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“Are you sure this is going to work?” Aerie asked, as she pushed the cart back down the increasingly familiar hallways.
“Either it will work, or we’ll make it work,” the General told her. “Now, stop talking. We’re almost back at the prison ward. There are ten guards in the hallway, and we’re going to have to play this smart. No stupid mistakes, Aerie.”
“Okay,” Aerie murmured. “If you say so.”
As her father shot her a frown, she sighed. She knew they had been extremely fortunate so far. Once Osgood had ordered Exton away, they had followed at a distance, enough to know where he was being held. They had backtracked their steps, doubling around the area, looking for other clues as to where Merra might be being held.
Aerie had gotten used to walking around the base like she deserved to be there, like she had earned her way in. There had been a few glances in her direction, but she managed to stare them down. She was glad when the General told her they had to find a place to hide as the shifts changed.
Once he saw the protocol, he knew it would be easier to rescue Exton, and possibly Merra, during the middle of the shift. There was less of a chance reinforcements would be ready, and there was a better chance at surprising them.
“Ahem.” The General gave her the signal, and Aerie nodded.
She took a deep, steadying breath one last time and then pushed the cart forward into the hallway of prisoners.
“What are you doing?” another guard asked, stepping forward.
“I, uh, must’ve gotten lost,” Aerie replied, the flush in her cheeks genuine as she looked around. She leaned in closer to him, trying to place herself at a good angle. He was much taller than her, and if she was going to knock him out, she needed to be closer. “Can you help me?”
The guard fell right into her trap. The instant he was close enough, Aerie gave him a swift uppercut, aided by her hidden weapon. He fell over almost immediately, and she backed up enough that his body hit the floor flat.
“Oh, no!” she yelped, calling out in the direction of other guards. “Can you help me?”
She saw a couple of them exchange glances, unsure. She went over to the unconscious guard and made fake attempts to haul him up to his feet. Aerie knew it would be hard for them to resist helping her if they believed she was truly helpless.
It worked.
As they made their way over, a brief second of melancholy overcame her as she remembered how frequently her siblings declared her to be helpless. She snapped back to the situation at hand, slipping back out of the guards’ way. It was the General’s turn to get to work, she thought, as she headed toward the doors.
Loud noises of screaming guards, breaking bones, and clattered weapons echoed behind her. She could hear her father as he rose up from the cart and began fighting.
Aerie was almost sorry she wasn’t beside him, helping him. But she knew he made the better distraction between the two of them.
Before she could reach Exton’s door, another alarm went off in the building. Aerie jolted and turned back to face the General.
“The Morgan Soromsky!” A cry came rushing down from the other end of the hall. “She’s been hit!”
Before she could ask if he thought they were in trouble, a large explosion rippled around the hallway.
Aerie felt the floor slip out from under her, and the remaining guards fighting with her father were shaken off their feet. The mountain of support around the building was not enough to isolate them from the blast.
“What’s going on?” Aerie called back to her father.
“Nothing we can stop,” the General hollered back as he clawed his way up to a standing position. “Check the rooms.”
“Oh, right,” Aerie grumbled. The shaking walls gradually stilled as she raced down the hall, and she knew she would be able to fight if she was careful.
“Exton?” she called. “Mom?”
She made her way through the hallway, banging on the doors and shouting out for her family to hear her. Aerie pushed past another round of guards, barely managing to knock them out, when she heard a roughened voice call back.
“Aerie? Is that you?”
She broke out into a wide smile and wriggled her butt in triumph. “Exton!” Aerie scrambled to the door. “Keep talking. I’m coming to get you.”
“No,” Exton called back. Seconds later, the door just off to her right slammed open. “If anything, I’m the one who’s here to get you.”
Aerie felt her cheeks burn as his eyes met hers; she wasn’t sure how much he was teasing her—if he was teasing her at all. “I guess that’s a good point,” she conceded. She was about to curse her pride and rush into his arms anyway, when he stepped forward and grabbed her arm.
With a swift tug, he jerked her across the hall, just as another guard came up behind her. Aerie watched, taken aback, as Exton managed to get the guard in a headlock.
“Hold him,” the General called out.
Exton and Aerie both turned to see him as he appeared behind them. Before either of them could say anything, the General punched the guard, knocking him out cold.
General St. Cloud shook out his hand as Exton dumped the limp body onto the ground. “Thanks for the assist,” he said.
Aerie held her breath, hoping Exton and her father would be able to work together for the moment. Tension raged between the three of them as they stood perfectly still, while the alarms kept blaring and other guards were being called to their stations.
Finally, Exton relaxed, ever so slightly. “I guess I could say the same thing.”
Aerie felt her breath rush out.
“Where’s Merra?” Exton asked. “Why isn’t she with you?”
“We didn’t find her yet,” Aerie said. “We saw you when you ... when Brock ... at the hangar.”
Exton turned to the General for clarification, and he obliged. “We saw Brock bring you in,” he said. “We figured we better rescue you first, so we could see where the important guests were being held.”
“Let’s split up and look for her then,” Exton said. “And then we’ve got to get Brock and get out of here.”
“You really want to save Brock?” Aerie felt her fury ignite. “After what he did to you?”
“He’s on our side, Aerie,” Exton snapped. “I would’ve thought you would know that by now.”
“But he turned you in.”
“Brock was following orders, unlike someone else I can think of.”
Aerie’s face burned in shame. “You’re telling me that you ordered him to turn you in?”
The General said, “I see. You came here to turn yourself in so you could find Merra.”
Exton nodded.
“Good idea,” the General said. “Worthy of my protégé, even.”
“No thanks,” Exton scoffed. “I’m just glad it worked.”
Aerie sniffed angrily. “Well, it’s good to see you care about my mother’s fate now.”
“I care more about yours,” Exton argued back. “Which is the main reason I’m here in the first place.”
“I would’ve thought you would have just let me go,” Aerie said. “After all, I would be getting what I deserve, wouldn’t I?”
The General stepped between them. “I’m going to go and search for your mother,” he told Aerie. “You two have five minutes, and then we need to get back on schedule. If we’re going to rescue Brock while we’re here, that’s going to take longer.”
“We’ll have the extra time,” Exton assured him. “I called in Kamalo and Petra’s remaining forces.”
“Why?” the General asked.
“Osgood is here. If we can take him out, we’ll be able to end the war,” Exton explained.
“That’s how the Craftcarrier was hit,” Aerie exclaimed. At Exton’s inquiring gaze, she clarified, “I heard one of the guards say the Morgan Soromsky was hit.”
“That loud explosion we heard?” Exton nodded. “Good to hear they got here so quickly. I thought it would take longer.” He turned back to St. Cloud. “Gerard is here, too, in addition to Merra. If we can capture him, rescue her, and take down Osgood and the GPI, we’ll be in a position to call for unconditional surrender.”
Aerie watched as her father considered Exton’s information. She was glad to see his expression was thoughtful and even impressed. She was about to say something when Exton added, “If there’s anything that would make the trip out here worth it, it’s that.”
Her anger sparked again. “Any chance it’s miraculous?”
Exton frowned at her. “I’d say it was, especially after you deliberately disobeyed your orders.”
“I’m not one of your soldiers,” Aerie shot back.
“Alright, that’s my cue. I’m going to get Merra,” the General said, stepping back. “Three minutes now, kids.”
At the smirk on his face, Aerie wondered if he was getting some sort of sick pleasure watching the two them snip at each other. She let him go, though, as he began kicking open doors, calling for her mother. Aerie turned to face Exton.
“Well, you heard my father,” Aerie retorted. “You’ve got three more minutes to yell at me.”
“I’ll need more than that to feel like you’ve been properly chastised,” Exton replied. “Do you know how awful it has been, knowing that you went out and foolishly risked your neck for your mother?”
Aerie held her ground. “Do you know how awful it feels to know you weren’t even going to rescue her?”
“I didn’t have a plan in place,” Exton grumbled. “It didn’t mean that I wouldn’t, eventually. Maybe.”
“Ha! You see?” Aerie bristled. “That is just your problem, you know. You didn’t have a plan when we met, either. It’s any wonder you didn’t throw me off the Perdition the first time we met.”
“Don’t make me regret it,” he murmured.
“And then you didn’t have any idea of how to deal with the General,” Aerie pressed. “You were wrong to send me back to him before. I know it, you know it, we all knew it.”
“Aerie—”
“No,” Aerie insisted. “Look, your plans don’t always go according to plan, and—”
“And they wouldn’t anyway, if you’re not willing to follow orders,” Exton cut in. “That was your problem, even before we met. You admitted it, and the military confirmed it.”
“Well, it’s your fault for marrying me anyway then,” Aerie told him. “You knew what you were getting into, at least. I didn’t. I knew we should have waited longer, just to make sure it could work between us.”
“Aerie—”
“Because this is awful,” Aerie continued. “How is this really going to work, Exton? If you get angry every time things don’t go your way and I don’t listen, I don’t see how you’ll be happy unless you’re free from me. And my family.”
She looked up at him, watching as an odd expression suddenly came over his face. This is it, she thought. She’d told the truth about what she thought of their marriage, and after all the trouble she’d caused him, he had no choice but to agree with her.
Aerie looked down at her borrowed boots, feeling the awful weight of the pain inside of her.
I am not going to let him break my heart, she vowed to herself. If anything, I did the breaking.
Shame and self-disgust, mingled with the residue of her righteous fury, all forced her to face the truth, and she would pay the price for her transgressions against him—even if it meant letting him go.
Several seconds passed; they had only moments, as the missiles screeched through the air outside and more explosions echoed through the empty hallways.
Suddenly, finally, she heard his response—and then she was immediately angry. He was laughing!
Under the thundering chimes of the nearby battlefield, Aerie was surprised to hear Exton’s quiet laugh, the one that always made her think of the time she’d first met him. There had been a great deal of pain in him, pain she had wanted to absolve, but in the end, she had only made it worse for him. And now, he was being an idiot by just standing there, laughing at her.
She balled her fists and stamped her foot. “I’m being serious. It’s not funny,” she said defensively, narrowing her eyes at him. “There’s nothing funny about our situation.”
“You’re right. There’s nothing funny about it, and you’re also right that we probably did rush into things.” Exton shook his head. “But be that as it may, I could never be free of you, Aerie, any more than you could be free of me.”
Aerie was momentarily stunned. She felt a rush of confused tears and forced herself to make them recede as she faced him.
“In a world where love is easily discarded and causally dismissed, I guess it would seem we are not a great match. We have different ideas and different backgrounds, and some of them will not be reconciled.”
“Then why were you laughing?” Aerie asked, hurt by his comments. “Don’t you care that I don’t think we should be together? That I put you in danger? That I put the world in danger, apparently?”
“I laughed because ... because I never quite got it, you know.” Exton reached up and scratched his head nervously.
Aerie could tell he was searching for the right way to say what was on his mind; she knew he never sought to explain himself to others. She waited for him to go on as patiently as she could, only arching her brow in expectation.
He caught the hint and shrugged. “The Ecclesia have taught that God loves us, no matter what we do, no matter how terrible we are. I thought when my father died, and I walked away from God, I left behind the last of the little area of my life I’d left to him and I believed he would just give up on me. I didn’t see how he would keep loving me, even if I didn’t love him. But now I get it.”
He reached out and took her hand. Still upset, Aerie grabbed it back instantly. “Get what?” she asked.
“I’m telling you that I get it. I love you. I can’t name the moment I started loving you, but since the moment I met you, my life has never been the same. You brought my heart back to life. You gave me hope for the future. And you don’t give up on something you love because of pain.”
He came closer, putting his arms around her in an embrace. She stiffened against him, unable to believe he had been arguing with her in front of her father only moments before. He’d been so upset and bitter. What had changed? Aerie wondered.
“You have caused me much trouble, Aerie, but I could no more stop loving you than I could stop time from moving forward. And because of that, I’ll never be free of you. I would never want to be free of you, either. Even though I am, understandably, upset at your poor decision-making skills and patience.”
“Shut up.” But Aerie felt her nose prickle as she finally looked up into his eyes.
“There’s the charm,” he said with another laugh. “And your stubborn pride. You could just apologize, if you really felt badly enough.”
“Never!” Aerie declared, sticking her nose up in the air. But even as her posture remained defiant, Aerie knew she was relieved he still wanted her. As he held her, her fingers pressed into his chest, and her body began to sway along with his.
“I never understood Christ’s love for his church until you,” Exton said. “You were always a miracle to me, whether I knew it or not. And now you are so much more to me, whether I like it or not.”
“That’s not nice.”
“I didn’t mean that in a bad way. You know what I meant.”
Aerie couldn’t stop herself. Her arms reached up and circled around his neck. “I know,” she said, laying her head down over his heart. “I just wanted to make you suffer.”
“I’ll return the favor later once we’re back home,” he warned, “by kissing you senseless until you’re begging me for more.”
“You’re a monster,” Aerie moaned, but she was already pushing herself further into his arms, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
At the touch of his lips on hers, she felt her heart nearly break apart, bursting open with pure joy and even her own laughter, as some part of her was fully aware that they were in a secure URS base as a battle was raging outside. But the musky air of Exton’s body beckoned to her, wrapping her up in a world that belonged to just the two of them.
Before she could lose herself completely, the General interrupted them as he cleared his throat. “Well, I wasn’t able to find Merra. She’s not here.”
Aerie nearly jumped out of Exton’s arms at the sudden reappearance, but he held onto her, keeping her close.
“Where else would she be?” Exton asked.
“Is there another prison ward here? Maybe somewhere else?” Aerie suggested.
“Panama’s base is the biggest base for the URS outside of New Hope,” he said. “But the building only has one prisoner cell block, and she’s not here.” General St. Cloud glanced back at Exton. “What were you saying earlier about the GPI?”
“Osgood talked with Brock and me,” he said. “He said he was going to destroy the last of his enemies and launch the GPI. He didn’t say anything else about it, but it sounded familiar to me. I’ve been trying to think of where I’ve heard of it.”
“How thoroughly did you sort through the Boötes system?” General St. Cloud asked. “It’s a military project. GPI stands for the Global Planethood Initiative. And if Osgood is going to launch it, we need to make sure we do everything possible to stop him.”