Danger Close by James Sumner (classic novels for teens txt) 📕

Gomez held his ground, but his body language betrayed him. He shifted his weight and swallowed hard, his confidence wavering slightly. It took him a moment to recover.

“This has nothing to do with you,” he said eventually. “Your big talk doesn’t impress me. It’s easy to threaten people from the other side of a locked gate. I have a squad of men with me, and we will take the palace by force if we have to. I don’t care if GlobaTech are here or not.”

“You’re right,” said Jericho, smiling. “It is easy behind a locked gate.”

He looked to his right, into the small gatehouse built into the corner formed by tall hedges and walls, into the eyes of the man standing beside the gate controls. He pointed a finger to the sky and circled with it, signaling for him to open the gate. When met with a confused look, he simply nodded his reassurance.

There was a loud, metallic clank as locks were released and gears were set in motion. The gates swung open toward Jericho, just enough for one person to walk through.

Jericho stepped into the gap, filling it with his almost inhuman frame. He was mere inches from Gomez, with nothing between them but air.

“However, it’s just as easy without the gate.” He crossed his arms and glared at the first lieutenant, who gave up a good seven inches in height. “Now, like I said… You want in this palace, you go through me. And you have… what? Twenty-two men out here, including you? I can promise you less than half of these guys would make it past me if you tried. And then what? There are almost ninety men behind me. Pick your battles, son. Turn your ass around, crawl back to your general, and you tell him Jericho Stone and GlobaTech said he can turn his orders sideways and shove them straight up his ass. I’ll even help if he struggles.”

Gomez didn’t move. His hand hovered over the handgun he had holstered to his thigh. His eyes locked on Jericho’s.

Jericho held his gaze. He didn’t blink. He didn’t move an inch. He was rooted to the spot like a mountain protecting a valley from a storm.

The unit deployed by General Guerrero shifted anxiously. Their collective tension was visible. Fingers moved inside trigger guards. Uncertain glances were exchanged.

Behind him, Jericho heard Ramirez take a breath and hold it.

The world seemed to fall silent. The wind dropped. The dust settled on the ground. Only the faint crackle of the heat in the air remained.

Seconds ticked by like decades.

Gomez blinked first. He stepped back, away from the gate.

“The general will hear of this,” he said. “The colonel and his men will be arrested. GlobaTech forces will be treated as hostile.”

Jericho huffed. “Your army isn’t big enough to treat my guys as hostile.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for a start, almost a third of your army is on my side. And let’s be honest here—one of my men is worth ten of yours. We’re here to help find President Herrera’s killer. If your general wants to help us out, great. But don’t for one second think that, if I gave the order, your men would stand a chance.”

Gomez’s face twisted with anger. His fist clenched, continuing to linger around his thigh holster. But he said nothing.

Jericho took one step forward, moving outside the gates for the first time. “Go back to your base. Stay there. Your colonel will tell you if he needs you. If the general doesn’t like it, tell him he can run for office and see if the people of Paluga vote for him.”

Gomez turned on his heels and walked away through the huddle of his men, who quickly followed him. They climbed back into their vehicles and drove away. Jericho watched until the last one turned out of sight at the bottom of the hill. Only then did he step back into the courtyard and signal for the gates to close behind him.

Ramirez walked toward him, shaking his head. His eyes were wide. A bewildered grin spread across his face. “You are one crazy sonofabitch, Mr. Stone.”

Jericho simply shrugged and walked away, reaching for his cell phone.

15

Julie nestled into the reclining leather seat of the jet and let her head fall to the side. She stared out of the window, absently looking at the sea of seemingly motionless clouds beyond as they zoomed through the sky toward New York.

Opposite her, Collins lounged with one leg draped over the arm of his chair. He held a folded newspaper up to his face and a pen in his hand. A quiet grunt of frustration made Julie look over.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He peered over the newspaper at her. “A crossword. Helps keep the mind sharp, ya know. One of those big general knowledge ones.”

“You stuck on something?”

“Aye. Donkey… three letters. A, something, something.”

“Ass,” she said, her face and tone deadpan.

“Yes! Thanks, Jules!”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean the crossword…”

They fell silent again for a few minutes. It was comfortable, relaxed. Only the muted noise of the engines broke the peace. Julie returned to admiring the world outside, relishing the break.

A sole stewardess was on board. She was primarily part of GlobaTech’s catering department, but on a GlobaTech jet, her job wasn’t just to bring refreshments. She fielded calls and liaised with the pilot and ground control during the flight. And in the unlikely event the plane was ever hijacked, she was trained to disable the enemy and protect all passengers.

GlobaTech never did things by half-measure.

The stewardess walked into the cabin from behind the curtain at the rear of the plane, teetering slightly against the natural sway of flight. She wore a black pant suit with a red trim.

“Can I get you folks anything?” she asked, stopping beside their seats.

Julie smiled politely. “I’m good. Thank you.”

Collins peered over his newspaper at her.

“Yeah, I’m—well, hello there!” He tossed the paper