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"We've come this far and we're still not there yet?"
Inside the Monarch convoy trailing behind Kong, Jared kept one eye on the road and the other on the titan's tireless, ground-eating stride. He muttered the complaint to no one in particular.
Kong's route was clear enough. They'd been climbing the whole way, and now the relatively flat rock field was giving way to a ridge of jagged hills ahead. Near the crest, the terrain got strange , the hilltops were close to the gravitational boundary, and large chunks of faintly glowing rubble hung suspended in the air above.
"The road's about to get a lot worse." Jared stared at the floating debris, jaw working. "Should've brought two planes down here."
"Oh, give it a rest." Old De, riding shotgun, didn't bother looking up. "Our planes can't handle a sudden gravity flip."
He was right. At the center of this Hollow Earth space, two opposing gravitational forces were locked in a permanent standoff, creating a dividing line. Cross it, and up became down. None of their aircraft had cracked that problem yet.
"Wait."
"Something's closing on us — and it's fast." The radar blared. Old De registered the alert immediately, brow pinching together.
"What? Another giant creature?" Jared asked.
Old De worked the instruments for a few seconds, confirmed the electromagnetic signature, then got a clear look at the unidentified craft approaching from their rear. He shook his head. "No. That's a human vehicle."
"What?"
"The people living in the Hollow Earth have better tech than us?" Jared looked genuinely rattled. He'd just finished saying their own planes couldn't handle the gravity inversion , and now an aircraft had appeared out of the Hollow Earth like it was nothing. His brain went immediately to the obvious conclusion: the locals built it.
"Has your brain been pickled in alcohol?" Old De gave him a flat look.
"That's an APEX aircraft."
Outside of Monarch, APEX was the only organization with any business being down here. Dr. Serizawa had mentioned they'd developed a craft capable of reaching the Hollow Earth. Looking at the black slab of a thing bearing down on them now, that must be it.
"Hell."
"They're here for Kong." The word APEX hit Jared like a cold bucket of water. San Francisco came back to him in a rush , what that organization was capable of, how far their ambitions reached. There was only one reason they'd show up here.
"All units, prepare to engage!" He was already on the comms, barking at the Monarch teams in the vehicles behind.
Their convoy wasn't running light. Alongside the survival gear, they'd packed a substantial amount of firepower.
All three vehicles stopped short of the rugged hill. Jared cranked the window down and leaned out with a rocket launcher on his shoulder, watching the approaching aircraft with one finger ready.
"HRROUH?" Kong looked back, saw them stopped, and slowed. He tilted his head at them with obvious confusion.
What are they doing?
Why'd they stop?
He didn't know the history between the two groups, but the body language was hard to misread. Could be enemies.
HRAAAAAUGH!!
The decision took half a second. Kong drew himself up to his full height and cut loose with a thundering roar aimed directly at the two incoming craft.
Inside the lead aircraft, Maya Simmons' expression tightened. She signaled the pilot to reduce speed and bring them down.
The hatch opened. A woman in a black uniform stepped out , composed, sharp-eyed, giving away nothing. She looked over the Monarch convoy without hurry.
"Stand down." Maya Simmons' voice was cool and even. "We have no hostile intentions. We came here to observe Kong. Nothing more."
"If we open fire on each other out here, neither side walks away clean."
She knew the math. Her firepower outclassed this convoy , but with Kong backing them, any real fight became a losing proposition fast. She filed that away privately, along with a flicker of genuine curiosity about what Monarch had done to earn that kind of loyalty from a Titan.
"Great." Jared shoved his door open, rocket launcher still in hand, and faced her. "Then here's my counter-offer. You turn around, fly back the way you came, and I forget I ever saw you."
He was pushing forty-something and wearing a clean black leather jacket, but his hair looked like he'd slept in a ditch. Standing next to Maya Simmons, he somehow made her look like a professional intelligence operative.
Starting a firefight with APEX right now would accomplish nothing useful. If they were smart, they'd take the exit.
"I'm afraid I'll have to decline."
"Because I have a better proposal." Maya let her gaze drift to the floating rubble at the gravitational boundary, then back to Monarch's battered off-road vehicles. The corner of her mouth twitched. "I think we can work together. Our aircraft can carry you past the boundary and keep you pace with Kong."
She'd spotted the problem the moment she landed. Now she was offering the solution.
Their objective was to collect concentrated Hollow Earth energy. Kong's destination had a very high probability of being a source. They were already following him anyway , bringing these people along was a minor inconvenience against a meaningful benefit.
"You actually think I'd buy that?" Jared's opinion of APEX had nowhere to go but negative. He had no interest in trusting this woman.
"What exactly do you have to lose?"
"We're here for geological survey work," Maya said, nine parts true and one part not. "Observing Kong is incidental. If we were here to hurt him, do you think we'd show up with this little firepower?"
She had a point. The two aircraft could hit harder than Monarch's convoy, but against a full-grown Titan? That wasn't a weapons package , that was a joke.
Jared turned this over for a few seconds.
Then he walked back to his vehicle, reached inside, and came out with an armful of additional weapons. He took a moment to clip several grenades to his vest.
"Cooperation?" He turned around and planted himself in front of Maya Simmons again, looking like a man who had taken the concept of 'self-defense' personally. Her eyelid twitched. "Sure. I'm open to it."
He'd made Natsuki a promise , keep an eye on Kong. That meant not stopping here. Hitching a ride on an APEX aircraft was a price he'd pay. But he'd pay it alone, leaving the rest of the team on the ground to stand by. If they tried anything — if they turned on him, if they thought taking him hostage was smart — he'd make sure they understood, personally and up close, why art is an explosion.
"What?" He spread his hands, expression absolutely blank. "You're not going to tell me I can't bring a few personal items for self-defense?"
Maya Simmons stared at him.
How does Monarch produce people like this?
Who boards an aircraft with a bag full of grenades?
"...Fine." She let out a measured breath. Her mission was too important to let this go sideways over a man in a leather jacket and a death wish. Kong was the key, and Kong was clearly not going to cooperate with anyone who went after these people. "I'll prove there's no reason for this to turn into a conflict."
"Now you're speaking my language." Jared showed his teeth.
He and Old De loaded up their self-defense trinkets and climbed aboard the APEX aircraft.
➤ Next: Is Your Prophecy Accurate?
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