“So…the natives have been doing the Dark Ones’ bidding,” Ed repeated. His voice was low, soft. His eyes reflected contemplation of what Susan was insinuating. “They’ve been protecting them. That’s why they’ve been keeping people off this island for so long.”
“Oi Sole, kefe!” Keoni muttered.
Jennifer had no idea what Keoni had just said, but she had to imagine it was some kind of Samoan profanity. The only Samoan curse word she knew was palagi, the term he’d directed toward Susan earlier back at the command center. Palagi was derogatory slang for non-native white people. It was obvious he was making some kind of connection with what Susan was saying.
“They’ve been like this for a reason,” he said, mostly to himself. “Other island people…never understood why Naranu people were so secretive…so fierce in their defense of this island. They kept other people away from the island because the Dark Ones ordered them to.”
“So why didn’t they attack us?” Jennifer asked. “I mean, sure, they warned us. Suggested we leave. But they didn’t outright attack us. What stopped them?”
“Maybe they knew they wouldn’t have to,” Wade sug-gested. “Maybe they already knew the Dark Ones were coming.”
Jennifer shook her head. “No, that doesn’t seem right. If that were so, then—”
There was a rumbling. Dirt drifted down from the ceiling as the earth shook. Jennifer’s heart leaped in her throat as she reached out to steady herself. From some-where above ground came several guttural roars followed by the sound of hissing. Somewhere in those sounds were screams of agony. Of pain. Fear. Death. Then came the all-too familiar noise.
CLICK-CLICK! CLICK-CLICK! CLICK-CLICK!
“Dark Ones and Clickers,” Wade whispered. “They must have found some of the rest of our team.”
Keoni grew pale. “Those aren’t palagi. They’re Naranu-ans. Ga’o!” He turned to Susan. “And you’re right. They’ve been keeping others off this island at the Dark Ones bidding, but for whatever reason, they failed with our expedition.”
“And the natives are paying for it now,” Ed said. “With their lives.”
There was a noise from behind them. It was faint, barely audible, but the silence of the tunnels amplified the slightest sound perfectly. They all turned around. Jennifer tensed up. The sound was unmistakable.
Footsteps. Heading down the tunnel toward them.
“Let’s go,” Dr. Steinhardt said, his voice still low. “We’re far enough away that they might not hear which direction we go. Come on, let’s move.”
Keoni leaped into action. He motioned them forward and they dived down the tunnel as one solid unit, Keoni’s fading flashlight illuminating the way.
NINE
The briefing that Amethyst gave Tony and Clark after they were airborne was short, to the point, and primarily directed at Tony. Clark paid close attention, soaking it all in, as they told Tony what his role would be. Tony didn’t seem to take the mission’s sit-rep seriously. He cracked jokes, flirted with Ruby, and at one point got a little smile out of her. Not so with the other three. Those guys were as hard as nails. Eventually, the ex-hitman seemed to settle into his new role. Amethyst explained that Tony was one of seven special individuals who were best equipped to deal with this crisis, and that he was the only one of The Seven who the organization could find. The other six appeared to be missing. Clark tried to focus and struggled to pay attention, but his attention soon began to drift.
Clark had remained calm as they were escorted out of Tony’s condo and whisked to a waiting car—a black, nondescript sport utility vehicle—which took them to the Phoenix International Airport. Once there, they’d driven to a secure location where they boarded a private jet. No need to bother with airport security in this section of the runway. Clark had been to this airport numerous times when Air Force One had touched down during his past life as a Secret Service agent. The Black Lodge group seemed to enjoy the same privileges and received the same treatment from the airport staff on the ground.
Once in the air, Clark had taken in his surroundings. The plane they were in was a Learjet 31A. Nice plane. Fast. Efficient. Under the radar. Clark had no idea how they were going to land the goddamn thing on Naranu, but Ruby answered that question for them during the brief sit-rep. “We will touch down on the north side of the island where there’s a small landing strip we maintain.”
“You guys maintain their airport?”
“On the contrary,” Ruby said. “Naranu doesn’t have an official airport. The landing strip I speak of is private and is in a remote part of the island. Most of the inhabitants don’t know of its existence.”