Storm of Lightning (2 page)

[Explosion]

“Target is neutralized.”

“Elgen Two, do you copy? Elgen Two, do you copy?”

“Elgen One to Elgen Three, what is status of Elgen Two?”

“There's too much smoke to confirm, Elgen One.”

“Elgen Two, Elgen Two, do you copy? Repeat, Elgen Two, do you copy?”

“This is Elgen Four. We're dropping down to check on Two.”

[Female voice. Automated warning] “Altitude low.”

[Sound of explosion]

“Four, pull out. There's unexploded ordnance.”

“I think that was just a land mine.”

“Too much blast for a land mine, Four.”

“Maybe another fuel tank.”

“. . . Or a weapons arsenal.”

“Good of them to provide the ordnance.”

“Elgen Three, any response from Elgen Two?”

“Still no response, One.”

“Elgen Two, Elgen Two, do you copy?”

“Elgen One, we have a visual. Elgen Two is in flames. There are no signs of survivors.”

“Roger that, Elgen Four. Let's seal the site. All helos clear ground, Nine and Eleven fire napalm.”

“What about Elgen Two?”

“There are no survivors on Elgen Two. Fire napalm on my command.” [Pause] “Fire.”

“Elgen Nine. Napalm released.”

[Explosion]

“Elgen Eleven. Napalm released.”

“Nothing like the smell of napalm in the morning. . . .”

“That is what hell looks like, gentlemen. Let's get out of here before the Mexican air force arrives.”

“What's that, a biplane?” [Laughter]

“All helos back to Elgen Base. Elgen Eleven, record damage, then return with fleet.”

“Copy, One.”

“This is Elgen One reporting to base. Mission accomplished. Target is neutralized. There are no enemy survivors. Repeat, there are no enemy survivors.”

Admiral-General Hatch's office Taiwan Starxource plant

I
t was nearly midnight, and Elite Global Guard Welch stood at attention, his back to the door of Admiral-General Hatch's office. “Sir, we've destroyed the terrorists' home base. The resistance's ranch has been annihilated.”

Hatch nodded but continued reading his book. “What have you done with the prisoners?”

“There were no prisoners taken. There were no survivors.”

Hatch looked up from his book. “No survivors?”

“We killed every last one of them. After our barrage of missiles, we dropped napalm. I've reviewed the footage. The compound looked like Dresden after World War II. I can provide the video for you if you wish.”

Hatch was quiet for a moment. “No, I'll take your word for it.” He set down his book, stood, and walked to the side of the room, avoiding eye contact with Welch. “What is the status of the Electroclan?
Are they still in Taiwan?” Hatch spoke in a low, threatening voice.

Welch stiffened before replying. “They've escaped, sir.”

“Every one of them?”

“Yes, Admiral-General.”

“With the Chinese girl?”

“Yes, sir. We believe they have Jade Dragon.”

Hatch appeared thoughtful for a moment, then said softly, “You failed me.”

Welch swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

Hatch said nothing, just slowly nodded. Welch looked at him quizzically. He had expected Hatch to rage, to explode. Instead Hatch's voice was almost mournful, like a jilted lover's. “Is that all you have to report? That you failed?”

Welch did his best to remain stoic. “Yes, sir.”

Hatch stared at the ground for a moment, then said, “Okay. You've given me your report.”

Okay?
Welch was as baffled as he was nervous. He wondered if Hatch were drunk. He had never seen him behave so calmly in the face of failure.

“What is the word on Schema?” Hatch asked. “Has he been captured yet?”

“No, sir. He's vanished.”

“Vanished?”

“Even before you left Switzerland. One of our men had him for a while, but he disappeared.”

Hatch's brow furrowed. “Who disappeared? Schema or our man?”

“Both, sir.”

Again, Hatch seemed unmoved. “It doesn't matter. Schema's inconsequential.” He poured himself a drink from a crystal decanter, then downed a shot and poured another. “Would you care for a drink, EGG Welch?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” Welch said, his confusion growing. He had expected Hatch's fury. Not a drink.

Hatch poured another shot glass of the caramel-colored liquor and handed it to Welch. “To old times,” he said. “And old friends.”

“To old friends,” Welch repeated.

He drank and quickly put the glass down as Hatch slowly sipped his, looking deep in thought.

“We've been together a long time,” Hatch said. “So much has changed since the beginning. The world has changed.”

“We have changed, sir. We have grown powerful.”

“So we have.” After a moment Hatch said, “We've acquired two new ships to replace the
Watt
: the
Edison
, a battle cruiser from Russia, and the
Franklin
, a Mistral-class amphibious assault ship from France. They are already manned and on their way to Tuvalu, as are the
Ohm
, the
Tesla
, and the
Joule
. They left port six days ago.

“This evening, the
Faraday
and the
Volta
will set sail for Tuvalu. I am flying with EGGs Despain and Bosen to Jakarta to inspect the
Edison
. Then we will fly to Tuvalu for the opening ceremonies of our Funafuti, Tuvalu, Starxource plant. We already have a force of four hundred guards stationed on the island.

“While I am hosting the Tuvaluan dignitaries, the fleet will rendezvous twelve miles from the main island and commence Operation Home Base. If things go as planned—and I expect that they will—we'll overthrow the island and establish our base. We are going to finish what Vey delayed when he blew up the
Ampere
.”

“You don't need me to escort you to Jakarta, sir?” Welch asked.

“No,” Hatch said bluntly. “I have a different assignment for you.”

Welch nodded. “And how may I serve my admiral-general?”

Hatch pressed a button on his desk. “As an example.” Four guards stepped into Hatch's office. “Mr. Politis,” Hatch said calmly. “EGG Welch is officially relieved of his title and command. Strip him of his weapon and insignias and arrest him.”

“Yes, sir.”

Welch paled. “Sir . . .”

Two men took Welch by the arms, removed his sidearm, and handcuffed him. Politis took a knife from his utility belt and cut the EGG and Elgen insignias from Welch's shoulder and breast. “Now what, sir?” Politis asked.

“Take him to the brig. When we reach the Tuvalu plant, he will be put into the rat bowl.”

Welch shuddered as the realization of Hatch's pronouncement spread over him.

“Yes, sir,” Politis said.

“My General,” Welch said.

“Yes,” Hatch said. “I am still your general. You took a vow to serve me until your death, which is precisely what I am requiring of you now—your death. And in fulfilling this duty, your colleagues will understand that I expect my orders to be carried out, and failure is not an option.” He nodded at Politis.

“Move it,” Politis barked, pulling Welch from the room.

When everyone was gone, Hatch downed the rest of his drink, then poured another. “To old friends.”

M
y name is Michael Vey. Right now I'm sitting in a private jet, staring at my hand. It's shaking. And it's sparking, which, if you don't know anything about me, might sound a little weird. If you know who I am, then you know I'm electric. Even though the lights are off in the plane, the sparks arcing between my fingers are bright enough to illuminate the plane's fuselage, like strobe lights at a dance club or something. I can't stop it any more than I can stop the twitching from my Tourette's syndrome.

Other than my electricity, it's quiet on the plane. Nichelle got airsick and threw up a couple of hours ago. Earlier, my girlfriend, Taylor, tried to put her arm around me but gave up after I shocked her three times.

I've been getting more electric for some time, but I don't think that's why I'm generating so much electricity right now. I think it's because my electricity is exacerbated by emotion. And at the
moment I have so much emotion, I can barely breathe. It doesn't help that I've slept fewer than four hours in the past two days. Everything in my world is raging.

The Electroclan and I are on a flight back to the United States from Taiwan. We just rescued a young Chinese girl named Jade Dragon from the Elgen. We were at a safe house in Taiwan when we learned that Timepiece Ranch, the headquarters of the resistance, had been destroyed by Elgen forces. The last communication we received from the voice is that there were no survivors.

For me this is personal. My mother was at the ranch. I was only eight when my father died. I remember feeling like my world had died with him. The only person who got me through it was my mother. Now she's gone too. I'm an orphan.

Ostin's parents were also at the ranch. Ostin's never lost anyone close to him, not even a goldfish. He's not taking it well, not that he should. None of us are. McKenna, his girlfriend, has stayed close to him. Even Abigail tried to take away his pain, until he made her stop. He said he felt like he was betraying his parents by not suffering. I keep telling him that we don't really know what happened yet, but I'm lying. It's not like the voice would be wrong about something like this. My mother, Ostin's parents, the resistance, are all gone. The Elgen have killed them all.

Our pilots told us that Taylor's mother had flown back to Idaho before the attack. That's good news for now but, I suspect, not for long. The Elgen do not forgive. It's only a matter of time before the Elgen hunt her down as well.

My emotions are revolving like a great wheel, spinning between denial, hope, despair, and rage—the strongest of which is rage. I want to burn Hatch and the Elgen into ashes. If I could turn myself into a massive bolt of lightning and destroy them all, I would. Even if it took me with them.