“You’re taking his side.”
Ryan heard the quiver in his own tone and cursed out his distaste. She had blinded him with love to save her brother. The sting almost made him pull the trigger and revel in the satisfaction of seeing his blood stain the earth, but the compassion she evoked in him ensured he couldn’t do it. With another curse, he stepped back, but didn’t lower his weapon.
“Cody,” she said, turning her weapon from Ryan to her brother. “Tell your troops to leave now.”
A pang of hope pierced his chest.
“And I’ll go with you.”
His hope shattered.
Cody struggled to his feet and clutched at his side. Ryan knew their armour protected them against bullets, but a well struck rifle butt could bruise ribs. He got a little satisfaction out of knowing he’d hurt him … until the realisation of her words sank it.
Edwards searched the ground and located his helmet. He reached down, picked it up and placed it back on his head. His arm lifted and he depressed a button near his ear before he spoke.
“Lieutenants, fall back. I repeat, fall back. We’re done here. Out.”
Everything seemed to halt as troops signalled the orders and the GAP slowly backed out of the compound and headed into the desert towards Artinean.
“Mackenzie,” Cody said, “are you coming?”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“I just saved your life because you’re my brother, but I’m not going anywhere with you. Leave. Now!”
Disbelief and anger darkened Cody’s expression and he shook his head.
“If you care about me at all, Cody, you won’t come back.”
“You’re going to regret not killing me, Rat. Next time you won’t be so lucky.”
With a sneer, he turned and took off after his troops.
20
BIT
Hours later, with the wounded attended to and the dead buried, Ryan sat brooding in the bunker that made it through with the least damage. Confusion swirled through his mind and played havoc with his heart. Although it might have appeared he was going to kill Edwards, he wouldn’t do that to her. For her he would have found control.
It seemed she believed he would kill her brother. She’d turned the gun on him to stop him. She didn’t believe in him and thought him a cold-blooded killer, just like her brother. Blood was thicker than water and when it came to choice, she chose Cody. She might not have left with her brother, but he couldn’t have her stay knowing she didn’t believe in him. She didn’t believe he would never cause her grief or pain.
After the GAP had left, Ryan, without saying a word to her, strode off to help Simmo and his other lieutenants with the clean-up. Three out of the four bunkers had been destroyed and their occupants killed. They lost eighteen of their men.
It could have been worse had it not been for Mackenzie. If she hadn’t interfered, they could’ve all been buried in unmarked graves. This only added to his conflicting thoughts and emotions. Why had she saved them and stayed? Especially when she thought he was capable of hurting her by killing Cody.
Weeks ago, he would have shot Edwards without hesitation or parting words. His satisfaction for revenge would’ve been fulfilled. It was different now.
He cursed her. Not only had she taken away his thirst for retribution, but she’d reawakened his compassion. Before he found her in the alley he had wanted his life to change. He didn’t want to be a man that lusted for blood. She’d brought hope of another life, but in one single moment she tore it all down.
“Here you are.”
Her voice startled him. Words wouldn’t come, so he stared at her instead. Her gaze held the same love and sweetness as before, adding further to his bafflement.
“I was worried about you. What are you doing in here?”
“Why did you stop me?”
“I wanted Cody to know how serious I am about being here. I wanted him to see that killing isn’t the only way.”
“Did you think I was going to kill him?” Tired from battle he couldn’t keep the hurt from his voice.
“I hoped you wouldn’t, but I do understand your need for revenge. I know you aren’t really like you make out to be. This became your life and you had no choice.”
“Neither did you. I wasn’t going to kill him. I wanted to, but …”
“The guilt and regret would’ve eaten away at you because of me.”
“I wasn’t going to kill him.” His voice came out hoarse. Affection for her was heavy in his tone, his sincerity in every word. Did she notice?
“I know, but I don’t want Cody to know that. If he sees how much I care about you, maybe he’ll see things differently. You showed remorse because you care about me and I needed him to see that. He should know I fight with you. I want to convince him that we can change things. This is our cause.”
“Our cause! It isn’t your cause or your fight, Mackenzie. You are a citizen protected by your laser fences and an automated house. You have no idea what we stand for. Why we fight. You stopped me today because you believed I would kill your brother. You went up there when I asked you not to. You’ve made me soft and if I hadn’t met you, Cody would be sub level right now. I might even have killed him. Instead, I was thinking about you. Instead of standing next to me, against him, and giving me the choice to let him go, you turned your gun on me. I knew that being his sister would cause problems. I can’t trust you.”
His yelling caused her sweet face to screw up as though she held back tears. Ryan didn’t care. Anger and hurt drove him.
“I want you to go, Mackenzie. I can’t stay true to my beliefs when I’m concerned about you or your brother getting hurt. I can’t be worried about the General because I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You don’t mean it,” she whispered.
“Yes, I do. You have no idea about the things I’ve had to do to survive.”
“It doesn’t matter to me. I know you …”
“No, you don’t. You’ve seen a shadow of the boy I used to be. The man I wished I could’ve become. I’m not that man. No matter how much I want to be.”
“I’m not leaving.”
Her chin jutted out in the defiant way that set his soul alight. He ignored it. He had to. She couldn’t stay. He would never be able to trust her to do what needed to be done and he didn’t know if he wanted her to.
“Suit yourself. You’ll have to find somewhere else to stay. I no longer want to sleep with the enemy.”
A single tear dripped down her cheek and his heart lurched. With every bit of strength he contained, he pushed passed her and climbed up the ladder.
Blinded by tears, Mackenzie wound her way through the tunnels and stopped outside Simmo’s door. There was only one way to prove to Ryan how serious she was about being here and fighting against her brother. Now she had to convince Simmo.
She stood for several moments, taking deep breaths to draw on her courage. Her head needed to be clear and her resolve strong.
When she’d first seen Ryan standing over Cody, a shockwave of concern rippled through her. It faded as quickly as it came. Ryan was nothing like her malevolent brother.
She also knew Cody wouldn’t leave unless he was dead or she said she would go with him. If Ryan had lowered his weapon and demanded they leave, he might have lost his life. The compound would have been raided and hundreds of innocent people would be dead or in prison.
Cody would’ve listened to no one but her. She may not have known about Cody’s viciousness and blind faith in the government before meeting Ryan, but she knew enough to know he wouldn’t reason or negotiate. He had always been this way, even over trivial matters.
So when Ryan stood with a gun pointed at her brother’s head, she considered that the best possible outcome would be for her to intervene and hope Ryan could see why. It seemed, instead, he’d now lost his faith in her. There would be only one way to prove her loyalty and love.
With swift strokes, she swiped away he
r tears, wiped clammy hands on her jeans and took a deep breath. Simmo answered her knock and he seemed surprised to see her at his door.
“I need your help.”
“I don’t know about this, Mackenzie,” Simmo said.
“It’s the only way for me to prove that I’m serious about this, Simon.”
“Simmo.” He grinned. “I think, for what you are about to do, you can move up to Simmo now.”
“How gracious of you, Simmo.”
His laugh was jolly and contagious. It was the first time she’d heard it since moving into the compound. It suited him. The boy in him shone in his amusement.
“Can we get on with it before I lose my nerve?”
“It doesn’t tickle.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t. That’s why I need your help.”
“Make yourself comfortable.” He gestured towards his battered couch. “I’ll get a lamp.”
He disappeared behind a black curtain.
While she waited Mackenzie glanced around the room. It was much different to the set-up Ryan had. The room was slightly smaller and contained neither bookshelves nor books. Instead it had the couch she sat on, a couple of lounge chairs, and a small coffee table. She wondered what he did to pass the time instead of reading.
Simmo reappeared with a kerosene lamp and matches. The top had been removed and the sight of the exposed burner sent her heart thudding heavy against her chest. He turned the lever to full and lit it with a match. A strong blue flame with a fine yellow edge hissed to life in the quiet room.
Mackenzie swallowed hard and pulled up her sleeve. “How long do I …”
“Long enough to leave a scar, then the BIT is unreadable.”
“How long is that?”
“It will feel like a long time, but it only needs about half a minute to burn through enough layers.”
She gulped down another lump in her throat. Thirty seconds wasn’t that long, was it? “Does it hurt much?”
Simmo laughed again, but it wasn’t as jolly as before. “Do you remember when you had it put on?”
“Yes, it stung for about twenty seconds and then they covered it with the silicone skin and it didn’t hurt.”
“It will hurt a little longer than that.” His lips lifted into a wide grin. “Princess, you've never known such pain.” This time he guffawed.
“I’m glad you find it amusing.”
“It’s amusing because you haven’t heard the worst of it yet.”
“How could it get any worse than burning off layers of skin?” She shuddered out her words.
“We don’t have the silicone skin for afterwards.”
“Oh.”
“Then it has to heal without technology and it takes a while too. Then there's risk of infection …”
“Simmo!”
“What?”
“Are you trying to talk me out of this?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. You don’t have to do this.”
“He has to know how serious I am.”
“Staying will prove that. He’ll come around.”
“No, I want to do this.”
Mackenzie leaned forward and clamped down hard on her jaw. She took a few deep breaths, and then slowly placed her wrist over the flame. The instant heat took her breath away. Reflex action pulled her hand back.
“You’ll have to hold my arm.”
“No way. I’ll have to grip pretty tight to hold you there. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I think we’ve established that this is going to hurt.”
His eyes twinkled and he grinned again. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
In a quick motion, before she even knew what was happening, he locked one hand around her forearm and the other on her upper arm and pulled her wrist over the flame.
At first she thought she would pass out from the pain and after several seconds her arm began to jerk away from the heat. A scream built in her throat and she clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle the noise. A metallic taste pooled in her mouth and she realised she’d bitten her tongue.
The smell of burning flesh filled the room, which began to swim before her eyes. Just when she thought the pain couldn’t get any worse, Simmo let her go, turned her arm over and applied a cold compress to the wound. The relief was instantaneous. The wound still burned and throbbed relentlessly, but it was slightly more tolerable.
“You’re one strong chick, Mackenzie. I’m going to leave bruises; I had to hold you that tight.”
Her mouth couldn’t form words and her head felt light and dizzy. A firm hand guided her backwards to the couch. She allowed Simmo to lift her legs onto the couch. Something cool and damp wiped the sweat from her brow.
Her fuzzy head faded into darkness.
21
A New Direction
Two days passed and Ryan didn’t know if Mackenzie had stayed or gone. Meetings followed the invasion where they discussed what the GAP could possibly be planning next and whether the rally would take place as scheduled the following day.
Aside from the meetings, Ryan didn’t leave his quarters. Mackenzie’s things had disappeared from his room and she hadn’t been by to say she was leaving. He considered seeking her out, but was afraid to find out she might have gone and he wouldn’t see her again. This hurt more than he thought it could or would, and only added to his growing despondency.
Ryan was tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of living underground. Tired of having nothing that resembled a normal life. To surrender now to the GAP and their government would be suicidal, but what choice did they have? How much longer could this go on?
Perhaps he could barter for their freedom. Sacrifice his life for the others. It would only be freedom in a sense. Anyone surrendering would still have to conform and move aboveground, but it might be the only option for all who lived in the compound. Then again, conformity might not necessarily happen and all could be imprisoned or killed anyway. The government couldn’t show mercy to the renegades, for this would take away the fear of consequence they used for control over citizens.
These thoughts were bouncing around his head when a knock sounded on his door.
He considered not answering it until Simmo called, “Let me in, Taylor.”
“What’s up?” he asked as he gestured for his best friend to come in.
Taking two steps in, he answered. “Why are you hiding away in here? I know it’s not cos you’re cozied up with Mac, because she isn’t here.”
“She’s gone?”
“No, she’s bunking on the west side with the other girls. I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”
“She should.”
“She’s working in the sick bay with Doc Harris and Georgina. She helped with the injuries from the invasion.”
“I didn’t know she knew anything about first aid.”
“Georgie’s been teaching her. She’s good at it too.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I thought you might like to pull your head in and apologise.”
“Why would I do that?”
“What she did, standing up to Cody that way, it was smart and brave. It could work in our favour.”
“How?”
“She has Cody on the inside. Maybe she can make him see sense and work with him to bring down the government.”
“I think you have too much faith in Cody being a decent human being. We both know he isn’t.”
“Yes, but this is his sister. It could help.”
“She’s probably helping him. When it comes time to choose again, we both know what she’ll do.”
“She didn’t choose him. She was helping.”
“I don’t see it that way.” Ryan paused, annoyed for a moment. “You’ve certainly changed your attitude about her.”
“I trust her.”
Ryan looked into the face of his loyal soldier and saw the truth. The man had done a complete about face. The question was, why?
“What’s going on?”
<
br /> Having known Simmo a long time, Ryan knew when he was attempting to hide something or keeping important facts from him.
“She’s in the sick bay. Go and talk to her.”
Ryan shook his head in disbelief. Simmo was encouraging him now. So much for ‘be careful’.
Curiosity drove him to the sick bay.
It was devoid of people save one filled bed, and Mackenzie. The Doc and Georgina were conveniently out of sight. When he walked in, the back view of her bent over helping O’Bree with a dressing was the first thing he saw. The shape of her curves gave her away. He caressed them with his eyes as he had done with his hands more times than he could count in the past weeks.
He would know her anywhere. This hit him like a winter squall. It might have only been two days, but he ached to touch her again.
Ryan waited in the door jam, watching until she’d finished. When she turned, she gasped, startled. The first thing he noticed after the flush in her cheeks was the bandage on her right wrist.
With long strides he crossed the room, and picked up her arm.
“What’s this?”
At first she said nothing, just stared at him in that way, the way that made him ache with longing.
“It’s … it doesn’t matter.”
With a slight pull, she attempted to ease her arm from his grip and side step him, but he wouldn’t have it.
“Mackenzie?”
It had been meant as a warning, but came out in a stilted whisper. He looked at the bandage and then trailed his eyes up her arm where scattered finger bruises dotted her arm.
Why the hell had she removed her BIT and who helped her?
“What the fu—”
“Shh,” she said, cutting him off before dragging him out into the hall. She checked both ways down the tunnels before she spoke again. “I removed my BIT.”
“I worked that out already. Who helped you?”
“How do you know—”
“Don’t play dumb.”
“It isn’t how it looks. I asked him to help me …”
“Simmo!”
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