Alpha

Chapter Thirty

Bell lowers the radio, and Nuri, who heard it all, says nothing. Nuri, who has heard the soft-spoken man say that he has Bell’s daughter, that he has Athena, says nothing at all.

What she does, she takes the radio from him, sets her fingertips on his cheek, only for a moment. She doesn’t smile. She doesn’t offer platitudes. She just touches him, like that, and Bell knows she is with him.

Then Bonebreaker is coming up on their position, followed by Chaindragger and Cardboard, and Bell takes a breath, lets himself feel it, then lets it go, and tries to let the emotion he is feeling go with it. Watches as Nuri hands over the MP5K she’s been carrying to Board, who nods his thanks, and then all eyes are on him. Bell pulls his phone, makes the call, and tells Brickyard the news.

When the call is done, Bell says, “Costumes. We have ten minutes. Costumes. Target selection, target identification. Costumes don’t mean a thing, the way their hazmat and Tyvek didn’t mean a thing. They’re coming from the east, heading toward the Terra Space ride, we know that, we know which way they’re coming, which way all of them are converging. Watch them walk, hear them talk. They’ll have to put at least one guard at the front of each group, the other will be in the middle or at the back.”

“Ambush,” Board says.

“You better fucking believe it.” Bell looks at Nuri. “You have five minutes, most, to get into costume.”

She blinks. “And do what?”

“Infiltrate. The group we were going to take, they’re coming down from Fort Royal. There’s tunnel access north of the Terra Pad.”

“One of the dressing rooms,” Chain says, nodding.

“Fall in the back, find out who is who, kill the ones who don’t belong.”

Nuri hesitates. “I’m not trained for this, Warlock.”

“You are, you are trained for this. This is intelligence gathering. Shoot the ones you’re sure are wrong in the head. Any doubts, drill them in the leg. They try to return fire, you know they’re hostile.”

She needs a half moment to accept this, and then she’s gone, sprinting for the nearest tunnel entrance.

“Angel of Death,” Bonebreaker says.

“Who has optics?”

Bonebreaker pulls a monocular from his pocket. Bell indicates Chain with his head, watches the handoff.

“Find a high hide, take overwatch,” Bell tells him. “Don’t let them see you. Pick out the targets.”

“Nova’s Tower.” Chaindragger turns the monocular in his hand, makes it disappear into a pocket of his wrinkled coveralls. Then he’s sprinting away as well, north, the opposite direction that Angel took.

“What I said to Angel.” Bell looks at Cardboard, at Bonebreaker. “Any doubt, take the leg. No doubt, two to the head.”

“Done deal,” Cardboard says.

They move.

Bell is ducking beneath one of the on-ramps at Race for Justice, moving fast and low, making for the faux garage, when Brickyard calls him up on coms.

“We have an ID on your inside man,” Ruiz says. “Fuller, Gabriel. U.S. Army, Tenth Mountain, Third Brigade. Was on Operation Mountain Viper, left after his second tour as a sergeant. Prior to that, a model citizen, and before that, he doesn’t exist.”

“Sleeper.”

“That’s the read. No idea who placed him.”

“Understood.”

“The woman you brought into the park today, the ASL interpreter. Dana Kincaid.”

“What about her?”

“Any reason you picked her?”

“ASL-certified and at the top of the call list. Why?”

“Her name’s on a rental agreement with Fuller. We don’t know their relationship.”

For a moment, Bell flashes back to all his paranoia, the Hollyoakes visit and his inability to keep it from coming to pass. A trip planned almost a year in advance of today. A trip planned before Jad and Amy had divorced, and ages before Bell himself knew he would be asked to live his lie in WilsonVille. Rotten fucking luck.

He’s really hoping he’s seen the last of it.

“She can’t be in on it,” he says. “There’s no way whoever put this in play knew I’d need an ASL interpreter today. She wasn’t ever scheduled to work today.”

“Unless this goes deeper and darker than we think.”

“One conspiracy at a time,” Bell says.

“Agreed. Out.”

In the Race for Justice garage there’s a miniature Formula 1 car with WilsonVille characters painted all over it, and a similarly sized NASCAR racer on the lift. There are also fake tools, fake engine parts, and a collection of fifty-gallon oil drums, scaled down to perhaps hold twenty-five, stacked in a pyramid by the entrance. Bell takes his position there, clear lines of sight in almost every direction, including toward Terra Space.

Chaindragger’s voice comes into his ear. “I have eyes on three groups, repeat, all three groups. Converging, ETA two minutes. White, nine. Red, eight. Green, eleven.”

“Bone, Board, take Green,” Bell says. “Four Tangos, the rest are friendlies. Remember, they’re deaf, they won’t respond to verbal.”

Board comes back, says, “Understood.”

“Angel, I have eyes on you. Hold.” Chain pauses. “Red is crossing the bridge at Wild Horse Valley. Hold.”

“I’m going to throw up,” Angel whispers.

“You will not,” Bell tells her.

“Hold on Red. Warlock, White, Soccer Betsy is a Tango, repeat, is a Tango.”

“Soccer Betsy is a Tango.”

“Angel, Red, Lola is possible Tango. Cannot confirm.”

In his ear, Bell hears Angel whisper something about shooting a giant toucan in the leg.

“Angel, Red, they are off the bridge, turning to Green. Recommend you join when they pass the restrooms opposite Warlock’s position.”

“Jesus,” Angel says. “This is not going to work. This is not going to work, they’ll spot me.”

“And do what?” Bell says. “Their whole plan relies on them not revealing themselves. They spot you, they won’t be sure you’re not one of them.”

“You believe that?”

“Yes.”

“Liar.”

“Never to my friends.”

Chain cuts in. “Cardboard, Bonebreaker, I have no positives on Green, repeat, no positives on Green. Angle is bad. Warlock, two more possibles, White, Pooch and a Flashman.”

“Which Flashman?” Bell asks.

“It’s the armored one.”

“Valiant Flashman,” Cardboard says.

There is a pause.

“I used to collect the comics,” Cardboard says.

“Contact imminent,” says Chaindragger.

“We have no targets.” Bell can hear the anxiety in Bonebreaker’s voice. “We have no possibles.”

“We have no time,” Bell says. “Do it.”

And God help us if we miss, he thinks.