Slayers (Jake Hawkins Book 1) (38 page)

Wolfe shook his head. She collapsed onto one of the seats and clammed up, rigid.

There was a moment of silence.

Then Felix came and wrapped an arm around Jake
’
s neck, rubbing the top of his head.

“
I hate to break a solemn moment,
”
he whispered,
“
but I think you just single-handedly killed every slayer in Iquitos, kid.
”

Jake didn
’
t know how to react.

“
Come on,
”
Felix said.
“
Do you think Sam, of all people, would want you mourning his death?
”

Jake hesitated. He knew the truth.
“
He
’
d say it was a waste of time.
”

“
Exactly. You just saved an entire city, along with your girlfriend. You
’
re allowed to be happy.
”

Jake couldn
’
t resist a smile.

It
’
s what Sam would have wanted,
he thought. There had been no time for negative emotions in that man
’
s life.

The Super Stallion dipped and flew off towards the airport.

This time, there were no special forces soldiers waiting to arrest them. There were no planes flying in and out.

The airport was a ghost town.

Irene touched down in the refuelling area. Immediately, hundreds of curious faces from within the terminal pressed up against the glass, attracted to the noise. A stooped man came sprinting towards the Super Stallion. He was thin and partially bald, with mahogany skin.

“
Excuse me, sirs!
”
he cried as the six of them descended down the ramp.
“
Sirs!
”

Jake stopped in his tracks. Irene strode forward confidently to meet the man. He hustled over to them and hunched over with his hands on his knees, panting.

“
Do you know what is happening, ma
’
am?
”
he asked after he had caught his breath.
“
I have nearly a thousand people in the airport. We need help.
”

Irene motioned to Jake.
“
I think my friend here just took care of the majority of the problem. But, just in case there are still a few more out there, I want you to keep everyone indoors and lock up the terminal. Wait until the military give you the all-clear. You should all be fine, okay?
”

“
Oh, thank you so much,
”
the man said.
“
Thank you indeed. Is there anything we may do to help?
”

“
We need a fully fuelled jet that can get us to Washington, D.C.
”

“
I
’
m
…
I
’
m sorry?
”

“
You heard me. I
’
m a pilot, so we don
’
t need one of those. Just the plane.
”

“
I
’
m not sure if
–”

Irene puffed out her shoulders, doing a good job to appear menacing.
“
This is a matter of national security. You don
’
t need to be sure about anything. You simply need to do what I tell you. This is on the highest orders.
”

“
Uh
…”

Jake could tell the man was unsure of himself. He was clearly in a position of authority within the airport, but in such a stressful situation no official exchange had been made between the two parties as to who could tell who what to do. Irene took advantage of his hesitance.

“
Look, if you help us out, you
’
ll be a national hero. I can get the President of the United States to contact this airport himself at a later date. Right now, buddy, we don
’
t have time.
”

The man bowed.
“
Of course, ma
’
am. I think we have a few jets here. I
’
m not sure if the owners will be too happy, though
…”

“
We
’
ll reimburse them.
”

“
After me.
”

They were led across the tarmac to a row of private planes. The official told them to choose what they fancied.

“
Any discrepancies can be resolved later,
”
he explained.

“
Where
’
s ours?
”
Jake asked Wolfe quietly.

“
Probably being searched for evidence,
”
Wolfe said.
“
They wouldn
’
t keep it here.
”

Irene and Zoe, the two pilots of the group, chose a Bombardier Global Express business jet. Jake got told it was fast and designed for flying long distances.

“
How many kilometres can this thing do?
”
he asked Zoe.

“
Just over nine thousand.
”

“
How far away
’
s Washington?
”

“
Just over seven thousand.
”

“
That means we can make it,
”
he deduced.

A smile played across her face.
“
I
’
m certainly not attracted to you for your prowess in the field of mathematics.
”

He winked and pecked her on the lips.
“
But you are attracted to me.
”

They climbed aboard. Jake, Wolfe, and Felix carted their hiking packs and weapons from the Super Stallion to the Bombardier, as Thorn helped Crank up into the plane. Crank hobbled awkwardly across the tarmac on his one remaining leg, grimacing in pain. On a last minute decision, Wolfe instructed them to bring parachutes from the Super Stallion, one for each person aboard.

“
In case of emergency,
”
he said.

Jake hoped there wouldn
’
t be an emergency.

Ten minutes later, they were back in the air, soaring over Iquitos at twice the speed that the CH-53 had been travelling. Irene and Zoe set up shop in the cockpit, with the door shut tight as a symbol of privacy. Jake, passing by, heard his name mentioned during the muffled conversation from within. He blushed and moved back into the fuselage of the jet. The conversation was most likely about his intentions with Zoe, but at the same time he disliked the lack of communication. Talks behind closed doors were unnerving in such a tense situation.

The main section of the Bombardier was lavishly furnished. Recliners and tables with polished leather surfaces took up the majority of cabin space, much like the Gulfstream they had taken to Iquitos. Wolfe, Felix and Thorn had lain Crank down across one of the couches. The expression on his face showed remnants of post-traumatic shock. Jake had seen the same expression at rugby training, after a badly broken bone had left a teammate speechless. There was little colour in Crank
’
s cheeks, and he spent the majority of his time conscious zoned out, staring up at the roof.

Once they levelled out, Irene swung the cockpit door open. Jake caught a glimpse of Zoe at the controls. She was focused on the view outside. He found the concentration furrowing her brow cute.

“
Wolfe, with me,
”
Irene said.

Wolfe looked up.
“
Why?
”

“
I got on the line with the President. You need to debrief him.
”

Wolfe physically blanched.
“
Ah
…
okay.
”

He rose and headed into the cockpit, shimmying past Zoe, who was heading out.

Jake smiled slightly. It was humorous to see Wolfe, a man who radiated an aura of safety and calm, finally nervous.

Felix noticed too.
“
Interesting priorities.
”

“
Huh?
”
Thorn said.

“
That man would put his life on the line to fight Archfiend in a heartbeat. Now, he
’
s scared of talking to an important person.
”

Zoe sat down next to Jake and chimed in.
“
It is the President, though.
”

Jake put his arm round her.
“
I wouldn
’
t be scared talking to the President.
”

“
Oh really, macho man? Want to go in there and have a chat?
”

“
I
’
ll pass. Thanks for the offer, though.
”

It only took them twenty minutes. Jake had assumed Wolfe would be on the phone for hours, but clearly his knowledge of Archfiend
’
s plan was limited.

“
I just spoke to the President,
”
he said as he emerged from the cockpit, as if disbelieving of the words coming out of his own mouth.

“
And what was that like?
”
Thorn said.

“
Well, once you get over the fact that he
’
s just a guy
–
actually quite normal. Besides, there
’
s bigger issues than making a fool of myself out of that.
”

Everyone nodded; the mood was solemn. Jake was unable to shake the sense of impending doom. If Archfiend wasn
’
t lying, the stakes were unfathomable. He tried to imagine three thousand slayers. It achieved nothing but the unsettling feeling of being a tiny speck. He was out of his depth and he knew it.

Wolfe took the collective silence as a cue to continue.

“
D.C. is issuing a city-wide lockdown,
”
he said.
“
The President listened to everything I said. He was deadly serious. Clearly, he
’
s been watching the news.
”

“
What kind of lockdown?
”
Felix asked.

“
The Army
’
s putting soldiers on every street corner. That
’
s the best they can do so far.
”

“
That
’
s not going to be enough,
”
Thorn said, shaking his head.
“
Not against three thousand slayers.
”

“
I spent ten minutes on the phone with the Pentagon, too. They wanted a debrief on everything I knew about slayers
–
I think they
’
re sending electronic copies to every general in the army.
”

“
Still not enough,
”
Jake said.

“
I know,
”
Wolfe said, bowing his head.
“
If Archfiend wasn
’
t exaggerating, then I don
’
t think anything is going to be enough.
”

He plopped down in one of the recliners opposite Jake and rested his cheek on his fist, deep in thought. No-one spoke a word for the next ten minutes. Jake began to drift off as he grew used to the turbulence every now and then, becoming familiar with the rhythm of the plane. It was almost soothing, and his seat was comfortable; he felt himself slipping from consciousness. He hadn
’
t had much sleep over the past few days.

“
Wolfe,
”
Felix said, breaking the silence.

“
What?
”

“
Tell him.
”

Jake stirred and opened his eyes. Wolfe noticed, and cast his eyes away.
Was the conversation about him?

The man looked more nervous than Jake had ever seen him. Both his legs were twitching.

“
It
’
s not that easy, you know,
”
he said to Felix.

“
The longer you hold it off, the harder it will be.
”

“
What?
”
Jake said. He was almost sure they were talking about him. Thorn was watching him closely.

Wolfe sighed.

“
Listen Jake,
”
he said. And then trailed off. Jake watched him shuffle nervously, before continuing.
“
I
…
haven
’
t been entirely truthful with you. Ever since you joined us.
”

“
About what?
”

“
Everything.
”

Wolfe sat there, staring at a random point in the space in front of Jake, unblinking.

“
Wolfe, what are you talking about?
”
Jake said. He was beyond confused.

Wolfe looked up, for the first time, and stared deep into Jake
’
s eyes. He was crying. Jake watched as a tear trickled down his cheek.

“
Please don
’
t kill me for this, kid,
”
he said.