She never left the country. I laughed when I heard how close she was to the capital. I could complete some business while I went to pick her up.
—The journal of Isaac Ryland
The sun was starting to set. Andrew glanced nervously at the wall clock. They had five minutes until it was time to leave. Riley, Carter, Trent, and Rod sat around the table with him. Andrew was dressed in all black, courtesy of Greg Finnegan. Andrew thought the shirt material was too thin to provide as much protection as it should have. He nervously fingered one of the guns that was around his waist. Riley and Carter had on similar outfits. Trent was wearing a clean RAG agent suit and Rod sat in a sweat suit.
“I should be coming with you,” Rod said.
“You would hold us back,” Riley said.
Andrew shot her an annoyed look. Her eyes went wide and she shrugged her shoulders.
“She’s telling the truth,” Rod said. “It just seems wrong that I have my family back and you’re all leaving without me.”
Andrew watched as Rod beamed at Carter.
“You have become more of a man than I ever thought possible,” Rod said. “I want to force you to stay here with me and keep you safe, but it wouldn’t be right or fair. The rest of the world needs you more than I do.”
Trent looked uncomfortable at the relationship between Carter and Rod. Andrew had been at first too. He’d given up wondering what his own father had been like long ago, and no doubt Trent had too. Being faced with Carter and Rod’s affection resurrected those dormant thoughts.
“You, Andrew,” Rod said, “have learned to let people in. You’re not a one-man show anymore; instead you are a true leader.”
“We have an hour’s drive to the Mission,” Riley said. “We should get going.”
Everyone stood up from the table. Andrew followed Riley toward the garage but was stopped by Rod’s grip on his arm. He pulled Andrew’s ear down to his mouth.
“Take care of him,” Rod said. “Take care of all of them.”
Andrew put a reassuring hand on Rod’s shoulder and nodded his head. He continued his trek toward the car. There were no false good-byes for Andrew. Instead he accepted that there was a good chance the group would fail and he would die tonight. If that was the case, he was glad to go out the hero Mia had always thought he was.
They were in a nondescript car, unlikely to cause any notice. Andrew kept his hand in his pocket while Trent drove through the streets of the capital. He turned the small device that sat in his pocket over and over again. He went over Zack’s instructions in his head. Make his way toward the hall of paintings, hit the panel leading to the hidden room, punch in the code, and stick the small device into the master server. It sounded so easy, but Andrew expected much more of a battle.
“Remember,” Riley said. “Wait for nobody; once we have confirmation run toward the television station. We regroup there. If the confirmation does not come leave exactly at eight P.M. Does everyone remember where it is in relation to the Mission?”
There was no possibility any of them would get lost if the other three were obsessing over directions as much as Andrew was. He nodded his head. The group drove past the Rook, a tall building shaped like a piece from an old game, meant to remind the country of a time long forgotten. Andrew saw the Mission come into view. Trent pulled down a side street and found a place to park the car.
“This place looks deserted,” Carter said.
“What?” Andrew asked.
“The whole city,” Carter said. “We passed next to no cars and I haven’t seen anyone walking around.”
“A lot of important people live here,” Trent said. “They’re at the wedding.”
“Or sitting in front of their television sets waiting for the broadcast,” Riley said.
“Don’t forget these,” Trent said.
He held up three pairs of handcuffs. Andrew snatched his and put them around his wrists. He heard the clink of the metal as Riley and Carter did the same. Trent let out a loud burst of laughter.
“My, how things have changed,” he said.
“We’re just playing prisoners,” Riley said.
Trent handed each of them a key to their own cuffs. Andrew climbed through the divider into the backseat and sat next to Riley and Carter.
“We have thirty minutes,” Riley said. “Let’s try to finish in twenty.”
Trent put the car back into drive and continued toward the Mission. Andrew couldn’t decide if he was headed toward certain death or the start of a new world order.