Mega 3: When Giants Collide (Mega Series) (17 page)

“My debt is paid,” Darby said. “If Ballantine doesn’t think so, then that’s his problem and not mine.”

“His problem and not mine?” Bokeem echoed. “Wow, you really have gone off the Ballantine reservation, haven’t you?”

“Hey!” Lucy shouted from above.

Darby whirled around and saw Tank Top stop with his hands held above his head.

“It’s good,” Darby said into the com then waved Tank Top over.

“You’re not afraid we can take you?” Tank Top asked as he sidled up next to Bokeem. “Kind of reckless, Darby.”

“Reckless would be for either of you to get close enough for me to grab you,” Darby said, “or have you forgotten Taipei?”

Tank Top and Bokeem both crossed their arms and glared.

“No, I see you haven’t forgotten Taipei,” Darby said.

“What happened in Taipei?” Shane asked over the com.

“Yeah, I want to know too,” Lucy added.

“Get off the com!” Darby snapped. “It’s not cool to eavesdrop on a private conversation!”

“Geez, sorry,” Lucy said.

“You’re standing around a dozen men,” Shane replied. “I’d hardly call that private.”

“If I have to come up there, I’d hardly call you living,” Darby growled.

“Right. Eavesdropping is bad,” Shane said. “Com is off now.”

“Sounds like a really disciplined Team,” Tank Top smirked.

“More than you ever were,” Darby replied.

“Ouch, that hurts,” Tank Top said.

Darby kicked him in the balls, sending him to his knees.

“No. That hurts,” Darby said. She looked at Bokeem and hooked her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m going to go sit in the shade over there and watch all of you assholes bake in the sun. You two have fun.”

Bokeem waited until Darby was across the ship and sitting in the shade of the superstructure before he helped Tank Top stand up.

“I guess she hasn’t stopped being a ball buster,” Bokeem said.

“Fuck you,” Tank Top squeaked. “You can kiss my-”

The Monkey Balls exploded into a massive fireball and everyone literally hit the deck.

“Shit,” Bokeem said once the explosions subsided and he picked himself up. “Truly the end of an era.”

He looked down and saw Tank Top just lying there.

“You alright, Tank?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Tank Top replied, “but I figure there’s no reason to get up again since I’m sure something will just send me back down. You know, for a man without a dick, I sure get a lot of action down there.”

“Oh, quit your bitching,” Bokeem said, his eyes finding Darby again. “We aren’t out of the game yet.”

“Ballantine’s pretty sure we were never in the game,” Tank Top replied.

“Ballantine lives in his world,” Bokeem said, “and we live in ours. We wipe out his world and we can make ours whatever we want it to be.”

“Too philosophical for me right now,” Tank Top replied. “My nuts hurt. Once they stop throbbing, then I’ll have you run that by me again.”

“No worries, brother,” Bokeem said. “You just lay there and rest your nuts, but remember, we still have a job to do. The real job.”

Tank Top closed his eyes and gave Bokeem a thumbs up.

***

The galley mess was empty except for Gunnar and Kinsey. They both gripped the edge of the table they sat at while they waited for the far off sounds of the explosions finally to be done.

“You think that will scare off the shark?” Kinsey asked Gunnar.

“The shock waves and sonic disruption it’ll create should at the very least disorient the creature,” Gunnar said. “Hopefully, that gives us enough time to get away.”

“With how fast this ship is going now, I’d be surprised if we didn’t,” Kinsey said.

Gunnar only shrugged.

“What?” Kinsey asked.

“It’s just a hunch I have,” Gunnar said. Dr. Morganton came into the mess on shaky legs and Gunnar waved her over. “A hunch we both had.”

“Should I get my dad?” Kinsey asked as Dr. Morganton sat down. “If this is about Ballantine then maybe he should hear it too.”

“No, not yet,” Gunnar said. “I want to talk this out before we go to Vincent.”

“If we’re wrong, then we could add to your father’s already heavy suspicion of Ballantine for no reason,” Dr. Morganton said. “I would have to guess that during a high stress time like this, it wouldn’t be good for his performance as a leader or, well, considering his age, it wouldn’t be good for his health.”

“My dad is in great health,” Kinsey argued.

“Your father is in his sixties,” Dr. Morganton. “He may be in great health, but there is always added risk for man his age.”

“What’s an added risk for a man my age?” Thorne asked as he stepped into the mess. Everyone looked away. “Now I really need to know.”

“Hey, I’m back, sorry,” Darren said as he came jogging in then he saw Thorne and Dr. Morganton. “I thought this was just a chat for us three.”

“Dr. Morganton knows Ballantine in a professional way we don’t,” Gunnar said. “I thought her perspective would be helpful.”

“And mine wouldn’t be?” Thorne asked.

“Uh-oh,” Darren laughed as he took a seat at the table, “Vinny wasn’t invited, was he?”

Thorne took a seat and glared at everyone.

“I just invited myself, so spill the fucking beans before I reach up your ass and pull them out of you,” Thorne grumbled.

“Charming,” Dr. Morganton said.

“Wasn’t supposed to be,” Thorne said.

“Here’s how I see it,” Gunnar started. “Ballantine hasn’t told us anything about the company. We don’t know a single fact other than a routing number to our bank accounts. I checked the routing number and it leads to another one and another one and so on.”

“Which is typical of shadow organizations,” Thorne said. “They wouldn’t be very good if they just handed us their debit card.”

“True,” Gunnar said, “but what’s really been bothering me is our first mission. Perry, Horace, and Longbottom were supposedly from the company, but they didn’t act like it.”

“They had gone rogue,” Darren said, “except for that woman, Horace. She was on Ballantine’s side.”

“They had a relationship,” Dr. Morganton confirmed, “but I’m not sure anyone is on Ballantine’s side.”

“Exactly,” Gunnar said, “like you, Dr. Morganton, are you on his side?”

“Well, I guess,” Dr. Morganton. “He’s helped me out of a lot of trouble over the years.”

“Because you work for the company,” Gunnar nodded.

“Yes,” Dr. Morganton agreed.

“How many of the company’s executives have you met?” Gunnar asked.

“None that I know of,” Dr. Morganton said.

“They’d insulate themselves,” Thorne said.

“True,” Gunnar nodded, “but you’ve at least met other scientists or division heads, right?”

“No,” Dr. Morganton replied, “I’ve already told you this.”

“Right, right, but you haven’t told them,” Gunnar said.

“Again, divisions may never have contact with each other,” Thorne said. “With the type of company we’re dealing with, they’d be smart to keep everyone separate.”

“I’m not disagreeing with that,” Gunnar said, “but here’s the thing I don’t get. Why is the company coming after Ballantine now? Why send a bunch of mercs, Somali pirates, and Mexican drug cartels to hunt him down? Why not just kill him when they see him next? Why not just cut off our funding, fire us all, and then pick us off one by one? Why not just hand us over to the Somalis, to the cartels, to the mercs? If a company like this is so powerful and so connected, then why aren’t we already dead?”

Everyone at the table watched Gunnar for a minute, then they turned and looked at Thorne.

“What?” Thorne asked.

“You have the most experience with shadow organizations,” Darren said.

“Yet, Gun didn’t feel that I should be invited to this meeting,” Thorne smirked.

“Sorry about that,” Gunnar said, “but you’re here now and I’d love your professional opinion.”

“My opinion?” Thorne laughed. “I don’t have one. I have a job and that’s to run Grendel and make it the best Team it can be.”

“Hooyah,” Darren called out.

“Hooyah,” Kinsey echoed.

Dr. Morganton cleared her throat. “Are you suggesting that Ballantine doesn’t work for the company anymore?”

“Well, that’s obvious since they’re trying to kill him, and he said we’d been let go,” Gunnar replied, “but I think it goes deeper than that.”

“How so?” Kinsey asked. “That maybe he works for a different company?”

“That maybe there has never been a company,” Gunnar said, “or something like that.”

“There has been a company,” Dr. Morganton argued. “I’ve sent in reports and my findings. I’ve had top level phone meetings with many of them.”

“Not in person,” Thorne said, “or even over video conferencing.”

“Well...no,” Dr. Morganton admitted.

“We need Darby,” Darren said. “Darby knows Ballantine the best. She’ll know what’s real and what isn’t.”

“Will she tell us?” Gunnar asked.

“She will,” Kinsey said, “or she’ll tell me, at least.”

Kinsey stood up and stretched.

“What? Now?” Darren asked.

“No time like the present,” Kinsey said.

“Why will she talk to you?” Dr. Morganton asked.

“Because she loves my cousin,” Kinsey said, “and we’re almost family.”

***

“Go away,” Darby said as she sat in the shade of the superstructure, her eyes locked on Tank Top and Bokeem, “I’m not talking about this.”

“But we’re almost family!” Kinsey protested.

“Almost family an
d
actuall
y
family are very different things,” Darby said without looking at Kinsey, “and you are assuming I’d tell my actual family anything at all, which I wouldn’t, even if they were alive.”

“Your family is dead?” Kinsey asked. “All of them?”

“Yes,” Darby replied.

“Wow, I’m sorry,” Kinsey said. “So, I guess that means you need almost family more than ever.”

“You are relentless,” Darby stated.

“That’s what I’ve been told,” Kinsey smiled. “So, to keep me from hounding you, just tell me one thing about Ballantine that will put my mind at ease. Just one thing that assures me that I can trust the man. That’s all I’m asking for. One thing.”

Darby finally looked away from the two mercs and fixed her gaze on Kinsey. “You will learn everything when it’s time and not before.”

“That doesn’t tell me shit, Darby,” Kinsey frowned. “That only makes me question things more.”

Darby sighed. “You can trust Ballantine.  He is looking out for all of us and has it all under control. He’s not the bad guy. He’s a lying bastard, but he’s not the bad guy.”

“Is he the good guy?” Kinsey asked.

For a split second, Darby smiled, then it was gone and she shrugged and turned back to watching the mercs.

“Good talk,” Kinsey said as she patted Darby on the shoulder. “We should do this more often.”

“Probably not,” Darby said and the split second smile came and went again.

“Yeah,” Kinsey laughed as she got up and walked off, “probably not.”

***

“You get the feeling that not everyone is in the know?” Tank Top asked Bokeem quietly.

“I always have that feeling,” Bokeem said.

“Typical Ballantine to put together a top notch Team and leave them in the dark,” Tank Top said. “We were this Team once.”

“We were never this Team,” Bokeem said. “We were skilled, but undisciplined. We were loyal, but untrustworthy. We could take orders, but none of us could follow.” He nodded up at Shane and Lucy in the crow’s nest. “Those two have been smoking it up all day, and yet, I haven’t seen them waver one bit. I keep waiting for them to slip up, but the second I think I see them relax, that one-eyed freak is suddenly scoping me.”

“Not seeing your point,” Tank Top said.

“Would you let any of our crew, God rest their souls, smoke pot while on duty and watching over a dozen prisoners?” Bokeem asked.

“Not a chance in Hell,” Tank Top replied.

“That’s my point,” Bokeem said, “yet, look, they’re lighting up another spliff right now. That’s like the fourth one. Ballantine hasn’t come out to check on them once.”

“That’s because the beautiful Darby is supervising,” Tank Top said and blew a kiss over to Darby. She flipped him off. “Isn’t she lovely?”

“Darby is watchin
g
u
s
,” Bokeem said. “She could give a shit about our crew. She has complete trust in the two shooters getting stoned, just after having kicked the shit out of most of our best men.”