Even if Overdrake fed the information to Aaron,” Tori pointed out, “Overdrake couldn’t know when we’re coming. It would be hard to keep a gunman in a vault for a long time.”
Jesse swiped a finger across the screen, enlarging the blueprint as though this would give them more information. “Overdrake could have set up some other sort of booby trap. Explosives, maybe.”
He could have, and Tori didn’t like the idea. “When we break into the room, Bess will need to make sure she’s shielding us from any projectiles.”
“Agreed.” Jesse returned the screen to the satellite view. “The building has two doors. One in front, one in back. Both are reinforced steel and controlled by facial recognition locks. It would be easier to blast a hole in the walls than to go through the doors.”
Blowing a hole in the wall would be a quick way to alert the security guards and the police to the infiltration. “We go through the windows then,” Tori said.
Jesse shook his head. “The windows are false fronts that cover brick walls. There’s no way through them.”
Someone had definitely taken precautions to keep out unwanted visitors—a sign the building was hiding valuables.
“Then how are we breaking in?” Hopefully the answer didn’t involve kidnapping some off-duty security guard.
Bess smiled. “The building’s strength is also its weakness. Theo whipped up a lovely canister of methanethiol to use in the ventilation system. Once we pump that baby into the air ducts, the whole place will smell like it has a deadly gas leak. It will just have the smell, not the actual gas, but the guards won’t know that.”
Tori saw the outcome. “They won’t be able to use the windows, so they’ll have to open a door.”
Jesse sat back in satisfaction. “We’ll hit them with tranquilizers as soon as they step outside.”
Bess put her neck mic on and adjusted the microphone so it stayed inside her jacket collar. “The guards will probably report the gas leak to someone before they leave the building, which means we won’t have much time to destroy the eggs before we’ve got company. My dad will place spikes on the road leading up to the building, but those probably won’t stop Overdrake’s men for long.”
“We’ll put our own chain on the gate,” Jesse added. “It will make getting onto the grounds harder.”
Not hard enough. “Why not jam their cell phones and cut the landline so they can’t call for backup?”
“If the landline is cut,” Jesse answered, “it automatically sends out an alarm. We’re better off letting Overdrake think he has a gas leak. That will give us a few minutes more before he learns the truth and sends backup.”
How many men did Overdrake have nearby and how long would it take them to descend on the building? Tori didn’t bother asking. There was no way to know until they showed up.
“We’ll blow our way into the vault,” Jesse went on, “and jackhammer the eggs apart.” Until dragons were ready to hatch, their eggshells were as thick as rock and as hard to break. “Once we’re done, we’ll return to the drop off point. Dr. B and Theo will be waiting for us.”
Tori’s training with explosives had mostly been with grenades she’d hurled at dragon-shaped objects. Plastic explosives were trickier and more dangerous to use. “What if you’re right about this being a ploy and Overdrake has explosives of his own in the vault room?”
“Then we’re going to see a big bang,” Bess said.
“We’ll be as far away as we can get,” Jesse added, “and standing behind Bess’s shield.”
Bess’s shield had limits to how much it could absorb. Although that shouldn’t matter. The chances of this being a trap were slim. Overdrake thought Tori was connected to Vesta, and he never let Aaron go near the hatchlings alone. The information had to be legitimate.
As the plane was touching down at Lock Haven Regional, the noise in Tori’s mind—the part of her brain that was connected to Minerva—cha
nged. The echoing sound of the dragon moving around the enclosure faded and a new sound took its place. A slow thump of a dragon’s heartbeat.
When Tori told the others, Bess smiled. “In the very least, this trip will be like an Easter egg hunt—supposing that the Easter Bunny wanted us dead.”
Jesse nodded as though expecting the news, then looked at a map of the east coast on his cell phone. “If the other dragons are closer to your home than Lock Haven, they must be in the Maryland, Delaware, Virginia area somewhere. Perhaps New Jersey or another part of Pennsylvania. Otherwise you would have switched over long before now, wouldn’t you?”
“I doubt it’s that clear-cut. I think I stay in the mind of the dragon I’ve connected to last unless another one comes much closer.”
And now, apparently, they were much closer to an egg. Probably more. Aaron’s information about the eggs’ location must be correct. Now they would see how well Overdrake had guarded them.
Chapter 23
At seven o’clock the Slayers pulled off of the main road and drove onto one not far from the Energize Nutrition building. Tori’s mind was a forced calm. She watched the wall of trees that spread around them and reviewed the mission details.
This was no different than the drills Dr. B was always making them do. She’d used a jackhammer before, and Bess and Jesse had so much practice with the machines they could have used them to make ice sculptures.
When the van stopped—hopefully far enough away from any surveillance cameras—she, Bess and Jesse slid out into the cover of night. Their helmets were on, earmuffs around their necks, guns in place, and jackhammers strapped to their backs. Destroying the eggs wouldn’t be pleasant, and wouldn’t be easy for her to do, but that didn’t matter. This had to be done. It meant six less dragons to fight later on.
The Slayers turned on their mics, took their tranquilizer guns from their holsters, and slunk off toward the building. It was a one-story, boxy, brick building. Small parking lot. Unassuming and unremarkable except for the tall fence surrounding the place that was rimmed with barbed wire. Trees concealed the area from passing traffic, but no vegetation grew on the grounds. Probably to avoid any surveillance obstructions. Four cars sat in a line in the parking lot. The security guards’ vehicles.