To Be A Champion

Chapter 5: Radio Ga Ga

"Uh, guys, can you see the radio tower yet?" Sam asks. "Storm's still interfering with my cams. I mean, uh, not that it's not nice that it's died down a bit."

Paula rolls her eyes beside me. "Yeah, sheltering in a cozy cottage eating biscuits and looking at a storm does feel less great when, on top of everything else, there's a homicidal maniac on the loose and every day lost to bad weather is a day less your friend has until nanites destroy her body."

I grimace, but Paula is right. Soon after Nicole and I left that corner shop, the weather got bad again, even though we were supposed to have a few days in the clear. It got so bad that we weren't able to do much of anything besides sit, plan and dread.

"How long does she have?" Shona asks, and Nicole hums through my headset.

"About thirty-three days," She says with a sigh. I know Nicole would rather be out here with us, but I told her she needs her rest just in case I exhaust myself and can't go on my next run, so she'll be fresh to go. This shoulder is proving to be more of a nuisance than I thought it'd be, even with the pain meds.

"Maybe a little more if she rests," Paula adds, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. As if Janine would actually listen and rest.

Shona hums and nods. "The chief has the whole island on alert for Jones. Wherever he's hiding, he'll have to come out sometime, and when he does, we'll find him. For you and for us."

Tom narrows his eyes as he looks ahead. "Visual on a pylon two clicks away."

I follow his hand as he points to it. It's perched on a flat-topped rock jutting out of the sea, and a shudder runs up my spine at how tall it is. I'm a lot better with heights than I used to be, but I'm glad we won't have to do any daring 'climb up the pylon to do repairs' mission today.

"Looks like the potato mountain from Close Encounters of the Third King," Paula says, and Nicole scoffs.

"Close encounters of the what?"

"Oh, Nicole, don't make me feel old."

Sam chuckles and then clears his throat. "Right. Well, we can use the radio tower to get a signal to Abel."

"We've got a guy, Gavin. Stays out here to maintain it," Shona informs. "It's cut off from Mor Island from the sea except for twice a month when the water is lower. See that land bridge? It'll only be here for an hour."

"Well, we'll be able to let Peter talk to Janine and Singer," Nicole says, and I hope my smile isn't too sad as I speak.

"I'll let Peter get Janine's message. I doubt we'll have much time to talk, and I already want to check in on Milo and Phineas."

I can almost feel her roll her eyes. "Yeah, okay. As if he won't try to talk to you too."

I don't comment it, but I believe Nicole overestimates how much Peter cares for me. We're close friends-best friends-but he'll choose Janine over me every time. And I understand that, because if it came down to it, I think I'd choose Sam over him too. Nicole only says this because she's never actually had a close friendship in her life, and she's seen how we are on normal missions.

Janine's life has never been threatened like this on a normal mission.

"Well, I can't wait to talk to Maxie," Paula sighs, a fond smile on her face. "To everyone, really. I said we'd be home in a week."

"We will be home soon," Tom assures, and my chest feels heavy. I want to believe that, but with each day it's becoming a bit more difficult, especially as light rain hits the head of my yellow raincoat. "Jones can't have left Mor Island. The chief took his boat. And there aren't any others on the island that would have had a chance of making it through the storm. We'll find him, and the cure for Janine."