by S. E. Meyer
“It's not just that. It's everything. I've just been blasted with too many things over too short a period of time. I was just told I'm supposed to save the world.” Anna threw her hands in the air. “I mean, come on, what is someone supposed to do with information like that? I need some down time and a distraction.”
“It's a little early in the day, but I'm up for that. Do you want to come back to my place? I have a nice collection of wine and music at home,” he asked. “I also love to cook. I can make us dinner.”
Anna dug deep within herself and found a smile. The man before her had a way of doing that. “Wesley, are you trying to seduce me with cuisine, wine and music?”
“Too obvious?” Wesley replied, returning Anna's smile.
“I just call it like I see it,” Anna blushed.
“I'm just offering a distraction. So, what do you say?”
Anna probed Wesley's athletic physique before turning her gaze to his eyes. Her heart skipped as she considered Wesley offer.
It's a pretty solid offer.
Anna's eyes sparkled.
And I could use the distraction.
Wesley slowly moved in close to Anna, placing a hand on her flushed cheek. He dropped his chin, pressing his soft lips to hers.
Anna melted into Wesley's strong arms and warm lips.
Wesley moved his hand below her brown ringlets, touching the nape of her neck. Anna's skin exploded into goose-flesh. She placed a hand on Wesley‘s muscular frame and pulled him closer.
“I've wanted to do that since the first time I saw you,” Wesley said, pulling away to gaze into Anna‘s eyes.
Anna smiled. “Might have caused a scene, Batman making out with a French guardsman.”
“Well, you know what they say. Any love is good love,” Wesley laughed.
Anna joined him while slipping the hair from her forehead and tucking it behind her ear.
“Thanks for that.”
“For what, the kiss?”
“Yes, and for making me laugh. I haven't had much to laugh about lately.”
“Ready then?” Wesley asked. “Let's go share some food, wine and conversation. I would like to get to know Special Agent in Charge Anna Wool. Would that be um, acceptable?” Wesley chided, grinning.
Anna's belly warmed. “I would love that.”
Taking Anna's hand in his, Wesley led her to his car. “What does that mean, anyway? Special Agent In Charge,” he asked.
“It means I'm in charge of special cases,” Anna replied.
“You're a special case,” Wesley laughed.
Anna raised an eyebrow. “No lies there, Wesley.” Anna shook her head. “I'm rubbing off on you, now you're telling it like it is.”
Anna's phone rang.
She looked at the screen. “Sorry Wesley, give me a sec, I have to take this.”
Anna stepped away from the car as she tapped the call icon. “What's up, Jax?”
“Anna. You have to get back here right away. We received a message from Atticus.”
“What? Atticus?”
“Yes, you have to get back here.”
Anna blew the air from her lungs, shaking her head.
There went my afternoon plans.
“I'm on my way,” Anna replied before ending the call. “Shit!”
“What is it?” Wesley asked.
“I have to go,” Anna pouted.
Wesley lowered his eyebrows. “You sure?” he asked, mirroring her disappointment.
“Don't worry, I'm not turning down your offer.”
Anna shook her head.
Such a great offer.
“Rain check?” she asked, tilting her head to one side.
Wesley smiled. “Of course.”
Anna raised herself to her tiptoes and kissed Wesley, this time probing his mouth with her tongue. “Give you something to think about,” she said through pink cheeks, dropping back to her heels.
“I'll be thinking of nothing else all day.”
“Good-bye Wesley. I'll call you shortly. I plan on cashing that rain check a soon as possible,” she added with a grin before getting into her car.
◆◆◆
Pulling the scarf from her face Anna paced the dining room and sat at the far end of the table next to Jax. “Okay, so what's up? What is the message?”
Jax turned the tablet toward her. “I'll play it for you. We only have one way communication, so it's a recording. Atticus must have finally found high enough elevation to send it.” Jax tapped the screen, and the message played.
“Anna, I hope this message finds you well. I urgently need your help to save the citizens of Easton. To free our mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. Our families. Our people. In order to beat Cornelius once and for all. The most important thing that drives you, Anna. Finishing your mother's work. Completing her plan. Vengeance for her death. To finally rid the city of Cornelius and his walls. To end the sickness and the treatments. To finally free the city, and then the world, of its shackles of manufactured disease and false fears. In order to accomplish it all, I need you. Things have changed here, on this side of the wall, and now you're the only one that can make your mother's dream come to fruition. You need to leave the city, it's the safest place for you now. Leave immediately. Jax will show you how to get out. Meet me at the perimeter fence due North of the city. Stay off the supply roads. Don't interact with anyone. Stay out of sight and I'll see you soon.”
Letting out a breath, Anna leaned back in her chair. She shook her head, staring at the tablet in disbelief. “I have to go to the other side?”
Anna's hands trembled.
Jax nodded. “He needs you. He said it, he can't do this without you.”
“I don't know Jax.”
“He needs you right now.”
“Right now? I can't go this second. I need to say goodbye to my family at least.”
And cashing that rain check would be nice.
Anna sighed.
“I don't know if I can do this, Jax. I'm at the end of my rope here. I'm barely hanging on by a thread. I'm about to fucking lose my shit.”
Jax stared into Anna's eyes. “Anna, you don't have a choice.”
“There's always a choice.”
“And what? Let Cornelius win?” Jax replied.
“That's not an option,” Anna replied.
“Well?” Jax said, extended his palms.
Anna nodded, letting out another long breath. “Give me a few minutes to wrap some things up, then we can go, but this better not be difficult, Jax. I can't take another hit right now. What am I going to need?”
“Well, first off, I hope you know how to swim.”
chapter xIV
Jax pulled the car over to the side of the road in a secluded spot next to the Easton River. Pulling a large bag from the back set he climbed out of the car. “Come on, we're here,” he said bending over to look at Anna through the open car door.
“What? What do you mean we're here?”
“You have to get under the wall. The river is the only way out. I said I hope you can swim.”
“I thought you were joking,” Anna replied. She shook her head. “There's no way in hell I can do that.”
“Why not? You can't swim?” Jax asked.
“I can swim like a fish. That's not the problem.”
“Then what is it?” Jax asked.
“I almost drowned once, in this river. I haven't been back in the water since.” Anna clenched her fists to calm her trembling hands.
“I have a wet suit for you, along with supplies. It's the only way, Anna.”
“Are you sure? I told you I couldn't take another hit here, Jax. Why can't I just jump the wall?” Anna asked, exiting the car.
“Because a team would be out in minutes to recover you and then send you through the gates forever. You could never come back. If the plan fails, then you would never see your family again,” explained Jax.
“The plan? What is the plan, exactly? No one has been overly up fron
t with me about that. I understand we’re exposing Cornelius and ending Fleishman's. How am I supposed to do that from over there?” Anna asked, pointing towards the wall a hundred feet downstream.
“The plan is to take down the walls.”
Anna slacked her jaw, staring at Jax for several seconds. “What? How do you know that?”
“Because Atticus sent me a message too. He told me that the only way to convince everyone in the city that the wall's only purpose is to imprison them, is to take them down.”
“How the hell are you going to accomplish that?”
“That's my task. To work with Damarion and Wesley. To swell the ranks and rally The Resistance and take down the walls from the inside.”
“Then I should stay here and help with that.”
“Atticus said he needed you over there.”
“So my task is to go for a walk in the woods? How the hell is that helping? Look, I can't go in the water Jax.”
“Anna you have to, and you have to do it soon. I was able to shut down the cameras in this area, but we only have a few more minutes.”
“Why is this so important?”
“I don't have all the answers, and I don't know how all the pieces fit together. I just know the walls are coming down with explosives and the timing has to be perfect.” Jax made eye contact. “Anna, Atticus said he needed your help over there. It's the only way the entire plan will come together.”
“Why my help. Why me?”
“Because Atticus told me you're the only one who can.”
Staring out at the water, Anna emptied her lungs.
You've got yourself in a hell of a situation here Anna, she told herself, gulping in fresh air and swallowing hard.
I don't know how I'm going to do this.
“This is making me angry, Jax. How much can one girl take?” Anna growled.
“Then use that anger. Use it to get over your fear.”
Anna kicked the quarter panel of the car and shouted, adding a new dent with every word. “I am tired of all this shit!” She moved to the other side and started again. “God damned Cornelius. Son of a bitch Richard.”
“Anna, quiet. We're out here after curfew.”
Anna turned around, stopping to catch her breath. “Even Atticus is pissing me off right now, making me do this.” Anna ran her fists into the car's trunk. She stood quiet for a moment, before moving closer to Jax.
“Fine, I guess I have no choice. Turn around.”
“What?” Jax asked.
“Turn around so I can get this wet suit on.”
Jax turned around and Anna undressed behind the car. Shivering under the frost-filled moonlight she pulled the suit from the bag with shaking hands.
She slid one leg in and then the other, trying to block out the screaming ghosts of her past. She zipped the suit up over her pounding heart, recalling the sound of the bus tires exploding. Anna pulled her hair out from under the collar as shattering glass echoed in her ears.
“Okay,” she whispered through her tight throat.
Jax turned around and handed Anna a waterproof bag. “Change of clothes, supplies and food. A GPS with pre-set coordinates of where to meet Atticus. You will want to dry off and change as soon as possible before hypothermia sets in.”
Anna nodded, straining to hear the instructions over the scenario replaying in her mind. The splash of the bus hitting the water, the screams penetrating her eardrums.
“How do you know this will work?” Anna asked.
“Because it's not the first time we've done this. Atticus has been to the other side before. Believe me, getting out is easy, it's downstream. Coming back in is the hard part.”
Anna stepped from the bank, struggling to make her legs work. She waded into the frigid Easton river as cries for help clawed the inside of her skull. Stepping farther into the river, the water rose to her waist while the recruits in her head slapped the shards of glass, trying to escape through the windows.
“I can do this,” Anna breathed.
She gave Jax a nod, adding a thumbs up with her trembling hand. Tears welled in Anna's eyes while her racing heart pounded her ears. Taking another breath Anna moved farther from shore as the icy water rose to her neck. Spots flew across her vision as nausea crept into her gut.
What am I going to do?
Every cell in Anna's body wanted to turn around. Go back. Head for shore.
This is crazy.
Anna took in a deep breath, gagging on the bile in her throat.
I have to calm down.
Anna swallowed the fluid burning the back of her throat and turned her thoughts to her mother.
“Mom, please help me through this,” she whispered. “I have to do this.”
Anna slowly nodded as the color of her eyes changed from Montana mountain blue to a cold cadet gray. Pushing off the soft river bed, Anna swam several strokes towards the wall where it hovered just above the waterline on concrete piers.
She pulled in a long breath and closed her eyes.
Both the frigid water and the fear of what lie in wait on the other side increased the intensity of her shivering as the moonlight skipped across the waves.
Anna clenched her fists. She refilled her lungs, pushing the limits of her tight chest. The smell of algae and freshwater seaweed filling her nose, she recalled the book her mother used to read to her every night before bed.
I go to school and learn things that make sense.
Holding the air in her lungs Anna slipped beneath the surface as the river's current coaxed her under the wall.
But I must never, ever, crawl under the fence.
EPILOGUE
“Damn! Looks like the neighbor got a new truck yesterday,” Steven complained to Dee while peering out the large living room picture window.
A brand new platinum edition pickup truck was hugging the curb in front of the Morton's home.
“Parked it in front of my house to gloat, no doubt.”
Steven shook his head and walked out the front door to check his mail. Opening the mailbox Steven's eyes widened.
Hmm, looks like we got a package. Dee probably shopping online again.
Steven pulled the large envelope from the mailbox.
'To: Steven Morton' he read.
Walking back towards the house, Steven ripped opened the package and looked inside. He lowered his eyebrows, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. He tipped the package upside down, producing a set of keys that dropped into his palm.
What is this?
Steven slid a letter from the package and read.
‘Hi Dad,
Enjoy the new truck. It's yours and it's all paid for. I won't use the word deserve, because I dislike that word. In my mind it means exactly how it sounds, de-serve. I think it's a de-service to everyone that uses the word deserve as an excuse to spend money. But what I will tell you Dad, is that you've truly earned it.
I also included a trust fund statement for Sara and I paid off everyone's medical bills. In addition, I set up a large credit at the clinic so none of you will have to worry about how to pay for treatments, including Aunt Dee. You'll also find a lien release for the house, the mortgage has been paid in full. I love you Dad. Thanks for always being there, and thanks for doing such a great job of taking care of Sara and I, especially after we lost Mom. I have food being delivered for everyone. Please eat it. I have to go away for a while and I'm not sure when I'll be back, but I'm okay. Everything will be fine now Dad. I'll be in touch.
Love Anna'
Steven grinned, shaking his fist in the air. He walked over to the truck, running his fingers along the hood in disbelief. Half expecting the key not to work he unlocked the door. Steven shook his head as he crawled inside, the smell of the new car scent exploding his senses.
Finally, I get to own a brand new truck, he thought, starting the engine.
Bob from across the street walked out to get his mail. The man stood frozen with wide eyes and slack jaw, staring in Steve
n's direction.
Steven put the truck in gear and hit the accelerator. Beaming, he waved at Bob as he raced his new truck down the street.
◆◆◆
Cornelius Cromwell lit a match. He held the stick as it burned down to his bony fingers, deep in thought. Lighting the end of a cigarette just as the match was about to snuff out, he smiled.
I can go back into the Chamber and replay all the Damarion files.
Cornelius nodded. “Yes,” he whispered. “There has to be a clue there somewhere. All is not lost, I'll find them yet.”
He pulled a long drag and exhaled.
A light flashed on his tablet. Tapping the screen, Cornelius raised an eyebrow at the voice-mail notification. He touched play and sat back in his chair, pulling another drag from his cigarette.
It was Anna's voice.
Cornelius coughed and sputtered smoke from his throat. Taking a drink of brandy to ease his discomfort he listened to the message.
'Your Grandson is gone. I've taken him from you, but what you lost pales compared to what you have stolen from everyone else. Damarion is back in his rightful place as the Chief of City Security and there's nothing you can do now to change that. Your election outlook is bleak and your health is failing. You are losing your grip on this city Mr. Cromwell. We have the people's attention now, and we will continue to explain what you're doing to them.’
There was a pause before Anna finished. ‘Your move, sir.’
Cornelius wrapped his fingers around the glass in his palm and squeezed. Shaking from the effort, he forced his white knuckles tighter around the glass as he stared at the tablet on his desk.
“Wool,” he gargled from red jowls as the glass shattered in his hand.
With blood infused brandy dripping from his wrist, Cornelius sat in thought.
I need a new plan.
A man appeared in the doorway. “Governor?”
Cornelius looked up from his desk. “Ah, James. Come in.”
“Are you okay, sir?”
Cornelius looked down at his hand, then back to James. “I'm fine, do you have an update? I'm in hopes you will be more more apt than your predecessors.”