Chapter 44 #2
Adam and Steph broke into a run, making it down the side of the volcano in double time.
They were banking on security and personnel being dispatched to the site of the disaster and encountering Vesper’s men on the way.
Sure enough, the sound of gunfire from that side of the island didn’t follow too far behind.
The drone paced them, moving down the hill about ten feet to their left.
Probably controlled by Polaris. Watching to see how they reacted. This whole thing might be a mining facility, but it was likely also a human experiment the drone used to assess behavior.
Adam knew all too well what it felt like to be studied, but taking out the drone wouldn’t solve anything.
The trees grew farther apart down here.
“Fence.” Adam slowed his pace, swung his gun around, and took out the drone again.
Steph knelt at the chain link and tested it against the nose of the pliers first. When it didn’t spark, she cut an opening big enough for them to crawl through. On the far side, a guard stepped out of the shadows.
Adam went to one knee and fired.
Steph flinched. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
“We should get moving before someone comes to investigate.”
He nodded, rising out of the kneeling position and watching her back as they raced to the closest building. Between that and the neighboring one, they were able to get a look at the structures. “There are at least five. Probably more.”
“Split up?”
“I don’t like it.” Adam needed to find his team, but with only two of them? He slid out a phone he’d brought with them that Ice had him use to log into their system—the one that tracked their comms earbuds. But the phone had no signal. “Can’t track them, even if their earbuds are here.”
“There’s probably a signal blackout across the whole island.”
“Then how do the drones communicate with each other, and whoever controls them?”
Steph peered around the front corner of the building. “They have a satellite connection. Probably proprietary. It won’t let any phone connect to it.”
“Too bad they don’t have guest Wi-Fi.”
She stiffened and tucked back against the wall.
Four men in black fatigues ran past, not Vesper’s guys. They each wore an orange bandana tied around their left bicep so that Adam and his team could tell them apart from the bad guys. These Starwise Holdings guards ran for one of the buildings, moving with intention.
He glanced at Steph. “What’s your guess they’re headed to kill the workers?”
“I’m not willing to find out you’re right without trying to stop them.”
Adam went in front of her, sweeping his aim to ensure they wouldn’t be shot in the back before he raced down the dirt road between the buildings.
Arranged in an arc, the buildings had been numbered, but that was the only identification to let him know what they were for.
Single-story structures, most with holes in the roof.
He ran to the steps and forced his way in, shoving men forward so they tripped over each other before they could react to his sudden presence behind them. The first man turned back, shining the flashlight on his rifle at Adam.
Adam took him out, aiming at the shadow of the man behind the light.
He fell to the ground.
Steph killed another one, shooting past him to a guy who had crawled away. Adam brought the butt of his gun down on the head of the last remaining conscious man.
“Nix!”
He scanned the cells that faced each other, a long walkway between them. The building stretched back thirty or forty feet. Each cell occupied.
Steph kicked a boot out of the way and shut the door, flipping on the light. The move ruined Adam’s night vision but allowed him to see what they were here to find.
“Guys!” He ran to the cells. Noah and Marina to his left. Dan beside them. Jay. Ash and even Kai. “Good to see you.”
Kai grinned, his face lined and tired. A dark bruise on his jaw. “Good to see you, buddy. Wanna get us out of here?”
Noah said, “Hope you brought enough weapons for all of us.”
Steph appeared by him with a set of keys. “Try this.”
She went down the row, talking with the occupants of other cells. Men who appeared to have been here far longer than Adam’s team. Using a language he didn’t speak to communicate, and gesturing that they were about to get out of here. They were free.
Adam used the key on Noah’s cell first. “I’m guessing this place isn’t really a Climate Resilience Project.”
Noah said, “More like human resilience.”
Adam met his gaze and nodded slightly. “Let’s get out of here.”
He used the key on the other cells, freeing his friends one by one. Kai slapped his back, then went to help Dan walk out, which he did mostly on his own strength. Adam slipped off the backpack and tossed it to Noah. “See what you can find.”
The guy already had a gun from one of the Starwise guys. He caught the backpack with his free hand.
Marina sat on a bare cot, a faraway expression on her face. Adam said, “Marina, wanna help me?”
She emerged slowly from the cell, hugging herself as she moved.
Adam let out Jay, who gave him a bear hug and said, “Morgan would thank you, if she was ever gonna find out about this.”
“All in a day’s work,” Adam said. But he was worried about Marina. “Everyone okay?” He continued along the row, unlocking each cell and freeing the occupant.
Jay said, “We will be when we’re on a boat and getting out of here.”
“Where are we, anyway?” Kai wandered over, racking the slide on the rifle he’d acquired from somewhere.
“Philippines. You okay?”
“Migraine. Apparently, that’s what happens when you get heavy metal poisoning from mining without safety equipment.”
“Okay, people. Listen up,” Adam said. “We make our way to the dock on the far side of the island. One of Vesper’s people is bringing another fishing boat.”
Steph said, “We blew up the first one.”
Kai grinned at her, but it wasn’t nearly his usual level of bright humor. “Heard the explosion. I told them all that was you.”
Adam stepped back from a cell door, holding it wide so an older man could walk out.
His gaze snagged on the security camera.
An unnecessary amount of cameras, now he was thinking about it.
In the basement of that missile silo, he’d seen each of his friends on a different feed.
So that Polaris could closely study them individually?
Earthnet wasn’t going to let them go easily.
The ground under his feet rumbled, and the whole building shook.
Adam spun to Steph, whose expression took on a shadow.
“She’s gonna blow the volcano. Hopefully, she also dispatched our ride to pick us up.”
“Time to get out of here.” Steph motioned to a pair of men helping each other, encouraging them to keep moving.
Adam handed a pistol to Jay and didn’t know what to do for Marina. “Let’s go.”
Noah stepped out first, Marina behind him. Adam stood by the door as they each came out. The team slipped into their typical formation, even without Ice. Surrounding the workers who had been kept here with them. Ash, Jay, Kai, and Dan.
Adam glanced back at the empty building. “Steph?”