by Ramona Finn
We charged up three flights of stairs to the main level and took a sharp right.
“Ninety seconds,” Albrecht said as we raced through the area with the prisoners. They continued to call out to us, but they didn’t matter. The deep ache in my muscles threatened to drop me to the ground, but I continued to pump my arms and legs toward my goal. If we made it to the prison yard, we were sure to catch the last chopper out.
“One minute!” Albrecht yelled, as if that would add more energy to my already drained body.
We ran for the open outer door. Through the windows, the thumping helicopter blades cut through the lights outside as I watched two of the smaller ones lift off. A final burst of adrenalin hit each of us as we sped up, exploding out the door as the last of the rebels were climbing onto the remaining helicopters.
The wind from the propellers whipped around us and my eyes blurred until I pulled my visor over my face. Soldiers waved us over to the choppers and I went for the first one. The female soldier hanging out of it held up one finger.
Once I jumped into the helicopter and turned around to find Syeth, I realized she hadn’t been telling me the time we had left. They’d only had room for one more person. I shoved to the front of the group and spotted Syeth, Harper, and Warren getting onto another chopper; Albrecht and Yvette were nowhere to be found. I hoped they were on another one as a pair of hands pulled me back into a seat.
As I sat, the timer from my watch blinked onto zero. Then, the helicopter lifted from the ground. My stomach dropped at the change in altitude as we climbed into the sky. I buckled my belts around me and glanced around the space. Our group was a mix of soldiers and a half dozen prisoners. There had been more rebels in the Vault than Isra had let on. There weren’t that many commanders, and I wondered if Isra had found it hard to refuse helping John and Marisha when looking into my face because she’d had plans of her own to bring back more of her soldiers.
My chest burned at the thought of John and Marisha already being on their way to New York. Had the Unpaired known about the other train? I couldn’t imagine Isra wouldn’t have tried to deter me if she’d known. My mind turned over the idea of someone in New York wanting John alive and making him a priority even though the rebels in Chicago were proving a bigger threat to BioPure by the day.
Unlike how I’d felt on the ride to the prison, I wasn’t worried about looking out the windows now. We swerved a few times, avoiding whatever air defense the security had set up after we’d taken down most of it. But within a few minutes, the helicopter screamed across the open water and then looped around into rebel territory, where we were safe.
Safe for now.
I couldn’t say the same for John and Marisha. Were they safe on that train? And for how long?
I leaned back in my seat, breathing a full and refreshing breath—the first one I’d taken all night. The ache in my legs and back settled into a vibrating numbness spreading across my body. The helicopter took another sharp turn, giving a skyline view of the downtown area of Chicago. Those glistening buildings from the other day twinkled with tiny lights from each of their apartments and offices.
Now that we’d failed in our rescue attempt, I had no choice other than to get in touch with Jarid. He was the only person within BioPure who could give us any insight to where they had taken John and Marisha, and for what purpose. I almost regretted not getting in touch with him sooner. Who knew how long it would take for him to feel safe enough to contact me back? It had already taken six months. With John headed to the East Coast, I felt more out of control than ever.
Chapter Thirteen
The past few nights, all I’d done was miss sleep due to the issues in my life. Wanting to get more information on John and Marisha, I’d stayed up the night before the mission with Decker and Eve. Then, I’d stayed up late again after the message from Jarid that had kept me awake. On top of that, piling onto the non-sleeping nights, there’d been nightmares about my parents’ worsening conditions.
After the raid at the prison, my body had had enough. Even though I woke up late, it took about an hour for me to muster up the strength to get out of bed. My entire body felt as if I had been run over by a truck and only somehow made it out alive. I replayed the night repeatedly in my mind, seeing every detail play out due to my perfect memory.
Disappointment flooded me, creating an even heavier weight pressing me against the mattress.
My legs ached from how quickly we had sprinted through the prison under the fear of the choppers leaving us behind. The hole in my chest widened as I recalled that John and Marisha were already on their way to New York and some unseen future. I didn’t blame anyone else for that since we’d acted on the information we had, but it still stung that there was nothing I could do for them. And there was nothing we could do for the cure without John.
I rolled over and pressed my hand against the mattress, stretching out my fingers. They were like claws after I’d spent all that time gripping my rifle so tightly. As I stretched them, the tethering muscles in my arms and shoulders went taut. I groaned with the effort.
The door to the bathroom opened and Syeth came out fully dressed. His hair was damp and slicked back. “Morning.”
“Morning,” I said, sitting up. I tried not to wince, but from the grimace that ran across his face, I knew I hadn’t been successful.
“How are you feeling?”
“Sore.” With him, it was better to be honest—at least when it came to me. His brother and a secret message from inside enemy territory, maybe not so much.
“I was going to meet the others for a late breakfast. Do you want to come?”
I couldn’t imagine spending the morning rehashing the night before on my own. At least if there were others, then maybe we could think of a different plan to get John and Marisha back—as small of a chance as that seemed. “I do. Just give me a minute.”
I’d showered the night before, so all I had to do was splash water on my face, change, and brush my teeth before I was ready to go. A dull ache settled in my head, so I kept my hair down for the time being.
Outside, the sun shone brightly, but the temperature was still low enough that we needed hats, gloves, and thick coats. Walking proved quite painful, but I tried to keep my expression impassive with each step. The stiffness was only temporary, but at least it distracted me from the ache in my heart.
We met at a small cafe in town. It was a bit run-down and only served the bare minimum for rations. While it wasn’t my favorite place to dine, most civilians steered clear of the site. Rebels were the only patrons, and that was visually clear when all of those seated at the tables that morning turned out to be Unpaired.
Every few feet, the floral wallpaper peeled away from the walls, leaving thick stripes down them as if a giant cat had raked its claws downward over the decor. A host stand stood by the door, but we knew better than to wait for someone to seat us.
With only ten square tables in the whole place, Harper, Yvette, Warren, and Albrecht had pushed two of them together to accommodate our little meeting. After getting to the chopper with no minutes to spare last night, it was a miracle that we’d all survived the mission unharmed. Glancing at myself in a mirror attached to the wall, I noted that I looked worse than all of them. They had wanted to help us get John, sure, but he was my father. The brunt of the pressure fell to me alone.
Harper and Warren warmed their hands around mugs of black coffee while Albrecht scooped thick oatmeal into his mouth. Warren stared across the room as if in a trance.
All four of them snapped to attention when we got to the table.
“You two look like crap,” Harper said, sliding two bowls of oatmeal in front of the only empty seats at the table. She winced with the effort and flexed her hand a few times. I understood the feeling.
“You don’t look so great yourself,” Syeth said with a grin.
They had more physical training than me, but with our last-minute escape, I could imagine I wasn’t the only one
feeling the physical effects of the mission.
“We figured we could use a debrief after last night,” Albrecht said.
Yvette sat up straighter and pushed her shoulders back.
Syeth dragged a spoon through his oatmeal, not eating it. “We didn’t complete the rescue mission, so what else is there to say?”
My stomach growled, though I wasn’t sure I could eat anything during this conversation.
“It wasn’t without effort,” Harper said, locking eyes with me.
“But the target is beyond our reach,” Warren said. “Despite our courage and resistance to folding under pressure, John Wingum is gone.”
I nodded, fighting back the urge to throw my bowl across the room. I had cried enough tears for John. All I had now was a burning hatred for BioPure. At least with John in Chicago, there’d stood a chance for his rescue. Now, there was nothing.
No, not nothing. If these rebels were loyal to Syeth and me…loyal to our cause, then maybe they could help.
“I think I know how we can get to John,” I said. I glanced at Syeth, seeing his brother in his eyes. “I have something I need to share with you, and it might as well be all of you.”
At any other time, the park would have been a peaceful place to have a picnic or play a sport with friends on a warm summer day. The grass was stiff even in the middle of the afternoon. Some spots held more brown than green.
Jarid had asked me to meet him at the wide-open spot between the children’s playground and the pavilions, where I imagined that families had once held parties or barbecues.
There were no trees around to cover us from an attack. Syeth and I had been over the plan again and again to make sure we weren’t walking into a trap. I had promised him that Jarid was still on our side.
Whether it was spending too much time around the Unpaired and Isra’s agenda against “traitors” or the fact that his brother had abandoned us with only a note, Syeth wasn’t as trusting as me. He’d reviewed the video himself about a dozen times, and about that many more with our team before we crafted an email to Jarid.
Jarid had responded in less than an hour, and from there on, the plan had taken effect. He’d asked me to come to the park alone, but none of the team had been willing to let that happen. To appease them, I promised I’d wear an earpiece and mic so that they were in on the conversation as much as me. If they sensed a hint of danger, they would shut down the mission.
Agreeing was the only way I’d been able to make the meeting happen.
Syeth and the team had scouted the location for almost an entire day while I’d visited with my parents and stayed around town to keep up appearances and better suggest that there wasn’t any unseen plan going on. The Unpaired were always out on missions or patrolling, but Isra would have noticed if I’d gone missing for an extended period of time. No doubt, she expected I’d be thinking of another plan to get John.
Before the meeting, I had managed to spend two hours with my parents at the hospital. They weren’t better or worse, but I couldn’t help watching the others in the hospital unit and wondering how we were going to help all of them with John hundreds of miles away from our location. Even if he managed to send information back to our camp, there was no way we could make a cure without him.
Jarid was our only hope. If he was on our side, surely he could get us information about the cure so that we could replicate it and produce more.
The weight of the meeting with Jarid pressed against my shoulders as I paced around the abandoned play structure. Realizing I was an easy target, I pulled my phone out, pretending to be engrossed in what was on the screen.
“Do you see anything?” I asked under my breath. The mic was clipped to my jacket, hidden under the fold of my collar.
“Movement at the entrance,” Harper said.
I turned to face the direction of the park’s entrance. We were at least a five-minute walk from there. Each second dragged on as if I were caught in a time loop.
“He’s keeping to the outline of the fence,” Warren chimed in.
Listening to the team watching Jarid made my heart race.
“He’s in a navy blue jacket and jeans. A cap is covering his face,” Harper said.
“Are we sure it’s him?” Syeth asked.
“Well, he looks exactly like you, so yeah,” Harper said. Even without seeing her face, I could hear the sarcasm.
“Why is he by the fence?” Syeth asked, ignoring her. “He’s taking the longer route to get here.”
“Are we sure about this guy?” Yvette’s voice filled my ears.
“I’m sure he wants to help us,” Syeth said. “But that doesn’t mean BioPure isn’t using him to get to us.”
My stomach plummeted. Had I misread the situation entirely? Had Jarid been playing me from the start? Was that why the message had been in my name only?
I glanced at the sky, waiting for whirring doves to descend on us, signaling security to surround us and take another high-value target from the rebels. Was I about to be shipped off to New York, too? Or worse?
“We scoped the place already,” Albrecht said. His voice sent a wave of calm over my body. “If security were coming, we’d see them from a mile away. He’s probably just being cautious. He has a lot to lose here, too.”
I tried to calm my overreactive imagination. We could trust Jarid. He was the only one we could trust in BioPure.
“I’m moving closer, Lora,” Syeth said. “Look to your left.”
I did, and spotted movement by the pavilions. Syeth crouched behind the railings so that he was barely visible. The glint of his weapon caught the sunlight, and I was able to breathe comfortably for the first time in a few minutes.
“I see him,” I said as a figure appeared at least a hundred yards away. I side-stepped behind the red tube slide and watched him.
Jarid walked out of the small copse of trees. His pace picked up considerably, and before I knew it, he sat on the designated bench where I’d told him to meet me.
I couldn’t get away from my hiding spot fast enough.
Jarid’s head lifted as I came nearer. He didn’t get up. I hoped he’d stay that way, too, for fear of the team thinking he was going to hurt me.
When his features were sharp and clear, a relieved breath surged out of me. “It’s you.”
I sat next to him, still holding my phone and looking down at it. We kept about a foot of distance between us, but we could have been on top of each other for the way my body tingled all over. Excitement moved through me. He angled himself toward me and placed a hand on the wooden bench between us. It took all of my strength not to touch it—to make sure he was real and wasn’t a part of my imagination. After so many months of wondering the worst about him, and then worrying he was setting us up, this was a welcome relief.
“Get him to talk,” Harper said in my ear, snapping me back to the mission at hand.
I turned to face the playground and scooted away from him, showing that I was all business. Through his actions in the video message and his promises in the encrypted email, I wanted to trust Jarid in the way I was sure he wanted me to, but I had to keep my personal feelings out of this. He worked and lived in enemy territory. For the sake of the rebels, I had to be sure before I let him into my life again.
Jarid licked his lips. “It’s so good to see you, Lora. Gosh, I’ve missed you. And Syeth. You two are the only family I have.” His hand twitched closer to mine. His chest heaved and he breathed as if he had run to the park. Since I’d had the team watching him, I knew he hadn’t run, so I figured—or hoped—that he was excited to see me again, too. “I’m glad you are okay. How is Syeth?”
Heat pricked my ears and I glanced at the pavilion. I couldn’t see his brother anymore, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there with us. We hadn’t discussed ahead of time what I’d say to Jarid regarding Syeth and the other rebels. Only how I could make sure Jarid was on our side.
“He’s good.”
“That’s great,�
� Jarid said. “Sorry I made you come alone. I want to see him. But I was unsure if he felt the same.”
“He does,” I said.
Jarid smiled again, and my insides twisted.
“Did you find anything out about John?” I asked immediately. In the second email we sent, I’d asked him to find out where exactly John was in New York. I wasn’t sure what we could do with the information, but at least then we’d know that we could trust Jarid. The others wanted him to prove himself to us, and this was the perfect way. If he had enough pull within BioPure, then he’d be an asset to our cause.
Jarid shook his head slowly. “I wasn’t able to find anything out. I knew about the capture when it happened. Everyone was talking about it. But any details after that have been kept top secret.”
My chest deflated at the lack of information. Though, I almost felt bad for the way I had treated Arnold after he’d told me the same thing. John’s location was a secret for a reason. Whatever the reason, it didn’t bode well for us rescuing him and Marisha, or even getting the message to him to show that we’d never stop looking.
“I’m going to keep digging, Lora,” Jarid said, taking my hand in his.
I should have pulled away, but I didn’t. Without Jarid, I had no chance of finding out about John. Insulting him might have shown my disloyalty toward him.
“I have to be careful, though. It might be a while before I can find anything out. The communication within the ranks of those against BioPure is complicated for those living in the city. I can’t promise you information, but I can promise I will try every avenue I can.”
John had been captured and transported again within a matter of days. How much longer would they bother to keep him alive? “That’s not what I was hoping for,” I said simply. My hand moved out of his and rested on my lap. I glanced at Syeth’s hiding spot again.
“I’ll find what I can,” Jarid said softly, clearly bothered by my response. Though, could he expect me to be happy about it? “That’s not why I initially contacted you. I’ve been checking out opportunities for resistance from inside. I already have a team of six middle managers. They’re young, like us, hungry for change after what’s been happening within the company. The war has changed so much, and none of us can stand for its brutality anymore.”