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“What you doing this way, Tom?” Donna asked.
“Had to drop these folks off. They’re getting picked up here, right?”
“Exactly,” Lund said. He motioned for them to follow him.
“That was pretty slick, Uncle Steve,” Suki said under her breath once they were out of earshot.
“The police will be swarming the other place. My people are sending a driver from Miami to take us to the airport. Should be here in . . .” He paused to check his watch. “Five minutes. Timed it pretty good. Haven’t lost my touch.” He checked his phone. “Still out of cell service. Wait until we’re back on the highway.”
“I’m really thirsty,” Sarina said. “And I need to eat again.”
“They’re bringing food and drinks too,” Lund said. His brow wrinkled when he checked a text message. His phone rung a second later.
“Lund,” he said, answering it. He kept walking and then stopped in his tracks. “When?” He paused, listening intently, his eyes narrowing with worry. “Brower? Are you sure? We’re an hour outside Miami. State police are looking for us, and that means the jaguar priests are on our tail too. I need that private plane ready to take off in an hour. We’re on our way.”
He ended the call and stared at the phone. Then he looked at Suki and her mom. “It’s started. Calakmul tried kidnapping the president this morning.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
TAMIAMI TRAIL/US HIGHWAY 41
THE EVERGLADES, FLORIDA
January 10
“We’ll be at Miami Executive Airport in about . . . thirty minutes,” Lund said from the passenger seat of the SUV, talking to Suki’s dad on his cell phone. The driver had picked them up from the airboat dock and was now hurrying down the highway toward Miami. Suki was watching the canal from the window while Jane Louise rested against her shoulder. There were miles of fencing alongside the road to keep crocodiles and alligators from becoming speed bumps.
“Yes, here she is. Switch to FaceTime so you can see each other.” From her peripheral vision, Suki could see him handing the phone to her mom.
“Hi, Jonny,” her mom said with relief. “Oh, it’s so good to see you. What did you do to your beard? And your hair?”
“It’s part of my disguise,” he said with a grin. “I’m not a scruffy-looking nerf herder anymore.”
“I like you scruffy looking better. But you’re wonderful. We’re doing fine. How are the boys? I want to see them too.”
Suki listened in on the video call, thinking about her brothers. She missed those little derps, only they weren’t so little anymore. Would they ever be able to go back home to Bozeman? The commotion at the White House was chilling. The news was only reporting that the White House was evacuated because of a bomb threat. Not that a maniac had decided to launch an invasion against the United States. If Jacob Calakmul was in DC, then she didn’t feel safe going there. But she also wanted to be reunited with her family. The end of the world would feel less daunting if they could face it together.
The Everglades were very different from Cozumel and the Yucatán. The trees weren’t as tall, and it was much flatter. In Cozumel, it had felt like they were driving through a tunnel of trees, but the openness of Florida had a way different vibe. There were a few palm trees on the left side, with little businesses every few miles, and big billboards, most of them featuring airboat tours. Some had buildings with thatched roofs like they were entrances to the Tiki Room show at Disneyland. Not a lot of cars were parked there since it was the off season. Occasionally they’d pass rickety wooden bridges that crossed the canal on the right-hand side.
They passed a billboard featuring a Native American village next to Shark Valley. That sounded pretty sus. Then open fields and standing water for miles ahead of them.
“Sure, here she is.” Her mom handed the cell phone to her.
“Hi, Dad.”
“I’m so glad you got out of Naples all right,” he said.
“It was pretty chill,” Suki said. She didn’t like talking on the phone. Texting was way better. But it was a relief to hear his voice. “Where are the twins?”
“They’re with Jordan at one of the Smithsonians. The Natural History one . . . it has the rock collection and dinosaurs. I think they were all going a little crazy being stuck in that hotel room.”
“Being stuck in a hotel room sounds like paradise right now,” Suki said wistfully.
“How about I get you a Frosty from Wendy’s and some fries when you get in town?”
“That sounds pretty chill. The driver brought us food, so Mom has energy. She’s looking pretty good.”
“We’ll get her a pump when she gets to DC. Oh, I miss you. The FBI wants to see you and how you use the kem äm.”