Brainrush 05 - Everlast 02: Ephemeral (13 page)

Jake thought about it.
Death is also a blessing when a
person’s continued existence might otherwise bring harm to those he loves.
He
shook his head at the irony. Here they were, unusual allies, both ready to die
for their own reasons.

He felt de Vries’s anguish and decided to help him.

But he needed to work fast.

F
RANCESCA
WAS RELIEVED
that the question-and-answer period had finally come to an
end. Jonesy had been pacing while he and the others were babbling earlier, but
at one point he’d stilled, and when Lin’s gaze had been averted, Jonesy had
given a subtle hand signal of some sort to Becker. Tony had seen it, too. After
that, the guys had quieted. Jonesy had continued to saunter around the room, at
one point disappearing down the hall. When he’d returned, Becker and Tony had
each visited the bathroom. That had been fifteen minutes ago.

She shifted uneasily on the couch. Becker sat across from
her, seemingly lost in thought, and she suspected that the effects of the
drugged soup were starting to wear off. Lin had gone silent as well. She
huddled on the couch, her gaze distant. Jonesy was in the kitchen downing his
third bottle of water.

The stillness was shattered when the two guards pushed
through the front door with their assault rifles leveled. Francesca leaped to
her feet. Becker and Jonesy moved to shield her and Lin cowered into the couch.
Tony rushed in from the bedroom hallway, stopping in his tracks when the guard
with the gouged cheek aimed the pistol at him.

The man sneered at Tony, barked an order in Chinese, and one
of the guards moved toward Lin.

“Stay away!” Lin shouted, jumping up and moving deeper into
the room. The guard pressed forward. Becker took a step to intercept him, and the
man with the pistol fired a round into the floor in front of him. The Aussie
jerked to a stop, palms spread at his side.

The shooter panned the weapon toward Lin. He spoke to her in
Chinese and the words seemed to shatter her spirit. She drooped, and the guard
grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door. The other men followed and then locked
the door behind them.

“Bastards,” Jonesy said.

Lin’s fearful expressions had looked real enough, but Francesca
knew better. It was all an act, and she was angry with herself for not having
figured it out sooner. The murder of Lin’s supposed husband Bohai had thrown
her off, and it spoke to the extremes their captors would go to.

 “Something’s wrong,” she blurted out. “I think—”

“Frannie, Frannie,” Tony said. He’d never called her that,
and the tension she felt from him told her something was up. He pulled her into
a gentle hug and patted her back. “Everything’s going to be alright,” he said. Then
he whispered, “Go to the bathroom.” He pulled away. “You gonna be okay...Frannie?”

She took the hint and nodded. “I’m just upset. I need to
splash some water on my face.”

When she closed the bathroom door behind her, she saw the
note immediately. One of the documents from the file was taped facedown on the
back of the door, and the blank side was covered with handwritten notes from
each of the guys. She scanned through them and learned that Jonesy had
discovered hidden cameras in every room except this one. Worried about hidden
microphones, he’d chosen to communicate with the others in writing, and the men
had taken turns escaping into the bathroom to jot down their notes. They had
figured out they’d been drugged with the soup and were boiling about it.

But it was the detailed escape plan outlined in Tony’s notes
that got her heart racing. Tony had discovered a paring knife buried in the
back of one of the kitchen drawers. She spun around and peeked beneath the
privacy curtains covering the window. Sure enough, there was a gouge in the lower
corner of the wooden frame, where Tony had used the knife to dig out the rotting
wood around the bolt supporting the exterior iron bars. He’d stopped digging
when a part of the hole had penetrated into the dark alley outside. A second
hole in the other bottom corner was already halfway through the wall.

The bars are brand new but the wood is ancient,
Tony
had written.
It’s all for show.

Which means they’ll move us to a real cell, she thought, as
soon as they’re finished squeezing information out of us the easy way. A part
of her had hoped that help was on the way, but she knew in her heart that
wasn’t going to happen. They were buried in the jungle somewhere in China, and
if they didn’t get out of here soon, they may never leave.

She lowered the curtain and reread the final line of Tony’s
instructions.
We go in forty-five minutes. Keep to the script.

She clenched her fist and nodded. Lin and her friends had
set the stage, but she and the guys were going to give them a show of their
own.

***

Little Star slowed the truck just before
we crested the hill, his eyes scanning the wall of foliage along the right side
of the road. “It’s been a while,” he mumbled as the truck crept forward. After
a moment he pulled to a stop and killed the engine. The motor coughed twice
before stilling, its rumble replaced by the clacks and buzzes of a zillion
insects. He grabbed a flashlight from the glove box and stepped outside. “I’ll
be right back.” He disappeared into the greenery, and all I could see was the
flicker of his flashlight.

“It looks creepy in there,” Sarafina whispered through the
slider window behind me. She didn’t like dark spaces.

 Thirty seconds later Little Star popped back into view with
a smile. He got in the truck and started it up. “We’re going to cut through the
jungle. Roll up your window.” Looking over his shoulder, he said, “Best keep
your heads down and stay clear of the slats.” Sarafina and Ahmed huddled
closer, and Little Star edged the truck through a stand of leafy fronds. I
rolled up my window. We moved slowly and the jungle seemed to swallow us up,
leaves and branches scraping the sides of the truck, then snapping back into
place behind us. Sarafina was right—it
was
creepy. But Little Star was
still smiling and that made me feel better. He angled the truck in a gradual
turn, and that’s when I spotted the peak of a small structure up ahead.

Little Star switched off the ignition. When he killed the
lights, we were absorbed by the darkness so completely that I felt my muscles
stiffen. I blinked, waiting for my eyes to adjust. Little Star flicked on his
flashlight and aimed it at the glove box in front of me. “There’s a second
light in there. Take it, then grab your things and follow me.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Ahmed said from the back.

Little Star ignored him, shoved open his door, squeezed
outside, and inched through the foliage to the back of the truck. After lowering
the tailgate, he helped Sarafina to the ground. Ahmed jumped down beside them.
I flicked on the second flashlight, grabbed my backpack, and kicked my door
into the thick foliage. When it was open far enough, I slipped through and
followed the others, twisting and high-stepping through the moist tangle of
vegetation.

The ancient structure reminded me of a large gazebo, with
vine-covered, stone arches that surrounded a statue of a crouching Buddha. The
jungle had claimed the surrounding land, but there were signs that someone had
cared for the interior of the small temple. The cobbled floor was swept and
remnants of burnt candles were at the base of the pedestal.

“This shrine has been here for fifteen hundred years,”
Little Star said. “Few remember it’s here, and even fewer visit. Long ago my
ancestors took it upon themselves to care for the shrine, passing the
responsibility down from one generation to the next. My grandfather explained
that at some point along the way, the villagers stopped making the long trek
through the jungle. They preferred to offer their prayers at the temple down
below. All except for our family. Eventually, our forefathers came to think of
it as our own private sanctuary, and its existence became a secret that was
passed from father to son. Our family has maintained a monthly vigil to this
Buddha ever since. Those candles were most certainly left by my mother.” He
knelt before the statue and said a prayer. We bowed our heads, respecting the
moment.

When he rose, he said, “Of course there was a second reason
why my ancestors cared for this shrine.” He smiled and walked around the back
of the statue. Crouching, he removed one of the stone cobbles. An iron lever was
hidden beneath it. He wrapped his fingers around the lever and twisted. There
was a loud click. He winked, pulled upward, and a square section of the floor
swung open on a centered hinge. “The door is solid stone,” he said. “It
probably weighs over three hundred pounds. But the builders hinged it so even a
child could open it.”

I aimed my light down the black opening. A stepladder
dropped ten feet to an earthen tunnel.

“No, no, nooo,” Sarafina mewed, moving backward.

Ahmed put his arm around her.

“It’s quite safe,” Little Star said. “The tunnels were dug
through the sandstone over a millennia ago. There’s never been a cave-in. They
were built as a final defense against raiders, providing the villagers with an
escape route in the event their warriors failed to hold the invaders at bay. Those
in the village have long since forgotten about the tunnels. But not me.” His
eyes went distant. “My brother and I used to play in here as children.” He
sighed. “My mother still uses it to make her monthly visits to the shrine.” He
started down the ladder. “Follow me.”

***

Jake picked up the skullcap attached
to the computer at de Vries’s bedside. “You believe I can help you,” he said.
“Is that right?”

“I do.”

“Only this time around, you no longer hope to connect with
your clone?”

De Vries’s reply was tentative. “Actually, I still believe
we can make that happen.”

Something about the way he said it didn’t ring true. “What
do you mean by that?”

“Well, it’s complicated. It would be much easier to explain
once we are...connected.”

Jake studied the skullcap. Holding it brought forth a rush
of horrific memories. The last time he’d worn something like this, the world
nearly came to an end.

“I promise,” de Vries said. “There is no danger to you
here.”

This time, Jake sensed the truth in the man’s words, as he
had when de Vries had described the torment he was experiencing. Jake hoped his
own foggy brain wasn’t playing tricks on him. “Okay, I’m willing to give it a
try.”

“But you will demand something in return first, won’t you?”

 “That was my plan coming in here. But whether you help me
or not, I’m going to do what I can. You ready?” He held the skullcap over his
head. His hands trembled.

“Your wife is safe,” de Vries said.

Jake’s gaze snapped from the 3-D brain image to de Vries’s
body and back again.

“I’m in neither of those places—and both of them,” de Vries
said. “Trust me. It will all become clear when you lower the cap.”

Jake clenched his jaw and donned the cap. He immediately
felt the old man’s presence in his mind. It was an odd feeling, but not
intrusive.

De Vries projected his thoughts.
Your friends Tony,
Becker, and Jonesy are with her. They are being held at a home in the village.

Are they okay?
Jake thought.

Yes. I have access to the cameras that are monitoring
them.

More cameras,
Jake thought.

Though he didn’t intend to communicate that last thought, it
wasn’t missed by de Vries.
Yes
, the old man replied.
It seems my
grandson has a penchant for cameras. In fact, he’s monitoring us now.

Jake tensed.
He knows I’m here?

He’s been watching since the moment you entered the
facility.

Gotta go!
Jake reached for the skullcap.

No, wait,
de Vries urged.
There’s a reason he
hasn’t closed in on you yet. He very much wants you to be here right now. With
me.

He’s been listening?
Jake asked, slowly lowering his
hands.

Yes. That’s why I lied a moment ago about connecting to
my clone. I wanted him to believe you were still doing his bidding. But even though
he can listen to our spoken words, he cannot eavesdrop on our thoughts. That’s
why I needed you to use the cap. You see, you were right. I have no use for the
clone. I only wish to die.

And if Jiaolong knew that, he’d come running.

His given name is Daniel,
de Vries said.
For all
his faults, the boy still loves me. I’m his only surviving blood relative. When
he was younger, we spent untold hours together playing Go. But we grew apart
after the death of his parents...

There was a long pause before de Vries continued.

Until I hooked into this network, I’d had no idea what he
was up to. I’d thought he’d found his calling in the video game world, and I
was comforted in the belief that he was surrounded by a new family of
like-minded individuals who would help him cope with the loss of his parents.
He’s quite brilliant, you know. I’ve always been proud of him.

He blames me for his parents’ deaths, doesn’t he?

Quite so.

And the abductions of my friends and family—it’s all
about payback?

As it turns out, that’s only a small part of it. I’m
afraid there’s more.

***

Our run through the tunnel had taken
only four or five minutes. We took the first stepladder exit we came across. It
opened into the village in a storeroom attached to Little Star’s childhood
home. We were welcomed by his mother. Her hair was white and her face was
wrinkled, but her smile lit up the room. She offered us a bow, until Little
Star rattled off something in Chinese that made her eyes go wide. She wrapped her
arms around me before I realized it was happening.

“Welcome to our home,” she said in English, giving me a squeeze
that made me think of my mom.

Little Star had promised he’d find out where Mom and Dad
were, but he’d explained he needed to spend some alone time with his mom first.
I understood why. She deserved to learn the news about her other son before he raised
the issue of what was happening in the village.