The Battle for Earth (Teen Superheroes Book 3) (12 page)

Go girl
, Brodie thought.
You tell them.

“Up till now you have been without weapons to defeat the Tagaar,” Ebony said. “You have been locked in this place and worked to death. You have had your rights and your freedom taken away from you.”

“We know all this, girl,” one of the men called.

“Tell us something new,” another challenged her.

“Now you have weapons,” Ebony said.

The crowd looked at her in confusion.

“What weapons?” a woman asked.

“Us,” Ebony said.

A few of the assembled crowd looked at each other. A few of them laughed.

“You’re mad, girl,” a woman in the crowd said. “What can a group of children do?”

Ebony reached into the air. In the next instant she held what appeared to be a sword of fire. She moved it about, waving it at some of the nearest people in the crowd. Brodie watched their reaction. Even she was impressed.

“My friends and I are modified humans,” Ebony said. “We have powers greater than a normal being.”

“Your magic tricks may impress some.” A man stepped forward. “I am Gardan. It takes more than a flaming sword to impress me. And it will take more than a girl with magic tricks to defeat the Tagaar.”

“You sound as if you are afraid,” Ebony said.

The warrior’s face went dark. “I am not afraid. I am a soldier of Belemus. We are among the greatest warriors of the galaxy.”

“Then join us in our fight against the Tagaar,” Ebony said. “Remaining here will only bring you death and –”

A boy came running into the tent. He whispered to one of the men.

“The Tagaar have arrived at the portal,” the man said. “They have seized a number of citizens.”

“What is the portal?” Ebony asked.

Tomay stepped forward. “It is the link between Sartaria and the upper ship. If they have already taken some of our people –”

“The time for talking has ended,” Regis said. “We must decide.”

Ebony stepped down from the podium while Tomay asked for a vote to be taken. She looked despondent as she returned to the others in the petitioners’ room.

“I don’t think I won them over,” she said.

“You did your best,” Dan said.

“You ran out of time.” Brodie gripped her shoulder. “A few more minutes and you would have had them.”

“We can’t give up yet,” Dan said. “They might still decide in our favour.”

“Maybe,” Ebony replied. “If we’re lucky.”

No one said anything after that. They waited in silence while the Council of Sartaria voted on whether they should live or whether they should die.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I could not pull the trigger.

My throat was dry. My vision had a sharpness of clarity I had never before experienced. I focused on the Russian leader. The gun shook in my hand until it sagged in my grip. I had come so far. I had sacrificed so much. Brodie’s life depended on me firing the weapon at the Russian Premier. Yet I could not pull the trigger. The Premier saw my hesitation.

“You are a boy,” he said. “You do not wish to –”

“Shut up!”

It sounded like my words had been spoken by a stranger.

Alexi Kozlov clamped his mouth shut. I stood there with the gun in my hand, undecided as to what to do next. If I did not pull the trigger and immobilise the Premier, I would be condemning Brodie to death.

But I could not fire.

A sound came from behind me. I spun around to find Chad stumbling through the undergrowth. He had a bruise under his eye and a streak of blood ran down the side of his face.

“I thought I saw you land over here,” he said.

“Are you okay?”

“Peachy. I feel like I’ve just gone ten rounds with Rocky.” He nodded toward the Premier. “So you haven’t put the freeze on the Russian?”

“Not yet.”

“I knew you wouldn’t.”

“How would –”

He stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Axel. You’re just not the Stonekiller kind of guy.”

Tears filled my eyes. I struggled to speak. “But Brodie –”

“We’ll find another way,” he said. “I promise.”

We stood silently in the Russian forest. “How far away is the Flex?”

“Some distance.” He studied me. “What are you thinking?”

“The closer we are to Graal, the closer we are to Brodie.”

“If they even bring her,” he said. “This whole gig with the Premier and the Stonekiller may just be a scam. Maybe he was intending to lead you on forever.”

“I know.” I shifted my eyes to the Russian Premier. He looked like he was ready to jump to his feet and attempt an escape. I hoped he wouldn’t make the attempt. Whilst I might not use the Stonekiller on him, I was more than prepared to subdue him. “Brodie could already be dead,” I continued. “This may have just been a big waste of time.”

“Not a complete waste of time,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to see Russia. Great place for a holiday –”

“You’re an idiot,” I informed him.

The Premier looked up at us as if we were crazy.

He was probably right.

We took the Russian Premier with us back to the Flex. Fortunately Chad was able to locate it in the midst of a wood several miles away. Climbing aboard, we located restraints in one of the compartments and handcuffed Alexi Kozlov to a seat in the rear. He looked none too pleased about being treated like a prisoner.

“What is this all about?” he demanded. “Am I being held hostage?”

“Uh, yes,” I replied.

“What are you after? Money? Is this a political protest?”

“It’s about those dolls,” Chad told him.

“Dolls?”

“Those Russian babushka dolls. The ones where you fit one doll inside another.”

“What about them?” The Premier looked at him in astonishment.

“They’re creepy. We’re holding you hostage until your government agrees to stop their manufacture –”

“Ignore him,” I told the Premier. “We’ll tell you later.”

I quickly checked his pockets, removed his cell phone and discarded it. Chad and I left Alexi alone in the rear compartment and closed the door behind us. We slumped into the pilots’ seats. I felt light-headed after the events of the last twenty-four hours. I looked across at Chad and he returned my glance with a weary smile.

“Let’s do Disneyland next time,” he said.

“Agreed.”

I set the autopilot. The Flex Fighter lifted up above the tree line into a clear sky. It accelerated higher and higher until the countryside was reduced to a patchwork quilt. Tension jangled at the edge of my senses. I was unsure as to what we were going to do when we met up with Graal, but for the first time in days I was feeling a little more confident.

I turned to Chad. “Thanks for being a friend.”

He was already asleep. Probably for the best. He would not be able to accept a compliment without some snappy comeback. I examined the controls one more time and decided to join him. A few hours’ sleep would –

The Flex Fighter was thrown to one side.

“Hey!” I yelled.

Chad was instantly awake. “What’s going on?”

A blast lit up the sky in front of us. A jet fighter appeared to our right, firing another volley across our bow. I activated the computer interface.

“Computer?” I said. “What’s going on?”

“This vessel is currently being pursued by three Russian-made Sukhoi Jet Aircraft,” it informed me soberly. “We are receiving a transmission from one of the craft.”

“Let’s hear it.”

The radio crackled into life.

“American agents.” The pilot spoke almost perfect English. “You will land your vessel, hand over the Russian Premier and surrender yourselves to authorities.”

I looked at Chad. “What should I do?”

“Didn’t you engage the cloaking device?”

I was so tired I had forgotten to activate it!

“Six more jet aircraft have joined the pursuit,” the computer said calmly. “They are forming a blockade around Flex Fighter B-22.”

We caught sight of one of the aircraft. It seemed to be only metres above our ship. It dove toward the windscreen. The Flex dropped in response.

“They’re trying to force us down,” Chad said.

“We can’t let that happen.” I peered down at the console. “Computer, show a schematic of the pursuit ships.”

A three-dimensional image hovered in mid-air above the console. The fighter planes had positioned themselves in a tight formation around us. We might be able to find a gap – but possibly not without hitting one of the other craft. We had already done enough damage for one day. I wasn’t going to kill an innocent pilot for doing his duty.

“What countermeasures do we have available?” I asked the computer.

“We have a full complement of chaff, decoys and dual signal capability.”

“Dual signal?” I asked. “What is that?”

“That information is classified.”

I looked at Chad. He shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I just stole the thing.”

Another shot was fired across the bow of our craft. It exploded ahead of us, rocking the Flex violently from side to side.

“If that’s supposed to be a warning shot…” Chad stirred uncomfortably. “They need to look up the word ‘warning’ in the dictionary.”

“Computer,” I said. “On my mark, deploy a complement of chaff, engage the cloaking device and initiate the dual signal…thingy. And give me flight control of the Flex.”

Chad looked at me. “Are you sure –”

“No.” I gripped the control stick of the aircraft. “But I’d rather crash us than have the onboard computer do it.”

“Twelve more fighter craft are closing in on our position from the east,” the computer calmly reported. “In addition, a group of super powered humans are approaching from the west.”

This was getting too crowded for comfort. “Computer. Give me flight control.”

I felt the craft shudder slightly. I had flown a Flex Fighter in a lot of practice situations, but never under these circumstances. And never against a squadron of experienced pilots. The radio crackled to life again.

“American craft,” the pilot said. “We will fire on your position if you do not immediately descend.”

Chad radioed back to them. “Klaatu barada nikto.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I asked him.

“No idea,” he said. “They said it on that old movie, The Day The Earth Stood Still. It sounded cool.”

“Great.” I returned my attention to the display. “Computer, ready countermeasures.”

“Countermeasures ready.”

“On my mark…now!”

I felt the Flex shudder as chaff – a type of shrapnel normally used to give a false reading to radar – erupted from the rear. At the same time, I saw another signal on the display. It was dangerously close. Too close. It was literally on top of us.

“What’s that other plane doing?” I screamed in panic. “It’s right on top of us!”

“That is the Dual Signal,” the computer intoned calmly.

I ignored it and searched the three-dimensional display for a gap. One had appeared. Slightly behind us and above – but the new ship was in its way. I gripped the control column in frustration.

Where had the other ship come from?

“It’s not real!” Chad yelled. “It’s just a decoy!”

Not real –?

I ignored the image of the new ship and pulled back on the column. We flew straight through the new vessel and slipped through the gap in the surrounding fighter craft. I took us away from the mass of aircraft, rising high into the sky above them. Examining the display, I saw that most of the remaining ships were still in formation, although one of them appeared to be in severe difficulty.

“What’s the status of the Russian fighter craft?” I asked the computer.

“Most of the fighter craft remain in position. One was struck by the chaff deployed from this craft,” the computer said. “The pilot has ejected safely from the vessel.”

Thank goodness
, I thought.
And the dual signal –

“It’s a hologram,” Chad said, reading my mind. “The fighter craft think they’re still following us.”

I returned the plane to autopilot and collapsed into the seat. This was rapidly turning into the longest day of my life. I checked the timer on my wrist compass. I still had fourteen hours till I was due to meet Graal.

“Computer,” I said. “Wake us in ten hours.”

I don’t know if it replied, because I was already asleep.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“I’m sorry,” Tomay said. “The Council has decided to hand you over to the Tagaar.”

“That’s all right,” Brodie said. “We can handle ourselves.”

Brodie felt furious, but she tried not to show her anger to the alien leader. She suspected the vote had been very close. Now they had to deal with the fallout from that decision. She asked if she could speak privately to the others for a moment. Tomay looked worried, but he nodded and left the waiting room.

“What’ll we do?” Dan asked.

“We can look upon this as an advantage,” Bax said.

“Really?” Ebony replied. She felt annoyed and disappointed that her plea to the Council had been ignored. “How is this to our advantage?”

“We wanted to leave Sartaria,” Bax said. “Now is our chance.”

Brodie nodded. “We can surrender and then fight back at the right moment.”

The others agreed. It seemed like the best course of action. Brodie led them into the Council Chambers. Tomay was obviously expecting a fight and he looked immediately relieved when Brodie told him to take them to the square.

They followed him through the endless shanty town of buildings. It amazed Brodie that Tomay – or anyone – could find their way through this endless labyrinth. People stopped and pointed at them as they passed. At first Brodie thought they were simply curious because they were strangers, but after a few minutes she realised many of the inhabitants were angry.

“Are they unhappy with us or –” she began.

“I think they’re angry with the Council,” Ebony said.

“But if the alternative is to allow the Tagaar to execute their own citizens –”

“They hate the Tagaar. They probably consider any collaboration with them a crime.”

They finally reached an open area adjacent to the hull of the vessel. A large group had assembled and it appeared more were joining them with every passing moment. Some looked curious. Others looked downright hostile.