"What?"
"Follow me." Luke led her into the next room in the tent, where several agents sat around a television set.
On the screen a big—no, giant—man stood surrounded by rock and shrubs, as if in a crater. His muscles bulged as if they had a mind of their own and his skin glinted red.
It took Lucy a moment to recognize him. "Holy crap, that's Steele?"
He spoke to the camera. "By nightfall, the military forces on this island will be annihilated, and its authority will belong to you, my people. Those of you brave enough to rise up, come to Diamond Head."
A sound, like a missile, shook the camera. He looked to the sky, then back at the camera. "Oh, and do not attempt to stop me. Anyone who tries will fail. Here's a demonstration."
He backed away and the camera tilted up, showing the sky. When a missile came at him, everyone in the room held their breath, anticipating the moment Steele would finally be destroyed. But the missile stopped right in front of him, then spun around and flew back into the sky and straight at the jet that had launched it. The jet exploded live on camera, and crashed into the water below.
Lucy's heart thumped as she thought about the life lost in that crash. The whole world had just watched an American soldier die.
Steele walked back into view. "As I said, you can't stop me. Just in case you missed it, let me show you one more example of my indestructible power." He turned and lifted his hands. A jet hovered into view, as if Steele was levitating it. It neared the ground, shaking, then it ripped in two and both pieces flew off screen.
Lucy stumbled into a chair, sick to her stomach as Steele turned back to the camera, his face close-up once again. "If you send a bigger bomb, like a nuclear missile, I will redirect it at a major city. It's time to stand up, people. Human beings have evolved and your government has kept it a secret. I think you deserve the truth. I think you deserve a chance against your oppressors. You know what I offer. Come to Diamond Head."
The camera swiveled away from him as he spoke. "I have things to do. In the meantime, enjoy watching these corrupt politicians and greedy business men squirm."
On the screen, a group of businessmen, all dressed in expensive, tailored suits, were chained to pillars of stone, their mouths sealed shut with duct tape. Below them a fire burned, casting flames over their bare feet. They flinched and tried to pull away, but couldn't.
Lucy dropped her head and stared at the floor. Are we already too late? Is it over? Have we really lost to that psychopath? "What happened to the children?"
Hunter walked in from around a corner, having caught the last of the show. He also looked pale and hollow, like he had after the sphere drained him when she was attacked by the lizard. He sucked down half a bottle of water before he spoke. "They're being transported out of the facility. Likely, they'll be sold into slavery."
She stood. "We have to stop them."
He came and wrapped his arms around her. "IPI's on it, but the transports are protected by paranormals, and not regular ones either. They seem enhanced, like Steele, and more beast than man."
Her mind flashed back to Russia, their assignment that led to the discovery of an encrypted disk. She'd thought Steele planned on releasing some kind of virus into the world—biological warfare. She'd never been able to crack the code, and neither had IPI, but it all clicked together as she replayed recent events in her mind. Not a virus, but a drug to mutate genetics, to bring about enhanced powers. If she'd been able to break into the disk, they could have stopped this before it started.
She leaned into Hunter. His arms felt good around her sore body and she hugged him back, happy he was alive, so grateful that he had saved her, and more determined than ever to finish this mission.
Luke pointed to the television. "He showed them on the video."
She looked into Hunter's green eyes and wished they could be anywhere else, talking about anything else, but they had a job to do, friends to save. "What about Sam and Ana?"
"He hasn't gotten to them yet." He rubbed her back. "It seems to be his grand finale."
So they still had time. "Has Drake seen this?"
He kissed her on the nose and released her so she could sit back down. "He's already gone. He and the rest left on a helicopter a few hours ago. Steele made his location pretty clear."
Yes. Diamond Head. A large 500,000-year-old volcano crater sat on Oahu, just outside of Honolulu, surrounded by buildings. All those people were in danger. Why that spot? For dramatics? She needed to be there. "Why didn't you two go?"
Agent Mark walked over to them. "They were almost as passed-out as you were." He patted Lucy on the shoulder.