Hunt for Jade Dragon (16 page)

After we'd taken off, Ostin, who had finally regained his composure, said to me, “Based on where I believe we are, I'm guessing our flight to Taiwan will be about fifteen hours. Am I right?”

“Probably,” I said. “Except our first flight isn't to Taiwan.”

“I figured that,” he said. “Our first stop is probably in Hawaii or Japan to refuel. Which is it?”

“Neither,” I said.

“What?”

I looked at him for a moment, then stood. “All right, everyone, I have an announcement to make.”

Everyone turned back to look at me.

“Before we go to Taiwan we're going to make a brief stop in California. We're going back to Pasadena.” No one said anything so I added, “To pick someone up.”

“Who?” Zeus asked.

Taylor looked at me sympathetically.

“We're getting Nichelle.”

For a moment everyone just looked at me like they were waiting for the punch line of a bad joke. Then they exploded.

“You gotta be kidding,” Ian said.

“What?!” Zeus said. “What for?”

“She's coming with us.”

“Tell me you're not talking about Hatch's wicked little pet, Nichelle,” Tessa said.

“She's not his pet anymore,” I said. “He abandoned her.” The look of shock in their eyes didn't diminish. Or maybe it was pure revulsion. I was ticking badly. “Th-the council thought it would be a good idea to have her join the Electroclan,” I stammered.

“Michael, I know Nichelle,” Ian said, shaking his head. “Trust me, it's a bad idea.”

“I've known Nichelle longer than all of you,” Tessa said. “It's the worst idea I've ever heard. It's like concrete-parachute bad. The girl's creepy.”

“And
mean
,” McKenna added. “She's mean and she likes it.”

“She's reptilian,” Ian said. “You can't trust a reptile.”

“They can't make us do this,” Zeus said. “We can just say no. What are they going to do, fire us?”

“It was my decision to bring her with us,” I said.

Everyone went quiet. Zeus and Ian both folded their arms. Even Ostin's forehead furrowed.

“Look, I know it sounds crazy. But something tells me we'll need her. Hatch's electric kids will be there to guard Jade Dragon. And if we have to fight them, the Elgen guard,
and
the Lung Li, having her powers will help.”

“Help who?” Zeus said. “What if she turns on us?”

“If we get her close to them she'll just run back to them,” Ian said. “You know she will.”

“Maybe not,” Taylor said. “Hatch left her to die. Even Nichelle must understand that.”

“How will we even find her?” Zeus said. “It's been months since we left her. She could be anywhere.”

“The resistance has been keeping track of her,” I said. “After we left her she moved in with some guys she met. She's working at a taco stand in Pasadena. That's where we'll meet her today.”

“What guys?” Zeus asked. “Elgen?”

“No. I don't know who they are. They just said they're some gangster guys she met on the street.”

“What if she won't come?” McKenna said.

“Then you don't have anything to worry about—except the Elgen, the Lung Li, and Quentin, Torstyn, Tara, Bryan, and Kylee.”

“And the Taiwanese army,” Taylor added.

Everyone was quiet again. Then Ostin broke the silence. “Michael may be right. Maybe we should at least check her out.”

“I'm telling you, it's a bad idea,” Ian said.

Zeus was still upset. “If she turns on us, I'll fry her like bacon.”

“Unless she gets you first,” Tessa said.

“If she turns on us,” Jack said, “I'll punch her out, then you can fry her.”

“Fair enough,” I said.

* * * 

The flight to California took a little less than three hours, though it felt much longer. I think I was as anxious about picking up Nichelle as I was about rescuing Jade Dragon. After we'd landed and disembarked, the pilot came out on the tarmac to speak with me.

“Michael, we need to fly out of here by seven o'clock, so you need to be back no later than six. We're under the jurisdiction of the air traffic controllers, so we can't bend the rules.”

“We'll be here,” I said. “With or without her.”

“Good luck.”

I looked at the others. “I'm going to need it.”

I wrote down the address of the taco stand where Nichelle was working and we split up into three taxis, Jack and Zeus taking charge of the other two.

“Let me do the talking with Nichelle,” I said. “If you get there before me, don't let her see you. Don't do anything until we're all together.”

Everyone was still upset, but at least no one spoke out.

As everyone walked to their cabs I said, “Jack, hold on a second.”

He turned back. “Yeah?”

I walked up to him. “Back in the plane, you didn't say much about Nichelle. Do you think it's a dumb idea?”

He looked at me for a moment, then nodded. “Yes. But sometimes those are the kind that work.”

O
ur three cabs arrived simultaneously on the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Allen Avenue, just out of view of the Taco King. Once we were all out on the street I asked the drivers to wait; then we walked toward the restaurant.

“Is she there?” I asked Ian.

He looked a moment, then said, “Yeah. I think that's her.”

“You think?”

“She's changed some.”

“As long as we're here, can we get something to eat?” Ostin asked.

“I want something too,” McKenna said.

“Sure,” I said. “But let's take care of Nichelle first.”

Even though there was a line of cars at the drive-through, the restaurant was mostly empty, with just two scary-looking, twenty-something-year-old men sitting across from each other at one of the side tables.

I walked up to the counter. I could understand why Ian wasn't sure if it was Nichelle because it took me a moment to recognize her too. She was turned away from me working the drive-through window. She had dyed her hair bright red with a single black streak and was wearing a black-and-purple cap and a Taco King shirt that looked several sizes too large. She had a tattoo sleeve on one arm.

Nichelle still hadn't noticed us when the boyish-faced kid at the counter asked, “May I help you?” (I swear he looked like he was twelve.)

“Uh, sure.” I turned back. “Everyone want burritos?”

“I'll have a taco,” Taylor said.

“Me too,” McKenna said. “Two, please.”

“Two beef chimichangas,” Jack said.

“Okay, I think I've got this,” I said, glancing first at Nichelle, then back at the kid. “I need eight bean burritos, two beef chimichangas, four hard-shell tacos, and eight large drinks.”

“Add a couple deluxe nachos,” Jack said. “And some churros. Eight of them.”

“I don't want a churro,” McKenna said.

“I'll eat yours,” Jack said.

“Eight churros,” the kid said, punching in our order. “And two deluxe nachos. That's sixty-one fifty.”

While I was paying him, Nichelle turned around. It took her a moment to recognize me, but it was obvious when she did. She froze, her already pale countenance blanching still more. All she said was, “Vey.”

“Hi, Nichelle.”

She looked terrified. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk,” I said.

She saw the rest of our group and looked even more frightened. She turned to an older Hispanic woman who was putting together orders. “Carlita, may I take my break now?”

“Not with that drive-through line,” the woman replied. She glanced over at me. “May I help you?”

“I'm just an old friend,” I said.

“Well, Miss Nikki is working, old friend.”

“I'll wait,” I said. “No problem. We'll just eat.”

“I won't be long,” Nichelle said anxiously. She glanced furtively at the others again, then went back to the drive-through window.

We found a table and sat down. A few minutes later the kid who had taken our order brought out our food on two trays. We were about halfway through our meal when Nichelle walked out from behind the counter. “I've got ten minutes,” she said. “Let's go outside behind the building.”

“Yo, Neesh,” one of the men on the other side of the room said. “Where you goin'?” The man was tall and muscular with tattoos covering one side of his neck and both of his arms. The other man didn't speak. He was smaller than the first, Hispanic with a shaved head. He was wearing a sleeveless LA Clippers jersey exposing muscular arms and shoulders that were covered with tattoos.

“I just need to talk to these guys for a minute. I'll be back.”

The second man looked at Jack, and there was palpable tension between them. “Whatcha lookin' at,
'Efe
?” the man said, a dark smile crossing his face.

“Nothing much,” Jack said coldly.

“Chill,” Nichelle said, waving us on. “C'mon.”

We followed her out the restaurant's side door and around to the back near a Dumpster. There was only one car in the drive-through, and it was at the window.

“How did you find me?” Nichelle asked.

“It wasn't hard,” I said.

“What do you want?”

“We need your help.”

“What kind of help?”

“I can't tell you,” I said.

“You need my help, but you can't tell me why? What kind of proposition is that?”

“It's secret. But it involves the Elgen.”

“You mean it involves Hatch.”

“Yes. And probably the other electric kids.”

“Which is why you want me.”

“Right.”

She looked down for a moment as if she was thinking. Then she looked up. “Do I get to hurt Hatch?”

“Maybe.”

“You need to tell me more.”

I shuffled my feet a little. “All right, but if you tell anyone, we'll come after you.”

She lifted her hands. “Who am I gonna tell? Homeboys in there?”

“All right. We're rescuing someone they've kidnapped.”

“Who?”

“I can't tell you.”

She thought some more, then said, “You'll have to pay me. I'm broke.”

“I'm good with that.”

“How much can you pay me?”

“How much do you want?”

“Three thousand.”

“Three thousand dollars?” Jack said in disbelief.

“It's what I need,” she said, looking at him. “I work for a living.”

“We can't trust her,” Ian said to me. “A leopard doesn't change its spots.”

“Yeah, lucky for you I'm not a leopard,” Nichelle replied.

“I can give you three,” I said. “But I'll have to pay you later.”

“How much later?”

“I can give you a thousand now, and the rest after we're done. We'll pay for everything until then. Food and stuff.”

“How long will this take?”

“It may take a while. We're leaving California.”

“Then what?”

“After we're done, we'll take you wherever you want to go.”

She hesitated for another moment, then said, “All right. I take it from those taxis over there that we're leaving now.”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“No. They'll fire me. But I was going to quit anyway. Do I have time to get my stuff?”

“No. We'll buy you whatever you need.”

“That won't come out of my three thousand, right?”

“No. And one more thing,” I said. “Taylor needs to read your mind to make sure you're not still with them.”

“Still with who?”

“The Elgen.”

“Do I look like I'm still with the Elgen?”

“It's the only way,” I said.

Nichelle rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

Taylor walked up to her. “I'm going to touch your arms,” she said.

“You have to touch me?” Nichelle said.

“Believe me, I don't want to touch you either.”

“Just get it over with.”

Taylor put her hands on Nichelle's forearms and closed her eyes. Less than a minute later she took her hands off and stepped back. She looked at me and nodded. “I think we're good.”

“Did it really take a mind reader to tell you that I hate them?” Nichelle said angrily. “I hated them before they left me to die.”

“We're just being careful,” I said. I looked around at the others. No one looked happy. “All right, let's go.”

Nichelle took off her hat and apron and threw them on the ground. As we walked around to the front of the restaurant Nichelle's two friends from inside approached us.

“Where you goin'?” the guy with the tattooed neck asked again. “Who are these losers?”

“Just some people I know. I'm going with them. I'll be a while.”