by Angela White
“We’ll go down the rear path,” Adrian stated, going toward the site that had been camouflaged. David had two sentries. Adrian headed for the road that had now been cleared for five miles. That was only far enough to get them trapped.
2
“We have a tail,” Tommy stated, staring in the mirror as Kendle drove.
“It’s Conner.”
Tommy frowned at her calm reply. “He’s been banished!”
“We’re not in camp, are we?” Kendle pointed out. “Angela owes him for helping a member.”
“Conner was in camp to help someone?”
“No.”
Tommy considered what that meant. Conner was doing good work, probably for the boss. Before it all went to hell with Adrian, that had meant the person was trying to earn forgiveness.
“Does he deserve it?” Tommy demanded as he steered around a garbage truck that appeared to have been loaded with furniture when the war came. The mold on the truck was defying the cold to remain alive. “Can he be trusted?”
“For this run, he’ll shine like a new penny,” Kendle predicted. “In Safe Haven, around Candy? Hard to guess at.”
Tommy wondered what would happen if he said no to the boy joining them. If Conner was here, he would have some proof that Angela had approved it. Tommy decided that if he did, he would accept the boss’s wishes for now and complain upon his return.
“That’s what I chose to do,” Kendle confided. “This is important. I won’t let Adrian’s son interfere in our mission.”
That was what Tommy liked to hear from his teammates and he gradually slowed to a stop. The vehicle behind them also pulled over, driver and six passengers staring curiously until they saw Conner. Then the stares became scowls and mutters floated through cracked windows.
“What is he doing here?”
“Get rid of him while you can!”
Tommy didn’t scold his team. The boy had a right to know how people felt.
Conner flushed under his helmet and chose to leave it on. He didn’t talk, just handed Tommy a note. He’d read it before leaving his father’s site.
“Says it’s up to us,’” Tommy informed them. “If we can’t use him, he’ll be assigned to Zone C.”
“Wow.” Kendle was speechless. She couldn’t believe Angela would do that.
“Guess she always knows what buttons to push,” Tommy commented thoughtfully, wondering how best to tell the people behind them. His own passengers were remaining silent out of respect, but Tommy could feel their disapproval.
“Take the note to the driver behind us. Tell them I said to vote. Then come to me and wait.”
Conner went quickly and Tommy twisted around to scan those in his vehicle. “Keep him or send him to his death in Zone C?”
It was a tense ten minutes for Conner. Tommy’s vehicle had all agreed to let him come along, but the other seven people were still arguing it out. If all of them said no, the vote would be theirs and he would be sent to live in the zone for bad people. It meant this was his forgiveness vote, and Angela had done it in such a way that no one had known it coming. There was also no one here on his side to speak for him, which kept Conner a nervous wreck while he waited silently by Tommy’s open window.
Whitney flashed lights to let Tommy know they were ready.
“Go find out,” Tommy ordered. This was another part of atoning–facing the people. The way Conner was handling himself so far was good.
Everyone turned around or observed in mirrors, curious as to Conner’s final fate. It could all end here.
Whitney glared at the boy. “Take off that helmet.”
Conner removed it to reveal a pale skin under scarlet cheeks. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think anyone wanted to see me since I look like my dad.”
It was a reminder that he wasn’t Adrian, but Whitney didn’t need it. “We voted to let you come along, but you’ll be watched until we know if we can trust you.”
“Thank you,” Conner said quickly. “I’ll be helpful. I promise.”
“That’s why we agreed, so be sure that you are,” Whitney warned. “But as far as we’re concerned, your banishment has been lifted, with conditions. This trip is the first step in your probation. The next part comes when you’re in camp and Candy walks by. If we witness one leer, we’ll shoot you and pike your skull on the front gate like Marc did that woman killer. Watch your six, rookie.”
3
“Have you found out anything about her?”
“No, and I’ve tried. She’s great at deflecting questions.”
“I noticed that. Other than Shawn, does she have any friends here yet?”
“She’s had lunch twice with that new guy–Jayson, but that’s it. Even the den mothers have given up.”
Angela was outside the door to the main medical bay. They now had three wide canvas shelters connected for their medical needs. Hilda oversaw one, Dr. Reynolds supervised one, and Millie and Mandy were occupying the third. Those two females had chosen to work together and the doctor was staying busy moving between the three areas.
“It’s a chore to keep watching her. I’m always so tired!”
“I wondered if she should be roaming free. I’m glad she isn’t, but there are a lot of new people. I don’t recognize enough faces at meals.”
In the wing nearest to the main flap, Theo and Candy were talking. Theo’s leg had been casted, but there was no sign of life in it. Dr. Reynolds had declared it paralyzed and Candy had come as soon as Theo was allowed visitors. Candy was keeping him busy with chatter and questions, trying to prevent him from dwelling on his injury, but Angela expected that to fail soon. Theo wasn’t the type to be distracted from the future, no matter how grim.
“Any idea how to keep all those assholes outside the gate?”
“Angela and Jennifer are picking through them. It takes time. How are your shifts with Conner around?”
“Awkward, but getting better. I heard he went with Kendle, so I won’t have to worry about it for a while, I guess.”
“The boss will feel better when the rest of the teams return.”
“They all copied Marc’s order.”
“Yeah, he still sounded pissed. I can’t believe Shawn did that.”
“And in the kids’ camper. Peggy was furious.”
“I heard Angela laughed.”
“Well, didn’t you?”
Angela resumed walking. She’d gotten an update on a few things and she was confident that Candy would keep Theo occupied for at least another day or two. After that, life would distract him. As it was, the crowds outside the gate were making Safe Haven people extremely uneasy. Several of them had come to her this morning to express their concern. Angela had explained about the reinforced gates and the patrol that was staying tripled in that area, but her camp wasn’t stupid. If she kept pushing them to take the refugees, they would rebel with an emergency vote, which was the goal. This was how their future would be for years if they remained in these mountains. Some of the people had even suggested she get rid of the refugees through magic, giving her the sign she’d had to wait for. Her camp was turning away from the idea that Safe Haven could shelter everyone, concluding that there wasn’t enough food and water for that many people, let alone enough Eagles to provide security. Cynthia’s paper had brought the topic front and center. Angela had gone over it last night. Right now, she had to supervise the gate while Marc tried to sleep through the noise. Knowing she would be out here with the Eagles would prevent him from really resting. He would be up long before he should be, to verify that she was okay.
Angela waved off her shadows in favor of both Special Forces teams. This was the first active duty she’d scheduled them for and all fourteen men were lethal. Even the rookies she’d assigned to their teams would shoot first and talk later–exactly what this situation called for. If the mob chose to attack while she was outside, people would die.
Angela waited for Ray, who had Point over the gate, to unlock it, not reacting to h
is frowns or mutters. She could hear the wildness out there and understood his concern, but this was her job.
Angela entered the first gate and waited to hear the lock click before she entered the reception area. The crowd around this fence was patiently waiting to be evaluated, but the groups behind them were loud and angry that they had to wait in the cold. There were no less than six hundred people here. When Angela scanned them with the witch, she was disappointed to discover that more than half couldn’t be allowed to join them and that was just from obvious problems. The bright glow of thievery, abuse, and corruption was unmistakable–especially in the group that had moved up during the night.
Angela read the sentry notes on them, frowning as she found out they’d taken over two smaller camps and forced them to give up the location by Safe Haven’s gate. The women in the captive clan had been abused before the Eagles could interfere. The offenders in the large group had been grabbed, shot, and added to Marc’s gruesome display, but the notes said he wouldn’t do it again. Sending men outside at night was a big mistake.
Angela sat down between four Eagles with rifles in hand, glad of the fencing between her and the mob. As she regarded the next notes, the noise pushed in on her. This crowd was dangerous. She couldn’t let her medical personnel come outside today. It wasn’t safe, even with the patrols and fences. As it was, Angela wanted to go back in now, but knew it might trigger a negative reaction. She needed to appear in control and she signaled the next group of refugees forward through the cold wind.
“No, you won’t be able to carry a gun unless you’re an Eagle.”
“Then I want to be an Eagle!”
“That’ll be a while. We have to make sure we can trust you.”
In the next little cage over, Jennifer sounded like she’d almost had enough of repeating the same answers. Angela understood.
Jennifer sighed, pushing a paper under the small gap between the fence and table. “Fill this out.”
She placed a yellow card on the table as well. “You’re being assigned to Zone A. If you can follow the rules and prove you’re a good person, you’ll get into a better zone and maybe make it inside.”
Jennifer’s words told Angela the man probably wasn’t capable of being reformed, but it was clear that the teenager was tired of sending people to Zone C.
“Take a break,” Angela ordered.
“Thank you.” Jennifer rose right away. The tension out here, combined with the noise, had given her a nasty headache that interfered with reading people’s thoughts. She also kept getting snatches of a conversation happening inside Safe Haven, but the words about C-4 made no sense to her. They couldn’t blow up six hundred people.
Angela studied the man in front of her without any change in expression at the burn marks and bruises. The wild expression and knife clutched in his grip said whoever had done it to him was still a threat, and Angela dug deeper to be certain of the choice. She found no issues with the man that Safe Haven couldn’t help and passed him an orange card. Earl would become an Eagle and then he’d never have to feel this way again. She would see to it. “Zone B. Fill this out.”
The noise increased as Angela processed people at a faster rate than Jennifer. Refugee groups moved up as she kept sorting, but the line behind them kept coming. It stretched down the hill and out of sight. As the groups rotated, fights broke out between those moving too slowly and those who were in a hurry. Vehicles were damaged as inexperienced drivers tried to navigate the small spaces, hitting tents as well as people. It was chaos.
Angela felt the tension increase among her guards as the next group came through the steady wind to be evaluated. The ten men were quiet and alert, heavily armed with smirks that warned of bad intentions. They strolled toward her in a line that cleared a quick path through the refugees.
Angela’s Eagles stood up, glowering.
Angela didn’t need to scan the men, but she did anyway to be positive later. Without someone to beat her plans off, she was having doubts in a few areas and the refugees were a part of that–mostly because of the women and kids. Behind the men, but still a part of that smirking group, were four females that Angela hated to assign to the same zone, but she had no choice. The women appeared to be just as corrupt as their men, and no amount of survival skills or pregnancies were worth letting that type of evil into her peaceful herd.
“You’ll all be in Zone C or you can leave,” Angela stated coldly, ready to dive for cover if it was needed. Since being shot, she could no longer depend on her own gun to save her life. The arm worked, but not always the way she needed it to.
“Wait.”
The leader of the men, tall and lean, stepped forward with a pathetic grin. His long coat was tacky with dried fluids that Angela didn’t want to identify.
“Are you sure? We’re good at what we do.”
Angela shook her head, denying him. “Zone C or go. We have no room for you.”
The man scanned Zone C, where an unruly mob was lining the fences to observe the guards instead of going out to scavenge for their needs like Angela and Jennifer had advised everyone to do. “Maybe we’ll stay a bit. See if you change your mind.”
The group left slowly, arrogantly. Refugees scrambled out of their way before the fourteen killers reached them, but Angela didn’t notice. A blond man with furious blue eyes had just appeared in the tree line across the mob of refugees and she couldn’t look away.
4
Adrian stared in shock at the scene. The noise and cold weather had brought him in early, and now he wished he hadn’t left at all. Angela was outside the gate, without Marc. There were hundreds of possible threats here and all that stood between her and them was a few dozen Eagles and some flimsy fencing.
Furious, Adrian whistled. Around him, the remaining soldiers came from the trees to take his flank. Glowering, Adrian marched his men through the mob toward Angela.
Angela tried to look away then, realizing what Adrian meant to do. She couldn’t and she swept him miserably instead. She didn’t reach out or even smile, fighting to control herself. She’d missed him in so many ways over the last month.
Adrian knew. It was the mirror of his soul, the other half that was almost close enough to complete him. The struggle she was going through was only easier for Adrian because of his fury at her being out here.
“You don’t belong here!” Morgan growled from his place by Angela as Adrian approached the gate.
“Neither does she,” Adrian replied firmly.
“We don’t need you!” Kyle insisted from her other side, though he certainly didn’t feel that way.
“I’ll go when she does!” Adrian barked, stopping in front of Angela. He wanted to say a hundred things, to touch her hand and tell her not to blame herself for the coming unhappiness. Instead, he took a sentry position between her and the crowd. His men lined up on either side of them, and Angela immediately felt better. So did the Eagles, though they wouldn’t have admitted it. Traitor or not, Adrian was a force that commanded respect. When he only stood with his back to them, the Eagles stopped protesting.
Angela beckoned the next group forward, heart thumping. She was outside the gate. The bubble wasn’t between them out here. If she wanted to talk with him, she could.
Adrian felt it. He wanted to lock gazes and fall in love all over again, but he resisted those urges. She was in danger. He had to stay alert.
Angela felt his attention shift from her and return to evaluating the new arrivals. She understood this wasn’t a good time, but as the afternoon wore on, she began to sting a bit from his lack of communication attempts. If he doesn’t care anymore, it’s for the best. I’ll walk this line forever before I betray Marc. I’m not bad.
Adrian winced at that blow, stomach churning. As soon as he’d seen her outside the gate, he’d shoved into her mind. Hearing her doubt his need actually hurt.
Adrian swept the remaining people, not liking many of them. He listened to their stories and picked out the details
they hadn’t wanted to speak, but so far, there were few good apples here. It was exactly as he’d suspected it would be after the war, when he’d started keeping notebooks. The worst of humanity was tough–enough to survive for almost a year now, and most of it had come upon the backs of others. Adrian was certain there were good people left all over the country, but they weren’t going to come here yet. Safe Haven had defeated the government, but they had also replaced them in ways. Patriots were leery of that type of control. In time, they might realize that Safe Haven was good, but for now, only those who were either desperate or hoping for a free ride would continue to flock. Adrian knew Angela wouldn’t let many of the bad apples in, but he had no idea what she planned to do about the others. He hadn’t covered this in his notebooks because he didn’t have a solution. Truly bad people didn’t leave because you told them to, but Safe Haven wasn’t ready to see their army gunning down hundreds of survivors. Nor was Angela, though he assumed he would be busy later. None of those she’d assigned to Zone C had chosen to leave and there were several ongoing fights there now for control. There was no way he could pick them all off, but he would try to get the worst of the lot.
No.
She must have a plan, he thought. Good! Adrian’s pulse leapt as he realized she was also in his mind, listening. Okay.
Angela didn’t send more.
Neither did Adrian. It was enough that they knew they were connected. The feeling was as incredible as they remembered.
Angela winced at fresh screams from Zone C, but she didn’t order her army to interfere. Only the worst of the worst were being sent there. Even slightly innocent people were being loaded into and around Zone A. Those Angela wanted were going into Zone B, which was next to the main gate. The mob had noticed the placement quickly. It was clear by examining the zones what type of people were in them. Zone B was quiet and happy, cleared for entry. Zone A was nervous, but also quiet, hoping to be found worthy. Zone C was chaos as those who’d been denied refused to leave. Angela had only mentioned the chance of reform to a few of those rough souls and Adrian approved. None of them deserved to enter.