Firebomb (The Jewel Project #2)

09.3|| The Agent

Jerry finished another lap and continued pacing at the roots of the tall tree. He'd started pacing five minutes after Tom's departure, and fought with all his might not to check the time every five seconds. But he hated waiting, being the one left to be discovered and captured, like a sitting duck.

I'm not going to panic. If the others can do this, so can I. He could be an agent. A proper one, who finished his missions thoroughly and with dedication. He could be brave, he could face danger and he could make all these lies true if he said them to himself enough times.

He vaguely remembered facing Von Crooken, pistol-whipping him across the face. It had been so easy, had come so natural. Even if he was back to normal more or less, what he'd done was done. He had that part inside him, buried deep. All he had to do was tap into it.

Where are you, Tom? He couldn't tap into it. He was scared out of his mind. Tom had been gone for hours. What if he'd been captured and he and William were alone?

The distant rumble of an engine had him freezing with one foot in midair. Snitch Gravel's men. He hurried behind the tree's trunk, praying William wouldn't come out of his bush, and waited. A sandy pickup appeared into view, racing madly towards him.

Before Jerry could even think what to do, the pickup rammed into the tree next to his, leaving the car a smoking mess.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Tom kicked the passenger's door open and jumped down.

"We couldn't keep the car. They know I stole it," Angie answered, crawling out through the same door.

Jerry stared at them, his mouth hanging open, while they continued bickering.

"We could've gotten seriously hurt." Tom crossed his arms over his chest and turned away from Angie childishly.

Angie rolled her eyes. "Please. Give me some credit. The airbags didn't even pop out."

"Are you sure that thing has airbags?"

Angie didn't answer, but turned away. Her eyes fell on Jerry and she squeaked with delight. "Jerry!" Before he knew what was happening, Angie hugged him tightly.

"How?... What?" Jerry stuttered looking from Tom to Angie.

"Jerry, let me introduce you to the mysterious agent," Tom said, wrapping one protective arm around Angie's shoulder.

"You're the agent? What are they, mad?" Jerry spluttered.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention. Because of the crappy toxic water we've been drinking, Jerry has acquired a very uncharacteristic rudeness. What he actually means is that he's glad to see you," Tom said grinning meanly at Jerry who was still looking at them as if they were a couple of hula-dancing giraffes.

Angie smiled too, then her eyes wondered towards William who had just stepped into the open. "That's Kay's brother!" she yelped.

"Do you know him?" Jerry asked.

"Yeah. Kay and I grew up together. But I thought he was dead," she said confused.

William didn't give any sign of recognition. For a moment, she just studied William's face, then she turned back to Tom and Jerry.

"I think we should move out. We'll be found if we stay here any longer. Snitch Gravel has a whole army out looking for me. Let's grab some water and go."

"Yeah, good point. We should get going," Tom agreed and turned around to a rifle pointed at his face.

Jerry's heart jumped into his throat. With all the commotion, they'd failed to notice that they've been surrounded. Oh, no, it was just two guys out of which only one had his gun out. Angie ducked behind a tree, but the cronies didn't seem to notice. Their eyes were on Tom. Jerry shuffled as inconspicuously as possible and blocked William from view.

"What do you know? We came out looking for a nickel and we found a big fat juicy quarter," said the armed man with a sneer.

"Hey, look, new henchmen," Tom said excited, as if Snitch Gravel had supplied his personal zoo with more exotic animals.

Angie came up behind the two and, before they could open their mouths to likely voice their offence, she knocked them out with two well-placed hits to the backs of their heads.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Jerry asked impressed.

"When did you learn how to do that?" Tom asked.

"I've been training before coming here, especially in hand to hand combat. But I could take care of myself since I was ten." She shrugged and motioned for them to follow her.

As they scrambled through the forest, they met a multitude of patrols. Snitch Gravel had indeed sent an army after Angie. But she handled herself well, attacked with ease and rendered the men useless. After the first two patrols, Jerry just kept out of her way and made sure they wouldn't lose William.

Tom on the other hand seemed to get more annoyed after every fight. Jerry suspected it was because Angie was more efficient than him at knocking people out. Tom should grow up, not have a testosterone battle with his girlfriend.

They walked until sunset. Angie knew the way approximately, but they still had to turn around many times and go back. As the sun sank low over the branches of the forest, they finally reached the tall chain-link fence surrounding the prison camp.

They sat down behind some bushes and William curled over instantly to take a nap. Jerry had to admit the idea was very appealing. He was tired and he hoped the others wouldn't suggest breaking into the compound in the near future.

"We should sleep for a few hours before attempting to break in," Angie said, hugging her knees.

"There's no attempting. We're breaking in and busting the others out," Tom replied, still seeming annoyed. "I find it really weird that there are no search parties sent after us. All they seem to care about is you."

Angie raised her eyebrows, but didn't respond.

"Yes, I've noticed that," Jerry said quickly, successfully breaking the tension. "It's strange. Usually, Snitch Gravel would have sent a whole army after us."

"I wonder what's really going on," Tom said thoughtfully. "Maybe Snitch Gravel doesn't know his men captured the rest of the group. Maybe Von Crooken is acting out again."

"Why wouldn't he tell Snitch Gravel?" Angie asked, frowning. "It's Snitch Gravel who wants us dead, not Von Crooken."

"I agree, but it wouldn't be the first time Von Crooken keeps information hidden from his superior," Jerry said. "According to Sam, Snitch Gravel had no idea we were here until he actually saw us. And Von Crooken had attacked us on our first day."

"Do you think they're stabbing each other in the back? That would be perfect," Angie said thrilled.

"I don't think so," Tom said, rubbing his chin absently. "Maybe they're plotting something more complex than we realize. Their disagreements seem to concern us. Von Crooken thinks we're Snitch Gravel's weakness."

"Snitch Gravel's weakness? We're probably the reason he gets up in the morning," Jerry protested.

"And that's maybe why he doesn't just straight out shoot us."

Jerry tilted his head. Could Tom be right? Was Snitch Gravel keeping them alive just so he'd have something to do? The idea seemed ludicrous, but crazy enough to be true. Angie frowned too, as if considering Tom's statement, but didn't grace them with her opinion.

"What should we do about actually rescuing Sam and the others?" Jerry asked after a few moments of silence.

Tom sighed, lay on his back and started at the green canopy above his head. "I don't know, but we'd better come up with something damn good."