by Jamie Davis
Winnie turned and scanned the grounds again, taking in what she’d heard from her friends and trying to see the potential for the facility for their purposes. She tried to separate the reality from the myths that haunted this place. They needed a new base and this fit the bill. In the end, it was that simple.
Winnie turned back to her team, who was awaiting her decision.
“This is the place.” Winnie raised a hand to stave her mother’s objection. “We’ll turn the history around. We will use this place to overthrow Director Kane once and for all. We’ll make it a place of strength for chanters to be proud of, despite whatever happened here before.”
She looked from person to person, held each gaze before moving on, and ended with her mother. Elaine seemed to be searching Winnie’s eyes for something.
She found it and smiled.
Finally, they’d found a new home.
CHAPTER 17
It took them the better part of a week to start moving everyone from the Pike down to the abandoned hospital. They started with Tris and her Sable techs to get the building systems up and running again. Maria and Garraldi accompanied them with a detachment of the security team to set up defenses as they ferried in the new recruits.
Victor and Morgan took over providing immediate security for Winnie and the inner circle while still at the Pike. It was a great deal of work to shut down operations there before migrating everything to the hospital.
Winnie took the opportunity to get everyone together and organized by opening a communications window between the Pike and the hospital. She had Victor, Morgan, and her mother by her side at the Pike, and she could see Garraldi, Cricket, Maria, and Tris on the other side of the window at the hospital.
“Thanks for getting together everyone,” Winnie said. “I don’t want to forget anything or leave any traces behind that could be used to trace us from the Pike to our new location. We’ll be finished the move in another few days. What else do we need to do?”
“I’ve made sure that we are leaving no data traces behind,” Victor said. “The national network is still mostly down and I don’t trust what’s available. I’m sure that Kane and Couch are monitoring it for any trace of communication between us and our other allies. Fortunately, the hospital was never brought into the national network because it was closed before the net was up and running. And now that we have these windows, we don’t need it much anyway. I’m still bringing all the computers we’ve been using for security. We’ll have them there and if we do need to use the net, we can try tapping in from a node that’s about a mile away the facility.”
“Good,” Winnie said. “What about the systems down there? Tris, I assume you have everything up and running?”
“The generator’s fixed, though it took longer than expected. We spent the first few nights roughing it. We were able to hand pump enough water for everyone’s basic needs, but we’re in much better shape now that the electric pumps are up and working again. My team also managed to enhance the generator’s output with a few magical tweaks. That’s given us a big enough boost to light all the buildings.”
“Excellent.” Winnie turned to Garraldi. “How are the buildings themselves coming along?”
“The recruits were put to work cleaning their prospective living spaces upon arrival. We’ve been able to use some basic spells to clean and freshen most of the old mattresses. They’re ready for as many people as we can take.”
“What about defenses, Maria?”
“I’ve had the recruits dismantle sections of the walls to create small bunkers for perimeter defense. They’re tired of the work, but it’s coming along.” She chuckled. “They’ve taken to calling the place ‘Fort Brick’ after all the bricks they’re taking down and resetting in the bunkers.”
“It’s a better name than the old one,” Winnie laughed. “Let’s all start using it.”
“That works,” Morgan said. “From an operational security perspective, if word gets out about our new location’s name, it won’t tell Kane’s forces anything about the actual spot.”
“Good point, Morgan,” Winnie said. “Which brings us to our remaining fortifications. We have to shield this location from mundane detection, but also from magical searches. Any—”
“I’ve used your distraction spell to mask the main road entrance,” Garraldi said. With all the traffic we’ve been bringing in down here, the lane no longer looks deserted. Now, I’m sure most middlings will either forget it existed entirely or simply not notice it when driving by.” He laughed and pointed to Maria. “She got lost the first time she left after I’d set the spell up.”
“He’s right. I knew the lane existed, but couldn’t locate the entrance despite driving right by it several times. It will serve to put off any patrols that come by, provided they don’t see any of our own vehicles entering the lane.”
“What about magic shielding around the grounds?” Winnie asked.
Victor cleared his throat. Winnie looked toward him with surprise in her eyes. “Victor?”
“I’ve been spending some time with the twins among my other duties over the last few weeks. I’ve been intrigued by their power and wondered what my powers could do if I applied some of the things they can do to my own ability. I can already pull apart the weaves of most spells. That helps me dispel the magic.” Victor paused and looked nervously around. “Well, in light of what you all were trying to do with Fort Brick, I thought I could try and create a sort of anti-magic shield. I managed to fashion some sort of bubble around Morgan then I had Fiona and Jacob cast some simple charms. We were all surprised when the charms bounced right off her.”
“That’s amazing, Victor,” Winnie said. “How hard will it be to make it permanent?”
“I think I can create a dome over the fort that covers the grounds if I could work with a group of chanters familiar with larger castings like this.” Victor looked around at the group and shrugged. “I don’t have a lot of experience with how that would work, but that’s my idea.”
“Working in groups on magical projects sounds like a job for my team,” Tris said. “I’ll have to look at exactly what you do, Victor. But we should be able to amplify your shield enough to cover the place.”
“If we can do that, and we put distraction spells in place all the way around the perimeter,” Garraldi said, “then we should be able to avoid both middling and magical detection. Kane and his pet general will never be able to find us.”
“I agree,” Maria said. “If Victor can really do this, then we should be in great shape from a security perspective. I’ll still prepare for the worst, but this will give us more time to get the defenses in place.”
“I have a question,” Elaine said.
“Go ahead, Mom. You’re part of this council, too.”
“When are we going to free the rest of the chanters from the camps?” Elaine was met with dead silence. She added, “We have to try and do something. We have to free them.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Victor said.
“Why not?” Tris snapped.
“Look,” Victor said, still uncomfortable. “I know things are rough there. But where do we put them once we free them? Look around. We’re scrounging to take care of ourselves. What will we do with tens of thousands of chanters if we liberate the camps? They can’t go home to the Enclaves, and we don’t have the resources to absorb them all.”
“So we leave them where they are?” Elaine said. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am,” Victor countered. “We know that Kane wants their power, but we’ve knocked out his ability to get that power for now. He’s bottled up in the capital and the bulk of his forces are tied up. He’ll do what he must to keep them alive for the time being. That means they’re safe for now.”
Winnie could see his logic, but she’d been considering a larger rescue of the chanters in the closest camp for a while.
“I’m not talking about never going and rescuing them,” Victor explained.
“I’m advocating for us to hold off for a while longer to consolidate our strength and start taking the fight to Kane for a change. Once we claim a few more cities, we’ll be able to free some of the camps. Until then, we’d be creating refugees that we’re not prepared to feed or house.”
“Victor’s right,” Winnie said. “We need to focus on defeating Kane now while we have him holed up. The Fae can begin healing the world’s magical breaches once he’s defeated. Then we can free everyone. Wastelands around the cities will cease to be deserts. People can expand outward again. But we can’t do that without defeating Kane. That must remain our primary concern.”
Winnie turned to her mother. “I know you have friends there. Most of us do. But if we don’t defeat Kane while we have the chance, freeing them will postpone the inevitable.”
Elaine stared back at Winnie. Then looked away.
“I understand. I don’t want us to forget them, that’s all.”
“We won’t forget them,” Winnie said. “They’re the reason we’re fighting.”
She looked from face to face, on both sides of the communication window, until she finally saw agreement on them all.
Winnie needed a consensus on their primary goals. Their forces were so small compared to what they faced, being of one mind and purpose was critical to their success.
“Alright,” Winnie went on. “We should be finished moving down to Fort Brick within a few days. Then we can start planning what to do next. I look forward to seeing you in person soon.”
Winnie let the magical window close, her mind lost to the countless details wrestling in her head. It was time to start bringing more resources into their new hideout. She had some thoughts about how to do exactly that.
And she looked forward to sharing them with the team, once they were all together again.
CHAPTER 18
The move to Fort Brick concluded later that week.
Winnie rode in the last convoy to leave the Pike in a van with her mom, the twins, and Danny. The rest of the van was packed to the ceiling with anything they thought could use at the new location. Victor followed in another van with Morgan and the security team. Three more vans full of supplies fell in line behind Victor.
The drive took them past the outskirts of Baltimore. Winnie and the other chanters had again magically masked the vans so their passing wasn’t noticed by curious drivers or Red Leg patrols. She was glad to see the other chanters were learning some of the methods she and the twins used to manipulate magic. No one was as accomplished as they were, though Kripke showed promise.
And Winnie still felt certain that there were others who could do what she and the twins could do.
After about an hour on the highway, Winnie began to feel a magical pull.
At first she couldn’t put her finger on what it was, a gentle tugging at her center, the part of her that helped her control and cast spells with the magic around her.
She turned in her seat and looked towards the city, her hand resting on her chest, feeling the tugging sensation there.
“See, Jacob, Winnie feels it, too,” Fiona said from her seat in the back.
Winnie turned around and glanced at the girl. Did she and her brother feel the same tugging? Did her mother, the only other chanter in the van, feel it, too?
“What is it, Fiona?” Winnie asked. “Do you and Jacob feel something pulling at you?”
Elaine looked at Winnie, then at the children seated beside her. “What is it? Is something wrong?”
“I don’t think so, Mom. I feel a magical pull towards the city. And I think the children feel it, too.”
Jacob leaned over and whispered in his sister’s ear.
Fiona grinned. “Jacob says the others are scared and all alone in the city.”
“What others, Fiona?”
Jacob leaned over and spoke to his sister in secret again.
“The other chanters,” she said. “Jacob says they’re trapped, and can’t get out on their own.”
It took Winnie a few moments of concentration, but then she managed to isolate the distinct strings connecting her to individuals in the city.
She could sense their fear and desperation.
They seemed just like Kripke before she found him in her mother’s apartment, scared and alone.
Those connections must be to others who somehow avoided detection by the Red Legs as they swept the Enclave for chanters.
“I feel them, too, Jacob,” Winnie said. “You’re right: they’re frightened.”
“Winnie,” Danny said. “What are you talking about?”
Elaine put a hand on Winnie’s shoulder. “I don’t feel anything, dear.”
“There’s some sort of magical connection to individuals in the city. I think it’s the others like me and Fiona and Jacob. The ones I’ve been searching for.”
“Jacob wants to know if you will go and get them,” Fiona said.
“I think I have to,” Winnie said. “But I can’t go now. We don’t have any room. We need to drop you all off at the hospital. Then we can return to the city and look for these missing chanters.”
“You can’t go in there, Winnie. Not right now,” Danny said. “It’s way too dangerous for any of us to enter the city, even with masked vehicles. The army and the Red Legs have become much more adept at searching for us. Ever since our runs to the soldiers were shut down, getting into the city has become nearly impossible.”
“That’s all the more reason to get those people out of there, Danny,” Winnie said. “We have to do it now, before it gets even harder. We can’t leave them there.”
“We need to talk to Garraldi, Victor, and Maria,” Danny said. “Maybe we can make a push into the city with a larger force. That way if there’s trouble, we can get you out again.”
I don’t think that’s the right answer,” Winnie said, shaking her head. “It should be either me alone or me and a couple of others.”
“We need to get this last shipment to the hospital. Once we’re all there and settled in, we can look at ways to get any remaining chanters inside the city out.”
Winnie wanted to do more and faster but Danny was right.
It wasn’t the best idea right now.
She turned forward in her seat and stared at the road as Danny drove, thinking of ways she could maybe get in and out of the city without alerting the soldiers or Red Legs patrols.
Winnie hadn’t been to the hospital in a week, and she was impressed with the changes she saw on their approach. Armed guards stood behind brick and sandbag structures built into the wall surrounding the grounds in both directions.
The grounds themselves had been cleaned. The buildings looked spruced up, too. There were people everywhere, all of them busy. There hadn’t been much to do at the old amusement park. Here, there were ample activities to keep new recruits busy, and it was clear that her leaders were making excellent use of their workforce.
The convoy pulled up in front of the main building and a group of recruits appeared, led by Tris and Maria. They unloaded the vehicles, carrying the last load of supplies and equipment from the Pike into Fort Brick.
Winnie was pleased with what she saw. “Tris, this is impressive. This place is already much further along than I expected, based on what you were saying during the nightly conferences.”
“We’ve been hard at work pulling things together. The first few nights were a bit more rustic than I like, I’ll admit. But once we got the generator up and running, I was able to make everyone more comfortable.”
Winnie looked at Maria. “How are the security arrangements going? I saw the new guard posts along the wall.”
“The perimeter is nearly finished,” Maria said. “Garraldi had some ideas about how we can magically enhance things to make it even more secure against detection and attack. Even now, we could withstand a significant assault for an extended period of time. The basements are reinforced concrete. They’re like bunkers already, it didn’t take much to create fallback positions
in each of the buildings should we have to abandon our spots along the walls.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Winnie said. “Our best defense is still secrecy.”
“Agreed,” Maria said. “It never hurts to plan for the worst, though. This place is ready to withstand a lot.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Winnie said looking around. “We should have a meeting of the core leaders this afternoon. There’s a new development I’d like to discuss.”
“I’ll pass the word,” Tris said. “We’ve been holding a daily meeting in the evening at dinner. Can it wait until then?”
“I think so. It will take me a while to get situated, and I want to tour the grounds to see everything before the meeting anyway.”
“Do you want Maria or I to show you around?” Tris asked.
“I’ll be fine,” Winnie said. “I’ll see you both at the dinner meeting. Can you pass the word?”
“Sure. I’ll let everyone know.” Tris looked around at her surroundings. “I didn’t think this would work out at first, given its history, but Danny was right. This place is perfect.”
Winnie went to gather her things, but the van was already empty.
“It’s all upstairs,” Danny said. “Perk of being the boss.”
“Well then,” Winnie said. “Want to survey the grounds?”
“That would be great. You should see inside; it looks brand-new in there.”
“I can’t wait,” Winnie said, taking his hand. “We’ll check out the buildings after we look over the perimeter defenses.”
“Lead the way,” Danny said with a bow.
Winnie smiled, then the two of them started walking the grounds.
But Winnie couldn’t stop thinking about the lost chanters, likely hiding deep in the city, just a few hours away.
There were things that had to be done.
And soon.
CHAPTER 19
Nils stormed into the bunker command center beneath the department headquarters searching for General Couch. He found the General at the conference table, seated beside a major with the Intelligence Service insignia on his shoulder.