“Draco thinks that we’re attacking the king directly, but in reality…” Van said. “We’re going back to the ship to get information.”
“Exactly,” Sang said with a grin. “It’s the perfect plan.”
“Perfect except for one problem,” Van said. “What if this guy doesn’t cooperate?”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to walk out of this alive,” Kenneth begged.
“Of course you will,” Neil said. “But in my years of violence and coercion, and believe me, there had been many, I have learned that intimidation only works to a point. The moment that you can screw them over in that game, you will.”
“I won’t, I promise!” Kenneth insisted.
“I’m not buying it,” O’Hara said. “This guy is trying to play every side of the fence. He’s not going into the game with you guys.”
Van shook his head. “Sorry, but we’ll need him to make sure those two aren’t killed. There are innocent people involved here. They didn’t deserve any of this.”
“You’d pit two people’s lives against millions or even billions of people?” Neil asked. “Let’s be really honest here: in an ideal world, we would love for your friends to live, but the truth is, it’s not worth the trouble.”
“How can you say that?” Van shouted. “They’re human beings!”
“So? What are two lives against the entirety of mankind?” O’Hara asked. “Look, it’s not ideal, but I say we call Draco’s bluff. A hostage is only good for controlling someone. If it’s clear the hostages can’t be used against us, then they’ll find another strategy.”
“But will that strategy include sparing their lives?” Van asked.
O’Hara shrugged. “It’s a risk we’re going to have to take.”
“Sang, can you please tag in here?” Van asked.
Sang didn’t say anything; she just stared forward. “I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s worth it.”
“What if we compromise?” Van asked. “Instead of rushing back to save the girls, we send the army to attack Lemuel’s fortress and Kenwar provides false intel that we’re there. Then we can catch them off guard?”
“Not a bad idea,” Sang said. “But it hinges on Kenwar not betraying us.”
“Yeah,” Van said as he looked at the man. “You have some choices here. You can work with us, save this planet and your own skin, or you can try to betray us. It’s up to you.”
Kenneth shrugged. “I don’t know what I can say to convince you that I’ll stay loyal.”
Van sighed. It was a terrible idea to have their strategy hinging on the word of a guy who had made it very clear to Van that he would do anything to survive. As soon as he had the chance, Kenwar would betray them. Yet, at the same time, without Kenwar’s help, Draco would quickly murder Dolly and Bidane. Yes, Bidane had followed after Van without asking, but she’d had no idea what she was getting into. She was just a gamer who’d been a little too sharp for her own good. Now she was going to die if they didn’t do something, and the worst part was that she wouldn’t even know she was in real-world danger. There was no time for her to make peace with her end; she would just die and wouldn’t have the dignity of knowing it was the end at all.
“What if I—” Kenneth started, but he stopped talking when O’Hara pressed her foot down hard on him.
“Don’t even try to suggest anything,” O’Hara said.
They rode the rest of the trip in absolute silence.
Sang let out a sigh of relief as they dropped the last pod into place. She had neglected to mention to the team that her apartment was on the third floor, and she’d seen the pissed off looks in her team members’ eyes as they’d grunted and wheezed, carrying the heavy pods up the stairs. It had been an exhausting affair, and she’d already been running on empty. Neil had some Cwake left, but refused to let Sang have any until it was time to plug in. She had gotten a brief hour of sleep at this point, but it hadn’t been very restful. She couldn’t stop thinking about the game.
“Alright, are we ready?” O’Hara asked as she began to plug in her monitoring system, which had been stolen right along with the pods.
“Just about,” Van said. “I feel like I’m going to puke.”
“Yeah—me, too,” Sang replied. “I’ve never been more tired in my life.”
“Nice place,” Neil said as he looked around. The apartment was pretty empty except for a couch sitting in the corner. Nothing adorned the walls, and nor did she even have a TV.
“Well, I don’t really hang out at home,” Sang replied. “Too much work to do these days.”
“The good news is that we’ll all be unemployed after this,” Neil replied. “Well, at least the four of us will. Poor Mr. Kenwar here will have a short and exciting career as a professional digger. It’ll last him the rest of his life!”
“Please, stop threatening me,” Kenneth said. “I promised I’d help. What more do you want from me?”
Neil grinned as he dug into his pocket. He produced a pill bottle. “You know, one of the handy things about working in the CIA is the fact that we have access to all sorts of terrible things. For example...” he paused to pull out a small round pill. It was red. “This here? This is none other than one of our most effective poisons. Designed for use on foreign dignitaries when they’re on diplomatic missions. Takes a few days to kick in. Not only is it untraceable, but the death looks natural.”
“W-what are you going to do with that?” Kenneth asked as Neil began to stroll toward him.
“Oh, I was thinking long and hard of a solution to our problem, and I believe I’ve found it,” Neil said as he grabbed Kenneth by the arm. “You’re going to pop this here pill. Don’t worry—it won’t kill you immediately. It’ll take at least three days. So that’s good news for you because I happen to have the antidote right here.” Neil pulled out a separate bottle and shook it. “This is a happy medium. You swallow this sucker right now, and we’re guaranteed that you will do whatever it takes to make us happy.”
“You’re crazy!” Kenneth said. “Sang, you can’t let him do this to me.”
Sang shrugged. She knew very well that Neil was holding allergy medicine in his hand, as the man had a terrible allergy to pollen. Fortunately for him, Kenneth didn’t seem to realize that it was a common drug for those who suffered from the sniffles.
“Look,” Sang said, “we’re stuck here. So, if you eat that pill, we know we can trust you. You work for us, we get the girls out safely, we steal some information from Draco, and then we all go home.”
Kenneth stared at Sang, his mouth frozen open in terror. “I… I don’t…”
“Too bad,” Neil said as he jammed his fingers into the guy’s mouth. “Now be a good boy and take your medicine! Or the next thing I shove into your mouth is my revolver.”
Kenneth made some panicked whimpering noises, but seemed to swallow the pill. Neil was very thorough in checking his mouth.
“You are all kinds of crazy,” O’Hara said as she watched Neil shine a flashlight into the man’s mouth.
“Am I crazy for thoroughly making sure he swallowed a poison pill?” Neil asked.
“Yes,” Sang, O’Hara, and Van said together.
“Well, whatever. Come on, we don’t have a lot of time. Let’s load everyone in and get this show on the road,” Neil said.
“Oh… oh… God,” Kenneth whispered.
“It’s not so fun when you have to pick a side, eh?” Van asked as he patted Kenneth on the back. “Don’t worry, I promise that if you follow through, I will personally force Neil to give you the cure.”
Sang opened her eyes to see that she was standing by the campsite. The ground beneath her was gently rocking back and forth. She felt a strong desire to vomit well up within her—it was as if she were hung over. The Cwake had helped wake her up a little, but the side effects of going without sleep were starting to catch up with her, and hard.