The Edge of Armageddon

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

Hayden slipped and bumped around in the rear of the small truck. The legionnaires had deposited her, still strapped to the bomb, in back, at their feet as they occupied the benches on both sides. The trickiest part of the entire trip was maneuvering her out of the apartment block. The legionnaires wasted no time trying to disguise her; they shoved her where they wanted her to go and walked with guns exposed. Anyone who saw them would be killed. Luckily for them, most people seemed to be heeding warnings and staying home in front of their TVs or laptops. Ramses made sure Hayden saw the truck that pulled up at the curb alongside the dark alley, grinning all the time.

Black with SWAT markings.

Who would stop them? Question them? In time, perhaps. But that was the whole point of everything that had happened so far. The speed and execution of every part of the plan had tested America’s responses beyond the limit. Reactions had been anticipated, and the real kicker was that the terrorists simply didn’t care. Their only agenda was the death of a nation.

They used 57th Street to head east, avoiding patrols and cordons where they could. The snarls were there, the odd abandoned vehicle and groups of onlookers, but Gator himself was a New York native, and knew all the quieter, seemingly fruitless routes. The city’s grid system helped, making it easy for the driver to return to a pre-planned route. They went slowly, carefully, knowing the Americans were still responding, still anticipating, and only a few hours into realizing that the bomb might already be there.

Even now, Hayden knew, there would be White House officials advising caution, quite unable to accept that their borders had been compromised. There would be others scrambling to engineer a profit from the situation. Still more getting the hell out of Dodge and screw the taxpayers. She knew Coburn though, and hoped his closest advisors were as dependable and savvy as he.

The journey bruised her. The legionnaires kept her steady with their feet. Sudden stops and large potholes made her nauseous. The backpack moved beneath her, its hard innards always unnerving. Hayden knew this was what Ramses wanted — her final moments to be filled with terror as the timer ticked down.

Less than half an hour passed. The roads were quiet, if not empty. Hayden couldn’t tell for sure. In another novel twist to his plan Ramses ordered Gator to tie Marsh and Sheers to the bomb alongside Hayden. These two complained and fought and even began to scream, so Gator duct taped their mouths and noses, sat back until they subsided, and then gave their nostrils chance to draw in a little air. Marsh and Sheers then began to cry almost in unison. Maybe they had harbored dreams of release. Marsh squealed like a new-born and Sheers sniffed like a boy with man-flu. As a punishment for them both — and unfortunately for Hayden too — Ramses ordered them strapped naked to the nuke, which caused all kinds of problems, contortions and even more sniffling. Hayden bore it well, imagining the Lovecraftian horror they might now resemble and wondered how the hell they were going to get through the zoo.

“We’ll finish inside,” Gator regarded the mass critically. “Five minutes tops.”

Hayden noticed the bombmaker spoke perfectly well when dealing with his boss. Maybe anxiety caused the shrill rise in his voice. Maybe excitement. She refocused as the truck pulled to a halt and the driver let the engine idle for a few minutes. Ramses exited the cab and Hayden figured they might be at the entrance to the zoo.

Last chance.

She struggled mightily, tried to rock from side to side and scrape the duct tape away from her mouth. Marsh and Sheers groaned and the legionnaires planted their boots upon her, making it hard to shift, but Hayden fought back. All it needed was an odd crash, an out-of-place rocking motion, and flags would be raised.

One of the legionnaires cursed and jumped over her, crushing her even harder to the nuke and the bed of the vehicle. She groaned into the duct tape. His arms enfolded her body, preventing all movement, and by the time Ramses returned she could not breathe.

With a gentle rev of the engine the truck started forward again. Slowly, it drove and the legionnaire removed himself. Hayden sucked in lungfuls of air, cursing her luck and the faces of all those that surrounded her. Presently, the vehicle halted and the driver turned off the engine. Silence descended as Ramses, now clad in a rudimentary SWAT uniform, stuck his head into the back.

“Target achieved,” he said emotionlessly. “Wait for my signal and get ready to carry them between you.”

Helpless, it was all Hayden could do to breathe as five legionnaires positioned themselves around the bizarre bundle and prepared to lift. Ramses banged on the door, the all-clear, and one man flung it open. Then the legionnaires heaved the bundle into the air, carried it out of the van and along a tree-lined path. Hayden blinked as daylight stung her eyes, and then grabbed a brief glimpse of where she was.

A wooden canopy stretched overhead, supported by frequent brick pillars, wrapped around with greenery. A well-presented and paved sun-trap it was currently deserted, as Hayden imagined was the rest of the zoo. Perhaps a few hardy tourists were taking advantage of the uncrowded sights, but Hayden doubted the zoo would be allowed to admit anyone for the next few hours. Most likely Ramses had convinced the zoo’s guards that SWAT was here to ensure the area was entirely safe. They were carried along a path lined by arches and hanging greenery until a side door stopped them. Gator gained access by force, and then they were inside a high-ceilinged area composed of wooden walkways, bridges, and many trees that helped with the humid atmosphere.

“Tropical zone,” Ramses nodded. “Now Gator, arm the package and set it well into the undergrowth. We don’t want any early accidental sightings.”

Hayden and the rest of her precarious bunch were deposited onto a wooden floor. Gator adjusted a few straps, added more duct tape for stability, and then fiddled with a roll of extra wire until he announced that the detonator was securely twined around the prisoners.

“And the rocker switch?” Ramses asked.

“Do you really want to add that?” Gator asked. “Marsh and Sheers might set it off prematurely.”

Ramses gave the man a speculative nod. “You are right.” He hunkered down beside the bundle, the backpack resting on the floor, Hayden tied directly on top and then Marsh and Zoe atop her. Ramses’ eyes were level with Julian Marsh’s head.

“We will be adding a sensitivity switch,” he said softly. “A rocker device that, if you are lifted or perform any big movements, makes the bomb detonate. I advise that you remain still and await the arrival of Miss Jaye’s team mates. Don’t worry, it won’t be long.”

His words sent shivers all the way down Hayden’s body. “How long?” she managed to gasp.

“The timer will be set for one hour,” Ramses said. “Just enough time to allow Gator and I to reach safety. My men will remain with the bomb, a last surprise for your friends, if they manage to find you.”

If?

Ramses stood up, taking a final look at the package he had had made, at the human flesh and the storm of fire beneath them, at the terrified expressions and the power he exhibited over all of them.

Hayden closed her own eyes, now unable to move, a terrible pressure crushing her chest against the ungiving bomb and making breathing beyond difficult. These might be the last moments of her life, and she could do no more as she heard Gator gloat about fitting the sensitivity switch, but she would be damned if she would spend them in the Tropical Zone of the New York Central Park Zoo. Instead she would drift away to the best times of her life, to Mano and their time in Hawaii, to the trails of Diamond Head, the surf of North Beach and the volcanic mountains of Maui. The restaurant on the active volcano. The seat above the clouds. The red dirt beyond the roads. The lamps flickering along Kapiolani and then the beach to end all beaches, foaming under the spreading red fire of dusk and hassle-free, the one true place in the world where she could cast off all the stress and the worries of living.

Hayden went there now, as the clock ticked down.