They place the box on the ground, and it is clear to see it is full of important things.
“I say we look quickly at what’s inside,” Jake says, “but then we get out of here as quickly as possible.
“Agreed,” Leah says while looking around with darting eyes. She must be looking for any sign of movement.
“Wait, before we get into this thing,” Mar says, “let Liz look at this clipboard, she is dying to look at it.” Mar smiles, while elbowing me in the ribs. I smile back, but she is right.
“She isn’t wrong.” I hold up the clipboard to show the group the first page.
“What’s that?” Samantha asks.
“It’s a map,” I say, “of the corridors, marking The Force and The Force Field, The Facility, a place they call Wonder Shield, and The Elected headquarters.
I take the map off the clipboard and hand it to Jake.
“What else is on there?” Zac asks.
I flip through the remaining pages that are on the clip. There is page after page of names and serial numbers. There is a letter on the header page of the list. I hold it up to the group, then smooth it out to begin reading it.
“Dear 53686 and 54856, that must be the serial numbers of the two men in the truck that we just killed,” I observe. I skim the pages to find those numbers. “Yes, here they are. Harold Otto and Marco Glib.”
“Why would they give them serial numbers?” Mar asks inquisitively.
“I think we are going to find out,” Magi says while pointing to a section of the letter. She had read ahead to.
“Dear 53686 and 54856,” I start over. “Below you will find the list of members of The Elected that have been processed for termination. You, being huntsmen, have been hired to do this. Thanks in advance for their inflicted permanent retirement. Their tracking device injections will help you better locate their whereabouts. Below is a small list of important terminates that are due for death soon due to being MIA with knowledge,” I pause.
“They have tracking devices put into their members?” Shawn asks.
“It looks like it,” I answer.
“How many names are on the list?” Mar hesitates to ask.
I look at the list.
“The list of the ones who are important to die first have seven on it,” I answer.
“And the other?” Zac asks.
“Thirty-seven.”
“That is a lot of peoples,” Dia says, trying to be a part.
“Yes, it is,” Eli says, picking her up and hugging her.
“Was your father on it?” Jake asks.
I flip through the list of names of The Elected to see what my father’s serial number is to compare it to the numbers on the list. It is 32316. After figuring out what number I am searching for, I look on the list of thirty-seven serial numbers that belong to the kill list.
“Not on the big list,” I say as I look over the remaining seven names. “But he is on the short one!” I say with a look of disgust on my face.
These men were hired to kill Robert. They didn’t even need an explanation as to why. It only stands to reason any one of us could be next.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Numbness is about the only thing I can feel. I know that now that Robert is dead I should feel happy like Hector did, even though he was my parent, my enemy is gone, but I don’t. I feel as though I didn’t get the chance to get to know exactly why he did the things he did. If we ever get a moment to stop, I hope the parcels he gave to Eli for each one of us will help piece together who Robert Towers was.
“They had a hit out for your dad.” Shawn frowns. “They found us with a tracker?”
“He must have had one on him.” Eli rubs at the back of his neck. “Or in him.”
“Most likely in him,” Cara adds with a shudder.
“Okay, I am getting a bit creeped out,” Leah says, shivering too.
“Yeah,” Mar says. “Let’s look in this thing and get out of here.”
“Agreed,” Jake says.
The top layer of the box is full of papers which are half burned from the explosion.
“They look like war plans,” Samantha says, patting her pocket where the file from The Force she had downloaded from The Elected rests.
“Can you decipher them?” Jake hands the bundle to Samantha.
“I can try,” she says while looking at the packet. “Not here, though.” She straightens the pages neatly before shoving them into her bag not so neatly.
“What else is there?” Zac asks enamored.
Shawn reaches down to pull out a portable computer much like the ones in the labs at The Force compound. I have never seen a portable one, but I knew they existed.
“Do you think you could do something with this?” Shawn asks Jake while handing the device to him.
“Maybe,” Jake answers while holding it up to investigate it. “If it isn’t damaged. What else?”
Shawn reaches down into the charred hole of the trunk to pull out a few knives, six small guns with ammo, and an emergency medical kit that is promptly handed to Magi. She and Cara look at it with excitement at what might be inside.
“Is that all?” Magi asks while taking the kit.
“Just this box,” Shawn answers, while holding up a smaller black box.
“What is that?” Dia asks, amazed.
“Not sure.” Shawn smiles at her, holding the box in one hand and muffing her hair with the
