I made a noise in the back of my throat, a quick exhale that turned into a snort. “The only way your life would’ve ended was if they’d captured you,” I stated. “And if that had happened, chances are you would’ve died anyway. But even that information alone—that it would be a death sentence to talk about them—would’ve been helpful to us.” The roiling waves came into sharp focus as Case angled Seven to the right, hugging the coast. “The problem is you like keeping secrets. And, honestly, that’s not always a bad thing. But that means you work alone. I don’t think it’s possible for you to let your guard down. Being part of a group dynamic means you forfeit your secrets for the sake of everyone else. You can’t handle that.”
“I can.”
“You can’t.”
“You kept your E-unit secret,” he challenged.
“My E-unit was not a direct threat to anyone. But it’s a threat to them now that they know about it. If they were captured and given Babble, they would be penalized for even having the knowledge of its existence and not telling the government.”
“I’ve been taught differently than you,” he argued. “I’ve learned to keep everything close unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“By saying that, you’re proving my point,” I answered. “The information you kept to yourself was pertinent to the group two days ago, yet you didn’t share. I think we can agree that absolutely necessary means something different to you than it does to me.”
“No.” He was being obstinate. “It wasn’t necessary until now.”
“I give up. I’m tired of arguing with you. We’ll see what the others say when they arrive.” I arched an eyebrow in his direction. “But if it was up to me, you’d be out. Lockland, Bender, and Darby each get a vote. The good thing about the barracks being so far out is you have time to get your story straight while we light the fire.”
Up ahead, the landmarks I’d come to recognize came into view. One was a copse of trees shaped like a semicircle. Case veered, skimming over the tops of the dead pines, instead of angling out toward the sea. The barracks was only accessible by coming in from the west over the ocean.
Before I could ask him what he was doing, he offered, “I’m not taking any chances. The UAC or whoever is manning it doesn’t know where we are now, but if it finds the barracks, we risk losing too much.” He continued down the coast for another five minutes and then began a sharp descent, landing behind a small sand dune ninety meters from the crashing sea.
Once we were down and the props were off, I made an attempt to open the door, then thought better of it. There wasn’t anywhere to go. I sat back in my seat, drawing one leg up. “How long are we going to wait?”
“Ten minutes,” he answered.
“We can’t see over the hill in front of us,” I said. “The only way we’ll see anything from this position is if it flies over our heads.”
“That’s the idea,” Case replied. “If it’s in close pursuit, we want to take it by surprise. I don’t think there’s any way it could track us here, especially after the boost, but they’ll stay on the hunt for several kilometers in every direction from where they lost us. I was careful to go south before I headed east.”
“You’re extremely skilled when it comes to navigating,” I admitted. “You just suck at a lot of the other stuff.” I sighed.
“No, I just choose to do things differently than you do.”
I angled my head toward him, keeping it firmly against the seat. “I don’t know how many times I can keep saying this, but if you choose to be part of a crew, the collective comes before the individual. It’s not a concept you’re capable of grasping.” He gave me a look, anger mixed with a touch of indignation. I gave him a look right back that conveyed exactly how I felt about having to have this conversation again. “What’s it going to take to get you to admit that sharing information you had about the Bureau of Truth was relevant and could’ve helped us? Please enlighten me.”
He sat, contemplative for a while, neither of us speaking.
Then he leaned up and switched on the props. “You’re right. I should’ve shared.”
“Damn right you should’ve.” I was robbed of taking a greater amount of pleasure in the outskirt’s admission, because we’d sat so long my brain had turned to worrying about my crew getting out here safely without being detected. Because that’s what you did when you were part of a group. You worried about them.
I desperately hoped Daze wasn’t too freaked out. The kid and I hadn’t been separated since the day I saved him from plunging to his death on the gorge. I knew he was worried about me.
Case lifted us up and over the dune, hugging the ground, skimming back up the coast toward the barracks. After a moment, he said, “There’s a hatch inside the battery room. We can use that to climb out on the roof. We start the fire a ways away. We can’t leave any crafts out in the open, especially if the UAC decides to go farther afield searching for us. Once they land, we’ll figure out where to go, and I’ll shuttle them back and forth.”
“Sounds good,” I said, still distracted. “It’ll take some time to do that, but it’ll be worth it to keep the barracks secure.” If the government found out this place existed, they’d fight us with everything they had to take it. It was too valuable.
Case set us down smoothly in the hollowed-out parking spot at the entry of the barracks. After he shut the props down, he turned to me. “I didn’t mean to withhold information from the group. I was trying to keep everyone safe.”
I lofted the door, placing a foot on the ground, the thunderous waves almost drowning out my response. “You can apologize to the others when they get here, but I have no idea if it will be enough.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“We’re letting him off the hook, just like that?” I tried to keep my voice down and hold back the growl that was forming, but it proved beyond my talents. “He kept vital information from us! He shouldn’t get a pass.”
We were all gathered in the seating area of the barracks. Lockland, Bender, Darby, and Daze had arrived in two crafts not long after Case and I had started the fire half a kilometer away, using a bunch of dead tree branches and some accelerant we’d found inside. They’d flown an additional two kilometers to park, and Case had followed, bringing them back to the barracks in two trips, just like we’d planned.
“You heard him,” Bender said, not bothering to keep his growl concealed. “The only information Case had was that they are dangerous. We already knew that.”
“Yeah, and that Dixon was a former member,” I said. “And the Bureau of Truth could identify Dixon’s old craft, because they’d already gone after them before, because they were pissed off that he was a defector. Just by flying in the city, Case posed a threat to us. He could’ve at least given us the courtesy of a warning. Case is too used to working solo. Withholding information could get us killed, and everyone here knows it.” I tried to shift my body to the side, but I ran into Daze, who had positioned himself at my hip pretty much since the moment he’d arrived.
“We understand what you’re saying, and we agree,” Lockland said. It certainly wasn’t coming across that way. “It’s going to take the outskirt time to adjust to working in a group.”
“And we’re allowing for that these days?” I said. “Without any stipulations or penalties? We’ve never granted anyone that amount of leeway—ever.” There had been a few people over the years who had joined our crew briefly. We’d ultimately let them go due to trust issues, or the fact that they hadn’t been smart enough to keep themselves alive, let alone the rest of us.
“I remember when I first joined,” Darby said. “I was so nervous you guys weren’t going to accept me. I knew I couldn’t afford to mess anything up, so I was extremely careful.”
I gestured at Darby, who sat across the tech table from me. “See? Darby, the gentlest and most trusting among us, knew he couldn’t screw up. And he was right not to, because we don’t give second and third chances.” I directed my n
ext question at Darby. “Did you ever even think about keeping anything of value from us? Or lying?”
Before he could answer, Lockland stood, making his way out and around the seating area. “I think the question here is more about your relationship with Case,” he said, “than it is about his relationship with us, or keeping things from us as a group.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked, following him.
He stopped by the cooling unit. “I’m just saying that you two spend the most time together. And that means he has a greater number of hours to piss you off. Yeah, he didn’t tell us that one of his old acquaintances worked for the Bureau of Truth, but he didn’t have any other pertinent information to share, other than they will kill anyone who knows their secret, which is not hard to infer, given the circumstances we’re finding ourselves in now.” Lockland took out a jug of water and shut the door. I took a cup out of the cabinet and handed it to him. “If he’d kept vital things from us, that would definitely be an issue. But as it stands, the info’s not that detrimental.”
“Dixon was more than an acquaintance,” I argued, leaning against the counter, crossing my arms. “He was a powerful mentor who we just found out was a former government official gone rogue. You can’t forget that Dixon killed an entire militia by himself. I remember Case telling me he had connections in the city. We also have no idea if Case is keeping anything else from us, because he won’t say one way or another. That’s the main problem here. He has no reason to share his information with us, and now you’re deciding it’s not worth giving him one.”
Case was out spreading the ashes from the fire, making sure they were covered with a layer of sand. He’d left right after he’d confessed to the group that he’d omitted key details about the Bureau of Truth, Dixon, and his craft being recognized and apologized for leaving them out in the first place.
I had to admit, he’d sounded contrite. But you never knew with the outskirt. It still made me uncomfortable not knowing his angle, because he definitely had an angle.
“Case is going to be back soon,” Darby said, entering the eating area, Daze trailing after. Darby picked up a bag of dried flakes and handed one to the kid. “We have to decide what we’re going to do. I’m kind of in agreement with Holly on this. I mean, we should at least give him some kind of parameters to follow in the future, and if he breaks those, he’s out. He didn’t do anything terrible this time, he just omitted some stuff. We could let him off with a warning, but I think it’d be a mistake to let it go without future consequence.”
“Thanks, Darb,” I said, pouring a cup of water to heat up with the whisk. We were all hungry.
“Fine.” Bender joined us, pulling open the cooling unit and grabbing out a jug of aminos. I made a face. Aminos were nasty fresh. I couldn’t imagine what old aminos tasted like. He took a long swallow, then dragged his forearm over his mouth. He didn’t immediately retch, so that was an encouraging sign. “We give him one more chance to spill everything he knows, and if we find out later that he omitted anything major, he’s gone. I will personally shove him out.”
Shove him out meant Case’s ousting would be physical. He’d be required to leave the city for good under the threat of death. The method for shoving someone out could be any number of things, the least of which being Bender’s fists.
That kind of threat would make many people quake, but it wouldn’t do a damn thing to affect Case or his choices. The outskirt wasn’t afraid of going head-to-head with Bender, or likely anything we could do to him physically.
The threat of being shoved out wasn’t enough.
“That’s a good start,” I said. “But we have to throw in something that matters. He doesn’t care about himself. I say, if he betrays us, we go after his family.” If I’d learned anything about him, I’d learned that family was deeply important to him. The Sun Optimist group had kept him alive and had given him a reason to live. He owed them. “We don’t kill them, but they suffer.” Darby gave me a look like I’d disappointed him. “What? It’s the only way he’ll take us seriously, and I want to be done with this once and for all. No more wondering if Case could’ve helped us and chose not to for his own sake, or if he’s planning on hedging his bets and siding with the Bureau of Truth if things start to get risky.” I glanced around at my crew, each with a bag of warmed-up-enough protein mush in hand. “It seems we have some selective memories here. Case played both sides up until he shot Hutch. Yet we let him stay anyway, because he was an asset moving forward. And I fully admit he was helpful down South. I think he’s trying to be a team player, but I’m not willing to risk my family on this outskirt, and dammit, none of you should either.”
“I’m with Holly.” Daze shoveled in a mouthful of food. “I think Case is nice and all, but he has to prove himself before we can trust him.”
I tossed an arm across the kid’s shoulders. I could easily reach him, because he’d sidled up to me again. The separation last night, followed by evacuating the city quickly, had gotten to him, even though he hadn’t uttered a word about it. “That he does.”
“Just like me,” he said, glancing up, his eyes a little glossy. “I still have to earn your trust. I did a bad thing, even though I didn’t mean to. If I had family, you could go after them. I’m working really hard not to mess up again.”
My heart clenched as it gave an irregular beat. I was saved from responding by Maisie, who said from Daze’s pocket, “Trust is the union of belief in something by two or more people. Trust is considered sacred in many cultures. Trust is—”
“Stop, Maisie,” Lockland said, setting down his now empty bag of food. “It’s done. We threaten his family, and we mean it. I’ll tell him when he comes in.”
I nodded. “You don’t have to bother,” I said. “I’m certain he still has amplifiers set up and is listening right now. That’s the way he operates. He’s protecting himself, which he should be allowed to do—up to a point.”
Bender glanced around the large space, taking another swig of aminos. “This is military from way back, not just militia.” The militia had popped up after the dark days as a necessity, first to aid the people and help rebuild—or rather, scavenge and repurpose. Then to act as guardians and gatekeepers for the government.
“Yes,” I said. “It’s definitely military. The old insignias are stamped all over the crates. I haven’t had much time to snoop around, but it’s amazing that nobody found this place before now. If the government knew these kinds of supplies existed, in this much excess, they’d be all over this area.”
Lockland walked toward the row of sleeping pods. They were stacked two high and rolled out seamlessly. The fronts of the pods were firmly connected to the wall to provide structure. “Once Case returns,” Lockland said, “we formulate a plan to infiltrate the Bureau of Truth. Pursuing you was an act of aggression we can’t ignore. We strike soon, before everyone gets too comfortable. Not to mention, Walt and the others down South are waiting for us to return, and Mary needs help. We can’t waste any time.”
I addressed Darby, who was in the process of opening another bag of protein flakes. “Speaking of Mary, did you give her Plush like we talked about?”
“Yes,” Darby answered. “It calmed her down immediately. I gave Ned a small dart to give her if she gets bad again. But Lockland’s right, we’re running out of time. We have to find that medi-pod, and if it’s not working, I have to start trying to build a replica. I’m not at all certain I can achieve it, but I have to try.”
I nodded. “I agree.”
Lockland came toward us. “Right before we left the city, I received news about the mover drone. My source got back to me early this morning. He thinks those in charge of Port Station will be up for a trade, but they want to meet face-to-face.”
I frowned. “They’ve never requested a personal meeting before, have they? That sounds like the markings of a trap to me.”
Lockland pierced me with his gaze. “It does. I won’t go in alone. I
t’s a little unusual, but I’ve never offered them a trade before either. I’ve only given them coin and salvaged goods as bribes. So the ask is somewhat warranted, but I’ll proceed with caution.”
“Does your guy have much power in the group?” I asked. Lockland didn’t divulge his sources.
Lockland shrugged. “A decent amount. But what’s more important is that he has the ear of the one who’s in charge, someone they call Billy. With your E-unit, they’d be able to make several hundred bombs, and by the sounds of it, they want to avoid anything like Tandor and his group happening again.” Tandor had infiltrated Port Station and taken it over, which had been a large feat, and he’d done it without us knowing.
“What are the chances they’ll align themselves with us?” Bender asked, heading to the two couches on either side of the tech table, Lockland following.
“I think there’s a high likelihood,” Lockland replied as he took a seat. “That’s the end result I’m hoping for. But as it stands, I’m going to have to meet with him before we act against the Bureau of Truth. With Port Station’s backing, we’ll be bolstered, which will help.”
I tossed away my bag of food and made my way over to the seating area.
Case chose that moment to exit the room that held the batteries, coming from the roof. He moved forward, clapping off his hands, a spray of sand sprinkling the ground.
He stopped in front of me, Daze at my side.
“Did you overhear our discussion?” I asked, my face set, daring him to deny he had amplifiers.
“Yes,” he answered, unmoved.
“Good, then you know what’s at stake,” I said. “We’re giving you one last chance to come clean with everything you know—and I mean everything. After that, if we find out you’ve been holding back for any reason, we’re targeting the last of your sustainee siblings, starting with Wendra.” I really only knew about two of his siblings, Freedom and Wendra, and then there were all of Freedom’s wives and children. “Do you agree to our terms?”
Danger's Cure: (Holly Danger Book 4) Page 6