Michael Vey 3 ~ Battle of the Ampere by Richard Paul Evans Page B

moved closer to her. “It doesn’t look too deep.”
    Zeus said to Jack, “You okay, buddy?”
    “Yeah. Stings a little.”
    “I can help,” Abigail said. She took Jack’s arm and the pain went away.
    “Thanks,” Jack said.
    “Anytime,” she replied.
    As they lay there, dozens of Peruvian soldiers surrounded the vehicle. Soldiers pulled open the front door of the van, then dragged the bodies of the traitorous soldiers out of the cab.
    “Están muertos.”
    A soldier looked into the window at the youth, then stepped back. “Everyone come out of the truck,” a voice said.
    “We’re locked in!” Ostin shouted. “We can’t get out.”
    “Apúrense!” a voice shouted. “Scales antes que reventa el combi!”
    The soldiers swarmed the back of the van. “We will open the door,” one shouted. “If you run, we shoot.”
    “Should I blast them?” Zeus asked.
    “No. There’s too many of them,” Taylor said.
    “And they’ve got us outgunned,” Ostin added.
    “Maybe they’re going to shoot us for trying to escape,” Wade said.
    “They have a tank,” Ostin said. “If they wanted us dead, they would have just blown us up. Besides, they probably just think we were kidnapped by those dudes.”
    The back doors of the van swung open, revealing dozens of guns pointing at them, including two mounted machine guns and a flamethrower.
    “Can you say overkill ?” Ostin said sardonically.
    “Come out,” one of them shouted in English. “One at a time.”
    Ostin breathed out slowly. “Failed again,” he said.
    “Michael,” Taylor said, holding her head. “Where are you?”



In the Tyrrhenian Sea. The ES Ampere.
    “A re we in agreement?” Chairman Schema asked. Two hours earlier he had called the board together for an emergency meeting. An ominous, dark atmosphere permeated the boardroom.
    Board member Eleven broke the silence. “I’m not comfortable playing judge and jury,” he said. “We’re voting to execute someone.”
    “Perhaps you’d be more comfortable spending the rest of your life in prison,” Two replied.
    “If they don’t hang you first,” Ten said.
    “No,” Schema said, shaking his head. “There is no other option. Hatch must never leave this ship alive.” His gray eyes slowly panned the table. “We must be unanimous as a board. This is no time for dissension.”
    “Then I’ll abstain from voting,” Eleven said.
    “I will too,” Seven said.
    “As will I,” Six said.
    Schema looked at the three of them with disgust. “I didn’t realize the board had cowards on it.” Everyone turned away from the three except Schema, who stared at them coldly. “So be it,” he finally said. “Let the record show that board members Eleven, Six, and Seven are irrelevant.”
    “I make a motion that we vote,” Two said.
    “I second the motion,” said Ten.
    “Is there any more discussion?” Schema asked. When there was no response, he said, “All in favor of the motion, say aye.”
    The room was a chorus of ayes.
    “Any opposed?” He looked at Eleven, Six, and Seven, who remained silent. “The motion carries.”
    Schema’s secretary walked into the room. She leaned over and whispered in the chairman’s ear. Schema nodded. “Have we confirmed who’s on board?”
    “Yes, sir,” she replied. “Just the pilot and Dr. Hatch.”
    “Alert security to their arrival,” Schema said. “Land them.” As she turned he looked over the board. “We’ve reached our decision just in time. I’ve just been informed that Dr. Hatch’s transport is landing on the ship.”
    *
    The Elgen helicopter dropped quickly beneath a low-hanging canopy of black-gray clouds, hovering a moment before settling onto the ship’s pitching helipad. Hatch almost threw up. White-knuckle landings on a rocking deck were just another on a long list of reasons for Hatch to dislike their corporate sea base.
    “We’ve landed,” the pilot said.
    Hatch nodded. “So we have.”
    The pilot shut off the engine,