Highway To Armageddon (27 page)

           
“Kind of ruins the whole allure of being in the Wild West when you know they
have hidden security cameras,” Arrow grumbles. He must be watching the same
news report I am.

           
“At least they don’t know it’s us,” I say. “You can’t really make out our faces
from the grainy footage.”

           
That theory is instantly shot down when the reporter shows clear images of our
faces. The reporter goes on to say, “The suspected assailants in the terrorist
attack against the Wild West Settlement are freelance bounty hunters Machete,
Arrow, Lance, Krystal, and Boom Boom. If anyone has any information on these
individuals, they are urged to contact the government’s national criminal
hotline. Monetary rewards will be given for information leading to their
arrests. Wild West founder Geronimo Blackbird has also put out a $10 million
reward for their capture.

           
“This reward is not to be confused with the $10 million bounty being offered by
fugitive mobster Caesar Dominguez,” the reporter elaborates. “Mr. Blackbird’s
reward is actually sanctioned by the state, whereas Caesar’s is an
unsanctioned, illegal bounty.”

           
“Glad she cleared that up for everybody,” I grumble.

           
Arrow sighs. “Great, now we have
two
bounties over our heads.”

           
“Actually
I
have two bounties on my head,” I point out. “You forgot
Caesar doesn’t care about you and Machete. Although I’m sure that will change
when he finds out you’re helping us.”

           
Arrow shrugs. “It really doesn’t matter how many bounties are out against us.
One is just as bad as two. It’s like saying there’s a difference between being
tossed into a 500-degree oven and a 5,000-degree one. You’re going to burn
either way.”

           
“Good analogy.”

           
Arrow grins. “See, I’m not a brainless twat like your lover-boy, Lance.”

           
My cheeks flush. “Lance is not my ‘lover-boy’. And yes, Lance isn’t the most
well-read person on the planet, but he’s not an idiot.”

           
“Yeah, whatever,” Arrow mumbles.

           
I can tell he’s irritated I keep rushing to Lance’s defense. I don’t want
things to turn frosty between us so I quickly change the subject. “Do you think
we should tell the others about Blackbird’s bounty?”

           
Arrow thinks for a moment, then says, “Nah. Ignorance is bliss. No sense
worrying them more than they already are.”

           
I nod in agreement and turn my attention back to the news. The reporter moves
on to breaking news coming out of Alaska. That piques my interest, for obvious
reasons. The reporter talks about how violence has exploded all across Alaska
after President Klaxton put out a hit on Rasputin. According to the reporter,
anarchy has broken out after thousands of bounty hunters from all over the
country have flooded the state. Footage pops up of gunfights breaking out in
Alaskan clubs and bars as bounty hunters run into not only suspected Russian
mobsters, but other criminals as well. Most of the violence is in New Las
Vegas, Rasputin’s rumored hiding place. I’m not too terribly surprised, as New
Las Vegas is the crime capitol of the world. Cramming thousands of bounty
hunters into a city filled with thousands of criminals is a recipe for
disaster.

           
The reporter goes on to say dozens of bounty hunters have been killed during
the shootouts, including some famous ones. Blackjack Johnson, who has over 200
apprehensions under his belt (and was an old friend of Dagger’s), was killed
outside a Russian nightclub in New Las Vegas. And my personal favorite, Machine
Gun Tooti, the star of a wildly popular bounty hunting reality TV show, was
killed two days ago in her motel room on the New Las Vegas Strip. Krystal will
be devastated when she finds out. She loved Tooti’s show.

           
The reporter also gives an update on breaking news coming out of the slums
surrounding Sanctuary 13, way up in Northern Canada. A Canadian terror cell
apparently detonated a car bomb in a crowded market, killing 30 and wounding
over 100. Sometimes I forget we have terrorism here in America, since it’s not
as rampant as it is in China.

           
The biggest difference between us and the Chinese is that our government
reached out to Canadians after the invasion and worked hard to assimilate them
into our society. Klaxton even made sure to pick a Canadian-born vice
president. China did no such thing. They treated the survivors of their brutal
Russian invasion like savages, hence the reason China deals with way more
terrorist attacks than we do.

           
The reporter moves on to international news. 90% of the time international news
is about China, and this is no exception. The reporter says there has been an
escalation in the number of terror attacks within the past 24 hours. Ten
different attacks have killed over
1,000
and wounded nearly
ten times
that number. Even I find that number staggering, and I’m used to death and
destruction. All the attacks are being blamed on the Purple Dragons. The
Chinese claim the attacks are the result of the bounty being offered for
Rasputin’s head.

           
 I personally don’t know if I believe all this. The Chinese are notorious
for inflating casualty numbers to stir up international sympathy for their war
against Russian insurgents. The Empress is probably just trying to apply
further pressure on the Klaxton Administration to hand over Rasputin. I highly
doubt that will work, as Klaxton didn’t become the dictator of America by being
easily manipulated.

           
The reporter goes on to show footage of General Kang accusing the U.S. of not
doing enough to crack down on terrorism. Kang goes on to claim it’s
‘imperative’ the U.S. apprehend Mikhail so ‘justice can be served’.

           
Footage then pops up of Chinese warships playing ‘war games’ 100 miles off the
coast of Alaska and Hawaii. Chinese subs have also been detected off the coast
of California. The Chinese sure are feverishly beating the drums of war. Having
war games so close to the American coast is an unprecedented act of
provocation. With that being said, I’m still skeptical the Empress and General
Kang are stupid enough to start a war. That would lead to the end of all life
as we know it.

           
A sharp, stabbing pain shoots across my brain, forcing me to remove my goggles.
For some reason I get terrible migraines if I wear the goggles too long. Now
that they’re off, I see Dorothy leaning into Lance, laughing about something.
Lance seems to be enjoying himself as well.

           
The pain in my head moves to my neck and back. I cry out and lean against a
tree.

           
Arrow jumps up and rushes to my side.

           
“What’s wrong, Red?”

           
 “I’m fine,” I murmur. “I just get these really intense migraines
sometimes. It’ll pass eventually. I just… I need to take a walk… to clear my
head.”

           
I get off the tree and stagger toward the woods.

           
“Okay, I’ll go with you,” Arrow says.

           
“No,” I say, a little too loudly.

           
Arrow steps back and cocks his eyebrows.

           
“I… I didn’t mean it like that,” I stammer, clutching my head again. “I just… I
need some time alone.”

           
Arrow nods and sits back down on his log. “Okay. Well, I’ll be sitting here
waiting for you to come back.”

           
“Thank you,” I say before stumbling into the woods. I didn’t mean to snap at
Arrow, it’s just I don’t want him seeing me like this. I’m having withdrawals
from my pain pills, and it’s making me crazy.

           
I trudge through a leaf-covered trail leading down to the river. I don’t put my
goggles on, as that would just exacerbate my headaches. But I don’t really need
them anyway; the moonlight filtering through the treetops illuminates my path.

           
I walk for what seems like forever, until the blinding pain in my brain becomes
unbearable. I lean against a tree and blink back tears. I’m beginning to regret
giving Sally my last two pills. What I wouldn’t give to have one right now.

           
Another wave of pain washes over me, sending me to my knees. I sit against the
tree with my head between my knees until the pain finally, mercifully recedes.
It doesn’t go away, though. It’s always there in the background, like a low,
slow burn.

           
Now that my head no longer feels like it’s about to explode, I go back to
thinking about Lance and Dorothy. I don’t know why I get so jealous. It’s not
like Lance and I are a couple. But he’s still my best friend, and we were
together for so long that it still hurts to see him with another woman, even
someone as sweet as Dorothy. I should be happy for her. She had a hard life,
and now she has a sweet guy she can confide in without worrying about him
abusing her.

           
I really need to get my mind off of Lance. I’m driving myself crazy. I put my
goggles back on and do some more research on Mikhail. I pretty much already
know everything there is to know about him, but a little extra research
wouldn’t hurt. He
is
one of the most dangerous terrorists on the planet.
We need to take advantage of anything that can give us an edge.

           
I read over his files again before watching some rare, archived footage of him
attacking civilians in China. One of the grainy videos is of him whizzing over
the skies of Beijing in his exoskeleton. Slender silver wings extend out of his
back as if he’s some half-man/half-bird mutant. Electricity spirals out of his
fingers, zapping people on the ground. I’ve seen a lot as a bounty hunter and
even I have to admit it’s a frightening, intimidating sight. Mikhail is the
epitome of a terrorist, someone who strikes fear in the hearts of his enemies.

           
He’s also somewhat of a coward, though. As soon as Chinese forces appear on the
ground and fire at him, he flies off. It’s a cowardly act like I said, but remarkably
effective. By attacking the weak and fleeing from the strong, Mikhail continues
to create fear and chaos while living to fight another day.

           
The date on the bottom of the video is from seven years ago. It’s also the
newest video I can find of Rasputin personally carrying out an attack. He’s
hidden himself from public view ever since, save for when the Chinese caught a
glimpse of him a few days ago via their spy satellites.

           
Rasputin was definitely more active and brazen back in the day. Up until about
seven years ago, when the Chinese really started cracking down on him, he
personally carried out dozens of attacks. Now he leaves the field work to his
followers while he stays hidden. I guess he realized he’s more valuable to his cause
as a living, breathing figurehead as opposed to an assassinated martyr.

           
That does lead me to question how someone who has remained so well hidden for
so many years could be so careless as to be spotted by a satellite. And how did
the Chinese create such powerful satellites to begin with? I would imagine the
U.S. has thousands of jamming devices capable of disrupting Chinese satellite
signals. Otherwise they’d be spying on us all the time, especially our military
bases. Something seems off. It’s almost like the U.S.
wanted
China to
know Rasputin was here.

           
A cracking branch snaps me out of my thoughts. I spin around and aim my gun at…
Arrow?

           
Arrow raises his hands. “Don’t shoot, Red. Just checking on you.”

           
I exhale and sheathe my gun. “You shouldn’t sneak up on someone you know to be
armed. How did you find me, anyway? Were you following me?”

           
“No. You just aren’t very good at covering your tracks. You left a trail of
footprints in the mud.”

           
Arrow crouches beside me and wraps his arm around my shoulder. I pretend to be
pissed he came after me, but really I’m not. I actually could use a little
company. More specifically, I could use
Arrow’s
company.

           
“So whatcha doing?” he asks, massaging my neck as we sit down on a tree stump.
I’ve got to admit, the massage feels good…
real
good. Even better than
the one he gave me in the river. My headache seems to melt away.

           
I lower my neck to give him easier access to my shoulders. I almost purr like a
cat when he digs into my aching muscles. If I had him around to do this every
night, I’d probably never need another pain pill.

           
“I was… uh, just doing some research on Mikhail,” I murmur.

           
Arrow stops rubbing my neck and cups my chin with his left hand. He uses his
right hand to lift my shades. He leans in so close his breath tickles my
earlobes.

           
“You have such beautiful green eyes.”

           
Arrow then does something I’ve both fantasized and dreaded for years. He kisses
me on the lips.

           
I instinctively jerk my head back. Arrow opens his eyes and frowns.

           
“I’m sorry, Red. I just thought…”

           
“No Arrow, it’s not you… it’s me. I just…”

           
I trail off. I don’t quite know what I want to say. Mostly it’s because I don’t
know what to feel. Arrow’s an amazing guy, but something’s holding me back. I
don’t know what it is, but it’s something.

           
Arrow rubs my hands. “Look Red, I really like you. I want to get close to you,
but you’ve got to let your shields down.”

           
I gaze into Arrow’s intense brown eyes. They’re unwavering and focused, proving
to me he means every word.

           
“I know, and I really like you, too. I just… can we please take things slow?”

           
Arrow chuckles. “Of course, Red. Of course.”

           
He pulls me in close. I rest my head on his chest and sigh. I’m beginning to
like him even more than I did before, which I didn’t think was possible.

           
We’re both quiet for a long, long time. I listen to Arrows heartbeat. It’s slow
and deep, a steady
thump, thump, thump
. It’s such a comforting and
relaxing sound that it nearly puts me to sleep.

           
My eyelids start to flutter when Arrow says something that stuns me.

           
“I’d like for you to show me your criminal database.”

           
I lift my head and back away. I don’t like where this is headed.

           
Arrow places his hand on my lower back. I almost get the sense he’s doing it so
I don’t jump up and run off. Not that I would. But I still feel trapped. I
don’t like the feeling.

           
“My mom and I can help you guys take down Mikhail, but you’ve got to trust us,”
Arrow says in a borderline pleading voice. He hesitates for a moment, then
blurts, “You really need to show us those files.”

           
I jerk away again. A major red flag goes up in my mind. Arrow is asking for way
too much.

           
“I can’t do that. Lance and Krystal won’t let me.”

           
“Oh, so you have to do what they tell you to do?”

           
I narrow my eyes. Arrow knows exactly how to press my buttons, and right now
he’s pressing all of them.

           
“Of course not. But this database is something Dagger created specifically for
us. We’ve never allowed anyone else to see it. I don’t know if I want to start
now.”

           
Arrow pulls me in close yet again. This time his magnetism keeps me from
pulling away.

           
In a seductive whisper that sends shivers down my spine, Arrow says, “Consider
this a test, Red. A test to see if I can trust you. To see if you can trust
me
.
We’re all in this together. It’s the most dangerous mission any of us have ever
undertaken. Everything we’ve gone through so far will pale in comparison to
what we’re about to encounter. We can’t possibly hope to capture Rasputin if
we’re constantly watching our backs… if we’re unable to trust each other. We
need to be more open… more honest… more trusting. If we can’t do that, we might
as well go back to Sanctuary 7 and hang up our boots. Because we sure as hell
won’t be able to accomplish what we set out to do.”

           
Arrow certainly has a way with words. My lips part, but nothing comes out. My
brain tells me I need to be cautious, but my heart yearns to earn Arrow’s
trust. I’m tired of not having someone to confide in, someone to love and trust
completely. I’m tired of keeping secrets. I’m tired of it all. I want to be
free… free to love… free to trust.

           
“Okay,” I whisper.

           
Arrow falters, as if he can’t believe I’m giving in. Quite frankly, neither can
I.

           
“You’re willing to trust me? To share the database?”

           
I nod. “Yes. Why not? You and Machete have saved us countless times before. I
mean, you did steal some of our captures, but…”

           
“And I deeply apologize,” Arrow blurts out, tightening his hold on my hand. “I
really didn’t want to steal your bounties, and I knew what we were doing was
wrong, but my mom can be a…”

           
“Major bitch?” I say.

           
Arrow chuckles. “I was going to say
persuasive
, but I guess that works.”

           
Arrow slides his goggles on and listens patiently as I direct him to our
database’s domain name. It’s a complex site that consists of random numbers,
letters, and symbols. We made it that way so no one accidentally stumbled upon
it. Even to this day Lance and Krystal have trouble remembering it. That’s why
they leave all the research to me.

           
“Wow, I’d never in a million years be able to remember that,” Arrow says.

           
“That’s the point.”

           
“So what’s the password?” Arrow says eagerly. I glance at him out of the side
of my goggles. He’s staring straight ahead, the green light from his shades
illuminating his face with a ghostly glow.

           
I bite my lip. It’s one thing to show Arrow the incomprehensible 67-character
domain name of our database. It’s another thing entirely to give him our
password.

           
Arrow turns to me and lifts his goggles. I can feel his eyes boring into my
brain.

           
“The password, Red?”

           
I take a deep breath and blurt out, “It’s Genesis-Lazarus.”

           
Arrow cocks his eyebrow and smirks. “Really? That’s quite a password.” He
lowers his shades and puts it in. He does it even before I do, because by the
time I log in my goggles alert me to the fact someone else is already on the
site.

           
Arrow gasps as he glances over the thousands of files scrolling across his
lenses. “My God, you have everyone on here. This is a gold-mine! You have
aliases, code names, past residences, lists of friends and family members,
banking accounts and social security numbers…. No wonder you guys are so
freaking good at hunting down criminals!”