“You call yourself SIN? Is that supposed to make me trust you?”
“I suppose in English that it is an unfortunate acronym. But we are like your CIA. We collect information about groups that are a threat to our country.”
She looked at him incredulously. “You think we’re a threat to your country?”
“You and your colleagues are a threat to my country,” he replied. “So you can talk to me, or you can talk to someone who is . . . not me.”
Taylor just looked at him for a moment, then said, “What do you want to know?”
He walked back to his seat and picked up his pen. “We’ll begin with your name. What is your name?”
“Taylor.”
“Taylor what?”
“Taylor Swift.”
He looked at her coolly. “Okay, Miss Swift. What state in the United States are you from?”
“Utah.”
“Utah,” he repeated. “Tall mountains. Who sent you here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Who sent you to Peru? Someone wanted the power plant destroyed; who was it? A rival corporation? A foreign military power?”
“It wasn’t anyone. We didn’t come down to destroy the power plant. We came down because the Elgen were keeping my friend’s mother captive.”
“What friend?”
Taylor looked down for a moment, then said, “Just a friend.”
“Someone we have in captivity?”
She looked at him. “Yes.”
“Which one?”
“Ostin,” she said.
He wrote something on the pad.
“How did you get to Peru?”
“We flew.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“Which airline?”
Taylor swallowed. “Uh, Delta.”
“We have checked the records of every airline that flies into Peru, and there is no record of you and your friends ever arriving.”
“We drove,” Taylor said.
“You drove to Peru?”
Taylor nodded.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded again.
“How long did it take you to drive from . . . Utah?”
“A little over a week.”
“Really?”
She swallowed. “Give or take a few days.”
“Where are the cars you drove?”
“We sold them once we got down here.”
He tapped his pad with his pen. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“To whom?”
“I don’t know who they were. Just some guys we met. I think they were probably drug dealers because they paid in cash. They didn’t want us to ask a lot of questions.”
“And where are your passports?”
“They took them from us.”
“The . . . drug dealers who bought your car?”
“Yes. I mean, no. The passport people.”
“The passport people?”
“Why do you keep repeating everything I say?”
“I just want to be sure that I am understanding you. The passport people took your passport. You mean the passport agents at the border.”
“If that’s what you call them.”
He nodded. “They don’t usually keep them.”
“They kept ours.”
“Did you cross the Panama Canal by ferry, or did you just drive around it?”
Taylor squinted. “We drove around it.” Then added, “It was faster.”
He nodded. “I’m sure it was.” He looked at her for a moment, then stood. “Okay, Taylor Swift. Thank you for your cooperation. One last question.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you plan on holding a concert while you’re in Peru?”
Taylor blushed.
“But if you drove from the U.S. to Peru in one week, you should be a race-car driver instead of a famous singer, because it would take at least three weeks if you never stopped. But what is most impressive is that you drove around the Panama Canal. I’ve heard of people walking on water, but driving on water is even more miraculous.”
He leaned forward. “I’m disappointed in you, Taylor Ridley from Meridian, Idaho. Aside from your first name, I don’t believe you’ve told me a single truth since we began. I don’t think you have any idea how much trouble you’re in. You’ve cost this country millions and millions of dollars.”
“Bill me,” Taylor said.
The man grinned. “They just might, you know. The cost will be your life.” He leaned forward. “You don’t really understand how serious this is, do you? You and your friends have been branded terrorists. The punishment for terrorism in this country is execution.”
Taylor’s eyes began to well up. But still she didn’t speak.
“All right, then,” he said, turning toward the door. “We’ll see how you do with the Elgen interrogators.” He turned to go.
“Wait,” Taylor said. “I’m sorry.”
He stopped and looked back. “You’re sorry?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And what am I supposed to do with that?”
“I’ll tell you the truth.”
He looked at her for a moment, then said, “Will you?”
She exhaled slowly. “I’ll tell you what I can. I promise.”
“We’ll see what good your promise is.”
“What I told you about my friend’s mother was true. That’s why we came.”
“Which friend?”
Taylor swallowed. “Someone you don’t know. Look, you need to know something. You’ve got the wrong guys.”
“You’re telling me that you didn’t blow up the power plant?”
“I’m telling you that the Elgen are the bad guys. They’re not here to help your country. They’re here to take it over. Once they control all your electricity, they will control your country. We did you a favor.” Taylor looked into his eyes. “I’m telling you the truth. We didn’t come to blow up an electricity plant. We’re a bunch of teenagers. At home I’m a cheerleader. We only came to Peru because they kidnapped my boyfriend’s mother.”
“Who kidnapped your boyfriend’s mother?”
“The Elgen.”
He just looked at her. “And why would they do that?”
“Because they were trying to catch us.”
“Then you shouldn’t have come.”
“I know. But it was his mother.”
He nodded. “So, did you find her?”
“Yes.”
He looked at her skeptically. “And where is your boyfriend’s mother now?”
“She got away.”
“With your boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“What is your boyfriend’s name?”
She hesitated. Finally she said, “Michael.”
“Michael what?”
“Michael Vey.”
He stared at her for a moment. “I’m supposed to believe this?”
“Believe what you want to believe,” Taylor said. “But why would a bunch of high school kids come to Peru to blow up an electricity plant?”
He crossed his arms. “That’s what I’m trying to find out. But you haven’t told me anything that makes sense.”
“I’ve told you the truth. You can believe me now, or you can believe me after the Elgen take over your country.”
“My country. Speaking of which, how did you get into the country?”
She hesitated.
“I need to know.”
She paused a moment longer, then slowly breathed out. “There are people besides us who know how bad the Elgen are. They flew us down in their plane.”
“What people?”
“I don’t know anything about them.”
“I’m sorry, that’s not a good enough answer.”
“I’m telling you the truth. They only talk to us by cell phone. I don’t know who they are. The guy calls himself ‘the voice.’ ”
The man rested his chin in hi
s hand and looked at her.
“You have to believe me.”
The man nodded. “I believe you.”
Taylor frowned. “You have to help us. The Elgen are bad, bad people.”
He paused a moment longer, then said, “Thank you. I’ll pass that on to my superiors. That’s all for now.” He reached back and rapped his knuckles on the door. “Terminamos ya.”
“What are you going to do with us?” Taylor asked.
“You’ll be taken to Lima, where you will go on trial for terrorism.”
Taylor wiped a tear from her cheek. “I told you, we weren’t attacking your country. We were fighting the Elgen.”
“What you did was a direct assault on our country.”
“If they find us guilty, what will they do to us?”
“If you’re lucky, they’ll keep you in prison until you’re a very old woman.”
The thought of it sent chills through her. “That doesn’t sound lucky,” she said.
“It is compared to the alternative.”
“The alternative?”
The man looked her in the eyes. “You’ll never be an old woman.” The man stood and opened the door. “Traigame el siguente.”
*
Behind the two-way mirror an Elgen captain lifted his phone and said into it, “Four, two, Charley, Alpha, Vixen, Omega.”
“Go ahead,” someone returned.
“This is Captain Moyes. I need to speak immediately with Captain Welch.”
“Just a moment, sir.”
A minute later Captain Welch answered. “What is it, Moyes?”
“We’ve just finished the first interrogation.”
“Which one?”
“Sixteen. Tara’s twin.”
“Anything interesting?”
“The most vital information we’ve gotten yet. The kids aren’t alone.”
“What do you mean, they’re not alone?”
“Someone’s helping them. They’re part of a resistance.”
“You’re sure of this?”
“Absolutely.”
“Well done. I’ll alert Dr. Hatch.”
An hour after Ostin had been incarcerated, a single soldier walked into his cell. Ostin was lying on his back on the thin, flea-infested cot, staring at the cracked ceiling. The guard had no gun but held a wooden truncheon in one hand. “Stand up,” he said.
“Qué pasa?” Ostin said, slowly rising.
“Stand up. Hazlo!”
“Okay,” he said. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
The guard looked at him without comprehension.
Ten minutes earlier, Ostin had reattached the RESAT to his chest, and when he was arm’s length from the soldier, he tapped on the box. “Can you turn this thing down? It’s too strong.”
“No. Put your hands in front of you.”
Concealing the RESAT wires in his hands, Ostin held his hands out. As the guard brought the cuffs near, Ostin touched the bare-ended wires to the guard’s arms. There was a loud snap of electricity, and the man collapsed to the ground without a scream.
Ostin looked down at him. “I told you it was too strong.” Ostin crouched down next to the man to make sure he was out. “So that’s what it’s like to be Michael.” He carefully rolled the wires back, then quickly undressed the guard and put on his uniform. The guard was an inch shorter than Ostin, and the uniform fit well except for being a little snug in the waist.
When Ostin had finished changing, he handcuffed the guard’s hands behind his back, stuffed the man’s socks into his mouth, then wrapped a sheet around the man’s head to keep him from spitting the socks out. He took the guard’s key and bludgeon, peered out of his cell, and when he saw no one, walked out into the corridor.
The jail was small, a single corridor about sixty feet in length, with doors on each side. Ostin had no idea which cells his friends were being kept in, so he tried the key in the first door next to his, opened it, and quickly stepped inside. Zeus was lying on the bed, his face bent in a grimace. Sweat was beading on his forehead, stress from a RESAT that was set too high.
“Oye!” Ostin shouted.
Zeus sneered. “Eat my shorts, you ape.”
“I’ll pass,” Ostin said, stepping closer.
Zeus looked over at him. “Ostin? How did you . . .”
Ostin took the wires from the RESAT and hooked them to Zeus’s machine. “I’m going to unfasten this.”
“No, don’t,” Zeus said. “It sets it off. It could kill me.”
“Shouldn’t,” he said. He set his own RESAT on the bed next to Zeus. “I rewired this to counter yours. I’m ninety-nine point six percent sure that it will work.”
Zeus looked at it a moment, then said, “Are you sure?”
“I just told you how sure I am.” Ostin grasped the closest fastener on Zeus’s RESAT, then unlatched it. The RESAT immediately lit up.
“It’s powering up,” Zeus said anxiously.
“I know,” Ostin said. Suddenly the machine began to squeal.
“Ostin . . .”
“Does it feel different?”
“No.”
“Then don’t sweat it.”
Zeus didn’t feel it getting stronger. If anything, his pain was diminishing.
“I think it’s working,” Zeus said.
“For a minute,” Ostin said. “We’ve got to get it off you. The capacitor can only hold so much electricity before it will blow.”
“Now you tell me.” Zeus frantically unfastened the rest of the clips, then pushed the box away from him. He fell back against the wall and took a deep breath, groaning in relief.
“You’re welcome,” Ostin said, grabbing Zeus’s RESAT and prying off its back.
“Thank you,” Zeus said. “I’m going to blast those guys to the next city.”
“Bad idea,” Ostin said. “We’re still surrounded, and they’ve still got guns.” He yanked a few wires off the RESAT, then snapped on the back of the RESAT and gave the box back to Zeus. “Here, put it back on.”
“I’m not putting that on,” he said, looking at the flashing lights.
“It doesn’t work anymore,” Ostin said. “It just looks like it does. If you walk out there without it on, they’ll know something’s up.”
Zeus slid his arms through the straps, and Ostin clipped the fasteners back in place. He looked at Ostin. “What’s next?”
“We need to find the others. Then we’re going to capture a few soldiers, put on their uniforms, and walk the rest of us out of here. That’s the only way we’re going to get past all those guards.”
“Do you know what’s outside this place?”
“Other than like ten thousand soldiers? No. We need Ian. If there’s a weakness, I’m sure he’s already found it. Do you know what room he’s in?”
“No. I had a hood over my head when they brought me in.”
“Yeah, we all did.” Ostin walked to the cell door. “All right, I’m going to open it. When no one’s watching, I’m going to cross the hall and open the door across from us. Get ready to run.”
Ostin opened the cell door a half inch and peered out. No one was in the hall. He turned back to Zeus. “It’s clear. Come on.”
Zeus walked up behind him. Ostin looked out again, then they both ran across the hall. Ostin shoved the key in the door, unlocked the cell, and pushed the door open.
“It’s us . . . ,” he said, as the door swung open. There were at least twenty dirty and angry-looking Peruvian convicts staring at him.
“Sorry, wrong room,” Ostin said, stepping back.
“Atacquenlos!” a large, bearded man shouted.
“Vámonos!” another shouted, rushing toward Ostin.
Ostin froze in the doorway, paralyzed by fear. Zeus pushed Ostin aside and with both hands extended, blasted the approaching men. The electricity from his bolt splintered off, traveling through all of the men simultaneously, and all of them fell to the ground, one of them grasping his chest. Zeus grabbed Ostin a
nd pulled him out of the room.
“Wrong curtain, man,” he said, pulling the door shut. They went to the next door, which Ostin, though still shaken and fumbling with the key, managed to unlock. This time he opened the door more cautiously. At first neither of them saw anyone. Then Zeus pointed to the corner. “There she is.”
Lying on her back on the concrete floor next to the far wall was McKenna. Her back was arched and her long black hair was splayed out around her. Zeus pushed Ostin inside the cell and shut the door behind them.
“McKenna,” Ostin said. Then he realized that she was convulsing. “No!” He rushed to her side. Her entire body was seized and her eyes had rolled back in her head. “It’s killing her!” Ostin shouted. “It’s too high!”
“Shut it off,” Zeus said.
Ostin fell to his knees on the ground next to her. He fastened the wires of his RESAT to hers and practically ripped the machine off of her. She immediately gasped, then fell still.
“McKenna!” Ostin shouted.
Zeus put his finger on her throat, then his ear to her heart. “It’s not beating.”
“CPR,” Ostin said. He began pressing on her chest, then listened. Then repeated. “I can’t get anything,” he said.
Zeus pulled him off her. “Stand back.”
He put his hand over McKenna’s heart. “Hold on.” He shocked her, and her entire body jumped. He put his head on her chest. Nothing. He leaned back and tried it again. “Come on, McKenna.” Her body jumped even more. Then she groaned. He put his ear to her chest. This time he could hear her heart.
“It’s beating.”
Her eyes opened, then she began to cry.
Ostin knelt back next to her. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry.” He wiped the tears off her cheeks. She looked up at him gratefully.
When she could speak she said, “Thank you.”
“Anything for you,” he said.
“We’ve got to hurry,” Zeus said. “Before they find out we’re gone.”
“Can you stand?” Ostin asked.
“I think so,” McKenna said. “Just help me up.”
Ostin stood, and, taking her hands in his, helped her to her feet. After she was standing, her legs buckled a little and she fell into him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her up until she could stand on her own. “Sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay,” Ostin said. “Take your time.
Zeus looked at them impatiently. “Not a lot of time.”