by Posey, Jay
“Able?” Mouse said, with a chuckle. “Able’s a beast. I reckon he carried Wick seven, maybe eight klicks before we tracked ’em down. He’ll probably be the sorest he’s ever been in his life tomorrow, but otherwise nothing too bad. How about you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah?” His keen eyes narrowed, probing hers. Mouse was ever watchful when it came to others’ health, and he never trusted a self-diagnosis.
“Yeah, Mouse. I really am.”
“Anything touch you out there? Any falls?”
She couldn’t lie. “I had a couple of scuffles. They got the worst of it. I’m fine. Really.”
From his look, she could tell he was considering checking her over, but after a moment he just nodded. “All right.” The fact that he let it go at that told Cass just how exhausted he must be.
“Are you OK?” she asked.
Mouse smiled at that. “Long night.” He ran a hand back over his head, and threw one more look back over at Wick. Then he turned back to her. “I’m sorry, Miss Cass, but we might have to save the rest of the debrief for the morning. I’m smoked.”
“Yeah, sure, of course,” she said. “Get some rest, Mouse.”
He nodded and started towards an open spot on the floor that some of the others had arranged for him, but stopped and turned back.
“Hey. You know you shouldn’t be here. And I know that. But it’s really good to see you, just the same.”
“You too, Mouse. I’m glad you’re back safe.”
He nodded again and then took his place on the floor, apparently asleep almost as soon as he laid his head on his arm. Cass watched him for a few moments, a strange peacefulness settling on her from his presence. She hadn’t realized how concerned she’d been for him until that moment. Mouse had a careful watchfulness over those in his charge that few could match; and if someone was within his sight, he considered them under his charge. She’d seen him in combat before and knew his ferocity well, frightening to behold. He brought that same intensity to guarding the well-being of his companions. Somehow having Mouse safely home, wherever home was for the moment, made her feel like there was some measure of hope after all.
Gamble touched Cass’s shoulder and drew her attention.
“Hey,” Gamble said. “Go on and try to get some sleep.”
“I’m pretty wired,” said Cass. “I can stay up. Stand watch.”
Gamble shook her head. “We’re buttoned up pretty good. We all need to get rest whenever we can. No telling when our next chance may be.”
“What’s the plan?”
“The plan?” Gamble said. She looked over at Wick, and then shook her head again. “Plan is to sleep. After that, we’ll see what the sun brings with it.”
Gamble gave her a little nod and then moved off to spread the word to the rest of the survivors. She was right. There were still a few hours before sunrise, and now that they were all safely sealed inside there wasn’t much more for anyone to do. They were all too spent, and there were too many unknowns for them to make any kind of serious plans. That would come with the morning.
Cass went to Kit and Finn, pressed her hand into Wick’s for a moment, and then found an unclaimed corner to curl into. She stayed sitting up, resting her head against the wall, thinking she might doze lightly at best. It was only a few minutes before she had fallen into a deep sleep.
* * *
A hand on Cass’s shoulder drew her forth from an intense dream that she couldn’t recall when she awoke. Mouse was crouching in front of her, and it took a few seconds for her brain to catch up with her surroundings and her circumstances.
“We’re going topside to have a chat,” Mouse said. “Think you probably better come with.”
Cass nodded and swallowed, suddenly aware of a bitter taste in her mouth. Sleeping with her mouth open, probably. She stood and stretched, trying to work the knots out of her back, and shoulders, and neck, and pretty much everywhere else. Though she was certain the couple of hours of sleep had done her some good, at the moment it sure felt like it had wrecked her. Most of the others were still asleep, or at least sitting or laying with their eyes closed. Kit lay next to Wick, her hand on his chest. It was rising and falling more rapidly than Cass thought normal, and she felt a stab of concern as she followed Mouse up the ladder and into the cold morning air.
Outside, the sun was just cresting the horizon, its first rays melting the dawn grey into life and color. The wayhouse had been nestled between two tall buildings, six stories each, that overshadowed a cluster of smaller structures. There was a small courtyard at the center of them all, and the sunlight filtered through it, striping it with light and shadow. There the others stood waiting, a little distance from the wayhouse entrance. Gamble was already up, which wasn’t a surprise to anyone. Finn was there with her, as was Lil. Cass hadn’t seen Sky or Able down below, and they weren’t around now, which, she guessed, meant they were already out scouting.
“Morning,” Gamble said as Cass and Mouse approached. “Sleep well?”
“I slept,” Cass answered. “Don’t know about well.”
“You hear Mouse snoring like an earthquake?” Finn said.
“No,” said Cass.
“Then you slept well,” Finn replied.
“I don’t snore,” Mouse said.
“OK big fella,” Gamble said. Lil smiled and looked elsewhere. “So,” said Gamble, looking to Cass and switching immediately to business-mode. “We’ve got some plans to make and not a lot of time to make them.”
“Shouldn’t take long anyway,” Lil said. “Come back with us. As soon as everyone’s well enough to move. We’ve got plenty of room and supplies.”
“We’d be grateful,” Gamble answered, “but I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”
She cued Mouse with a look.
“Wick’s in real bad shape,” Mouse said. “He’s lost a lot of blood, and when I checked him this morning, his body temp was low. Looks like early stages of a blood infection. If we don’t do something soon, we’re going to lose him.”
Cass looked over at Finn, who was stonefaced. Obviously Mouse had already told him the news.
“Can you cure it?” Lil asked.
“If we had the right meds and time to keep him rested, yeah,” Mouse said. “But I don’t have what we need in my kit.”
Lil hadn’t picked up on it yet, but Cass could sense that they were building to something. They already had a plan, they just hadn’t told everyone else yet.
“But you know where you can find it,” Cass said. Mouse nodded.
“And where’s that?” Lil asked.
Mouse glanced at Gamble. She answered.
“Morningside.”
The word hung in the air like a thousand-pound bomb moments from impact.
“You can’t be serious,” Lil said.
“There’s more,” Mouse said. “Swoop’s back there.”
“That’s... no,” Lil said, looking back and forth between Mouse and Gamble. “No, you can’t.” But they both looked back at her impassively; it was obvious the decision had been made. Lil turned to Cass then, hoping for an ally. “Cass. You saw what they did to the city. Tell them they can’t go back!”
Cass agreed with Lil. Returning to Morningside seemed like utter insanity. But she knew in her heart she had no right to oppose Gamble. The team leader would risk anything to save her boys.
“I can’t not go back, ma’am,” Mouse said. “I made a promise to him that I wouldn’t let him become one of those things.”
“We all did,” Gamble added. She shook her head again and looked off across the empty cityscape, back towards the rising sun. Back towards Morningside.
“I understand your loyalty,” Lil said to Gamble. “I understand your word, and your honor. But I can’t in good conscience let you do this, you’re talking about suicide–”
Gamble turned to Lil, a spark of fire kindled. “All due respect, ma’am, I don’t think your opinion much weighs in.”
<
br /> “Do you really think Swoop would want–”
“Don’t,” Gamble said, cutting Lil off. There was a warning growl in her tone, but Lil didn’t shrink back. The two stared each other down, and Cass saw laid bare between them the strength of their wills. Different as they were, both were strong, capable warriors; both were gifted leaders. For a few seconds, it didn’t look like either one of them was going to back down. But Lil was the first to remember herself.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “That was out of line.” Gamble continued to stare her down, driving home the point and offering no sign of acceptance or apology. “I just hate to see you throw your lives away.”
“If you really knew us, you’d understand,” Gamble said.
“You have your people,” Finn added, taking his turn to ease the tension. “We have ours. If you were in our place, I’m sure you’d do the same.”
Lil nodded, though it seemed to come more from a desire to move past it all than from any agreement on her part.
“If you’d be willing to take the survivors back with you,” Mouse said, “we’d be deeply grateful.”
“Of course,” Lil answered. “Any and all are welcome.” She looked at Cass then. “And you?”
Cass looked around at the others.
“You’re going on to Greenstone,” Gamble said before Cass could answer. “Get back to your boy, Cass. You’ve already done more for us than you should have.”
Cass inhaled, steadied herself. Shook her head.
“I’m not going to Greenstone,” she said. “I can’t.”
“What are you talking about?” Gamble said, her eyes hard.
“I have to stay on this side of the Strand. Keep Asher’s eyes on me. He doesn’t have any reason to think Wren’s anywhere other than where I am. Even if he manages to figure it out, I don’t believe he’ll go after Wren until he gets to me first. And I don’t intend to let him do either.”
Cass wanted to continue, to tell them all she was going to head out into the open on her own, but the words caught in her throat. Gamble stood before her, jaw working. Cass awaited the blistering response. But once again, Gamble surprised her.
“If you think that’s the best way to protect your son,” she said, “then we’re with you.”
That wasn’t at all what Cass had expected, nor was it what she’d been planning. And though she started to protest, once again she couldn’t bring herself to confess her intent. Maybe her resolve wasn’t as firm as she’d thought.
“We’ll work it out when we get back,” Gamble said. “Once we know what we’ve got to work with.”
They stood in a brief, awkward silence, no one seeming to know quite what came next. Lil was the first to break it.
“Then I suppose this is where our paths diverge once more,” she said.
“Looks like,” Gamble replied.
Cass felt the lingering emotional rift and hated it. Here, now, of all times, she knew they should all be supporting one another, not tearing each other down. But the previous night had taken a heavy toll, and careless words were never easy to recover even in the best of circumstances.
“In that case, I would have us part as friends,” Lil added quietly.
“More than friends,” Cass said, and she stepped forward and embraced her. “You’ve been a sister to me, Lil.”
Lil hugged her back, and then drew away. “Whatever may happen, when your business is done, you’ll always have a place with us.” She squeezed Cass’s arm, and then looked over to Finn, and Mouse, and finally Gamble. “All of you.”
“Don’t go saying your goodbyes just yet,” Gamble said, and though the words were direct, her tone had softened and warmed; the closest thing to an apology she’d give. “We’ve got logistics to work out.” Then she looked to Mouse.
“I want to get Swoop taken care of as much as anyone,” Gamble said. “It’s worth it to me to see if we can pick up a line on him. But despite some people’s impressions, I’m not authorizing a suicide run. We’ll run a tight timeline, two objectives. Primary is resupply.” She emphasized the word. “Can’t help Swoop if we’re not well ourselves.”
Mouse glanced at the sun, already larger on the horizon now. “Maybe I should get a jump on it. Rest of you can catch up.”
“That’s a negative, Mouse. Sky and Able will be back soon enough. I wanna know if we’re going to have to find a new place to hole up before we head out. We’ll all go together.”
“Not all of us,” Mouse said. “We can’t move Wick. Not far, anyway. And we can’t leave him on his own.”
“How much watching does he need?”
Mouse shook his head. “I’ll check him again before we head out. Not much we can do for him except keep him still and rested. And, you know... he’s not going to be able to pull security real well.”
Gamble’s eyes narrowed as she looked back towards the wayhouse entrance, evaluating, working on whatever plan she was forming in her head. After a moment, she smiled sadly to herself. “Swoop was always good with this sort of thing.”
“You know what he’d say,” Mouse replied.
Gamble looked up at him and lowered the pitch of her voice, imitating their fallen comrade. “‘Mouse and me can handle it. Rest of you, button up and wait for our knock.’”
The right corner of Mouse’s mouth curved upward in a shadow of a smile at the impression. “And then you’d say...”
Gamble chuckled and said in her own voice, “Don’t be an idiot. Sky and Able stay with Wick; rest of you with me.” After a moment, she looked to Finn. “I’d feel better having you along, if your head’s in the right place.”
“I’m good to go,” Finn answered.
“If it’s not, I understand, that’s your brother in there,” Gamble said. “But I need to know. I don’t want you out here if you’re running anything less than a hundred percent.”
“If Mouse says he’ll be OK, he’ll be OK,” Finn said. “And anyway, if I stayed with him, he’d ride me the whole time for acting like Mom.”
“I think Sky ought to come along,” Mouse said. “Wick won’t need that much watching; Cass and Able can cover it.”
“Able won’t like us leaving him behind,” Finn said.
“None of us would. But he needs rest, too. Only way to get him to take it is to give him something important to do here.”
“I’m good with that,” Gamble said. She turned to Cass. “Assuming you’re intent on staying.”
Cass remained convinced that her presence posed a threat to Gamble and her team, but her ultimate concern was Wren. Whatever the team did, as long as Cass was around, Asher’s attention would be bent towards her, and therefore them. But if they knew the risks and were willing to accept them, why should she resist? And returning to Morningside? If they were determined to make an attempt, they would need all the help they could get.
“I am,” she said. “But I’ll be more use if I come with you.”
Gamble flicked her eyes to Mouse. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged.
“Not sure there’s a place more dangerous,” Gamble said to Cass.
“That’s probably true for me no matter where I am,” Cass answered.
“Then I guess you might as well be with us,” Gamble said. “I’m sure we can use the extra eyes. All right, let’s get everybody up and accounted for. We all need as much daylight as we can get.”
“You got it,” Finn said. Mouse nodded and together the two of them headed back towards the wayhouse. Gamble pulled Lil off to the side, and Cass stood there alone, between the wayhouse and the two women, unsure for the moment of what she ought to be doing. There was something more to her decision to stay with the team than she wanted to admit. Though Cass tried to convince herself that it wasn’t really part of the equation, the fact was that they’d given her a good excuse not to have to go off on her own. As much as she’d been convinced it was best for everyone, the idea of facing the open on her own was overwhelming. Maybe this wasn’t the best way, but maybe i
t was good enough.
Lil and Gamble stood close together, saying whatever it was they needed to say to one another. Cass couldn’t hear any of the words, but she got the impression that the two women would leave as friends. After a minute or two, they embraced. As they parted, Sky and Able reappeared in one of the narrow entrances to the courtyard and approached. Gamble and Lil rejoined Cass, and the three women stood together in silence until the two men joined them.
“Hey, Ace,” Sky said, glancing around at everyone’s look. “You uh... get it all sorted out?”
“Yep,” Gamble said.
“Well all right,” he said. “When do we leave?”
“I’d say about now,” Gamble said. “We need to have a quick chat, then we’ll roll out.”
Gamble led them all back to the wayhouse to work out the final details. Cass followed in an almost dreamlike state, dizzy with the unknowns and the possibilities that lay ahead. Nothing was going the way she’d thought it would. In fact, it all seemed to be going exactly the opposite. She’d been expecting her next days, however many or few they were, to be fraught with danger. But she had never for a moment imagined that in just a few minutes, she and her companions would be walking towards the one place they ought to be running the farthest from.
SEVEN
“Come with me,” Haiku said.
He watched the boy sitting on the couch across the room; a small and fragile thing. Whatever strength Wren possessed was well-hidden beneath that tiny frame. It would be easy to mistake him, to overlook or dismiss him, if not for the gravity of his gaze, the sharpness in his eyes. Those sea-green eyes had witnessed more than most people beheld in their full lifetimes; far more than any child should have. And more than witnessed. Wren knew the exhilarating horror of battle, and many times over the unspeakable sorrow of sudden loss. His were the eyes of one who knew intimately how thin the membrane between life and death was.
The way the child held himself had already given away his answer; he was shrunken in on himself, shoulders slumped, head bowed, breathing shallow. Haiku waited patiently nonetheless for Wren to give it voice. It had been a long shot, a strange request.