by Hannah Ross
"A trinket store?" Priscilla frowned.
"A jewelry store," explained Lauren. "You know, gold and diamonds and pearls and the like. Pretty things, but useless in our condition until Ben had the idea of gathering them up and selling them to the Boundary people. "
"Barry must have mentioned the jewelry to his friends and they decided to come up here and raid the stores," Gabby said.
"I'll bet they thought they'd make a fortune selling it in Mexico," Priscilla said.
Mac nodded. "You're right, Nell. I'm sure Barry and his companions had high hopes of getting rich quick. They must have been pretty upset to find all the empty display cases."
"They were," Carl said. "He thinks all the city camps are hiding the gold and jewels, which of course we are, but there's not many of the Mex guys, and even though they have better weapons, we outnumber them. I think Barry and the Mexicans don't want to chance our having more firepower than they do. He must have taken Luc and his group by surprise."
"Why didn't they just tell him where they hid their share of the jewelry?" Priscilla asked.
"Luc was Barry's friend and sort of second in command before he and the rest of the Bears had enough of Barry, revolted and helped us all kick him out of the city," Mac said. "My guess is that Luc and the other hostages wouldn't tell him even if he put a gun to their head. He probably knows it, too, which is why he's making slaves of them."
"Well, we have to do something," Carl said. "We can't leave Luc and the others in his hands."
"Carl's right," Ben said. "We can't abandon the Bears. They've been OK since Barry left and don't deserve to be under his thumb again."
"Like I said, Barry and the Mex guys are all pretty heavily armed."
"I'm sure they are, but we all have weapons too, Carl. I'd rather never have to use them this way, but I bet we won't have to once the Mexicans see how far they're outnumbered. Can we count on you and the Monkeys to confront Barry and the Mex guys?"
"Yeah, I think so," Carl replied. "But will this be enough against military weapons? We'd better recruit more people if we can. Do you think we can get the Ravens to join us? They're probably at their summer camp now, not so far from here."
Tom gave Ben a sly look. "A visit to the Ravens' sounds like a good idea."
Priscilla noticed Ben looked uncomfortable. "Yeah," he said. "You can go to the Ravens', Tom. You, Jimmy, and David."
"You won't come with us?"
"No. I'll head straight to the city. See what's what."
"Yes," said Andy Steel, balling up his huge fists. "Me too."
"I'm going too," declared Mac as he looked at Gabby. "You know I have to this time."
"I suppose so." She sighed in resignation. "Just be careful, alright?"
"I'm coming too, Ben," said Enzo. "Barry deserves to know I haven't forgotten him."
"I'll go too," Jen said, her voice suffused with bitterness.
"I don't think that's a very good idea, Jen," said Ben.
"I want to see the look on the bastard's face when I ask him if he still remembers Michael."
Priscilla's breath caught as she looked at Jen with alarm and pity. "Michael was your…your…"
"He was my man, yes. Marleen was only two when Barry shot him. She doesn't remember him. You'll watch her while I'm gone, won't you, Gabby?"
"Yes, of course, but Jen, won't you reconsider and stay home?"
While Gabby and Jen talked, Priscilla stepped closer to Ben, slipped her hand in his, and whispered, "I'm coming with you."
He gave her an incredulous look. "That's out of the question. There's no way you can get mixed up in this. You're safe here."
"I'll be safe there. I'm sure I will, Ben. It's not like this Barry just goes around randomly shooting people, right? I don't have to confront him, but I want to go with you. I don't like the idea of staying here by myself."
He tried further arguments, but discovered that once Priscilla Dahl got something into her head, she was not to be reasoned with.
The Eagles had enough horses to make the trip to the city on horseback, with Ben and Priscilla, Mac and Andy, Enzo and Jen, and Ron and Carl riding double. Tom, Jimmy, and David each merited a horse so they could ride to the Ravens' camp as fast as possible.
29
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Sunday, April 27
Priscilla fell silent as she saw the great ruined city for the first time. In a hushed voice, staring ahead at what remained of the eerie-looking skyscrapers, she said, "Think of all the people who used to live here before the War. There were so many, and they had so much, and it was all gone in the blink of an eye. Did you ever think of that, Ben?"
"Loads of times. We spent five years here, remember? This city feels like a huge graveyard, and sometimes I fancied that we were the ghosts haunting it."
She couldn't see Ben's face as she was seated behind him, but could tell by his voice he was smiling.
Priscilla repressed a shudder as they entered the limits of the city. Their horses, used to great open plains, showed disquiet and had to be calmed by petting and soothing words. "They haven't been here for a while," Mac said. "Same as me. I forgot how depressing it is."
"Do we go on to your camp, Carl?" asked Ben. "No point going to ours, as it's been abandoned for such a long time."
"Sure, but not that way. That passage is blocked. A building fell down last year. We were lucky no one was passing at that moment. Turn left at the next street."
The camp of the Spotted Cats contained a large group of people who were unnaturally quiet, talking in low voices and casting nervous glances around them. They appeared happy to see the newcomers.
"I see some of the Eagles came. Good," said a young woman. "And the Monkeys are here. Anyone else we're waiting for, now?"
"The Ravens might come. Some of them, at any rate," said Carl. "What about the Dirt Snakes, Sheila?"
"The Snakes cleared off almost as soon as they knew Barry is back. They just grabbed as much stuff as they could carry and got out of the city, striking southwest. They promised to send someone to give us an update once they're settled somewhere, though."
Andy made a frustrated noise. "Getting out of the city is well and good, but I don't like people doing it because of Barry."
"You can't blame them," Sheila said. "It was either get out at once or stay here under his heel. We might leave as well. In fact I think we should, Carl. What's really here for us? Shelter and equipment, that's true. But out there… Pioneering a place from scratch is tough, but others have done it, and so can we."
"I recommend that you do," Andy said. "But first, we teach Barry a lesson."
"Is that why you came here, Andy?"
"Yes. We were too soft with him once, and now he's back. This time, he'll learn never to set foot in the city again."
"Does Edeline approve? Because, you know, it might not end without bloodshed. You've brought weapons and we have ours as well, from that big stash that used to belong to Barry that we split between us. But he came all set up, too. I heard his men have military weapons. Is it worth it?"
"We have to try," said Ben. "At the very least, we have to make him let Luc and the others go."
30
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Wednesday, April 30
They waited at the Spotted Cats' camp for two days, during which time no one else showed up. Just before noon on the third day, they heard the sound of horses' hooves, accompanied by the voices of riders. A minute later, they saw Tom, Jimmy and David, accompanied by Fred Brown, Dan Crow, Patrick Moon, Tanya Snow, and six others, including Lynn Raven herself.
True to her nature, Raven did not shy from the awkwardness of their meeting, but strode right over to say, "Hello, Ben." She stuck out her hand and Ben shook it.
"Hi, Raven. It's nice to see you."
"Good to see you, too. Who's that?" She nodded at Priscilla who stood a few feet behind Ben.
"This is Nell, Raven. She's been staying with us for a while
."
"A new friend, huh? Well, I'm glad to hear your camp is expanding."
She and the other Ravens spent a few minutes shaking hands before she again stood in front of Ben and Carl.
"So are you up to kicking some bear ass?"
"I have a better idea," said Carl. "I've been waiting to say something because I wanted to hear what you think, Raven. I say we don't confront Barry directly. We sniff 'round the borders of the Bears' camp, and once we have the chance we smuggle Luc and the others out, we take our stuff, and clear out."
Raven's derisive look showed plain enough what she thought of that idea. "That's ridiculous. I'm not skirting around Barry. I say we storm in."
"But if we do that he might hurt someone just to spite us."
"He won't do that, Carl, because he won't think we care. Barry never thinks anyone cares about anyone, which is why we can surprise him."
"It's not Barry we're worried about, Raven. It's the Mexicans. They have automatic weapons. If we storm in there, one pull of the trigger could kill everyone."
"Who's that girl?" Priscilla asked Ben in a low voice.
"That's Lynn Raven."
"I got that. But is she the one you mentioned? The one who used to be your girlfriend?"
"No. Yes. It was always kind of complicated. We saw quite a lot of each other for a long time, but she was tied up to her camp and I to mine, and…" Interrupted by a tap on his shoulder, he turned and saw Mac's ironic smile.
"There'll be time for drama later, Ben," he muttered, making him squirm. "We're discussing important things now."
They turned back to the conversation as Raven said, "Okay. You're right, Carl. So we don't come across as aggressive or anything at first. We probe. See what's actually going on. If they post sentries. If they have any routines. See what Barry has to say. He might be less cocky than he used to be."
Carl shook his head. "Trust me, Raven, he's much the same."
Ben cleared his throat. "Here's what I think we should do. We spend today scouting the situation like Raven said. Then we take all the people and weapons we can gather. Not that I want a gun battle. But to show them they're outnumbered and can't win even if they do have better weapons. We'll have more than sixty people and guns when the Monkeys get here. Once we know their routine, thirty or so of us will position ourselves so the camp and the streets leading to it are covered. Then the rest of us show up to confront Barry and his henchmen. You know him. Deep down, he's a coward. Once he feels he has anything to lose, he'll back off."
"Be careful," Jen cautioned. "Don't forget what he did to Michael." As she looked aside, her lip trembled.
"We'll never forget that," Raven said, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.
31
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Saturday, May 3
As the sky began to lighten, the snipers were all in position. Every inch of the Bears' camp was covered, as were all the routes out of the area.
Thirty-eight Eagles, Ravens, Mad Monkeys, and Spotted Cats made an impressive crowd. As they marched down the eerie, heavily-shadowed streets toward the Bears' camp, Ben was instructing Priscilla under his breath.
"Remember, if there's any sign of trouble at all, you turn and run. You don't try to help, you don't stick around to see how it ends. You get as far away as fast as you can."
"But, Ben—"
"Listen. I'm not saying anything will happen. I hope it won't. I hope it's just some word-bandying and Barry will see what's good for him. But I won't have you taking any risks. Heck, if I let you get hurt your father would hunt me down and tear me to pieces, no matter how long it takes. Not that he'd get the chance because my Mom would do it first."
* * *
There were two gun-carrying guards at the approach to the camp.
"Are those the same Mex amigos he brought here last time? The ones who tried to sell us on the idea of storming the Boundary?" Andy asked under his breath.
"No idea," Ben whispered back. "Not that it matters a whole lot."
Fifty feet from the entrance, they stopped as he raised a hand. He and a few others walked on until they were standing an arm's length from a guard. Staring him straight in the face, he said, "We need to see Barry."
The man looked bewildered. He eyed the crowd and their weapons, which were clearly visible, and exchanged some low, unintelligible words with his fellow-guard, who turned and hurried into the camp.
Two minutes later, Barry came forward with his usual swagger, looking as smug and pleased with himself as in the old days.
"Well, well, well," he said. "Look who we have here. What pleasant company. Or should I call it a delegation? Or an invasion? Have you come to try and drive me away? Don't worry, pals. I didn't come to stay in this dump again. I'll be on my way south soon… with a few of my oldest friends to keep me company." He flashed a sinister smile.
"If you mean Luc," Ben said, suppressing a quiver of rage, "you'll release him and the others now. Don't be an idiot, Barry. You can't just walk in, kidnap people, make slaves of them, and expect to get away with it."
"Oh yeah? And who is going to stop me? You and your band of vigilantes with rifles?" As he spoke, his other two Mexican friends arrived, both armed. The rising sun glinted off the metal of the weapons.
"You'd really murder more than thirty people just to save face?"
"Hey, I'm not the one who showed up with a bunch of armed people demanding things that are none of their business. You try anything and in ten seconds they'll all be on the ground if I give the word. Those are M16s my friends are carrying. Fully automatic with thirty-round clips."
Andy Steel spoke, his voice low and soft and dangerous. "Come on, Barry. Don't be a fool. You know there are too many of us. You don't want this to turn nasty."
"No, of course not. There's no reason for that, right? A little tour of Mexico will do Luc and the others good. And it's not like you have any particular reason to stand up for them, do you?"
"Around here, you stand up for each other or you don't last very long," Enzo said. He started to move but Ben grabbed him.
"Don't be foolish, Enzo," he said in a soft voice. "You want Jen to lose another man she cares for?" Enzo looked shocked. "It's not a secret, man. But Elisa said she still needs time. So don't go getting yourself shot before your time comes." He turned back to Barry.
"You know, you've always been good at bullying people, but not so good at strategy. You could have your friends kill every one of us here, and none of you would even make it back to shelter before you were shot."
"Nice try, Grey, but I don't bluff that easily."
Ben turned to the Mexicans. "Do you guys all speak English?" They nodded. "Good, because I can only speak a few words of Spanish. Guys, I need to do Barry a favor and teach him something. In a minute, there will be one rifle shot. It will be aimed at where I point the flashlight I'm holding, so nobody should get nervous. Nobody will be shooting at you or anyone else. Okay?"
The four looked apprehensive, but nodded.
"Good. I'm going to flash this three times at the wall of the building behind me. On the third flash, you'll hear the shot and see it strike the building."
He turned and on the third flash, a shot rang out and struck inside the circle of light.
"You see, Barry, only a fool would show up to a fight against automatic weapons armed with nothing but hunting rifles. There are people positioned all around us. They can hit anything in your compound and anything moving on any of the streets leading out of here." He turned to Barry's friends. "Do you guys really want to stand with Barry knowing there's no way you can get out of here alive if any of us gets hurt?"
They looked at Barry, then at each other for a few seconds, before Ricardo said, "Salgamos de aquí y vayamos a casa."
"You're leaving?!" Barry yelled. "You're going to leave all the—"
"We have some from the little safe. Maybe we find more on the way home. There are other cities. Only a fool doesn't know when a fig
ht is lost before it starts." He turned to Ben. "We get our stuff and leave your city. You want the jewels we have?"
Ben shook his head as he said, "No. Just go. And don't come back."
He turned to the Bear. "This is the last time we ever see you in this city, Barry. Or in this part of the world. You have exactly ten minutes to get your stuff and take your sorry ass away from here. Ten minutes, and that's being generous. If your friends won't wait for you, then you can start walking and don't stop. If you ever come back, I'm not responsible for the consequences. You've put yourself out of the Pact and can no longer count on its protection."
Barry's jaw twitched. "Alright," he said, as if swallowing a bitter pill. "Alright, I'll go. It's not like there's anything much for me here, anyway. I only… I just want to have a word with Jen before I go."
Jen started when she heard her name cross his lips. She folded her arms, looking murderous. "There's nothing you can have to say to me, Barry."
"Please," he said, and that, coming from him, was so unusual she relented and followed him away from the others.
"I'll be going now," he said. "I really have no reason to stay in this miserable ruined hovel any longer, and neither do you."
"I won't stay. Now that we've dealt with you, I'll be going back to the farm."
"To live in the middle of nowhere? As if that's any better! Listen, Jen, I've done really well for myself these past two years. It's pretty nice in Mexico. Tampico is a real town. A real live town with people, and shops, and cars, and a harbor. And I've got my own place and a nice job."
"Yes, I see that," Jen said, her voice dripping acid.
"This?" Barry made a sweeping motion around him. "No. This is just a side gig. I have a real, steady-paying job down south. I can afford all I need, and much of what I want. Things down there are better for the likes of us. Come with me, Jen." His voice was low and pleading. "Come with me. Don't look at me like that. I never forgot you. I'm going to be somebody. I'm ready to do it all for you."