Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One), Nathan Hystad [primary phonics books .TXT] 📗

The car sped forward, tearing through the neighborhood, and after a few detours through side streets and around precarious corners, Francois slowed, pulling the car behind a grocery store. “No surveillance here,” he said casually, and exited the car.

“You killed a man,” I said, trailing after Hunter Madison’s resourceful employee.

“Yes, I did. Would you prefer I let him shoot you?” He pressed a key fob, and another car four down beeped as the headlights blinked. “Move.”

It was an older entry-level model, and we didn’t hesitate. Veronica took the front seat, as if being closer to Francois and his gun would be useful. Sirens finally sounded, and we waited while two police cars sped past the parking lot before he fired the engine up.

“Did you get it?” he asked finally.

My heart raced in my chest. “We did.”

“Good. Mr. Madison will be pleased.”

10

The living room seemed smaller as I paced around it, my hands unable to relax. “This isn’t good. Your henchman killed that guy, right in front of witnesses,” I blurted. Francois had dropped us at the hotel before speeding off in the borrowed sedan.

“Do you think so little of our operations, Rexford?” Hunter sat on the couch, eyeing me cautiously.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Marcus and Tripp were quiet as they eavesdropped from a distance, neither willing to exit the kitchen.

“It means everything is taken care of.”

“Go on. Talk us through it, Hunter,” I urged.

“Fine. The Mercedes was bought by Francois from a chop shop, the plates lifted a few hours ago. The sedan is a burner car, already heading under an overpass farther down the Five. The four houses nearest Cal Harken’s home were using the same surveillance security company, and I’ve paid to have the footage deleted due to a software glitch.” Hunter looked pleased with himself.

“What about us? Our faces?” Veronica asked.

“You hardly resembled Veronica Jones and Rex Walker, did you? You were Frank and Chantelle Winkle, working for Park Place Movies—which, you will find, no longer exists in any capacity.” Hunter went to stand, and groaned as he began to walk. “If you’ll excuse me, I need sleep.” He stopped near the hallway, turning slowly. “Before I go, can I see it?”

I reached into my breast pocket and pulled the Token out. I rotated it and stared at the engraved symbol. It looked like the letter R, but upside down, with a wave that could be a simplistic bird above it. “This is it. The fourth Token.”

Veronica grabbed it from me, walking it over to Hunter. “I hope this is worth killing a man over.”

Hunter smiled, just enough to show part of his teeth. “My dear, when we have all six, you will see. And we’ll learn how important this genuinely is. And that man is a Believer. By your description, he’s one of the Sovereign’s most trusted hitmen. You say he’s the same man that had been trailing you?”

“That was him,” I reassured Hunter.

“Then more will come. When word hits the Sovereign that his sidekick is gone, he’ll retaliate.”

“How did they know about the party? What aren’t you telling us?” Tripp asked from the kitchen, breaking his silence. Hunter was starting to lose control, and the trust of his group.

“I can’t know everything. I set these precautions in place because I don’t want anyone to calculate our steps, but they have a knack for predicting our movements. It could be—”

“Don’t say it,” I muttered.

“The cult leaders have always suggested there might be advantages to attuning.”

Marcus walked out, holding a cup of coffee. “You’re not saying these weirdos are seeing the future, are you?”

“No. Nothing of the sort.” Hunter rotated the Token and kept looking at it as he spoke. “Attuning is mostly a meditation, an art they plan on using to connect with the Unknowns. If you ask me, they’re full of it, but they did predict the arrival of the Objects, so who knows for sure?”

I crossed the living room, not willing to leave the Token in Hunter’s possession. I had the rest in my bag, as was part of the arrangement. He frowned with his fingers latched around it, and finally returned it to my palm. His hand trembled as he passed it to me. I almost expected him to call the Token his “precious” and scurry down the hall.

“What do we do?” Marcus asked.

“We keep on,” Hunter said. “Get some rest and leave in five hours. Everything has been arranged, and Veronica, I’ll need you to pilot the jet. I’m afraid that with Christmas in two days, finding someone to shuttle us to Punta Arenas was impossible.”

He walked off, reaching out to balance himself as he ventured toward his room.

Veronica leaned against the back of the couch. “Punta Arenas?”

Marcus nodded, bringing out his phone. “Rex, can we tell them? If we can’t trust Tripp and Ronnie, then who’s left?”

I almost didn’t grasp who he was talking about, but he’d shortened her name. “Go ahead. We’ll be there soon.”

Marcus indicated a spot on his map. “There.”

“Where the hell is that?” Tripp asked, squinting to see. Marcus zoomed out, and the location became obvious. “Antarctica! We’re going to search for a Token in the South Pole?”

“That’s about the gist of it,” I said, grinning.

“Spending Christmas at the South Pole. You do realize that’s the wrong end of the world, right? Santa’s workshop is at the other Pole,” Veronica quipped.

Jokes were good. It meant she wasn’t freaking out from tonight, and the last thing we needed was our pilot losing grip with our final destination in hand.

“Everyone fine with this? I know we’ve come far, but if anyone wants to back out now, I won’t hold it against you,” I told them.

Tripp’s arms crossed over his chest, and he lowered his chin. “Hunter will be pissed, though. From the looks of things, you don’t want to end up on his bad side. I suspect he’d dispose of us without a second thought—not that I’d let him.”

I contemplated the casual manner in