Where We Stand

by Angela White

  “Yeah.” Kenn knew he wouldn’t. If the mobster wasn’t keen on getting Adrian back, the others wouldn’t be either. Angela was earning that slot.

  “You think her plan will work?”

  Kenn slid the washer on. “Yes. The parts we’ve been told, anyway.”

  Kyle viewed the darkness that surrounded their camp. He’d also gotten the impression that Angela hadn’t told them everything. “She’s so much like him.”

  “Yeah.” Kenn didn’t say they were a match. He didn’t need to. The top men had been thinking it all along.

  And that’s how I do it, Kenn thought. I don’t have to tell them. I need to show.

  Kenn dropped his attention to the directions. Adrian had done a fantastic job of controlling himself, of hiding how deeply he longed for what he couldn’t have. When the top men saw how unhappy he was, how he’d given up in so many ways, the debt they owe him would take over. All Kenn had to do was make sure they saw Adrian’s pain and that wouldn’t be hard to do right now. Control was hard to come by when the drugs were strong and the company was right.

  Strolling across the compound, Tonya spotted Kenn’s big frame. The baby furniture he was assembling was obviously for Jennifer, but it was something of a shock to find her killer Marine carefully putting a crib together. Especially considering where she was going.

  Tonya walked around the water tanker and quietly opened the door to the medical camper. Maybe she was wrong. It might be stress, or a cold, or… Tonya stopped trying to make herself feel better. She wasn’t wrong.

  4

  Angela was surprised by who came into the medical camper. She must think it’s John’s shift, Angela thought, giving Tonya a polite smile. The redhead’s words cleared things up a little.

  “Can we talk while you do the exam or do I have to lay quietly?”

  Angela waved a hand, trying to remember that personal feelings didn’t matter. “Have a seat. We’ll talk about whatever you want.”

  “No gown?”

  Angela was surprised again by the nervous tone.

  “Nope. I’ve always hated them.”

  Tonya sat on one of the stools at the small table. The other side of the camper held a large recliner covered in a pink sheet–the cloth kind. Another sheet of the same feminine shade was folded neatly, laying in the seat.

  “Is that where you’ll do it?”

  “Yes. Great, isn’t it?”

  Tonya agreed, clipped hair bobbing. She took the papers that Angela handed her as she sat down on the other stool.

  “It’s mostly medical history and the same old questions about your health and family history. John and I also added a few things, like signs of radiation sickness. Is this your first visit?”

  “Yes. I didn’t think I needed one until now.”

  Her pharmacy was doing well and she was gaining friends. Tonya had even gotten into the spirit of the holiday by offering flag sticks for people to pin to their tents. It was a wonderful change from the brutal Christmas remnants they were still running across.

  “What’s the problem?”

  Tonya’s voice lowered. “I have a mole on my thigh that hurts sometimes, and… I’m late.”

  Angela’s startled gaze flew to Tonya’s. Late.

  Maybe pregnant, and who was she keeping time with? Kenn, that was who.

  “Do you care?” the Witch inquired casually.

  “No,” Angela answered. “I’m free now.”

  “How late?” Angela asked, tone light.

  “Only a week,” Tonya responded lowly.

  “Is that normal for you?”

  “No. I can keep the calendar by it.”

  “Adrian will be ecstatic, and it will finish off the camp’s approval,” Angela stated.

  Tonya sighed. “Those things are good, but will he be happy?”

  Angela considered, then shrugged resignedly. “I barely know this Kenny. Maybe he’s strong enough to be a father now.”

  “Yeah, what about me?”

  Angela was surprised at the fear and self doubt. “You’ll both have help, but yes, I think you can do it.”

  “I’ll be out of the Eagles.”

  “For a while,” Angela confirmed. “But you’ve seen with Jennifer that it won’t be right away. You’re needed.”

  That was what Tonya had come to hear. She didn’t need the test to know what was going on with her body. She and Kenn were going to be parents. She’d just needed to know that it wouldn’t cost her the new life she’d found.

  “When will I start to show?”

  Angela frowned at the when, not if. “From your build, I’d guess around Thanksgiving. A bit sooner to the man who uses his hands on you. The clues will be there.”

  Tonya thought about their almost violent sessions and sighed again. “I guess he’d be happier if you and Anne took care of it for me.”

  “I’m not sure that’s true.”

  Tonya snorted. “Yeah, right.”

  “I mean it,” Angela insisted. “He’d be completely forgiven if he had a newborn for the camp to fall in love with.”

  Tonya lit up angrily at the thought of her child being used that way and Angela kept the rest of their talk to the coming baby. She’d given Tonya a warning. Now, she would give her a test and confirm what the redhead was already sure of.

  5

  Peggy stopped outside the tent, nervous.

  A hand descended on her shoulder, causing her to jump.

  Doug was in a great mood now that he’d been cleared for duty. “Lookin’ for me, Babe?”

  Peggy laughed. “Yes. She wants us to give a hand with a lesson.”

  Doug followed Peggy’s shapely hips, wondering why she was involved. Suspecting a match-making attempt, Doug remained silent and thoughtful. John’s advice had sank in and festered. Doug was now considering asking Peggy to be his woman. He didn’t care that she’d hid her skills.

  “Any idea what she’ll have me doing?”

  Realizing Peggy was a rookie, Doug shook off the mental haze and got to work.

  “Keeping them in line and maybe even medical. She knows you used to volunteer at the red cross.”

  Peggy stiffened. The words from Kevin had been harsh. He’d told her FND work might not cover it.

  Doug was mulling over the skills Peggy hadn’t wanted known. She’d jumped in and gotten a set place, but she hadn’t wanted the glory or duties of a nurse. “Can you tell me why you lied to him?”

  Peggy paled. “I’d rather not.”

  “Your choice,” Doug offered. “Would be easier to get the men to accept if they understood there was a reason for it.”

  Peggy sighed, slowing. “What if there wasn’t?”

  Doug hated to push and he did it carefully. “You should tell me and I’ll find out what we can do about it.”

  Peggy was relieved, but not enough to spill her guts openly. “Can we talk later?”

  Doug swept the sleeping camp. “It’s late now.”

  She didn’t answer and Doug caught the hint slowly. “You mean later, later…”

  She smiled shyly. “I can’t sleep sometimes.”

  Doug felt his big heart thump and forced himself to do what had to be done. “I can talk to you in public, but until you’re cleared or punished, I can’t claim you or even be alone with you.”

  Peggy froze, stunned.

  Doug was a bit hurt himself. “You let people suffer and be overworked when you could have helped. That has to be settled first.”

  “She hurt someone, gave them the wrong medicine,” Becky stated quietly, coming up behind them. “She won’t forgive herself for making a mistake.”

  Becky kept walking and Doug turned to Peggy. He found her halfway across the compound.

  “Damn.”

  Instead of hurrying to catch up, Doug trailed her and continued to think. There was a lot he and Angela could do with that explanation once he had the fine details.

  Doug stiffened. Unless she’d been negligent, like drunk or
on drugs when the accident happened. That wouldn’t be viewed as an accident or a mistake. It was a crime.

  6

  Kenn came through the flap and silence fell.

  ‘He’s teaching us?” Charlie’s voice echoed with hostility.

  Kenn flipped him the finger. “Shut up and sit down.”

  Doug and Peggy frowned. They didn’t interfere, but at that moment, they both understood why they’d been asked to be here. Now that the teens were spending so much time together and the top men were needed for training, the shadows were usually a mixture of the levels and members, and it was working out. The kids in this camp were being observed by nearly everyone, thanks to Matt. He’d shown everyone that the teens were as dangerous as the men, just in different ways.

  Charlie snorted as the other teenagers snickered and muttered. “What are you doing here?”

  Kenn held up a slip of paper, reading from it. “Teach the teenagers what Eagles do with traitors.”

  He glared around in the confused silence. “Which one of you is the traitor?”

  No one spoke, and Kenn crumbled the paper up. “She means outsiders. You’re getting a lesson in punishments. She wants you to understand that it’s okay when she lets someone in that you’re worried about, that there are measures waiting to detect them.”

  Kenn had full focus from the teens and went on with the lesson calmly. “Whenever you mark someone, we watch them. You won’t pick it out most of the time. We’re good at not being seen now, but we’re there, and it screws us up when you stalk them once they’re out of the QZ. We’re waiting for them to make a mistake–like we’ve been taught. You do your job, and we’ll do ours.”

  Kenn waved at the lanterns. “Flip the button on the floor and then blow out the candles.”

  The film began playing as dimness filled the tent and all of them settled back to view the words someone had written on a wide sheet of paper.

  “You are now rookies in the Jr. Eagle army. Please remember to act like it.”

  The kids broke into a loud cheer that the film appeared to account for with fireworks.

  “That’s cute,” Doug commented.

  Peggy didn’t answer, too humiliated by Becky’s method of delivery. She’d planned to tell Doug in her own way and let him spread it around. Now, she was defenseless.

  Kenn motioned toward the screen on the canvas wall, pointing out items that were important, and the kids paid attention as if he were Adrian. They wanted to know what happened to the people Kyle led from camp, and they were told. In some cases, there were photos, and those were shown as well. Angela was starting the next phase of their training and it wouldn’t be neat and clean.

  An hour later, Kenn had the lanterns lit and waited for the lights to fill the canvas before letting them shut off the film. Angela had warned him not to ever let the tent go completely dark with the teenagers inside and he’d taken it to heart without asking why. He could come up with a lot of bad scenarios on his own.

  “Questions?”

  Matt’s was the only one.

  “What happens to us, if we break the rules?”

  Kenn pinned the boy with a hard sneer. “We kill you, of course. Why, Matt? Are you a bad guy hiding among the sheep?”

  The boy flushed. “I’m a Jr. Eagle.”

  The other kids cheered and Matt joined them, but Kenn saw the information get stored away for later examination. Kenn wasn’t sure what Angela had going on in Matt’s area, but he was suddenly sure she’d hit a target with this lesson.

  “Any other questions before homework?”

  There were groans, but none of them serious. All of the kids were hoping for a hands-on.

  “Sneak up on an Eagle.”

  “They’ll shoot us,” Charlie stated.

  “Not this time. They have orders to be on watch for you and not to use anything more painful than pepper spray.”

  That had the teenagers agreeing and protesting, and Kenn held up a hand. “Maybe you should pick an Eagle, and tell them what you want to do, so they’ll be expecting it. Adrian always knows with us and we still pass.”

  Annoyance had Becky’s mouth opening. “That’s because you’ve been trained. All we’ve had is babysitting and rules.”

  “You’re being trained now,” Kenn stated. “Stop fighting the teachers and soak up the information. If we all die, this camp still has to be protected and that means by you.”

  Kenn left the tent with a cool nod to Peggy and Doug. They’d been sent to make sure he didn’t get out of hand with the kids, but Kenn had planned it all out after Angela’s tips and warnings. Much to his delight, he’d discovered that the kids needed the same thing she did–for the distractions and bombs to be placed in their paths in the right order. When that happened, they were easy to control.

  Kenn felt warm wetness slide down his back and swung around with his fist out.

  Thud!

  The vet fell backwards at the blow, clutching his cheek. “What the hell?”

  Kenn opened his mouth to yell and felt another blast of warm wetness caress his neck.

  He turned around in time to catch a full blast down the front of his shirt this time and flinched.

  Chuckles started around him as Kenn realized it was bird shit.

  He yanked his gun out to take revenge and found Billy’s hand taking it and replacing it with a handkerchief.

  “You can’t do that right now. You’ll spook the herd.”

  Kenn was furious, but couldn’t argue. He cleaned his face, tossed the cloth to the ground, and held out his hand.

  Billy gave him his gun back with a cheerful smirk. “Come daylight, you can blast every bird you find, you know? She said she likes it when the camp’s up early.”

  Kenn gritted his teeth and went toward the showers. A perfectly good moment, shot to hell. The teenagers were still rolling on the ground, in stitches at his mistake. Chris, who was being tended to by Ray and Lee, he ignored.

  Billy let out the breath he’d been holding since picking out the shadow in the tree and figuring out who it was. If those two weren’t careful, someone would get hurt.

  “Should we talk to Brady about it?” Lee asked, coming over now that they knew the vet was okay.

  Billy narrowed in on Charlie, who wasn’t laughing but staring at the trees.

  “No, not yet.” He had a sudden intuition that Charlie hadn’t been in on it. “Let’s see where it goes.”

  Lee returned to his post. He had no problems with it so far, except that Kenn might have fired and woken the camp in a panic. Other than that, it had been great.

  “Hey, what happened?” Neil asked, coming by on his way to the tents.

  Lee let out a short cackle. “A bird shit on Kenn, so he punched the vet.”

  Neil was still chuckling when he ducked inside his canvas.

  7

  “Can I join you?”

  Samantha’s question was met with silent surprise. She came in and dropped the flap before turning around.

  The five Eagles had cards, poker chips, and beer on the round table, but from the notes they were trying to subtly cover, Samantha immediately suspected it wasn’t a real game.

  “You mean for some poker?” Theo asked, sitting his beer down on top of his open notebook. “We were about to finish up. Maybe next time?”

  Samantha snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “Angela sent me.”

  Theo and the others peered around in concern. Samantha’s guns hung on her hips like they belonged there.

  “She said I’d find you together, and when I did, to tell you that you’ve finally been noticed. The truck and reserves are open to use in your projects.”

  Theo laughed as the others slapped high-fives. “She’s good.”

  Samantha ducked out of the tent. “Yes, and she’s gonna need everything you guys can put together.”

  The five men in the tent cleared the table to work on. Cover was no longer needed.

  Samantha went to the personal tent
area, tired but satisfied with the day’s work. She was in the thick of things at any given time. It was soothing.

  Sam saw the man leaning against her tent and sighed heavily as she stopped in front of him. So much for soothing.

  “Do we have to fight over it, Jeremy? You know why I won’t.”

  “I came to ask if you’d like to spend the night in my tent, sleeping.”

  Taken aback, Samantha searched his face for anger and found only a desperate longing.

  “Okay.”

  Jeremy settled into the shadows to wait for her, sure she’d hit the showers first, like he just had. After that, they would spend the next six hours alone in his tent.

  8

  “Go doctor a body.”

  Angela’s words got immediate action from the two teams of Eagles that she’d hand-picked for this chore. Kyle and Kenn would take a dozen men each, and protect John while he made the chosen corpse appear to be Adrian. Thanks to the surgery, they had plenty of DNA to put in the right places. The smart healer had also made a mold of Adrian’s fingerprints and teeth, and would use them, along with the dog tags, to convince the government that Adrian had died.

  None of them expected it to last. Angela was estimating that roughly three months from this very moment, they would be locked in mortal combat with the enemy. She hadn’t told anyone that part. She also hadn’t mentioned the fifty other subtle details of the plan. It was complicated, depended on a lot of things, and it wasn’t guaranteed to work. She’d accounted for each possible reaction, but in the end, fate always had the final say.

  Angela went to her tent, running through the plans again. Where would a wildcard hurt them the most and how could she account for it?

  Marc let her leave, half wishing he was going into Little Rock to be able to observe the evidence of what she’d gone through. She had come back changed once again and he had no doubt that one of her glory moments there had caused it.

  “She okay?”

  Marc nodded at Kevin’s question. “She’s going over things, making sure she’s right.”

  “Oh. Like Adrian.”

  Marc tried not to be offended for her. “Yes, like Adrian. She’s just as smart…”

  Marc stopped, replaying that. He did think she was as smart as Adrian. And wouldn’t that mean she was also as dangerous?