Mega 3: When Giants Collide (Mega Series) by Jake Bible Page B

ship, not just a fucking chauffeur.”
    “No one thinks you are,” Darren said. “Trust me. We all had your back when Ballantine broke the news.”
    “There’s more to it than he’s telling us,” Lake stated.
    “I know,” Darren agreed, “but Ballantine is used to juggling secrets. He’ll tell us when he’s good and ready.”
    “He better,” Lake said, “or I’m turning this thing around and going home.”
    “We don’t have a home anymore, Marty,” Darren said.
    “Fuck!”
     
    ***
     
    “There they are,” Bokeem smiled as he pointed at the satellite image on the screen by his chair. “Just where we were told they’d be.”
    “Beacon is still working?” Tank Top asked as he moved around behind Bokeem for a better view.
    “Still working,” Bokeem said. “Even though they’ve powered down the entire ship. Look at this reading. They don’t even have a coffee maker going.”
    “Then what’s that?” Tank Top asked as he zoomed in on the image of the B3. “That looks like something has power.”
    “That’s where the beacon is hidden,” Bokeem smiled. “What I want to know is why it took our ace so long to activate it?”
    “Being a traitor on that ship can’t be easy,” Tank Top said. “You know how it is. The real question is how they don’t know the power source is active? That ship has tech we have wet dreams over at night, even with all our new gear.”
    “I haven’t got a fucking clue,” Bokeem replied, “and I don’t really care. As long as we can catch up to them, then I’m happy.”
    “Me too,” Tank Top said. “John Bill?”
    “Yeah, Tank?” a short Indonesian man replied from the helm.
    “How far out are we?” Tank Top asked.
    “Eight hours at the most,” John Bill grinned. “They keep their engines down and it’ll be shorter than that.”
    “Eight hours,” Tank Top sighed. “It’s like knowing you have a winning lottery ticket and 7 p.m. can’t come fast enough.”
    “7 p.m.?” Bokeem asked.
    “Yeah, you know, when they draw the lottery numbers,” Tank Top replied.
    “They draw those at 11 in Kentucky,” Bokeem said.
    “Kentucky?” John Bill asked. “I thought you were from Nigeria.”
    “Do I fucking sound like I’m from Nigeria?” Bokeem snapped. “Who the fuck are you to talk? You’re Indonesian with an Irish accent.”
    “I grew up in a Catholic orphanage,” John Bill shrugged. “It’s how I learned English.”
    “A Catholic orphanage in the largest Muslim country in the world?” Tank Top laughed. “That had to be fun.”
    “Loads,” John Bill frowned.
    “How did we start talking about this?” Bokeem asked.
    “The lottery,” Tank Top replied.
    “Right,” Bokeem nodded, “the lottery.”
    “A cool half a billion dollars,” Tank Top grinned. “Doesn’t get better than that.”
    “Makes you wonder how much those dipshits are paying our employer if that’s our cut,” Bokeem said as he switched the view on his screen to the ships following behind the Monkey Balls. “Too bad we couldn’t cut out the middle man.”
    “Not how we play the game,” Tank Top said. “The middle man keeps things honest.”
    “Yeah, right,” Bokeem laughed deeply. “Honest!”
     
    ***
     
    “We’ve been at this for hours,” Gunnar said as he walked down the passageway with Dr. Morganton, each with a scanner in their hands. “We have to have covered the whole ship at least twice.”
    “We haven’t found the tracking device,” Dr. Morganton said. “Until we do, Ballantine won’t be satisfied. Not to mention Thorne.”
    “It’s weird that Ballantine just found out there was a tracking device at all,” Gunnar said.
    “He said it had just been activated,” Dr. Morganton replied.
    “Yeah, but why now? And how?” Gunnar wondered. “Does that mean we have a traitor on the ship? Is someone working for the people coming after us?”
    “I don’t know,” Dr. Morganton said.
    “Hey!” Mike called as he turned a corner and hobbled