Consuming Fire

Chapter 99

Ryo's eyes hardly left her watch during the flight. It was about fifteen minutes until they arrived at the army base when she sensed the urge to disappear. Ryo gripped the syringe in her hand as she told her brother she was going to the bathroom, and then she disappeared.

Inside the White House, all Ryo could hear was silence. She'd miraculously teleported into the upstairs bedroom – President Lincoln's, she believed – and when there was a sudden rumbling sound, she knew she'd arrived on time. Ryo sprinted down the corridor, not trusting herself to teleport into the lobby where Hunter and Jack had walked from. Besides, there was blood dripping down her nose now from so much time and space travel.

Please God let Jet be alive! Ryo shook her head in disbelief as she ran, baffled that those words became a prayer in her mind.

She came to the top of a giant marble staircase, and when she peered around the wall, she saw them.

Destructo – Jack's demonic side – was towering over Hunter as she slid backwards in fear. Ryo's heart started to pound, her admiration for Hunter strengthening. She couldn't imagine facing such a beastly looking monster, especially one she used to actually care about. If Ryo hadn't seen the normal Jack and remembered his sacrifice, she might have tried to kill him instead.

But Jet was her priority, and from her vantage point at the top of the stairs, she saw him hiding in the shadow of a doorway on the opposite side, watching the fight with intensity. Ryo's smile widened.

I've got you, you son of a bitch.

After a deep breath, Ryo vanished and appeared just behind Jet, slipped the needle into the side of his throat and pressed down on the plunger. Hunter and Jack were so consumed by each other that they heard and saw nothing.

Ryo dragged Jet's limp body into the first room she could find and then paused for a moment to catch her breath, surprised at her own agility. There was a strength inside her that she never knew she had. Smiling, Ryo looked at her watch. She'd have to be back in at least ten minutes to take Hunter to Cuba, then go back to the army base before the Chinese soldiers could kill Marcus, and then go to the SSS to pick up Mikayla so she could help them defeat General Chang and save the President.

God, help me get through this, she thought. Then she vanished.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me," was the reaction that everyone in the small control room at the army base had when Ryo brought Mikayla back. The fight in the hanger was won. Joshua and Will were most likely with Hunter, who had hopefully defeated Dr. Wolfe by now and was on her way home. They had paused for a moment in the shelter of the control room, aside from Ace who went to rescue Illya from Alfie the still-raging dinosaur, and the Captain, who went back for more men to raid the bunker.

"She wants to help," said Ryo. Her brother was holding her against him and dabbing at the blood dripping from her nose. Her head felt heavy and light at the same time.

Mikayla didn't say a word, knowing that Ryo couldn't spill her secret of having gone back in time. Though Ryo herself didn't know how they hadn't already figured it out.

"How can she help us?" Chantal scoffed.

"Yeah, I think we're doing a fine job on our own," Zac crossed his arms.

If only you knew, thought Ryo.

"There's a telepath in that room," said Ryo. "Mikayla can shut off her power before she knows what's hit her. Then we can go in and take down the General and the rest of his army. They'll know we're onto them in no time at all, and the President could get hurt if we're not careful."

"Oh," said Chevie in a remarkably cheerful tone. "Alright then, good to have you on board Mikayla."

The rest of them glared at him.

"What?"

Suddenly, static came through on the dead guard's walkie-talkie from the corner of the room and a voice in Korean barked out a question. Hurriedly, Marcus yanked the radio from his belt and handed it to Yung.

"Tell him all is clear," said Ryo.

Yung nodded and muttered a reply over the radio. They waited anxiously for the General to report back, watching him on the screen. He glanced at his advisor standing beside him – a male who was much shorter than the rest of them. Then he gave a short reply and Yung's face softened.

They all breathed a sigh of relief.

"We need to make ... a plan," said Ryo.

Zac's hand shot up. "Oo! I've got it! I'll pretend to be one of them-" He indicated to one of the Korean soldiers leaning against the wall with a slit throat, "-and I'll go into the bunker, then while I distract them, all of you guys can sneak in and take them out."

"It won't be that easy, they know you can shape shift. You have to take Mikayla," said Ryo.

Zac frowned at her as he transformed into the soldier. "What, as my escort? I don't think you're this guy's type Mikayla, sorry."

Mikayla rolled her eyes and changed into the other dead soldier.

"You sneaky little fox," said Zac. "You took my power!"

"Argue later," snapped Chevie. "Ryo's plan is perfect. That way, you and Mikayla can distract the telepath. How will we stop those fifteen other soldiers with powerful weaponry though?"

Korean-Zac wrapped his arms around Imogen – who looked a little displeased about being in the soldier's embrace.

"Leave it to Immi," said Zac with a grin.

"Actually," said Koko, "I can take anyone into the bunker without being seen if they hold my hand."

"Kinky," said Zac with a raise of his eyebrows.

"I'll be able to shut down the power directly and stop their hack if I can touch their systems," said Marcus.

"How long will that take you?" asked Zac.

"About a minute. Can you distract them for that long?"

"I can try," he said with a shrug.

Koko nodded. "I'll take you, Marcus. And I'll take Imogen as well so she's protected."

"Sounds like a plan!" said Chevie with a clap of his hand.

Ryo smiled and tilted her head to the side. "Go for it."

Zac and Mikayla almost turned and left when Chevie barked out, "Wait! What are you two idiots doing, you can't walk around in a superhero suit and a gray prison uniform!"

The two Korean men looked down at themselves and were instantly sheepish. With the help of Marcus and Chantal, they stripped the soldiers and slipped on their uniforms. Zac's name badge read 'Hu', and Mikayla's read 'Lee'. Zac looked high as a kite, picking up the soldier's semi-automatic and swinging it around.

"Be careful!" Chantal hissed.

Nodding, Mikayla and Zac headed the group that ran from the room to the downstairs area. Koko took Marcus and Imogen's hand and they disappeared with the blink of an eye. Chevie brought up the cameras from all the screens that Marcus had edited to look blank so that whatever the Chinese were accessing from inside the bunker was blank as well.

"Okay," said Chevie, "they should be there in a few seconds ..."

That was the last thing Ryo heard before she passed out.