Winter’s heart flipped. “You…what?”
“He took us in. Rich lad. Helped us when we told him who we were. Kept a roof over our heads and fed us and kept us clean and promised us all this sort of stuff. Then one day he never came back home. He was on the run, too. V wanted him dead. They broke in. They didn’t know we were there but we knew they were in so we fled his house.”
“Cedric French.” Winter gasped.
“You know him?”
Winter remembered Cedric shooting Oliver. She remembered him telling her that he could help her, and that the government were not to be trusted. She remembered him threatening her.
“Kind of.”
“He’s a very well off man. At least, he was. I hope he’s alive.”
“When did you leave his house?”
“About a week and a half ago.” Nathan tried to remember. “He left for London.”
“He came for me.”
“You?” Nathan looked confused.
Winter nodded. “He had been talking to Connor the whole time. I lost Connor and obviously whilst I was lost Cedric was in touch with him. Said I was important, that I was key to stopping the apocalypse.”
“Is he a nice lad?”
“He’s fine,” Winter nodded. “But I was furious at first, until Connor told me he didn’t understand what Cedric truly wanted, and didn’t know Paris had changed so badly.”
“It went downhill when I lost the business.” Nathan nodded. “I think V started getting cocky and didn’t care if people found out about her. From her point of view, she’s got everything under control.”
“We got on the boat, and then of course everything went wrong. The dead got on. Almost killed us. I haven’t seen Cedric since.”
Nathan sunk back onto the sofa, shivering despite the blanket around him. “Doesn’t sound good.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
They didn’t say anything else. Both were thinking of Olivia. Winter swallowed. “So, what happened to mum?”
“One day, I woke up to the sound of the door slamming shut. I thought Olivia had gone out. I hurried out of bed to see what was happening. She was being bundled into the back of a Blitzer van. She was knocked out. They had come in and got her right from under my nose. I was sleeping. She must have woken up. They had been following us this whole time.”
“Are they still following you?”
“After your mum left, I found this place. I haven’t seen a Blitzer since, but I fear they’ll come for me next.”
Winter couldn’t get her head around it. “Why did they want mum? Why do you think they want you?”
Nathan took a while to answer, but when he did, Winter wished he hadn’t. “Because everybody who knows you, Winter, meets a terrible fate.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Tell me, why did Dad put you in charge?”
V sat in her office, her disguise still over her face despite only being in the room with her stepsister, Kylie. V never stopped working. That wasn’t what the leader of the new world order did. V always had to be in control, and know what was going on. The disguise never slipped, because if it did, the people would know who she was. It was all part of the illusion, the plan that had been cleverly constructed together.
“Dad put me in charge because I was the right woman for the job.”
Kylie flicked her sleek black hair and rolled her brown eyes. She was a woman of exceptional beauty that was tarnished with jealousy and hatred towards her unwanted relative. She sat opposite V’s masked features, glaring at the room that should have been hers.
“Dad has never given me a chance.”
“That’s because he’s not your dad.” V reminded her.
Her father had a mistress. Her mother had died a mysterious death. Two days later, V found she had a new mother and a new stepsister. Being powerful was dangerous, especially if you crossed one of the most powerful men in the world. Your death would easily be explained away. That’s what happened to V’s mother. She knew that now. But she didn’t hate her father for it.
Being in power gave V perspective. Sometimes you had to do what you thought was right to get what you wanted. It was all for the greater good, for the people. That’s what she had been taught. Why shouldn’t V be in charge? She was just as qualified as any of the men around this place.
Though she knew they hated her. They all did. All of the men wanted to be in her position. They all thought they should be. They thought her father had gone senile for putting his daughter in charge. Of course, nobody knew where her father was now. Not even V. She knew he wasn’t dead.
“If he could see what you were doing he would kick you out of this role.” Kylie hissed.
“You don’t know him like I know him.”
Kylie looked affronted. “You’ve never been able to accept our relationship.”
“I would be able to if it actually existed.”
Kylie blinked. She swallowed and sat up straighter. “What are the plans for New Year’s?”
It was September. Time was going slowly, now that the borders had been shut to any more straggling survivors. V was beginning to get bored. There was no sport, no goal to achieve anymore. To V, the new world order was beginning, and all she needed to do was watch it progress.
“The preparations are being planned.”
“They are?” Kylie asked, her jewellery on her wrists clanging together. “Because Frederick told me that he only heard about this party when I mentioned it. That doesn’t sound very prepared now, does it?”
“You will excuse me for not prioritising a new year’s party,” V replied, shortly. “But what you will take into account is there are more important matters that are concerning me right now. Cedric French is still someone I need to find, and proudly display along the Seine. I am missing the Smiths, and The Union continue to grow stronger day by day. Whilst I am unstoppable, I cannot afford for my plans to be thwarted by a group of terrorists.”
“Some would say you’re the terrorist.”
“Then whose side do you want to be on?”
Kylie glared at where she thought her stepsister’s eyes would be. The room they were in was decorated with family photos, none of them featuring V. Kylie also noted that her mother was absent, as well as herself. It was more of a shrine to their father, and to the dead mother. The windows had a great view onto the courtyards of the Louvre, looking over the glass pyramids. No tourists gathered below anymore. People knew to stay away from government headquarters. Many didn’t understand who was responsible for the dead, but the Blitzers were enough to scare them.
“Do you wonder how many people are actually on your side?”
“I don’t need to tell you a thing.”
“I know you’re recruiting.”
“You do?” V had heard Kylie was interfering with the recruitment process. She hadn’t been surprised to find out that Kylie had booked this one to one meeting with her. “And what have you learnt?”
“I’ve learnt that people are quick to join the government,” Kylie said. “Whether they become doctors, scientists or merely pawns in your sick experiments, they’re jumping at the opportunity to join you.”
“Are you surprised?”
“Curious,” Kylie fluttered her eyelashes. “Why are people joining you, when you’re responsible for everything they’ve suffered?”
“Because they know who the right person to be with is.” V replied sternly. “The Union are nothing but a tumour on my brain right now. They’ll be removed with a couple of zaps. The new world order continues to grow, and more and more people begin to realise that the new world order is something to grow with. It really is the right choice.”
“You couldn’t have done it without the dead?” Kylie snapped. “It’s a pain to travel anywhere these days.”
“You’re protected enough. The Dead Years will only go on for as long as I think they should.”
“So you’re not losing control?”
“Losing control?”
“Many people say you are,” Kylie said, pleased to give her stepsister this news. “Many people are saying you are outnumbered by your own creation, that you’re drowning under the responsibility. Is that true?”
“Of course it isn’t true,” V bristled. How dare they say that about her? She had suspicions her team were angry with her, but to talk like that was ridiculous. Nobody knew the work she had done for this moment. Nobody knew how qualified she was, except her and her father. How dare they pass such judgement. “Don’t believe word of mouth. Half of these men won’t see the new world order.”
Kylie looked interested, mainly because she sensed there was gossip she could spread amongst the team that worked for V. “They won’t?”
V stood up, and walked to the window. She looked out at France, at the tops of houses, at the clear blue sky above. It was getting colder now. France was still run down. It was only temporary. After New Year’s, V had big plans.
“Kylie. You can talk to whomever you like, and they will tell you different things. Some will tell you I am doing well, and others will tell you how poorly I am doing. What you must know is I do not let anybody know how I am doing. Nobody should know. I am the only person that knows what goes on here, and I can assure you that everything is going well.”
“So, back to New Year.” Kylie said, clearly not interested in what V had to say. “You’re planning a party? Don’t you think that is a bit odd?”
“Again, everything will become clear.” V said. “I have reasons for everything.”
“Care to tell me? Or must I be left in the dark?”
“Of course you will be left in the dark,” V replied. She eyed a woman hurry from around the corner, speeding past the once famous Louvre. The woman was in luck today. There were no Blitzers nearby to gun her down. “I don’t need to tell you anything.”
“But I’m invited?”
“Everyone important, and necessary, will be invited.”
There was a knock at the door. V tore her eyes away from the blonde woman hurrying outside. Kylie turned, bored, to see Nickel Solo entering the room.
“You’re not with Juliette!” Kylie exclaimed. “Did Maxwell have a word with you?”
Nickel barely glanced at Kylie. “We don’t live in one another’s pockets.” He looked at V. “We have news on the whereabouts of Winter Smith.”
If V’s face were revealed, they would have seen her glee. She remained calm and aloof. “You do? And how?”
“Bring them in,” Nickel called.
An army of red Blitzers strutted in to the room, gripping onto a ginger man, a woman and two girls. V eyed all of them, foolishly hoping they would be somebody important. They weren’t.
“Who are you?”
“We have information on Winter Smith,” The ginger man spoke. “And we want a reward for telling you our information.”
V looked at Kylie. “Please leave.”
“But this is happening!”
“Leave.”
Kylie huffed, getting to her feet. If she was anybody else, she could have been a supermodel. Her legs were long, and her frame was thin. She stormed out of the room, slamming the glass door behind her. V waited until she heard the lift door close and the lift spur into action.
“Sit.”
The three girls sat, but the ginger man remained where he stood. The red Blitzers blocked the exit. Another thing that Kylie didn’t know was how important the red Blitzers were. Nobody knew but her. If they did, they wouldn’t be in this room with them.
“Tell me. Where is Winter Smith?”
“She is hiding, around the corner from our supermarket,” The man said. “She is hiding with Nathan Smith.”
Chapter Nineteen
“So your mum was taken hostage?” Violet gasped, curled up in the bedroom.
Winter had left Nathan alone. His last words had turned their conversation sour. Because everyone who knows you, Winter, meets a terrible fate.
That wasn’t true. She looked around at her friends. They were all alive, and they were all as safe as they could be. None of them were living any differently than any other fugitive. Yes, people had died around her, but that was what happened in a zombie apocalypse.
“Someone had come in and grabbed her. Not to this place, but to a place where they stayed before. My dad is a wanted man. They probably would have come back for him if he hadn’t have left.”
Connor yawned. It was the middle of the night. “Where do you think your mum is now?”
“I don’t know,” Winter whispered. “I don’t think my dad even knows.”
“If the stories are true about experiments…” Zach said, but he trailed off when Violet glared at him.
“We’re not going to think like that, are we?” Violet snapped. She looked at Winter, displeased. “You know your mother is alive, so you need to find her, and you need to make that a priority.”
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Tough,” Violet said. “Everyone starts somewhere. You’ve got your dad. He must be able to remember a number plate, or the make of the jeep that took her away. He must remember something.”
“I can always ask.” Winter wasn’t hopeful.
The room they were in was spacious, but with everyone crammed together it became stuffy quickly. Their windows were boarded up, towering above France, so they couldn’t look outside or get air in here.
Winter climbed into bed next to Missy, ignoring the look from Connor. She knew he hoped she would share the bed with him, but Winter meant what she said: they were just friends.
“Don’t fluff,” Missy said.
Winter rolled her eyes.
“Your dad got conned by V,” Zach said. “He spoke up, and everything went wrong. Doesn’t that prove what this new world order is going to be like?”
“Shut up and carry on,” Violet said. She looked pissed off at the injustice of the world. “How did it end up like this?”
“It hasn’t just happened like that. I don’t think so, anyway. This has been planned for centuries.”
“If that’s true, then that is fucked up.”
“Gives a whole new meaning to born in the wrong generation, though, doesn’t it?” Winter smirked.
There was a thud outside, but nobody acknowledged it. Winter listened for anything else, but when nothing came she dismissed it as nothing but someone in another apartment.
“You think about all the people still working underneath V, inadvertently,” Zach said.
“What does that mean?” Missy asked.
“Well, V has been setting up businesses for this new world order. If your dad hadn’t spoke up, Winter, then he would probably still be in the shop.”
“Yeah, selling to the people who are running away from V and to the dead.”
Zach shook his head. “I don’t think everything is doom and gloom. I think it must be the outskirts. Or at least some parts remain functional. This Woolworth Lock sounds like something V set up purely to get money.”
“So she can fund her experiments.”
“Maybe.” Zach shrugged. “Although there’s probably someone else already doing that. Anyway, the people with government funded businesses are on V’s side. Either they’re trapped, or are turning a blind eye to what is really going on.”
“Maybe both,” Violet said. “Money changes people.”
There was another thud; only this time it drew all of their attention. It sounded like it was close to them, either on their landing or on the other side of their thin plasterboard walls.
“What was that?” Zach whispered.
They heard knuckles rap against the front door. Everyone froze. This wasn’t right.
“It must be a neighbour,” Zach whispered, clearly panicked. “They’ll go away.”
Another knock. Winter heard her father groan in the next room.
“Does anybody have a weapon?” Violet asked.
Winter realised they didn’t, though she was sure that somewhere in thi
s house there would be something they could use.
“We’re close to the door. Let’s get out of this room,” Missy said, getting up, as there was another knock at the door, only this time more forceful.
They climbed out of bed and crept into the hallway, just as they heard somebody speak.
Their voice was hoarse, as if it hadn’t been used in weeks. The voice sounded strained, almost pained. “Open up this door or we will blow it down. Hand over the Smiths.”
Winter felt all eyes on her. She went red, even though there was nothing to be embarrassed about.
“If they want me…”
“Don’t be so stupid.” Violet snapped. “Whoever it is can fuck right off.”
“Three…” The voice called.
“What’s going on?”
Nathan Smith had emerged from the living room, looking tired and disorientated.
“Dad, they want us.”
His eyes went wide and he registered what had just been said. “They found us.”
“Two…”
“We need to get out of this hallway, otherwise we’re all going to be shot,” Zach warned.
“Guys!” Connor held a baseball bat in his hands. “From the underground, remember?”
They had forgot that they had managed to grab a baseball bat after the ordeal underground. Missy stared at it as she remembered Keiron.
“One!”
The sound of a gun being loaded, and then an almighty bang. The door shattered in the middle, and the bullet whizzed down the hall. It was a miracle that it missed them.
They had ducked, and now, getting to their feet, they saw red Blitzers breaking the door so they could get in.
“How dare you!” Nathan began to say. But the Blitzers raised their guns and he fell silent.
“Give us Nathan and Winter Smith,” the hoarse voice said. It was a red Blitzer with a white stripe. Winter thought it sounded like a woman, but it was hard to tell.
“You won’t get any of us,” Violet replied, as calm as possible.
“We don’t want you,” White stripe spoke. “What am I not making clear? We just want the Smiths. They are wanted.”
“Wanted for what?”
“To help the greater good.”
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