Michael Vey 3 ~ Battle of the Ampere

To Abigail

You have brought healing and joy into many hearts,
but especially mine.

100 kilometers west of Naples in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Aboard the Elgen Superyacht
Ampere
.

“I
s it as bad as first reported?” Chairman Schema asked. His voice was even lower and more coarse than usual due to the bronchitis he was fighting. Living at sea was taking its toll.

“Worse, Mr. Chairman. The Peruvian Starxource plant has suffered a complete bowl meltdown. More than seventy percent of the country is without power. The Peruvian government has declared a national state of emergency and they’re mobilizing engineers to restart their coal and diesel operations from before. It will be months before they have restored even half their country’s power.”

Chairman Schema coughed. “The press must be having a feast.”

“That’s an accurate assessment. All the major television networks have reported the story. It’s made the front pages of the
Wall Street Journal,
the
New York Times, USA Today,
the
Beijing News,
the
International Herald,
and the
London Times
. Unfortunately, the
media coverage is having an effect. The governments of Taiwan and Zimbabwe are holding emergency discussions about the possibility of phasing out our plants. And three countries have put Starxource plant production on hold. Brazil has completely cut off negotiations with us.”

Schema dabbed his feverish forehead with a handkerchief. “This is disastrous. Were the rats contained?”

“The ER were contained only because they were completely exterminated—more than a million and a half rats were killed in the bowl’s meltdown.”

Schema erupted in another bout of coughing. “Have we determined the cause of the meltdown?”

“The plant was attacked by a terrorist group.”

“A terrorist group? The Shining Path?”

“No, a group called the Electroclan.”

“Michael Vey,” Schema growled. “He’s just a kid.”

“Then he’s a very powerful kid.”

“He’s one of our
own
!” Schema shouted. “This is like Frankenstein; the monster has turned on its creator. So that was Vey’s plan—to destroy our plant and stop our global expansion?”

“No. According to our sources, Mr. Vey’s mother was being held captive in the Peruvian compound. His only objective was to free her. Dr. Hatch apprehended him, but then Vey’s fellow terrorists attacked the compound to free him. The power plant was collateral damage.”

“You’re telling me that we lost billions of dollars as a side effect of a boy looking for his mother?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Was Mrs. Vey at the compound?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then Hatch never released Vey’s mother as he was directed.”

“It would appear not.”

The chairman screamed out a long string of profanities, which ended in an equally lengthy fit of coughing. “This is Hatch’s doing! The man’s gone rogue. Has he done anything we told him to? Have the rest of the electric children been released?”

“We don’t believe so.”

“Where was Hatch when all this happened?”

“He was at the compound.”

“And where is he now?”

“He is on his way here—as per your summons.”

“When will he arrive?”

“In about three hours.”

“Alert security. Tell them to prepare the brig. They’ll soon be accommodating a new prisoner.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Does Hatch have any of the electric children with him?”

“We don’t know, sir.”

“Then find out!” Schema shouted. “Under no circumstances are you to allow those children aboard this boat. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir. What do we do if they’re with him?”

“Turn the helicopter away.”

“If they won’t go?”

“Then blow them out of the air.”

“With the youth aboard?”

“Yes, with the youth aboard! Are you an idiot? Do you have any idea how powerful those children are? They could take over the ship. Under no circumstance do we allow those children on this ship.”

“And kill Hatch as well?”

“Did you think we were going to let him live? He knows
everything
. Hatch will never leave this ship alive.”

I
’m Michael Vey. Last night I had a really weird dream. I was back home in Idaho, sitting at the table with the cool kids in the cafeteria at Meridian High School. (For the record, I’m not one of the cool kids.) My girlfriend, Taylor (who is one of the cool kids), was sitting on my right side in her cheerleading outfit. My best friend, Ostin, was on my left, eating cheese pizza and garlic bread. The rest of the table was filled with a bunch of cheerleaders and basketball players. As usual, Ostin and I looked as out of place as chocolate doughnuts at a Weight Watchers meeting.

The school’s basketball team was joking with me like they did at Maddie’s party, calling me “Li’l Norris”—short for
little Chuck Norris
—and trying to outdo one another with their Li’l Norris jokes.

Drew, the basketball team’s star point guard, said, “Li’l Norris is so tough, dark is afraid of
him
.”

“Yeah?” said Spencer. “Li’l Norris is so tough that the road in
front of Meridian High used to be called Li’l Norris Street, but it was changed because
no one crosses Li’l Norris and lives
.”

Everyone laughed except Ostin, who looked confused. “I don’t think it was ever really called Li’l Norris Street,” he said.

“Shhh,” I said. “It’s a joke.”

“Yeah?” said Drew. “Monsters check under their beds to make sure Li’l Norris isn’t there.”

“I got it; I got it,” Spencer said. “Li’l Norris is so tough that he died ten years ago but Death is too afraid to tell him.”

Everyone was laughing when a low, angry voice behind me said, “If Li’l Norris is so tough, why is he hiding in the jungle?”

I turned around to see Dr. Hatch standing behind me. I was paralyzed with fear. Suddenly everyone else vanished and it was just the two of us. Hatch leaned forward, close enough that I could feel his breath and see his eyes through the dark lenses of his sunglasses.

“I’m going to find you, Vey,” he whispered. “And when I do, I’m going to hurt you.”

That’s when I woke up in the jungle.