Einstein Must Die! (Fate of Nations Book 1) (40 page)

“OK, we’re good,” she said, chuckling.

“Yeah, yeah,” said Savannah, pulling herself out of the trunk. “Next time I drive.” She took Sophia’s offered hand and jumped out, landing on her feet and looking around the alley.

“Good. Nice work, Sophia,” she said.

Tesla was following her, unfolding himself from the cramped space.

“Thanks,” said Sophia. “I was sweating it there at the gate. But a little cleavage makes everything easier.”

“True words,” said Savannah.

Tesla joined them and quietly closed the trunk. He looked around, getting his bearings. Realizing the hangar was only a few buildings down the road, he nodded.

“You did a great job, thank you,” he said.

“My pleasure. I just wish I could see Edison’s face when you guys break out of here.”

She hugged Savannah good-bye. “You guys be safe, OK?”

Savannah returned the squeeze. “That’s the plan. Now, will you be all right?”

Sophia nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’m going to crawl into bed now, in case Edison suspects I helped you and comes looking. I’ll find George first thing in the morning.”

“OK, good.”

“Oh,” Sophia said, turning back and leaning into the car. When she straightened up, she handed them a pistol.

“I hope it’s not necessary, but…”

Tesla cocked his head at the sight. “I don’t know,” he began.

Savannah took the gun. She looked at Tesla and felt his apprehension. “It’s my daughter,” she said.

“I know. But—”

Savannah ejected the magazine and stripped the rounds from it, slipping them into her pocket. She turned the gun sideways and pulled the slide, ejecting the last chambered round. It sailed straight up into the air, and she caught it as it came down.

“Better?” she asked.

Tesla nodded. “For all of us, I think.”

He stepped toward Sophia and offered his hand. “My thanks. George is a fortunate man. I hope you catch up to him soon.”

Sophia shook his hand, knowing it was a gesture he rarely made. “You bet I will,” she said, getting back in her car. She leaned out the window. “I hope we work together again soon. You guys are fun!”

They waved as her car eased out of the alleyway. She stopped at an intersection, then turned and was gone.

Tesla turned to Savannah. He indicated the way toward the hangar. “Shall we?”

“You know it,” she said.

Together they walked quietly, scanning the area for guards or passing cars. They kept in the shadows as much as possible and strolled casually when they had to cross an open space.

Soon they came to the airfield’s supply depot, which sat adjacent to their hangar. They crept forward and peered around the building’s corner.

A single light hung above the front door of the hangar, casting a pool of illumination for twenty feet around the door. An armed guard stood near the door.

“That’s the only entrance,” she whispered, handing him the gun.

He nodded and took the handgun. The heavy weight was comforting in his hand, but also intimidating.

Savannah pointed to the area off to the guard’s left and nodded in that direction. “Can you approach him from over there?”

“I can, and will,” he whispered back. “Be careful.”

He turned and eased back the way they’d come. Moving slowly, watching the way carefully, he circled around. In a minute he’d found a good spot off to the guard’s left, hiding behind a shipping container. He could only get within thirty feet, which felt troublesome, but any closer, and he’d out in the open.

Savannah saw him move into position. Now it was up to her, and the plan suddenly felt very real.
That guard’s gun is fully loaded
.
No threatening moves
.
Just a half-drunk girl making her way home, no problem
.

Remembering Sophia’s wisdom, she unsnapped two buttons on her shirt. The cool night air brushed against the tops of her breasts, and she felt doubly exposed.
 

She stepped out from cover, ambling obliquely toward the hangar and making no attempt at stealthiness. She saw a small rock in the road, and kicked it absently, sending it skittering across the pavement.

“Who’s there?” said the guard, now alert. He stepped toward the sound, but stayed within the light.

“Hmm?” answered Savannah, casually strolling in his direction. “
I’m
here,” she said, relaxing her Southern accent. “Rather be in bed, though. Where the hell is C Block?”

He stepped toward her again, and she smiled broadly, crossing the distance. As she got close, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was pretty sure she’d never met this man.
Edison chose someone with fresh loyalty, no doubt
.

“C Block?” asked the guard, frowning. “Honey, you’re a few hundred yards off.” He pointed behind her. “You want to head back that way. Now.”

His hand easily slid to his holster and rested on the gun’s grip. Savannah caught the motion, but forced herself not to focus on his hand.

She took another ambling step forward, then stopped. She could read his insignia now. Corporal Jenkins.

Behind the man Tesla slid from behind his cover and crept forward silently.

Savannah followed Tesla’s progress in her peripheral vision, but kept her eyes locked on the guard’s face. He was turning less friendly quickly.

He unsnapped his holster. “Ma’am, you will turn your ass around right now and get home. Are we clear?”

“Oh come on,” she said, waving her hand at him as if he’d just scolded her for jaywalking. She pointed a finger at him. “You seem really tense. Do you need a drink?”

“All right, that’s it,” the guard said. He drew his weapon and leveled it at Savannah’s chest.

She felt her heart freeze, and her casual grin cracked. The gun’s barrel looked huge and dark.

Suddenly, she forgot all about Tesla and even Madelaine. All she saw was the cold steel barrel staring at her.

“I—” she began, raising her hands automatically.

“Turn. Walk,” he said. His finger tightened on the trigger.

CLICK
.

The guard froze at the sound. It came from behind him, and close. In the quiet night, the sound of a cocking hammer was unmistakable. He wanted to spin around, but he couldn’t know where his assailant was, not before taking a round in the back anyway.

“I’d feel badly shooting you,” said Tesla. “It would be a courtesy if you don’t put me through that.”

The guard raised his hands.
Who the hell talks like that
? “Easy,” he said.

Savannah looked over the guard’s shoulder and saw Tesla directly behind him, the gun raised and pointing at the man’s back.

She stepped forward and took the guard’s gun from him.

“Thanks,” she said, already feeling the effects of adrenaline setting in. With shaking hands she tucked the gun into her back.

The guard’s face was cold. “You two are deep in it now.”

Slowly, hands still up, he turned to see who was behind him. His eyes widened in recognition.

“You’re that scientist, Tesla.”

“I am. Now, the keys to the hangar, if you please.”

The guard dug into his pocket and pulled out a thick key ring.

“Open it up,” said Tesla.

He went to the door and unlocked it. Pushing the door open, he said, “Now what?”

Savannah put her hand against his back and shoved. “Inside,” she said.

Together they stepped into the hangar, and Savannah saw Madelaine there. Relief washed over her. Even if she was shut down, they were close again.

Tesla closed and locked the door behind them. Looking around the vast space, he saw everything had been cleared out. There wasn’t even a rope left to tie up the guard.

With the relief, Savannah felt anger return at what had been done to her daughter. She imagined Edison sweet-talking her into oblivion, and without thinking she took the gun from her back.

She drew back and brought the butt down hard against the guard’s head. There was a satisfying thump as she hit him, and he tumbled to the floor, unconscious.

“Savannah?” asked Tesla.

“I’m fine,” she said, running toward Madelaine. “And he will be too.”

She ran forward and saw the twin cables leading away from Madelaine, ending in the locked steel case.

Tesla verified the guard was still breathing, then joined her.

“He put a resistor block on her. The current can’t flow through these cables with it in place.” Crouching beside the case, he swiped at the lock. “And he doesn’t want anyone removing it easily.”

“What are our options?” she asked, pacing.

He pointed to the chamber that housed her RCA array. It was sealed, and without Madelaine awake to open it, they wouldn’t gain access. “We can’t remove the cables on that end.”

“Let’s shoot the lock off,” she said, stepping forward with the guard’s gun.

Tesla held his hand up. “Hold on. Let’s not attract attention before we have to. I’ve got a quieter idea,” he said, looking at the hangar’s wall, where there was an emergency fire station, with a long, coiled hose and a fireman’s ax.

Tesla took the ax from the wall and returned to the resistor case. He laid the twin cables against each other along the floor, then stepped back. With a mighty swing, he brought the ax down into the woven steel cables, cutting them clean through.

He dropped the ax and picked up the severed ends.

Nodding at the case, he said, “That resistor prevented the free flow of current through her mind. So let’s bypass it altogether.”

With one cable in each hand, he jammed the raw ends together, completing the circuit.

“…sweet of you to say,” Madelaine said, completing her earlier comment to Edison. Then she was confused. It was as if she’d jumped in time. One moment Edison was there talking with her, and now Nikola and her mother were there.

“Mom?” she asked. “What’s going on?”

“Maddy!” she cried. Both hands went to her mouth as she teared up. “You’re all right?”

“Sure, Mom. I’m just confused. How did you get here? Where did Mr. Edison go?”

“It’s OK, baby,” she said as a tear ran down her face. “We’re here now. I’ll explain the rest later.”

“Madelaine, please open the RCA chamber for us,” said Tesla.

The hatch slid open. “There you go.”

As Tesla held the severed cables together, Savannah climbed up to reach the inputs they were connected to. She found them, switched the array back to internal routing, and yanked the cables free, letting them fall to the floor.

“We need to get going, darling,” said Savannah.

“Um, OK. Where to?” asked Madelaine, already opening the crew compartment for them and dropping the access ladder.

Savannah swung over, caught the rungs, and pulled herself inside the crew compartment. She smiled in satisfaction at making it back there.

Tesla dropped his end of the cables and ran up the ladder behind her. He hit the sealing mechanism, and the ladder retracted as the hatch closed.

“Thank God,” he said, letting his head fall back against the railing. “I didn’t know if we’d ever be here again.”

Savannah grinned. “Well, we are,” she said, shaking Tesla’s shoulders. “And no one is hurting my girl again,” she said, her voice going low and dangerous. “No one.”

Tesla nodded in agreement. Looking up at her, he saw her blue eyes burning with a cold fire. He immediately knew she’d kill anyone who threatened Madelaine again.

In a comforting tone, he told her, “Let’s get out of here, Savannah.”

She was still seeing images of her revenge against their enemies, and paused before shaking her head and returning to the present.

“Right. Maddy, we’re heading for Boston,” she told her daughter.

“Southeast,” she replied. “About twelve miles.”

“Good,” said Savannah. “Do you remember the layout of this base?”

“Mostly. At least everything I saw on the way in. I’ve got detailed maps of all the major cities, including Boston, but I don’t have anything for military bases.”

“Let’s not forget, almost all the American troops we come across will know nothing about us,” said Tesla.

“Agreed,” Savannah replied. “Maddy, we need to get out of the base as quickly as possible, then head south on Highway Two into Boston. We need to be in that fight.”

“Got it, Mom.”

“And, honey?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t kill anyone, unless you have to.”

***

Pulling late-night duty stinks
, thought Private Mayfield as he quickly walked toward the airfield. He checked his watch. It was 1:58 a.m. He began jogging to make sure he reached his post on time.

He ran between two admin buildings, then cut across a runway before turning right and seeing the hangar he’d been assigned to guard. The door was closed, but no one was standing watch. He began to run faster.

As he approached the lit door, he stopped and looked about. He was on time. Why would Jenkins leave his post early? The colonel took a damn dim view of that kind of behavior. He checked the door, turning the knob and ensuring it was still locked, then walked around the side of the large building.

Looking down the length of the hangar’s exterior, he strained to see in the darkness.

“Jenkins?” he called out. “Come on, man, you can’t—”

SCREECH
!

The private stopped, barely believing what he saw right in front of him. A fifty-foot length of hangar wall was being ripped apart, falling in tall, metal ribbons.

Painfully loud clanking, like a massive chain dragged over rocks, made him cover his ears.

Then Beowulf appeared, pushing through the hangar wall.

The private saw a tank tread taller than himself rolling in front of him. As his face drained of blood, he looked up.

Smashing through the remains of the wall was a tank bigger than he’d ever imagined. If he’d been ten yards farther ahead, it would be rolling right over him now.

The house-sized tank bulldozed on. A huge main cannon jutted forward. Ringing the outer edge of the monster were smaller chainguns. As he stood petrified, one of the chainguns swung over, aiming straight for his face.

He heard the dribble of water, then realized his urine was running down his pants leg and pooling on the runway asphalt.