“I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” Roman said with a shake of his head.
“Of course it is,” Ludwig maintained. “We need to know what they’re up to and how they got a hold of the information about my trucks. I’m hesitant to get another one here until we know how they managed to hijack the last. I won’t keep losing product to those scavengers. Di is our best bet. No one will know who she is.”
“No one?” Roman asked, looking at him pointedly.
“You will watch over her from the shadows,” he answered.
Dinah didn’t know what Roman was suggesting with that question, but her thoughts immediately flew to the guy from the pub. He’d know who she was the second she walked in. Crap. Should she say something? But if she did, that would mean his immediate death, and for some reason that didn’t sit well with her. Would he know? Could she play it off like she was there on her own terms, and not as some spy? Either way he’d never let his guard down around her. Unless she tried to avoid him, but that wasn’t really possible since she had a gut feeling he knew more than any of the others. His walls were the strongest. Someone who needed to protect their mind that strongly was likely a source of very valuable information.
“She’ll be fine,” Ludwig said, holding Roman’s eyes for a second. There was some sort of silent conversation happening between them. Dinah had no idea what, but she knew for sure Roman wasn’t supporting this new plan.
“Fine,” she agreed. “I’ll do it.”
“That’s my girl,” Ludwig smiled.
She got up and stretched before heading to the door. “I’ll start tomorrow,” she said over her shoulder.
“Just make sure you play nice now, X,” Ludwig called teasingly. “We need you to be charming.”
She flipped him off as she walked out. “I’m always charming.”
Chapter Seven
Bridgette hurried through the dark, empty streets. Sebastian was somewhere behind her, but she wasn’t slowing down for him. Most people thought the resistance was a good thing. She understood the desire for change. Their world had become a shadow of its former self, and people were not living prosperous lives. Heck, she was struggling herself. It wasn’t that she didn’t get it. It was that she didn’t agree with the idea that the end justified the means. It was easy for people to think that way when it wasn’t their family being torn apart.
Sebastian didn’t seem to understand that. He might think or says he does, but Bridgette didn’t think he truly did. Charlotte had only been sixteen. Sixteen. That is a fraction of a lifespan, and it was cut off so quickly. Bridgette would never be able to get over it.
As she turned the corner, St. Anne’s Cathedral stood in the distance. The towers of the church rose into the sky, reaching up to whatever heavens were above them. Bridgette often wondered if there even was such a thing as heaven. She knew there was hell; she was living it. But heaven? She wasn’t so sure. The street the church was on looked to be completely deserted. She wasn’t fooled by the outward appearance of the empty, destroyed buildings, and litter blowing across the streets. She knew the rebels made their home in this area, which was exactly why she avoided it. McKay’s place was around here somewhere. She’d been there only once. The silence in this area freaked her out and she hadn’t been back since.
The buildings were destroyed from the bombings. The once beautiful, historic facades now nothing but crumbling brick and stone. It was such a shame. Bridgette couldn’t even remember what New Berlin had looked like when it was called London. A name no one used anymore. A group of men stood in front of the church. Bridgette could see the bright red of their cigarettes lighting up in the dark whenever they inhaled. Even though she couldn’t see them clearly, she knew which one was McKay. He had a certain cockiness to the way he stood that made him easy to spot.
She picked up speed. As she neared, she saw one of the others nod in her direction and then McKay was turning to face her.
“Are you okay?” she asked, cupping his face so she could turn it from side to side. He rolled his eyes, standing still while she checked him over. The guy had no mother, so sometimes she took it upon herself to be a little maternal.
“I’m fine,” he said, shrugging her off. “Nothing happened.”
“Sebastian said Roman Adamson and that Weapon X guy showed up,” she argued.
“They did,” he shrugged like it was no big deal. It was definitely a big deal.
“Pete!” she yelled, slapping his arm. “Stop acting like this was nothing. What happened?”
“Would you calm down,” he said, rubbing his arm. “They came in, took a look around, and then left.”
She crossed her arms, lifting her eyebrows, unconvinced. “They just left?”
He splayed his hands in front of him. “I’m still here, aren’t I? They didn’t find anything, Bridge. We’re all okay.”
“Yeah, Bridge,” Seamus called out. “We’re all fine. Thanks for asking.”
Bridgette looked over McKay’s shoulder at his best friend. Seamus Flanagan was one of those good looking guys who didn’t seem to know it. That was probably why most of her friends were always in love with him growing up. McKay was hot, and he knew it. He walked around, head held high like he was the king of the world. Always had. If he wasn’t so nice she would have hated him, but despite the way he presented himself, McKay was one of the most thoughtful, trustworthy people she knew.
Seamus on the other hand was hot, but he had absolutely no idea. He didn’t seem to notice when girls threw themselves at him. It was one of the things Bridgette liked most about him. He was that guy who was always happy and made sure everyone was having a good time, and not solely looking for his next lay. He was also the only other person Bridgette could count on to watch over McKay when she wasn’t around.
“I know you’re okay,” she said to him, “because you probably weren’t the one opening your big mouth around two of the most dangerous people in the city.” She turned her gaze to McKay. “You, on the other hand...”
McKay smiled smugly. “Guilty as charged,” he said.
Bridgette growled. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”
He swung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. “Come on, Bridge. Let’s get you inside where it’s warm.”
“I have a feeling that, no matter what happens tonight, the last thing I’m going to be feeling is warm.”
He gave her shoulder a squeeze, but didn’t respond as he ushered her inside the cathedral.
The interior of the church was just as creepy as the exterior. Shadows hid most of the outer circle, only a few moonlit streams lighting isolated spots amongst the pews. Candles were lit up by the alter. No one was there except them. Their breathing and footsteps echoed off the stone walls. Goose bumps rose on her arms as McKay steered her around the west side of the building. Two confessionals stood against the wall. They stopped just before them.
“I’m not really in the mood for confessing,” she commented wryly.
“Hopefully you don’t have that many sins to confess,” came a deep voice from within one of the booths. Bridgette jumped, taking a step back. McKay’s hands landed on her shoulders, keeping her steady. A figure stepped out from behind the curtain, dressed in the robes of a priest. When he looked up to meet her eyes she almost screamed. It got lodged in her throat, however, so all that came out was a squeak of disbelief and confusion. “Or perhaps you do, what with your new profession.”
She went rigid, looking at the man before her. This stranger who stood there, looking down his nose at her. Her hands were starting to shake. Whether it be from the shock or anger, she wasn’t sure, but she was leaning more toward anger.
“General,” McKay greeted him respectfully. His hands still rested on her, holding her back.
He nodded in return. “Quite the surprise visit we had tonight, boys. Want to tell me what happened?”
“They came in, said they knew about the meeting planned there for tonigh
t. Weapon X tried to search us, but he didn’t get anything,” Trent explained.
“Nothing?” he asked. The way he said it brought shivers to her spine. She could hear the implication and danger in just that one word.
“They got the word ‘General’ from one of us, but we don’t know who,” McKay admitted.
“We also don’t know who they got the meeting information from,” Garrett added. “No one has seen Benny though, so we sort of assume it could be him.”
He slowly nodded his head. “How unfortunate,” he said softly. “But I don’t think that will be their biggest worry tonight. While you boys were entertaining our guests, we were busy working.”
Bridgette sensed McKay tense behind her, standing up straighter. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“By now, Ludwig Tenebris will have been informed that his latest shipment of weapons has been successfully hijacked.”
There was a moment of silence before she heard someone start to chuckle. McKay remained tense behind her.
“You hijacked one of their shipments?” he asked.
“That we did.”
“While we distracted them? So all of that tonight was a set-up?”
He nodded, his face expressionless. McKay tore away from her, his hands gripping the back of his head. He was frustrated and angry. By now she knew his mannerisms well enough to tell. When he turned back to face them she saw the familiar glint in his eyes he always got when he was upset.
“Do you know what could have happened tonight if it didn’t go the way it had? Don’t you understand the danger you put us all in by making us your diversion? For God sakes, Glenn is dead because of all this. Any one of us, if not all, could have been arrested based strictly on suspicion.”
The man didn’t respond for a moment. When he did, it was in the same detached voice, unmoved by McKay’s distress. “Glenn died for a cause he believed in. There is no shame in that.”
Bridgette starting laughing. It bubbled up and out of her mouth before she had time to cover it. This was quite possibly one of the worst moments in her life. There were many, but this one definitely ranked up there. And all because she saw, truly saw, for the first time, just how horrible this all was. This resistance against a tyrant, while they kill their own in the name of good. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and yet, she could. It totally made sense with everything else that had happened in the past. This man, disguised as a priest, didn’t give a crap about anyone, only the end game. How was he any different than Ludwig Tenebris? He didn’t even care about his own family.
“Did your daughter die for a cause she believed in?” she challenged, no longer laughing. “How many people will die for this cause before you realize you’re not any better than those you’re fighting against?”
“We’re not anywhere near the same,” he argued. “We are fighting to help people, not destroy them.”
“Oh? But a couple people here and there are fine, right? I’m guessing good old Benny was also offered up. What was it? Did you know he had weaker walls? Was he sent in there specifically to let them know of this so-called meeting?” His mouth flattened into a straight line. They both knew she was right. Bridgette wasn’t stupid; she could read between the lines.
“We didn’t destroy two thirds of the world’s population.”
“Is that how you justify it? Well you certainly destroyed half of your own family because of all this. How do you justify that, father?”
“Your mother and sister are a tragedy.”
“Yeah, you look really broken up about it.” A hand gripped her upper arm. She looked up to see McKay giving her a warning look. “Is this why you asked me here? To reunite dad and daughter?” Uncertainty flashed in his eyes. “I could have told you this was a waste of time. Did you honestly think I didn’t know he was still alive somewhere? Do you honestly think I’m that stupid? I might not have known he was the ‘General’ but I knew he was still breathing while the rest of our family isn’t. And guess what?” she stepped closer. “Not once have I ever even thought of looking for him. And you know what else?” McKay continued to look at her. She could see sympathy in his eyes now, and that only made her angrier. “He never came looking for me either. Right there, that should have told you this was a useless idea.”
She spun around, ripping her arm out of McKay’s grasp. She hurried toward the front door, her loud footsteps echoing out into the darkness. She hated this place, she decided. She also officially hated her father.
Pete watched her storm out, still shocked that it had turned out this way. He had decided in his head before today that their first meeting would go way different than it had. He thought Bridgette missed her family, but apparently he was wrong. Or at least, not the family still alive. He turned to the General, apologetically.
“I didn’t think she’d react that way,” he said.
Douglas Hatcher simply shrugged it off. “She’ll be back after she’s had time to cool down.”
Pete looked at him, baffled. This man had lost his wife and daughter, and not seen his only living child for five years, and yet he didn’t seem to care in the least. For the first time since Pete had signed up with the rebels, he started to question his leader’s integrity. Why wasn’t he chasing after her? Begging for her forgiveness? Even Pete himself felt a strong urge to do just that, and he wasn’t her father.
He always thought the General’s cold demeanor was put on around the men – something to make them see how serious he took their cause. But now he saw that was just how Douglas Hatcher was. He was a cold, emotionless, driven man. And he didn’t care who or what got in his way. Pete was still fuming about tonight. The fact that he put his second in such high danger, and didn’t even bother letting him know the plan ahead of time, really pissed him off. This wasn’t how things should go. If Pete was the General’s second, he should know everything that was going down.
“You boys go on down, get some rest,” the General said. “Pete and I need to discuss some things.”
He watched the others enter the confessional on the right, disappearing behind the curtain through the hidden door. The resistance’s base was underneath the cathedral in the catacombs there. As soon as his younger brother, the last one to leave, was out of sight, he turned to face his leader.
“You should have told me,” he said accusingly.
Douglas held up his hands. “I know. We got the intel late. There wasn’t enough time to fill you in.”
“All it takes is a phone call.”
“We couldn’t risk you knowing.”
“Because you set me up,” he stated. Douglas hesitated before nodding. “You didn’t know if I would actually be able to withstand Weapon X, so you didn’t want me knowing all the details of your plan. Have I got it about right?”
“We didn’t know Weapon X would be there.”
“Oh! So you assumed Roman would come by and torture me for hours, and at least I wouldn’t have any pertinent info to give him. How’s that?”
Douglas sighed, dragging his hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry you’re upset about this.”
“You’re sorry? Oh, well that just makes it all better, doesn’t it?” Pete laughed humourlessly. “You’re unbelievable, you know that? It’s like you’re completely unaware of how your actions affect those around you. I lost a friend today because of this crap. And you lost another daughter. Looks like we’re even, huh?”
“Watch it,” he warned.
Pete stepped closer, bringing himself nose to nose with the General. “I am. I’m watching every bloody thing that’s happening around me. Trust me. You named me second in command, and to me that means something. Next time there’s a plan going on, I need to know about it. No excuses.”
“The council –”
“I don’t give a shit about the council, Douglas. They’re a bunch of old, bitter politicians who are only invested in this so they can get their cozy mansions back. They’re not the real rebels here, and you know it.”
“Those old, bitter politicians are what’s funding this resistance.”
“I know. Which is why I tolerate them. But they don’t get to make decisions on who gets to know certain details, and who doesn’t. Got it?”
They stared at each other for a moment before the General nodded his head stiffly.
“Good,” Pete said flatly. “Now I’m going to go make sure my best friend is okay.” He didn’t wait for the other man to reply. With quick steps he was out of the church and on his way to Bridge’s place.
Chapter Eight
This was a bad idea. It had been five days since Ludwig told her to get in with the rebels. She had been pretty sure of herself up until the moment she left her room. Then she chickened out and claimed to have a migraine. By the fourth day of the same excuse Ludwig started to get suspicious. There was no putting it off, and so here she was, standing outside the same rundown pub she had been in before. This time she was alone, unmasked, and scared shitless.
She couldn’t remember being this nervous in years. She wiped her palms on her black tights for the tenth time since she got off her bike. The motorcycle was stashed in the alley across from the pub where she was currently hiding like the wimp she was. What the hell is wrong with her? Normally she wasn’t afraid of anything, but for some reason the thought of walking in there with no mask and no army backing her up had her freaked right out. That, and she knew there was a high probability the green eyed guy would be in there.
The place was a lot more crowded than it had been five nights ago. She could hear the voices from inside all the way from where she stood. You can do this, she told herself. Just walk in there and act like you’re one of them. How difficult can that be? These people are like the same ones she’d grown up with. It couldn’t be that hard to act like a lower again. Sure she had a phone in the inside pocket of her leather jacket, and a pistol tucked in the back of her pants, but that was beside the point.
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