AllFreeNovel
Share Us
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO
WASHINGTON, DC
January 10
Suki gazed out the window of the private jet at the murky river water beneath her. They’d left Fort Lauderdale a few hours before and were now arriving at a heavily guarded military base in Virginia. That should have made her feel safe, but it didn’t. The squirming, negative feeling was still there. Not about Quantico, she didn’t think, but something was wrong.
“What river is that? The Potomac?” she asked Lund, who was seated across from her, a glossy wooden table in between them. Her mom sat next to her, across the aisle, with Jane Louise across from her. It was much more comfy than a regular airplane. Private planes, admittedly, were pretty sweet.
Lund glanced out the window. “No, that’s Chopawamsic Creek. It feeds into the Potomac.”
“Got it. So this military base is where the FBI is trained?”
“It’s on the same property, but farther west. We’re going to the Marine Corps base. That’s where the airport is. And the hospital for your mom.” Lund tilted his head as he gazed out the window. “Interesting.”
Suki looked out again and then craned her neck. A fighter jet was farther back, following their plane as it descended.
“Whoa,” Suki said. “Does that mean we’re important or dangerous?”
“Maybe a little of both,” Lund answered with a smirk. Then he shifted his attention to Suki’s mom. “How are you feeling, Mrs. Roth?”
“Tired but coping.” She had a bottle of water, half-empty, and a tray of food that she’d been eating to maintain her blood sugar. She’d given herself another shot of insulin, but they needed a blood test to check her glucose levels.
Suki’s stomach fluttered as the plane dipped lower. She gripped the armrests. Each chair was equipped with a private monitor on a swivel screen, but the flight was short enough that none of them had bothered to turn theirs on. They were exhausted from their ordeal.
“How far is DC from here?” Suki asked, trying to get rid of the oppressive feeling by distracting herself.
“About an hour, depending on traffic.”
Suki watched through the window as they were about to meet the ground and then felt the bump and jerk of the tires hitting. The jet began to rapidly slow down.
Lund pulled out his phone and switched it off airplane mode before making a call. It must have been unsuccessful because he immediately dialed another number.
“Hi, Carly. Jordan didn’t answer. Where are Mr. Roth and the boys?”
The change in his expression made Suki’s stomach drop. She looked over at her mom and saw her eyes fixed on Lund’s face, her brow wrinkled with worry.
“No,” Lund whispered in shock, grimacing. Suki had never seen him look this way. He was always in control. This was bad news.
“Got another call coming in from the FBI director. I’ll call you back.”
Suki swallowed and watched as Lund ended the call and accepted another. “This is Lund. We just landed at Quantico. What happened in DC?” He sat silently, his lips twitching as he listened. He looked disturbed. Angry. Disappointed.
Not knowing was torture for Suki. Something had happened to her dad. Maybe to the boys too. She looked at Lund, silently pleading with him to tell her.
He listened dumbly to his phone, then squeezed his eyes shut for a second. “Okay. Okay. Where’s the president? I see. This is bad. This is really bad. What about the units down in Mexico? Have they made contact yet? Hmm. Understood.” He listened some more. “Understood. Sorry about Brower. It’s . . . it feels like the beginning of Armageddon. See you soon.”
He ended the call.
“Where’s Jonny?” Suki’s mom asked firmly. “Where are my sons?”
The jet was taxiing across the runway to a side aisle. There were several black SUVs parked there. They seemed to be waiting for them.
Lund gave her mom a sorrowful look. “A jaguar priest just went on a rampage at one of the Smithsonians in DC. Your husband and boys were there. The security team was slaughtered. Video footage shows your husband was hit by a trank dart and collapsed. The man—we’re presuming he’s a jaguar priest—carried him off and turned invisible. The boys . . . no one knows where they are.”
He might as well have just gut punched Suki. She looked at Lund accusingly. “I . . . I thought Agent Sanchez was protecting them. And Jordan. Your guy.”
“Agent Sanchez was thrown into a wall hard enough that it broke her spine,” Lund said tightly. He was trying hard to control his emotions. “Jordan is in critical condition. They’re both in an emergency room in DC.”
