Page 137 of The Lazarus Protocol

The AI knew where they were.

But would it stop them reaching the boat and fleeing this island?

“I hear gunfire in the distance.”

Adam nodded. “No way to tell what we’ll be walking into.”

“At least neither of us will be by ourselves.” She took a deep breath, trying to get air despite how much her chest hurt from being struck by a bullet in the vest.

“Stay behind me.”

He took off running before she could object to that, but kept a measured pace so she could catch up. Still, she could tell he badly wanted to make sure his friends were finally going to be free of Earthnet.

She heard a loud popping and looked back to see the volcano spew molten lava out of the funnel part at the top. It was just the beginning of the light show to come, one that would eventually swallow the whole island. She didn’t plan to be on land when that happened, so she sped up, running faster after Adam and urging him on. Worrying that the AI would launch another attack that kept them here. Wondering if someone would pop out and shoot them.

Her chest burned with every exhale as her mind continued to spiral, and she had to fight off the familiar tightening sensation of a coming anxiety attack. Were they really going to make it off this rock?

Adam glanced back. “Don’t fret, remember?”

“Sure, I’ll try to do that.” She managed to get the words out, but only barely.

Meanwhile, he was running along like he could keep going forever. “Focus on what you can control, and trust that the rest is in hand.”

Steph said, “Put that on the list of things to talk about over a nice cheese plate.”

They broke through the trees and passed a couple of old metal boats on the rocky beach, one of which had a huge rusted hole in it. People had gathered on the docks, waiting for the ship to fetch them. Most were the workers she and Adam had freed. His friends were among the group, giving orders to people to stay calm. A few of them were bleeding with fresh wounds, and all of them looked scared.

The island rumbled.

FORTY-SIX

Collectively the group flinched, and a couple of people even ducked and covered their heads. Adam ran across the beach to the docks, Steph right behind him. He called out, “Noah!”

The team boss turned from the center of the huddle, a look of relief on his face. “Adam!”

“Keep an eye out for drones!” He jumped up onto the dock, his boots knocking the wood boards with every step. “We ran into some on our way down. Almost didn’t make it.”

A smaller boat from the ship set off toward them. The glare from the ocean forced him to squint. Between the water, the bright blue sky, and the deep green of the island vegetation behind him, this looked like the perfect setting for a vacation resort. Instead, it proved to him that an all-inclusive beach holiday was about the last thing he was interested in.

Adam wanted to be back at the castle. But leaving here wouldn’t stop Earthnet, and they needed a way to do that.

“That tender isn’t big enough to hold all of us over to the ship,” Ash said, his expression dark.

Far as Adam could see, that wasn’t their only problem. He mouthed, Kyle.

A tendon in Ash’s jaw flexed.

Adam glanced between the tender and the ship itself. The vessel out in the ocean looked like a bigger fishing boat than the one they’d come in, the kind better able to travel distances. It sat high in the water and was probably another twenty feet in length.

Sure, he didn’t want to ride on the thing all the way back to France. But crewed with locals who knew these waters and could get them away from here safely, it looked mighty fine to him. Kind of like the bedraggled woman behind him, the one he had found himself pretty close to in that cable car.

Talk about do not fret. That cable car had saved their lives, bringing them down the side of the volcano in minutes. He didn’t think he’d have been able to run that whole way. But then, not much that had to do with Steph had Adam thinking straight. When he’d gone after her, he hadn’t even considered having to come back down to the dock.

The first half of the crowd got onto the boat, a few of the workers pushing others out of the way to scramble on. Adam didn’t blame them for being eager to escape this deathtrap island, but thankfully his people were here to bring order to the situation.

Jay and Kai assisted Dan onto the boat, where he sat against the side. He seemed semiconscious, at least.

Ash drifted through the group to stand near Adam. “Where’s Kyle?” he whispered.