Michael Vey: Rise Of The Elgen Part 33

"Yep. Bunk rooms. A lot of them. There're guards in there, too. How do you know this?"

"I studied the plans. What else do you see?"

"Past it, on the other side, there are maybe forty or fifty tents. There are guards in all of them."

"Temporary shelter for the visiting guards," Ostin said.

"This place is crawling with guards," Ian said. "They're everywhere."

"Good," I said. "Once we find some guard outfits, we can move freely around the complex."

Raul walked back to Ostin and started speaking. Ostin listened intently and asked a few questions before turning to us. "Raul says that his boss told him to give us a tour of their operations. He also says we need to be careful because there are three Elgen guards a.s.signed to the ranch house. Two of them are new here, so they'll be easy to fool, but it's best if we don't talk to the guards at all."

"Will the other ranchers tell the guards about us?" I asked.

Ostin asked Raul, then said, "He doesn't think so. They don't like the guards."

"Where are the guards now?" I asked.

"He said they're at lunch."

"We can jump them for their uniforms when they get back," Jack said.

"With all these cameras around, that's risky," Ostin said.

"Being here is risky," Taylor said.

"Maybe we don't have to jump them," I said. "Ostin, ask Raul if he knows if the guards have a uniform locker around here."

Ostin translated. Raul's answer was surprisingly long, and Ostin looked very interested in what he had to say. When Raul finished speaking, Ostin said, "He says they have a guard room over there by the door, but the ranchers are not allowed near it. But he knows where there are some Elgen guard uniforms no one will miss."

I couldn't believe our good fortune. "Really?"

"He said that when they built the compound they put in emergency drainage pipes. The pipes are always empty and large enough for a man to crawl through. They run underground below the compound and fence and empty about a hundred yards out into the jungle.

"The guards aren't allowed into town alone, but some of them have Peruvian girlfriends, so they uncapped one of the pipes, and every night a few of them sneak out. They secretly call it the Weekend Express. The guards don't wear their uniforms in town because the other guards might report them and the townspeople sometimes attack them if they're alone, so they change their clothes and leave their uniforms inside. A few of the guards have left and never come back, so their uniforms are still there."

"How many?"

"He remembers seeing three."

"Where are these pipes?"

"In a mechanical room behind the butchery and refrigeration."

"Can he take us to them?"

Raul understood the question and said, "Si. Mas adelante."

"Later," Ostin said.

Raul led us to the southeast corner of the room, stopping again near the cage lift, which had lowered back down without the bull. Raul put on a show, giving us a demonstration of how the lift worked, while mega-mustache watched us from his corner. Afterward, Raul led us to the butchery and the refrigeration room, where large slabs of meat hung from overhead hooks. It was so cold we could see our breath.

Ostin said, "Raul says on really hot days the guards hang out in here."

Jack began pummeling a hanging beef like a punching bag. "Look, I'm Rocky."

Taylor shook her head.

At the back of the refrigeration room were green metal doors. Raul said something to Ostin.

"He says it's best that we don't all go back to the mechanical room. There are three uniforms there, so we should decide who is changing into them."

"I need to decide who's coming with me to find my mother," I said. I turned to Ian. "I'm going to need you."

"I'm there," he said.

"Who else wants to come with me?"

Jack, Zeus, and Taylor raised their hands.

"You know they'll spot you a mile away," I said to Taylor.

"I know. I just want to help."

"You can help back here." I looked at Jack and Zeus. "Jack, you come."

Zeus started to protest, but I cut him off. "Look, if things turn bad, we're going to need you to get everyone out. Besides, I don't want you anywhere near Hatch. I think you're the only one Hatch hates more than me."

He nodded. "You're right." He looked at Jack, and I braced myself for another argument. Instead Zeus raised his hand. "Bring them back."

Jack hit it. "I'll do my best."

I breathed out in relief. "Let's go."

Jack, Ostin, Ian, and I followed Raul into the mechanical room. The room was dim enough that my and Ian's glow could be seen.

Raul looked at us in wonder. "Ustedes extraterrestres?"

Ostin grinned. "He wants to know if you and Ian are aliens."

"Tell him yes," I said.

Near the back of the room were four ma.s.sive conduits that rose from the ground up to the ceiling. Raul pointed to a pipe with a horizontal plug. It was capped with a metal lid and a locking latch.

"Is that the one?" I asked.

Raul nodded, then gestured to another door just past the pipes. He opened the door to reveal piles of civilian clothing.

"How many guys are sneaking out of this place?" Jack asked.

"Muchos," Raul said.

We found four uniforms in the closet instead of the expected three.

Raul looked concerned and pulled one of the uniforms to him. "Sudor," he said.

Ostin touched the uniform. "It's sweaty. The guy is still out there."

"Not for long," Ian said, pointing to the ground. "He's coming back up." Suddenly we heard the sound of someone in the pipe.

"I guess our guard's coming home," I said.

"We could lock him out," Jack said. "Or knock him out. Either works for me."

"No," I said. "Let's see if he knows anything about my mother."

The lid suddenly opened, pushed up with one hand, and a machete fell out to the concrete floor. Then a head appeared. The man was starting to climb out when he saw us and froze. I could tell he was considering fleeing back into the pipe.

Ian waved his hand, "No worries, bro. We're doing the same thing you are. Weekend Express. Our man Raul here is hooking us up with his cousins."

The man's expression relaxed. "Oh, right."

Jack pulled the lid back for the guard, and he climbed out. He was a big man, at least an inch taller than Jack, and he picked up his machete, then walked past us to the closet, where he stripped off his street clothing. "You guys look young. What are they doing, recruiting at high schools now?"

"Better early than late," Ostin said. "We're part of the Elgen Empowering Youth program."

The man shook his head. "Never heard of it." He pulled up his pants and fastened his utility belt. "You done the tunnel before?"

"No," I said. "First time."

"Watch for snakes. Condensation forms on the pipe and the snakes like it. They hang out near the mouth. Last night I killed an eyelash pit viper on the way out."

"Bothriechis schlegelii," Ostin said. "About eighteen inches long?"

He held up his stained machete. "Not anymore."

"Thanks for the warning," I said.

He sat down on a crate to pull on his boots. "No problem. But I've gotta hurry, my s.h.i.+ft is in ten."

"Where are you stationed?" I asked.

He laced up his boots. "At the gate until a week ago. That's where I met my darlin' milkmaid," he said with a grin. "She was bringing in leche for the troops. Now they got me over at the Re-Ed."

"Re-Ed," Ostin said. He looked at me. "Reeducation. The prison."

"Yeah," he said, standing. "Not bad duty. At least it's air-conditioned." He pulled off his s.h.i.+rt and donned a black Elgen one.

I took a step toward the guard. "I hear there's an American woman in there."

He looked up as he b.u.t.toned his s.h.i.+rt, his mouth wide in a dark grin. "Yeah, and she's all that you've heard."

"Is she?" I asked. I could feel my face turning red.

Ostin shook his head at me in warning.

"Oh yeah. But we're not allowed to go near her. She's Hatch's pet. But I keep my eye on her if you know what I mean. I've had some fun with her." He laughed. "A couple days ago I made her do a belly dance for a gla.s.s of water."

I looked at him dully, steeling my anger behind my eyes. "Sharon," I said.

"Yeah. That's her name. How'd you know that?"

I put my hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "She's my mother."

His scream never made it past his lips. I had never shocked anyone that hard before, and I could feel his skin blister beneath my fingers. I didn't stop, even after he dropped to the ground and I had crouched down next to him. I was so electric that sparks were shooting at him from my knees and thighs.

"Michael," Jack said. "Bro!"

Ostin shouted, "Michael, stop it! You'll kill him!"

I stepped back, blue-white sparks still zigzagging between my fingers.

Raul was looking at me in terror. Everyone was silent.

Ostin cautiously stepped toward me. "You okay?"

I was panting heavily. "Get his key. We just found our way in."

Ian took his key. Jack and Ian pulled off his uniform and carried him back to the pipe, dropped him in, then locked it. We dressed in the uniforms and helmets, choosing the ones that were closest to our sizes. I took a knife and cut four inches off my pants' length. Raul took a grenade and baton from the fourth uniform.

"What's he doing?" I asked.

Ostin spoke to him. "He says he's helping us."

"He doesn't want to get mixed up in this," I said.

"He already is," Ostin said.

I looked at him, then nodded. "Gracias."

He nodded back.

Ostin took the fourth uniform and rolled it up.

"What's that for?" I asked.

"How else are you going to get your mother out of a prison surrounded by two thousand guards?" Ostin said.