Die Again To Save Tomorrow (Die Again to Save the World Book 2)

by Ramy Vance

“Roger that. We’ve got him in our sights, headed south on Garden State Parkway. Thanks, Buzz.”

  Rueben ended the call and settled in for a long drive. He did a search on his phone for Gerhardt Military Base. “It looks pretty secure. We’re going to have to figure out how to get in, and I’m not sure Buzz can help us right now with his plate as full as it is.”

  As they neared the base, Pete stopped for gas at a gas station rest stop, and Aki parked way in the back to avoid him seeing them. Suddenly, she grabbed her phone and scrolled through the contacts until she found the one she was looking for. After dialing the number, she turned to Rueben. "I know someone who can help us."

  A voice answered on the other line.

  “Hey, Captain Dave, it’s Aki from the New York office. Yeah, yeah… You’re welcome. I was happy to help. Hey, can you do me a favor really quick?”

  Rueben sighed. Aki had old contacts and closed cases all over the world. What did she see in him?

  “Yeah, I need an ID badge to get into a base. Can you get me a general contractor code? Thanks. And, tell your wife I said hi. Oh, you’re so sweet. Well, I can’t tonight, but I love her cooking, and we’ll have to set up a night soon. Thank you, Dave.”

  She ended the call and rolled her eyes.

  Pete was still in the gas station, and Rueben took the cue. “Who’s that?”

  “A military captain I worked with on another case. He keeps wanting to set me up with his son.”

  “Oh, yeah? What’s the deal with the son?”

  “He’s gay, for one thing.”

  “Ah.”

  “He doesn’t want to tell his parents yet, so he asked me out as a one-time cover-up date.”

  Her phone beeped with a text, and she smiled. “This is it.” She tossed the phone to him; the screen displayed a QR code.

  “This should get us in?”

  “According to Captain Dave, it should.”

  Rueben checked his phone's GPS map. “About another half an hour at this point. I sure hope the drones are at the base. That way, we can end this once and for all.”

  Aki nodded. “I can't believe he didn’t tell us about Martha and the drones this morning. The U.N. bombing is only a few hours away.”

  “I don't know. I guess he didn’t know how it went or if it was relevant at all with Martha not there.”

  Aki scoffed. “That’s a flimsy reason. I blame the man’s excessive reliance on chemical brain alteration.”

  “You don't know him as well as I do, but he has been drinking more than usual of late. When this is all over, I'm going to have to talk with him.”

  Up ahead of them, Pete turned down a long, empty side road. Without any traffic between them, there was no way to hide from Pete now.

  Rueben chided her, “Bad choice for a follow car.”

  “I know, I know. I didn’t hear you complaining when we were chasing him through the city streets, though.”

  He smiled ruefully and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, that was pretty hot.”

  She laughed, and the GPS announced their imminent arrival at the base. Sure enough, Pete slowed. He arrived at Gerhardt Military Base, a secure complex with high, razor-wire fences and armed security guards.

  Aki peered through the gates as she tried to pull in inconspicuously. They hid behind a grove of trees and watched Pete park and get out.

  He flashed an ID at a security guard, who opened the door and let him in. They waited to see if he would talk to anyone, but he kept walking until they couldn’t see him anymore. It seemed odd they would let Pete in with his hood up and his sunglasses over his eyes.

  She unbuckled her seat belt and switched off the engine. “Let’s go in.”

  Rueben followed her out of the car. The silence of the military complex was an odd change of pace from the busy city traffic they had been navigating.

  They stealthily approached the entrance, and Aki whispered to him, “If we don’t have to use that code, the better. We want to stay off the radar.”

  “Right. Off the radar.”

  They reached the same door that Pete had gone through. An armed security guard with a rifle across his chest addressed them.

  “Secure area. Military personnel only.”

  Aki smiled at the guard and started to say something, but then she noticed a tiny red object in the grass off to the side. Watching her closely, the guard allowed Aki to bend over and pick it up. It was a red toucan with the name Petunia inscribed on it. Rueben’s eyes widened. “Martha’s keychain.”

  Aki turned to him. “What?”

  Rueben held up the red bird. “This keychain is Martha’s. It’s a joke. Petunia’s her little keychain friend that goes on ride-alongs with her. It’s a whole thing. Only I know about it.”

  Aki stared at the keychain. “You’re sure it’s hers?”

  He looked around for her car but didn't see it anywhere. “I’m positive. That confirms that she was here. She may have dropped it for me to see in case they got in trouble.”

  He pocketed Martha’s keychain and flashed his CIA badge to the guard. He didn’t let him see the name to stay somewhat off the radar. But knowing Martha was missing and likely still on this base, he didn’t care much about his cover.

  “We’re federal agents. Do you know where this lady is?” Rueben showed him a picture of Martha on his phone.

  The guard shuffled his feet. “Um. I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since last night. She uh, came here asking about the drones. That’s all I know.”

  Rueben and Aki looked at each other, and Rueben demanded, “We need to see the drones.”

  “It’s a secure area. If you’re a federal agent, then come back with credentials.”

  Aki flashed her QR code. “Let us in.”

  The guard gulped. “Look, there’s something seriously screwy going on. I don’t know what it is. I just don’t want to go to jail. Promise me you won’t screw me over.”

  “Promise.”

  He opened the door, and Aki and Rueben stepped onto the base. The guard stood at his post again, and Rueben knew better than to milk him for more information. He would likely alert his superiors that they were on the base. Then there would be real trouble.

  He called Buzz. “We have a confirmation on the drones. They’re here on this base. The security guard has confirmed them.”

  “Um, okay.” It sounded like Buzz was distracted, probably working in his lab.

  “Buzz, what’s going on? Are you focusing?”

  “I am, in fact. You might think I’m not pulling my weight, but I have a contingency plan in case you and Aki can’t stop the drones from being released from the base to attack the summit. I’m getting into position as we speak.”

  “Contingency plan?”

  “It’s not important right now. Oh, and that shiny cube…I think I know what the problem is now. Turns out it was damaged. I think I can fix it and use it against Pete. If it works, it will land me on the cover of CR for sure.”

  Rueben rolled his eyes. Buzz had wanted to get on the cover of Contemporary Research for years. “Buzz, if we fail, there will be no CR at all.”

  “There will. The world will just be short some world leaders, prompting global anarchy and…um. Never mind.”

  Rueben cut in, “Buzz, have you located Martha yet?”

  “I had Rosa call her landlord to check her place, and I’ve electronically scoured the records of all the hospitals and morgues within a hundred miles. Nothing.”

  “That might be a good thing.” Rueben patted the keychain in his pocket. “She’s probably still here on the base.”

  “If you find her, I need her intern.”

  “Intern?”

  “Yeah. Last night she had an intern with her. An affable and rather energetic fellow named Zach. Look, Mike and I are getting into position to counter the drone attack if it comes to that. When you find Zach, connect me to him.”

  “Gotcha.”

  Rueben got off the phone, and so did Aki. �
�That was the office. We’re getting backup. We’re in over our heads.”

  Rueben nodded. “Probably a good idea. We’ve got to rescue these guys.”

  “These guys? Just Martha.”

  “No, she has an intern with her. Some guy named Zach.”

  “Never heard of him.”

  “Hmmm… All right, let’s come up with a plan.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Monday, May 22, 3:34 p.m.

  When Martha came to, her head throbbed, and her throat felt parched. She swallowed to move the fluids in her mouth, but it didn’t do much good.

  Where was she?

  It took a few seconds for her to place the warehouse and the shelving. It looked bigger in person than it did on the computer monitor. This was the drone room on the military base.

  Every muscle in her body cried out in pain, and her wrists felt weighed down. That was when she noticed the ropes. Thick, coarse ropes in layers around her chest and arms.

  Someone had tied her to a chair.

  A vague headache formed from the back of her neck and radiated up. Had she been drugged? Bright sunlight streamed down from a skylight above her. Her stomach rumbled with hunger.

  What time is it? What day? Then she thought about Zach and twisted her head around, but she didn't see him anywhere. Where was he? Was he okay?

  The events of the night before came back to her slowly. The drive to New Jersey with Zach. Zach. Poor Zach. She’d gotten him into all of this.

  While she was somewhat used to the real danger that often accompanied Rueben’s quests, Zach wasn’t. He was only an intern. She tried to look around to see if she could find him, but she couldn’t move. The ropes were too tight.

  She wiggled around and only managed to scoot the chair a little, then she stopped. The aluminum chair was a bit flimsy, and if she tipped it over onto the floor, she might be able to break free from the chair. She recalled how easy it had seemed for Pete to bend off the chair leg when he was lunging for Zach earlier.

  She shifted as much as she could to relieve some of the pressure on her joints. Her back popped a little, and she was able to coax some feeling back into her rear. She licked her lips for moisture and tried to take note of everything around her. That’s when she saw the telltale white hoodie.

  Pete.

  Presently, he was crouched in front of a shelf, his back to her. It looked like he was typing a code or message on a touchscreen on one of the drones. Upon closer look, all of the drones seemed to have touchscreens on them.

  She cleared her throat. Her voice was hoarse. “What day is it?"

  "Monday," Pete replied flatly, resuming his work.

  Monday? Well, that was good, wasn't it? The sun was still up so that meant they could still stop the attack before it happened. She needed to put on a brave face and stay calm until a moment of escape presented itself. Maybe she could get some information from her captor.

  "Whatcha got over there, Pete?” Her voice sounded hollow in the silent room, but she had to force it. Once in Afghanistan, she’d taken a course on what to do if anyone ever kidnapped her. One of the guidelines was to play nice with your captors.

  Pete didn’t turn around. “I’m playing with my new toys.”

  “Oh yeah? A little old for toys, aren’t you?”

  He laughed and launched one of the drones into the air. He let it buzz around the ceiling. Then it came to rest in its previous place on its shelf. “Not these kinds of toys.”

  “What are you going to do with them?”

  “I’m going to blow them up.”

  “That’s very Toy Story of you.” The course prohibited sarcasm, but she was rusty. Rusty, pissed, and hungry.

  “This is hardly a child’s game. I play on a much more sophisticated level.”

  “Yeah, I can see that.”

  He tapped on the touchscreen of another drone. This time there was a beep, and Pete recorded a short, threatening message in a language she couldn’t understand. Russian, maybe?

  Pete pressed the screen, and his words played back to him. He was recording messages on some of the drones? But why? Hadn't Rueben said these drones were supposed to drop bombs?

  “What are you trying to accomplish?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Obviously, you want to attack the World Summit.”

  He laughed hard and long. It had a manic quality that sent shivers down her spine. “I don’t want to attack it.”

  “You don’t?”

  “No. I want entire nations destroying nations. In the nuclear war that results.”

  She glanced at the shelves upon shelves of drones. She didn't count them, but there appeared to be about two hundred of them. How exactly was he going to start a nuclear war with them?

  The drones had small compartments for bombs, but they weren't big enough to carry enough explosives to level the U.N. building. "Don't you care about any of the people that are going to get killed when these drones…do what you want them to do?"

  “It wasn't an easy decision. But I have to do it.”

  “Why? Why do you have to do it?”

  "You wouldn't understand." He finished working on his current drone, and with a few taps on its touch screen, he released it to go back onto its shelf. Then he got up and retrieved a black backpack from the back of the room.

  He pulled out a small decal of a flag belonging to a country Martha couldn't place and adhered it to the side of the next drone. After tapping something on its touchscreen, he glanced up at Martha. “I know you think I’m a terrorist.”

  “Aren’t you, though?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Who the hell are you? And what do you want with me? I’m one little street cop. How much can I possibly get in the way of your little plan of global anarchy?”

  “You know the answer to that as well as I do.”

  “What do you plan to do with me here?”

  “I want you to wait. Once the plan is past the point of no return, then I’ll release you. But not until then.”

  “Why keep me alive? And when is the point of no return?”

  “All in time, dear Martha. All in time.”

  “Quit saying my name that way. You don’t know me. And your plan will never work.”

  “Oh yes, it will.”

  “There are too many people who know what you’re doing. You’ve left too many footprints.”

  He didn’t say anything, just started working on the next drone.

  When she started to open her mouth again, he got up and walked over to her. Then he leaned down next to her and threw back his hood and took off his sunglasses.

  Martha gasped. It was the first time she’d seen Pete’s face up close.

  And even though she knew he wasn’t actually Future Rueben, it was most definitely Rueben's face aged by about twenty years.

  Aki and Rueben stood with Jeebs in the lobby of the building with the drone monitors. He showed them the various images of the drones on the monitors. “If you want to see the drones, this is how you do it. Period. No exceptions. Captain’s orders.”

  Rueben raised an eyebrow at the preemptive refusal. “Captain’s orders, huh?”

  Jeeb’s blue eyes flashed coldly. “That’s what I said. Now, here are the drones, and that’s what they look like, and here are the specs on each one, like I showed the other agents. Anything else you need to see?”

  Aki perked up. “How long ago did the other agents leave?”

  “I can’t tell you that, ma’am. Now, if you’ve finished here, it’s almost chow time, if I may.”

  Aki smiled. “Oh yes, of course. Unfortunately, we need to make quite a few notations before we can be on our way. Please, don’t let us keep you.”

  Jeebs turned on his heel and left the building without another word. They waited until they heard a vehicle pull away.

  Finally, Aki spoke. “We need to find where these are. That's probably where Martha and the intern are at.”

  “They hav
e to be on this base somewhere.”

  They ventured down a hallway and found a coded door. They couldn’t get in.

  Rueben pointed at a scanner above the keypad. “Try your code.”

  She pulled her phone out and scanned the code, but it didn’t open the door. “Damn.”

  Aki examined the door to see if there was any way to break in. “This thing is completely electronic. There is no way to open this door other than with a code.”

  Then Rueben had an idea. “I saw a metal door on the ride over here that looked like it was cracked open. It’s outside.”

  Her face brightened. “Let’s go.”

  They ran out of the building, but as soon as they got outside, a tight group of soldiers burst around the corner in their afternoon jog. They were all in camo and chanting, “Left, right, left.”

  Rueben and Aki scrambled back inside and hid out of view from the windows. They could still hear the soldiers chanting.

  She whispered, “I thought it was chow time.”

  “He said it was almost chow time. Maybe he was worried he would miss dinner.”

  The noise calmed, and Rueben peered out the window. One more straggler jogged past, and Rueben ducked out of sight again. He ventured back up and saw no one. He looked in both directions and still didn’t see anyone. “Looks like the coast is clear. Let’s go.”

  Rueben and Aki stepped out of the building, warily scanning for anyone else. The base seemed empty again. He motioned to her and took off in the direction of the open door on the backside of the building.

  As soon as they got there, they saw it. It was a metal door with fading red paint, and it looked like it was cracked open about half an inch.

  Aki commented, “I’m surprised you noticed that from the Porsche.”

  “It was open more when I saw it. I guess the wind blew it shut some.”

  “That means we’d better hurry.”

  Shrubs protected the door, and they had to pick their way through the branches. A Jeep whizzed past, and they ducked behind the bushes. The vehicle stopped about thirty feet away, and two soldiers got out and casually chatted.

  “I’m just saying, like if you had to choose.”

  “Between Kim K. and J. Lo?”