Seeds

by Chris Mandeville

  Pascal pointed to the cell directly across the corridor. “Put her in there so he has a good view.”

  “Wait, let me see her.” Reid strained to see if she was breathing.

  A second guard unlocked the cell door, and the first dropped Mia inside.

  “No!” Reid cried as Mia’s body tumbled to the ground. She lay unmoving in an unnatural heap, her torn gown gaping open. “Is she alive? Is she alive?”

  The guards didn’t answer.

  “Mia!” Reid called, gripping the cell bars. “Let me out of here! Let me see her!”

  “Is she alive?” Pascal asked the guards.

  “Yes sir,” one replied.

  Thank God. She was unconscious, but at least she was breathing. “Let me help her. Please,” Reid said.

  “Perhaps that’s how things are done where you’re from,” Pascal said. “Here, friendship is more reciprocal. I did something for you, now it’s your turn. How do I turn on the car?” He held up the keycard from the Humvee. “In case you doubted I have the vehicle.”

  He really did have the car, but he couldn’t use it, which meant Reid still had a little leverage. “If you give me medical supplies and let me tend to Mia and my grandfather, I’ll show you how to work the car in the morning.”

  Pascal shook his head. “As I said, it’s your turn.”

  Reid gripped the bars. He needed to get to Mia, but he couldn’t reveal how to work the car. As soon as he did, they’d all be dead. “I need to sleep on it.”

  Pascal raised an eyebrow. “I hope that’s not too late for Mia.”

  Reid prayed he’d find a way to get to her before then.

  As soon as the cellblock door closed behind Pascal, Will called out. “Reid, Brandt, we still need to figure out a plan. Come on, it’s now or never.”

  Seventy-Nine

  The Tank

  Tinker was gone. Already growing cold. Reid didn’t know how long it had been since Tinker had last taken a breath. He’d missed it.

  He took Tinker’s hand and held it. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He let his tears stream freely as he knelt beside Tinker, wishing everything were different, wishing he hadn’t screwed up so badly, wishing they’d never come to Ellay.

  In the adjacent cell, Vlad unscrewed the bare light bulb and the cell went dark. Reid could see by the light from his own cell as Vlad leapt down from his perch on Gordo’s shoulders.

  “It’s time,” Brandt said. “Get in position.”

  Reid slid the wedding ring from his grandfather’s finger and placed it on his own. He kissed Tinker’s forehead. “I’ll try to make you proud, Pops. I’ll try to make sure this wasn’t all in vain.”

  He took his place at the front of the cell, on his stomach pretending to sleep. He peeked over his arms. Mia hadn’t moved from where she’d been dumped. He still couldn’t see if she was breathing, and he hoped the guards hadn’t lied about her being alive. It was impossible to tell how much of what Pascal said was true, and how much was orchestrated to get what he wanted. He wondered if Pascal had lied about killing Justine to hurt and manipulate Brandt. It didn’t seem likely, though. Pascal did have the car.

  He peered at Brandt sitting by their cell door. On the surface, he seemed in control, but the news of Justine’s death had broken something inside him. Reid understood a little of what that felt like, but there was no time for grieving right now. He hoped Brandt could hold it together. He had to for the plan to work. Reid thought for a moment about saying that Justine could still be alive, but decided it would be too cruel to get his hopes up.

  Reid put his head down on his arms and tried to prepare himself. After all their brainstorming, the plan they ended up with was simple. According to Brandt, two guards would soon enter the cellblock on rounds. They’d see the light out in the cell, and protocol dictated they had to change the bulb immediately. They were supposed to move the prisoners to a vacant cell first, but since they were asleep, Brandt was betting the guards would be lazy. If they refused to deviate from protocol and proceeded to move the prisoners, things were going to get ugly fast, and their odds of escaping would be next to zero.

  When the door to the cellblock rattled, a surge of adrenaline sent Reid’s nerves thrumming. He thought he detected two sets of footsteps, but he resisted the urge to look.

  “What in the hell?” a voice said.

  “They didn’t do anything,” Brandt said. “Bulb burned out about twenty minutes ago. None of them even twitched. They’re dead to the world.”

  “I’ll get the ladder.” The guard didn’t sound too happy about it.

  Reid heard one set of footsteps receding.

  “Protocol sucks, don’t it, Matt?” Brandt said.

  “You know it,” the other guard said. “Or you used to. What are you doing on the wrong side of the bars? It’s not like you.”

  “A misunderstanding. It’ll be cleared up soon.”

  “That’s good to hear, but don’t wait too long,” Matt said. “Damn. I guess I’d better rouse those prisoners.”

  “Wait, why’d you say not to wait too long?” Brandt asked. “You know something.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t hear it from me. You’re scheduled for execution in the morning.”

  The footsteps returned. Reid peeked over his arm enough to see that the other guard had returned with the ladder. This was the moment of truth.

  “Sorry I haven’t moved the prisoners yet,” Matt said. “I was catching up with Brandt. He and I served in the same platoon when we were basics.”

  “I remember Brandt,” the other guard said. “I’ll move them. Cover my back.”

  “Is that necessary?” Matt said. “They’re out cold.”

  “You know the rules,” the other guard said.

  “They dangerous?” Brandt asked. “What are they in for?”

  “Official charge is conspiracy and trespassing,” Matt said. “But they’ve been here for weeks and never caused a problem.”

  “Fine, then. Let’s not make trouble where there isn’t any,” the other guard said. “I’ll sneak in and sneak out. No one will know the difference.”

  “So what are people saying about why I’m here?” Brandt asked, getting Matt’s attention.

  “That you were in league with Mia in a plot against the chancellor,” Matt said. “That she didn’t really try to take your gun. That you knocked her out so she couldn’t give you up.”

  Keys rattled and the door to Will’s cell swung open. No one moved. The only sound besides snoring was the metallic creak of the ladder opening.

  “Seriously?” Brandt said. “How long have you known me, Matt? Do you think I’d hurt a girl? Even to save my own ass?”

  The other guard reached the top of the ladder.

  “I don’t know,” Matt said. “If it were me—hey!”

  Brandt reached through the bars and grabbed Matt’s gun at the same moment that Will and his men rose in unison and pulled the guard off the ladder. Reid leapt up, yanked Matt into the bars by his shirt, and slapped a hand over his mouth while Brandt wrestled him for the gun.

  Vlad and Sam rushed out of the other cell. Sam took control of Matt’s gun, and Vlad snapped Matt’s neck and dropped him to the ground.

  “You weren’t supposed to kill him,” Brandt said.

  Will unlocked their cell. “Get the old man,” he said, turning to unlock Mia’s cell.

  “He’s dead.” Reid looked at the guard who had been on the ladder. He was dead, too.

  “I’ve got the girl.” Will hoisted Mia to his shoulder and brought her out.

  “Give her to me.” Reid pulled Mia into his arms. She was alive.

  “Take the lead,” Will told Brandt, handing him the ring of keys and Matt’s gun. “Sam and Alfonse, you’re with Brandt. Gordo, stay close to Reid and the girl. Vlad and I will bring up the rear. Let’s go.”

  Brandt opened the cellblock door a crack and looked out. “Clear.”

  Reid’s heart raced as they followed Brandt do
wn a hallway. Their footsteps seemed so loud, he was sure they’d be discovered any moment. They stopped for Brandt to unlock a door, and Reid shifted Mia so her head was on his shoulder and he could hear her breathing.

  Brandt cracked the door, then shut it. “Someone’s coming.”

  Reid squeezed Mia to his chest, ready to bolt if the door opened, ready to shield her if bullets started flying.

  He didn’t trust Will’s men. They’d promised not to kill the guards, and now they looked so jumpy they might start shooting even if no one came through the door.

  After what felt like an hour, Brandt inched open the door, listened, then peeked through. “Clear.” He motioned for them to follow.

  Reid let out a big breath and took his place in line. They went down a service corridor lit by yellow bulbs and lined with banks of lockers.

  Brandt stopped in front of one of the larger lockers and selected a key from the ring. “Give me cover. Both directions.”

  Will took Matt’s pistol from Brandt and covered the rear, while Sam faced forward with the other guard’s gun.

  The locker held dozens of guns and boxes of ammo. “Only use them if you have to,” Brandt said, doling them out. He thrust the butt of a pistol toward Reid. “It’s already loaded.”

  Reid shook his head. There’d been enough dying.

  Brandt set the gun on a bench and took Mia from him. “Put on that uniform.” He gestured with his head toward a locker.

  Reid pulled on the shirt and pants. The pants were too big, but he cinched up the belt.

  “Boots too,” Brandt said. “Hurry.”

  Reid sat and put on a pair of combat boots. The boots were a half size too small, and he was so nervous he kept fumbling the laces.

  “Take the gun,” Brandt said. “You might need to protect her.”

  Reid conceded and shoved the pistol into the holster on the belt.

  Brandt handed Mia back to Reid. He slung a weapon over his shoulder, but kept it pointed at the ground. “This last part’s the lynchpin.”

  They went through several dim passages that reminded Reid of the Mountain, right down to the smell of rotting garbage.

  Finally, Brandt stopped and gathered everyone around. “It takes two keys to open the last door. One on each side. If the door opens, it means they believe us, so don’t shoot. Understood?”

  The men nodded.

  “Reid, give Mia to someone else,” Brandt continued. “Button your shirt and take two of the big guns so you look like a guard. Everyone else conceal your weapons.”

  “This whole thing’s a waste of time. We should bust our way out the front,” Sam said. He was antsy, shifting from foot to foot and fingering his gun like he wanted to shoot it.

  Except for Will, the other men seemed just as tightly wound, like the slightest thing would set them off.

  “We try it my way first,” Brandt said. “If they recognize me, or if I can’t convince them to open the door, that’s when we shoot our way out the front.”

  Will put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “There’s nothing to lose by trying.”

  “Reid, bring up the rear,” Brandt said. “Everyone else, remember that you’re prisoners.”

  Reid took his place and pointed the automatic at the ground. He still had the pistol in his holster plus a rifle slung across his torso. His arms felt strangely empty without Mia. He prayed Gordo wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

  Brandt rapped on the steel door three times and stepped back. After a moment, a hatch at head-height opened and a bleary-eyed man looked through.

  “What,” he said in a sleepy voice. “Who’s there?”

  “Sorry,” Brandt said. “It’s Matt Lehman with a prisoner evac.”

  “No one told me.”

  “No time,” Brandt said. “We just got the order. Something about pirates trying to mount a rescue at the front doors.”

  The man paused, and Reid thought they were lost. Then the man blinked. “Okay. Try not to wake the morning shift.”

  “I’m putting my key in now,” Brandt said.

  “Ready . . . and . . . turn,” the man said.

  The door opened and the group hustled through. As Reid came across the threshold last, the guard stepped toward him, scowling. Reid nodded like they knew each other, and the man’s frown relaxed.

  Sweat soaked Reid’s shirt as he followed the men across a dark, cavernous kitchen. He didn’t dare hope that they might actually make it. He kept waiting for an alarm to go off or a bullet to pierce his back. He chanced a look behind, and the man at the door already had his feet up and a hat covering his face, but that did little to dispel Reid’s sense of having a target between his shoulder blades.

  At the far side of the kitchen they stopped at a double door. Brandt put his finger to his lips, then pushed on one of the doors. Without looking back, he motioned for them to follow. Again, Reid was the last one through, and he made sure the door closed silently.

  In this room there were about ten people asleep on cots. Reid wondered who they were and why they were there. Were they guards on break? Did they have guns tucked under the covers? Were they light sleepers, listening for anything out of the ordinary?

  As their group inched through the room, Reid hoped no one would trip or sneeze, and prayed Mia would not choose this moment to wake.

  At the far end of the room was another door. Brandt opened it, and relief flooded through Reid. He’d never been so happy to see the moon.

  Brandt stood at the door, ushering each person out and sending them toward a dumpster.

  Reid clasped Brandt’s arm as he went by. “You did it.”

  “Don’t thank me yet.”

  They regrouped behind the dumpster. Reid breathed a huge sigh of relief as he handed the guns to Will and took Mia from Gordo.

  “Okay, hopefully the train is still on the other side of those buildings.” Brandt pointed across an open parking lot. “Stick to the periphery. Let’s roll.”

  Reid resumed his place in the middle, choosing his steps carefully on the uneven ground. His arms were already burning, but he wouldn’t consider handing Mia to someone else again.

  As they passed the halfway point, a couple holding hands came into view on the other side of the lot. The men froze, but it was too late.

  “Who’s there?” the young man called. “Identify yourselves.”

  “Run,” Brandt said.

  Gordo turned, pointing his gun.

  “No!” Reid yelled, but there was nothing he could do.

  Three shots rang out.

  Reid chanced a look back. One person was on the ground.

  “Jenna!” the young man cried. “Oh God, Jenna.”

  “We’ll be swarmed by Blades any second,” Brandt said. “Get to the train.”

  Eighty

  The Grand Hotel, Pascal’s private suite

  “Imagine, one day we’ll have a whole fleet of cars.” Pascal laced his fingers behind his head and stared at the ceiling, almost able to see the cars driving past one by one. Driving to the home of the missionaries. Salvation was near. He could feel it.

  Ellianna snaked her arms around him.

  “Where shall we go?” Pascal continued. “Vegas? Arizona? Mexico? When Linus is in charge, we can travel the world.”

  “I’d go anywhere with you.”

  He caressed the smooth skin of her back. Her fingers danced across his chest, dipping lower with each pass. He smiled. “Again already?”

  The door banged open and Linus rushed in.

  “Father! Father, I—”

  Pascal sat up. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  Ellianna clutched the covers to her chest.

  “The prisoners escaped! I saw them behind the Tank. Brandt and five or more others. I tried to stop them, but they shot at me.”

  “Are you hurt?” Pascal demanded, springing from the bed and pulling on his slacks.

  “I’m fine, but they killed Jenna! I sounded the alarm as fast as I could.”
<
br />   “Did they get away?”

  “I don’t know. Blades went after them and I came straight here.”

  “I’ll get dressed.” Ellianna gathered the sheet around her and closed herself in the bathroom.

  “Father, I should never have disobeyed you. I should have gone to sleep, but I wanted to see Jenna. I didn’t think anything bad would happen.”

  “You’re certain it was Brandt?”

  “Positive. And Mia, too.”

  Pascal tucked in his shirt and buckled his belt. “They couldn’t have done it without help. It appears Brandt is not our only traitor.”

  “What about her?” Linus whispered, pointing to the bathroom.

  Pascal frowned. “What about her?”

  “She was at the Tank tonight. I saw her. I thought it was weird since you said she was going with you.”

  “She made an excuse to stay behind,” Pascal said. “When I returned, she said she’d been waiting here the whole time.”

  “Then she lied. She helped them escape. The guards told me she talked to Brandt. She’s the traitor.”

  Pascal shook his head, not wanting to believe it.

  “Ask her, Father,” Linus said as the bathroom door opened.

  Ellianna came out in her red dress and gold shoes.

  “Ellianna,” Pascal said. “Did you visit someone at the Tank this evening?”

  Her smile vanished. “Why I, uh . . . why would you ask that?” Her gaze shifted to Linus.

  “Answer the question,” Pascal said.

  “Well yes, I went to see Brandt to—”

  “See, she admits it!” Linus said.

  “To try to get Brandt to see reason,” Ellianna finished.

  “You lied to me.” Pascal wasn’t asking.

  “No, I . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t mention it because I didn’t think it mattered. Brandt wouldn’t listen. My visit didn’t do any good. You’re right, I should have told you. I should always, even when it’s inconsequential.”

  “Inconsequential.” Pascal walked to the bureau and put on his watch. His son was the bright spot in all of this. His son had seen the treachery, the deceit. His son was his true partner and confidant, not some lying whore. He turned and leaned against the dresser. Ellianna was trembling, one hand covering her mouth, the other wrapped around her ribs. Good, but fear wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.