Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Luthor landed the helicopter in the middle of a platform emblazoned with a red cross. Trucks, tanks, helicopters, and cars filled almost every free space of the cave. The rough red of the bare rock walls glowed like fire under halogen lamps, which were affixed to the ceiling.
Zach pointed at a guy sitting in a glass booth perched at the base of one wall, his feet resting on a desk. He waved at us, made a bubble with his chewing gum, sucked it back in and kept on chewing. “He watches what’s going on outside from screens inside the booth. And if it’s one of us, he dissolves the solidity of the rock and we can pass through it like smoke. Not bad, huh?”
I blinked. That was the understatement of the year. This was amazing. He opened the helicopter and jumped out, then held the door open for me. I followed after him and let my eyes wander over the equipment. There were three helicopters, bazookas, missiles, machine guns and countless crates with tags like ‘ammunition’ or ‘explosives’. It looked like they were planning for war.
“You’ve got a lot of… stuff.”
Zach shrugged. “We need to be prepared. Keeping headquarters safe is a big responsibility that we take very seriously. Too many lives depend on it.”
Then he took my hand and led me toward an elevator embedded in the rock wall. Luthor and Jago didn’t follow us. They stayed back to take care of the helicopter but I didn’t miss the curious glances they threw our way. If this place was anything like the FEA, people would probably talk about nothing but our family reunion for days. We stepped into the large metal and glass elevator. Twenty people could have fit inside, but when the doors closed, the room still seemed much too small. I leaned against the cold metal, trying to stop the palpitation in my chest. Ten buttons lined the side of the elevator.
“I’ll take you to our common area first. You can meet Holly there,” Zach said.
Excitement flooded me at the thought. He pressed the button for -3 and my stomach plummeted along with the elevator. Zach didn’t seem to mind the enclosed space or the fact that we were dozens of feet below the surface. Had he grown up in this place? I couldn’t imagine a small boy running around between ammunition and tanks. There was so much we had to talk about. I couldn’t wait to find out more about him and his life.
The elevator came to a halt and the door slid open, revealing an enormous room with an open kitchen across from us. Pans and pots hung from stainless steel hooks attached to the ceiling. A sole cook was stirring something in an enormous copper pot. It wasn’t mealtime; that probably explained why he was alone. His gaze briefly darted toward Zach and me before it returned to the six massive flat screen TVs that lined the wall to my right. They were muted but were showing horse racing.
Tables and chairs were scattered around. They weren’t white plastic or stainless steel like you might expect to find in a cafeteria. It looked as if every member of Abel’s Army had taken their dining room furniture with them and put it here. There were round and square tables, some big, others small, made from wood ranging from maple to oak, and some of the chairs had old-fashioned flowery covers while others were upholstered with trendy leather. There was even a small pink table with four matching pink chairs, which looked as if they were meant for kids. Were there children in headquarters?
I didn’t get the chance to ask Zach. A door opened at the other end of the common area and Holly stepped through it—just as I remembered her. Red, short hair and a wide smile. She looked healthy—and happy. We started running at the same time and I almost slipped on the smooth granite floor before we finally fell into each other’s arms. I hugged her as tightly as I could until she made a small sound of protest. I pulled back and quickly scanned her face. She wasn’t pale and her eyes were bright with joy.
“Are you okay?” I whispered. I didn’t want Zach to overhear us, but when I glanced back to where he’d been, he was gone. Apparently, he didn’t want to supervise our reunion.
“I’m fine,” Holly said. Relief surged through me.
“Are you sure?”
She let out her bell-like laugh. “Of course, I’m sure.”
“I was terrified when you were kidnapped. Did they hurt you?”
Holly led me to a dark wooden table and we sat down. “They didn’t do anything to me—except for making me realize that I was on the wrong side.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Wrong side? You mean FEA?” It wasn’t as if I was thrilled about FEA’s actions, but hearing Holly say it came as a shock. She didn’t know about the extent of their betrayal yet.