100 Hours
Page 55
“That was highly manipulative.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes a girl has to play dirty. Two minutes. Find some place to hide, or I’m giving us both up. But I really need you to be my backup, Luke.”
“Damn it, Maddie,” he mumbles. And that’s how I know I’ve won.
4 HOURS EARLIER
GENESIS
“Are you ready? It needs to be now!” I whisper, and Domenica gives me a shaky nod. “Have you ever actually had a seizure?” “I used to get them as a kid. My parents would never let me go anywhere by myself, so I swore that when I grew up, I’d grab my backpack and . . .” Domenica blinks, and her eyes seem to refocus. “Never mind. I’m ready.” She stands, and Indiana and I start a game of war so we won’t be obviously watching her. But she only makes it a few steps before—
“Oh my God, Genesis.”
I look up to see Domenica staring over my shoulder.
I turn, and my cards land on the ground all around me. I forget all about the bomb pressed against my stomach.
Maddie stands on the edge of the clearing.
I stand and blink, expecting her to disappear like a mirage. But she’s still there. “Maddie?” She’s covered in grime, and her eyes look a little glazed. She’s in shock.
How did she get here? How is she still alive?
“Dios mío,” Silvana mutters from somewhere behind me. “Grab her!”
Footsteps stomp past me, and Óscar seizes Maddie’s arm. Rifles swing her way.
“No!” I shout. “Let her go! I’ll take care of her.” The rifles swing my way, and I step back with my hands up, suddenly hyperaware that I’m still wearing a bomb, which would definitely blow up if it were shot. “Please. Just let me see if she’s okay.”
“Let her go!” Sebastián runs past us all and shoves several rifles away from Maddie. He pulls her from Óscar’s grip. “¿Estás bien?” he asks as he looks her over.
Maddie nods slowly, and he turns to me. “Dale. Come get her.”
My eyes water as I step forward.
“Wait,” Silvana shouts. “Where did she come from?”
“She just stepped out of the jungle,” Natalia says. “Out of nowhere.”
“Are you alone?” Silvana demands, inches from my cousin’s face. “Where’s Moisés? And that kid with the cell phone?”
Maddie blinks, but her eyes don’t come into focus.
“How did you find us?” Silvana practically shouts into her face. When Maddie doesn’t answer, she turns to Sebastián. “Something’s wrong. Why would she just give herself up like that?”
“Because she’s clearly in shock and starving.” I try to take Maddie’s arm, but Silvana points her pistol at me until I back away.
“Then how the hell did she find us?”
“Insulin.” Maddie’s so hoarse I can hardly hear her. She’s looking right at me, but her focus is off. “You have my insulin.”
And that’s when I remember.
I frantically pat my shorts pockets until I feel the small vial. “She came back for this,” I say as I pull it from my pocket. “She had no choice.”
Silvana grabs the vial before I can give it to Maddie. She squints as she reads the label. Then she rolls her eyes and gives it back to me. “Take care of her.” She turns to Sebastián. “You watch them both. They’re your problem.”
I lead Maddie to a mat near the fire, and Sebastián follows us. “Look, she’s clearly traumatized,” I tell him. “She’s no threat. Can you just let me get some insulin into her before you start interrogating her?”
He shrugs and sits on a tree stump several feet from our campfire. “Go ahead.”
“Water,” Maddie whispers as I lift her shirt to study her insulin pump. I have no idea how it works.
Sebastián frowns. “What did she say?”
“Can you get her some water? She’s probably dehydrated.” He starts to argue, and I turn on him. “Unless you want to ransom a corpse, go get her some damn water!”
Sebastián scowls at me, then grabs the nearest of his men by the arm. “¡Agua! ¡Ahora!”
While he shouts orders, I turn back to my cousin, her insulin vial in hand, and she looks at me. She really looks at me, with total clarity and focus.
Maddie’s not in shock. But she’s one hell of an actress.
“Genesis.” Her voice is hardly a suggestion of sound. “There are six warheads and two boats on the beach. We have to get everybody out of here.”
3 HOURS EARLIER
MADDIE
“Warheads?” Domenica whispers as she pours more water from a plastic jug into a bottle for me. She and Indiana have gathered close enough to listen as Genesis pretends to get me settled into the hostage situation, but Penelope and Holden just stare at me from across the campfire. Rog seems to be watching everything from his seat beneath a tree on the edge of the clearing.
“Yes. Six of them.” I move slowly as I change my insulin cartridge, clinging to my dehydrated-and-in-shock act to deflect suspicion. “Luke says they’re conventional, so they’re not leaking chemicals or biological hazards, but he thinks that’s enough of a payload—”
“To kill thousands, if they hit the right targets,” Indiana breathes from my cousin’s left.
“Yeah.”
“You found Luke?” Genesis asks as she unscrews the lid of the insulin vial for me. “Where is he?”
“Hiding in the jungle. Watching. Safe, for now.” I glance over my cousin’s shoulder, and find Silvana watching us from one of the other campfires. “Genesis, they’re making homemade submarines, out in the marsh. We saw them loading bricks of cocaine onto one, but some of the bricks looked different. I think they’re bombs.”
“Wait, I thought they wanted your dad to ship their bombs,” Domenica whispers.
“What?” My hands freeze in the process of uncoiling the tubing for my insulin pump.
“That’s why we’re here, Maddie,” Genesis says as she tucks my used medical waste into a pouch in my backpack. “They’re using us as leverage to make my dad ship the bombs into the States.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes a girl has to play dirty. Two minutes. Find some place to hide, or I’m giving us both up. But I really need you to be my backup, Luke.”
“Damn it, Maddie,” he mumbles. And that’s how I know I’ve won.
4 HOURS EARLIER
GENESIS
“Are you ready? It needs to be now!” I whisper, and Domenica gives me a shaky nod. “Have you ever actually had a seizure?” “I used to get them as a kid. My parents would never let me go anywhere by myself, so I swore that when I grew up, I’d grab my backpack and . . .” Domenica blinks, and her eyes seem to refocus. “Never mind. I’m ready.” She stands, and Indiana and I start a game of war so we won’t be obviously watching her. But she only makes it a few steps before—
“Oh my God, Genesis.”
I look up to see Domenica staring over my shoulder.
I turn, and my cards land on the ground all around me. I forget all about the bomb pressed against my stomach.
Maddie stands on the edge of the clearing.
I stand and blink, expecting her to disappear like a mirage. But she’s still there. “Maddie?” She’s covered in grime, and her eyes look a little glazed. She’s in shock.
How did she get here? How is she still alive?
“Dios mío,” Silvana mutters from somewhere behind me. “Grab her!”
Footsteps stomp past me, and Óscar seizes Maddie’s arm. Rifles swing her way.
“No!” I shout. “Let her go! I’ll take care of her.” The rifles swing my way, and I step back with my hands up, suddenly hyperaware that I’m still wearing a bomb, which would definitely blow up if it were shot. “Please. Just let me see if she’s okay.”
“Let her go!” Sebastián runs past us all and shoves several rifles away from Maddie. He pulls her from Óscar’s grip. “¿Estás bien?” he asks as he looks her over.
Maddie nods slowly, and he turns to me. “Dale. Come get her.”
My eyes water as I step forward.
“Wait,” Silvana shouts. “Where did she come from?”
“She just stepped out of the jungle,” Natalia says. “Out of nowhere.”
“Are you alone?” Silvana demands, inches from my cousin’s face. “Where’s Moisés? And that kid with the cell phone?”
Maddie blinks, but her eyes don’t come into focus.
“How did you find us?” Silvana practically shouts into her face. When Maddie doesn’t answer, she turns to Sebastián. “Something’s wrong. Why would she just give herself up like that?”
“Because she’s clearly in shock and starving.” I try to take Maddie’s arm, but Silvana points her pistol at me until I back away.
“Then how the hell did she find us?”
“Insulin.” Maddie’s so hoarse I can hardly hear her. She’s looking right at me, but her focus is off. “You have my insulin.”
And that’s when I remember.
I frantically pat my shorts pockets until I feel the small vial. “She came back for this,” I say as I pull it from my pocket. “She had no choice.”
Silvana grabs the vial before I can give it to Maddie. She squints as she reads the label. Then she rolls her eyes and gives it back to me. “Take care of her.” She turns to Sebastián. “You watch them both. They’re your problem.”
I lead Maddie to a mat near the fire, and Sebastián follows us. “Look, she’s clearly traumatized,” I tell him. “She’s no threat. Can you just let me get some insulin into her before you start interrogating her?”
He shrugs and sits on a tree stump several feet from our campfire. “Go ahead.”
“Water,” Maddie whispers as I lift her shirt to study her insulin pump. I have no idea how it works.
Sebastián frowns. “What did she say?”
“Can you get her some water? She’s probably dehydrated.” He starts to argue, and I turn on him. “Unless you want to ransom a corpse, go get her some damn water!”
Sebastián scowls at me, then grabs the nearest of his men by the arm. “¡Agua! ¡Ahora!”
While he shouts orders, I turn back to my cousin, her insulin vial in hand, and she looks at me. She really looks at me, with total clarity and focus.
Maddie’s not in shock. But she’s one hell of an actress.
“Genesis.” Her voice is hardly a suggestion of sound. “There are six warheads and two boats on the beach. We have to get everybody out of here.”
3 HOURS EARLIER
MADDIE
“Warheads?” Domenica whispers as she pours more water from a plastic jug into a bottle for me. She and Indiana have gathered close enough to listen as Genesis pretends to get me settled into the hostage situation, but Penelope and Holden just stare at me from across the campfire. Rog seems to be watching everything from his seat beneath a tree on the edge of the clearing.
“Yes. Six of them.” I move slowly as I change my insulin cartridge, clinging to my dehydrated-and-in-shock act to deflect suspicion. “Luke says they’re conventional, so they’re not leaking chemicals or biological hazards, but he thinks that’s enough of a payload—”
“To kill thousands, if they hit the right targets,” Indiana breathes from my cousin’s left.
“Yeah.”
“You found Luke?” Genesis asks as she unscrews the lid of the insulin vial for me. “Where is he?”
“Hiding in the jungle. Watching. Safe, for now.” I glance over my cousin’s shoulder, and find Silvana watching us from one of the other campfires. “Genesis, they’re making homemade submarines, out in the marsh. We saw them loading bricks of cocaine onto one, but some of the bricks looked different. I think they’re bombs.”
“Wait, I thought they wanted your dad to ship their bombs,” Domenica whispers.
“What?” My hands freeze in the process of uncoiling the tubing for my insulin pump.
“That’s why we’re here, Maddie,” Genesis says as she tucks my used medical waste into a pouch in my backpack. “They’re using us as leverage to make my dad ship the bombs into the States.”
