Michael Vey: Rise Of The Elgen Part 9

Ostin clenched his jaw. He looked down for a moment as if thinking, then he said to the guard, "Those new gizmos you have rock. What do you call them?"

The guard didn't answer. But he didn't tell him to shut up either.

"Sorry, I didn't realize they don't tell you these things. Probably top secret. For the important guys . . ."

"It's a RESAT," the guard said.

Ostin nodded. "RESAT. Cool."

I looked back over at McKenna. I wasn't seeing things-her skin color really was changing. She was now almost glowing red. Ostin must have seen what she was doing and was trying to keep the guard distracted. I looked back at Ostin, who was nodding, carefully manipulating the guard.

"Clever. Clever indeed. RESAT is 'Taser' spelled backward."

The man suddenly scratched his chin. "I never thought of that."

"I'm sure you would have," Ostin said. "If they didn't work you so hard. I bet they work you like a rented mule."

"You got that right, cheeseball."

At that moment McKenna's arms melted through the bands. She was free.

"But I bet you get great health benefits with all those Elgen doctors around."

"You kiddin' me?" the guard said. "The dental plan has a five-hundred-dollar deductible."

"You're pulling my leg," Ostin said loudly. "Why even have it? That's a whole head of cavities."

"It's a joke," the man said.

McKenna slowly reached over and grabbed Jack's bands, immediately melting through them. Jack slowly lowered his arms, rubbing his wrists. Suddenly the guard started to look back. Jack put his hands up again.

"Hey!" Ostin shouted.

The guard stopped.

"Do you have kids?"

"What?"

"Kids. Rug rats, sp.a.w.n, you got them?"

"No."

"Sorry, of course not. I'm sure you're married to your job. If you had kids, the dental thing might still be worth it."

"Family isn't allowed," the guard said. "It's a regulation."

"They regulate that, huh?" Ostin said. "You know, there's something I can't figure out."

Jack reached down and unclasped his legs, then slowly inched down the bench toward the weapons cabinet.

"What?" the man asked.

"I can't figure out how you'd go about getting hired for a job like yours. It's not like you could post it in the Help Wanted section."

"I can't talk about that," he said.

"I mean, what kind of ad would that be? Wanted: ugly, mean, smelly dudes with below-average IQs to kidnap and abuse teenagers."

The guy's mouth fell.

"What section would that be under anyway? Creepy Dudes?

The man scowled. "You watch it, you smart-mouthed little-"

"Actually," Ostin said, "you should watch it."

"What the-"

Jack cracked the guard over the head with a truncheon, knocking him out with one blow. The guard slumped to the van's floor.

"Man, that felt good," Jack said, stretching out his arms like a baseball player at bat.

"Not to him," Ostin said.

McKenna walked over to Ostin, who looked at her with admiration. "That was cool," he said.

"Careful, don't touch me," she said, kneeling on the bench next to him. "I'm still pretty hot."

"Yeah, you are hot," Ostin said, sounding smitten.

McKenna grinned a little as she grabbed Ostin's armbands and melted through them. "There you go."

"Like b.u.t.tah . . . ," Ostin said, stretching his arm. He bent over and unclasped his stomach and leg belts. "Let's free Michael."

"We've got to take care of this guy," Jack said, standing above the guard, with the club.

"Let me loose," Wade said. "I'll help you."

Jack unloosed his bands, and they lifted the guard up and strapped him to the wall while McKenna and Ostin unfastened my collar. The intense pain immediately stopped, and I groaned with relief, though I still felt as dizzy as if I'd just ridden the teacups ride at Disneyland for an hour.

"Well done, McKenna," I said.

"Thanks."

As I climbed out of the cot, Ostin and McKenna unstrapped Taylor, then Ian and Zeus. I helped Taylor climb out, then Ian. Zeus hadn't moved. He was still in a lot of pain from the guard's torture. "Can I help you?" I asked.

"Just give me a minute," he said, rolling over in the cot.

"You okay, buddy?" I asked.

"Been better," he said. His skin was blistered where the guard had sprayed water on him. "I don't know what that new dart thing is," he said. "But it's like Nich.e.l.le in a can."

"That's exactly what it is," Ostin said. "The Elgen must have found a way to replicate her powers without her weakness."

"How's your vision?" I asked Ian.

"It's back," he said.

Across the aisle Jack unloosed Abigail. "Thank you," she said softly.

"You're going to be okay," he said. "I'll get you out of here. I promise."

As Jack freed Grace, Abigail knelt at Zeus's side. She put her hand on him and closed her eyes. After a moment he relaxed and stilled. "Thank you for stopping him," he said.

"You're welcome," she said.

I was leaning against the opposite wall, holding my head and trying not to throw up.

Taylor laid her hand on my back. "You okay?"

"Alive. How about you?"

"Me too," she said hoa.r.s.ely. "I wonder where they're taking us."

"We just pa.s.sed a sign for the airport," Ian said.

"What's our situation with guards?" I asked.

"There are two guards driving this truck, one Escalade in front, two behind us."

"How many guards in the Escalades?"

"Four in front, five and four in back."

"We need to take charge of the van," I said.

"Then what?" Ian said. "We can't outrun the Escalades. Not in this whale."

"We don't need to," Jack said. "We'll crush them. I saw this in a movie once. But first we need to commandeer this bad boy."

"That's a good word," Ostin said. "Commandeer."

Jack looked at him. "What? You don't think I know any big words?"

Ostin withered. "Sorry."

"Anyone got a plan?" I asked.

"I say we just storm the cab," Jack said. "Commando-style."

"Too risky," I said. "They'll crash."

Ostin's face lit up. "I have an idea," he said. "A good one, with three parts."

"Three parts?" I said. "That was fast."

"Yes. This is going to be epic," he said.

A couple of minutes later McKenna casually opened the door to the truck's dark cab. "Excuse me, guys. Can we stop to use the bathroom?"

Both men glanced back, their eyes wide with surprise.

"What are you-"

McKenna shouted, "Now!" All of us covered our eyes as she flashed to her full extent. A brilliant light filled the entire truck. Both men shouted and put their hands over their eyes. Jack and Wade rushed the cab, bringing clubs down over the guards' heads.

Jack knocked the driver out, but Wade only succeeded in dazing the other, so I put my hand on the guard's neck and pulsed, which took care of him. Wade and I climbed over the seat, and I held the wheel while Jack pulled the unconscious guard out of the way, then climbed behind the wheel.

"That was easy," Jack said, pressing down on the accelerator.

Zeus, Taylor, Ian, and McKenna dragged the men to the back of the truck and I used the van's pa.s.senger-side mirror to watch the two cars behind us. I hoped the other guards hadn't noticed the flash, but I was certain they had to have noticed our change in speed. This was confirmed ten seconds later when a voice came over the van's radio.

"Elgen Two, this is Elgen One. Are you having mechanical problems? Over."

I looked at Jack. "Don't answer."

"Wasn't planning on it," he said. "Time for phase two. We've got an exit a mile ahead of us, I'm going for it." He hit the gas, moving up quickly on the Escalade in front of us. I climbed back over the seat to see what was going on in the rear.

The two guards had been strapped to the wall, next to the guard Wes, who was now awake. "You're gonna pay for this!" he shouted angrily.

"Shut up, Wes," Zeus said fiercely. Then he blasted him. The guard's head jerked back so hard against the wall he knocked himself out again.

"Everyone, buckle up!" I shouted. "We're going for phase two!"

"Phase two!" Ostin shouted. "Everyone in place!"

Everyone sat down, strapping the waist belts around themselves. I went back up front and buckled myself into the pa.s.senger seat. "Ready," I said.

"Half mile," Jack said. "If this doesn't work, prepare for some crazy driving."

"Better work," I said. "We've only got a few seconds to hit phase three, so be ready. Everyone's strapped in."

"There's our exit," Jack said. "Hold on tight." He hit the gas. In spite of the van's size, it lurched forward, and Jack swerved into the lane left of the lead Escalade. We pulled up to the car's side, and I could see the guards looking at us with surprise.

"Here goes," Jack said. He spun the wheel to the right, forcing the moving van into the side of the Escalade. His timing was perfect as he pushed the car directly into the barrier between the exit and the freeway. The car smashed into the railing at nearly seventy-five miles per hour, flipping the car end over end.

Jack was grinning. "Just like Grand Theft Auto. Only better."