Don't Look Now (24 page)

Slowly, he got to his feet. Daisy was gone—hopefully she’d gotten away. The guy at his feet was groaning. Teo hoped that he hurt like hell.

The gunman squinted at him. “You’re not on the list.”

“What list?” Teo said.

The guy paused, then said, “Forget it, kid. Doesn’t matter.”

“Well, if I’m not on the list,” Teo said hopefully, “maybe you can just let me go.”

The guy scoffed. “Yeah, right. Nice try. Yo, Berinsky. You still breathing?”

The guy at Teo’s feet shifted and cursed.

“If you’re done getting your ass handed to you by a scrawny kid,” the first guy sneered, “you mind getting up? We gotta get this one to the van.”

Berinsky pulled down his mask and spit blood onto the ground. “I want five minutes with him first.”

“Uh-uh,” the first guy shook his head. “You heard the boss, we’re not supposed to damage the merchandise. Besides, where they’re headed”—he broke into a grin that made Teo’s blood run cold—“trust me, man, they’ll wish they got stuck with you and me.”

The labs
, Teo thought.
Somehow they found us, and they’re rounding us up
. He prayed that Daisy was smart enough to hunker down and hide. And he hoped she’d at least think about him every once in a while.

Berinsky grumbled something as he lumbered to his feet, then bent to scoop up his rifle. Teo kept a wary eye on him the whole time.

“C’mon,” the first guy said, gesturing to the right with his gun. “Van’s that way. Start walking, kid.”

Berinsky went first, limping slightly, and Teo reluctantly followed. They slogged through the woods. The smoke from the burning house had intermingled with the fog, creating a damp black curtain that snaked around them. It was so dark and thick he could barely make out anything a few feet away. For a second, he considered running for it, but the gunman must’ve picked up on a change in his posture; he snarled, “Don’t even think about it. I’d love a reason to shoot you. And like I said, you’re not on the list.”

Teo wondered again what this list was, and how they’d gotten it. Had Taylor given it to them? If so, then he should’ve been on it, right?

Who else could have provided it?

Teo tripped on a tree root and went flying, landing hard on his hands and knees.

“Get up!” the guy behind him snapped.

Berinsky didn’t seem to be paying attention to either of them. He just kept shuffling forward through the trees.

Which was lucky, because as Teo started to get up, he heard a loud
thwack
, followed immediately by a bullet skimming past his face.

“Run!” Janiqua shrieked. “They’re coming!”

Noa whipped around, trying to drag Zeke with her, but he just slumped against her shoulder. “Leave me!” he rasped in her ear. “I can’t run!”

“I’m not leaving you,” she said through gritted teeth. Janiqua passed them and vanished, headed toward the beach. Noa followed at a snail’s pace, Zeke’s weight bearing down on them. Her own energy was flagging; it felt like her knees would give out at any minute. They’d nearly reached the woods when a shot rang out. A voice yelled, “Next one hits lower! Freeze!”

She hesitated, looking at Zeke. Their eyes met, then his gaze flicked down: He’d taken out the gun and tucked it under his arm. Noa nodded to show that she understood, then slowly turned.

The men’s faces were covered in masks that lent them an oddly wasplike appearance. Other than that, though, they were indistinguishable from the commandos she’d wrangled with months earlier. Her mind flicked back to the café guy; she wondered if these were his buddies. And if they had any idea what had happened to him.

Noa forced the thought away. “He’s been shot!” she called out. “He needs medical attention.”

“Don’t move!” one of them ordered. They edged forward, keeping the gun barrels fixed on their chests. Grimly, Noa found it a little flattering to be viewed as such a threat. They clearly weren’t taking any chances.

“Hands where we can see them!” the same guy yelled.

“He’s hurt!” Noa protested. “He can’t lift his arm!”

“I don’t care if he’s dying, raise your hands and get on the ground or I start shooting!” the guy growled.

Noa slowly lifted her hands. As she did, something flashed beside her, followed by a bang so loud it made her wince. One of the commandos fell to the ground with a cry. The other’s focus snapped toward his partner.

Noa tried to run, but Zeke’s full weight sagged against her, forcing her to stumble. Ironically, his collapse saved them—she heard the whistle of a shot tearing past her ear as they fell. All the air was forced from her lungs as she landed hard on her side, with Zeke pressing down on her. Then he slid off, hitting the ground beside her lifelessly.

“Zeke!” she cried out, scrambling for him. Noa rolled him toward her. His head flopped sideways, and Noa fumbled along his neck, trying to feel for a pulse. But her fingers were trembling too badly. All she could sense was how cool his skin was, slick with mist.

“Good,” she heard from over her shoulder. “He wasn’t the one they wanted anyway. Probably would’ve just had to shoot him.”

Noa lunged toward him with a growl, but her attacker had kept his distance and when she got to her feet, his rifle was fixed on her chest. “Stay back!” he warned. “Your friend is still breathing. You don’t behave, that can change real quick.”

Noa looked down; he was right, she could see the shallow rise and fall of Zeke’s chest. Squaring her jaw, Noa raised her hands. The woods were at her back—she could run that way. Maybe even make it to the beach, if she managed to avoid the rest of them. But that would mean leaving Zeke, and this guy obviously didn’t have any qualms about shooting him. She couldn’t let that happen.

The gunman walked over to where his friend lay on his back and nudged him with his foot. “Shit, you smoked Costa. The boss isn’t going to be happy about that.”

Zeke was lying on his side with his eyes closed. It looked like someone had painted a wide swath of red across the belly of his white shirt. He’d fallen on his good side, but a growing pool of red spread out from his waist. He was losing too much blood. If she didn’t do something, he’d die right here.

“Save him,” she said, “and I’ll come with you.”

The guy snorted. “Save him? Yeah, right. You’re coming with me whether you want to or not.”

Noa pulled the gun out from behind her back, raised it, and pointed it at her temple. “No, I won’t,” she said with finality.

Above the mask, his eyes widened. “What the hell? Are you nuts?”

“I’ll do it,” Noa said, her voice steady. “Unless you help him. I’ll walk with you to the van, you give him first aid. And then, when I see that he’s going to be okay, I put the gun down. Not before that.”

“Like I care if you shoot yourself,” the guy said, his voice full of bluster. “I already got enough of you kids. They didn’t say we had to get all of them.”

“But I bet they said you had to get me. And alive, too,” Noa said. “So yeah, I think you care.”

A long silence as he weighed what she’d said. Noa didn’t blink, and barely breathed. Everything depended on whether or not the guy in front of her was smart enough to follow orders. They must have demanded that she be taken alive. But he might not understand just how important that was to them.

And if he didn’t care . . . then this could end with both her and Zeke dead.

“Fine,” the guy finally said, although he didn’t sound happy about it. “I’ll get someone to carry him back to the van. But after that, no—”

His words were cut off as he was suddenly tackled from behind. Noa started, nearly firing the gun. Two figures rolled on the ground in a tangle of limbs. Suddenly, the person on top jerked his head up—weathered skin, streaked with soot. Roy opened his mouth and yelled, “Noa, run!”

CHAPTER
TWENTY

A
cting on instinct Teo dropped, flattening out his body. A grunt behind him, and the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.

“Teo!”

Teo looked up. The guy with the rifle was lying prone. Daisy stood above him, brandishing a shovel in both hands. Flipping over, he saw that the bullet had whisked past him and hit Berinsky in the back. He lay facedown in the grass, motionless.

“Come on!” Daisy urged. She dropped the shovel, turned, and ran.

Teo scrambled to his feet and followed. They raced through the trees, dodging low-hanging branches. Belatedly, he realized that he should have grabbed the rifles. “Where are we going?” he gasped. “To the street?”

“Yeah,” she said. “We’ll stay off the road for a few miles, then try to hitch a ride into town.”

Then what?
Teo wanted to ask. Were they just supposed to pretend that none of this had ever happened? Go back to living on the streets, trying to forget about the kids they’d left behind?

He didn’t feel comfortable with that. But what was he supposed to do?

The fog was so thick and pervasive, Teo quickly lost all sense of direction. He tried to reconstruct the layout of the property. A thick, twelve-foot-high hedge bordered three sides; the fourth dead-ended at the cliffs overlooking the ocean. The main house sat in the center, surrounded by an acre of open fields and gardens. The rest was heavily forested, and dotted with smaller guest houses and outbuildings. He hadn’t walked the entire perimeter, but was pretty sure that only one main gate led to the road.

And right now, he had no idea which section of the woods they were in; he couldn’t even pinpoint where the main house was anymore. Hopefully Daisy had a better sense of where they were going.

Voices to their left. Teo grabbed Daisy’s arm and yanked her down as he drew into a crouch.

“Wha—”

He put a finger to his lips. Her eyes went wide, but she nodded.

Together, they pressed up against the trunk of a tree. Teo carefully leaned around the side.

Crap. They’d reached the gate; just past it, the driveway hooked right before meeting up with Route 1. But the exit was blocked by vehicles. More commandos everywhere, all bearing nasty-looking rifles. Teo’s heart sank—it didn’t look like there was a way past them.

Daisy must’ve realized the same thing. She shook her head and said, “The hedges have wires running through them, and the electricity is probably still on. We can’t risk it.”

Teo’s heart sank. “So what now?” he whispered. “Hide?”

Daisy’s pale face was dewy with droplets of moisture. She chewed her lower lip thoughtfully, then said, “The beach. It’s the only other way out.”

Teo figured this was a bad time to mention that he was barely capable of a dog paddle.

Yelling, followed by barked orders. Teo eased around the side of the tree again, staying low. A kicking and screaming Janiqua was being pushed toward a white panel truck by two men with guns. Her hands were bound behind her back, and her shirt was filthy and torn. She was raging and spitting. At the last minute, she tried to run.

One of the men casually cuffed her across the chin. Janiqua went flying, hitting the ground hard. They yanked her to her feet and threw her inside.

“How many more?” the other guy said.

His partner held up a sheet of paper. “Three, including the big fish.”

“Good,” the first guy muttered. “I’ve had enough of this crap for one night.”

His buddy grunted assent as he slid the door closed. The truck rocked slightly as someone thumped around inside.

A tug on his hand. “Teo,” Daisy whispered urgently. “We’ve got to go!”

“No,” he said, surprising himself. “We’re not leaving them.”

Daisy opened her mouth as if to protest, then she slowly nodded. “Okay,” she said resignedly. “But what can we do?”

Teo scanned the scene—too many guards for them to handle on their own. They needed to create a distraction somehow.

At that moment, another pair of guys marched along the driveway, just a few feet from where they were hiding. They were dragging Taylor between them. He ducked back down.

“Hey!” Taylor shouted. “Let go!”

“Get in the truck,” one of them growled.

“I told you, you idiot,” she snarled. “I’m not supposed to go with them. That was the deal. I told you where they were, now you’re supposed to let my brother and me leave.”

Brother?
Teo thought. She must mean Matt. It all clicked into place. Taylor and Matt had been working against them the whole time. He flashed back on earlier that evening, when everyone had been sitting around a roaring fire in the Forsythes’ living room playing a celebrity game. They’d laughed at him for not knowing any of the people they were talking about. It had been fun; Teo had finally felt like he was part of something.

And this girl had destroyed all that.

“Holy crap,” Daisy gasped. “Taylor told them where we were?”

Teo nodded tightly, not trusting himself to speak. He’d never understood what people were talking about when they said they “saw red.” Now he got it. It felt like waves of hot blood were surging through him, clouding his vision. His fists clenched into tight balls, and his whole chest tightened up until the contraction was crushing his ribs.

He hoped these bastards would do terrible things to her.

“Teo!”

He looked down and realized that Daisy was tugging urgently on his arm again. She was looking past him.

One of the guards had suddenly shifted toward them. Teo saw his eyes widen.

“Hey!” the guy shouted, pointing directly at them. “There’s two more!”

Teo didn’t think, he just reacted. He gave Daisy a shove and yelled, “Go!” then darted in the other direction, hoping to draw them off.

Branches tore at his skin as he stumbled through the woods. The mist was dissipating, which made it easier to find his way, but also increased the chances that he’d be spotted. The middle of his back itched; he couldn’t stop picturing red laser sights zeroing in on it. . . .

The sounds of pursuit behind him. He shifted direction, darting left. His muscles responded with an extra jolt of speed, and for a second he felt the familiar surge he used to get during track meets, when it felt like he’d tapped into some secret reserve. He’d had regular meals and decent sleep the past few days, so he was physically in much better shape than he’d been just a week ago.

Hopefully, it would be enough.

Teo cut right, then left again. The crashing sounds in the woods behind him seemed to be fading. Unfortunately, he’d also lost all sense of where he was. Was the sea ahead, or behind him? He prayed that Daisy had made it there safely. And that maybe, in the chaos, some of the others had managed to escape.

A huge shape suddenly loomed up in front of him, and he had to backpedal to avoid hitting it: the barn! Which meant that the path to the beach was only a hundred feet away. As he ran past, Teo scooped up the hammer he’d left sitting on a sawhorse that afternoon. Not much use against a rifle, but better than nothing. He kept running.

Turning the corner, Teo nearly crashed into a figure running toward him. He pulled up short, gasping for air.

It was Taylor. Her eyes wild, she stared at him for a minute, then spun and started to sprint past him.

A second later, the guy chasing her flew around the side of the barn. At the sight of Teo, he raised his gun.

Teo whipped the hammer in a wide arc and slammed it into the side of the guy’s head. His helmet flew off, and Teo drew the hammer back and swung again.

The guy grunted and sagged to the ground.

Teo stared down at him for a second, his shoulders heaving.

“Nice,” someone behind him said.

He turned quickly—Taylor was standing there, hands on her hips. He saw her eyes flick toward the rifle on the ground. They lunged for it at the same time, but he got there first. Whipped it up and pointed it at her.

She laughed at him. “What, you’re going to shoot me, Teo?”

“I might,” he said. And realized to his surprise that he meant it. Any residual doubt in his capabilities had been swept away. He felt hard, sure of himself. He wondered if this was how Noa felt all the time. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.

“Go ahead,” Taylor said moodily as her shoulders slumped. “I’m pretty much dead now, anyway.”

“You should be,” he snapped. “You sold us out.”

“I didn’t have a choice!” she retorted. “You have no idea what they threatened to do to my brother.”

“Yeah, well—nice job saving him. I bet he’s already in the van with the others.”

She looked stricken. Teo’s finger twitched on the trigger—he didn’t have time to mess around with her. He had to get to the beach, and to Daisy. The woods were still full of bastards trying to catch them.

“Get out of here,” he said, jerking his head to the side.

Taylor narrowed her eyes, as if suspecting a trick.

Teo kept the rifle up as he backed away, headed toward the beach path. Once he turned the corner, he wheeled and trotted off in the direction of the beach, the gun heavy in his hands.