Renegade Children

by J. N. Chaney

  I was quickly beginning to regret not calling Alphonse about this. He could have started a criminal investigation immediately and saved me the hassle. “We can’t just go around accusing people without more evidence,” I said, trying to channel my inner Constable. “What else do we have?”

  Abigail raised her brow at me like she was surprised.

  “What?” I asked, crossing my arms.

  “Nothing. I just didn’t expect you to say that,” she admitted.

  “You’re right, of course, Captain,” said Dressler, pulling our focus back. “We can’t go around making unsubstantiated accusations. I suggest asking Sigmond and Athena if they caught anything with the drones and whether they can support Mica’s claims. There should have been at least one drone observing this site at all times.”

  “Siggy?” I said, waiting for the Cognitive to respond.

  “Processing now, sir.”

  “He’s working on it,” I confirmed.

  “The drones have been watching this place?” asked Abigail.

  “Along with every other dome, yes,” confirmed Dressler. “I requested it for security purposes. In hindsight, I regret not asking for more.”

  “My footage confirms three Eternals entered the south side of the dome before the explosion,” interjected Sigmond. “Unfortunately, the building obscured the events inside afterwards.”

  Abigail, who could hear every word of this discussion, let out a sigh.

  “Were they carrying anything?” I asked.

  “Not visibly, I’m afraid,” replied Sigmond. “I can send the footage to your device if you wish to observe for yourself.”

  “That’s okay, pal. Thanks for checking.”

  “Well?” asked Dressler.

  “Siggy confirms your man’s account,” I told her. “Even said they weren’t carrying anything. Not big enough to see, anyway.”

  “I was afraid of that,” she muttered.

  “Jace, I think it’s time you talked to Leif about this,” suggested Abigail.

  She had a point. Between what Alphonse had told us yesterday and now this, I couldn’t see any way around it. Not without risking more lives. Before today, the only cause for concern had to do with that mysterious signal we’d found, but this was different. People were dying.

  “Let’s get these people loaded up and out of here. I’ll call Leif on the way, and we’ll see what the man has to say about all this.”

  “Do you really expect him to admit to anything?” asked Dressler.

  “I sure as hell wouldn’t,” I said, honestly. “But let’s wait and hear it straight from him. Worst case, he’s lying, and things get a little rough.” I placed my hand on the butt of my pistol.

  “Ah,” she said, eying the gun. “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come down to that.”

  “Yeah,” I said, looking back at the smoke and the field of debris. “Let’s hope.”

  Eight

  “I must say, Captain Hughes, I don’t appreciate these accusations,” said Leif Solesdar, his face turning a little red. The man had a knack for posture, but the situation had him clearly rattled.

  We were in my office, looking at a holo of the dome. The image was zoomed in on the three Eternals, which we’d only recently identified. Two were missing. The other was a woman named Bresna. I’d sent Freddie and Lucia to find her and bring her in for questioning.

  Bolin and Abigail were with me, both of them armed. I didn’t expect things to escalate, but I wasn’t taking any chances. “I want to believe you, Leif, but you gotta give me something to work with,” I told him, pointing at the people on the holo. “This is your chance to convince me that this is all a big coincidence.”

  He stared at me, blinking and sweating at the holo. “I-I don’t know anything about this. Captain, you know as well as I do that we didn’t choose to come to this planet when we did, and we wouldn’t attack you after what you’ve done for us. It would do us absolutely no good to hurt you. Whoever caused the explosion, it wasn’t one of us. It had to be—”

  “One of ours?” asked Abigail. “Are you suggesting we’re responsible?”

  “No, of course not,” he quickly assured her. “I-I was just saying that none of my people would ever intentionally sabotage our new home. It would be suicide!”

  “I’m not saying it was the smart move, but you have to admit, Leif, this doesn’t look good,” I said.

  “He does sound sincere,” said Alphonse, his voice coming in through my comm. I’d patched him into this conversation since he was still on his way back from the Earth’s Core. “He looks genuinely surprised, too. Should we bring up what we know about the transmission?”

  I didn’t answer, sensing Alphonse was about to answer his own question.

  “No,” he continued, barely skipping a breath. “We don’t want to give away too much. Perhaps we should propose a simple swab to see if any of his people have any chemical residue on them.”

  I cleared my throat. “You need to give me something, Leif. I need proof to counter what we’ve got here.”

  “You’re already bringing in Bresna, aren’t you? Surely, she will have something to substantiate my claim.”

  “Then again,” continued Alphonse. “Even if he agrees to it, a clean swab doesn’t guarantee innocence. Oh, I apologize for rambling in your ear like this. I’m simply thinking out loud.”

  “Fine, Leif,” I finally continued. “We’ll wait and see what Bresna says, but afterward I’m going to need your full cooperation on whatever happens next.”

  “You’ll have it, I assure you,” he said.

  I wanted to believe him. Hell, I was pretty sure I already did. But I couldn’t deny what the feed showed unless the whole thing really was an accident.

  As soon as Alphonse returned, we’d have to throw together an investigation. It would take time and resources we couldn’t afford to spend, but there would be no getting around that. Not unless Leif came clean right here and now—giving me everything I needed on a silver plate. If he didn’t, we could very well end up with another attack on our hands. Gods knew I didn’t want that.

  Which was why I had to press him, as much as I hated it. Even if he was innocent, even if all of this was just a coincidence, I had to get to the bottom of things and find out for sure.

  My hand slipped slowly to my holster, thumbing the butt of my pistol. “Siggy, where is Freddie right now? How close is he with Bresna?”

  “Less than five minutes away, sir,” he replied.

  Almost here. Good. “Anything you wanna tell me before we start questioning that woman, Leif?”

  “Only my assurances that neither she nor I had any part in this,” he said, desperately.

  “I hope you’re right about that,” I told him, walking past him to the door. I cracked it open and looked down the hall, towards the exit. Any second, Freddie and Lucia would be here, and we’d get this over—

  “Sir,” interjected Sigmond. “Something is happening in the cafeteria. I believe you’ll want to see this.”

  “Cafeteria?” I asked, turning back inside the room.

  The holo changed at once to show a crowd of people standing around a set of tables. Two figures were in the middle, facing one another. “A fight appears to have broken out between a man named Gilian Randall and Mako Fi, a young Eternal boy.”

  “What the hell are they fighting about?” I snapped.

  Gilian, the larger man, took a hard swing at Mako, hitting him square in the jaw.

  Mako staggered backward, landing between two other men. They laughed and pushed him forward.

  “Godsdammit,” I said, turning for the door and grabbing my coat off the rack.

  As soon as I entered the hall, Freddie entered through the front door with Bresna and Lucia.

  “Where do you think you’re going in such a hurry, boy?” asked Lucia.

  “Gotta break up a brawl. Take her to the old med room,” I said, passing between the three of them. I stopped at the door, looking over my s
houlder. “Freddie, you’re with me. Might need you.”

  He swallowed. “Me? But what am I supposed to—”

  I grabbed his wrist and yanked him out of the door. “No time for overthinking, Freddie!”

  “O-okay!” he yelped.

  Lucia watched the two of us leave, sticking her head outside long enough to yell something about us leaving all the real work to the adults.

  Or something. I’d already stopped listening.

  The streets were less active than usual. That was to be expected, given recent tragedies. The medical wing was full of broken bodies and grieving friends, while others had taken to their homes for the evening. The air of Verdun had thickened with stress. It was no wonder there was a fight happening in the cafeteria right now.

  Hell, I’d be surprised if we didn’t see more of them by the end of the night.

  I quickly broke into a full sprint. The longer we delayed, the more likely that boy would wind up with a broken skull.

  Or worse. The last thing we needed was a dead Eternal at the hands of one of ours. I reached the building with Freddie right behind me, and stomped up the stairs, grabbing the door handle. Before I could even open it, I heard chants coming from inside.

  “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

  “Skin that bastard alive, Gil!”

  “Don’t let ‘em squirm his way outta this!”

  “Kick his ass!”

  I walked in with my hand on my holster, spotting the mob instantly. They were still gathered around the centermost tables, raising fists and yelling. A handful of Eternals were near the back of the room, fear on their faces as they watched, heavily outnumbered and unable to help the boy.

  “Oh, gods,” muttered Freddie, stepping beside me. His mouth dropped when he saw what I’d already witnessed on the holo.

  “Get ready,” I told him in a low voice. “Things might get rough.”

  “I-I’m with you, Captain,” he assured me.

  I nodded, then stepped closer to the mob. Freddie stayed a few paces behind, keeping his eyes on my blind spots. “Everyone, break it up!” I yelled.

  No one responded.

  They probably can’t even hear me, I thought. “I said shut up!”

  Still nothing. Too consumed by the fight and too fixated on seeing blood, the mob had lost their sense of place and purpose. I’d seen that sort of tunnel vision before. Hell, I’d had it myself, watching bar fights and street brawls.

  And I knew just what to do to grab their attention.

  I reached to my side and withdrew my pistol, raised it above my head, and fired two shots.

  Nearly everyone winced at the sound, many ducking instinctively in the process. With half of them crouched, I could finally see both Gil and Mako duking it out in the center. For a brief moment, the two paused to look at me, but it didn’t take long for Gil to seize the opportunity to take another swing at the boy.

  Poor Mako didn’t even see it coming. Gil’s fist dug into his face like a brick, spewing blood and spit into the crowd.

  I fired my pistol into the ceiling for the third and final time. “Hey!” I barked, my voice booming through the cafeteria with a lingering echo. I lowered my gun, aiming directly at Gil. “Quiet the hell up or the next two sounds everyone hears will be this canon followed by your body hitting the godsdamn floor!”

  Everyone froze.

  Gil staggered and raised his hands, smirking.

  Mako fell to his hands and knees, blood dripping from his split lip. His chest heaved as he continued taking heavy breaths.

  I flicked my barrel at the boy and whistled, prompting Freddie to retrieve him. “Everyone in here know who I am?” I snapped.

  Half the room nodded. “Captain Hughes,” said a woman near the window. “You’re the Renegade.”

  “Godsdamn right, I am,” I said, letting every eye fall on me. “Anyone wanna test me to see if the stories are true, go right ahead.” I kept the barrel level with my target. “Try me.”

  Freddie threw Mako’s arm around his neck and slowly walked to the exit.

  “You don’t look so tough,” muttered a nearby man. I didn’t recognize him. Must have been one of the new folks from the Deadlands. He was the same height as me, a little more weight to him, maybe a little younger. He was probably used to having his way in the slums back home. Probably thought that meant something here.

  I swung around I jammed the butt of my pistol into his jaw, causing the crowd to pull away from us. He fell to the floor with a single, heavy thud. Before he could push himself up, I kicked him in the side of his stomach, knocking whatever hot air he had straight out of him.

  Someone else--a friend of his, I wagered--tried to come at me, grabbing my arm before I had a chance to move.

  I lowered my pistol, pulled it around behind my waist, and fired.

  The bullet grazed his foot, and he screamed, letting go of me at once. As he backed away, I stepped forward and grabbed his collar, pulling him close and forced his jaw open with my pistol.

  With the barrel in his mouth, he tried to scream, but the words were too muffled to make out.

  I stared down at him with a look that suggested if he tried anything, I’d leave his brains on the floor of this room without a second thought.

  He raised his trembling hands as tears formed in his eyes.

  “Are we done? Or do I need to keep going?” I asked, drawing the hammer with a hard click.

  He shook his head, wheezing through the barrel. I shoved him forward, and he landed on his ass in the middle of the floor.

  I looked at the remaining Eternals, who watched all of this from the corner in silence. “You three,” I said, nodding at them. “Go see about your friend. Mr. Tabernacle will take you to the med ward.”

  The men shuffled their way through the crouched mob. One of them paused long enough to say, “Th-thank you, sir,” before hurrying to the exit. I gave them a few more seconds, letting Freddie and the four Eternals put some space between us before I finally gave my next order.

  “Gilian, right?” I asked but didn’t give him a chance to answer. “We’ve got a conversation that needs having, and you’d better pray to the gods that I like what I hear.”

  Nine

  “I don’t get what the problem is, Cap’n,” said Gil. “You saw what they did out there.”

  “Did you?” I asked, standing on the other side of the table. I had my pistol holstered but kept my hand on it. “What do you even know about what happened?”

  “I know enough,” he scoffed.

  I whistled. “Yeah? Maybe you ought to be in charge, then, Gilly. What do you say? You can have my office, my chair, even this here gun. Sound good?”

  He blinked. “Uh…”

  “Shut the hell up, Gilian!” I snapped, slamming my hand on the table in front of him.

  “But you asked me if—”

  I snarled with a look that suggested if he said another word, I wouldn’t hesitate to drop him.

  He closed his mouth and stared back at me in silence.

  I glanced to the back of the room, far behind me where Abigail watched in silence. I let out a long, agitated sigh.

  A few seconds passed—long enough for Gil to eye my fingers as they impatiently tapped the butt of my gun. He gulped at the very real possibility of what I might do to him, and I decided I’d made my point.

  “You did a bad thing, Gilly,” I said, this time in a more relaxed tone. “A very bad thing.”

  I placed a mobile holo-emitter on the edge of the table, and the image of the medical bay appeared instantly.

  “Show us the boy,” I said, knowing Sigmond could hear me.

  The holo zoomed in on a single pod. Mako was lying in it, hard light moving over his bloodied jaw and nose.

  “Now, you’re gonna watch this while the two of us have ourselves a talk,” I explained.

  “He’ll be fine, won’t he?” asked Gil. “Eternals can heal really quick, I heard. I knew he could take it before I even hit him.”
>
  “Oh yeah? You’re an expert on that, too, are you?” I asked, raising my voice. “That kid can’t be older than, what? Fifteen? What makes you think he can heal the same way an adult can?”

  Gil didn’t answer.

  “Not one for thinking, I guess. Sit here and watch until I come back.” I started to turn away from him.

  He opened his mouth.

  I snapped forward and slammed my open palm on the table, then leaned closer to him, locking eyes. “Don’t say a damn word, unless you want me to do to you what you did to that kid.”

  He slowly closed his jaw and nodded.

  I took a few steps away from the table, then paused. “I’ve got eyes on you, and unlike yours or mine, they don’t blink. If you don’t focus all of your attention on that holo, I’ll know. Trust me, Gilly, that ain’t something you wanna test.”

  I left him sitting there like a fool and made my way to Abigail.

  We stepped out of the room and into the hall, letting the door close behind us.

  “What do you think? Three days in the brig?” I asked.

  “We should send him back to the Deadlands where we found him,” asked Abigail. She looked frustrated, almost tired. “I’m beginning to regret picking these people up in the first place.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. We’re recruiting colonists from a lawless region. Take it from a Renegade. You can’t domesticate us overnight. We have to be eased into it.”

  She smiled. “That’s true. It took a few months for you.”

  “And I still ain’t settled,” I said, half-smiling. “Look, I was down there in the field. I saw the Alpha dome and the folks with blood on them. The smoke’s still rising as we speak. It’s natural for us to have a few pissed off folks in the mix. To tell you the truth, Abby, I’m surprised there weren’t more.”

  “More fights?” she asked.

  “Sure, or worse. Hard to say in a place like this.”

  “That’s because there isn’t anywhere like Verdun,” she commented.

  “Isn’t that the truth?” I asked.

  We were both quiet for a little while, thinking about what we ought to do. I kept going back and forth on Gil’s punishment, debating with myself about how harsh I should be. A man like that needed a target for his anger, a way of making things right. The only problem was that he was acting on impulse, rather than thinking it through. Maybe the Eternals really were responsible for what had happened down there. Maybe not. I still didn’t know what to believe, but I knew we couldn’t let kids wind up in the medical ward.