by Angela White
Angela pulled a paper from her pocket and handed it to the closest Eagle.
“Adrian assumed otherwise. He thinks they won’t want to chase us, that they’re already low on men due to fighting, escaping, and being made examples of. And that they’ll fear their men joining us.”
Marc and Angela exchanged concerned looks as the mutters increased. Showing them the page from Adrian’s journal was the fastest way to gain the full support of these men, but it was also dangerous. It revealed how much Adrian had known, expected, and chosen to allow fate to control.
“What does he mean by young sacrifices and nuclear blood?”
“The children we’ve lost, the hell we’ve suffered through the War.” Angela was prepared to answer those questions, but the next one hadn’t even been considered yet.
“What if we skip the fight all together?”
Cynthia flushed at the attention swinging her way. Samantha had waved her along–Jennifer busy scanning people at the QZ–but she knew she didn’t belong in this tent.
“You mean run for a ship now or try to disappear?” Angela tried to clarify.
The reporter cleared her throat. “Neither. I mean make a deal. Sort of, anyway.”
Not able to stand a disjointed report, Angela’s tone got sharp. “Spit it out, already.”
Cynthia’s nervousness was replaced with defensive anger. “I meant make a deal with the camp–to get them to fight. The government battle we can’t run from.”
“Why not?” Kenn asked. “And while we’re at it, why not supply a body?”
“Make them think he’s dead?” Angela considered it, ignoring the pros and cons being called out. The final choice was based on ability.
“I don’t think John can do it well enough to get us a match, but it could buy time. We’ll probably use it.” Angela viewed Cynthia. “Do you honestly understand why we can’t run?“
“Yes. It’s not just our freedom at stake.” Cynthia stated gravely. “If they take Safe Haven, they officially run the country again. We’re the only opposition party.”
“Excellent,” Angela praised. “And terrifying to carry all the responsibility for it.”
Angela glanced around. “We’ll come together again in 24 hours with fresh ideas. One day after that, we will have a plan.”
There was no room for argument, but more importantly, there was no doubt. If Angela said they could do it, then they would. Nearly everyone left the tent with a version of that thought in their mind. She’d never been wrong.
Angela and Marc were among the last people in the humid canvas and they stayed quiet, listening to the few ideas that hadn’t been openly discussed.
Kenn and Kyle had each been working on the problem since being inside Little Rock and finding out that the government had also survived the War. Both men were brutal in their thoughts, and for once, on exactly the same page.
“That’s what I’m saying. If we get ugly enough, they’ll back off.”
“I think so, too. They can’t outnumber us by that much. It’s only one bunker.”
“That we know of,” Marc interrupted. He didn’t like where this was going.
“If they had another, they would have gone there. Anywhere is closer than Utah,” Kyle protested.
“Let me be sure I’m clear,” Angela interrupted the starting fight. “You’re both saying we should drop a decoy body for the first group they send, get the herd south, and then follow them to Utah.”
“Yes.”
“Yes. We’ll grab a couple of them and pry out some basic details–then we take it down.”
“Attack a bunker? Like the Slavers did to NORAD?!” Marc snarled.
Angela put a hand on his arm. “All options, Brady. I’d hear this one.”
Marc grunted angrily, but held his tongue.
Kenn and Kyle went right back to unveiling their amazingly similar plans. Neither of them cared about Marc’s displeasure in this moment.
“A few of the gifted people will have to come along to provide personal shields,” Kyle stated.
“And that means we don’t have to kill them. Adrian would prefer it that way and I know you would too, but for us, it means those soldiers can be converted into Eagles,” Kenn explained.
“They’ll be able to help with the training, fill out the missing careers and culture gaps.”
“We’ll get the others they’re probably holding–others like Conner.”
“I think we’ll also get a nice add to the herd,” Kyle told Kenn, deep into his first mass ambush. He hadn’t thought of using non-lethal methods.
“How do you figure?” Kenn asked.
”Draft families. Some will have survived and made their way inside, but with that many males locked up together, I’d guess the bunker is encouraging relief sources. Sex makes a good distraction.”
Kenn hadn’t thought of that, but it instantly made sense.
Both trained killers peered at Angela eagerly.
“We can do this.”
“It has a lot of benefits.”
“And so many flaws that I can’t count them all,” Marc accused, unable to hold silent anymore. “You don’t know how many, where, or what type of hardware we’d be facing. It’s suicide.”
“Put it on the list.”
Angela’s words sent a cold chill through the tent.
“Work out the kinks before you mention it to anyone else. They won’t agree to kidnapping and torture, and neither will I. Not even when we’re the ones doing it.”
Kenn and Kyle left the tent without another word, both surprised to have gotten that far.
The instant they were alone, Marc opened his mouth to protest and Angela cut him off. “Can you give me a few minutes? I need to look.”
Marc stomped from the tent, huffing in annoyance at the drunken partiers and loud music. He spotted Kenn and Kyle lurking nearby, but was again stopped before he could vent.
“Adrian wouldn’t ever agree to this.” Kenn gave him one of their older, snotty glares. “Why do think she would?”
Kenn left him standing there–speechless.
He’s right, Marc realized after a few minutes of thinking. Angie would never agree to anything so reckless. She’d been placating Kenn and Kyle, keeping them busy.
But Kenn knew that and wasn’t upset...
Confused, Marc observed the two men now talking quietly as if there had never been a problem between them, let alone hatred. What was going?
8
“What do you think?”
Kenn shrugged. “Her mind works like Adrian’s. She’ll look. If it will work, she’ll give us the green light when the time comes.”
“And you’re sure?” Kyle asked. He hated manipulating her this way, but they had to know.
“Yes. She’ll do whatever it takes to hand this camp over to Adrian in the same condition that she received it.”
”Even kill innocent people?”
Kenn stared at the canvas walls, that stiff shadow. “If she needs to.”
“When will we know?”
Kenn settled back to wait. “She’ll tell the others at tomorrow’s meeting, but we’ll find out when she comes from the tent. Watch her face. She doesn’t handle death as well as everyone thinks.”
Angela found Kenn first as she came from the tent and the hateful glower they exchanged made Kyle tense. They’d spent the half hour chatting about baby furniture, of all things.
Angela’s face tightened into a mask of pain and anger, and Kyle realized she and Kenn were talking. He forced himself to wait until she turned for the medical tent.
“Well?”
Kenn was staring after her in concern and Kyle understood it wasn’t good news. “What did she say?”
Trying to re-sort their plans, Kenn growled. “That when it came time, you and I would be on the front lines, not Brady.”
Kyle wasn’t sure what to make of that. “It will work? Fool them?”
“She wouldn’t tell me. But she’s pissed, so I’
d guess it will.”
Kyle frowned. “What’s the problem, then?”
Kenn gave one last look over his shoulder, toward where she was vanishing into the dim tent that held Adrian. “She has her own plans and I think maybe we just became her Point men for them.”
“Is that bad?”
“It could be. She knows we were trying to manipulate her.”
“What do we do now?” Kyle asked.
Kenn’s answer wasn’t encouraging.
“Wait until she gives the orders and follow them. She’ll still hold the meeting tomorrow and then the one to announce the plans, but in her mind, it’s a done deal.”
“What is?”
“A future-deciding battle with the government. Even if they don’t figure it out, she’ll bring them to us. We’re done running.”
Chapter Four
1
Sam slowly led her men away from the tent. “Where are you guys due at?”
“Guard duty,” Neil answered, thinking of the coming chore. He wasn’t anticipating it.
“I have some rounds to make and people to talk to,” Jeremy stated. “Duty over Angela at noon.”
Samantha went toward the livestock pens. “I’ll be around for a while, listening. Call if you need me.”
Both men let their gazes roam her hair and body, but there wasn’t lust, only longing in their expressions.
“You two need a friend.”
They turned to find Kyle nearby, helping set up the extra medical tents that John requested. Jennifer had sent him out as soon as he’d gotten some rest, knowing it was where he wanted to be.
“You know what I mean,” Kyle continued, not giving either of them a chance to block the image he was about to thrust upon them. “Someone blonde and blue, and completely forgettable to occupy your downtime. Once you have that, this situation eases and brain functions return.”
Jeremy wanted to ignore the words, but Neil, set to face one of his worst sins since the War, had to listen.
Kyle didn’t bother keeping his voice down. Changes were flying through Safe Haven, and Samantha and her triangle were merely a tiny corner of the controlled chaos. “She doesn’t expect you to be loyal unless she chooses one, and you’ll both know that moment–if it comes. I wouldn’t count on it.
“What the hell has this camp become?” Neil questioned harshly. “Nothing is like it was.”
“It’s not meant to be.”
Angela appeared behind them, voice set. “We’re constantly changing and adapting. Nothing ever stays the same. That lesson held true long before the War that we survived.”
Angela went to where Samantha had stood so happily between them. “The limits of the old world were just that–limits. We don’t have them now. And we probably never should have.”
“You mean marriage and monogamy?” Jeremy asked curiously, aware of Kyle observing her in satisfaction.
“I think free will means making the choice based on what’s right for you, and that none of these differences are wrong. We’re supposed to be this way. Some are life-mates, soul-mates, some are one night stands or quick breeding moments that produce amazingly gifted offspring. None of us are right, and none of us are wrong.”
“Doesn’t feel that way,” Neil muttered.
Angela tried not to patronize. “And that’s your choice to make, but don’t base it on society’s rules. If you two can be okay with the setup, so can everyone else.”
Neither of them spoke and Angela filled in the silence with hard truth. “No, I can’t read that far ahead, and even if I could, I suspect you already know what’s there. It’s both or none for her, and that isn’t likely to change.”
Enjoying the few fireworks that were still being lit, Angela went to the medical tent, where Adrian and Conner were the only patients. Everyone else had been switched. The extra tent Kyle and his team were working on was for any new arrivals John wanted quarantined from the rest of them.
Kyle waved at Daryl to take over the tent stocking, and joined Neil and Jeremy as they started walking toward the main camp. “Remember who you are and all you’ve done for these people as they hassle you, and that should be enjoyed with pride, gentlemen. You are going against the known and accepted in search of happiness and adventure beyond what any of them would have the sand to try.”
Neil and Jeremy both teased him about the wording, and Kyle let their friendship sink in and start healing his own wounds. They were finally working on the same goals again. Things would be easier on them, in some ways, so long as they had each other to count on.
2
“What are you doing here?”
Neil paused at the hostile tone. “Seth didn’t tell you?”
Becky’s shadow left and she realized Neil was her protection on this shift.
Her mouth opened, face reddening, and the trooper prepared to duck.
“I hate your guts. You know, right?”
Neil went to take up Jeff’s post, feeling her glare. “Yeah.”
“He hasn’t forgiven you either.”
Meaning Seth. Neil’s control over his guilt control slipped a bit. “I don’t need it from him.”
Becky accepted that reluctantly. Until now, Neil hadn’t shown any remorse, only left her alone. He was careful whenever they spent time around each other and that was it–like nothing had ever happened.
“Can I say it or would you rather I shut up and stood my post?”
He is trying to atone, Becky realized. And didn’t care one way or the other. “Say it if you want. It won’t change anything.”
Neil took the steps that brought him into range for what had to happen next. He slowly took off his hat, hard face cracking with misery.
“I’m sorry.”
Tears traced down her cheeks despite thinking she didn’t care, and Becky clenched her hands to keep from sobbing. She didn’t want to feel anything for him!
Neil was having trouble reading her through his own pain, and chose to give everything that she might need.
“But only for what happened–for making you his target. I’m not sorry for wanting you.”
Neil braced for the coming blow. He’d arrived at a tolerable place with himself through all of it, but for that wall of guilt to lower, he had to follow through. “Or that sometimes, when I watch you bonding with Seth, I still do.”
Slap!
Neil didn’t react, willing her to keep going. It was the only way to give them both relief.
Becky started to cry heavily and Neil gave a final shove. “I’m also sorry I wasn’t your first. I used to dream about it.”
Becky understood that on some level this would help her, but the pain! She’d spent the last months in hell and part of it had been the used feeling–not from the rape, but from how easily Neil had changed his mind about her.
“I got pregnant from it, Neil. Angela and Anne took care of things a few weeks ago.”
Neil was instantly crushed. “What can I do? I... I can leave! I’ll be gone the second Adrian takes...”
“Stop it!” Becky drew in a calming breath as he stared in miserable shock. “I need you. Here.”
Neil smothered his own desperation to respond to hers. “Anything. Name it.”
Becky took another step into the new future that had been so brutally carved out for her. “At some point, I’m going to ask for what you denied me.”
Neil’s mouth dropped open and Becky jerked him into reality.
“I love Seth and he loves me, but I’m pretty clear on human nature now,” she stated harshly. “I’m always going to feel cheated, always going to wonder what might have been if Samantha hadn’t come to Safe Haven.”
Neil waited, not sure if he could refuse her or follow through. He had no spark for Becky now. Right?
“Forgiving and forgetting are things I can’t do yet, but I’ve hurt enough to know that being cheated festers inside.”
She turned away. “At some point, I’m going to be recovered. To get there, you’ll have
to help me.”
Neil forced himself to think around the guilty shock, amazed and dismayed by her new maturity. With that plan to follow, and Seth and her team to lean on, she could have more than a future as a camp relief source.
Neil forced himself to speak. “Whatever you need, Becky.”
He saw her fists clench and expected anger. The fresh tears were a surprise.
“I need to hear that name and not want to die.”
Her shoulders shook and Neil reacted like the gentle-hearted man that he was. He took her arm and pulled her into his embrace.
“God, I’m so sorry!”
It was a heavy, hurtful moment for them both–one that might let hatred fade and forgiveness begin.
3
More than tired of the firecrackers and thumping music, Marc spotted Charlie lingering near the tent area and slowly made his way over. Getting through the partying camp members wasn’t easy. Too many of them wanted to offer congratulations and gratitude for looking after things while Adrian was gone, and for not being like Kenn. It was tiresome considering the day’s work, tiresome and annoying. It made his view distort and he suddenly saw them all as mad harpies sent to suck the life out of Adrian’s gifted people.
Marc realized that was how his demon saw them. Before he could question, he joined Charlie. He didn’t need to know, didn’t have to have any personal contact at all.
“More of the silent treatment, huh?” the demon commented sarcastically. “Like that’s new.”
Charlie glanced up curiously.
Marc immediately turned his attention. “Where’s Tracy?”
Charlie took instant offense. “Why? She in trouble?”
“No. Why? You gonna lie for her?”
Charlie hadn’t expected the abruptness, but he refused to lie. “If I had to, if she was in enough trouble.”
Marc raised a brow and the teenager flushed.
“Mom knows.”
“Good,” Marc stated, wondering how awkward that conversation had been. “Should I repeat the question?”
“She’s cleaning up Hilda’s mess. She got sick after lunch.”
Marc’s frown started growing and Charlie hurried to add: “Hilda’s the only one. We checked.”