Heroes Lost and Found (25 page)

“Stay aware, stay frosty. You should all be able to take on whatever Dykovski tosses at you.” Hunter went around the room, pointing at each of us in turn. “Rachael, use your wind power. You won’t be able to penetrate his armor directly, but think outside the box. Rocks, pebbles, tree branches, trees. Steve, crash and smash, sort of goes without saying. Peter, it’d take a pretty strong smack to take him down in that armor, so keep that in mind when you’re asking for help from your forest friends. Harris, touch and burn through. Go for the power cords, if you can get to them—they’re well inside the armor so look for some way to breach the suit. Hydraulic lines, whatever you can reach to cripple his weapons and hopefully him as well. Your power is hands-on, so choose your battles carefully. Maybe team up with someone else to stay safe.” He paused and looked at me with a grin. “I’m not even going to try to tell you what to do.”

“See,” I directed the comment to Rachael. “Men can be trained.”

She chuckled, giving Peter a nudge with her shoulder.

He rolled his eyes in response. “I’ve been saying that for years.”

Hunter snapped his fingers, bringing us back to the screen.

“Eyes front, kids. As I said, a frontal assault isn’t going to work for us. What we need to do is draw him out. If we go inside, we’re risking a cave-in, or worse, being separated from each other and becoming easy prey for Dykovski as he takes you on one by one. We can’t lose each other underground.”

His words traveled to me down a long dark tunnel, my sight closing in on the sides and threatening to shut me down. I’d had this sort of preliminary attack before and knew it heralded a major migraine.

I couldn’t afford one. Not here, not now.

I stumbled to the center of the bus and fumbled with the kitchenette controls. The small burners seemed simple enough to operate. A cupboard overhead coughed up a small ceramic teapot and a fresh box of teabags. Whoever stocked the groceries knew what I liked.

“Why not just collapse the place in around him?” Rachael chirped from behind me. “Seal him in there and go home?”

A hot water dispenser. It’d have to do. I filled the teapot and dropped a generic teabag in, forcing the lid down with shaky fingers.

“Because he’s got enough food in there to survive until he digs himself out,” Hunter answered. “The Agency left some incidentals in there for emergencies, and I’m pretty sure food was on the list.”

“And it won’t work for the cameras,” Peter interjected. “We need to get him out and take him down fast and clean and in a big way. Got to make a show of it.”

“Just wave to him and he’ll come out,” Harris said. “Guy’s got an ego bigger than Slammer’s.”

Steve laughed. “Maybe. Just maybe.” A resounding slap hit my ears, Steve’s hand on Harris’s back. “But he’s got to know it’s not going to go his way. He knows he’s not coming out of this a winner.”

“Not necessarily,” Hunter said. “Don’t get cocky and think he’s got nothing to toss against us. We don’t know what’s in the cache yet. Outrager’s moving at the speed of molasses to give us that information. We’ve seen that goop gun and flamethrower, for a start. Sure, we’ve got the remedy here…” he waved at a set of aerosol cans in a box on the counter, “…if you get caught in the black goo, but you’re still going to be incapacitated if that crap hits you, and God forbid it gets over your mouth and nose. And I don’t think Peter can keep asking insects to do that wall thing for the flamethrower.”

“Not again,” Peter admitted. “Can only ask for so much. Bees, bears and bobcats. And I think we’ll need more than just mice this time.”

A little mouse tapping on my face. Tapping and tapping, tiny paws tugging at me in the dark. Rocks digging into my back, pushing me down into the dirt, making it hard to breathe, to keep breathing…

The white ceramic mug fell out of my hands and onto the countertop, rolling as the bus turned.

“Jo.” Suddenly Hunter was behind me, his hands on my waist and his mouth to my ear. “Go sit down. I’ll bring this to you.”

“I’m…”

His tone got more insistent. “Go sit down before you fall down.” The snap in his voice reminded me of Mike ordering me to leave him in New York City. Ordering me to leave him to die while I ran away and lived.

I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting back the panic. My chest tightened, sharp pains jabbing at my lungs and choking all the air out of me. A sound broke from my lips, something weak and soft, the panic attack verging on taking over.

“Hush.” Hunter spun me around, drawing me into his embrace. “You’re not going in. No way. You’re going to hang back and deliver the coup de grace to look good for the cameras. Let the team do it, it’s what they’ve been trained for. You don’t have to leave this bus if you don’t want to. Fuck Outrager and what’ll look best on tape. Let us do this, let us finish this up.”

I pulled free, wiping my eyes dry. “No. I’m not running from anyone or anything, especially this bastard.”

“No one’s going to think any less of you if you step out after all this.”

“Rachael’s going in.” I nodded towards the young woman deep in conversation with Peter as they both studiously avoided looking at me. “She endured a lot more than I did. It’s not just Dykovski, it’s everything catching up with me. The mine, the bunker, it’s been a rough bit of time.”

Hunter grunted. “Guess two weeks weren’t enough to get you back into top shape.”

“Well, it sure wasn’t for lack of bedrest.” I reached up and gave him a kiss, letting my fingers run through the short blond hair at the back of his neck. “And while I appreciate the offer, I just can’t sit back for this one.”

“I know,” he confessed. “Can’t blame me for trying.”

“Wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” I pressed the empty mug into his hand. “Lots of milk, please.”

Everyone was where I’d seen them last, chatting to each other in a universal agreement to ignore Hunter’s rapid departure to deal with my personal crisis.

I slid in beside Steve on the U-shaped cushion. Jessie spread his hands with a pained look from across the table.

“What, I got cooties?”

I stuck my tongue out at him and snuggled closer to Steve, who put his arm over my shoulders with a wide grin and a wink at Jessie.

“Can’t blame the girl.” Steve’s mammoth hand landed atop mine, covering it totally. “You geeks may get the smart ones, but we get the smart and sexy ones.” He squeezed my hand. “Ain’t that right, boss lady?” The concern in his voice had tears springing to my eyes again.

I patted his hand with my free one. “Always count on you, big boy.”

“Okay, stop hitting on her.” Hunter placed the mug of milky-white tea in front of me. “Otherwise I’ll have to challenge you to an arm-wrestling competition.”

“Any time.” Steve removed his arm to crack his knuckles, the rifle-shot sounds echoing around the cabin.

“Save the display of testosterone for later.” I gestured for him to continue. “Or I’ll have to take both of you on.”

Steve let out something like a strangled giggle as Hunter’s face went red.

I retreated into my mug, feeling my cheeks burn. “Shutting up now.”

Hunter grinned and retrieved the remote from the counter.

“Okay, let’s talk about the suit.” The image came up on the screen, the technical diagram offering a three-dimensional view of the armor. “You’ve all seen it up close. Your thoughts?”

“Bitching tin suit.” Peter rubbed the back of his neck. “I might be able to get some ants into the cracks, but I don’t know.” He gave Rachael a sheepish look.

She patted his leg with a smile and a nod.

“Any chance of hacking into it?” Steve glanced at Jessie. “It’s a computer, right? Can you just make it pop off him or something?” He entwined his fingers and then pulled them apart quickly, mimicking the effect.

Jessie shook his head, dragging his finger across the tabletop. “I’m getting a complex here, just so you know. I’m not a hacker.” There was a hint of a whine in the last sentence.

I gave him a healthy glare. He knew I knew what he used to do in his spare time.

“Much. Anymore.” He reworded his statement. “But even if I were all that and a bag of potato chips, I couldn’t take the suit down. There’s no wireless system, no way for me to access the OS. From the information I’ve got, it’s a pretty simple system anyway, more focused on keeping the hydraulics going and all that.”

“So that’s a no.” I translated it into simple language.

He stuck his tongue out at me before responding. “Yes. It is.”

“Do we know for certain what weapons are on the suit?” Rachael asked, her tone all business.

Jessie put his hand up. Hunter gestured for him to take the question.

“According to the Agency files, that riot suit comes with a flamethrower, a net and the option to carry another weapon in your right hand.” He glanced at the image. “The idea was to offer the ability to personalize the weapons to the perceived threat.”

Harris frowned. “Where’s the net? What is the net? I don’t remember seeing it.”

“He’s got the flamethrower, we know that much,” Hunter said. “And he’s not afraid to use it.”

On the screen the empty power armor suit’s right arm flashed red. “The netting’s situated on the right hand in a small opening on his forearm. Explosive charges shoot it out at the target. It’s your basic net with the option of sending a medium-sized electrical charge through it to shock you like a taser. One shot deal, which is probably why he didn’t use it—saving it for the next fight.”

Another image flashed onto the screen. The goop gun. It resembled an old-fashioned Mauser, at least to my eyes.

“Technically this has a long-winded fancy name, but I like ‘goop gun’.” Hunter winked at me. “It doesn’t have a whole lot of ammo inside it, just what the pouch can carry. I’m willing to bet he used at least half of it on Rachael, Kit and the bobcat. Maybe two, three shots left depending on how much he uses and on whom. Outrager confirmed there’s no refills either at the base we left or at his new hidey-hole.”

“That’s not the dangerous one.” I took a sip of tea before continuing. “The flamethrower. Black goop we can deal with, tasering as well. But unless something’s changed while I was gone, none of us are fireproof.” I cupped the mug in both hands, letting the heat fight with my chilled fingers. “So let’s assume he’s going to use it as his primary weapon as long as the fuel holds out. He’s not going to go for capturing us now that he knows he can’t pop our plugs.” I looked around the table. “He’s out to kill us before we take him down. He’s got nothing to lose by this point. His plans are toast and he’s not getting out of the country.”

“Wounded animal is the deadliest,” Steve said. “Especially when he’s cornered.” One big finger traced an X on the faux wood tabletop. “Had to go after a stag once when my buddy fucked up the kill shot and sent him into the woods with a bullet in the shoulder. Bastard almost gored the pair of us before we took him down.” The ex-steelworker shook his head. “Major danger.”

Hunter scanned his notes. “Did he have time to grab anything else from the armory other than the weapons we already know about?”

I shook my head. “I don’t remember. I don’t think so. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t have them already on the damned suit or he’ll find more at the other cache.” I sighed. “Fuck Outrager.”

“Not on my worst day,” Peter quipped.

I ruffled his hair. “Oh, now you’re getting picky.”

“Anything from you?” Hunter addressed Harris. “Thoughts, comments, anything? He kept you away from Jo. Did you see anything we should know about?”

“You got me. All I saw was the inside of a cage and the outside of an asshole.” Harris scratched his belly and shrugged. “All I know is Dykovski was pretty certain he was gonna take you all out. Grab your plug codes and make you into his super team, working for him.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen.” Hunter looked at the screen. “We’ve got about two hours before we get within striking distance. He may have flown straight over these forests, but we’ve got to stay on the road. Let’s all crash and rest, and I’ll see if I can pry anything else out of Outrager that he might have conveniently forgotten about the cache or the suit.”

People moved around me at the dismissal, Jessie hopping out from behind the table with a grin and approaching Rachael and Peter.

Steve poked Harris none too gently in the shoulder. “Pizza sound good? Got a couple of frozen ones in the freezer. Let me show you what this baby’s got for cooking. And we got good beer, plus a satellite dish.”

Harris laughed as he followed the strongman out and towards the kitchenette. That left me at the table alone until Hunter bounced in along the cushions.

I studied the mug. Half full. Or half empty.

He reached across the table and pried my fingers off, entwining them with his own. “You’re thinking of something. You’ve got that look.”

“No.” I freed one hand to take another sip of tea. “This is my ‘I’m tired and want to be taken to bed’ look. Obviously you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

Hunter tilted his head to one side. “I do and it’s not. But I’ll play it your way because it uses the phrase ‘taken to bed’ in a positive light.” He stood and pushed the mug out of reach before taking my hand. “Steve, you’re in charge for a bit. Don’t sell the farm.”