Under Ground (31 page)

Taylor sighs and shakes his head
as if he’s had enough and is ready to give up. “Anyway," he says,
"we have to act sooner. I’m thinking tonight.”

“What? That’s too soon!” Chi
interjects.

“I know, but we don’t have a
choice.”

“This is insane,” Chi
snaps.

"And what do you want me to do
about it, Chi?" Taylor shouts back. "Do you want to just abandon
your parents and all those people in the camps?"

"Of course not! But I'm not gonna
act blindly and trust some dirt bag like him with my life. I can't
believe you're just gonna listen to his bullshit and take his word
for it," Chi exclaims.

"You want to stay behind?" Taylor
challenges him.

"No." Chi's nostrils
twitch.

"Fine! The problem's solved then.
I’ll send out some messages and pretend that everything’s going as
planned. We'll just double-cross the guards. And William here had
better not be lying," he growls while approaching his face inches
from William's. "Right, Blondie? Because I'll break your neck if
this is some ploy to take us down. You won't make it out of that
camp alive if you try to stab us in the back. Having you come along
is just another guarantee, but realistically, we don't need you, so
don't screw this up for yourself."

"I'm not," William says, his voice
shaking. "My father backstabbed me; I don't owe him allegiance." He
shoots a quick glance at Chi, but he doesn't explain
further.

Taylor sighs. "I’m just glad I
didn’t trust any of the guards with our location here. I need to
contact the other leaders, ASAP. They need to know what's going on.
Do you have anything else to add, William?”

"I’ve been to the camps a few
times—especially Camp 19," William explains. "That's where my
father keeps his office. He was preparing me to become his second
in command. I went through a lot of training that involved
supervising each area of the camps, just so I could familiarize
myself with the entire process. The guards won't find it strange if
I show up in one of the trucks. They'll just think it's part of my
training."

Chi's face has paled with disgust,
and I'm just staring in shock at William. William's father had
seemed like such an honorable man. He had appeared so much nicer
than William's mother. The authorities obviously keep this
information a secret to prevent personal retaliation against their
highest employees.
But how could my parents be so blind as to
who these people were?
I remember the day when Mother told me
that Mr. Fox planned on hiring my father in his corporation. I
shudder.

“I heard Father talk to his
associates," William continues. "He said some guards were arrested,
but some of them kept their jobs. That's only because Father
managed to intimidate them into collaborating. Working for my
father comes with a lot of advantages, which most people don't want
to lose. Father didn’t hesitate to threaten their families as well
as cut their resources. That was enough to shift their loyalty back
to him." William sends Taylor a look. "So, the guys you thought you
could trust? I wouldn’t count on them!"

Then William spills out more
details about his family's corporation. I don't know what happened
between William and his father, but William sounds furious at him.
When he's done revealing what we need to know, Taylor calls
everyone to the fitness center. I'm standing close to Chi, with his
hand in mine. I turn my head when I feel someone's eyes on me, and
I notice William staring at us, his eyes veiled with wounded pride.
I look away; William's feelings aren't my concern
anymore.

“Okay everyone," Taylor calls out.
"Some new information was revealed this morning. We have to act a
whole lot sooner than we had planned. We’re attacking Camp 19
tonight!”

Gasps echo around the room,
followed by a rising rumble of voices, but Taylor is loud enough to
speak over us all. “I know, I know! It’s really soon! But I think
we’re as ready as we can be at this point. If we want to make it
out alive, we have no other choice. There will be no training this
afternoon. Just enjoy the day and rest. I want everyone here at
three p.m. sharp. I will lay out more of the plans then, but
everything remains the same. I have a lot of things to do, a lot of
people to contact. I will see you guys later. James, Chase, I need
you now. Chi, I want you here at noon.”

People disperse around the room
while Chi and I go back to our apartment. When we reach the
balcony, the wind blows through my hair, and Chi observes me before
pulling me to him.

“Tonight’s the night. Are you sure
you’re ready for this?” he asks.

I nod. I'm excited and anxious at
the same time. I can't help but hope my mother will come back with
us and that we'll all be safe.

Chi's eyes meet mine. “Did you
mean what you said the other night?”

“What do you mean?” I pretend not
to understand where he's going with this.

“You know exactly what I
mean.”

I blink a few times, my heart
suddenly racing. “Yes. Yes, Chi. I love you. I’ve loved you from
the moment I saw you.”

His grin appears and spreads,
filling his entire face. He lifts me up so my feet leave the
ground, and he spins me around and around while kissing me. Then he
puts me down and walks me backward to the rail of the balcony. He
takes my hand in his, and I turn around to look at the river. Chi
was right; it does look relaxing.

We spend all morning together,
snuggling on the bed, resting, and we avoid talking about what’s
going to happen tonight.

When noon arrives, Chi reminds me
he's supposed to meet Taylor.

“You’ll be careful out there,
right?" he asks. "I can tell you’re not comfortable around weapons,
but you have to promise me you’ll use your gun if you’re in
danger.”

I look back at him. I don’t know
that I can swear to that, but he's expecting me to and I don’t want
him to have to watch my back. I hold his gaze and try to sound as
convincing as I can. “Yes, Chi. I promise.”

He sighs in relief and holds me
more tightly against him. I can tell he’s worried, and I’m
terrified for him as well. I don’t know what’s going to happen
tonight. More than anything, I fear losing him. This mission sounds
more and more like suicide.

I follow Chi to the training room.
We don’t have a lot of time left, and I’m not wasting one second I
could be spending with him. Kayla and William are there as well.
For three hours, we clean and prepare the weapons while Taylor
consults with Chase and James to work out the last
details.

When the time comes for everyone
to meet, Taylor stands by the large table. There, everyone has to
wait in line as he assigns them each a different weapon with
directions. My hands are shaking when it’s my turn and he hands me
my gun, complete with bullets, a silencer, and a holster. I take it
all and wrap it around my waist. It's heavy against my thigh, and I
instantly hate its deadly weight against me. I would go without it
if it weren't for Chi’s insistence that he won’t let me come along
without a weapon.

Chi grabs a rifle, which he
carries over his shoulder. He has trained for years and he’s not
afraid of weapons. This feels more natural to him that it does for
me.

Once we’re equipped and ready,
Taylor finishes with our instructions. Everyone is listening
carefully. Some of us look nervous while some others can’t seem to
wait to get going. After a couple of hours, we all head back
downstairs. It will take some time to inflate all the rafts and
load everyone on the canoes as well.

Taylor has managed to convince
Kayla that she should stay behind. She’s furious about it. She
pulls her face away when he tries to kiss her goodbye, her every
feature creased with discontent. Taylor's lips rise into a tiny
smile.

"I love you too, babe," he says
before turning around and directing everyone toward the
windows.

Little by little, we make our way
out of the building, in line, two to five people at a time. When I
reach the balcony, along with Chi and two other people, we climb
down to the raft and start rowing, heading north. The closer we get
to shore, the harder my heart hammers. Anxiety rushes through my
blood when I imagine everything that might go wrong. But I can’t
afford to think that way; I can’t let stress control me and confuse
my mind.

Taylor starts pacing as soon as we
arrive. We're still waiting for a few others to cross the river.
He’s probably reviewing all the plans in his head for any potential
lethal holes or defects. Chase and James are supposed to be waiting
for us with two trucks that the Underground stole from the
authorities a few months ago.

When everyone is gathered, we head
to our meeting point in the parking lot about a mile from shore.
When we get there, Chase and James open the back doors of the
trucks for us. Everyone gets in, one by one. Taylor and William
join Chase in the first truck while Akio goes to sit by James in
the second one.

Everyone is settled and the trucks
start moving. The ride gets awkward quickly. None of us dare talk
lest we reveal how scared we truly are. Everyone is uncomfortable
on the hard metal floor of the truck. We’re squished together, hot
and slimy with sweat, like sardines in a can. Chase drives us from
Old Bronx to New Tappan Zee Bridge. There, he uses his fake ID to
trick the officers into raising the barrier and letting the truck
cross the bridge. After that, the ride takes us further north,
toward Camp 19.

Eventually, the truck slows down
and comes to a stop. Each entrance to Camp 19 requires a pass,
which James and William own and will use to let us into the tunnel.
I hear a metallic door roll open, soon followed by movements of the
truck. We are in the tunnels; the truck has gotten much cooler,
though not cold enough to relieve our suffocation.

Chi grabs my hand in his as we get
closer to the camp. He squeezes it a few times. He’s getting
anxious too. He leans in. “Please be careful!”

I kiss him on the lips, once. “I
will.”

The truck stops. As expected, a
couple of guards approach the vehicle. I can’t hear the shots
because of the silencers, but the sounds of the guards' bodies
hitting the ground echo from outside the truck, and bile rises to
my mouth. From this moment on, the chill inside me doesn’t let go.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins as the back door opens up to
William’s face.

I get out and notice Chase from
the corner of my eye. He's stripping a guard so as to wear his
uniform. He also finds some keys and throws them at Taylor. A few
different trucks are parked in the tunnel, waiting to be loaded
with merchandise the following morning. We will use them to
evacuate the prisoners.

William leads Chase to the room
that holds all the controllers to the cameras. Two shots echo from
the security room, and my heart squeezes. Two shots, two more
deaths. After a few minutes, William and Chase come back out. The
cameras in the main yard have been turned off; it's safe for us to
proceed. Taylor opens a door on the right, and we walk into the
camp in our various small groups. We are to head straight to the
different sections of the camp. People here are separated by sex,
as well as tasks. William told us my mother was sent to the
packaging area. Though it’s late at night and it's dark outside,
the prisoners are still working.

Strangely, the place looks
deserted. It would be impossible to tell that people are held
hostage here if we didn't know what signs to look for. The walls
are made of concrete, gray and depressing, and there isn’t a sound
to be heard. The place feels morbidly empty, and it smells like
death and decay. We hide in the shadows and spot a few guards on
the towers, circling around.

I'm keeping close to Taylor, Chi,
and James. William, who's walking in front of us, leads the way to
the packaging building. If a guard sees him, they won’t suspect
anything until it’s too late. As we approach the building, a guard
notices William. Questions fill his eyes instantly, but then he
nods in respect. William’s loyalty to his father is taken for
granted. The guard doesn’t have time to react when Taylor comes out
of the shadows and shoots him straight in the head. I inhale
sharply. Taylor looks at me, cold as frost, and presses his index
finger against his lips in a shushing motion.

Chi positions his rifle on his
shoulder. He whispers for me to get ready to shoot. I obey though
the cold metal of the gun feels foreign against my skin. I don't
plan on shooting anybody if I can avoid it. I know these are bad
people, but I can’t help thinking about their families waiting at
home for them to return from work.

William opens the door and we are
met by two guards, whom Taylor and James take care of right away. A
deep pain fills my heart when the bodies fall down to the ground. I
remind myself that these people are keeping my mother prisoner for
no valid reasons. They chose gaining high statuses in society over
protecting human lives. Cold anger grasps my heart and I'm finally
ready for what's coming. I need to focus on getting my mother out,
and I can’t let undeserved pity distract me from my
goal.

James grabs the keys from one of
the guards and opens a barred gate. Then he works on the metal door
to the packaging room. When he pushes it open, Taylor is ready, on
the lookout for potential danger. Of course, more guards are
keeping an eye on the workers. I look around and see two of them on
the balconies facing us, and three more downstairs watching over
the prisoners. James shoots one of the guards facing us, but
instead of falling backward, he drops over the railing and comes
crashing right into the working room. The other guards react
instantly as panic takes over among the workers.