“I told you to drink it more slowly,” Mary said.
“Did you drug me?”
Mary frowned. “Of course not.”
Dani handed her mug off to Mary. “What’s in mine is not in yours. Why not?”
“I’m on the clock, darling. I can’t drink the heavier stuff.”
“Christ. You’re getting me drunk on purpose.”
Mary shrugged. “You’re stressed out of your mind. You were crying a moment ago.”
Dani wanted to leave the room, but she didn’t trust her legs to hold her up.
“Do you think I’m trying to take advantage of you?” Mary asked with a frown.
“What other motivation would you have?” Dani pulled her pack close and rummaged in it for a moment before removing her canteen of water. She drank the water fast, trying to dilute the mix of chemicals in her gut.
“Are you so dense that you still don’t see how much I like you?”
“Yes—I mean, no. Fuck. I don’t know what I mean. I can’t think.” Dani drained the rest of the water from the canteen. Beads of sweat formed on her face, and she wiped them away.
“I was only trying to help you relax, Dani.” Mary stood. “I’ve never seen you so upset before. You’re usually a bit on the gloomy side, all business. I gave you the drink, yeah, but I didn’t expect you to gulp it. I warned you. Twice!”
Dani couldn’t argue with her; Mary had told her to slow down.
“Granted, I probably shouldn’t have kissed you, but I couldn’t resist when you laughed. I love that sound … and don’t hear it often enough. I’d never drug or take advantage of you.”
Dani remained silent, unsure what to say. Her mind was still so fogged.
Mary shook her head and sighed. “I’ll bring you more water.”
She left before Dani could apologize. She’d hurt her friend’s feelings, and the familiar sensation of feeling like crap returned as the effects of the mug’s contents wore off a little. She stood, wobbled, and waited a moment for her legs to steady.
Aunt Hattie appeared in the doorway, glanced at the equipment on the floor, and scowled.
“Glad you don’t get paid by the hour, honey.”
“I know.”
“Hell, I’m glad you don’t get paid at all,” Hattie said, and she burst into raucous laughter.
“I had a few delays,” Dani said when Hattie was done. “I’ll finish the build today, promise.”
“Good. Your face is flushed.”
“Hot flash.”
“Ha! You’re far too young to be having those. Enough bullshit. The council has decided that if you can convince the CNA to agree with your insane idea, they’re willing to talk to them to work out an agreement.”
Dani stared at Hattie, certain the chemicals in her system were causing a hallucination.
“That’s great news!” Mary stepped past her employer to give Dani a mug of water and placed a second mug on the floor.
“She’ll have to pull a magic rabbit out her ass to make the CNA agree first. Good luck—and finish my damn panel!” Hattie swept out of the room.
Mary picked up Dani’s canteen. “I’ll refill this for you. Just water.” When she was done pouring, she turned to leave.
Dani caught her arm. “I’m sorry I accused you of those things, Mary.”
“I may have been too forward. I didn’t realize how much of a cheap date you are.”
“My fault. Did Aunt Hattie really just say what I think she did? I didn’t hallucinate that, did I?”
“You heard her right. Congratulations, Dani. There isn’t a better person to create this partnership than you. I know you think you’re in this alone, but there are a lot of people that will always be on your side. Other than Aunt Hattie, you may be the most-liked Brigand in Bangor.”
“Me?”
“It’s adorable how clueless you are sometimes. Now, finish that panel before Aunt Hattie skins you alive and makes you the most-dead Brigand in Bangor.”
Dani stepped closer to Mary and embraced her. Hugging wasn’t something she’d done since she was much younger, so the action was awkward and stiff, but she felt compelled to do it. “Thank you for being my friend.”
“Any time. Next time we have ale, it will be just ale, since you clearly can’t handle the heavier stuff.”
“Deal.”
“You’re good at kissing, but you suck at hugging.” Mary winked at her. “Practice on Brody; he won’t mind.”
“No, he won’t.” Dani smiled.
Mary left, and Dani ran her hand through her hair. She was both elated and terrified at Hattie’s news. She needed to tell Jace and Gavin—but she had a solar panel to build first. She chugged some more water, sat on the floor, and went to work.
CHAPTER
25
Jace lingered in the shadows between two dilapidated brick buildings that might have been nice apartments pre-war but now served as housing for the poorest Brigands. The stench from the alley—just as frequently used as a latrine as it was a walkway—kept most people away, but he didn’t mind the smell. He considered taking the longer and slightly flatter way back to Hattie’s after his meeting. Either way, his knees and hips would be killing him by the time he went to visit her.
Moonlight danced on the Penobscot River, and Jace half wished he was spending the night at his home farther upstream instead of with Hattie in the noisy brothel. But the walk home was too far for him to make at the end of a long day. His body was old, worn, and failing him. His worries about his sister had grown exponentially now that she wanted to become involved in the war. He hadn’t told her about the pain he’d felt in his chest the night she revealed her idea to attack the Wardens. He knew he’d feel it again tonight after returning to Hattie’s. But he would never admit this new symptom of old age to anyone.
The sound of approaching footsteps made him shift his hand to his knife at his belt. Miles’s head swiveled as he moved past Jace in the direction of the river, but he didn’t see Jace standing near the wall. Jace made a hissing sound, and Miles froze.
Jace removed his hand from his knife. “You move like a goddamn moose.” The arthritis in his hands had stolen his strength years ago; he couldn’t defend himself well against an attacker anymore. Luckily, his gruff manner tended to bluff most into thinking he was still a tough bastard.
Miles’s shoulders relaxed as he turned.
Jace waited, allowing Miles to suffer a little longer before speaking again.
“I’m sorry I can’t move with the shadows,” Miles said, still unable to place exactly where Jace was standing.
“A skill Dani can’t seem to learn,” Jace said, stepping out of the shadows.
“You’re the only Brigand who moves quieter than she does. You taught her well.”
“Not well enough in regards to surviving. Entering the war will put her at risk in a way I never meant for her to experience.”
“I don’t like it either, Jace.” Miles turned his attention to the glittering river. “This area might be called Hell, but the river is beautiful tonight.”
“Used to be called Devil’s Half-Acre. In the 1830s, Bangor was a booming town, and this was where the poorest of the poor lived. Shit literally flowed downhill from the rich bastards living in their mansions on the hill when their outhouses flooded during heavy rains. Dangerous place. Full of disease until the city finally cleaned things up. After the war started, it degraded back into that state, but they shortened the name to Hell.” He snorted. “That’s assuming everything Hattie told me about this place is true.”
“It’s still a dangerous place.” Miles sighed. “The CNA meeting is just over three weeks from today. I still don’t have a way to get Dani or Gavin in to meet them. The few officers I’ve talked to among the MPs have laughed me off.”
“The MPs aren’t interested in a partnership either?”
Miles shrugged. “Not the ones I’ve talked to—or maybe they’re just in shock over the whole idea, like I was when Oli
ver first blurted it out. Of course, I was in shock over a few things that day.”
The problem with meeting in dark places was being unable to read the other person’s face. Jace was annoyed that he couldn’t get any kind of read from Miles’s body language, except when he shrugged or waved his hand. Without more physical clues, Jace had to rely on listening for pitch changes in the MP’s voice. Thus far, he didn’t believe the other man was lying.
“Any talk within the CNA, not just MPs, of them wanting to take the offensive to the Wardens?” he asked.
“Nothing that I’ve heard.”
“Arrange for Gavin to meet them. Him only.”
Miles turned to face Jace. “You want to leave Dani out of this; I get it. So do I, but she won’t sit this one out.”
“I don’t want her anywhere near CNA brass or in the MP barracks. I don’t trust any of them. Hell, I don’t trust you. But I’m willing to help her do what she wants—as long as she’s kept safe. She isn’t safe inside the barracks.”
Miles shook his head. “I know you hate me. I’m why you had to raise her again. Jace, I’m not asking for us to be friends, but I can’t ask Dani to stay out of this meeting. The whole thing is her idea. She must be involved.”
“The day you shot her—accidentally, yes, I know—Dani told me you warned her about the MP raid on C Block. You didn’t want her to scavenge that day. I didn’t either, but she didn’t listen. She told me you would never arrest her. When I asked her why you wouldn’t, she said she thought you loved her.”
Miles slumped slightly. “I did. I do.”
“She stopped listening to me years ago, but I think she remembers some of her history with you. As much as I hate it, I think she’s still in love with you. I’m old and only half Echo. I may not regen. Someone needs to look after her in my absence. She’s different this time, Miles. I think she’ll listen to you.”
“You just said you don’t trust me.”
“I did say that, but I’ll do whatever needs to be done, including put my biases aside, if it’s what is best for her. You would do the same for Oliver, right? Convince her to let other people do the fighting. Keep her away from the war.” He wasn’t lying about doing whatever he must, and that included playing on Miles’s feelings for Dani.
Miles remained silent; he returned his attention to the river.
“Well?” Jace asked.
Miles sighed. “You said Dani has changed. So have you. Does Dani know you’re trying to subvert her plan? No? I didn’t think so. Smart to try to play on my emotions, but you’re a real asshole for trying to manipulate me by dragging Dani and Ollie into your game. This partnership could work with the right people involved, and Dani is a requirement for the meeting. You, on the other hand, can go fuck yourself.”
Jace tightened his jaw with disgust. “You and Gavin are so in love with her you can’t see that this plan is ridiculous. You’re encouraging her.”
“Yeah, we are certainly guilty of loving her. You’re her brother; you should be encouraging her too. You disappoint me, Jace.”
“I don’t need your approval.”
“You apparently don’t need Dani’s, either.”
Jace growled at Miles and took a step toward him. The insult cut him more deeply than the MP knew—or maybe he did know. Tightness gripped his chest, and Jace retreated a step. Reflexively, his hand went to the center of his chest, where the pain was located.
“Jace?”
“Shut up. People are coming.” Jace forced his hand off his chest and to his knife.
Miles shifted deeper into the shadows to stand next to him, but Jace kept his eyes turned toward the alley. Two men hurried past without speaking. Jace leaned his back against the building, hidden from sight, as they passed. The tightness in his chest eased a little, and he released the breath he held.
The men continued toward the river, and Miles touched Jace’s arm. “The one with short hair is an MP,” he whispered. “Name’s Xander.”
“The other is the Brigand everyone is still searching for,” Jace said. “The one who attacked Dani.” His pain forgotten for the moment, he pulled his knife from its sheath. “His name is Alan, I think, but he goes by Al.”
“Before you go killing him, let’s find out what they’re doing here. I already knew Xander was trouble, but I want to know exactly what he’s doing with that Brigand.”
“Try not to be a damn moose.” Without a sound, Jace started following the men, staying within the darkest shadows.
Xander and Al often turned to glance behind them, but they didn’t see or hear Jace—or Miles, who was thankfully managing not to make as much noise as he had before.
Xander and Al stopped under a tree near the river next to a broken and buckled concrete walkway, once a scenic path through the park, which was now overgrown with brush and trees. Jace and Miles hovered a few feet away and kept their silence, waiting for the other two men to speak.
CHAPTER
26
Rowan studied the twenty-foot-by-twenty-foot wall displaying a digital representation of New England with his hands clasped behind his back. He tilted his head, eyeing the map for a moment, before approaching it. He released his hands and used his finger to shift the map’s visual range. Hartford, Providence, and Boston were clustered close enough together that they could easily shift resources between them. He considered even Manchester, New Hampshire, close to Boston. Like Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire were more trees than anything else.
He touched the controls on the wall to focus more on Vermont. Burlington was close enough to Montreal for supply runs, and the Wardens holding the Canadian city were firmly entrenched, with plenty of resources. He shifted the map across to Maine.
Curtis was right.
“Nothing but fucking trees,” Rowan said.
He turned to make sure he hadn’t woken his son with his outburst. Devon slept in a ball on a small couch in the corner of the briefing room. The top left of the screen showed the time: 2249. Rowan should have taken him home already, but the boy was a handful. He wanted Ana to have time for herself. She loved to read and couldn’t do that if Devon was awake and getting into everything. The boy always woke at least once during the night, so Rowan planned to wait until that happened and then take him home late. In another month his daughter would be born; the thought made Rowan smile.
He returned his attention to the map and moved it beyond Maine’s borders. Quebec City’s river access was perfectly located for shipments up from Montreal, or even coming from London. He could do a lot for the Wardens and control the entire northeastern corner of North America if he was in charge of a place like Quebec City. He’d have plenty of room to expand the Wardens’ reach as Vice Regent of the Northeast.
Brigands continued to occupy the more rural locations of the continent, and that irritated him. The Brigands often made attempts to unify themselves but never succeeded; only a dozen or so people ever figured out how to work together before everything fell apart.
Except Bangor.
Rowan shifted the map back to Maine and stared at the town tucked almost in the center of the state. The town was a shithole, but it had river access and was centrally located. HQ didn’t care about anything but Portland and the southern portion of Maine, but Rowan did. Bangor’s Brigands were more organized than they had any right to be. They didn’t pose a threat to the Wardens, but Rowan wanted to obliterate the town, along with the Brigands and small CNA base there, just for the sake of wiping the vermin off his planet.
Xander had his orders to disrupt the Brigand community in Bangor, but the Brigands he’d hired to start a fight with the MPs had suffered a spectacular failure. Rowan was still furious about it. Xander’s new orders were to finish cleaning up the mess he’d created.
A soft beep at the door drew his attention away from his hatred for Earth’s civilian human population. He opened the door and found one of his aides waiting.
She snapped to attention. “Sir, sorry to bother you so la
te, but we have our latest captures from western Maine.”
“Good. Follow the usual protocol with them tonight. Don’t wait until morning. No need to waste resources on humans overnight when we can terminate them now.”
“Yes, sir.” She turned to leave.
“Where’s Curtis?”
“R and D, sir.”
“Thank you.” Rowan closed the door and wondered what the research department had come up with that required Curtis’s attention so late. Devon stirred, and he decided answering that question could wait. He picked him up. Time to go home.
He got the boy settled in his own bed, then checked in on Ana. She was sitting up in bed, her thumb holding her place in a book at her side. Her eyes were closed, and she appeared to be sleeping.
He kissed her forehead, and she smiled. “You’re finally home.”
“Not yet. I need to head back out, but I’ll be back soon. Promise.”
She pulled him closer and kissed him.
“No more than an hour,” he said.
“Better make it less than that if you want me still awake.”
“Deal.”
He arrived at the door marked RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT and entered. R&D crews worked around the clock under his orders, and the team was responsible for a significant portion of new technology used by Wardens across the globe. The war had stunted space travel, so he always kept a portion of the team working on that project. The Ekkoh ships that had brought his people to Earth had been destroyed—foolishly—by that generation of Ekkohrians. They cited humanitarian reasons for destroying the space tech, altering their DNA to blend in with the humans, and integrating themselves into society. They had periodically made significant scientific “discoveries” to benefit the humans and help them along in their quest for whatever they were trying to accomplish with their existence. Rowan just wanted an aerial pesticide to wipe them out.
If the Wardens could recreate their old ships, the war would be over in a day. Rowan wanted his R&D team to be the ones to accomplish the feat. Then he’d be free of Brigands, the CNA, and Maine’s fucking trees. That kind of victory would get him promoted to regent and running the entire continent.
Echoes of War Page 14