The Taking: The Countdown Part 26

"So where are these ships?" Griffin finally asked, squaring her shoulders as she rolled her head from side to side, cracking her neck. "Did the M'alue tell you, or are we going in blind?"

Blind. That was the answer to Griffin's question about whether I knew where this alleged fleet of s.p.a.ceships had been stashed.

All I knew for sure was that the ships were here somewhere. Somewhere in this huge-vast-enormous facility that seemed to extend all the way to the Earth's core and back again. And it was our job to find them.

Not exactly child's play.

On the other hand, Jett had managed to disarm the access keypad in under sixty seconds using just Griffin's pen and a paper clip he'd found tucked in the back of a drawer, forever earning a place in my dad's heart. My dad called him a modern day MacGyver and then clapped him on the shoulder with pride.

I had to bite my tongue. With my new ability I could have disabled the alarm in my sleep, but I let Jett take the win.

Since we'd tried the "team" thing once, back when we'd broken into the Daylight Division in Tacoma-a strategy that had ended with Willow being taken hostage, I decided we should try a more elementary school approach, not exactly the playground buddy system, but something along those lines.

I a.s.signed everyone a partner to keep tabs on. The idea was to watch each other's back. Heck, if it was good enough for kindergarteners it was good enough for saving the world.

My dad got Jett as his "buddy" since the two spoke the same language: computerese, and Simon and Willow were paired up because their partnership went way back. The four of them were in charge of getting Jett to a computer where he could hack into the ISA's security and figure out where the ships were being stored.

Griffin and Thom would go scouting for the ships on foot, floor by floor. It would be time-consuming and risky, but we needed to cover our bases in case the computer search didn't pan out.

That left Tyler and me with Agent Truman, which went against the laws of the buddy system since it forced us into a three-p.r.o.nged partnership. I didn't care, though. Ours was the most delicate job.

Tyler and I were going after Adam. And, for once, Agent Truman's lack of moral scruples might come in handy.

"Once we leave here"-I looked around at all the buddies, hoping beyond hope I hadn't underestimated my friends-"we won't have any way to get in touch with each other. The goal here is to locate the fleet, but we should have a meeting place." I was stumped. I'd been so focused on who to pair up that I hadn't considered all the logistics of our operation.

"In the bio lab," Tyler offered, taking charge when I faltered. "You guys know where it is. Big place on the main level with all the freaky plants."

Thom flashed me a knowing grin. "Kyra loves the place."

"Good," I said, before I had to explain what Thom meant. "Meet in the bio lab when your task is completed."

"What if we get caught?" Jett asked.

Simon looked around. "Then we proceed without you."

I couldn't think like that. "Everyone got it?" I asked.

Every one of them nodded, and I took a deep breath, telling myself this wasn't the last time I'd see them.

Now all that was left was to save the world.

Getting out of there wasn't the hard part.

Maybe they should've stationed a security guy with a harder head outside our door. Or maybe he should've tried harder not to look at Griffin's cleavage when she pretended to twist her ankle.

Either way, he dropped like a rock when Willow whacked him on the skull from behind.

He only had himself to blame, but it made me think we should've paired up in Girls versus Boys, just to see which team landed on top.

After watching Willow and Griffin in action, my money would be on the girls.

From there, we parted ways.

Our group-me, Agent Truman, and Tyler-were taking the main level, not just because that's where Adam was, but also because it was the most dangerous place.

As the only one who could manipulate matter and electricity with her mind, it made sense I take on the most risk. That was according to Agent Truman.

Under normal circ.u.mstances, I'd say he was just trying to get me out of the way. But considering he was partnered with me, I could only a.s.sume he was some sort of adrenaline junkie who got off on this sort of thing.

I wasn't sure how it was going for the other teams, but with Tyler around, we got around surprisingly easily.

Tyler's ability didn't just work to sense me, it seemed. He apparently knew when and where others were located too. He heard voices and footsteps long before Agent Truman and I did, and he would drag us to a stop. And when he didn't hear those things, he listened for heartbeats . . . for breathing.

He knew where people were.

He sensed everyone. Everything.

It was uncanny. And he was never wrong.

The hardest part of our operation was steering clear of the cameras. Agent Truman suggested shutting them down with my "electrical skills," but I worried the outages would draw unwanted attention.

Eventually, they'd realize we'd gotten out anyway, no point raising the alarm too early.

So instead, we backtracked and searched for alternate routes-back stairwells and fire evacuation routes-to get us where we needed to be.

When we finally reached the main level, nearly an hour had pa.s.sed. So much for meeting back up with everyone else at the bio lab. My palms were sweaty with the awareness that the clock was running out.

Only three more hours to go.

Unlike the day before, when everyone had been panicking about the new signal, today the main level was disturbingly quiet. To the point of nearly being deserted.

This should have been a good thing . . . it made getting around remarkably easy. Unfortunately, I didn't buy it as a stroke of good luck, and my worry meter shot through the roof.

Where was everyone? After the chaos of yesterday, I had a hard time believing this was one ma.s.sive coffee break.

My heart wedged in my throat.

Beside me, Tyler's hand slipped around mine as if he, too, sensed the wrongness of everything being so . . . vacant.

"I'm gonna get a head count. See what we're up against." Agent Truman's voice was hushed.

"Buddy system," I insisted almost silently, even though it sounded childish. "We stick together."

"Oh. You were serious with that?" he asked, already easing away. "I won't be long."

"And Tyler could-" I began, just as Agent Truman disappeared into the shadows. What was the point of having a plan-a system-if he was going to throw it out the window the first chance he got? It was a stupid risk. Tyler could do a better job feeling out who was where.

Tyler reached out and tugged my hand. "I've been wanting to tell you something," he whispered.

"What is it?" I asked distractedly. The uneasy feeling that something was wrong deepened as we moved from one lab to the next.

"It's about what you told me . . . before."

"Uh-huh . . ."

My chest went tight all at once as I stabbed Tyler with a wide-eyed warning. Voices! I tried to convey.

But Tyler was three steps ahead of me, and was already dragging me out of the way, pushing me through one of the doorways. I gripped his hand with both of mine, until it felt like my knuckles would pop . . . as we waited and listened.

There were two of them. Men wearing lab coats and talking casually, as if this really were a coffee break. They ambled past us, while the entire time my shoulders were knotted and tight.

When they were gone, Tyler and I stayed where we were . . . still attuned to everything around us, in case they or someone . . . anyone came back.

When I inhaled, I realized I'd been holding my breath the entire time.

Tyler was holding his too, but for a different reason.

Adam.

We were in the lab where they stored all those enormous canisters, including Adam's. Seeing them again gave me goose b.u.mps. But seeing Adam . . .

Tyler eased forward, and I realized this was where he'd been leading us all along. That he felt what I did . . . drawn to the M'alue.

He . . . we . . . the three of us were the same.

Time became irrelevant as we neared him. Adam woke immediately, making me think he sensed us as strongly as we sensed him.

It's okay. We're here now, I thought, fairly convinced he knew what I was trying to suggest to him.

Tyler lifted his hand, the one holding mine and pressed it to the gla.s.s. Adam responded in kind, putting his unusual hand there too.

It won't be much longer . . . The words flashed through my head, making me flinch.

It wasn't my thought. Those weren't my words, but I knew whose they were. Tyler's. I was in Tyler's head now too.

Adam's response came next, Three hands, one mind.

I momentarily forgot everything else . . . the mission or being caught. We were doing this. We were absolutely-totally-100-percent communicating without exchanging so much as a single sound.

I turned to Tyler and grinned.

I know, he said back to me, clear as day, a huge smile lighting up his face.

"Look what I found."

I dropped my hand from the canister, and from Tyler's, and spun around. Whatever bond we'd been locked in was severed instantly.

It was Agent Truman, and his face was all smug as he held up a gun like it was a trophy.

"You didn't just find that," I accused. "Who'd you take it from?"

"Security guard," he said, pointing the barrel down and inspecting it. "He won't be needing it."

"Dude, what part of I have superpowers don't you understand? You don't need it." I threw my hands in the air. "I hope you didn't do anything . . ." I scowled. "Permanent."

"If you're asking, did I kill him? Then no, guy's still breathing. But that's about all he's doin' right now." He checked the rounds quickly and then rea.s.sembled the gun. "If you're asking me to give this baby up, forget it. I don't have superpowers."

I shook my head. "Fine, just don't shoot anyone."

"So what'd you decide? About that . . ." Agent Truman waved the gun toward Adam and my gut clenched. "That thing?"

"That thing is intelligent, and in pain. We need to get him out of there," Tyler said.

"But how do you plan to do that?" Agent Truman asked.

I moved over to the control panel and smirked at him. "Try to keep up," I said smugly as I let my hands hover over the instruments in front of me. They were all foreign to me-much more Jett's or my dad's territory than mine. But it didn't matter; I could feel the electricity pulsing beneath my palms. "I've got superpowers."

Above us, the lights surged as if all the power was draining from the room. It's me, I thought. I'm doing that.

"Wait," Tyler said as he grabbed my arm. "We're not alone."

But it was too late.

Dr. Clarke stepped out from the shadows, right behind Adam's canister. "I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away from him," she told us. In one hand she was clutching one of the rubber tubes that disappeared directly into the blue liquid Adam was suspended in. In the other she held a syringe. She plunged the needle into the tube. Just the slightest nudge from her thumb was all it would take. "Don't make me kill him." Her voice left little doubt whether she was serious or not.

SIMON.

"AND . . . WE'RE IN." JETT PUNCHED IN THE FINAL sequence of commands and then cracked his knuckles.

Ben stood back and admired him. "d.a.m.n. I'm impressed. They are majorly wired here. I have to keep reminding myself you're not really a kid though."

I leaned against the doorjamb and smirked. He was right, it took some getting used to, the whole youth thing. Especially on someone like Jett, whose face was more kid-like than the rest of us. Sometimes, I even forgot he was older than me.

I wondered how Ben would feel when it was his daughter he was talking about, years from now.

I shook it off. Jett had just worked a minor miracle-hacking into the ISA's mainframe. Kid really was a frickin' genius.

"Can you tell where they're keeping those s.p.a.ceships yet?" I asked, looking over my shoulder, checking the hallway. So far no one had noticed us. Willow was down there, keeping an eye out.

"Best I can tell, is someplace they call the Bas.e.m.e.nt," he answered, pointing at one of the monitors where he'd accessed a floor plan of the facility. "One level down from where they're keeping the EVE. They got enough s.p.a.ce down there to store at least . . ." He was swiveling in his seat to face me, when the words died on his lips. "Aw, c.r.a.p," he finished.