Highway To Armageddon (17 page)

           
“Lance, I don’t…”

           
Lance raises his hand, cutting me off.

           
“I want the kids to be able to defend themselves, Boom Boom. Now Blade, I don’t
want you to take this to school or show it to your friends. Keep it on your
nightstand. But if anyone enters this apartment, with the exception of us and
Mrs. Madison, you shoot them dead, okay?”

           
“O… okay,” Blade says, still staring at the gun in awe.

           
I can’t say that I’m thrilled Blade has a gun, but I know it’s a necessary
evil. I would love for the kids to be shielded from the evils of the world, but
that’s wishful thinking. They might as well learn how to defend themselves now.

           
I glance at the TV. Krystal has stopped laughing, which must mean her reality
show has been interrupted by breaking news. Sure enough there’s a report about
another Purple Dragon terrorist attack in China. This time a shopping mall has
been bombed, killing over 100. The reporter goes on to say the Chinese are
ratcheting up pressure for the U.S. to hand over suspected Russian terrorists
living in the country, including Mikhail. Several nuclear aircraft carriers
have been spotted near Hawaii, a sign that the Chinese are not kidding about
their threat to use force to nab their most wanted fugitive.

           
That’s when it hits me. I mean
really
hits me. In just a few short hours
Lance, Krystal and I are going to undertake the most perilous mission of our
young lives. The dangers are many and varied, but the reward… enough money to
where we can spend the rest of our days in peace and prosperity… is great.

           
Tomorrow morning we go after the most wanted man on Earth. And the fate of the
entire planet may depend on us finding him.

Chapter Seven:
Lance

           
Machete lies about waking us up at 6am. She has our asses out of bad by 5.
After we grab our weapons and slip into our body armor (and after Boom Boom and
I kiss Blade and Harpoon goodbye), we stop at the ATM to deposit our $100,000.
Shortly after that we head west in Machete’s Moon Cruiser. Machete flies and
Arrow rides shotgun. Meanwhile I’m forced to sit in the back between Krystal
and Boom Boom. I’ve had better rides.

           
After flying nonstop for nearly 12 hours, we finally settle down in a meadow
deep in the Canadian wilderness. The stars are already out by the time we set
up camp.

           
Apparently Machete is an expert at living off the land because she makes a
campfire lickety-split. The five of us gather around the raging fire and have a
meager supper of dried fruit and canned beans.

           
Everyone is pretty quiet during our meal, save for Krystal. She feels the need
to complain about us being outside when there are several motels only a few
miles away.  I listen as Boom Boom calmly explains we’re trying to avoid
all the bounty hunters headed to Alaska who might be tempted to come after us
instead. Krystal finally stops complaining and finishes her beans.

           
Arrow wraps his jacket around Boom Boom’s shoulders. I do my best to ignore
them as they talk quietly to each other and giggle.

           
I eventually get bored and light up a joint to ease the throbbing pain in my
head. I’m only able to take a few hits before Boom Boom says something.

           
“Seriously, Lance? You’re going to do that in front of me?”

           
I jab my joint at Arrow. “You’re seriously going to snuggle with the world’s
biggest douchebag?”

           
“Red’s looking out for you,” Arrow says smugly. “You’re poisoning your body
with hundreds of carcinogens.”

           
I gesture toward Machete, who’s leaning against a tree, chugging on her cigar.
“What about your momma? Why don’t you harass her?”

           
“Because he doesn’t want his ass beat,” Machete growls.

           
Arrow and I start arguing. Machete finally stands up and says, “That’s it, I’m
going for a walk. You kids are too damn annoying.”

           
Machete disappears down a dark trail.

           
“I’m going for a walk, too,” I say, adjusting the night-vision function on my
shades.

           
“I don’t think we should be going off on our own,” Boom Boom starts to say, but
I ignore her and storm off into the forest.

           
I keep walking until I reach a gushing stream. It’s so nice and peaceful that I
can’t help but stop. The fresh, untainted water gives the forest a nice, clean
scent. A cool breeze rustles my hair, sending chills cascading down my spine.
Off in the distance crickets chirp, frogs ribbit, owls hoot, and a wolf howls.

           
I lift my goggles and look up at the stars through the gaps in the treetops.
The moon is nearly full, casting the valley in a silver glow. An overwhelming
sense of peace and serenity washes over me. The urge to finish my joint fades
away. I press the burnt end against my Kevlar vest, extinguishing it. I then
flick the smoldering joint into the stream. I definitely don’t want to risk
igniting a forest fire.

           
I take a deep breath and exhale. The healing power of nature is amazing.

           
Gazing up at the stars always reminds me of Dagger. He was always fascinated
with astronomy. He’d take me and Boom Boom out to the countryside and show us
all the constellations and star systems. Sometimes he’d bring along his
telescope. I enjoyed those nights out in the middle of nowhere. It was one of
the few times I was allowed to just be a kid. I do my best to replicate that
feeling with Blade and Harpoon. I don’t want their childhoods to be as screwed
up as ours.

           
Green spirals materialize and dance across the night sky. It’s an Aurora
Borealis, the fabled Northern Lights. I remember hearing on the news a massive
solar storm was headed our way. It looks like it just arrived.

           
As I stare in wonder at the spinning bands of light, I start to daydream about
all the things we’ll get to do with the kids if we nab Rasputin. We’ll get to
go to ball games, concerts, and amusement parks. We can get a membership to the
zoo (Harpoon would love that more than anything). I’ll be able to afford all
the toys and video games they want. We can even go to other Sanctuaries. A lot
of them are way nicer than ours, especially Sanctuary 41. Only the richest
people on Earth can afford to live there. It costs $10,000 a day just to visit…
per person
.

           
But that’s not even what excites me the most. With $25 million we’ll be able to
send the kids to the best colleges, so they can get real jobs and not have to
follow in our footsteps. And we’ll able to travel the world. We won’t be
heading east, of course. A trip to Europe, Africa, and especially Asia would
result in instant death. But we can visit some of the oases in Mexico and
Central America. We can visit the last remaining vestiges of the Amazon
Rainforest in Southern Brazil. We can even visit the new American colony in
West Antarctica. There’s already talk that as the ice continues to melt,
millions of people could relocate there. I want to check it out before it gets
too crowded.

           
I could also buy a new, super-powered telescope and place it on the roof of our
penthouse. And I could get a boat! I love sailing in the open ocean.

           
I’m just in the process of winding down my fantasy when a bloodcurdling scream
snaps me back to reality. I would recognize that shriek of terror anywhere.
It’s Krystal.

           
I take off at a sprint, tripping over branches and upturned tree roots as I
thrash my way through the forest. Birds fly out of their nests, perturbed that
I interrupted their nocturnal slumber.

           
As I stumble and tumble through the woods, the screaming and shouting gets
louder and louder. There’s also a zapping sound. Someone’s being tased.

           
I finally skid to a halt behind some bushes around the perimeter of our
campsite. I’m tempted to rush in and rescue my friends, but that would be
incredibly stupid and reckless. I need to get an idea of who I’m dealing with
first.

           
I get on my knees and peer through the brush. I’m not at all surprised to find
Pitbull standing near the campfire. He has his cyborg hand gripped firmly
around Arrow’s neck. Normally I’d love to see Arrow getting strangled, but
obviously things have changed. Pitbull has Arrow high in the air, so that his
feet dangle off the ground. Arrow claws at Pitbull’s metallic hand, but it’s to
no avail. Ptibull has Arrow right where he wants him… on the verge of death.

           
Off to the left are Yin and Yang. The only way I’ve ever been able to tell them
apart is through their outfits. Yin’s ninja costume is black and her headband
is white. She’s currently hovering over Krystal, who is sprawled out on the
ground like roadkill.

           
Yang is dressed in a white ninja costume with a black headband, and she’s
standing over Boom Boom. She’s also clutching a taser, and the barbed hooks at
the end are imbedded in Boom Boom’s neck. Boom Boom tries to get to her feet,
but Yang zaps her. Boom Boom twitches uncontrollably as electricity wracks her
body. Yang finally lifts her finger off the trigger and Boom Boom stops
convulsing.

           
Yang leans over Boom Boom and hisses, “Next time I’ll zap you for an hour.”

           
My attention reverts back to Pitbull. He pulls Arrow toward his face and
snarls, “Where’s Lance?”

           
Still clawing at Pitbull’s cyborg hand, Arrow chokes out, “Go… to… Hell…”

           
Pitbull growls like… well, a pitbull. “So we’re gonna play that game, huh?”

           
Pitbull hurls Arrow face-first into a tree. Arrow groans when he collides into
the trunk and collapses into a crumpled heap.

           
Pitbull storms over to Machete’s car and grabs our guns and ammunition
cartridges. He then proceeds to snap all the guns in half with his robotic
hand. He also crushes the ammo cartridges in his palm. After that he snaps all
of Arrow’s arrows.

           
“What are you doing?” Yin asks, still standing over Krystal.

           
“In case you’ve forgotten, we still have two dangerous people out there in the
forest. You don’t know Machete and Lance like I do. They will do whatever it
takes to rescue their friends. Why give them a fighting chance? Without their
weapons they’re as good as dead.”

           
I pat my waist and groan. All I have on me is a blade strapped to my leg. I
feel so stupid for not wearing my utility belt.

           
Once he’s finished destroying thousands of dollars’ worth of weaponry, Pitbull
stomps over to Boom Boom and grabs her hair. With a quick twist of his wrist he
flips her onto her back. Boom Boom moans and reaches for the taser hooks still
lodged into her neck. Yang zaps her again, sending Boom Boom into spasms. My
stomach twists at the sight of her being mercilessly tortured. I unsheathe my
blade and prepare to make my move. If only Machete were around. I’d feel more
comfortable taking them on if I had backup.

           
Yang turns off the taser, and Boom Boom collapses onto her back. Pitbull
dangles a dagger over her face.

           
“Lance, I know you’re out there somewhere!” Pitbull bellows. “We can do this
the easy way… or the
hard
way. Caesar wants all three of you, and I’m
not leaving until I have the entire collection. Caesar said he doesn’t care if
you guys are captured dead or alive, but I want the extra bonus for bringing
you in with a pulse. That doesn’t mean I can’t rough you all up a bit. I’ll be
merciful and give you until the count of ten to show yourself. If you don’t…”

           
Pitbull places the tip of his dagger against Boom Boom’s right eye socket. “If
you don’t, I’ll gouge out your girlfriend’s pretty green eyes. They’ll make great
marbles.”

           
A gasp escapes my lips. Boom Boom starts to struggle, but another burst of
electricity reminds her of the penalty of resistance.

           
“The countdown begins
now
,” Pitbull growls. “One…”

           
I’m just about to lunge out of the brush when someone grabs my arm and shoves
me flat on my back. Another clammy hand clamps down over my mouth. Hovering
over me is Machete. Her long, greasy hair dangles over her face and tickles my
nose. I resist the urge to sneeze.

           
“Keep quiet,” Machete whispers. “We’ll rescue your girl in a second, but we’re
going to do it smartly. No sense rushing into a massacre.”

           
Machete removes her hand from my mouth and crawls back over to the brush. I
follow after her. Pitbull is still holding his blade over Boom Boom’s horrified
face.

           
“I wonder how he found us? I made sure we weren’t being followed.”

           
“I bet he chucked a tracking device in your car the other night in Detroit,” I
whisper. “He knew you’d eventually lead him to us.”