men appear as if they had an unfortunate encounter with the HoLFs. Radcliff and Morgan retreat.
Cuing the shadow-blobs, I send. I switch on the projectors in twenty key locations in the base. The reaction is instant as the looters in those areas get a nasty surprise.
“Hostiles in security!”
“Hostiles in the cafeteria!”
“Hostiles near the housing units!”
“We’re under attack in the geology lab!”
Under attack? They must have a good imagination. All the projectors are doing is casting static images of the shadow-blobs. But it is dark and creepy in the empty base.
“It’s a trap!” Jarren yells. “Everyone retreat to the port. Now.” He runs for the door. “Boss to Flyboys. Come in, Flyboys.”
Oh no. No calling for help. I block his communications. Sorry, not sorry. As I watch all the little red dots head toward the port, I take a moment to admire Radcliff’s amazing plan.
You see, he reported to DES that the wave emitters were an utter failure and we needed a new way to counter the shadow-blobs. So Jarren’s people are in panic mode, racing for escape. Except when those red dots reach the port and squeeze through the small door, there are four security officers waiting for them. And they can’t retreat because the rest of the security team, the techs, my parents, and I will all emerge from our hidey holes and pick them off from this side. Radcliff’s a devious genius.
I wait until all the dots are past my position, then I ease from my hiding place. Ugh, my muscles are stiff from the hours I’ve spent here. And my various injuries protest the motion. Guess I need to take a couple more pain meds.
I remove the grate and climb down to the table. The lab is semi-dark so I pull my flashlight and creep toward the door. The cameras show the corridors are shafts of blackness except where the looters are fleeing. The beams of their flashlights dance as they run. One of the best things about being a Q-net freak, I can access it anywhere. Like when I slip out into the hallway and know the exact location of the red dots.
Turning on my flashlight, I start toward the port. Then something grabs my braid and yanks me back.
“Ow, what the—”
A hard round coldness presses to my temple. A weapon. I freeze as all my blood drains to my feet.
“Hello, Little Worm,” Jarren says right in my ear.
He removes the communicator from my other ear. It clinks as it hits the floor, then crunches as he smashes it with his boot. My pulse gun is taken next.
I swallow. Why didn’t I keep track of the yellow dot? I check, but it’s not on my map. That’s because Jarren turned his flashlight off and the Q-net could no longer track him.
“Nice trick,” he says. “Almost had me fooled. I was halfway to the port when I realized that Officer Tight Pants would never kill so many people. Good guys don’t unless there’s no other way. It didn’t take me long to figure out that other way. Was this your plan?”
Help, I message, hoping that someone on my team is paying attention to their portable despite being very busy and preoccupied with shooting lots of looters. Jarren caught me. We’re outside the chem lab. “No. Officer Radcliff gets all the credit.” My voice squeaks.
He snorts in derision. “I wouldn’t say all. You provided all the worming needed to execute the plan, and to find me on Yulin, and to alert him about the missile, and to tip him off about this attack, and to keep me from communicating with my people.” His hold on my braid tightens and the barrel of the weapon digs in harder. Pain spreads along my scalp and forehead as fear’s icy tendrils snake around my heart.
“How did you find me?” I ask, hoping to delay him.
“You shouldn’t have picked your favorite hiding place, Little Worm.”
He remembered.
“Come on.” He grabs my arm and drags me back into the chemistry lab, pushing me in front of him.
I stumble, turn around, and stop. Jarren has the energy wave gun leveled at me. Pure panic sweeps through me as my heart decides to tunnel its way out of my body through my stomach.
“You know what this can do?” he asks.
“Yes.” The energy from the weapon can pulverize all the bones in my body. Death would be instant. I hope.
“Don’t try anything or this time I’ll make sure you stay dead before I leave.” He aims over