The Legacy Chronicles_Up in Smoke, Page 3

  “His specialty is drugs,” Bray said. “He’s one of the leading suppliers to the West Coast market, with ties to the biggest cartels in Central and South America.”

  “What about the Mogs?” Six said impatiently. “Is it true what Drac said, that he’s made contact with them?”

  “It’s possible,” McKenna said. “There are still some Mogadorians out there. We know that.”

  Six sighed. “Great,” she said.

  Before she could continue, her phone dinged, alerting her to an email. She pulled it from her back pocket, and when she saw that the message was from Sam, she opened it immediately. She clicked on the stream of numbers, and her phone told her they were coordinates.

  “Guadalupe Island,” she said.

  “What about it?” asked Nine.

  “It might be where Sam is,” Six told them. She held up the phone. “I just got an email from him. He says he’s on a ship.”

  “That’s . . . lucky,” McKenna remarked. “How would he be able to send you an email?”

  “He might have used his technopathy,” Six suggested.

  “Or it might be a trick,” said Nine.

  “Only a couple of people know this email address,” said Six. “It’s from him.”

  “Okay,” Nine said. “So he’s on a ship. What’s that ship doing there?”

  “Nothing good, I’m betting,” said Six. “I say we ask our friend downstairs about it.”

  She, McKenna and Nine returned to the room where Drac was being kept, his injured hand now bandaged. When he saw the three of them, he paled.

  “Tell us about the ship near Guadalupe Island,” Six said, abandoning preliminaries.

  “I don’t—” Drac said.

  Six reached for his uninjured hand.

  “All right!” Drac said. “It’s one of Bray’s hidey-holes. He has dozens of them all over the world.”

  “That’s a start,” said Six. “Keep talking. What kind of ship?”

  “I don’t know what it’s called,” Drac said. “A freighter? Something old. Big. The kind they transport stuff in.”

  “Does he?” asked McKenna.

  Drac didn’t respond right away.

  “We know Bray is trafficking drugs,” McKenna said.

  “Drugs,” Drac said. “Stolen whatever.” He paused. “People. If it’s something someone will buy, he’ll sell it.”

  “So what’s on this particular ship?” asked Nine.

  Drac sighed. “It’s mostly a floating arena,” he said. “He keeps some of the kids there. Uses them to fight, like in Texas. High rollers fly in on private helicopters or bring their yachts out there to bet.”

  “People like Helena and William Armbruster?” McKenna asked.

  Drac didn’t answer.

  “Helena?” said Nine. “The woman we brought in?”

  McKenna nodded. “I got some interesting information on them as well.”

  “Oh?” Nine said.

  “Helena Armbruster is the heir to Klumber-Bach pharmaceuticals,” McKenna said. “She’s worth billions.” He looked at Drac. “My guess is that she’s very interested in the work our friend here is doing. Isn’t that right, Milo?”

  Drac looked up, an expression of shock on his face.

  “Milo Cerszik,” McKenna said. “Although you changed it to Andrew Alderman when your work on human growth hormone was discredited by the medical community and Helena Armbruster hired you as a private physician.”

  “Wow,” said Six. “This gets better and better.”

  “The line between legal and illegal pharmaceuticals isn’t all that wide,” McKenna said. “It doesn’t surprise me that Bray would look for someone like Helena Armbruster to team up with. She’s probably paying a lot of the bills. And one of her perks for underwriting the program is getting to hunt kids with Legacies. Is that right?”

  Drac was silent. Six felt herself becoming enraged again. The way Bray and Drac and everyone involved with them treated people like they had no value except for how much money they could bring in was disgusting.

  “What are we going to do with her?” she asked McKenna, thinking about the woman. “Won’t her husband dying be big news?”

  “Officially, she and William are out of the country,” McKenna said. “I suspect there will be some story about how he died suddenly.”

  “And her?” Six asked again.

  “That remains to be seen,” McKenna answered.

  “Maybe she should have an accident, too,” Six suggested.

  “It’s not as simple as that,” said McKenna. “She has friends in high places.”

  Six looked at him. “Higher than what?”

  McKenna didn’t respond. Instead, he turned his attention back to Drac and said, “What’s Bray going to do with Sam?”

  Drac glanced at Six as though he was afraid his answer would cause her to come after him. “Sam’s Legacy could be very useful to him,” he said. “If he can’t make Sam work for him—”

  “Sam would never do that,” Six interrupted.

  “Then he’ll try to take it out of him,” Drac finished. “Put it into someone who will. Or into himself. Like I said, he’s obsessed with getting a Legacy. One like that, that no one else we know of has, would be a big deal.”

  “We need to get him out of there,” Six said to Nine and McKenna. “What are our options?”

  “Bray will expect you to be coming,” Drac said. “He’ll be waiting.”

  “Let’s talk upstairs,” Nine suggested.

  He, Six and McKenna went back to Nine’s office. Nine made a call, and a minute later, Lexa joined them.

  “We’re going to Guadalupe Island,” Nine said to Lexa. “How soon can we be there?”

  Lexa opened the tablet she’d brought with her, and her fingers flew over the screen. “Little over an hour,” she said. “Except that there’s nowhere to land on the island. Lucky for you, I have another idea.”

  “Care to share it?” Nine asked when Lexa continued to tap on her screen without saying anything else.

  “I know a guy,” Lexa said after another moment. “Runs a dive boat operation out that way. Great white cage diving.”

  “And this helps us how?” asked Six.

  “It helps us because his ship just happens to have a helipad on it,” Lexa continued. “He uses it to ferry clients back and forth from Ensenada.” She typed some more. “Those rich folks apparently don’t like the eighteen hours it takes to make the trip by boat, so Stubby started flying them in.”

  “Stubby?” said Nine.

  “Like I said, his business is great whites. Got a little too close to one while tossing chum in the water. Lost a hand.” Lexa looked at something on her tablet, then grinned. “And he says he’ll have a copter waiting for you in Ensenada. How many of you are going?”

  Six looked at Nine. “I’m going.”

  “Your Legacies still haven’t come back,” Nine reminded her.

  “I don’t need Legacies to kick some ass,” Six said. “Remember? And Sam is in trouble. There’s no way I’m not going. He’d do the same thing for me—for any of us.”

  “You’re right,” Nine said.

  “About that,” Lexa said.

  “About what?” Six asked.

  “I reached out to John and Marina. You know, since they’re both healers and they’ve dealt with the Mog ooze before. I figured they could help.”

  With everything going on, Six hadn’t thought to ask them for help. Even if they hadn’t been in touch lately, she knew they’d be there for each other when it mattered. “Yeah?”

  “Sorry, they weren’t available,” Lexa said. “They must be off doing something else, but I left word for them. Hopefully, they’ll contact us as soon as they can.”

  Six nodded, hiding her disappointment. “Okay,” she said. “Thanks.”

  “All right,” Nine said, flashing Six a sympathetic look. “Six is in.” He turned to McKenna. “What about you? If Drac’s telling the truth, your son might be o
ut there, too.”

  McKenna nodded. “Maybe,” he said. “But I think I can be more useful here, frankly.”

  “So, two?” said Six.

  “Three,” said Nine.

  Six glanced at Lexa, thinking he meant her, but Nine shook his head. “Nemo,” he said.

  “Nemo?” said Six. “After what she’s been through? Are you insane?”

  “I think she might be useful,” Nine said.

  “What could she possibly—”

  “She breathes underwater,” Nine interrupted. “And this is all happening in the middle of the ocean. That might come in handy.”

  “You can’t make her go,” McKenna said.

  “Of course not,” Nine agreed. “But we can ask her.”

  Six and McKenna looked at each other. Six was about to offer a rebuttal, but Nine spoke first. “Totally her choice,” he said.

  “All right,” she conceded. “But Rena is in no condition to be involved, especially after what happened to Yo-Yo, and I think Max should stay here, too.”

  “Agreed,” said Nine. “Let’s get Nemo up here.”

  As Nine picked up the phone and made a call, McKenna cleared his throat. “Do you really think the three of you can handle whatever is on that ship?” he asked. “Six, you still don’t have your Legacies back. I know you’re formidable even without them, but we don’t know how many kids are out there, how armed Dennings and his people are or even exactly where they are. What we do know is that Bray is capable of anything and is willing to kill anyone or everyone who is a threat to him. This isn’t a simple in-and-out mission.”

  “You said you could be more useful here,” Six replied. “You’re right. Arrange for backup.”

  McKenna shook his head. “It’s not that easy,” he said. “Law enforcement in that part of the world is unreliable. Someone like Bray has probably bribed everyone he needs to ensure protection.”

  “Then don’t rely on law enforcement,” Six told him. “Call in Earth Garde.”

  McKenna hesitated.

  “What?” said Six. “Is there a problem with that?”

  “Not a problem, no,” McKenna said.

  Six waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t. “You don’t want them to think we can’t handle this on our own,” she said.

  “There are things about the situation I would prefer to keep on a need-to-know basis,” McKenna said. “For now, anyway. The fewer people we can involve, the better.”

  Six looked over at Lexa, who only raised an eyebrow. Then she turned back to McKenna. “It will take us a couple of hours to get out there,” Six said. “That should give you enough time to figure something out.” To Lexa she added, “We’ll be ready to go in thirty.”

  As Lexa left to make arrangements, Nemo arrived.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “How are you feeling?” said Nine.

  Nemo shrugged. “Okay. You know, for being out in the cold all night being hunted by sociopaths, swimming under ice and seeing a couple of people get killed.”

  “We think we know where Sam is,” Six told her. “A ship off the coast of Mexico. There are probably kids with Legacies there as well.”

  “Ghost?” said Nemo.

  “We don’t know,” said Six. “Nine and I are going out there. And he thinks you might be able to—”

  “I’ll go,” Nemo said. “That’s what you were going to ask, right?”

  “Right,” said Nine.

  “But you don’t have—”

  “I said I’ll go.”

  Six looked at the girl. She felt as if she was looking at herself. In only a short time, Nemo had transformed from a petulant, somewhat obnoxious girl into someone who was determined to fight for her friends. It was a terrible way to come into her own, but it had changed her in ways most people could never understand. Six could.

  “Why are you staring at me?” Nemo asked, nervously pushing a lock of turquoise-colored hair behind her ear, then crossing her arms over her chest.

  “We leave in half an hour,” Six replied. “Lexa will get you outfitted. Meet us out front.”

  Nemo nodded, then left.

  “I’m going to make some calls,” McKenna said.

  “Stay here,” said Nine. “Use my office.”

  Six left with him. Twenty minutes later, they reconvened in front of the building. An SUV was waiting for them. So were Lexa and Nemo.

  “What took you so long?” Nemo teased as Six and Nine put their bags in the back.

  “A private plane will take you to Ensenada,” Lexa told them. “Stubby has arranged for a helicopter to get you to his ship. Anything you need, you know how to reach me.”

  Three hours later, as late afternoon shifted into early evening, a helicopter landed on the helipad of the Nautilus Fathom. Six, Nine and Nemo got out and were greeted by a tall man with a bushy white beard, shaved head and toothy smile. He extended his left hand to Six. “Hey there. I’m Stubby.”

  After shaking Six’s hand, he shook Nemo’s, then nodded at Nine’s missing arm. “Looks like we’ve got something in common,” he said, laughing. “Come on. We can talk inside.”

  He led them down a short flight of stairs to a lower deck, then along the side of the ship and into a cabin. It wasn’t large, and the desk that dominated the space was heaped with papers and books and charts, so the four of them stood there and talked.

  “Lexa said you’re looking for a ship,” Stubby said. “I’m pretty sure I know the one. It’s been in the area for a couple of months. People going in and out a lot.”

  “And nobody thought to ask what’s going on?” Six asked him.

  Stubby shrugged. “This part of the world is kinda like the Wild West,” he said. “Took me ten years to get the locals to stop trying to run me out of town. I didn’t get here by sticking my nose into anyone else’s business.”

  “Then why are you getting involved now?” Six asked him.

  “Lexa tell you I have a niece at HGA?” Stubby said. “Deirdre. But we’ve always called her Little D. My sister is Big D. Little D does something with light. Never seen it myself.”

  “The kids call her Aurora,” Nine said. “She’s a good girl.”

  Stubby smiled. “Yeah. Well, she’s how me and Lexa came to be acquainted. But I would help anyway. I don’t much like seeing anyone be used the way it sounds like these kids are being used. So, what is it you need from me?”

  “Well,” Nine said. “Basically, we need to find that ship and get onto it.”

  “I know where it is,” Stubby said. “As for getting onto it, seems like you need to do that without attracting attention, right?”

  “Right,” Nine said.

  “Then your best bet is going at night,” said Stubby. “Use scuba gear and swim right up to it. How you get on after that, I don’t know.”

  “We can manage that,” Nine told him. “But how do we see our way to the ship at night?”

  Stubby snorted. “Pretty hard to miss something that big,” he said. “We can get you close on an inflatable. You drop in, swim to the ship. Unless they’ve got guards and floodlights, they’re probably not even going to notice. From what I hear, the guy who owns that thing has everyone who might be trying to bring him down in his back pocket.”

  “Lexa mentioned something about great whites,” Six said.

  “That’s why I’m out here,” said Stubby. He grinned. “You’re not afraid of a few sharks, are you?”

  “Shouldn’t I be?” Six said, looking pointedly at his missing hand.

  “Just swim fast,” said Stubby.

  Nine put his hand on Six’s shoulder. “You leave the sharks to me,” he said.

  “All right,” Stubby said. “Sounds like a plan. Sun won’t be down for a little while yet. Let’s go get you geared up.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  SAM

  SOMEWHERE AROUND GUADALUPE ISLAND, MEXICO

  SAM CONTINUED TO FEIGN BEING UNSTEADY ON HIS feet as the men marched him along the deck o
f the ship. He stumbled, forcing them to hold him up, and when they cursed at him in Spanish, he mumbled incoherently. In his head, however, he was trying to formulate a plan. He sensed that if he went below and was put into Dennings’s and Bray’s hands, it would all be over. Without his Legacies, he was at a disadvantage. Once they had him securely restrained again, he’d probably never get out.

  But what would he do if he somehow managed to escape? He was still in the middle of the ocean. He thought about the email he’d sent to Six. Even if she’d received it, it would be some time before she could get there with help. What would he do until then? Hide? The ship did seem to be huge. Maybe he could find somewhere to lie low while he figured out what to do. If it’s either that or have them experiment on your brain, the choice is pretty clear, he told himself.

  The men dragged him down a flight of metal stairs, and they were on the main deck. He could see that they were headed for a door. Beyond that, he imagined, was another flight of stairs. Those would take him below, and that was someplace he was absolutely sure he did not want to go. Time was running out for him to make a move.

  “Hey!” a voice called out.

  The men stopped. A boy ran up to them, thin, with red hair and freckles. He said something in Spanish. The men replied, shaking their heads. The boy repeated what he’d said, this time sounding much more emphatic. Again, the men seemed to argue with him.

  Something about the boy seemed familiar. Before Sam could think too hard about what it was, though, he sensed movement around his feet. Looking down, he was horrified to see cockroaches running over his shoes. Dozens of cockroaches. No, hundreds. They were pouring out of every crack and crevice he could see, a moving carpet of shiny brown bodies.

  The roaches swarmed up his legs and the two men holding him. When the guards realized what was happening, they let go of Sam and started swatting at the bugs. Sam, acting on instinct, did the same. But the boy grabbed his hand. “Come on,” he said.