The Registry (34 page)
The familiar look of fury crossed Andrew’s face, like he was in another world, unsure of his actions. Mia gasped. She didn’t want to see any more death, no matter how necessary it was. Andrew heard her noise and came out of his trance. He turned the gun around and slammed the handle into the man’s head, rendering him unconscious but leaving him alive. Instead of waiting for Carter to do the same, Andrew reached over and knocked out the second agent.
“We have to get out of here. He called backup.” Carter started up the stairs.
Andrew reached out his hand to Mia, guiding her over the two RAG agents, following fast behind Carter.
The group reached the first floor. White light from the outside flooded the dark room. Carter ran to the front door. Mia dropped Andrew’s hand and went to the kitchen. She kicked up the loose floorboard with precision and grabbed all the contents of the secret spot. She wasn’t sure what was there but knew it could help.
Carter and Andrew both had their newly acquired guns out. Andrew was prepared to shoot whoever was responsible for the white lights, while Carter looked uneasy about holding the weapon. Mia thought she could do more damage with it. When the brightness faded a familiar whistle could be heard from the outside. It was no RAG agent. It was Rod.
The teens ran out and almost knocked him down. They screamed at him, heading toward his pickup truck. Mia was surprised it didn’t take him long to figure out what was going on. She jumped in the bed with Andrew while Carter got into the cab. Rod peeled out of the driveway and Mia got knocked next to Andrew as he turned. She didn’t move away from him. Instead she sat in silence, taking a moment to grasp the recent events.
“I’m sorry,” Andrew said over the wind flying past the truck. His eyes were a glimmer of hope; she didn’t need to focus on anything else.
Their plans were ruined. Mia didn’t know what was coming next, but she didn’t want to die with any regrets. She placed her hand on Andrew’s cheek and leaned over him. She paused a brief moment. His mouth looked warm and welcoming; their lips met and sparks flew through Mia’s body. She felt his hand on the back of her neck, pulling her closer, kissing her harder and deeper. She returned his passion and wrapped her leg around his, intertwining their bodies. It felt like pure happiness. She pulled back and smiled at him.
He didn’t waste any time acknowledging her gesture. He immediately pulled her back in. She let her free hand press against his chest as she fell deeper into him, her whole body on fire.
Nothing is ever given to you. You need to learn how to take what is yours and protect it. Take your freedom through service and protect your liberty through war.
—The Boy’s Guide to Service
G
rant’s temper flared as he brought the helicopter down. The RAG agents’ car was parked right in front of the house, plain for anyone to see, and the front door was open, moving from the force of the propeller. He did not understand why people had such a hard time listening to him. He’d had a feeling about Gila Bend. He never should have split his team up. If they were all here he wouldn’t have had to rely on novices. He barked at Agent Ross to wait outside and drew his gun, a favorite six-shooter pistol with hollow-point bullets. Grant knew the pain it could inflict was excruciating.
He strolled through the open door. He was sure there was nothing he needed protecting from, so he let the gun hang at his side. Light came from a doorway toward the back of the house. He made his way over and peeked inside. Two RAG agents were at the bottom of the steps, one unconscious or dead, the other holding his head in pain. Grant danced his way toward them.
“Did you see where they went?” he asked with fake concern for the agent.
“They knocked us out, three of them. Two boys and a girl.” The agent winced in pain.
“Well, you didn’t answer my question, and you didn’t follow my instructions.”
“We thought we could—” the agent tried to say. Grant wasn’t interested. He pulled his gun and gave two quick taps, shooting the unconscious agent in the head and chest.
“Again, did you see where they went?”
The agent’s eyes widened as he shook his head no and started to stand up.
“Such a waste of bullets, using this gun to kill.” Grant shot the struggling agent in the leg. He screamed and clutched it in pain. Grant was certain he’d shattered the shinbone. “But I’m on a deadline.”
With that Grant fired into the man’s skull, killing him. Grant sighed, thinking that the men had brought this on themselves. This was what Grant had wanted to avoid. He had no desire for another chase. The game was over. If the agents had followed instructions they would still be alive and Grant could have focused his anger on his wife and her helpers.
He straightened his cardigan and turned to walk up the stairs. Doing the math in his head, he figured she couldn’t be more than five minutes ahead of him, easy to catch with the chopper. The noise of the propellers soothed him; it was the best luxury.
“Hey, boss!” Agent Ross said from the helicopter. It pleased Grant that he understood his role. “There are tire skid marks heading south!”
Grant continued strolling toward his machine. He climbed into the front seat and put his headset back on.
“Well then, we have a girl to catch.” He smiled at the thought of shooting her in the knee with one of his bullets.
Marriage is, and always will be, a relationship severed only by death.
—The Registry Guide for Girls
I
’m happy you came back,” Mia shouted over the wind. The truck was moving so fast she wasn’t certain he’d heard. Her head was nestled on his chest; she angled her face to look up at his.
He was smiling softly. Mia wanted to tell him she couldn’t imagine life without him, regardless of their relationship to each other. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but as long as they were together everything would be okay. But instead she just waited for him to kiss her again. Right as he moved his mouth, a giant spotlight hit them.
The wind was making so much noise Mia hadn’t even noticed the helicopter trailing them. The light was blinding; Mia tried to shield her eyes with her arm, but it didn’t help her vision. She couldn’t even make out Andrew. The truck picked up speed. She guessed Rod was going close to a hundred miles per hour.
Just as quickly as the light had come upon them, it was gone. Mia blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the dark again, and then realized why the light was gone. They both sat up, assessing the situation. The helicopter was flying low, right next to the car. She noticed the outline of the chopper moving closer to their vehicle. She grabbed Andrew and pulled him down, each of them on their back as the helicopter slammed into the side of the truck. The propellers circled right above their eyes. It was trying to knock them off the road. Rod continued to increase his speed but the chopper matched it and readied for another ram. The back of the truck was starting to fishtail.
Mia knew Rod couldn’t control the vehicle much longer and tried to brace herself for the crash. She pinned her body to the bed of the truck, hoping to stay inside. The final push came and the truck went spinning through the air. Mia wasn’t sure what was up or down as they spun. Her eyes shut and the rolling continued. The truck hit the ground with each rotation. She continued to brace herself, making her arms and legs as taut as possible. The roll slowed and Mia relaxed her limbs. She looked up. Andrew was gone. The truck stopped right-side up and Mia had managed to stay in the bed. An eerie silence covered the area as dust and sand filled the air.
She jumped out. Her whole body hurt, but she didn’t think anything was broken. Making her way toward the cab, she saw Carter slumped over the dashboard. Rod was nowhere around.
She tried to pull open the door but couldn’t; the accident had pinned it shut. But it had also knocked out the window. She reached in and shook Carter, trying to rouse him. All of a sudden an intense pain filled her ears. The accident had left her momentarily deaf, probably from the echo created in the bed as she was rolling. Now her hearing was returning, painfully. She pushed her hands against her ears. When she pulled them back, blood stained her palms. Maybe she was worse than she thought. She turned her attention back toward her friend, who was still unconscious. She pressed her hand over his heart and noticed the beats. He was alive.
Before she could do more someone grabbed her from behind. Holding her hair tight in a fist, the person moved his mouth close to her ear. Her captor spoke, but Mia wasn’t sure what was being said. She was pushed forward through the dust cloud. As they moved her pain subsided and her hearing returned.
“You should have been more careful. After all, I don’t want you to kill yourself. Where’s the fun in that?”
She recognized the evil tone. It was Grant. They were following another RAG agent with his gun drawn, searching for Andrew or Rod.
“Don’t worry, the cleanup crew will be on their way; we’ll get them if they’re not dead already,” Grant said to his comrade before turning his attention to Mia. “Oh, I missed you, dear.”
There was no sense of good or decency in him. Mia decided to struggle. She tried to make a run for it, but his grip on her hair tightened. He removed the gun he was digging into her back and waved it in front of her face. Mia wasn’t scared. She wished he would shoot her and end this whole debacle. They were making their way to the helicopter. The headlights shone through the debris.
Mia continued to attempt to escape Grant’s grasp, but he held on tight.
“If you don’t stop I will knock you unconscious and carry you; neither of us wants that, now, do we?”
She looked back at him and stopped pulling. For the first time she noticed his clothes. Between her cotton dress and his casual look they seemed more like guests at a garden party than people involved in a life-or-death struggle. Except for the blood, dirt, and ash that decorated them, of course.
Mia kept her face straight ahead. She tried to scan the ground for Andrew or Rod, but the dust burned her eyes. She felt hopeless. There would be no rescue. Then she remembered her training with Carter. It was her turn to save herself. She began to struggle again.
“Fine. If that’s the way you want it.” Grant raised his gun like a club but Mia threw her body backward, ramming her elbow into his gut. The gun still came down but missed her head. Pain exploded in her shoulder. She moved forward, out of Grant’s grasp. She started to run but was met with an unexpected force. She went face-first into the ground, her chin smacking the desert floor. Grant gripped her shoulder and hoisted her up. Her vision went fuzzy as his finger pressed into the exact spot where his weapon had made contact.
“That wasn’t a very nice trick,” Grant said as he tightened his grip.
Mia didn’t think she could handle the pain in her shoulder. She felt her vision going dark.
Suddenly, the RAG agent leading the way dropped to the ground. Grant let go of her and held up his gun, ready to fire at whoever had taken his friend out. A glimmer of hope rushed through Mia. She heard the sound of a gun cocking, but the dust made it impossible to see. Then Andrew appeared. Now Grant and Andrew both had their guns drawn, pointing at each other. Mia knew she should use this opportunity to make a run for it, but she couldn’t leave Andrew.
“So now I shoot you and you shoot me?” Grant said. “Well, that won’t accomplish anything.”
He moved his gun out to his left side, reached out, and interlocked his arm with Mia’s. He pointed the gun directly at her. “Put your gun down or I’ll kill her.”
Mia knew that if she moved, he would fire; she was shocked he’d kept her alive this long. She looked at her love, the heartbreak that flooded his face. He was always so strong, for everyone around him. She knew she needed to find that strength herself now. Mia decided it was best that she run; she knew how this would play out and it would end with Andrew dead if she didn’t do something. It was her turn to sacrifice.
She turned to run, welcoming Grant’s bullets.
Before she picked her foot up off the ground she was knocked down again. Her body ached, but not any more than it had during her earlier fall. She had assumed a gun wound would hurt more. She ran her hands down her body, searching for the bullet hole. There was no extra pain. She lifted her head and noticed a new figure rising up.
The figure began to look familiar. It was Carter. Before Grant could fire Carter had sailed through the air and tackled him to the ground, and Mia in the process. Now Carter was repeatedly kicking Grant in the stomach. Grant curled up in a ball while Carter continued his assault. Mia had never been so happy to see someone in such pain.
Andrew bent down to help her up, and as she reached for his hand the RAG agent came into view, crawling on his belly only inches away from her. He was bleeding from a head wound but far from dead. His weapon was drawn and pointed up at Andrew. Mia saw he was seconds away from shooting her paramour. She pulled Andrew to the ground and in a moment of fury grabbed a rock and swung as hard as she could, driving the stone into the agent’s face. She could feel his blood spray back but didn’t care. She continued her assault over and over, slamming the rock into his skull.
As she raised her arm for another blow, she felt a hand grasp her wrist and force her to drop the rock. It was Andrew. He looked directly into her eyes and didn’t let go of her hand. There was a look on his face that she’d never seen on him before. He looked grateful. He bit his lip and started nodding his head. She placed her hands on his shoulders and the two rose to their feet.
She had just killed a man, and she had not been met with judgment or horror. There was no remorse for her actions; she had killed someone for love, and her love knew it too and loved her in return.