Ben stretched out on a rock twenty yards away. Layla went over to him. “Are you okay?”
“A few scratches, nothing major.”
“Do you have any idea where Jackson went? Think. We need to put our differences aside. Fight this thing together.”
He shrugged. “Charlie and Gregor? You’re joking, right?”
“I’m being serious. Unless we come up with something soon, well, you know what’ll happen.” Ben flashed a glance at Gregor, who still stared into the clear blue sky. He sheepishly looked back at Layla. She lowered her voice, “If you know something, now is the time to say.”
“Charlie’s got a plan. I don’t know what exactly, but he’s been working on it for some time. I know where he’ll be,” Ben trailed off.
She resisted the strong urge to punch him in the face. “I swear, if you don’t start talking—”
Ben failed to spot Gregor moving around behind him. He wrapped his arm under Ben’s chin and squeezed tightly.
“I’m giving you a minute before I snap your neck,” Gregor said.
Ben’s face reddened. He gasped. “I’ll tell you. Please. Let go.”
Gregor loosened his grip and grabbed the back of Ben’s hair. Layla leaned toward him. “This is no time for games. Where will he be?”
“Ridgway. The clock tower. Noon tomorrow. I’m supposed to meet him. Give him information about the shuttle runs.”
“Did he say why?” Layla said.
“That’s all I know. I wasn’t going to meet him. I’m with you guys. Honestly.”
Gregor released his hold and slapped the palm of his hand against the side of Ben’s head. “You treacherous little shit.”
“What are you going to do?” Layla asked Gregor.
He threw Ben to one side. “What do you think I’m going to do? Tomorrow, I’ll be in Ridgway, waiting for Jackson to show his face.”
Chapter Thirty
Charlie wiped the debris from his face. His ears were still ringing from the grenade explosion. Using the cloud of smoke and concrete to hide their position, they’d managed to outmaneuver the hunter, using Charlie’s knowledge of the alleys and side streets to get some distance and return to Quaternary HQ.
“What about Denver?” Maria asked as they cleared the sheet metal out of the way and headed into the basement.
“He’ll be okay.” Charlie locked the door behind him and took a breath. Even though the root kept him fit and strong, his age meant that he still felt the fatigue once the adrenaline and the root’s effect wore off. “Come on, we need to go up a few levels.”
Before they entered the basement area, Charlie stopped at a small room previously used by janitors. Mike had converted it to a gun rack. Charlie took a Barrett .50 caliber rifle. If anything would stop that damned croatoan bastard, it’d be that.
Taking the stairs two at a time and wincing with the effort, Charlie led Maria into the third floor, where his old office used to be. His, Mike’s, and of course Pippa’s. It was like a mausoleum.
Desks and computers were still in the same place since the day he’d left it. Papers and books littered the floor, disturbed by the vibrations of war. He made to reach up to the bead necklace and remembered he’d given it to Ben.
It didn’t matter. Pippa’s face was still clear in his mind. She smiled at him with that quirky look of hers. He pictured her bouncing into the office, dirt smudged on her face as she excitedly talked about their next project or some surprising find.
“Are you okay?” Maria said, touching his arm.
“What? Yes, sorry, I just… It doesn’t matter. Okay, stand back from the window, but from somewhere you can use this to spot for me.” He handed her the monocular sight.
“What is it you want me to do exactly?” Maria asked.
Charlie opened the boarded-up window and balanced the Barrett’s barrel across the sill. He rested the rest of the gun on the edge of a desk that he pulled closer.
“That bastard alien is going to have to approach from that street down there. Everywhere else is too dilapidated. It’ll know we had to come this way too. I want you to be a second of pair of eyes to help me focus on it.”
“Okay,” Maria said, pulling a wheeled office chair closer so that she could rest and still get a good view out of the window.
Charlie got himself comfortable, brought the scope to his eye, and checked his distances. All seemed good. He just had to wait. Even if the hunter came at them from the shadows, there was still a ten-foot section of open space it’d have to cross. Hopefully, they’d spot it before it got to that section and gave him time to aim.
They sat in silence for five minutes. Sweat beaded on Charlie’s forehead. He knew Denver would have the part by now and be on his way back. As though he had conjured him with his very mind, Maria excitedly said, “Den’s there, look.”
With an alien weapon in his hands, he came out of a side street, looking to either side, always on alert. “You keep watching him,” Charlie said, not loving this at all.
His fears were born of good instinct. As Denver stepped further out into the open, forty feet behind him the shadows shifted, and the hunter slid out of his position. The bastard was probably there the whole time. Charlie couldn’t quite get a good aim on him. A fallen wall obscured his vision, but he could see the shadows moving now that the noon sun had dipped lower to the west, lengthening the shadows across the sidewalk.
“Oh God, he’s going to see him,” Maria said, tracking Denver’s movements.
“Just wait,” Charlie said.
“We have to warn him.” She placed the monocular down on the desk and approached the window. Charlie pushed her out of the way and took the Barrett to the next window across to get a better angle. That did the trick. He could see the hunter edge out from behind a half-yard-thick fallen wall.
Maria moaned as she got to her feet. “What the hell do you think you’re—”
“Shut up,” Charlie said, glaring at her. She took a step back but kept her eyes on Denver as he came further down the street.
On its knees, the alien raised the rifle and brought its scope to its eye. The glow of the screen illuminated its transparent visor, revealing the tough, leathery skin of its face and a glowing amber eye. This was definitely not a run-of-the-mill croatoan. But even with its fancy tech, Charlie doubted it could withstand a .50 cal round.
“Denver, run!” Maria said from the window, shouting at the top of her voice. Den looked up then behind him and dashed to the side. Charlie was about to yell at her, but when he looked back, the alien had come further out of the shadows. It had heard Maria. It pointed the rifle up at Charlie. They locked eyes, and Charlie pulled the trigger before launching himself to the side.
Both rifles exploded. The alien’s shot rocked the walls of the Quaternary building. A chunk of masonry flew away from the window frame, narrowly missing Charlie’s face.
“You’ve hit him,” Maria said, now standing further back but still watching through the monocular sight.
Charlie took a risk and lifted his rifle to peer through the scope. He saw the hunter crawl away, clutching its right leg. He was surprised that the leg wasn’t severed, but the alien armor was damaged, and its suit took on a lighter color. Yellow blood stained the ground.
“It’s wounded,” Charlie said. “But I don’t know how long we’ll have. We need to leave. Now.”
He grabbed the rifle and Maria’s arm and headed back down the stairs.
Mike and Mai pulled Denver into the basement and locked the door behind him. They all rushed into the workshop area. Breathless, with sweat pouring from him, Denver shrugged off his backpack. They all looked at him expectantly.
“Well?” Charlie said, “Did you get it?”