Highway To Armageddon (47 page)

           
Klaxton’s fierce, icy blue eyes are focused on Igor, staring a hole through his
skull. Igor gulps and sets down his glass of vodka.

           
Klaxton finally turns to Rasputin. In her trademark raspy, cold voice she says,
“I thought your subordinates were intelligent, highly trained assassins. What I
see instead is a roomful of unkempt, incompetent jackasses.”

           
I can’t help but smirk. That was actually pretty funny.

           
Mikhail shrugs. “So I fudged a bit on my descriptions. Good help is hard to
find these days, as you know.”

           
“Yes, I am quite aware,” Klaxton growls.

She looks around the room and furrows
her brow when she lays eyes on me, Boom Boom, and Arrow. Sweat pours from my
armpits. Klaxton is so intense and scary she’s making me a nervous wreck.

           
“Who the devil are these kids?” Klaxton barks. She says it with such venom that
I nearly topple out of my seat.

           
Rasputin waves Klaxton off as though she’s annoying him. He’s probably the only
person on the planet who could get away with that.

           
“Relax, Angela. You’re freaking everyone out with all your barking. Poor
Vladimir looks like he’s about to have a stroke.”

           
Rasputin gestures toward me. Klaxton gives me the ‘evil eye’. If I wasn’t about
to have a stroke before, I sure am now.

           
“I told you we might have some new recruits at our meeting. You told me to
bring people capable of carrying out a devastating terrorist attack in the
heart of China, so that’s what I did.”

           
“Wait, we were brought here to launch a terror attack?” I blurt out.

           
“You never told us that, Igor!” Boom Boom shouts.

           
Igor holds up his hands. “Relax, Ruby. Consider it a great honor that I brought
you and your friends along. Mikhail called me up last week and said to bring
along my most talented men and women for a top-secret mission. After your
flawless initiation I realized you, Vladimir, and Arkady were the best soldiers
I had.”

           
“You could have told us beforehand,” Boom Boom snaps.

           
“Why would I do that?” Igor says with a sneer. “You might have declined to
come.”

           
Klaxton turns her attention to Boom Boom. “You do realize it’s not lady-like to
act like a whore in front of the President of the United States, don’t you? Get
off of Rasputin’s lap and show some self-respect.”

           
Boom Boom’s cheeks turn bright red. She silently slips off of Rasputin’s lap
and sits in the empty chair to his right.

           
Klaxton shakes her head. “Seriously dear, you can do so much better than
Rasputin.”

           
“Anyway,” Rasputin says, sounding annoyed that Klaxton keeps insulting him, “I
trust Igor’s judgment. If he thinks we can trust these kids, then that’s good
enough for me. As you know, we Purple Dragons have a thorough initiation
process to weed out weaklings and spies. These kids took out one of your most
wanted fugitives, Caesar Dominguez. Does that not earn them your trust and
respect?”

           
Klaxton’s hardened face softens a bit at that revelation. “Oh really? Do you
have proof that Caesar is actually dead?”

           
Rasputin lifts Caesar’s head out of the box. “Is this proof enough for you?”

           
Klaxton gags and steps back.  “How foul! Put that away!”

           
Rasputin snickers and puts the head back in the box.

           
Klaxton goes back to staring intensely at me. Beads of sweat roll down my neck.

           
“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” she finally asks.

           
“Um, I don’t think so,” I stammer.

           
Klaxton frowns. “Your face looks very familiar. So does yours.”

           
Klaxton points at Boom Boom. Boom Boom glances at me and cocks an eyebrow.
That’s our discreet signal for
‘get ready for trouble’
. Klaxton must
recognize us from Caesar’s bounty posters. Or she could just recognize us as
the ‘teenage bounty hunters’. We are sort of famous. Our disguises fooled
Rasputin and Igor, but apparently Klaxton is a lot harder to trick than they
are.

           
I start to reach for my electric sword when Klaxton says, “Nevermind. I’m
probably imagining things.”

           
I breathe a sigh of relief, as does Boom Boom. That was close.

           
Klaxton snaps her fingers at the secret service agents who walked in behind
her. “Kill them.”

           
The secret service agents point their guns at me, Arrow, and Boom Boom.

           
I hold up my hands. “Whoa, what the hell, man?”

           
One of the agents presses his gun against my skull. “Shut your trap, punk.”

           
Igor jumps out of his chair, sending it toppling to the floor. “Madam
President, there must be some misunderstand-AHH!”

           
Another agent whacks Igor across the back of his head.

           
“Mikhail, you’re not going to let them do this, are you?” Boom Boom says
pleadingly.

           
“Not by a longshot,” Rasputin growls. He extends his right arm and neon-blue spirals
of electricity unravel from his fingertips. The electricity envelopes the agent
next to Boom Boom and sends him flying across the room. He slams against the
cobbled wall and collapses to the floor in a smoldering heap.

           
The other agents point their guns at Mikhail. Igor, Norma, and the others point
their guns at the agents, as do Rasputin’s bodyguards. Arrow, Boom Boom and I
stand up and unsheathe our electric swords. We might as well prove to Rasputin
we have his back.

           
Rasputin chuckles. He holds up his gloved hands as tendrils of electricity
dance along his fingertips.

           
“Looks like we have ourselves an old-fashioned standoff.”

           
Klaxton crosses her arms and scowls. She’s not as easily amused as Rasputin.

           
Rasputin suddenly turns deadly serious. “I know you’re painfully aware how
pivotal I am to your plans, Angela. You need me far more than I need you. It’s
extremely difficult for us to attract young, competent recruits for our aging
movement. If you desire my continued cooperation, you will leave these kids
alone.”

           
Klaxton’s steely face remains entrenched in a scowl.

           
Rasputin shrugs. “Fair enough.” He grabs Boom Boom and pulls her to his side.
“I don’t really care about the boys, but I get to keep the girl. That’s
non-negotiable.”

           
“Hey, that’s not fair!” I blurt out.

           
Boom Boom rips her arm out of Rasputin’s grasp. “No! Either we all live… or we
all die.”

           
Klaxton’s lips curl into a sadistic sneer. “Don’t tempt me, girlie.”

           
Mikhail nods approvingly. “I like that you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for
your friends. You have great courage. We need more of that around here.”

           
Mikhail turns his attention back to the glowering president.

           
“As I stated before, Angela, you are in desperate need of my assistance. The
kids live, or our deal is off.”

           
Klaxton curses and kicks a chair. “Fine. The damn teeny-boppers can stay. But
never… and I mean
NEVER
… have a bunch of outsiders attend one of my
meetings ever again. I don’t care if you vouch for them. One loose string can
unravel an entire operation.”

           
Mikhail takes another sip of vodka. “Calm down, Angela. You’re going to raise
your blood pressure.”

           
The secret service agents lower their guns and back away. Rasputin’s goons do
the same. Arrow and I sheathe our blades.

           
Klaxton straightens her pantsuit. “Now that all the excitement is out of the
way, let’s proceed with our meeting.”

           
Klaxton sits down at the head of the table. Her secret service agents stake out
different positions around the room, so they can keep an eye on everyone.
Rasputin’s guards stand behind him. Igor, Norma, and the rest of the gang sit
down at the table. Arrow and I plop down next to them.

           
Klaxton clasps her hands together. “As you all know, we are here to initiate
the final phase of our mission to destroy the Empire of China.”

           
I know I shouldn’t say anything, but my head is spinning with so many questions
that it feels like it’s about to explode. I clear my throat and awkwardly say,
“Er, excuse me for interrupting, but… like, how long have you and Rasputin been
in cahoots?”

           
Boom Boom shoots me a look that says
‘stop talking’
. I realize that’s
good advice when Klaxton grits her teeth.

           
“We have been partners in our covert war against China for quite some time. Now
please refrain from interrupting me ever again, little boy. I’m the goddamn
President of the United States, and I hate…
I HATE
… being interrupted.”

           
I gulp and say, “Er, sorry Ms. President. It won’t happen again.”

           
Klaxton has this amazing ability to make me feel small and weak. I think I’d
rather take on an army of Nazis than have a conversation with her.

           
Klaxton starts talking again. “Over the past several years I have been secretly
coordinating terror attacks with the Purple Dragons against the Chinese. I was
hopeful that the Chinese would launch a surprise attack on American assets like
the Japanese did in World War 2, thereby drawing us into a war, but alas, that
has yet to occur.”

           
“Wait, you actually
want
a war?” Boom Boom blurts out.

           
“What did I say about interrupting me?” Klaxton growls.

           
Boom Boom shuts up.

           
“Like I was saying, the Chinese have proven to be remarkably calm in the face
of the Purple Dragons relentless onslaught. I think it’s that damn teenage
empress. I know General Kang is eager for a war. It occurred to me several
weeks ago that we need something a bit more destructive than a few car bombings
to get the Chinese’s attention.”

           
I’m stunned by what I’m hearing. The president wants a war with China? What
sort of madness is this?

           
“So, uh, what were you thinking about doing?” Arrow asks hesitantly.

           
“
I
won’t be doing anything,” Klaxton replies. “You and your friends will
be smuggling a small nuclear bomb over the Bering Strait and into the Siberian
Wilderness.”

           
“A nuclear bomb?” Boom Boom cries, nearly falling out of her seat. “Where are
we supposed to find a nuclear bomb?”

           
“We saw materials for making a dirty bomb in that gun shop in Vegas, remember?”
I say.

           
Klaxton flashes a rare grin. “You’re starting to unravel my plan. You kids
aren’t as dumb as you look.”

           
An insult wrapped in a compliment. Nice.

           
Klaxton snaps her fingers and one of her agents carries over a metallic
suitcase.

           
“This is the bomb I was talking about. It’s called a suitcase nuke, in case
you’re too stupid to figure that out. It has enough fissile material to
irradiate and kill thousands… maybe tens of thousands if it’s a windy day.”

           
“Why would you bring that in here?” Boom Boom cries. “We’re all going to get
radiation poisoning!”

           
“Quit being so hysterical, girlie. The nuclear material is encased in a
metallic material that prevents the release of any radiation. It will also mask
the uranium from Chinese radiation sensors, allowing you to sneak the bomb into
Siberia without being detected. You shouldn’t run into any Chinese forces
during your flight. We’ll provide you a radar-deflecting flying car. And even
though the Chinese like to pretend they rule Russia with an iron fist, that’s
all simply propaganda. The reality is most of Russia, including Siberia, is
under the control of the Purple Dragons and other dissidents. Anytime China
sends forces in after them, they are bogged down in a brutal guerrilla war. Now
the Chinese just sort of leave them alone until they leave their isolated
sanctuaries.”

           
“You will meet up with members of the Purple Dragons at an undisclosed
location,” Klaxton rattles on. I do my best to keep up, but I’m still
struggling to get over my shock that the president is in cahoots with the
world’s most wanted man. “Several of their suicide squad members will then
attach the nuclear suitcase to the engine of a flying car, creating the biggest
car bomb in history.”

           
“And where are you wanting this bomb to be detonated?” I ask. “At a Chinese
military base? A hospital?”