Michael Vey 3 ~ Battle of the Ampere by Richard Paul Evans Page B

careful,” he said. “The Elgen are hunting. I do not think they are close, but I have been wrong before.”
    “Can we call the voice now?”
    He glanced down at his wristwatch. “In a little while,” he said. “Now we should eat.”
    We walked back to the tent. “What’s for dinner?” I asked.
    “Sandwiches,” Tessa said.
    “Again?” I said. “No pizza?”
    She smiled as she handed out the sandwiches. “I almost forgot that pizza existed. How would that be right now—a thick, hot, cheesy slice of pizza?”
    “Heavenly,” I said. “With a chocolate shake.”
    “Now you’re just torturing me,” she said.
    We ate for a moment in silence.
    Then Jaime said, “We have pizza in Peru.”
    “Is it any good?” Tessa asked.
    “I think so. But not so good as American pizza.”
    Just talking about it made my mouth water. I didn’t think we could be farther from a real pizza. Suddenly my sandwich didn’t taste as good.
    “What do you like on your pizza?” I asked Jaime.
    “Sausage and olives,” he said.
    “And you?” I asked Tessa.
    “Veggies. I used to be a vegetarian,” she said. “But that was before the jungle. What about you?”
    “Pepperoni,” I said.
    “Did you know that in Italy, pepperoni is not what you think it is?” Tessa said. “It means ‘little peppers.’ ”
    “Like hot peppers?” Jaime asked.
    She nodded. “Green peppers.”
    “Then what’s pepperoni?” I asked.
    “ Salame ,” she said. “Americans in Italy always get that wrong.”
    “You’ve been to Italy?” I asked.
    “Of course. I used to be part of Hatch’s family,” she said. “I’ve been everywhere.”
    “Oh,” I said, nodding. “I keep forgetting that you used to be one of them.”
    She spun at me. “One of them ? What did you mean by that?”
    I was caught off guard by her reaction. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
    “Don’t judge me,” she said angrily. “I was nine years old when they took me. If they had found you at that age, you would have been one of them too.”
    “I wasn’t judging you,” I said.
    “It sounded like it,” she said.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
    Jaime looked back and forth between us, then down at his watch. “It is time,” he said. “We can radio now.”
    Tessa relaxed a bit. I was grateful for the interruption.
    We finished eating, then Jaime pulled a small LED flashlight from his pocket and lit our path as we walked back to the radio. He sat down in front of it. “Michael, you sit here,” he said, motioning to his left side. I sat down next to him. He handed me the radio’s plug. “Take this. But do not pulse too strong. You could blow up the radio.” He turned to Tessa. “Do not make him more electric.”
    “I’ll try not to,” she said. She stepped a few feet back from me and sat down.
    Jaime handed me a headset. “Put this on.”
    Jaime and I both put on headsets, and then he nodded for me to begin. I lightly pulsed and the digital readouts on the radio lit up.
    “Less electricity,” he said.
    I reduced my pulse. Jaime turned a few switches, then dialed in a code. The sound of static burst over my headset. Jaime lifted the microphone to his mouth.
    “Lightning Rod, this is Southern Cross. Over.”
    There were three beeps, then a voice said, “Southern Cross, we read you. Please confirm.”
    “Diez, uno, uno, uno, nueve, seis, dos.”
    “Confirmed. One moment, please.”
    There was a pause, then the voice I recognized came over the radio. “Southern Cross, please give us an update.”
    “We are in the jungle, but safe.”
    “Have you any jewels?”
    “A diamond and a tourmaline.”
    “Tourmaline? This is unexpected, but very good news.”
    “Yes, it was a surprise.”
    “Have you encountered any resistance?”
    “We escaped an attack. We were forced to abandon our base.”
    “Was protocol followed?”
    “Yes, sir. Everything was destroyed or carried with us.”
    “Good. We have learned that Hatch has been summoned