I might just survive this, after all. Nicola had already saved me from certain death once, and apparently, he was trying to do so again.
Tessa realized who our rescuers really were at the same moment I did, and what this meant—namely that she’d have to dispose of me herself, or risk me falling into friendly hands and turning against her and Nari.
She was slightly closer to a fallen soldier and his assault rifle than she was to me, and bolted toward the weapon with deadly purpose. At the same time I sprang from the ground and raced in the other direction at superhuman speed.
I was putting distance between us, but with her enhancements she could hit me as easily as if she were behind a sniper-rifle with telescopic sights and I was standing still. I was heading toward the tree line and relative safety, but this was still ten to twelve seconds away. In my heart, I knew she was only a few seconds from pulling the trigger, so the math was working against me.
Nicola took in the scene and its implications at one glance and threw an alien-made stun grenade Tessa’s way, one with many times the power of a terrestrial version. Although designed to be non-lethal, the device exploded so ferociously it sent Tessa flying through the air. Even so, she executed a perfect roll and came up with her gun pointed in my direction. Nicola had wasted no time sending a second grenade after the first, but she managed to elude this as well, diving out of its range like a trained gymnast and coming up firing while I was still a few steps from the trees.
I sensed the imminent shot and dove forward like the approaching forest was a pool, avoiding the bullet but slamming the side of my head into the edge of a tree trunk. I fought to remain conscious, hanging on by a thread.
Tessa wasn’t so lucky. While she was focused on me, one of Nicola’s men managed to shoot her in the neck with three tranquilizer darts—three—just to be sure. Even with nanites, she would be out for a while.
Relieved, I finally succumbed to my increasing drowsiness and closed my eyes.
When I was finally able to force them back open minutes later, Tessa was hogtied with zip ties on the ground where she had fallen, and the last of Michelle’s men had taken a bullet to the head, adding to the growing number of bodies that now littered the island.
My eyes slid shut again. The next time they opened I found myself inside a UAV, my head injury dressed and bandaged. But this UAV was a no-frills variety. Cold and utilitarian. Six leather captains’ chairs were arranged in a circle in the center of the craft, firmly attached to the deck but capable of swiveling in any direction.
Instead of the craft being largely transparent, multiple monitors hung down from the ceiling at various locations, each tiled with comprehensive views of our surroundings. I noted idly that we were winging our way over land at low altitude, so quickly that the scenery was nothing but a blur.
Captain Nicola was kneeling beside me and looked relieved. “Welcome back, mate,” he said reassuringly. “You’ll be a little groggy for a while, but you should be just fine.”
“You saved . . . my life,” I managed to rasp out. “Again.”
He smiled. “Thanks for noticing,” he said. “For anyone keeping score, it’s now two saves by me, and only one by Nari. Puts me in the lead, right mate?”
“More than . . . the lead,” I whispered, still barely clinging to consciousness. “Turns out . . . you saved me . . from Nari.”
Nicola studied me worriedly. “Jason, I think you might be more punch drunk than I thought. As much as I’m not a fan of Nari, I saved you from Michelle.”
“Same thing.”
Nicola’s eyes narrowed in confusion but he didn’t press for answers. Not while I was in my present condition. “Why do I have the feeling the job of convincing you not to trust Nari just got a whole lot easier?”
I managed a feeble smile. “Where are we . . . going?” I whispered.
“To our base of operations. On a shelf in the Pacific. About eight thousand miles from where we were. We’ll be there any second.”
Of course we would. As far as a UAV was concerned, eight thousand miles was just around the block.
“Where is . . Tessa?” I gasped out. “You were right. Can’t be . . . trusted.”
Nicola sighed. “Yeah, no kidding, mate. Glad you finally figured that out. But don’t worry. We’re bringing her and Brad to our headquarters, too, in a separate UAV. We’ll keep them unconscious in a secure holding facility until we’ve decided on our next move. In the meanwhile, rest up. You’re with friends, in safe hands.”
I glanced at the screen and noted we were now over an ocean, which I assumed was the Pacific. Sure enough, we suddenly took a dive and plunged beneath the surface, although we didn’t feel anything different when we did. Nothing to indicate we weren’t still traveling through the air, as the UAV’s magical drive parted the ocean depths like Moses at the Red Sea.
“Thanks . . . Nick,” I said softly. “For the . . . rescue.”
I wanted to say more, but even with nanites on board, diving headfirst into a tree was ill-advised, and I slipped once again into a deep sleep.
PART 7
37
I awoke spread out on a comfortable mattress with my eyes still closed.
I felt fantastic.
Since I had first been knocked out on the island, I had been moving through events numbed, in a sort of daze. But now I felt like myself again. Better than myself. Instead of being in a fog, I was hitting on all cylinders. My nanites must be getting the hang of boosting my physical well-being and mental acuity.
This was in stark contrast to how I felt emotionally. I was devastated by Tessa’s betrayal. She had not only been willing to deliver me to certain death, she had tried to shoot me herself.
It was like the most horrible nightmare I had ever had, except it was real. She had used me completely, and was dedicated to a purpose I considered evil. If not for the nanites, I suspect I’d be completely debilitated, curled up into a fetal position, possibly weeping, but certainly in the depths of severe depression.