Drake heard Hayden urging vigilance and telling a clearly irate individual that they’d soon be there to take charge.
“So this electrical grid,” Drake said. “I assume this isn’t the first time somebody’s thought to take it down. Surely there are contingencies in place.”
“Sure there are,” Hayden said. “But it’s the Z-boxes that pose the problem. Don’t you remember? They crack codes and the Pythians went to unbelievable lengths to acquire them. I guess this is a first step and I guess that they will override all contingencies.”
As Hayden spoke, Drake saw Kinimaka drift away to make another call. Since the big Hawaiian gravitated over to his side of the plane the Yorkshireman heard every word.
“Mahalo, sister. How are you?”
Kinimaka listened for a moment before going ahead with what he needed to say. “Kono, the stalkings are worsening. We have people watching you but you still have to be careful. Okay? No trying to blow them off. They’re around for your safety. This is serious—”
An answer stopped him short.
“I can’t say when or how long. But please, change the habit of a lifetime and listen to your brother. I might not have done so well by you in the past but I’m trying to make up for that now. Okay?”
Drake tuned out, feeling a little intrusive. Hayden still concentrated their thoughts on the Z-boxes. “The Chinese developed them to be able to crack every code, every PIN, every cypher out there. Nuclear programming. Cyber warfare. Missile data. If they’re in our system then we’re already in deep shit. Counter programming is a good idea. A deterrent. But sooner or later somebody’s going to come up with something totally off the wall… and mad-dog crazy. If the Z-boxes can already crack our passwords and download information then they can be used to take everything down.”
“They must need some kinda access,” Smyth put in. “Since substations and the like are mostly self-contained.”
“Hence, an attack,” Hayden said. “Now, I have another idea. Since this substation and the ghost ships are around California and Arizona then maybe we can split our forces? End the threat and grab a Pythian whilst we’re at it. Bell, at least, is in the field according to Beau. We’ll check out the substation and then separate. Yes?”
Drake’s thoughts centered round their dwindling numbers and all they had lost of late. Komodo, taken whilst saving Mai’s life. Mai herself feeling obligated to help Grace in Japan. Alicia, forging toward her own destruction with the Gold Team. Some fresh blood wouldn’t go amiss and, as reluctant as he was to admit it, a friendly Beauregard Alain could be a significant asset.
“We’re only eight strong,” he said. “But if we can isolate this substation and stop the mercs I’m up for that.”
“And snatching a Pythian would be a major success,” Dahl said.
Yorgi spoke up fast. “I volunteer for ghost ship quest,” he said thickly. “I no good with all this fighting.”
“Me too,” Karin said quietly. “For now.”
Drake was just glad to hear her contributing. “All right. Me too. How about Hayden, Mano and the Swede take the substations?”
Dahl cocked his head. “The Swede? Really?”
“Yeah, dumbass. That’s you.”
“Oh, please grab my sides to stop them from splitting with laughter.”
Hayden glanced around. “Pilot says we’re about to land. Once grounded we have a ten minute journey to Almaden. Are we ready?”
A stream of affirmative expletives rang out.
Her cell rang again. This time her expression changed almost immediately. When she ended the call her face was dark with anger.
“The fucking facility just got hit by a huge force. There was no extra security. No extra guards. Not even local cops. Some pretentious bastard’s gonna hang for this one. I know this is a big ask, guys, but we’re gonna have to assault a larger force that is already attacking a fortified building. We’re gonna be in one of the hardest battles of our lives.”
The team didn’t need to study each other, didn’t need words to know this was their first real threat since Komodo lost his life.
Drake made a point of exchanging his knife for a much larger one. “Then it’s a good job we’re the best fucking team in the world.”
The plane descended hard.
CHAPTER SIX
Mai Kitano winced as a bolt of pain radiated out from the area in which she had been shot. The wound had healed but the trauma to her body would be everlasting. Still, she had survived that dreadful night in Hong Kong, that hotel battle, the long chase across the rooftops, the alley-fight afterwards.
Some had not.
Komodo took the blow that had been meant for her. Why would he do that? The man had a future. A girlfriend. A life. What did she have? Nothing but a twisting gut-full of guilt and angst. Nothing but a long downward spiral. Grace was her only salvation. The young woman she had saved from the dreaded hand of the Tsugarai clan was her future, her absolution and her gift all rolled into one. Grace was already far beyond the broken, quiet figure she had saved — the girl was forward, boisterous, even offensive at times. If it had not been for the inescapable sojourn to find her parents’ graves and the agony it bestowed then Mai thought she would already be as close to “normal” as she was ever going to get and fully able to make her own next decision.
Mai shielded her eyes again, now ignoring the twist in her gut. They stood together at the edge of a vast graveyard. Built on the side of a green hill the cemetery descended in steps, each one crammed full of square or rectangular gravestones, mostly gray in color, bordered by trees and dotted by tiny individual lawns. Flowers lay everywhere, adding color to the otherwise austere scene. Narrow paths ran down the center of every step. Mai couldn’t help but lose herself inside a miasma of gloom as she appraised the cemetery.
No gravestone should ever need to have a teddy bear clinging to it.
Tears formed in her eyes and she led Grace downhill as fast as she could. They had already acquired a map from a groundsman and knew where Grace’s parents were buried. Mai thought about them giving up when their daughter vanished. She could never imagine what it must be like for a parent to lose a child and never know…
Such morbid thoughts, she reflected, are surely a part of why this is all happening to us. Snap out of it.
There had to be a way to live again.
But today was always going to be drenched in sadness. The steep slope took her attention for a while, the angle making her stomach hurt yet again. Grace stepped lightly before her, concentrating on the ground. Today, the dark-haired Japanese girl was dressed in loose pants, flat shoes and a simple white blouse. Her hair was clipped back, away from her strained face. Hers was a head that had seen too much and a body that had lived too hard. The next few years should be peaceful to allow her time to catch up. Mai doubted the girl would see things the same way. Headstrong, and thinking she had already experienced the worst of the world she would crave to be out in it.
And Mai didn’t really blame her.