“We should put these on opposite sides of the underbelly,” Tori said, breathless.
“No,” I countered. “I don’t want to take any chances.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m going on board.”
Tori didn’t argue. We were past debating anything.
We entered the hangar and stopped only a few feet from the beast. The giant plane loomed over us, looking far bigger than it did from outside. We stood together gazing up at the behemoth in wonder and fear.
“It really is the angel of death,” Tori whispered.
“So let’s kill it.”
We headed for the ramp. Before stepping up, I looked back at Tori to suggest she take out her gun. I needn’t have bothered. She already had it out. She gave me a nod of confidence that I sorely needed. I took a deep, nervous breath and climbed up.
The ramp brought us into the belly of the plane. It was a cavernous cargo bay, which meant the plane was used to transport large items… when it wasn’t wiping out civilizations. The skeleton of the plane was visible, along with the supports and joints. This was a practical vehicle. It wasn’t built for comfort. The entire structure looked like it was made of the same black composite material as the outside skin.
Ahead, toward the nose of the plane, was a closed hatch that looked as if it would lead to the cockpit. Since the two pilots were gone, I didn’t worry about anybody being there. Just the same, I put my finger to my lips as a warning for Tori to be quiet.
There were a couple of jump seats along the bulkhead, but this plane wasn’t designed for transporting people. On one side of the enormous bay was a large silver canister the size of a hot-water tank. I’d seen the miniature version before. It looked exactly like the devices we had seen in the wreckages of the fallen planes.
It was the laser weapon.
“This isn’t good,” I said.
Tori shook her head with awe.
My fear about what this plane could do was justified. This weapon was far bigger and probably way more powerful than the ones carried in the fighters. When the smaller planes fired on Tori’s father’s boat and killed Quinn, it took the combined light beams from three different planes to create a single, intense ray of light that was strong enough to disintegrate the boat. And Quinn.
I had to believe that the bad boy on this giant craft didn’t need any help.
I pulled out the explosive disk and nudged Tori to do the same.
“Put yours in the middle of that thing,” I said, pointing to the weapon. “Fix it low so it won’t be obvious.”
“What about yours?” she asked.
“I’ll put it someplace where it will do the most damage.”
Tori went to the weapon to lay her charge while I scanned the craft for something that looked like an engine. I skirted the hatch opening at the top of the ramp and went for the tail. These weren’t ordinary planes with traditional jet engines. Instead of the roar that comes from fuel-burning turbines, these planes emitted oddly pleasant musical notes. What kind of engine did that? What did it look like?
The hold was as wide as it was long. This was no sleek, streamlined aircraft. It was shaped more like a sci-fi flying saucer than an aerodynamically efficient jet. But these things could move and maneuver way better than any conventional jet. They could take off and land vertically, hover in place, and launch in an instant, all while firing their weapons.
I walked to the rear to see a silver-metallic cabinet that ran the width of the craft. It came up to my waist and was four feet deep with a flat surface. It was sealed. There was no way to see what was inside. I tentatively reached out, put my palm flat on the top—and quickly pulled it back.
The surface was warm. My hand tingled. Whatever was inside was active. It may have been the engine, or the fuel supply, or the powerful weapon that worked during the day firing bursts of destructive energy for all I knew. Whatever it was, it was an integral part of the plane. It was as good a place as any to set my charge.
I pulled the disk out of my pocket, peeled off the protective layer to reveal the glue side, and fixed it to the dead center of the cabinet near the deck.
“What is that thing?” Tori asked as she joined me.
“I’m hoping it’s the engine.”
I programmed in the code and entered it, then reset my stopwatch to zero.
In thirty minutes the plane would be crippled.
“Let’s get out of here,” Tori said.
She got no argument from me. We started for the front of the plane…
…as one of the pilots charged up the ramp.
We froze. If he turned around, he’d see us and we’d be done.
The guy was in too big of a hurry to do anything but sprint to the hatch at the front of the plane. When he opened it, I caught a quick glimpse of a high-tech console with multiple computer screens. It had to be the cockpit. The pilot jumped inside and slammed the hatch behind him.
“We gotta go, now,” I said and pulled Tori toward the ramp.
A high-pitched whine filled the cargo area as the ramp began to lift back into the plane.
“No!” Tori cried.
We dove for the rapidly shrinking exit… too late. The ramp had become a hatch that sealed the plane with a solid, sucking sound.
We were trapped on board.
“Look around for a release lever,” I urged.
We began a frantic search for an emergency release that would blow open the hatch.
We came up empty.
Tori whispered, “It’s okay. Relax. We’ve got half an hour. By then we’ll find a way to get—”
The plane lurched.
We were moving.
I heard the musical notes. They were coming from the sealed locker at the rear of the plane. At least I was right about one thing: That was the engine. There was a slight tremor that told us we were under power. There was another bump and the unmistakable sway that meant we were airborne. A mechanical humming followed, which must have been the landing tripod retracting. The plane lurched again. We were moving, which made it difficult to stand upright. Without windows, we had no visual reference to tell us which way we were going or how fast.
“The cockpit,” I said. “Get your gun.”
She gave me a quick, nervous look but shook it off and pulled out the Glock. We managed to stumble our way toward the hatch. Tori stood with her feet planted and the gun stabilized with both hands while I went for the small handle. She gave me a quick “ready” nod. I reached for the handle…
…and we were both thrown to the deck.
The plane had accelerated so quickly that we had no time to brace ourselves. We were climbing, fast. Tori and I were thrown to the deck and had trouble sitting up under the g-force caused by the acceleration.
“The seats!” I called out.
We struggled against the pressure of acceleration to crawl to the jump seats that were lined up against the fuselage on the opposite side of the craft from the laser weapon. We had almost gotten there… when the floor disappeared.
Tori squealed with terror, and I think I shouted too.
It took a second for me to realize that the floor hadn’t actually vanished but had become transparent. It was horrifying to see the ground fall away as we quickly rose into the night sky. The deck was just as solid as before. It was just… invisible.
I tried not to look down as we pulled ourselves up and onto the jump seats. As soon as I planted my butt in the seat, a soft plastic strap automatically appeared and lashed me in. Same thing happened to Tori. It was yet another example of the advanced technology that these planes possessed.
Tori and I held hands for strength and gazed down between our feet to witness the sea of black planes on the ground as we rose above the airfield. Many of them had billows of smoke spewing from their damaged fuselages, the handiwork of the saboteurs.