Page 39 of Monkey Business

Chichén Itzá was next. It looked like an Egyptian pyramid with a lot of smaller buildings around it. Again, it was a replica, so Gus couldn’t really judge whether it was a wonder or not. He’d driven near it many times when making runs to Mexico, but never took the time to stop and visit. He regretted that now.

The replica of Petra was magnificent. The color of the red rock and the carvings on the outside were amazing. Gus wanted to be angry with himself for not having traveled more. Maybe he could now. If he could travel from the island to here, maybe he could go anywhere if he wanted to. Maybe his new existence would allow him to go wherever he wanted.

Machu Pichu, Christ the Redeemer, and the Coliseum were all models as well. The last exhibit made Gus stop. The models of the Pyramids of Giza made his heart hurt for some reason.

There were fake artifacts, fake death masks, and next to the model were four fake mummies. He stared down at them, shaking his head. It was as if they were making fun of death. Each one of the exhibits had been presented by one of the circuses as a part of the competition. This one seemed all too real.

Other exhibits showed other wonderful sites around the globe, but this one was really getting to him.

“Why?” he asked himself.

His head suddenly felt heavy, his feet feeling as though they were sinking into the floor. As he began to lose whatever consciousness he had, he whispered to himself and anyone who could hear him.

“I know why.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“We’re going to be close by,” said Ghost. “Don’t take any risks or chances, and damn sure don’t follow those monkeys.”

“Ghost, if I see them taking a woman, I’m going to follow,” said Piper. “You can’t expect me to ignore that.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll pull you out of this, Piper. Don’t do it.”

“You forget that I’m as trained as you are. If I can stop this, I will.” Ghost let a dozen curse words fly out of his mouth, then turned to stare at the group of women.

“Do not do anything stupid.”

“We won’t,” smiled Addie. They all chose their vehicle and dog and waved out the windows as they sped away.

“Why don’t I believe them?” muttered Ghost.

“Because they’re lying to us,” grinned Ian. “You know them. Now that they know what’s going on, they’re going to be looking for those monkeys and any women they might decide to take.”

“Double the drones,” said Ghost, looking toward Code and Ace.

Although Ace wasn’t technically part of the senior team, with their new group of little geniuses, it seemed the VG team had all the manpower and brainpower they needed.

“I still say we should send Alvin,” said Trak.

“That’s because you’re hoping he’d eat someone,” said Nine. “We can’t walk an alligator around a fairground where there are thousands of people.”

“Why not?” asked Trak with a straight face. “He’s well-mannered, polite, and knows his place.”

“Are you fucking with me right now?” Trak just stared at him, not saying a word. “I’m losing my mind.”

“We all are,” said Gaspar. “Has anyone seen Gus today?”

“No. Not since last night,” said Ian. “Poor guy. I worry about what will happen to him when this is done. I mean, if he somehow did have those people and forgot about them, is he going to be held responsible for something he didn’t know about or remember? Something he couldn’t know about?”

“I wish I could answer that. I think either way, we’ll be able to bring some closure to this mess. But he’s too sweet of a guy to have known about this and done nothing.”

“Let’s hope the women find something today,” said Nine. “It’s going to be another long one.”

“It looks like it might rain,” said Lauren. “I wonder if that will keep people away.”

“If they’re locals, it won’t,” said Grace. “We’re used to the rain and don’t stop our life for it. But you can feel the humidity for sure.”

As they approached the gates with Zeus, Alexandra pulled back on Grace’s hand.

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