Lightning Game (GhostWalkers 17)

Luther nodded. “One thing before we start this little war. I want a promise from you boys. Your word of honor. I know you’ll keep it.” Luther looked each of them in the eyes. “If I don’t make it, you text Jacob at the mortuary immediately. Right then. The moment you know I’m dead. You just text LGDEAD. That’s it. Make absolutely certain he gets my body. He’ll cremate me immediately before they can come for me. I gave Lotty my word I would lie with her in the hereafter. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. I have never broken my word to her. Never. I served my country with honor. I gave them my entire life. They’ll come for my body, but that’s the one thing I won’t give them. That belongs to Lotty. I trust you boys will make sure I keep my word to my angel. She’s my wings. Jacob will bring me to her and bury me with her.”

“You think they’ll come for your body?” Diego asked.

“I know they will, and they won’t waste any time.” Luther was absolute. “So, if you agree, you have to text Jacob the moment I go down, even if the bullets are still flying. Just add an X—LGDEADX—for ‘battle ongoing’ and he’ll know. He’ll come.”

“You have my word,” Rubin said. “Absolutely, Luther. If I could, I’d take you to Jacob.”

“You have my word as well,” Diego said. “No one is going to take you from Lotty.”

“Appreciate it, boys. I’ll draw out their camp right here for you. And show you a little extra firepower I’ve got stashed in the way of explosives. We’re not exactly naked here.”

“Nice.” Diego approved. “I do like explosives. Show me what you’ve got.”

“Tell me you brought a couple of those little transmitters Mordichai put together for Wyatt’s girls so they don’t get lost,” Rubin said.

Diego patted his pocket. “Why?”

“I want to get into position when we know they’re here, first thing, and get two of those in her, just in case. That way, if something goes wrong, we can track her.”

“Rubin.” Diego injected caution into his voice. He glanced at Luther.

Luther held up his hands. “Don’t mind me, boys. I don’t hear nothin’. Got to uncover my stash of weapons anyway.” He began to make his way back down the tunnel.

“Her body will just render them useless. You know that. She already told us it happened when a tracking system was tried before.”

“Apparently you weren’t listening when Mordichai explained to everyone how these worked,” Rubin answered. “No one wanted Whitney to accidentally pick up on a signal and be able to track the girls. This doesn’t look like a regular signal. You have to know what you’re looking for.” He sighed. “Just get it in her. I’ll warn her you’re going to shoot her and not to treat it as anything other than a bug bite.”

“You’re the boss, but we’ll get her back, Rubin,” Diego assured. “Let’s go see what Luther has in his stash.”

Rubin shouldn’t have been surprised that Luther’s weapons were up to date. Just the fact that Luther was worried that someone was going to come immediately for his body, even in the middle of a fight, should have tipped him off that Luther was being monitored. He had to have fought in the Vietnam War. If he’d been in more than one war, did that mean he’d run missions in Iraq and Afghanistan? His age alone should have prevented that from happening, but if Luther was considered a weapon, just as the Ghost-Walkers were, would the military use him? Most likely.

Luther painstakingly drew out every detail of the camp the soldiers had set up at Huntington Falls. He added in those guarding the machinery and their routes and times and the roving sentries.

“This is the one you have to get to, Rubin,” he pointed out, using the tip of his knife to show an unseen leader who often went from one of the boulders near the falls to the trees in the woods. “He’s running the show. He’s most likely one of your squirrel men. The others are very alert when he’s around and they defer fast to him.”

“Have you seen him move?” Diego asked.

Luther shook his head. “No, but I was surprised when I had him in my sight on the boulder at the falls and I turned my head to look at another soldier. The next time I spotted him he was in the trees. I knew then he was something different. I pulled back to study the rest of the soldiers just in case they were like he was.”

That explained why Luther hadn’t engaged with them immediately. He had sabotaged their equipment without their knowledge. Until they went to use it, they wouldn’t know.

“You’ll have to find the leader’s location first. If he sees you and you don’t see him, you’re as good as dead,” Luther reiterated.