Janine could finally take a break. When she had been a much younger woman as a nurse in Athens, she’d been on duty when the school bus had caught on fire off Route 35.
The screams of the Dark Father’s army had brought the memories right back. They were the reason she’d had quit her job. She couldn’t stand to see children in pain. Watching a child suffer was a bayonet in her heart.
This time, she couldn’t leave the job to someone else. There was no unemployment if she quit this one. No marijuana to ease her nightmares.
On the plus side, there was no shame, either. Unlike all those years ago, she took charge of the situation and made sure her children were okay before tending to herself.
She smiled at the thought of them being her children. After so much pain and suffering when she and Chase had tried for a family, it was a joy to claim these as her own.
She hadn’t had time for Chase or Gum. Bog wasn’t asking any more, and the stranger sat in the corner offering nothing more than the silent stare of his mirrored riot mask.
Connie was a dream, though. Like a big gal should, she jumped to the task and eased Janine’s burden so much, she could finally take a little time for herself.
Not as many injuries as she had first thought. A lot of cuts and bruises from stumbles and the general awkwardness of children. But some of them … some of them were bad.
Broken bones. Bullet holes weeping blood. Torn flesh and burns. She had to pull morphine out of the emergency kits, and nobody could answer if the medicine would kill the little ones or not.
She suspected their connection with the Dark Father afforded them some protection, but the Winslow boy said he was no longer there.
Her mug held strong coffee with cream and honey bourbon. A sip warmed her, soothed her frayed nerves.
Chase had moved to straight Scotch, and she couldn’t blame him. He’d helped Gum drag Bog’s big ass out into the sewer. Came back covered in sweat. He shook his head and pulled out his canteen. She smelled the alcohol and shook her head, too. But she also smiled.
She would never tell her man how to behave. He’d taken care of her for all her life. She had sworn to honor and obey, and by God, she would. Even if it meant her salvation.
Her gaze drifted to the girl who had slit the reverend’s throat. The Winslow boy called her the gingerbread girl. She stood with her back to the wall next to the secret door. A grizzly pool of fluid collected under her feet. Mostly blood. Maybe urine. Chunks of her shedding skin floated on the surface.
Her hands were in front of her, and she looked around with bright eyes as if she had no further cares.
Janine set her coffee down and took a deep breath. She had faced the pain of the children. She could face anything.
Straining to square her shoulders, she walked across the range to stand in front of the burned girl. The stranger — Connie thought his name Singer — tensed as she neared. His grip tightened on his weapon. A kind of gun she’d never seen.
She dismissed him with a sniff then faced the girl, who was looking up at her with polite attention. Janine nodded as if letting her have a point. “All right, Ginger. You didn’t talk to the men folk, but you can talk to me. I don’t bite, and I don’t want nothing from you but a few words. Is that fine by you?”
Ginger cocked her head like a listening dog, then she nodded.
Janine nodded back with a friendly grin. “Good. Now, are you hungry?”
“No.” Her voice sounded like dry sand.
“Thirsty?”
“No.”
“Do you need something to cover up with?”
“No.”
“Bandages for your wounds?”
The girl laughed, and her teeth were as white as summer clouds. “No.”
Janine sighed in frustration. “Please let me help you.”
“I need Kemp.”
Janine frowned. “The Dark Father?”
“The father of nothing. I need to kill Willis Kemp.”
He had saved Chase from the failing heart that was coming to claim him for years. She knew he was a bad and evil man. Cruel and terrible, yet she felt the need to jump to his defense.
She glanced at Chase. He passed the canteen to Gum like he would have given it over to Richard or Danbury.
Tears well in her eyes as she turned back to Ginger. “But why?”
Ginger bared her teeth like a growling dog. “Because he betrayed my queen.”
Janine blinked in confusion, and the tears dripped down her nose. “But there are no queens in Hollow Hills.”
Ginger settled back. “No longer, yes. That’s why I killed Bog Stanton.”
“Did he betray your queen, too?”
The stranger — Singer or whatever his name was — stepped in to intrude on their conversation.
Janine bit back a scolding.
His voice came from his expressionless mask like it was a drive-thru speaker. “What do you mean by queen?”
Ginger shrugged. “What does queen ever mean?”
Janine held her hand up, but the stranger ignored her. “And she sent you on this … mission to find this Dark Father?”
Ginger shook her head. “Not to find. To kill.”
“Where is she now?”
“In her chariot with her champion.”
The stranger pointed toward the front wall. “In the shuttle?”
She nodded.
The stranger turned to Janine. Nice of him to notice her. “Do you know where the Dark Father is?”
Ginger sneered. “He is the father of nothing.”
Janine shook her head. “No, I don’t.”
Looking at her hands like she was inspecting her nails, Ginger said, “No, she doesn’t.”
The stranger’s sigh was like a burst of static. “Then who does?”
She shrugged but swung her hand to point at the front wall, almost the same as the stranger had. “Him.”
Janine saw Chase and Gum still sharing the canteen. Connie stood next to them. She wiped her hands on a towel then took the canteen before Gum could get it back.
Janine turned back to Ginger. “Chase?”
Ginger shook her head and went back to inspecting her nails. “Not the old one. The young one.”
“Gum?”
Ginger smiled. “He is very handsome. When I heal, I will coil with him.”
The stranger was no longer interested. He stepped between them and walked toward where her husband was standing. She tensed to follow, but Ginger made no move to do the same.
Janine reached for her arm. Froze with her fingers inches away. She wasn’t worried about damaging the girl’s skin, she just didn’t want any on her. “Are you coming?”
A knife appeared in Ginger’s hand. She flashed it in front of Janine’s face. “What if Willis Kemp comes back? I will miss my chance.”
“Fine, fine. That’s just fine.” Janine nodded and stepped away, relieved to put distance between her and the burned girl. She wasn’t sure she would be able to look into her eyes any more.
She kneaded her hands in front of her as she followed the stranger with mincing steps. Her lack of confidence was frustrating, as she usually had enough to share.
If she could go upstairs and clean something, she’d feel so much better. Instead, she walked to where the stranger was standing. But she refused to be in the background and thrust herself into the circle like she belonged there. This was her place.
The stranger jabbed a finger at Gum. “Who are you?”
Gum looked down at the finger, then lifted his gaze to look at the reflective face shield. “Fuck your mother, that’s who I am. What's your name?”
Connie tipped the mouth of the canteen at him. “His name is Singer.”
The stranger sighed. “It’s Sahger. Agent Adrien Sahger.”
Gum took the canteen. “Good for you.”
Chase put his arm around Janine. She leaned into him to drop her cheek on his shoulder. “Agent of what?”
Connie put her arms behind her back. “He’s with CORE.”
Gum handed the canteen to Chase. “What’s CORE?”
Connie shrugged, and Agent Sahger cut the air with his hand. “It doesn’t matter, boy. Just answer my question.”
“Boy is not my name.”
“Certainly not a boy,” Ginger said.
Janine squealed at the smoky voice and covered her heart. The girl had walked up silent as a snake to stand right beside her. “My word, Ginger. You just about made me pee myself. I thought you were waiting back there for the Dark Father.”
“Willis Kemp is the father of nothing.” She pointed to Gum. “This one could be the father to much more.”
Gum opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Chase laughed and handed the canteen over to ease the moment.
Agent Sahger made fists at his sides. “What the fuck is wrong with you people? I need to know what’s going on.”
Connie held her hand out for the canteen. “What do you think is going on?”
His shoulders slumped. “I don’t know.”
Gum shrugged. “I’m not gonna answer anything while you’re hiding behind that shit.”
Agent Sahger stood up straight. “I’m not hiding. This is protecting me.”
“From what?”
“The poisonous particulates circulating through the air.”
“We’re breathing just fine, ain’t we?”
“But you have made idiomatic adjustment.”
“I still don’t understand that word. Just take your mask off. Maybe you’ve made the idiot adjustment, too.”
He shook his head. “Idiomatic.”
Gum shrugged. “Whatever.”
Agent Sahger’s hands rose to his collar. “I can’t.”
Gum laughed through a cheerful grin. “Sure you can. One tiny breath so’s we can see who we’re dealing with. If it hurts, slap it back on before your insides turn into a jelly doughnut.”
Janine stepped out of Chase’s embrace. “Is this necessary?”
Gum’s face became twisted with anger. “Fuck this guy, fuck these kids, and fuck you.”
Chase jumped. “Hey, now.”
“I’m sorry, Chase, but I’m not gonna do it anymore.”
“Do what?”
Gum turned and pointed at Agent Sahger. “I didn’t see you fire that thing, but another guy with the same shit on his face did. Into a crowd of kids, and some of ’em got fucked up.”
“They fired first —”
Gum jumped forward and grabbed a double handful of the agent’s jacket. “Don’t you dare, motherfucker!”
Agent Sahger had his weapon in his hand. Tensed to pull it around, but he froze when Chase’s .44 bit into the joint at his neck.
“These kids? These kids, you stupid fuck.”
The agent dropped his hands. “It wasn’t me.”
Gum shook him. “I don’t give a shit who it was. You want sympathy from me, take off the mask.”
Despite Gum’s size, Janine hadn’t been scared of him until now.
“Okay.” Agent Sahger nodded. “Okay. I’ll take it off.”
Gum let him go with a violent shove, and Sahger’s shoes squeaked as he spread his legs for balance. He raised his hands in slow motion. His fingers crawled under his collar, then there was a hiss of releasing gas.
He pulled the hood over his head. His dark cheeks were puffed out with his held breath. His eyes were squeezed shut.
He let the hood fall to the floor. Released his breath with a slow hiss. Dropped his shoulders, shook his head.
Took in a breath.
Janine followed suit, then they stood holding their lips shut together.
His eyebrows rose, and he lifted his left eyelid. He let the breath out and opened his eyes all the way. They were almost as dark as his skin. Janine blew out in relief.
Gum stuck his hand out. “My name’s Gum. Nice to meet you.”
Agent Sahger’s hand disappeared in Gum’s grip. “Adrien.”
“What can I do for you, Adrien?”
Agent Sahger spread his hands and looked over his shoulder. He pointed his thumb at Ginger. “She says you know where he is.”
“Who?”
“The Dark Father.”
Ginger sniffed. “He is the father of nothing.”
“I don’t.” Gum drew back like he had been jolted with a shock. “But I know where he’s going.” He seemed surprised.
Ginger looked up at Janine. “He is handsome, isn’t he?”
The microphone on the floor crackled.
Chase looked over at her, eyes wide. He lunged at the floor. Picked up the mic then opened the channel. “Gum! Can you hear me, baby?”
Janine knew the voice. It was that little Williams gal.
Gum snatched the mic from Chase’s hand. Janine thought she was gonna have to tell him to click the button, but he did just fine. “Naomi?”
“Gum! It’s me! Please, baby!
“Naomi!”
When there was no more, he burst into tears. He pulled the microphone back then slammed it into his forehead. Right on the mark burned into the skin.
He did it again. The microphone cracked. Janine rushed forward, but Chase held her back.
Gum hit himself one more time, then the microphone shattered like he had flung it to the floor. He let his hand fall, and the mic dangled from his fingers against his thigh. “We need to leave.”
Janine reached out and put her hand on his arm. “To go where?”
“To find the Dark Father.”
Ginger sucked air through her teeth. “He is the father of nothing.”