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WHEN THEY stopped above Franklin’s Compound, everyone got out of the van. Tash handed Scarlet a backpack full of clothes, water, and a few of the pre-packaged foods.
“Good luck, Scarlet Jones,” Tally said.
As she walked into the woods surrounding them, Scarlet resisted the urge to watch over her shoulder in case they followed her. They didn’t. Once she was out of earshot, she commed Dagmar.
“Scarlet?” he answered.
“Yes, it’s me. I’m here. What do I do now?”
“Where are the Normals?”
“I left them back at the van. They didn’t follow me.”
“I can’t tell where you are.”
“The com they gave me has it’s locator disabled,” she said. “Tam said the Militia didn’t want you to be able to find the safe house.”
“Can you see the road?”
“No, but I can hear water running. I think I must be near a stream or something.”
“Okay, Hogun says he knows where the stream is. Walk to it and stay there until we find you.”
Scarlet walked toward the sound of the water. She could hear birds talking to each other and the wind rustling in the pine trees. Otherwise, it was quiet. She hadn’t done any hiking or spent much time in the outdoors so everything in the forest was new to her. When she reached the gurgling water, she walked to the edge and looked down. The rocks nearest the stream were wet and slippery, and she nearly lost her footing and fell in. She stepped back hastily and tripped over some loose stones, landing on her butt near the edge.
“Ouch!” she said, rubbing her thigh which had landed on a stone. Shifting her backpack to a more comfortable position, she sat back to wait for Dagmar to come for her.
She had no way of telling time, but the late afternoon sun was starting to sink into the west when she saw three men coming towards her. She stood up.
“Dagmar?” she called.
The man in the lead ran towards her, leaping over the stream and grabbing her in a hug that threatened to crack her ribs, fastening his mouth fiercely on hers.
Scarlet scarcely noticed. She kissed him back, laughing and crying at the same time.
He set her on her feet and stepped back a little to look at her. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
“I’m not hurt,” she said. “At the compound they mostly let me alone until after the Old Woman’s estate was settled. The night they decided I was to join the others in the brothel line was when I escaped.”
“How did you manage that?” Killian asked.
Scarlet shrugged. “When it was my turn, I shoved the keeper out of the way and ran for the fence.”
“Why didn’t you get electrocuted?” Hogun asked.
“The college students, the ones who let me use the phone to call you. One of them shot the power transformer. When it blew up, I climbed over the fence.”
“I’ve seen the fence. It had barbwire on the top. Why aren’t you all cut up?”
“One of the girls threw her coat over the wire.”
Dagmar was beginning to frown. “Scarlet isn’t on trial,” he warned his two best friends. “She has no reason to lie to us.”
“Sure,” Hogun said.
“Let’s get back before it gets too dark to see,” Killian said practically.
The cabin they took her to was uphill from the stream. Scarlet was out of breath by the time they reached it.
An overgrown dirt road led up to the two-story, A-frame house. The side facing them as they approached was almost all glass. A long crack ran down it. A battered van was parked in the weed infested driveway.
“We were lucky to find this place,” Hogun said as they approached.
“What happened to the owners?” Scarlet asked.
“I think it was abandoned, but they intended to return,” Dagmar said. “We had to break the lock to get inside.”
Eyja and Nara came rushing out as soon as they saw them.
“They found you!” Eyja exclaimed, giving Scarlet a welcoming hug.
“When we heard the gunfire yesterday, we were afraid you might be in the compound,” Nara said.
“Gunfire?” Scarlet asked.
“Yes,” Hogun replied. “Let’s go inside and see if we can find something to eat. I’m hungry.”
The inside of the cabin was an open floor plan, a sitting room with couches and chairs led off a kitchen.
“I have some food packs,” Scarlet told them, setting her backpack on a chair, and opening it.
Nara took one, turning it over curiously. ”Where did you get these?”
“That group who rescued me took us to a Militia safe house. It had a store of food, clothes, and all kinds of stuff. Tally and Tash told me to pack some of these. Set it on the table and push on this spot,” Scarlet demonstrated. “It will heat itself and open when it’s warm enough to eat.”
“Where is this safe house?” Hogun asked.
“I don’t know exactly,” Scarlet admitted. “They were very careful to make sure I couldn’t get back to it after I found you.”
“They seem to have a lot of resources,” Dagmar said. He blinked when the pack he had selected opened and steam rose from it. “Wow, it works.”
Scarlet picked up the fork that came with hers and dug into the noodles. “Yes, I think the students are from a place called Laughing Mountain.”
“We were lucky to find this house, but we can’t stay here,” Dagmar said, regretfully. “If the gunfire we heard came from the compound, someone will come to investigate when no one reports in. They’ll search the area for any escaped clones.”
Scarlet stared at him. “You mean someone attacked the compound? Who would do that?”
“We think it’s either some Wild Clones or a team from Phoenix.”
“What is Phoenix?” Scarlet asked.
“A couple of clones named Napoleon Bonaparte and Yael Anderez took over an abandoned Spa called the Phoenix Spa. It’s a little north of San Demos. We met a group of clones from there after they raided a Clone Farm. They tried to get us to join them and become a part of it.”
Scarlet frowned. “Why doesn’t PGA shut him down?”
“They probably would if they could locate him,” Dagmar said.
“If I suspected an enemy was operating in the area, the first thing I would do would be to check out abandoned properties,” Scarlet stated.
“They probably are doing that,” Eyja said. “After we ran into the group from there, Hogun and I visited a library with Net access. Phoenix was bought several years ago by a human named Jason Beauregard. He pays his taxes and lists it as his personal residence. I imagine that makes it low on the search list.”
“If he’s human, why would he attack the farms?” Scarlet asked.
“I’m not sure if he is a real person, or if he’s still alive,” Dagmar replied.
“I’m confused. You said the group you met was from Phoenix and their boss was called Napoleon?”
“Yes,” Dagmar replied. “I assume Napoleon and Anderez moved in and took over the Spa.”
“Is Jason Beauregard Napoleon?”
“I don’t think so,” Hogun said. “I think Napoleon stole Jason Beauregard’s identity. The group we met definitely said their leader was this guy named Napoleon. He’s the one sending out teams to destroy the clone farms.”
“Why? Wouldn’t that make them look harder for him?”
“Yes, it would,” Dagmar said dryly. “It’s one of the reasons why I put them off. That and I wanted to find you and get you out of there.”
Scarlet frowned. “Did you say this Napoleon’s people raided the compound where I was being kept?”
“Probably. It’s the closest Clone farm around. Why do you care?”
“Would Napoleon’s team have killed the children?”
“What children?” Nara asked.
“While I was there, they let me visit the nursery. When I started, there were about a dozen children there, The second week, about half of them disappeared. I think they were either sold or taken to another farm for training.” She looked over at Dagmar. “Can we check on them?”
He looked over at the others and got nods from the two women. “Okay, we need to leave here anyway. We have to do it today, before PGA sends a team to find out what happened. We can check out the farm on our way to find a new place.”
Hogun stood up. “Let’s get packed up and go.”
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