Slayers (Jake Hawkins Book 1) (22 page)

Jake walked up and pressed a hand to her face.
“
It
’
s going to be okay, Zoe. Everything
’
s going to be fine.
”

“
Yeah,
”
she said half-heartedly.

He kissed her. The touch of her lips brought him calm. As they parted, he saw she was a little less distant, a little more aware.

“
Alright, lovebirds,
”
Felix said.
“
Let
’
s go. Remember, be loud.
”

Jake nodded, threw the door open and stormed out into the foyer. The policewoman barely had time to turn around. He circled around in front of the desk, waving the Snowdog in her face. The rest of the group fanned out behind him.

He pointed a finger at the entrance doors. They led to the courtyard, where the row of police vans still lay idle.

“
Key,
”
he barked, and twisted his hand back and forth in the motion of a key turning in the ignition.
“
Now!
”

The woman understood. She wasn
’
t about to provoke a group of heavily armed men. She didn
’
t waste a second holding them up. She scooted her chair back, reached down and opened a drawer. Jake glanced behind him. There was no activity from outside. No-one had raised the alarm.

Almost on cue, a blaring klaxon sounded from above. He jumped back in fright. The siren echoed through the police station, accompanied by shrieking alarm bells and flashing red lights in the corners of the foyer.

“
Did we tie up those cops we passed?
”
Sam yelled.

“
I disarmed them
…”
Crank said.

Felix swore.
“
We don
’
t have much time now.
”

Jake recovered from the initial shock and saw the policewoman was holding a bunch of keys in her hand, her palm outstretched toward him. Four sets. One for each of the vans. Jake took them all, and although it was an odd thing to do to a person he was aiming a gun at, nodded in appreciation.

They hustled out through the entrance, just as a policeman ran into the foyer from the doors they had come from. Jake got a brief glimpse of him before bursting out into the early morning air. For a moment, back in the interrogation room, he
’
d thought he would never see the outside world again. The fresh air provided a momentary rush of ecstasy.

“
I
’
d say we only need two vans,
”
he said.

Crank nodded.
“
Any more would attract too much attention.
”

“
Dude, I think we
’
ve attracted all the attention we can manage,
”
Sam said. He nodded to the wailing building behind them.

“
I
’
ll take care of this,
”
Link said.
“
Start up the engines.
”

As Crank and Felix ran to the vans, Jake watched as Link squeezed the trigger of his Snowdog, aiming at the floor just inside the foyer. Bullets spat out of the four barrels with a familiar whine.

The double doors exploded. Shredded wood fountained into the air as the ground around the entrance was torn to pieces.

The warning shots were successful. Jake saw all of the police officers who had made it into the foyer dive for cover, terrified by the sudden, overwhelming firepower. They wouldn
’
t be raising their heads anytime soon.

Felix had backed his van out into the street. He pulled up next to the group with a screech of tires.

“
In,
”
he demanded.

Jake ran around the back and vaulted up inside the rear compartment. Less than an hour ago, he had been locked inside the space against his will, with a horrible fear eating away at his insides, and now he was free. Zoe and Sam followed him up into the van and the door slammed shut. Jake was thrown off-balance as Felix tore off the mark.

The three planted themselves down on the benches, breathless. Zoe leapt into Jake
’
s arms and held him tight, whimpering and sniffling, scared out of her mind. Jake squeezed. He wanted her to calm down. He hated seeing her like this.

“
It
’
s okay,
”
he whispered.
“
It
’
s okay.
”

She looked up at him.
“
It
’
s okay,
”
she repeated.

He gave her a reassuring smile.
“
What was that you were telling me about experience in the field?
”

She laughed through her sobs.
“
Okay, maybe you can handle high-stress environments a bit better than me.
”

Jake remembered Link storming into the dark, abandoned house, and the tight knot his gut had been twisted into, and the resistance he had received from his brain, screaming at him to stay where he was, to not follow Link in, and the overwhelming, unparalleled terror he had felt as his flashlight had glanced over the slayer in the middle of the room. He remembered further back, to the alleyway, the silhouette chasing him, the fear of the unknown. He didn
’
t feel fear like that anymore. It was there, but it was suppressed. Without realising, he had almost become accustomed to danger.

“
You get used to it,
”
he said.

“
I don
’
t know how you can get used to that,
”
Zoe said.
“
I thought I was going to die, Jake.
”

“
My brain almost switches over to autopilot,
”
he said.
“
It
’
s strange. I
’
m still scared out of my mind, but it
’
s becoming easier to
act
.
”

“
I guess it
’
s just like the lifestyle thing,
”
she pondered.
“
Remember what I said? I
’
ve been on the move so long. You just get used to it.
”
She leaned up and kissed him hard on the lips.
“
I don
’
t know where I would be without you, Jake.
”

“
You
’
d be back in Melbourne. Safe. You definitely wouldn
’
t be here, and you definitely wouldn
’
t be wanted by all law enforcement in Iquitos.
”

“
My dad can get us out of this.
”

“
You know, I
’
m not so sure about that right now, kid,
”
Sam piped up.
“
And Jake, what did I tell you before we got on the plane?
”
He motioned to Zoe.

“‘
Don
’
t even think about it
,
’”
Jake said.
“
Yeah, I know. It was worth it.
”

“
I
’
m sure it was,
”
he muttered.

Despite herself, Zoe laughed. There was a moment of silence, of calm within the chaos. All three of them were smiling. Zoe rested her head on Jake
’
s shoulder.

“
You know, I
’
m proud of you brother,
”
Sam said.
“
Think back two months ago. You were scared of everything. You complained constantly about training. And now you just broke us all out of a police station. Something none of us could do in time. Good work, my man.
”

Jake nodded imperceptibly, but inwardly he was glowing. They were accepting him.
“
Thanks, Sam.
”

Suddenly, the van
’
s tires screeched. Felix had wrenched the wheel hard. They slid around a corner without the use of the brakes. Sam was thrown off his bench and slammed into Jake, driving the wind out of both of them. When they recovered, the man muttered his apologies and banged against the metal partition.

“
What
’
s the deal?
”
he yelled into the wall.

“
They
’
re chasing us, but we just lost them,
”
came Felix
’
s muffled reply.
“
We
’
ll have a gap of maybe thirty minutes to head into the rainforest before they catch the vans.
”

“
That
’
s enough.
”

Jake turned to look at Zoe. She was beautiful. He couldn
’
t let anything happen to her.

“
Listen,
”
he said, brushing a lock of hair off her face.
“
You need to stay here. In Iquitos.
”

“
No,
”
she said without missing a beat. Her voice was urgent.
“
No, Jake, please. I need to come with you.
”

“
You can
’
t.
”

“
Why not?
”

“
Because we
’
re about to head into something that I
’
m not going to let you be a part of. It
’
s safer if you stay here, in the city. You keep out of sight and don
’
t attract attention. When we make it out, we
’
ll come back and get you.
I
’
ll
come back for you. I promise.
”

Her mouth was agape.
“
You
’
re going to leave me here while the entire police force is looking for me?
”

“
It
’
s better than the alternative. Trust me.
”

“
Trust him, Zoe,
”
Sam said.
“
You don
’
t want to be a part of what we
’
re about to do. If the police catch you, don
’
t say a word. Call your dad. Forget about what I just said. He
’
ll take care of it.
”

“
Do you have a phone?
”
Jake said.

Zoe nodded.
“
It
’
s a satellite phone. Dad said I should always have one. Just in case.
”

“
Perfect. Get yourself somewhere safe, and call your dad. But you are a wanted fugitive. Don
’
t count on him being able to fly in and pick you up. If you
’
re still in trouble when we
’
re done, I
’
ll get you. Don
’
t worry.
”

“
Okay,
”
she said, and kissed him again.

He raised a hand and touched her cheek. It was soft and warm and took his mind off the doubt creeping in. There was no saying whether he would be back for Zoe. Only time would tell.

“
Thirty seconds!
”
Felix called from the driver
’
s compartment.

“
Time to move,
”
Sam said. He hunched over as he stood up so as not to hit his head against the roof of the van. He slung his cumbersome hiking pack over his shoulder. Jake did the same, holding Zoe
’
s hand the whole time.

They braced themselves as the van decelerated, accompanied by the screeching of tires. Sam turned the handle and shouldered the rear doors open. Jake burst out into bright sunlight.