Storm of Lightning

Storm of Lightning
Details
Author:	Richard Paul Evans
Publish Date:	September 15, 2015
Identification:	ISBN 1481444107
Preceded by	Followed by
Hunt for Jade Dragon	Fall of Hades

Storm of Lightning is the fifth book in the Michael Vey seires.

Introduction/Preamble

Michael, Taylor, Ostin, and the rest of the Electroclan go on their most dangerous mission yet as the thrilling action continues in this electrifying fifth installment of the New York Times bestselling series!

The Voice is in hiding.

Their families are missing.

Can the Electroclan pull together to defeat the Elgen once and for all?

Detailed Plot Summary

Prologue

The book opens with a squad of Elgen Helicopters attacking Timepiece Ranch, the headquarters of the Resistance. they blow the compound to smithereens, but an automatic RPG takes down one of the Helicopters and the crew is presumed dead. The helicopters spray the remains of the compound with napalm then rendezvous with the rest of the Elgen fleet.

Part One

Back at the Taiwanese Starxouce plant, (taking place after the events of the previous book) Hatch's senior EGG, David Welch, gives him the news of the Resistance's annihilation and the fact that the Electroclan have escaped with Jade Dragon. Hatch, instead of going into a rage, attempts the news with much restrain. He relays to Welch his plan to have the Elgen overtake Tuvalu, a remote Polynesian island nation near Australia. (in other words; finish what the Electroclan delayed when they sunk the Ampere, the Elgen's Luxurious super-yacht) He has Welch arrested, stripped of his title and locked in the ship's brig, intending to toss him into the rat bowl after the takeover of Tuvalu to present an example to the Elgen that he does not accept failure at all.

Part Two

Michael and the Electroclan are returning home to America in one of the Resistance's private jet planes. They are all still shaken after receiving the news, but Michael, Taylor, and Ostin are more shaken than ever, as Ostin's parents and Sharon Vey, (Michael's Mother) are among those presumed dead. As well as Grace and Tanner, two other members of the Electroclan.

Michael And Ostin talk to the Pilot, Scott, and he reveals that the Ranch was located in Sonora, Mexico, which was, to answer Ostin's question, why the U.S Army didn't intercept them before their attack.

The Plane lands in Bisbee, Arizona. After locking and storing the plane, Scott and the Electroclan enter the Mexican Border through a small town called Naco, where they plan to book a hotel for the night and travel towards the ranch the next morning. During Dinner at a taqueria across from the Hotel, Scott relays some info about the history of the town to the group, (Which Tessa responds to with gleeful sarcasm) but the evening is brought to a halt when Scott tells the group that they will not attack the Elgen if they are still at the Ranch, causing Michael to become more ticked off than ever.

Michael goes for a walk in the middle of the night and becomes accosted by some Mexican gang members who try to force him to give them his money and watch. As he tries to leave, one of them chucks a beer bottle at Michael's head, which ticks him off so much that he sparks all over his body and shoots the gang members full of electricity, which renders them unconscious. After returning to the hotel, Taylor and Ostin discover that Michael's body is covered with Lichtenberg figures, which are permanent scars left on a person's body after they are electrocuted. Michael realizes that his huge surge against the gang members is what gave him the figures. He decides to pass them off as tattoos.

Part Three

Charles Ridley, Taylor's adoptive father and a Policeman in Boise, Idaho, is visited by his boss, Chief Davis, and two federal agents. He is then questioned by them over the disappearance of Taylor and his wife, Julie. They point out that they believe Julie is responsible for Taylor's disappearance and plan on arresting her upon her return to Idaho; he gives the agents everything he knows, including his recount of questioning Michael following her disappearance and his connection to Taylor. Charles is visibly shaken over all this as he believed Julie was away on a business trip (She works for a travel agency). He agrees to let the agents do their job, but is shocked that Davis has to suspend him temporarily, at least until his wife's trial.

Part Four

The Electroclan soon arrives at the Ranch after navigating some debris and craters from the attack. Ian scans the area and is puzzled that there are no human remains among the destruction. Taylor finds the building where she and Michael had their prom dinner and sadly confirms Michael's fears: The Elgen have taken it all from them.

Ian spots a wounded and burned Elgen soldier from a downed Elgen Helicopter; Michael brashly interrogates him with help from Taylor and Abigail and they learn that there were no survivors at the ranch when they attacked and that the man hates the Elgen for leaving him and dousing him and his crew with napalm. They decide to take him to the Red Cross Clinic in Naco.

Ian, Tessa, Zeus, Abigail and Ostin stay at the Red Cross while the rest of the group retrieves their luggage from the hotel. As they leave, a Mexican man spots Michael and draws attention towards him, having noticed the figures on his skin. With help from Nichelle, who can also enhance power, albeit not as efficiently as Tessa can, Taylor is able to reboot the minds of the crowd. Scott urgently takes them back to the Red Cross and negotiates with the head doctor to let them take the guard back to the Hospital in Bisbee. They cross the border without incident, much to Scott's utter confusion, and arrive at the hospital. Scott tries to radio Boyd, his co-pilot, but he doesn't respond, which worries everyone. They check into the Hotel Gadsden, which is rumored to be haunted. There, Scott calls Boyd, who had stayed with their plane at the airport, and learns that he flew out hours after their trip to Mexico and took the plane with him. Scott leaves for the airport with Ian, Zeus and Tessa to find out what's going on, leaving the others at the Hotel.

Later that night in Nichelle's room, Michael and Taylor take watch and discover a masked man force his way into Michael and Ostin's, they awake the group and prepare to attack him, thinking he's with the Elgen. Jack successfully ambushes him and he is revealed to be Gervaso, The Resistance's head military man and strategist. He reveals that the Resistance received word from the Voice about Timepiece Ranch being compromised and had evacuated long before the attack; meaning that their parents, and everyone else at the Ranch, are alive. He furthers adds that he told Boyd to fly out after they had left to keep the Elgen off their tail. He goes on to explain that the Voice lied to them about the Resistance being wiped out because they wanted to make the Elgen believe that they were destroyed if they intercepted their transmission. He congratulates the group on their success in Taiwan and gives Jack his special Military issued knife as a gift for jumping him. (No one has ever pinned him until now.)

They leave with Gervaso in his van and head for Tucson to wait for orders from the Voice. After browsing around the campus, Gervaso approaches them by the hotel pool where Jack and Abigail are swimming and gives them news from the Voice: The Elgen are setting off from Taiwan to begin their attack on Tuvalu. Michael and Taylor are angered by this because they nearly died destroying the Ampere, especially after Gervaso adds that they had sent messages to the Tuvaluan administration, MI6, The US and the UN, only for them to ignore their warnings. They are to rendezvous with the Resistance at their secondary headquarters in Southern Utah, Christmas Ranch, Where Ian, Tessa and Zeus have arrived at.

Part Five

Back in Taiwan, The Faraday, where The Elgen is temporarily staying since the Ampere's destruction, is still docked at the Taiwanese harbor and is set to set sail soon. Quentin, Tara, Torstyn, Kylee and Brian are hanging out in the game room after returning from stocking up for the long journey to Tuvalu. While playing a video game, Bryan inadvertently tells Quentin about Welch's arrest, which rattles him immensely as Welch is not only one of his close friends but he also considers Welch as a father figure. He becomes even more angered when he realizes that Hatch is punishing Welch for Jade Dragon's escape and that they could be next since they were assigned to guard her.

Tara and Torstyn visit Quentin in his room where he mulls over what Hatch may do to him since he's the leader of the glows.Torstyn and Tara vow to protect him if Hatch goes after him, and Quentin states that that goes for all of them, including Kylee and Bryan.

They go visit Welch in the brig with Quentin disguised as Hatch (who is said to be away in Jakarta to pick up the Elgen's two new warships; the Edison and the Franklin.) Quentin interrogates Welch and tries to break him into blaming Quentin for the mission failure, but Welch still claims responsibility, which hurts Quentin. Tara drops the illusion at his request and Welch is stunned that they are even trying to talk to him; he is more than ready to accept his demise, but Quentin is still hell bent on rescuing him. He and Tara are equally shocked to hear from Welch that he, Tara, Torstyn, Kylee and Bryan have been implanted with tracking devices years ago at the academy and that Hatch has long ago been planning for when they might rebel against him. (Michael stated in the second book that Hatch has many bodyguards in his entourage because he's paranoid of being ambushed) Quentin once more pleads for Welch's help in saving his life and he reluctantly agrees.

Quentin, back under the guise of Hatch, orders the two EGGs guarding the brig to escort Welch, now under the guise of a fictional Taiwanese prisoner on board the Faraday, to the Taiwanese officials who are waiting for him on the island. The guards attempt to check him out but Quentin gives off a pulse that short circuits the check out kiosk and disarms the guards before they escort him. he quietly gives a gun to Welch and Tara agrees to hold the illusion until he can escape.

Later, Tara visits him and talks to Quentin until she reveals herself to be Hatch, who had received word of Welch's escape and the reported deaths of the two guards. He reveals to Quentin the battle plan of the invasion. He will be flying out to the Island ahead of the invasion force with Tara and Torstyn and will be hosting (and distracting) the Tuvaluan Dignitaries while the army commences the attack. He assigns Quentin to lead an attack on the radio station and the main communications buildings, accompanied by Bryan and an Elgen Squad, Their mission is to cut off Tuvalu from the outside world while Kylee and another squad subdue the police force.

Quentin is visited by Tara later that night and she apologizes, saying that Hatch told her to do what she did to test Quentin's loyalty to Welch; but he says he knew it was Hatch due to the fact that he quotes literature a lot. He reveals that Hatch plans to have him be the new king of Tuvalu following the potential success of the invasion, something of which he is both excited yet nervous. She and Quentin exchange a handshake known only to them which they plan to use so they can avoid Hatch's tricks.

Part Six

Michael's group reaches Christmas Ranch in Southern Utah, and Gervaso relays to them that the ranch is similar to the previous one, in that it's self sufficient and completely off the grid in terms of food, water and electricity. They pull up to the main house of the ranch and are immediately met by Ostin's parents, Sharon, Joel and Chairman Simon, all of whom greet Nichelle warmly. Ian, Tessa, Zeus, Grace and Tanner greet Michael. Afterwards, Zeus takes him, Ostin and Jack to the men's bunkhouse while Sharon shows the girls to theirs.

After dinner, Simon holds a meeting with everyone in the main conference room; during said meeting, he congratulates the Electroclan on their success in rescuing Jade Dragon and introduces Nichelle to the entire resistance. He reads a report from the voice detailing the Elgen's attack on Tuvalu, Welch's escape and Quentin's involvement; he ends the meeting by saying that Ben has received the news as well and is currently engaged in a search to find Welch before the Elgen can kill him.

After the meeting, Michael and Taylor are brought into another room with Simon, Joel and Gervaso; Michael is quick to apologize for his revealing the ranch's location, but Simon reveals that Michael is not to blame for the Destruction of Timepiece Ranch; He plays a news report from the Idaho news station about Julie's arrest after returning to Boise, after which Simon reveals that Julie has been subtly followed by the Elgen when she went to the ranch and that's how they found them. She had left to get Charles before the Ranch's exposure, but the Elgen caught her before the Resistance could. The rest of the report reveals that Julie is arrested for possession of drugs and for causing Taylor's disappearance and assumed death. They reveal it's all a ruse to kidnap Taylor and kill her parents. Gervaso reveals his plan to set off for Idaho with her, Michael and Ian to track down Charles, convince him to post Julie's bail, (with money provided by the Resistance) and disappear with them both. It's a complicated and high stakes plan, as Charles, according to Taylor, is a very stubborn man and knows nothing of both the Elgen and The Resistance, not to mention that the Elgen are determined to not lose both of them. Michael and Taylor leave the meeting and prepare to leave early the next morning.

Part Seven

Under cover of darkness, the entire Elgen fleet converges on Tuvalu and subtly commences their attack with little to no resistance due to Tuvalu having no military and very few weapons. (Even for the police force) A squad of Elgen frogmen commandeer the Tuvaluan naval ship, Elgen soldiers are secretly shuttled onto the island and Quentin, Bryan and Kylee carry out their respective missions on the island.

Meanwhile, Hatch, his personal bodyguards and his six EGGS, as well as Tara, Torstyn and the Tuvaluan administration host the ribbon cutting ceremony for the island's new Starxouce Plant which is followed by a tour of the building and a large dinner in the plant's observation room. At the end of the dinner, Prime Minister Saluni, the leader of Tuvalu, lauds Hatch for his humble gift to them and the latter toasts the dignitaries. However, Hatch is quick to drop the curtain and expose his true plans. Elgen Soldiers storm the room and hold everyone in place while Hatch reveals that Tuvalu is now overtaken by him and his army. He goads the Prime Minister to come before him and kiss his hand to symbolize his loyalty to him. the latter refuses and Hatch proceeds to announce his punishment for doing so. (he even did this to trick the man into showing disloyalty) he further tells the dignitaries that, following the attack, Tuvalu is now re-named The Hatch Islands, he forbids anyone to speak the name and promises to flog anyone who dares to step out of line. he also tells Saluni that, due to his disloyalty to Hatch's offer of worship, he intends to strip him of his clothing,remove his tongue and permanently imprison him in a cage full of Monkeys, renaming him; "The Prime Monkey of Hatch" , as well as make the Tuvaluan people mock him.

During the attack on Tuvalu, Quentin and Bryan and an Elgen squad break into the radio station and overtake it while Kylee helps to take out and imprison the entire police force; the entire army is met with little to no resistance. By midnight, all but two of the Tuvaluan delegation, (one of them being The Prime Minister) swear loyalty to Hatch and Saluni is stripped of his clothing and undergoes surgery to have his tongue removed. Following the success of the takeover, Hatch makes an announcement via the radio station and frames the attack on Tuvalu as the Elgen being authorized by Saluni to prevent an attack by the Phillipines. However, Hatch follows it up with a Saluni-authorized faux order for all Tuvaluans to meet at the Tuvaluan international airport's runaway and that those who do not show will be considered traitors and face punishment.

At the airport, Hatch addresses them all and relays everything to them; He furthur reveals their UN Ambassodor's involvment in this, this causes some to speak out in retaliation. Hatch silences this and introduces Quentin as the new king of the islands and he announces Hatch's new system and how to integrate themselves into the new system. at the end of his speech, the majority of the crowd falls into to the new system, to Quentin's pleasure and Hatch's satisfaction.

Later, as Quentin settles into his new role as king and hires people for his cabinet, Hatch gives him a lecture on how to rule successfully. (Though it's implied that his lecture is basically him describing how HE would run the Island) He also adds that his leadership of the island is to be practice for Quentin as their takeover of the world progresses.

Part Eight

Back in Idaho, Charles visits his wife at the county jail to get answers on what she's been up to. she tells him the answers to the same three questions everyone asks her, and she reveals almost everything that happened to her and Taylor and warns him that he cannot comprehend what is going on if he tried. He leaves the jail with his chief, who advises him to take a small vacation to clear his head. after taking him home, it's revealed that he's involved in the Elgen's plot to get Taylor, as he calls a man overseeing the plan and reveals that Charles intends to find a way to post her bail. he intends to arrest him before that happens. it's also revealed that his payment is a lot of cash, plus an expensive bottle of Scotch.

Part Nine

Gervaso, Michael, Taylor and Ian set off for Idaho and locate her house

Still in progress