Reid hovers in the undergrowth on the low hill overlooking the gate and tries to settle his heart. His excitement at finally taking further action has triggered a resurgence of the tingling feeling in his body, his senses coming wildly alert all over again. He forces himself to stillness while inside his mind ricochets around like an endlessly bouncing ball.
Marcus crouches next to him, face a stone mask, but at least he’s present and willing to help.
When they returned to the others earlier, Reid hadn’t waited long to put his plan in motion.
“I need someone to come with me on the stakeout.” Reid hadn’t been surprised when Kieran immediately stepped forward, but he was when Marcus shouldered his way past him, eyes empty.
“I’m coming with you.” Marcus hadn’t even paused, but headed out into the forest again. Reid turned back to Kieran who looked so angry Reid was sure he would go after Marcus if Reid let him.
“Stay here,” Reid said while Kieran fumed but listened. “Get some rest, eat some more. Gather your strength. You’re going to need it.”
Kieran hadn’t said anything when Reid turned away and went back into the woods.
Leila did, however. She was waiting for him, eyes on the place where Marcus passed. “He’s fragile,” she had whispered. “This is a bigger blow than you can understand.”
“We don’t have time for fragile.” Reid knew it was harsh when he said it but they all have their stories to tell and most of them are grim.
She nodded, her fingers sliding down his forearm, making him shiver and break out in goose bumps. “Take care of him. And you.” She had walked away before he could tell her he would.
He managed to catch Marcus easily, the other guy not even trying to be quiet.
Reid grabbed him and swung him around, forcing Marcus to face him. “I need you with me one hundred per cent. Got it? No emo crap, no wimping out on me because Daddy’s an asshole. Marcus, if you can’t do that, I’m sending you back.”
“Says who?” Marcus had pulled free of Reid. “Who died and made you the boss?”
Reid grinned, remembering how fierce and deadly he felt. “Joel.” He left Marcus there, wondering if he would follow, secretly pleased when he heard the sounds of Marcus coming after him, only quietly this time.
First battle won. Next.
Marcus hasn’t said another word to Reid since, but they don’t need to talk. Both of them know the mission. They aren’t planning to act, just follow the soldiers and see where they are hiding out. Reid knows there must be pockets of them all over the enclosure and wonders if he was close to a gate after all when he found the cabin.
Reid sneaks a glance at Marcus. Still brooding. Reid wishes he could fuel the fire growing inside Marcus somehow. The anger is energy toward what they need to do and that’s a good thing for the time being. But from the tension in him, Reid is sure if they don’t start moving soon Marcus might build up too much pressure and simply snap.
Activity below refocuses his attention. Two hunters approach the gate, three soldiers walking along behind them. The soldiers are weighed down with big backpacks and one carries a duffle bag. All have rifles.
The barrier swings wide to let them out. As the gate opens, Reid considers the fence. Drew told him there has to be continued connection to close the electrical circuit. So does that mean every time the gate is open the power is off?
No such luck. He notices a thick strand of wire that never moves, attached across the top of the opening. That’s how they manage to maintain the deadly current and still get in and out.
Reid points as the hunters and soldiers stop on the inside of the gate while it swings slowly shut behind them. The hunters turn and run off in the other direction, heading Southeast, toward the fake town. The soldiers head directly east, bypassing the highway and the kid’s hiding place.
Reid and Marcus rise as one and follow. Now they have a target, Reid is alert and ready to act and is impressed Marcus seems to be as well. They keep a safe distance although they might as well not bother being stealthy. The soldiers talk among themselves quietly, but make enough noise they wouldn’t hear a thing if it was right next to them. They act like they are perfectly safe, as though nothing can harm them.
Reid is so infuriated by their attitude he intends to teach them a different lesson with as much pain involved as possible.
He’s not sure when he decides to act with only Marcus for backup. He knows it’s not smart, that he should have other kids there to help with the attack, but Reid sees how vulnerable these soldiers are despite their weapons. The last one of the three trails along with the duffle bag bouncing along the ground, like a little kid dragging a stuffed toy by the back leg.
But when the soldiers change course and head in the direction of the pack’s resting place, Reid knows he has to act. He is about to motion to Marcus when the three soldiers simply vanish.
Reid comes to a quick halt, Marcus beside him. Where did they go? This can’t be right. Until Marcus makes a face in the light of the half moon and leans in to whisper, “Blind.”
Of course. A hunting blind, camouflaged, much like Mustache and Scar hid their camp on the other side of the mountain. Reid starts to shake as he realizes just how close the pack is to this particular hiding place and wonders how many more they’ve stumbled past. It ignites his anger again. How can these soldiers simply sit and watch kids hurting, starving, dying? How could anyone?
Three shapes appear on the trail, giving Reid the right context to finally spot the edge of the blind. Like one of those odd paintings that shifts with your vision, once he knows it is there and where it starts he can see it clearly despite the low light.
“Have a nice walk.” The low voice and the accompanying laughter follows the three soldiers, now relieved of their duty, out onto the trail and past where Reid is hiding.
It fires him up so much he has to act. And from the look on Marcus’s face, he’s not the only one. His rage is as plain as what Reid is feeling.
Reid points at the ground. A small pile of stones. Then at the blind. Mimes tossing. Marcus points at the disappearing soldiers but Reid shakes his head. The others will be expecting them back but the ones who just relieved them… he doesn’t know how long their turn-around time is but figures they have at least twelve hours.
Marcus stares at the blind and suddenly nods as if he gets it. He slides away into the undergrowth. Reid bends and picks up the rocks, staying far enough away from the blind to be out of sight. And then, with great deliberateness, he starts lobbing the pebbles at the top of the blind.
It’s not long before one of the soldiers emerges and looks around.
“What’s going on?” Same voice. Reid’s lips curl back from his teeth in an animal snarl. Someone should teach that man to keep his mouth shut.
“Nothing,” the one with his head poking out whispers. “Must be chipmunks or something.
The blind edge flips back down. Reid doesn’t wait but starts again, tossing rocks. He is almost out of stones, casting his eyes around for more when he sees someone emerge from the blind.
“God damn pests,” the man hisses. “Shoot your furry little asses.”
Reid crouches, waits for the man to turn his back. But he doesn’t get the chance to attack.
Marcus emerges from the underbrush, arms going around the soldier’s neck and locking in place. He pulls the man down with his full body weight, the two of them hidden perfectly in the dark. Reid hears a low grunt and a sigh. Sees Marcus poke his head out and give thumbs up.
Reid grins. One down. He eases forward, staying low, trying to figure out how well the soldiers can see past the blind. Reid manages to keep a large tree trunk between him and the camouflage until he is almost on top of them, arriving just as one of the other two soldiers pokes his head out.
“Sergeant?” It’s a young voice, hardly older than Reid’s. Barely out of his teens himself. Reid’s rage surges, his fist lashes out and the soldier topples to the ground without a word.
Someone curses inside the blind, the third soldier. Reid hears scrambling, sees Marcus rush the bunker and goes after him. Another young private, his face marked with colored greasepaint not enough to disguise the shock on his face, scrambles for his handgun. But Marcus is faster. Fearless or careless, Reid doesn’t know which, Marcus tackles the kid and wrestles him to the ground, his fist putting the soldier out with one blow.
“Nice hit,” Reid says.
“You said I only get one shot,” Marcus answers. And smiles like it’s funny.
Maybe it is.
Reid sees a scrap of light and goes to it. He finds a small hooded lamp, the sides pulled down to disguise the glow and opens one of the shutters.
He spins, fear spiking as someone comes through the edge of the curtain. Reid relaxes when he realizes it’s Kieran, dragging the first soldier, the sergeant, by his black boots. Sarah and Nishka groan their way after him, struggling with the limp body of the second one. They release him roughly, his body making a hard impact on the rocky ground.
“I think you dropped these.” Kieran doesn’t smile, though the joke is obvious. Only Sarah smirks, planting her sneakered foot in the ribs of the soldier as hard as she can.
“That’s for shooting at my friend.” She and Nishka high five.
“Is he the one who did it?” Reid looks back and forth between the girls.
Nishka shrugs and crosses her arms over her chest. “Maybe. Maybe not. They all look alike, don’t they?”
Sarah’s head bobs. “Close enough.”
Reid can’t help it. He laughs.
When Marcus takes the handgun from the soldier at their feet, Reid stops, all jokes forgotten.
“We should kill them.” Marcus handles the gun like he knows how to use it, sliding out the magazine, checking the bullets, slapping it back together before loading one in the chamber of the automatic.
“I’d rather not.” Reid bends and starts stripping the uniform. “We’ll just tie them up and leave them out here. Gags, blindfolds. See how they like it.”
The girls are grinning and shaking but Kieran is watching Marcus like he’s lost it.
To distract him, Reid gets angry. “How did you find us?”
Kieran doesn’t get angry back, just retreats on himself a little. “We followed you.”
“Duh,” Sarah says.
Reid scowls at her. “What the hell are you three doing here, anyway? I told you to stay with Leila.”
“We’re not exactly used to taking orders.” Sarah gives Reid the finger.
“Classy. Where’d you find her?” Reid rolls his eyes at Kieran who finally smiles.
“I want to help.” Reid knows Kieran’s intent is honest. He can see it all over his face, in the brown of his earnest eyes. Still, if they are going to work together, they have to agree to not walk all over each other’s plans.
“I’m not the boss of you or anyone else,” Reid says while Sarah makes a face and Nishka scowls at him. “I’m not. But someone has to be in charge or everything goes to hell.” He sighs. “Trust me, we know about hell.”
“We do too, smart ass.” Sarah nudges the unconscious man at her feet again almost absently, as if kicking him will really make her feel better. “What do you think we’ve been doing out here. Picking daisies?”
“Sarah’s right.” Nishka gives the kid on the ground a square boot of her own. “So don’t tell us what to do.”
Reid is worried the poor soldier will have broken ribs then shoves the concern away. Let him. Serve him right, in fact.
“All I’m saying,” Reid says, “is we need to work together if this is going to get us anywhere.” He gestures around the blind. “Now, are we going to argue, or are we going to strip these soldiers of everything they have and leave them helpless in the woods?”
The vote is unanimous.
Reid holds his peace when Marcus also shoulders a rifle after changing into the soldier’s gear. He’s in his own set now, the unfamiliar feel of it heavy with the scent of the man who wore it before him. Kieran blushes the entire time he changes while the girls giggle and tease him from the corner. It makes Reid smile, really smile, a flash to something from the past, as though they are just kids again, boys in the locker room while the cheerleaders peek in for a look.
Kieran finally finishes, glaring at them while he swings the strap of the gun over his shoulder. At least he looks like he knows how to use it. Reid takes the last one, more interested in the clear earpiece attached to the two-way at his belt. He inserts the plastic, wiggling his jaw to settle it before turning the radio on.
“—copy that, Delta Leader. West perimeter all clear.”
“Roger. Half hour check in, mark.”
“Mark. Half hour check in, over.”
Reid’s heart soars. Finally. The edge they’ve been looking for. He meets Marcus’s eyes and taps his ear.
Marcus nods, taps his back. Then points at the two-way. “Just don’t ever hit this button.” Reid’s used one before but takes note anyway, as does Kieran. “You realize we’ve only got until the first check in before the brass figures out something’s up.”
Reid hadn’t thought of that. So much for his twelve hour lead. He shrugs. However much time they do have, it will have to do.
“I want one of those.” Sarah reaches for the walkie, but her tall friend holds her off.
“When we find a soldier as short ass as you,” he says, “and a uniform that will fit your scrawny butt, then you get your own. Until then, suck it up.”
She scowls at him but relents.
They use their old clothing to make gags and blindfolds and find enough rope to bind the soldier's arms and legs so tight they aren’t going anywhere. The sergeant wakes long enough to start to struggle but doesn’t last long. Nishka finds a rock and hits him on the head with it. The man’s eyes roll back and he collapses again with a groan.
“Nice!” Sarah fist-bumps her.
“Piece of cake.” Nishka tosses the rock like it bit her and rubs her hands on her jeans.
“How did you ever stay hidden with these two for three days?” Reid grins up at Kieran who rolls his shoulders forward into a lazy shrug.
“They shut up,” he says. “Sometimes.”
Both girls level a punch at him, hitting him at the same time from opposite directions.
For a moment Reid wishes for that kind of camaraderie. For the connection these three have obviously made with each other. He could have it with his friends if he would just let them in, he’s sure of it. Could have found it with Drew.
Reid lets that regret pass him by. Instead, he helps the others gather what food and supplies they can from the blind before heading out to rejoin the others.
He is the last to go, taking one last look around before turning out the light.
***