100 Hours
Page 59
Silvana sticks her head out of the green tent. “¿Aún más drama con la princesa? What’s going on this time?”
“Are you missing a detonator and a phone?” Sebastián demands as Óscar’s hands trail down my sides.
Silvana disappears into the tent as Óscar pats my back pockets. “She’s clean,” he declares when he comes up empty.
“The hell she is,” Holden shouts. “We saw it!” Rifles swing his way, and Penelope flinches. “Check her again!”
“She doesn’t have anything,” Óscar says. “The boy just wants revenge.”
Silvana throws open the tent flap and charges toward me, her pistol drawn. “Where are they?”
I backpedal, my pulse racing. “I don’t know what you’re—”
“There’s a brick and a phone missing.” Silvana takes my chin and stares down into my eyes. “Lie to me, and I’ll kill every friend you have left.”
1 HOUR EARLIER
MADDIE
Silvana shoves Genesis back by her chin and my cousin lands in the dirt. “Start talking.” Silvana pulls her pistol on Domenica. “Or I will shoot her.” Domenica freezes, staring at the gun.
My pulse roars in my ears.
Indiana glances pointedly at my waist.
Now? I mouth.
He nods.
But what if Luke isn’t back from planting the C-4 yet? What if he’s still too close?
“Wait.” Genesis pushes herself to her feet, hands held up, palms out. “Domenica has nothing to do with this.”
I step behind Indiana and pull the phone from beneath my shirt. Which is when I remember that I don’t have Genesis’s number memorized. I don’t have anyone’s number memorized but hers isn’t even in my favorites list.
Fear paralyzes me for a full second. Then I realize I’m holding Holden’s phone. The Eminem quote on the back of the case is a dead giveaway.
“I’m going to count to three, princesa, then I’m going to start shooting,” Silvana warns, and the tension in the clearing is so thick that I’m afraid to move.
Domenica takes panicked, gasping breaths.
“Silvana. Point that at me,” Genesis insists softly.
They made us disable our pass codes when they took our phones, so I tap the contacts icon. But my hands are shaking. I miss.
Silvana cocks her gun, and I jump. Penelope whimpers.
Desperate, I jab the contacts icon again, and the favorites menu opens. My cousin’s name isn’t there. Damn it.
“Last chance,” Silvana says, and the phone trembles in my hand.
The third entry in Holden’s favorites is “My Bitch.” I tap it once. Twice. Over and over again.
Nothing happens.
I have no signal.
But I saw a guard on his phone earlier. I know there’s reception.
Silvana’s arm tenses on the edge of my vision. Genesis lunges as Silvana pulls the trigger, throwing her arm up. Gunfire explodes, and the shot goes wild.
I spin and hold the phone out from my body, too low to be seen.
One bar.
I almost cry.
I stab the call button once. Twice. Three times.
The call goes through.
For one terrifying moment, I can’t move.
The jungle explodes into fire.
GENESIS
The ground shakes beneath me. I stumble away from Silvana. A pillar of flames and smoke rises over the treetops, half a mile into the jungle. Luke came through.
A low shaking moan comes from the edge of the campsite where Natalia lies, curled up. A thin strip of wood protrudes from her left shoulder. Her pistol lies forgotten on the ground.
“¡Mierda!” Sebastián shouts into the jungle, his face purple with fury. The authorities are searching for us, and we’ve just sent up a huge flare.
“¡Vamos!” Silvana shouts. But instead of pointing at the jungle, she points toward the beach. “¡Oculten el narco! ¡Evacúen!”
Hide the narco? As in narco sub? Maddie said there are several subs.
Gunmen run for the footpath to the shore. Óscar helps Natalia stand, then bends for her pistol. Holden beats him to it.
Another gunman pushes his way out of the military tent, carrying the cardboard box of cell phones.
“Genesis!” Indiana shouts. I turn to look for him, but Sebastián steps into my path. He has Maddie clutched to his chest, his gun pressed to her temple. “You and Madalena are coming with me.”
Maddie’s face is streaked with tears. She’s frozen in terror.
“Okay.” I raise my hands, palms out. “It’s okay, Maddie.” But my focus is on Sebastián. “She’s no threat. Let her go and aim the gun at me.”
He actually laughs. “You tipped your hand with your boyfriend, princesa. The only way to control you is to point a weapon at someone you care about.”
“Sebastián!” Silvana shouts. “¡Vamos!”
He turns for just a second.
“Duck!” I shout, and Maddie lets her legs fold, pulling him off balance. I spin and kick his hand. The pistol goes flying.
Maddie scrambles out of the way, and I spin into another kick. Sebastián catches my foot and shoves me back.
I fall in the dirt, and he’s on me. He grabs a handful of my hair and slams my skull into the ground. My vision swims. My head falls to the side, and I see his pistol lying on a torn leaf mat.
Sebastián pulls his arm back, fist clenched. I buck him off and scramble for the gun. My hand closes around the barrel. Sebastián pulls me across the ground by my leg, skinning my back.
I grunt as I swing the butt of the pistol at his head.
He goes down hard.
MADDIE
I stare at Sebastián’s unconscious body on the ground, stunned. I’ve never actually seen Genesis fight. “Go down to the beach!” Genesis yells at me. “Now!”
But I can’t go without . . .
Where’s Luke?
“Luke!” I shout as I race past the green tent. Panic tightens around my chest. The jungle is on fire, I’m half deaf from the blast, and I have no idea where he is. “Luke!” Smoke stings my eyes. People are running. Shouting.
“Maddie!” Luke’s suddenly beside me. Holding me. “Maddie.” He’s lost his cap, but he’s whole and unburned. And still carrying the rifle. “The boats! Let’s go.” He takes my arm, but I pull away.
“Are you missing a detonator and a phone?” Sebastián demands as Óscar’s hands trail down my sides.
Silvana disappears into the tent as Óscar pats my back pockets. “She’s clean,” he declares when he comes up empty.
“The hell she is,” Holden shouts. “We saw it!” Rifles swing his way, and Penelope flinches. “Check her again!”
“She doesn’t have anything,” Óscar says. “The boy just wants revenge.”
Silvana throws open the tent flap and charges toward me, her pistol drawn. “Where are they?”
I backpedal, my pulse racing. “I don’t know what you’re—”
“There’s a brick and a phone missing.” Silvana takes my chin and stares down into my eyes. “Lie to me, and I’ll kill every friend you have left.”
1 HOUR EARLIER
MADDIE
Silvana shoves Genesis back by her chin and my cousin lands in the dirt. “Start talking.” Silvana pulls her pistol on Domenica. “Or I will shoot her.” Domenica freezes, staring at the gun.
My pulse roars in my ears.
Indiana glances pointedly at my waist.
Now? I mouth.
He nods.
But what if Luke isn’t back from planting the C-4 yet? What if he’s still too close?
“Wait.” Genesis pushes herself to her feet, hands held up, palms out. “Domenica has nothing to do with this.”
I step behind Indiana and pull the phone from beneath my shirt. Which is when I remember that I don’t have Genesis’s number memorized. I don’t have anyone’s number memorized but hers isn’t even in my favorites list.
Fear paralyzes me for a full second. Then I realize I’m holding Holden’s phone. The Eminem quote on the back of the case is a dead giveaway.
“I’m going to count to three, princesa, then I’m going to start shooting,” Silvana warns, and the tension in the clearing is so thick that I’m afraid to move.
Domenica takes panicked, gasping breaths.
“Silvana. Point that at me,” Genesis insists softly.
They made us disable our pass codes when they took our phones, so I tap the contacts icon. But my hands are shaking. I miss.
Silvana cocks her gun, and I jump. Penelope whimpers.
Desperate, I jab the contacts icon again, and the favorites menu opens. My cousin’s name isn’t there. Damn it.
“Last chance,” Silvana says, and the phone trembles in my hand.
The third entry in Holden’s favorites is “My Bitch.” I tap it once. Twice. Over and over again.
Nothing happens.
I have no signal.
But I saw a guard on his phone earlier. I know there’s reception.
Silvana’s arm tenses on the edge of my vision. Genesis lunges as Silvana pulls the trigger, throwing her arm up. Gunfire explodes, and the shot goes wild.
I spin and hold the phone out from my body, too low to be seen.
One bar.
I almost cry.
I stab the call button once. Twice. Three times.
The call goes through.
For one terrifying moment, I can’t move.
The jungle explodes into fire.
GENESIS
The ground shakes beneath me. I stumble away from Silvana. A pillar of flames and smoke rises over the treetops, half a mile into the jungle. Luke came through.
A low shaking moan comes from the edge of the campsite where Natalia lies, curled up. A thin strip of wood protrudes from her left shoulder. Her pistol lies forgotten on the ground.
“¡Mierda!” Sebastián shouts into the jungle, his face purple with fury. The authorities are searching for us, and we’ve just sent up a huge flare.
“¡Vamos!” Silvana shouts. But instead of pointing at the jungle, she points toward the beach. “¡Oculten el narco! ¡Evacúen!”
Hide the narco? As in narco sub? Maddie said there are several subs.
Gunmen run for the footpath to the shore. Óscar helps Natalia stand, then bends for her pistol. Holden beats him to it.
Another gunman pushes his way out of the military tent, carrying the cardboard box of cell phones.
“Genesis!” Indiana shouts. I turn to look for him, but Sebastián steps into my path. He has Maddie clutched to his chest, his gun pressed to her temple. “You and Madalena are coming with me.”
Maddie’s face is streaked with tears. She’s frozen in terror.
“Okay.” I raise my hands, palms out. “It’s okay, Maddie.” But my focus is on Sebastián. “She’s no threat. Let her go and aim the gun at me.”
He actually laughs. “You tipped your hand with your boyfriend, princesa. The only way to control you is to point a weapon at someone you care about.”
“Sebastián!” Silvana shouts. “¡Vamos!”
He turns for just a second.
“Duck!” I shout, and Maddie lets her legs fold, pulling him off balance. I spin and kick his hand. The pistol goes flying.
Maddie scrambles out of the way, and I spin into another kick. Sebastián catches my foot and shoves me back.
I fall in the dirt, and he’s on me. He grabs a handful of my hair and slams my skull into the ground. My vision swims. My head falls to the side, and I see his pistol lying on a torn leaf mat.
Sebastián pulls his arm back, fist clenched. I buck him off and scramble for the gun. My hand closes around the barrel. Sebastián pulls me across the ground by my leg, skinning my back.
I grunt as I swing the butt of the pistol at his head.
He goes down hard.
MADDIE
I stare at Sebastián’s unconscious body on the ground, stunned. I’ve never actually seen Genesis fight. “Go down to the beach!” Genesis yells at me. “Now!”
But I can’t go without . . .
Where’s Luke?
“Luke!” I shout as I race past the green tent. Panic tightens around my chest. The jungle is on fire, I’m half deaf from the blast, and I have no idea where he is. “Luke!” Smoke stings my eyes. People are running. Shouting.
“Maddie!” Luke’s suddenly beside me. Holding me. “Maddie.” He’s lost his cap, but he’s whole and unburned. And still carrying the rifle. “The boats! Let’s go.” He takes my arm, but I pull away.
