Day of Doom (12 page)

Vesper One had returned to his chambersto mull over what Ian had told him. Some

of it was surprising. Some of it he had suspected. He finally made a decision. Well, he actually made two decisions.

He had an ace in the hole with Isabel.

She was a true Vesper, meaning the onlyperson she looked out for was herself.

The other decision was easy enough

to implement. It was time to move the hostages, including the additional five they had just collected.

He didn’t want them to miss out on

the finale. They all had to be there.

And in his heart, black as it was, he knew that Amy and Dan would be in attendance as well.

Atticus had been right.

That was just the way it had to end.

The Capitol Limited train pulled into Chicago’s Union Station at a little aftereleven o’clock the following morning. Dan yawned and looked out the window. He had slept better than he thought hewould in the top bunk. A few times thetrain rocked so hard that he had to brace

himself against the wall, but other than that the gentle swaying had let him forget the danger they were heading toward and

allowed him to get some much-needed

rest.

He looked down from his high perchand saw his sister sitting in the chair. She’d washed her face in the tinycollapsible sink and changed her clothesin the little bathroom in the compartmentthat also housed a shower. Their bagswere packed and ready to go. Dan sawthat she had laid out some clothes for him

to wear.

She looked up and saw him staring ather. “They apparently have to back intothe station,” she said. “So it’ll take a littlelonger. Time for you to wash up andchange your clothes.”

“What about food?”

“We can get some breakfast in thestation.”

While the train was doing its last bitof maneuvering, Dan washed up andchanged into fresh clothes. He had kept hisknapsack containing the flask with theserum in it next to him while he slept. Heput this over his shoulder and followed Amy down the narrow corridor and out ofthe car, after the conductor announced itwas time to detrain.

As soon as they were on the stationplatform, Jake and Atticus joined them. Jake looked sleepy while Atticus seemedenergized.

“Okay,” Amy began. “We have quitea while before the train leaves for Seattle. We’ll get some breakfast, try to contactthe others, and get up to speed with anynew global developments. I’m assumingthe Internet connection inside the station

will be better than it was on the train.”

“Let’s hope so,” exclaimed Dan.

“I’m   going   through   information

withdrawal.”

Jake yawned.

Amy looked at him and smiled. “Notenough sleep?”

“Not enough something,” he replied. “I’ll feel better after I eat.”

Dan found a food court inside thestation. He was coming back to get theothers when he saw it.

Or rather,
 
her.

Oh, no,
 
thought Dan.

He ran ahead, grabbed Amy’s arm,and pulled her down a side hall. Hemotioned for Jake and Atticus to follow.

“What is it?” Amy asked in anannoyed tone.

Dan poked his head around thecorner and said, “Look.”

They all peered around the corner. Atticus gulped. Jake did not look sleepyanymore. Dan simply looked furious. And Amy thought once more of how close shehad come to dying.

Isabel Kabra and her guards weremarching down the main hall of thestation.

Dan whispered, “Here she is, tryingto destroy the world, and she’s marchingaround like she owns the place. While
 
we
have to hide from
 
her
.”

Amy nodded. “It does seem prettyunfair. But we have to hide from her

because she’ll definitely try to kill us if

she gets the chance.”

“Criminals   have   it   so   easy,”

complained Dan. “No moral dilemmas, no soul-searching. Just kill, kill, kill.”

“Do you really want to be a criminal?” asked Amy, staring hard at him.

“I didn’t say that,” replied Dan indignantly. “My point is it’s harder to be the good guys.”

“And
 
better
 
to be the good guys,”

added Atticus.

“Well, of course you’d think that,” said Dan. “You’re a Guardian. You come from centuries of good guys. It’s part of your DNA.”

Jake said, “She’s heading into the first-class lounge. Which means we can’t go in there.”

“Great,” said Dan. “Criminals get first-class lounges and we get zip. Fast

food and hard chairs.”

“Look out,” said Jake. “One of her goons is coming this way.”

“Scatter,” said Amy.

They all turned and moved away in different directions. They let the man pass and then regrouped at a spot far removed from the first-class lounge.

There were big windows in the train station near the food court. As they hastily ate breakfast, Dan continuously glanced out the windows.

“That is like no sky I’ve ever seen,” said Dan.

The others glanced out of thewindows. The clouds were formed into

shapes that were most definitely not ordinary. The color of the sky was a pale yellow, but there were undertones of

darker colors all around that one also did not associate with the sky.

“There’s nothing we can do about that right now,” said Amy. “But we have to put together a plan for Isabel.”

“Okay,” said Dan. “I have one.”

“What is it?” asked his sister.

“We wait until the train is moving really fast on its way to Seattle and then we open the door and throw Isabel off.”

Jake looked at Amy. “That’s actually not a bad plan.”

“I could go for it, too,” added Atticus.

“It’s a terrible plan,” said Amy.

“What?” exclaimed Dan.

“Isabel being here is actually great

for us.”

Dan said, “Amy, do you need to have

your brain checked? The last time you ran into that witch, she nearly killed you.”

“I know that. But now we have the upper hand.”

“Why?” asked Jake.

“Because she doesn’t know we’re here. Which means we can use Isabel to

lead us to the hostages.”

“How?” asked all three of the guys in unison.

“Why do you think Isabel is on this train?” she said in a tone of
I can’t believe you all are that dense.

Amy continued when none of them seemed prepared to answer.

“She’s on the train heading to Seattle. To hook up with the Vespers. She had to take the train just like we did, because the planes aren’t flying. If we follow her, she

will lead us right to the hostages. We won’t have to waste time tracking them down. It’s perfect.”

The three guys looked at one another. Jake said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Atticus concurred, too.

Dan was the last to nod in agreement, but his thoughts were already elsewhere. He touched his knapsack, where the flask of serum was hidden.

He would be prepared, he told himself. Whatever happened, the Vespers were not going to win.

And the world was not going to end.

Not on my watch,
 
Dan told himself.
 
Not on my watch.

“Are you scared?”

Amy looked over at Jake as she asked the question.

They  were   hiding   out  in  the cavernous train station. Atticus and Dan

were in another part of the building, keeping out of sight of Isabel and her cohorts. They kept in contact via texts. Amy had thought it smarter to split up. That way all of them could not be

captured together.

She and Jake were in an old supply closet that had a broken door lock. They figured no one would be coming in to get supplies because the room was empty. They felt safe, at least reasonably so.

Jake sat on the floor while Amy perched against a wooden shelf nailed to one wall.

He said, “I guess I’d be a moron if I

wasn’t scared.”

She nodded. “And we both knowyou’re not a moron.” She smiled to showshe was just kidding.

He grinned back. “It’s nice to knowyou can keep things light when surroundedby danger and the potential for thedestruction of the world.”

“Hey, girls like to laugh,” she said.

“I hope I get lots of chances in the future to make you laugh, Amy.”

He rose and leaned back against the wall opposite her.

“You’ve made me laugh in the past,” she replied, looking uncomfortable.

“Like I said, I’m talking about the
 
future
 
.”

She blushed and looked down. “Jake, you know that I really like you.”

“But I hear a
 
but
 
coming.”

She looked up. “But.” She smiled miserably. “But it’s not that simple.”

“Meaning there’s Evan?”

“Evan’s a great guy, too.”

“I know he is. And I know it’s not an

easy decision, Amy. But at some point you

have to make one.”

“Now, in the middle of all this?

That’s hardly fair.”

He moved a little closer. “There’s

nothing fair about love, Ames. It doesn’t run on a neat schedule. You can’t turn it on

and off.” He paused and added, “At least
 
I
 
can’t.”

“Jake —” she began before he put up a hand to forestall her comment.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about this, Amy. And saying what’s in my heart now makes a lot of sense actually, precisely because we’re in the situation we’re in.”

“You mean because we might not make it out alive?”

He nodded and drew another inchcloser. “So here goes. I could make it allooey-gooey and sappy, but that’s not how I feel, Amy. What’s in my heart is cleanand simple and straightforward.” He drew

himself up to his full height, towering over

her even as she shrank back a bit.

“I love you, Amy Cahill. I’ve known it for a long time. Maybe from the moment I saw you. And my feelings have only gotten stronger.”

Amy’s eyes began to tear up. “Oh, Jake.”

“You don’t have to answer me back.

But now I’ve said it. So whateverhappens, you’ll know.”

She flung herself into his arms andheld him tight.

“Jake, I love you, too. I think I’veknown it for a long time as well.”

They looked at each other, theirfaces, their lips barely inches apart.

And then they kissed.

When they drew apart he said,

“You’ve just made my whole life.”

“I was sort of thinking the same thing.”