Prologue
The year is 2015. The world as we know it no longer exists.
In 2003, Ezekial Rage launched nuclear bombs from China at Cairo, London, Moscow, and Tokyo. The targeted cities retaliated before asking questions. By 2005, the world economy had collapsed, and the United States government fell apart. The former superpower has split into two warring halves, Dulab and Zinja.
The new America is one of hardships and struggles. Warfare has decimated most of the population between the ages of 35 and 65 and has drained the continent of its natural resources. The young and hardy have quickly risen through the ranks to become the new leaders. They are strong, smart, and willing to do anything they have to if it means the end of the war.
Dulab, consisting of the former states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota, and Montana, is dedicated to upholding life as they knew it before the war. They are led by Commander Bennett and Roger "Race" Bannon, men well acquainted with military expeditions. Zinja, made of the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Kansas, has fallen under the rule of a madman named Dr. Zin. Zin's ultimate goal is global domination, starting with the fall of Dulab.
The Dulabian's fight back courageously. They have organized Task Forces composed of their best young freedom fighters. As Quinque, the most elite Task Force, Jonathan Quest, Jessica Bannon, Alexander Anderson, Ashley Ray, and Dion Jennings fight to defend and expand the Dulab territory against Zin. Quinque is passionately determined to resurrect the world they once knew.
"What do you know about Omega?" Race looked up from a file on his desk.
Jonny Quest knitted his eyebrows. "It's a Task Force made up of three members."
"Rumor has it that no one besides you, Commander Bennett, and Omega itself knows who is in it," Jessie Bannon answered. "Not even their own family members."
"They're the last line of defense," Xander Anderson inserted. "They're only called in if nothing, or no one, else can stand between Zin and the fall of Dulab."
"Also, their missions are kept confidential. Most of the time the general public doesn't even know if they've been called in," Dion Jennings signed.
Race nodded. "You're all right. Do you remember two years ago when Quinque was sent down to Florida?"
Jonny, Jessie, and Dion nodded. Xander and Ashley shrugged as neither of them had been in Quinque then.
"It was a bust," Jonny recalled. "We didn't find anything."
"Right. Intelligence Command later determined that the information we had gathered for that mission was intentionally wrong. Zin had made sure we intercepted that missive just so Quinque would be sent into Florida."
"Why?" Jessie wondered.
"At this same time, Zin was searching for a cache of missiles in California. He figured that with Quinque out of the way, he would be able to uncover the missiles and level Columbus without us becoming the wiser. However, we did catch wind of the plot. There wasn't enough time to send Quinque to California so we called in Omega.
"They went to California and since Columbus is still standing, we know they succeeded in their mission. However, we didn't hear from them afterwards. Every member of Omega was listed MIA."
"I hope you don't mind the interruption," Dion said. "But I couldn't help but wonder why Hadji isn't telling us all this. He is, after all, our coordinator."
"There are some things about Omega that even Hadji can't know about." Race replied. "Now, when we were questioning Anaya earlier this week, she let it slip that at least one member of that Omega team may still be alive. Anaya said that she is being kept in a maximum-security prison in New Mexico. I want Quinque to find out if she truly is still alive and to then free her."
"What?" Xander cried. "You want us to break into a top Zinja prison to free someone who may or may not be alive? Why?"
Race tilted his head. "Good question, Stick. This mission, at least for one of you, is personal." He pushed the file on his desk toward Jonny. "Her call sign was Beanbag."
"Beanbag?" Ashley gasped and Quinque turned to look at her. Her face grew pale. "Oh my . . . Laurie?"
Race nodded. "Laurie Ray, age twenty-six at the time of the mission. She had been a member of Omega for four years and been sent out on a total of three missions before her disappearance. I don't care how you do it, but if she lives, I want her back in Columbus. Any questions?"
"Transportation?" Jessie asked.
"To the border. After that you're on your own."
"Time limits?" Jonny wondered.
"None. Also, Hadji will be told of your mission, so you can report directly to him once you're out in the field. However, Beanbag's real identity doesn't leave this room."
"Can I tell my parents?" Ashley met Race's eyes.
"I would rather you didn't at this point in time, Sandman," Race replied. "They know that every time you're sent out on a mission that you might not come back. I would hate to have them worry about both their daughters. If you free her, you've got a great surprise. But if she is dead, I wouldn't want to get their hopes up. I can imagine they were crushed enough when Laurie didn't come back."
Ashley nodded, remembering the depression her parents had fallen into for months after Laurie had disappeared. "As you say, sir."
"Good. You have tonight to get ready. I'll expect Quinque to be out of Columbus by noon tomorrow."
"Yes, sir," Jonny answered for the group.
* * *
Ashley sat in the dark. Her parents were out getting dinner. Actually, they probably did not even know she was waiting for them. Sometimes she never told them when she was in Columbus -- it all depended on her schedule with Quinque. But tonight she felt a deep need to be with her family.
With a sigh, she turned on the television. The news was snowy, but she could make out the figures on the scratched screen. Race and Bennett felt strongly in keeping the general public informed about what was happening around the country. Nothing was as good as it was before the fall, but it was something. It helped keep rumors from escalating throughout Dulab.
" . . . Dr. Quest's funeral." Her attention was suddenly turned to the reporter. "Such important figures as Leader Bennett and Leader Bannon attended. Included among the speakers was Apollo, the leader of the Task Force known as Quinque. And what Apollo had to say shocked the world."
Ashley watched as a camera zoomed in on Apollo's face as he stood in front of a podium. She could tell he was swallowing back tears.
"From this day forth," he started, "anyone who wants to take a picture of me can. I refuse to hide in the shadows any longer. Most of you never knew why Leader Bannon passed the law that no one could take a picture of me, that my face was never to be shown on a newspaper or on the air. There was a reason. It seemed like a good reason at the time." He paused and spared a glance for the mahogany coffin behind him. "Now most of you are wondering why Apollo was chosen to speak at the great Dr. Quest's funeral.
"I knew Dr. Quest before the fall. Just as I knew Leader Bannon, his daughter, Jessie, and Hadji Singh before the fall. You see, Dr. Quest was my father. I am Jonathan Quest."
The sound of the front door opening caused Ashley to jump. As she made her breathing calm back down, her parents flipped on the lights and smiled when they saw her.
"Ashley." Her mother gave her a hard hug. "I didn't know you were back in Columbus."
"For tonight," she replied, turning to kiss her father on the cheek.
"Well, regardless, it's good to see you again," her father said. "Do you leave on another mission tomorrow?"
Ashley nodded. "Yeah." She wanted to yell that her sister might still be alive. But Race's words circled throughout her mind and she remained quiet. "We're going to New Mexico starting tomorrow."
"I always wanted to go to New Mexico before the fall." Her mother hung up her coat. Winter was nearing and the weather had turned cool. "I never got the chance, though."
"What is Quinque going to be doing in New Mexico?" Her father wondered. "Or can you not tell us?"
With a small grin, Ashley shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't, Dad. You know how these Task Force things work."
"I know that I was glad your father got out of the one he was in and took the desk job Intelligence Command had offered him." Her mother hooked a hand around her husband's arm. "It was nice not to have to worry whether or not he was going to be coming back."
Ashley averted her eyes. "I know how you feel about the Task Forces, Mom. You don't have to rub it in my face every time you see me."
Her mother laid a hand on her youngest daughter's shoulder. "I don't want to see you get hurt, Ash."
"And Zin might get control of Dulab tomorrow. It's a chance we have to take to keep our freedom. I will do anything I can to keep Zin from gathering the world in his tight fist."
Her father gave her a slight smile. "You sound just like your sister." Laurie's alive!
"And you know that we will accept any decision you make . . . "
"Even those you don't like?" She interrupted, grinning.
He laughed. "Even those we don't like. You've become a formidable woman, Ash. We're both very proud of you."
Ashley pulled them both into a hug. "Thank you, both of you."
* * *
"Anaya?"
She turned slowly, as if hardly believing that the person whose voice had called out her name had actually come to see her. "Hadji Singh?"
Hadji nodded. "Hello."
For a moment, he studied Zin's daughter through the bars of her cell. She was still as beautiful as ever. He could still remember the first time they had met and how she had used him, made a fool of him. And still her eyes could melt his soul.
"I didn't think you'd come down to see me," she said.
Two weeks ago, Race and Quinque had captured Anaya. Her twin sister, Melana, had escaped and probably returned to their father in Austin, Texas.
"I just wanted to come down and see that you were well."
"I'm fine." She paused, studying the former sultan in return. The years had only made him harder -- of course time had made all of them harder. He now stood taller than she did by half a foot, his brown eyes shone with a fierce inner light, and he still wore a turban that covered his dark hair. "You look good. How do you like being a coordinator and out of the field?"
Hadji shrugged and looked away. "It was my decision. It was the right thing to do for me."
"I never stopped thinking of you."
He ducked his head. "I'm sorry that we were fighting on opposite sides of this struggle, Anaya."
"Me, too."
"You are well, aren't you? Do you lack for anything?"
Anaya gave him a small, tired smile. "Just my freedom, my young sultan."
"I'm not so young anymore."
"No," she agreed, her eyes flickering up and down his body. "You're not."
* * *
Two days later, they were at the southern border of Dulab. Quinque clambered out of the jeep and waved to their driver, who waved back, wishing the small group luck. It would take them at least three days without interruption to make their way to the prison. Before they had left, Jonny had talked with Tony Taber, a former Zinja Commandant, about the prison and the area around it. Taber had told him that no one had ever escaped from Alcatraz, as the Zinja Guard had nicknamed that particular prison. Some had tried, but they were always caught and dragged back in chains. Soon afterwards, those who had tried to escape were dead. Jonny asked about secret passageways through the prison but Taber had shrugged in ignorance. He had never personally been there.
Slinging his backpack and bedroll onto his back, Jonny led the group to the southwest. Taber had given him excellent directions on how to reach the prison. And Jonny knew that getting there would be the easy part.
"So," Jonny began after they had settled down for the night. "Does anyone have any thoughts on how to get Beanbag out? I have some, but I would like to hear any other ideas first."
"One of us could get captured," Ashley suggested. "Once inside we could try and make contact with her."
Dion shook his head. "Too dangerous. They might not even keep the person there, not after realizing they're part of Quinque. They'd probably just ship him off to Austin before blinking."
"Ash could try and break into their computer system," Jessie said. "They must keep some sort of files on the prisoners."
"That would solve half of the problem," Jonny nodded. "But that still doesn't help with getting a person in and out with Beanbag."
Xander snickered. "Ashley, I've just got to know . . . Beanbag?"
Ashley grinned. "It comes from a juggling act, believe it or not. You see, before the fall we lived in Houston, Texas."
"All right, but I'm still wondering where the beanbag comes in," Xander interrupted.
"Let me finish," Ashley complained. "Did you guys ever go to a Renaissance Faire?"
Jonny and Jessie shook their heads though the rest of the team nodded.
"Well, for those two who don't know, a Renaissance Faire is a place where people try to recreate, what else, the renaissance. Now, near Houston, there is a faire called the Texas Renaissance Faire. Not very original, I'll agree, but that was fine with us. Part of the fun of a faire, besides looking at all the medieval merchandise, is the entertainment. There are singers, musicians, magicians, whatever you want performing throughout the faire. Every year on the main stage, The Globe Theater it was called, was a juggling group called The Flaming Idiots."
"Still wondering where the beanbag thing comes in."
Ashley shot Xander a dark look and then continued, "The Flaming Idiots were quite humorous. I know that many of my friends went to the faire just to watch them. One of their acts included juggling beanbag chairs."
Jonny raised an eyebrow. "Beanbag chairs? Aren't they a little big for juggling?"
"That was part of the act," Ashley grinned. "Gyro, the leader, would start talking about how some of the drunk people in the back of the stage would always loudly complain that they could never see the little balls they were juggling with. Pyro, one of the members, would make some joke about it and then tell the audience that they figured out a way to make sure that people in the back could see them. And then Walter, the third member, would bring out three different colored beanbag chairs from behind the stage. He would toss them out and the group would juggle them for a little while." She paused, watching the faces of her teammates. "I'm guessing you pretty much had to be there. Regardless, Laurie loved the act."
"Well, I suppose that makes as much sense as any other call sign I've heard," Dion replied. "Don't you think . . . Caroline?"
Xander and Ashley both turned toward her with evil grins.
"Yeah, Caroline," Xander said. "I don't think you've ever told us why you picked that call sign. I mean, we can all figure out why Jonny chose Apollo with his swelled head and all . . ." He trailed off as he ducked Jonny's mock punch. "But Caroline? Where does that come from?"
Jonny laughed. "Yeah, Lady Caroline, why don't you tell them?"
Jessie blushed and turned toward her old friend. "Hey, this story is bound to embarrass you as much as it does me," she pointed out.
"Lady Caroline?" Ashley wondered. "What does he mean by that?"
"It all started when Jonny, Hadji, and I were on our way to Nova Scotia . . . "
* * *
It was dusk of the following day when they reached the far outskirts of the prison. They made sure to keep far enough away that no guards would be able to see their presence from the prison walls. From time to time they had been able to hitchhike, saving their feet and time. As they settled down for a night without a camp fire, as all nights would be until they were out of the area, Jonny looked around at his teammates, his friends. Yes,
"Just out of curiosity, do we have a plan?" Dion wondered.
Jonny nodded and all eyes turned toward him. "Tomorrow we watch," he stated. "We need to know how things stand before we just barge right in. We need to figure out how they keep track of prisoners, what time the prisoners are allowed into the courtyards for exercise, when delivery trucks enter and exit the compound, anything and everything that might give us a tactical advantage. What we discover tomorrow will decide our course of action. At this point in time, we might even need to watch the prison for a few days to get a sense of how things work, I'm not sure."
"Didn't Taber say that no one had ever escaped from this prison?" Xander asked.
"Yes, he did. But how many of those who tried to escape had help from the outside?" Jonny reminded the group. "Working together, we can do this. I mean, if we can break into Zinja Headquarters in Austin and escape, this should be a piece of cake."
* * *
"Man, no wonder they catch everyone who tries to escape," Xander commented when he got a look of the layout of the land around the prison area the next morning.
Jonny nodded, silently agreeing with him. For nearly a quarter of a mile around the prison there was nothing but flat land. It would give the Zinja Guard plenty to time to stop somebody running away. It also made their job infinitely harder as the guards would see anyone who tried to approach the prison, no matter what side they tried to sneak in from.
"All right, here are your assignments for the day. Ash, you're in charge of watching the gates. Jess, you watch the guards on the walls. Dion, you get the prisoners and Xander, you get the guards within the walls of the prison. Find a vantage point, even if it's in the branches of some tree, and take notes. Any questions?"
"What are you going to be doing?" Ashley asked.
"I'll be studying the building itself," Jonny replied. "I'm hoping there's some other way in other than that gate."
Quinque split up, each finding a spot to watch from. Ashley sighed as she settled down behind some bushes. It was liable to be a long, and boring, day. Now that her sister was so near she itched for action. She wanted to find out the truth -- was Laurie alive? And if she was, she wanted to break her out right now. But she also knew Jonny was right -- they needed information. Having the whole team get caught would not do Laurie any good.
* * *
Jonny's eyes scanned the prison. There was the main, front gate -- the obvious way in. There was also a door in the back wall of the prison. His guts told him that it was guarded on the inside. But other than those two, he could see no other outward entrance. He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. They had to be getting water in and out somehow. As there was no well that he could see, that should mean underground tunnels of some sort. But he had no idea where they started or ended. If they could just get some blueprints of the facility . . . he sighed in frustration.
Before the fall he just would have asked IRIS . . . he stopped. IRIS, of course. His father had rebuilt Questworld before he had died. And IRIS might be able to give them some of the information they wanted. The only problem would be finding a way to log on. He grinned, suddenly remembering that Ashley had made sure to download the Questworld software onto her laptop a few weeks ago when they had hacked into the system.
"Sandman," he called over his watch. "Do you read me?"
"I hear you, Apollo. What's up?"
"You did remember to bring your laptop on this scenic trip, didn't you?"
"Of course. Why?"
"Meet me back at the camp. I've got an idea."
Thirty minutes later, Jonny was standing in the digitized world with Ashley monitoring him.
"IRIS, find me any files on Zinja prisons."
After an hour of searching, Jonny finally found what he was looking for -- the blueprints to Alcatraz and the land that immediately surrounded it.
"Sandman, can you save this to your laptop?" Jonny wondered.
"Already working on it, Apollo," came Ashley's disembodied voice. "There, done."
"Good. Thanks, Sandman. Could you log me out?"
"Right away, Apollo, logging out."
Jonny smiled, opening his eyes to the real world. "You know, it is nice to go in there and not have to look over my shoulder for Jeremiah Surd every five minutes."
Ashley knitted her eyebrows. "Who?" She had heard that name somewhere before, but could not quite place it.
Jonny gave a lopsided grin. "Long story. Remind Jess and I to tell you guys about it some night."
"I'm guessing this Surd character wasn't a friend of yours?"
Jonny laughed. "No, not really."
"So tell me, did anyone like your family?" Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Or did you just go from day to day escaping the clutches of various villains?"
"Definitely the latter," Jonny replied, smiling. "We had some pretty wild adventures."
"I can imagine. There was this Surd guy, whoever he was. And we all already know how much Zin just adores your family. Anyone else?"
"Rage."
Ashley's mouth dropped. "You knew Ezekial Rage? The man who completely destroyed the world as we knew it?"
Jonny nodded. "He always thought that Jessie was his dead daughter, Carla."
"Jeez, Apollo, you had some crazy childhood."
"Tell me about it," Jonny agreed.
* * *
"So, great leader, what's our plan?" Dion wondered as the sun set in a glorious array of reds and yellows.
Jonny met the eyes of his team members. "Xander, Ash, you two will be going in. The rest of us will back you up from out here."
"All right," Ashley agreed. "How are we getting in?"
Jonny grinned. "That's the fun part."
* * *
The delivery truck was stopped, waiting for the slow moving old man to cross the street. Quickly, Ashley and Xander clambered on board, hiding under the tarp that covered the barrels of dried meat. Eventually, the truck started forward and Ashley stuck her head outside in time to see the old man who had held up the truck give her a slight wave.
"Do you think this is going to work?" She wondered as she lowered the tarp again.
"Sure," Xander enthusiastically replied. "It's not like every plan Apollo cooks up always goes wrong."
"Oh, yeah," Ashley grinned. "Just most of them."
Xander chuckled softly. "All right, I think it's time to turn on our watches."
Ashley nodded and touched a button on the watch. They had switched from their normal Q-faced watches to plain black ones. But the other watches included all the same functions, plus a few more escape tricks, as their usual watches.
"I hope you guys are picking this up," Xander said. "Because if you aren't, we're in trouble. Can you give me some sort of signal so that I know you're out there, Pudge?"
Jessie was monitoring Ashley's signal while Dion had Xander's. Just then a small light on Xander's watch flashed three times.
"Good, thank you, Pudge." He flashed a smile at Ashley. "Looks like we're ready to rock and roll."
They stopped once at the gates of the prison and then again at the unloading docks. As the drivers of the truck got out, Xander and Ashley rolled off the end after checking to make sure that no guards were looking their way.
"We need two helpers," one of the drivers commanded. "Jimmy and I are not about to unload this truck."
" . . . lazy bastards . . . " one of the guards muttered as he walked away to get some prisoners.
Ashley smiled at Xander. This might be easier than they had expected.
A few minutes later, two prisoners walked next to the truck and climbed into the back. Xander glanced around the area, noting with glee that the unloading docks seemed to be away from the general compound. He gave Ashley a thumb up and they both cautiously started toward the truck. Neither the guards nor the drivers were anywhere in sight.
"Hey," Xander hissed to get the attention of the prisoners.
The prisoners, a male and female, turned at the sound of his voice. Both of their eyes narrowed when they noticed that these strangers were not wearing the dull blue uniform of prisoners.
"Who are you?" The man's voice was harsh.
"We have a proposition for you," Xander started. "We'll take your place."
"Look, darling," the woman said. "I think they might notice you're not one of us."
"We'll trade clothes, too," Ashley entered. "And then you two can sneak out the same way we got in."
The prisoners exchanged glances and then looked back at the strangers.
"What's in it for you?" The man wondered.
"We have a plan, don't worry," Ashley said. "We're here to rescue a friend of ours."
"You two do know that no one has ever escaped from this place alive, right?" The woman asked.
"There's a first time for everything." Xander grinned.
The man studied the two. "Task Force?"
Xander and Ashley nodded, but did not elaborate.
"So what is it going to be?" Xander questioned. "Freedom or two extra cellmates?"
Less then two minutes later, Xander and Ashley were busy unloading the barrels of food. The two prisoners they had switched outfits with were already securely hidden under the tarp. And since Ashley and Xander knew they were there, they were extra careful not to reveal their hiding place.
After ten minutes, the truck was empty and Ashley and Xander made their way into the courtyard of the prison.
"This is it," Xander muttered. "No going back now."
"I think the point of no return was when we got onto the truck," Ashley argued. But even while tension filled her body, her eyes were searching through the ranks of prisoners for her sister.
"Do you think you're going to recognize her?" Xander whispered.
"I hope so."
Just then a shrill whistle cut through their conversation.
"Everybody back to your cells," loud voices exclaimed. "It's time for you to be locked back up like the dogs you are."
A guard pushed Ashley in the back with a thick walking stick. Ashley stumbled and then caught herself before she could fall. She swiftly glanced back at Xander to see him heading toward the opposite side of the prison. The prison divided the men and women. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself to remain calm. For the moment at least, she was on her own.
* * *
It was two days before Ashley found Laurie. Ashley had been cleaning toilets when her sister came up behind her.
"You know," a voice whispered. "The guards may not care who is who in this joint just as long as they count the right number of prisoners, but I don't recognize you. And Talia's missing. So I want to know what is going on. Who are you?"
Ashley swiftly turned, the brush in her hand like a weapon. Her brown eyes widened as she took in the brown hair and hard blue eyes of her sister.
"Laurie?"
Confusion crossed Laurie's face. "Who are you?" she repeated.
Ashley smiled, still not quite believing her eyes. "It's me, Ashley."
Laurie's mouth dropped. "Ash? What are you doing here?"
"Rescuing you."
Laurie leaned out of the stall and looked around the bathroom to see if anyone was around. "Why? Who sent you?"
"Bannon's orders. I'm on a Task Force now."
"Oh, I bet Mom's thrilled with that idea." Laurie grinned.
"At least Mom knows I'm on a Task Force," Ashley reminded. "Omega, Laurie. I know you couldn't tell anyone, but still . . . Omega."
Laurie shrugged. "I could hardly tell Bannon I didn't want to join. Not when I truly did." She smiled and gave her sister a hard hug. "It's good to see you again, Ash."
Ashley softly laughed, reveling in her sister's presence. "You, too, Laurie."
"So do you have some sort of plan to get us out of here?"
"Of course. We just have to hope it works."
* * *
The next afternoon when the prisoners were allowed out into the courtyard, Ashley met up with Xander. Laurie had kitchen duty. She walked up to him and he instantly noticed the small braid that ran down the right side of her hair.
"Now?" He asked.
She nodded and together they turned, heading toward the kitchens. According to the blueprints Jonny had pulled up, there was a maintenance entrance into the water pipes just outside the back door of the kitchen.
One of the guards in the yard stopped them.
"Where do you think you two are going?" He growled.
"Kitchen duty," Xander replied.
"Why aren't you already in the kitchens then?"
Ashley turned emotionless eyes on the guard. "Because."
"You make me sick," the guard said, lifting his nose as if he smelled something foul. "When you're done in there, I'll find you. We need to have a little chat about your discipline."
"Oh, right," Ashley sneered. "We'll be sure to wait for you."
Xander tugged on her arm, pulling her past the guard.
"What was that about?" He hissed.
Ashley shrugged. "Just having a little fun."
"You won't think it's as much fun if you're sent to the commandant's because of that attitude," Xander said.
She shrugged again. "We're on our way out of here."
They reached the kitchens and Ashley found her sister scrubbing some pots. Laurie turned as they neared.
"What are you doing here, Ash?"
"Time to go," Ashley replied. "Beanbag, meet Stick. Stick, Beanbag."
"Nice to meet you." Xander held out a hand that Laurie promptly accepted. "But I'm afraid we don't have much time."
"So what's the plan?"
"The plan is we go out the back door, take about four steps to the left, and pry off the way into some tunnels," Ashley answered.
Laurie nodded and set down the pot she had been working on. "I'm ready whenever you guys are."
Together they made their way out the back door. As they dropped to the ground to pull up the metal slab, Laurie turned toward Ashley.
"By the way, how did you find out about these tunnels?"
"We have our ways," Ashley answered, cryptically.
After a few long moments, they managed to open the tunnel. Laurie swung around, dropping down first, quickly followed by Xander. Just as Ashley was about to descend, a guard saw her.
"Stop!" He yelled, running toward the entrance.
Quickly Ashley climbed down on the ladder attached to the side of the tunnel, pulled the cover back over the top, and pushed a button on her watch. A thin laser shot out and she used it to weld the hatch to the rest of the tunnel. Then she made her way down the ladder, splashing down next to Xander and her sister.
Xander turned on the flashlight in his watch.
"Are there any more entrance ways into these tunnels, Pudge?" He wondered, pulling his watch close to his mouth.
"There are none in front of you, but some behind you." Jessie's voice came over the link. "You still better hurry. They're not going to give you much time to get out of there."
"Affirmative, Caroline. Thanks." He glanced over at his teammate. "Well, Sandman, let's go."
Thirty minutes and two miles later they met up with the rest of the team. Xander was frowning as they exited the system.
"Did you run into anyone?" Jonny asked as Dion and Jessie started gathering their equipment.
Xander shook his head. "No, and that's what's worrying me. We didn't have any real problems getting out of there. And no offense to you, Apollo, but it just doesn't feel like it's because of your flawless plan, either."
Jonny shook his head. "None taken, Stick. But the question would then become why would they want Beanbag to escape?"
They exchanged worried looks.
"I think I'll be keeping a close eye on our Beanbag," Xander admitted.
Jonny nodded. "But don't tell anyone else anything for now. There's no need to worry Ashley. I'd hate to drag something like this into the open only to be proven wrong." He frowned. "But for being an inescapable prison, it is pretty odd that no one is pursuing you three."
* * *
Ashley smiled, content for the first time since Laurie had disappeared. They were on their way back to Columbus and her sister was returned to her. She could hardly believe it. Her parents would be thrilled to have their oldest daughter back into their lives. And perhaps they would even realize how much good Ashley was doing as part of a Task Force.
"So." Laurie sat down next to her sister. "Are you going to introduce me to your friends?"
"Oh, sure." Ashley smiled. "You've already met Stick. But we also have Apollo, Caroline, and Pudge."
"Apollo?" Laurie raised an eyebrow as she studied Jonny from afar. "He sure is quite the looker. He's younger than I imagined him to be."
"Did you know him before . . .?"
Laurie shook her head. "I'd just heard of him, like so many others. I feel like I'm meeting some sort of legend."
Ashley laughed. "He's as human as you or me. There's nothing truly spectacular about him."
"Except that he's Apollo," Laurie reminded.
"And all that means is that he can find trouble faster than anyone else can," Ashley replied.
"Do you know who he really is?"
Ashley nodded. "Everybody does now. He's through hiding."
"Well, I look forward to getting to know him."
* * *
Captain Mandrake knocked on the door.
"Come in." Zin's voice sounded from the other side.
"Sir." Mandrake bowed when he entered. "I have news from Alcatraz. The bait has been taken."
Zin smiled with satisfaction as he leaned back in his chair. "Good."