The Terminals (9 page)

Suddenly, something rose from the water behind him and clamped around his torso. Cam panicked and fought, squirming in its grasp.
Shark!
he thought. He felt a flush of warmth on his upper legs.
I'm bleeding!

“Calm down! I can't save your worthless ass if you struggle.” Donnie's voice was agitated and smug at the same time. He held Cam under the arms in a lifesaving carry and stroked toward shore. “Go limp, and I can drag you.”

Cam couldn't decide whether he was relieved or mortified, but he had no options. He had to let the arrogant jerk save him. At least Donnie had no way of knowing that he'd peed himself. Cam relaxed and let Donnie haul him toward shore, trailing behind like a jellyfish. Halfway there, Donnie handed him off to Tegan. And, finally, Zara took him the rest of the way, which was almost as humiliating as having Donnie rescue him in the first place. All three of them still swam strong. Cam was not a bad swimmer, but they were exceptional.
Unnatural.

“I can take it from here,” Cam yelled when they got into the surf. He didn't want to be dragged before Ward like a prisoner. Zara shrugged and dropped him.

But Cam was unprepared and inexperienced in the surf. A wave picked him up like the wind might lift a leaf and bore him to the beach, tumbling him over and over and then depositing him on his head in the packed surf sand, which Cam was rudely reminded was much firmer than the fluffy stuff people kicked up in vacation videos. Rolling over with a groan, he found himself lying at Ward's feet.

“Are you injured?”

“Yeah,” Cam said.

“Where?”

“My ego.”

Ward nodded, but didn't allow himself to smirk, staying focused on the task at hand.

“So,” he said, “not the scuba squad, eh?”

“No!” It was Donnie stomping up the beach, no longer smug. He was worked up and looked angry. “Total fail! He's not strong enough.”

“Failure of one team member is often considered a failure of the team leader,” Ward said evenly. “Where were you when Cam started drifting away? You weren't racing ahead to show off, were you?”

Donnie bit his lip. His face looked vaguely purple, and Cam realized he was holding his breath to keep himself from replying. Ward didn't demand an answer. He knew the answer. He turned to Cam.

“In truth, it's not a failure, Cam. It's a life experience, one to be learned from. And I think we've just learned that you are going to be on a different squad.”

*   *   *

“Don't sweat it,” Ari said, taking a huge bite out of a roasted bird of some sort. “They're juiced. You aren't. It's not an indictment of your manhood.”

“I was dragged to shore by the hot gal,” Cam mumbled.

“Hot gal on enhancers, pal.”

“When do I get some?”

“Some TS-9? Whenever you like, but I recommend you don't start until after your symptoms begin to break you down.”

“Is that what Donnie did?”

“I think Donnie was an early adopter. He's aggressive that way.”

“What about you?”

“Do I look like I'm on steroids?”

“Yes. I bet you were even skinnier before.”

Ari smirked. “You're quick, Cam. And correct. The TS helps with focus too, you know. I've never thought so clearly and quickly.”

“It sounds amazing.”

“And kills you eventually. Don't forget that part.”

“Yeah, but after our natural expiration date.”

“I still say hold off until you need it.”

“Maybe I need it to keep up.”

“Look, I only take it because after they diagnosed me I started to deteriorate. I used to be all natural and organic and stuff, but feeling your body start to decay while you're still alive is pretty goddamned disconcerting. And feeling your brain struggle to call up information you knew by heart just a month earlier is wrong at any age. At nineteen it's a bona fide travesty. The TS fixed that for me. But you're not broken yet, pal.”

“What are you, my doctor?”

“Given a few more years I would have been.”

Cam considered his roommate. Ari had no reason to lie, unless maybe he was just as competitive about the training as Donnie and Zara and wanted to keep Cam down too. Unlikely. “As soon as I feel even a twinge, I'm having what you're all having.”

“And when that day comes I'll buy you the first round. But you can't really go back, so until then just stay gold a bit longer there, Wingman.”

 

CAM'S PLAYLIST

8. THE ICE FIREMEN
  

by Blabbermouth

9. I LOVE BACON

by The Foodies

10. RUSTLE AND WHISPER

by Okee Kenochee

“Melt, melt, melt, like a schoolgirl's dream.”

After an hour of rest they tumbled out of their beds and headed for the bunker. The remainder of the crew were already inside, arranged in their V formation in the conference room with Ward at the front. This time Pilot had joined him. He sat in a chair to one side, wearing his jumpsuit as though he might have to scramble the helicopter at any moment. He chewed a toothpick and wore large sunglasses. The chopper wasn't actually at the compound. A beach landing was difficult with the uncertain wind coming over the bluff. Pilot came ashore by boat, a sea kayak he'd paddled from around the southern cliffs.

Zara smirked and Donnie frowned when Cam and Ari walked in. Cam rolled his eyes and headed to his seat in the back. Calliope sat nearby, but she drew cartoons with her pencil and pretended not to notice. Cam wondered if she was embarrassed about having shared so much of herself the night before at the keyboard, or if she too regarded him as a failure. Jules, however, patted his seat enthusiastically and greeted him with a huge smile.

“I'm glad you're not a scoob,” she whispered, giving him a smile. “That means you'll be with us.”

Ward held up a closed fist, and the room went silent.

“This is the briefing you've been waiting for,” he announced. “Today I reveal your first mission. You've all been training for your own specific tasks, except for our newcomer, Cam. And now we put it all together. This is where the whole becomes stronger than its parts.”

He pulled a cell phone and aimed it at the whitewashed bricks of the bunker wall. A beam shot out, and a photograph of eight huddled and frightened people appeared on the wall. They were lined up against a brick building—mostly Caucasian, but two Asian women stood hugging each other for comfort, and a tall black woman wore distinctive African clothing. Three looked Scandinavian. The different languages on several T-shirts told Cam they were of multiple nationalities. At least one looked American—a younger man in a Boston Red Sox hat.

Ward's voice filled the room. He sounded like a reporter narrating a news story—yet another impressive skill. “These are doctors from the humanitarian aid collective Worlds Apart, Worlds Together. They were hijacked at sea by pirates. This is the ransom photo WAWT received. Not pictured are the head of the medical team and the captain of their vessel, because they're already dead. The surviving eight are being held not far from our location. You're going to rescue them.”

A murmur went through the room.

“Pirates?” Cam whispered to Ari.

“I think I've heard of these assholes,” Ari whispered back. “A South American gang just like this was demanding a million dollars from a Korean company to get its ship back not too long ago. They sent the captain's hand to the company's corporate office. Same ones, you think?”

Cam shrugged.

The other team members were whispering too. Ward had to hold his fist up for quiet again. Then he continued.

“They are being held in a country that is unstable due to its recent political shake-up. Pending new elections, its interim leader controls the military and has declared that any foreign action on its soil will be considered an act of war. No government will touch this.” Ward grinned. “But you will.”

He tapped a button, and a tactical map appeared on the wall. A group of shapes represented a compound not unlike their own. Waves depicted ocean. The shoreline was a thick solid line. Several simple squares nearby were buildings.

“The infiltration squad will troll the pirate zone by boat with the intent of getting captured. That squad includes Ari, Jules, Calli, Gwen, and now Cam. Owen will fill in as the fourth on scuba.”

Owen pumped his fist and patted Donnie on the back enthusiastically. Donnie just shrugged but eventually gave a thumbs-up, seemingly to stop Owen from touching him.

“Scuba will separate from the group at sea prior to contact and follow the vessel in after it has been commandeered. Wally will be airborne.”

Ward paused to the let the summary of their mission sink in. There were no more murmurs. Donnie clenched his fists, eager. Jules's brow was wrinkled with concern. Wally had a crooked smile on his face. Cam just stared, bewildered.
Pirates?
He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but certainly not letting a bunch of murderous, gun-toting crazies capture him. The wide-eyed expression on Calliope's face told him that she hadn't expected it either. Gwen seemed less concerned about their mission—instead, she cast anxious glances at Donnie and Zara, clearly unhappy with the groupings.

Ward resumed. “After months of consideration, I've selected the team leader for this operation.”

Donnie and Zara eyed each other. Zara grinned.
It's a game to her
, Cam thought. Donnie did not smile. To him this was serious business, a jock's last chance to prove himself a winner. Donnie's expression teetered between supreme confidence and desperation.

“Ari, you're in charge,” Ward said simply.

Cam was still considering Donnie, who suddenly looked as though someone had peed in his Pepsi, when Ari nodded as though he'd known it all along. Cam shot him a surprised look.

“Brains over brawn,” his roommate whispered with a wink.

“Why not Gwen? She's smart.”

“Too rigid. No flexibility.”

“Congratulations.”

Ari snorted. “Great. Did you notice that these pirates kill the leaders first?”

Calliope frowned and raised her hand tentatively. “Are we gonna have to, like, kill any pirates?”

Ward frowned back. “You're gonna have to, like, try not to kill anyone, pirates or otherwise,” he replied. “The rules don't change simply because the danger is heightened or the ethics of the individuals involved are questionable. You only take a life to save more lives. Everyone got that?” He cast a meaningful gaze around the room, meeting each pair of eyes in turn, lingering ever so slightly upon Donnie, Zara, and Wally.

There was more information—two hours' worth. Ward rattled off instructions and logistics, flashing images on the wall. The pirates were a ragtag group, some of them veterans of drug wars, some merely the poor and the desperate—raw recruits. They were armed with a hodgepodge of rifles and pistols. Their modus operandi was to demand ransom and kill a couple of hostages to provide motivation. They were not known to mistreat their captives before they killed them, but Ward advised the females on the infiltration team to wear tampons to help discourage rapes, just in case. Jules and Calliope looked a little green. The team's movements would be coordinated via Calliope's earpiece, but their captors would likely deprive them of any timepieces. “Gwen will keep the time in her head,” Ward said confidently, though it seemed an impossible task. Calliope's receivers would look like cheap earrings and her transmitter a tongue stud. They were to acquire the eight remaining doctors and return. Simple goal, yet a murderously difficult task.

The final revelation was that they would all see “the doc” for a checkup before they departed.

A doctor?
Cam thought. The presence of a medical professional in the forest hadn't occurred to him before.
But of course they would have a doctor
, he realized.
We all have tumors in our brains busily killing us.

Ward finished the meeting off with a slogan and admonished them to go have some fun for the remainder of the evening. Cam couldn't imagine how they could think of fun, given the gravity of the mission, but Wally leaped up.

“To the beach!” he shouted.

 

CAM'S PLAYLIST

9. I LOVE BACON