Where We Stand

by Angela White

  “What happened?”

  “Nof idea,” Angela said, spitting out black blood over his shoulder. “Doug pisseth him off wif fat shove. I made a good tharget.”

  Marc scowled the entire time John checked her over, ignoring Adrian and Conner, who stayed in the wing of the medical tent and observed angrily.

  “She’ll live,” John stated, hating those words. “Not all the roots broke on that tooth, either. It might heal if she gets enough calcium or we get a dentist soon.”

  Angela sighed, taking the pain pill and the cold rag. Outside, the camp was being calmed by the Eagles and Angela went that way wearily. She’d hoped to sleep for a while, but that was out of the question now.

  Marc stayed on her heels as she talked with the camp members and assured them she was fine. She expressed sincere regret at Roger’s death, but reminded them those were the rules in Safe Haven. Self Defense was not only okay in this camp, it was expected. Her cuts, cruises, bandages, and gritty voice went a long way in angering the camp on her behalf. With Marc, it only made him more furious with her.

  Marc stayed close as she made sure everything was good with the camp, boiling. She’d waved off her protection. She could have been killed, again. When they were alone, she would hear about that and all the reckless shit she thought she could get away with now.

  6

  “Head that off.”

  Kenn slowly did as Adrian bid him. He, too, thought Angela could use a scold, but by the time he got to Marc’s side, he’d realized that Adrian was right.

  “I need a minute, Brady.”

  Marc stopped as Angela kept going. “Make it quick.”

  Kenn waited for her to get out of earshot. “Leave her alone. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Marc snarled. “Stay out of this!”

  Kenn was careful not to get in Marc’s way as he stalked to the camper Angela had gone into.

  “She needs to hear it–every word.”

  “I agree, but not from you.”

  Marc spun to fight and Kenn raised his voice a bit to get through the anger. “Would you ever talk to Adrian that way?”

  Marc growled. “No.”

  “You can’t do it to her, either. You’ll undermine every bit of authority she has with the Eagles.”

  “Meaning?” Marc snarled.

  “Meaning you don’t get to treat her like the woman who sucked you off last night. She’s a leader of men, Adrian’s chosen successor. Don’t ever forget your place.”

  Marc left Kenn before he hit him, going to the medical camper where Angela was now getting an update from John. He went to the shadows under the window to smoke and stew as he waited.

  Their voices came straight down to him like he’d planned to listen.

  “You have a batch already?”

  “Pain works miracles for motivation,” John half-joked. It had been a scramble, but the first beaker of medicinal hemp was waiting to be tested. He had no idea if he’d done it correctly.

  “You’ll use yourself and adjust from there?”

  “Yes, but you should know I don’t expect it to be successful. Probably, I’ll be so high I can’t work.”

  “How will you know if it is working? Do you need some kind of special equipment?”

  “Adrian got it for me a while ago. I hadn’t had much to try in it.”

  “If it works, do we have enough?”

  “I won’t know that until we find out how long it lasts. This can’t put it into remission… I don’t think.”

  “Cancer is very adaptable,” Angela agreed. “But at least we’ll have a way to knock it back for you and all the others. That’s our first goal–keeping you alive.”

  “Two of them are approaching my levels of pain. If it does work on me, do I have your permission to offer it to them?”

  “Yes, and good luck.”

  “Thank you, for this and other things. You’re doing well.”

  “I hope you’ll still think so this time tomorrow. Any smaller issues I haven’t heard about yet?”

  “A few cases of lice in the new people, but that’s it. Millie’s working on them now.”

  “Sign of other infestations, like bed bugs?”

  John was glad he didn’t have to add to her stress levels with a different answer. “So far, no, and it’s odd. They should be flocking to us when we camp, clinging to clothes as we gather supplies. I can’t explain it yet.”

  Angela tried not to worry over it, though something that could take out bedbugs was definitely a threat to the camp. Those little bastards would be around longer than Twinkies or roaches.

  “You have a disinfecting day planned?”

  “Not for a few weeks. We did the tents and main equipment right before Little Rock.”

  “What about breathing trouble? The skycrap looks thicker now that we’ve had rain again.”

  John pushed his glasses up. “No big spikes, just steady numbers. By the time you leave this country, you’ll need crates of inhalers.”

  Angela stared at him. “You know. Adrian?”

  “Common sense, little Lady. Common sense. This land is dying and the people right along with it.”

  Angela’s mouth opened in spite of the heavy chore she had to perform now. “Why were you brought here, John?”

  John slowly lowered his glasses, voice the gravest that Angela had ever heard.

  “I thought it was to protect Anne, to provide for her future.”

  “And now?”

  John’s eyes glinted with furious resignation. “I came here to die.”

  Angela didn’t correct him. The feeling was thick.

  John smiled bitterly. “It does something, right? To help the camp?”

  Angela nodded slowly. “I think so, yes. It was hazy. There was a lot I couldn’t see.”

  “You’ve come to make arrangements.”

  John sank down in the chair, fight going out of him all at once. He had hoped the hemp drinks would buy a little time.

  Angela took a seat on the bed next to him, hand going to his in sad comfort. “Do you have any last wishes, John?”

  The older man grimaced. “A million of them, but only one that matters.”

  Angela leaned close. “Tell me, and it’ll be done.”

  Marc held the door open for her a bit later, and those haunted blue eyes locked onto his.

  Anger faded under her pain.

  He opened his arms and she slammed against his chest, unable to hold in the sobs.

  Marc lifted her into his arms and went to their tent.

  7

  “Are we okay, Angie?”

  Happy the painkiller was working, Angela paused from taking her boots off. “Sure, Brady. We’re lying, keeping secrets, and pretending to be the perfect couple. How could we not be okay?”

  Marc winced. “I don’t know what to do.”

  Angela refused to take pity on him yet. “Neither do I.”

  She slid under the blanket, but he hesitated, unsure it was all right to sleep yet. She felt pretty upset.

  “Come to bed. This is going to be a big day.”

  Marc climbed in with her, listening when the demon said to hold her close.

  Angela melted into Marc’s embrace and willed the next twenty-four hours to hurry up. After that, she and Brady would be on the same page again. There was something he had to do first, and he wouldn’t, if he knew the outcome.

  Marc pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. “I missed you.”

  Angela sighed contentedly. “Same here. You wanna fool around or something? I’ve got a little bit of reserve for that.”

  Marc tightened his grip a bit. “Sleep, Baby-cakes. We can fool around tomorrow.”

  Angela bit her lip. If things went badly tomorrow, there wouldn’t be a later for them, not in Safe Haven’s light.

  “Easy,” the Witch soothed, eager for her to sleep so that she could be with Marc’s demon. They were making powerful combinations on their journeys, gathering a reserve. When the time came,
they would both be useful.

  “I love you,” Marc whispered. “I’m sorry.”

  Angela pretended she was already asleep, heart breaking. She would have her own atoning to do when this was over, but she didn’t know any other way to get Marc’s cooperation on this one. Kenn had forced him into killing the snake women, but he’d only been able to because those females were a serious future threat. There was no way Marc could be pushed into sacrificing one of their kids and at times like this, deep in the safety of his arms, it was hard to imagine that she could be so cruel, either.

  But I am, she reminded herself, starting to drift. I have to be. I’m the leader.

  Chapter Ten

  7/4

  1

  “She’s getting worse.”

  Neil rolled over to look. Samantha had begun shivering around dawn. Jeremy was taking the first shift holding her as she groaned and thrashed.

  “The sedative’s wearing off.”

  Jeremy smoothed her hair from her brow. “What else can we do for her?”

  Neil watched her shiver, wondering if she even knew they were here. “I’ll go find out.”

  Jeremy settled back as Samantha appeared to calm, eager to catch a few minutes of snoozing.

  Neil quickly pulled on his boots, and went out into bright sunlight and activity everywhere.

  Games and booths were being set up by the lower-level Eagles, fireworks were being wired, and Li Sing had all the smells of a great celebration floating through the camp. It was such a difference from what he was used to that Neil stopped to gape.

  “It’s something, huh?”

  Neil nodded at the friendly question, a bit dazed.

  “Are we still on for tonight, Neil?”

  The trooper glanced down to find Bridget at his side, smiling generously.

  “No, I can’t. Sam’s sick.”

  Bridget frowned. “Jeremy’s with her, right? You could sneak away for a little while.”

  Saying Samantha’s name reminded Neil that he needed to hurry. He shrugged, moving on. “We’ll see.”

  “That’s not go away,” Bridget whispered, leering like Neil had said something sexy to her. These Safe Haven women just had to know how to set things up. Then, they could have whatever they wanted.

  Neil found Adrian alone and drilled through his new shield to get some answers.

  Adrian, in pain and worried, didn’t want to cooperate. He repeatedly insisted that Angela had those answers, but Neil refused to leave empty-handed.

  “I don’t care that you’ve given up,” he stated firmly. “I only care about helping Sam. What should we do?”

  Adrian sighed. “You have to distract her. I told you that.”

  Neil scowled. “How? She’s in too much pain for talking, let alone games or books.”

  Adrian grimaced, but stuck to the plan. “Give her a shower, feed her, smoke one with her. Take her by the booths if she has the energy. She’ll absorb the happiness of the camp and it will help.”

  Neil didn’t think that was nearly enough. “What else?”

  Adrian didn’t have much else to say. “Keep her sedated.”

  “We tried that. She’s already coming up from the full dose John gave us.”

  Adrian relaxed. “It’ll be over soon then, within the next day. Get her out in the sunlight. It’ll speed it up.”

  “What happens then?”

  “She’ll have a new gift to master. Has she said anything about what it might be?”

  “No.”

  “When she does, make sure you tell Angela.”

  Neil scowled and left the tent without promising that he would. What the hell was Adrian’s problem?

  Neil made it to the tent to find Jeremy and Samantha sleeping. He quietly lay down on his bedroll and let himself drift off. He would take Adrian’s advice, but when they woke up, not now. All three of them needed more rest. Two hours wasn’t enough to get through much without showing signs of stress and there was a thick sense of bad times coming.

  2

  Kenn spotted the tripwire and deftly avoid it.

  “Missed me, you little shit,” he boasted, still not sure who his tormentor was.

  “Maybe next time,” Kenn bragged, ripping the line away from his tent flap as he ducked inside.

  Wooshhh!

  Kenn shivered as the icy bucket of water splashed over his shoulders and down into his jeans like a small waterfall. “Son of a…”

  Kenn stormed from the tent, fists clenched. “I am gonna find out. When I do, payback will be swift and merciless.”

  Those close enough to hear didn’t doubt the threat, and more than one of them made a mental note to talk to the person they thought was responsible.

  Kenn stomped by the group standing outside the medical tent, and their unsuccessfully hidden smirks and snickers.

  “Someone’s going to be in big trouble when he catches them,” Angela commented, turning away to hide her own cackle of vindication. Every time Kenn got hit with something, the past faded a bit more for her.

  “As long as they keep being careful, they’ll be all right,” Conner stated, keeping his gaze away from the angry man.

  “You sound like you know something…” Adrian’s low words made Conner inspect Angela warily.

  Angela sighed. “I’ll talk to charlie about it later.”

  Conner was now slightly worried. “He’s not gonna get in trouble is he?”

  Angela chuckled. “No. At least not until he’s been rewarded.”

  “What about Tracy?”

  Angela stared in surprise. “She’s in on it?”

  Conner realized he’d told too much and stopped talking.

  Angela picked out that very female going into the hair tent and moved her way.

  Behind her, Conner and Adrian exchanged glances, but didn’t interfere. She was Charlie’s parent. She had every right.

  “If my mom had been more like her, would she have walked out of the Major’s compound?”

  Adrian gave a short nod. “I believe so.”

  Conner waited for something more. When there was only silence, he glared. “What’s wrong with you?”

  Adrian remained silent.

  Conner grew frustrated. “You’ve quit. You can’t do that, not now. They need you.”

  “No, they don’t.”

  Conner stared for a long minute, searching, then turned toward the tent. “Maybe you were right to pass it on, then. At least she still has some hope.”

  Adrian had never felt more alone.

  3

  Angela ducked into the hair tent without triggering any alarms, but when she motioned Candy out, the female in the chair knew there was a problem.

  Angela slid into the second seat and swiveled it around. She leaned back and folded her hands across her lap. “Let’s you and I have a talk.”

  Tracy slowly took the hair cover from around her neck. “Okay.”

  Angela studied her, openly scanning for the information she wanted.

  Tracy brought up the wall that Charlie had taught her, but wasn’t sure how much of it she’d covered.

  “Interesting.”

  Tracy flushed at the sarcastic tone. “It isn’t what it looks like.”

  “It looks like you two have been sneaking around and enjoying it. Making Kenn pay has grown into something else.”

  Tracy was quick to deny. “That was all me. Charlie doesn’t know I’ve still been doing it.”

  “Why would you?”

  Tracy looked away. “For what he’s done. He deserves to pay more than what he got.”

  Now knowing how Charlie had convinced her, Angela continued.

  “What are your intentions toward my son? Is he an easy way into the chain of command?”

  Tracy was horrified. “No! We’re friends!”

  “And when he pushes you for more?”

  “He won’t do that,” Tracy lied.

  “He is below the age limit for another four months,” Angela stated coolly.
“And I will not be lenient.”

  Tracy realized she wasn’t being told to stay away, that she wasn’t good enough, and took hope. But she needed to hear it and forced herself to ask.

  “What about when he reaches the age limit?”

  Angela swallowed the disgusted motherly anger. “It has to be his choice, his idea. Otherwise, everyone will assume you’re with him for the chance at power.”

  “But you’d know differently, wouldn’t you?”

  Angela didn’t like to admit that the start of a real bond was already glowing brightly in Tracy’s heart. “Yes, but it doesn’t matter if you break the rules. Unlike Jennifer and Becky, my son hasn’t been abused that way. If you want him, you’ll wait for him. When it comes to Charlie, you only get one mistake.”

  “And then you have me banished,” Tracy guessed quietly.

  “No,” Angela corrected. “Charlie will. You’ve already figured out how determined he is, and he promised you things that only he can deliver, right?”

  Tracy didn’t answer–didn’t need to.

  “Once you hurt him, he’ll bring down a wall and never let you in again. Be sure, Tracy. Friendship might be better for both of you.”

  Instead of continuing to deny it, Tracy chose to offer what so few would-be daughter-in-laws refused to give, the truth.

  “I don’t want to feel anything for him. I don’t understand it. I have access to power in a lot of ways, but your little boy is the only one who doesn’t make me feel dirty.”

  Tracy made a face absently. “If I could be sure it’ll stay that way, I’d already have asked your for permission to date him come October.”

  Angela liked the courage it took to admit that, but didn’t let Tracy off the hook. “Don’t use him as a test-dummy, either. He’ll be willing, but I’ll shut it down. You make that choice long before it ever goes past friendship.”

  “I will,” Tracy agreed. “After the way he’s stalking Kenn, I refuse to get on that side of him.”

  Wise, Angela thought. Charlie would be more ruthless than Marc in time. She hated that, but this new world would demand it in exchange for survival.

  “I can stay away until he’s legal... if you’d rather.”