“What’s a greenback—no, not just a greenback, a Ham—”
“Ty!” Colin grabbed her shoulder.
“It’s not his fault,” said Lena. She looked around, clenching her fists as the others began to whisper. “I know things are bad at the Small Parts factory. I worked there today, I saw everything. I’ve read the reports…”
“You haven’t worked a day in your life,” spat Ty. “Maybe all these Metalheads are scared of you, princess, but guess what? I’m not. You already fired me. Can’t do much more.”
“Ty, shut up!” hissed Colin, releasing her arm.
She turned to him, mouth open, vision shaking with fury. So much for loyalty.
“Think about it,” he said, leaning close. “Think about what she could do to help us.”
He stared at her as if willing her to understand, but she couldn’t. Even if a Hampton were in a unique position to help, it didn’t matter. She was on the wrong side of the fence. You couldn’t fight the enemy by recruiting the enemy; it didn’t make sense.
“You’ve lost your mind.”
He reached behind him and pulled Lena to his side. “She wants to be a part of this. Mary wants to help.”
Ty couldn’t believe what she was hearing. A Hampton didn’t belong in Metaltown. She had to be a spy, sent by her father to bring them all down. Colin could be reckless, but this was downright crazy. He was going to get them all thrown in jail.
“I’m calling safety on her, Ty.”
His words raked under her skin. To call safety on someone meant to claim responsibility for them until they could stand on their own. They both knew how serious it was—Ty’s safety on Colin when he’d first moved to Metaltown had been the only thing that had stopped the older guys at Small Parts from eating him alive.
“You’re making a mistake,” she said. Her heart twisted in her chest. Lena glanced up at Colin, confusion in her eyes, and Ty saw the bruise on her cheekbone that disappeared behind her hairline. It made her remember her own wounds, and she pulled her hat down to cover the bandage.
“It’ll be fine,” Colin whispered to Lena. Ty would rather have been punched in the gut. A Hampton was here in Metaltown, and somehow it was Ty who felt like the outsider.
“What’s our move, Colin?” interrupted Zeke. “Schultz says we can’t work for Small Parts anymore unless we join the Brotherhood.”
“That’s a lie,” said Lena. All eyes turned to her and she dropped her head. Good, thought Ty, willing her to cry, or something equally as pathetic.
“Keep talking,” prompted Colin.
To Ty’s irritation, Lena lifted her chin. She tucked her hair behind her ears.
“No one is obligated to join a charter. In fact, the … um … Hamptons don’t favor it. It slows production.”
Ty settled back to watch the show. If Lena kept using words like “favor,” people would see she wasn’t a Metalhead. They’d turn on Colin, and she’d have his back like always, and then he’d see what a fool he’d been.
“What if we press for rights? That’ll slow production!” called Noneck.
Lena squirmed a little. Ty cracked a smile.
“You don’t have to press,” Lena told Colin quietly. “There’s a clause in the Hampton Industries contracts that says that a representative of the employees is permitted to meet with the owners. Mr. Schultz takes advantage of this frequently.”
“And then he takes advantage of everyone else,” said Colin.
“Choose a side, greenback,” said Ty. Why was Colin listening to her? Obviously she was putting her company first.
“So we’ll go all the way up the ladder,” Colin considered aloud. “Just like Schultz does. We tell Hampton what we want, and we won’t work till he gives it to us.”
“Wait…” Lena grabbed his shirtsleeve.
“What do we want?” asked Martin.
“Not to work in the hot room anymore,” grumbled Noneck.
“Decent pay,” said Zeke. “Overtime pay. Hell, any pay at all.” Several people agreed.
“I want Minnick off my ass,” called Matchstick.
“We need to get organized,” said Martin. “Make a list.”
An eager, hungry feeling was taking hold of them all, Ty could see it. It was contagious, and biting, like the night’s chill.
“You’re serious about this?” asked Colin, crossing his arms over his chest. “Because back at Lacey’s I remember quite a few concerns. In fact, I remember half of you were flat-out yellow about the whole thing.”
“That was different,” said Martin.
“Oh yeah?” said Colin. “How? What’s changed?”
Martin mumbled an answer, and Colin snorted.
“Oh,” he said. “I get it. Now it’s not just Ty who’s in trouble, it’s all of you.”
Beside him, Ty puffed up.
Colin’s gaze swept around the crowd. “If we do this, we’ve got to stick together. As a crew—a charter. It’s that way or no way.”
Some of the others nodded, that wild Metaltown edge in their eyes. Ty thought of the leak from Lacey’s—Hayden, Colin’s own brother—and cringed.
“All right,” said Noneck. “We got to sign something or what?”
“No papers,” said Colin, looking down at Chip and smirking. “I think Chip had it right. We got our own rules anyway. Our code goes deeper than anything the Brotherhood’s got.”
Zeke’s white teeth gleamed.
“What is your code?” whispered Lena, wringing her hands together.
Colin grinned. His hand rested on Ty’s shoulder. Squeezed. “What’s our code, Ty?”
Ty wavered. Everyone knew what it was but the stupid greenback, and if anyone but Colin had asked, she would have told them to shove it.
“We got each other’s backs,” she said, stepping closer to Colin. “No stealing, no fighting, no holding back if you got something to share. And if you break the rules, you get busted up.”
They cheered.
She wiped a smirk off on the back of her hand. Nobody had ever cheered for her before. She didn’t like them looking at her, but it felt all right.
Colin picked up a stick off the ground, and dragged it through the dirt, stopping when he hit the statue. He stepped away from the group, to the opposite side.
“No one joins unless they want to join,” he told them. “If you cross the line you’re with us. You’re loyal to the Small Parts Charter and you follow street rules. You break the code, you’re out. Everybody clear on that?”
Martin nodded his agreement, expression grim.
“Why not?” mused Matchstick. “This doesn’t work out, I’ve always got my inheritance.”
Martin shoved him.
“Colin.” Lena’s tone was filled with begging. He didn’t hear her. Or he ignored her.
“Go home,” Ty said under her breath. “Whatever brought you here is over.”
But instead of cowering, Lena glared at her. Ty snorted, then tilted her head sharply to the side to crack her neck.
Ty made sure she was the first to cross the line. Matchstick came next. Then Agnes, and Martin, and Noneck. T.J. and Loudmouth. The warehouse boys. The kids from sorting. Henry and the guys from Plastics. Ty’s chest swelled every time another person crossed over. Thirty-two workers. A third of Small Parts. Not enough to break the factory, but enough to slow things down.
At the end there were only three people across the line. Zeke and his sister, and Lena Hampton.
Zeke was on his knees in the dirt, fixing his sister’s coat. He was speaking to her quietly, pointing across the line to the others, who waited in quiet anticipation. Finally, she turned to them, a huge grin plastered across her little face. She skipped over, big hair bouncing, and planted herself proudly next to Chip. Zeke followed, shaking Colin’s hand.
“Come on, Mary,” called Henry. “Tell your pals at the Uniform Division to join too!”
Lena dug her heel into the ground.
Stay. Good dog. Ty smirked.
He hesitated when Lena Hampton crossed the line and stood beside him.
The group erupted. Henry picked her up and tossed her over one shoulder. She shrieked. When he put her down, her cheeks were rosy, and she was laughing. Ty kicked a rock as hard as she could across the field.
She was just about to kick another when Chip grabbed her arm and yanked down hard.
“The Brotherhood. They’re here!”
24
LENA
Excitement stormed through Lena’s veins. She’d never felt such exhilaration. At home she would have been in bed hours ago. She would have completed her assignments with Darcy, and taken her meal alone in the dining room before turning in. Her life at the Hampton estate was as predictable as her brother’s arrogance.
Here nothing was safe. Nothing was certain. She’d committed treason against her family, and if her father ever found out, he’d do a lot worse than hit her. Still, the danger of her actions made them that much more potent. For the first time ever she was doing what she wanted, without knowing the outcome. For the first time she felt as though she belonged.
But just as the elation was swelling, it died. The girl who hated her—Ty—ran to speak to Colin, and Lena bristled watching them together. Lena liked being close to him. It was as if all the energy in the world came from him, and the farther away he was, the colder she felt.
The conversation heated quickly, and after a moment, Colin twisted away, searching urgently for something, or someone, in a way that made her body tense. She lifted on her tiptoes and tracked his gaze.
“Brotherhood!” he called suddenly, and she saw them—three, no, more than four men approaching through the entrance of the complex. Immediately Colin’s call was passed around.
“Brotherhood!” someone beside her yelled. Then another voice raised the call.
Without thinking, she pushed to the front. Colin had said that Mr. Schultz would come collecting on bad debts. He’d been afraid for what the man would do to his family when he couldn’t pay. If she was there, they wouldn’t dare hurt him.
But they’d know who she was.
She faltered just behind him, unsure of what to do.
The man who approached wasn’t Mr. Schultz, though, it was his assistant—the big bodyguard who’d kept his company at the Small Parts factory earlier that afternoon. Four other men were there, dressed in laborer clothing, and the sight of them sent a chill through her. They didn’t look like they’d come to talk.
“Imon,” acknowledged Colin. The others crowded behind him, bumping her closer to his back. “Mr. Schultz couldn’t make it, I guess.”
Imon glanced at the group. “Meetin’ with Hampton,” he grunted in a heavy Northern accent.
Lena’s stomach clenched. Had Schultz recognized her earlier? He could be telling her father right now. Were these men here for her?
“Look at that—he speaks,” said Ty under her breath.
“We’ll be meeting with the boss soon too,” said Colin boldly. “Small Parts has its own charter now.”
Zeke hoisted his sister on one hip, and made for the back of the crowd with some of the younger kids. To protect them, Lena realized. There was going to be a fight. She’d never been in a fight before, apart from the confrontation with her father. She didn’t know the first thing about what to do.
What she did know was that she should have followed Zeke. But she didn’t.
Imon’s lips curled up. He turned to glance at the others and they all began to laugh.
“You owe Mr. Schultz some green,” he said. “Lots of green.”
Before her, Colin’s weight shifted. “I…”
“How much?” asked Ty.
Colin’s gaze shot toward her. She tucked her thumbs in her belt and cocked her head to the side.
“Well?” she asked. “How much does he want?”
Imon chuckled. “Two-fifty.”
Lena wasn’t exactly sure how much the Small Parts workers made, but from the gasps and whispers of the charter, and the laughter of the Brotherhood, she imagined this was an unattainable amount.
At least, to them. She’d easily spent that much on weekend shopping trips without even thinking. She sunk into the shadows, regretting that now.
“Two-fifty.” Ty whistled. “That’s a lot of green.”
“That’s at least twice what he’s given us,” Colin said.
“Interest,” said Imon.
“All right,” said Ty. “All right. We settle with you, and there’s no need to come back here, right?”
Imon’s lips tilted up, but she could see in his eyes that his confidence wavered. The group before him held thirty people to his five. Even if they were bigger, the Small Parts Charter could easily overwhelm them. If they dared.
Ty reached into her back pocket and withdrew a stack of bills, folded neatly in half. She made a big show of counting them, then slapped them into Imon’s open hand. Lena marveled at her fearlessness, and thought maybe she shouldn’t have felt bad for firing Ty—the girl obviously had sufficient funds.
Though Colin’s mouth gaped, he didn’t say anything.
Imon counted the bills, brows furrowed. Finally, he tucked them into his breast pocket.
“More,” he said. The crowd shifted restlessly behind her.
“What?” asked Colin. “That was a year’s wages!”
Imon slowly, carefully, reached for Colin’s arm, then flicked his sleeve. “Doesn’t cover thievin’.”
Colin took a step forward and met Imon nose to nose. “I didn’t steal anything. Jed bought these clothes for me.”
“Now he wants them back.” The others behind Imon closed rank. The closest—not more than a couple years older than Lena—slid something metal over his knuckles.
“That’s completely out of line!” she snapped, finding herself shoulder to shoulder with Colin. “There’s no need—”
In a flash, Imon had grabbed the scarf Colin had given her and twisted it around her neck. Vaguely she was aware of the movement around her. Her gloved fingers slid off Imon’s hold, and she kicked out, connecting with his shin. When they locked eyes, Lena felt the dread thicken like tar inside her organs and halted her struggle.
Something cold and sharp pressed into her belly.
Yelling. Words she couldn’t make out. The fighting around them stilled.
“Fine, okay,” said Colin, voice low. “Let go of her, and we’ll talk.”
Lena’s gaze flicked over to him. A young man behind Imon was snickering. Both sides watched her intently.
“The clothes,” said Imon.
“Don’t do it,” warned Ty. Lena felt the sob tumble from her throat.
“Think she’ll bleed much?” Imon wondered aloud.
Lena inhaled sharply, feeling the metal cut through her clothing and knick her skin. He was going to cut her open. She sucked in her belly as far as it would go, trying so hard to hold absolutely still, but she couldn’t stop shaking.
“Okay!” Colin tore off his coat, and then the wool sweater underneath. The boy with the brass knuckles held out his hand to take it.
“And the rest of it,” prompted Imon. Colin swore under his breath.
He removed his boots, taking care to place his knives inside. Then he pulled down his wool trousers, wearing nothing beneath but long underwear. Lena knew she ought to avert her eyes, but she couldn’t look away. His face was red, even in the streetlight. She felt the cold then, felt it snake through her. He must have been freezing, but he hardly moved.
With hardly an expression, Imon released her. Her trembling legs gave out and she sank to her knees. Imon turned, exposing his back as if daring Colin to stick a knife in it, and walked away. One by one the Brotherhood thugs followed.
Then Colin’s hands were on her shoulders, lifting her
to her tip-toes. “You okay?” The adrenaline screamed through her ears, distorting his voice. Her knees wobbled. It was all she could do to stay upright.
“Safety!” Ty said, pushing him aside. “You and your goddamn safety!”
“Should we go after them?” Noneck asked, looking anxious.
“Course we’re going after them,” said Ty, though she wouldn’t look at Lena.
Colin scratched his hands through his short hair, then snatched his coat off the ground and shoved it over his shoulders.
“No.”
“What? Why?” Ty’s arms dropped to her sides. Lena caught the glint of a knife in one hand and shivered uncontrollably. In her pocket was the little rope doll Shima had made her when she was little, and she squeezed it as hard as she could.
Home, she thought. My bed. My sheets. My pillows.
But these thoughts didn’t warm her.
“Schultz knows they were here. We go after them, we have the rest of the Brotherhood on our backs tomorrow.”
“So what?” countered Ty, placing herself right in front of him. The others looked uncomfortable—more afraid of their own fear than of their enemies, yet angry at the same time. Henry had come to Lena’s side and thrown a clumsy arm over her shoulders. She wanted nothing more than to shove him away, but she was so cold.
“How are we going to fix Small Parts if we declare war on the Brotherhood?” Colin asked them. Some of those closest tried to argue, but he stood his ground. “Schultz is baiting us. He thinks we’re just a bunch of kids. The only way to get payback is to show him we’re not. We’ve got to beat him at his own game.” Colin jabbed the shoulder of a tall boy who was coiling some copper wire around his finger and looking mutinous. “Not get distracted.”
“So says the guy in his underwear,” said Zeke. A tense laughter broke over them. Lena laughed nervously, then clamped a hand over her mouth.
The humiliation cracked open inside of her. Colin was laughing, but he must have been mortified. He’d been stripped down in front of all his friends. Made to look like a fool.
“All right, all right,” said Colin. “Get out of here. Don’t be late tomorrow.”
They filtered away, one by one. Back to their apartments, or back to the streets. As they cleared, Colin approached Ty, whose mouth was still set with fury.
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