Do Your Part
1
An hour before evening mess, Angela was sitting with Adrian and Conner. The boy appeared weak, but John was being careful about collecting the blood for Adrian’s surgery. Angela planned to help him tonight, but this long after the initial injury, he would still require surgery first to remove as much of the infection as they could. In only twenty-four hours, it had grown too strong for the witch to handle alone. His wound was riddled with poison.
“It might not work, right?”
Angela glanced up, a bit startled. She’d forgotten for a moment that Conner was like her and Charlie.
“I’m not,” Conner stated matter-of-factly. “But we can go through that later. Tell me why you’re so worried, even though you can bring the dead back.”
“No one can do that. I only heal,” Angela informed him.
Conner didn’t understand the limits, but he’d always wanted to. It was something he’d never been allowed to question or even discuss outside of the Lab.
“Why won’t it be enough?” he repeated.
Angela sighed. “I can heal injuries, like from a wreck or a gunshot, but Adrian’s wound is infected. There’s nothing to heal, only a foreign body to be killed. I don’t have that power.”
Conner fired off another version of the same question when he didn’t understand. “Why doesn’t your magic make him as good as new?”
“It does for the injury, just not what came after. I can’t find and destroy. I can only increase health to help them fight on their own.”
“It’s killing, boy,” Adrian groaned. “Women aren’t supposed to be killers.”
“It’s against their nature?” Conner asked, rebellious tone long gone. His concern that he might lose both parents had taken center stage.
“You don’t have that limit?” Angela guessed, when Adrian didn’t answer. She discarded the next idea as soon as it came. Conner was in no shape to be lending his dad anything except emotional support.
Adrian’s hazy gaze swung to Angela. “Is it ready?”
“Yes. In half an hour, we’ll wheel you to the little mess. You’ll get a tray and come right back here for John to get you prepped.”
His lids shut, and then suddenly popped back open. “Code Raven?”
Angela nodded, not smiling at all. “They’re doing what you want and so am I.”
Adrian tried to say something else, but the darkness pulled him under before he could.
Conner and Angela exchanged concerned glances that might have been followed by hopeful lies meant to bolster flagging spirits in the old world. Now, they accepted that he might die. They would do everything that they could, but in the end, it was up to fate.
Lingering near the flap, Kenn caught her attention as she came outside. “I have a suggestion.”
Angela paused and waved Kevin back when he would have come over with the next list of to-dos.
Kenn kept his voice low. “Call a security meeting and get a list of options.”
Angela was currently running through what to say and how to handle the unique challenges the most common ideas would bring. It pleased her to be ahead of Kenn, but she had Adrian’s notebooks to thank. She might not have thought of it on her own.
Kenn took her silence as a bad sign. “Just a thought.”
“Tell them after the camp’s settled for the night. You decide who I should hear from,” she instructed.
Surprised, Kenn started to add more and held himself in check. Pushing her would get them nowhere. “Okay.”
Angela watched him leave, not exactly suspicious, but wondering if she should be.
Kevin came to her side, mouth opening, and Angela held up a finger. “Wait.”
Face reddening, Kevin stood there realizing he’d been about to interrupt something she was working on. I’m not sure if I like this job.
2
“Where is he?”
“Rear of his new truck with that laptop–same as the last two days.” Billy pointed toward the parking area, ignoring the dull throb in his leg. He was off the crutches now, but the leg wasn’t fully healed.
Samantha went that way without responding to the accusing note. She’d heard it too many times to be swayed. Jeremy knew about her and Neil, but he was burying it, giving himself space. He didn’t really need her...yet.
Sam waved her shadows away as she neared the new truck. To replace the Jeepster, he’d chosen an old blue Ford with rust spots. It would be boring to destroy.
Jeremy didn’t look up from the keyboard. “I’m fine. You already know that. You’ve done your duty, and I’m busy.”
Samantha didn’t acknowledge the dismissal as she slid onto the tailgate. Instead, she studied him to determine how much damage she’d done, and how much more he could take.
Jeremy ignored her. He wasn’t going to be drawn into it anymore. He didn’t need her.
Samantha picked out subtle changes, like his new haircut and shoes, but the things that concerned her were less obvious–like the way he was drawing away from camp life and his team again, his determination to break the internet code, and the way he’d doubled his times in the workout tent yesterday and this morning. It all said he was having trouble. The wisest thing to do was leave him alone, but the camp and Eagles wouldn’t allow that. The next best thing was to finish what she’d started. It was time to claim him.
Jeremy didn’t stop typing, but he felt the edge of distraction at Samantha’s continued silence. He didn’t want to talk to her, didn’t want to face himself when she finally worked up the courage to ask the only question she would want an answer to. It would scar him and he’d never be the same.
Samantha let the peaceful night wash away some of her tension. She loved being outside, adored nature, and she understood why they were under attack–they deserved that. She just didn’t know what to do about it. Despite all the trouble that sometimes came, Sam liked her life now. If not for the loneliness at the onset of dusk, it would almost be perfect.
“Are you here because I’m safe...boringly dependable?”
She didn’t answer.
Jeremy didn’t repeat the question.
Samantha refused to let the voice of guilt kill her good mood. “Should I go?”
Very distracted, Jeremy paused.
A tense silence fell in place of the keys clicking.
“Do my feelings even matter to you?” he finally asked.
Samantha winced at the mild slap. “Yes.”
“Then how can you do this?”
She didn’t have an answer that he would understand. “It’s complicated.”
Jeremy grunted. “You can’t settle down, but that’s all either of us want. Not so complicated–just hard to accept.”
He snapped the lid closed on the laptop and peered over to find her lids closed and shiny blonde curls blowing in the breeze.
Samantha didn’t sensor her annoyance. “From where I sit, you’re both expecting way too much from someone you’ve only known a few months. You guys may be sure I’m the one who fits your forever dream, but neither of you fit mine that way. Until you do, friends and lovers is all I can give.” She lay on the truck bed. “And frankly, it’s tiresome to keep saying that. Why don’t you just type and I’ll snooze in the breeze? We don’t have to talk.”
Jeremy started to send a stronger blow, but found he didn’t have the heart for it. She was right to want a match that suited her, but did she have to be so cruel about it?
“I have a shift or something,” he stated, unable to look away from her blowing curls. He wanted them tangled and wild, dripping sweat.
“Go on, then,” Sam agreed. “Call my shadows back or Seth won’t let me out again for a week.”
The thought of Samantha being in danger kept him sitting by her. That, and those curls. The kiss had been hot, but the sensation of silken hair against his skin–any of it–was one that could send him into a daze of need.
Sam felt his hot stare, but wasn’t ready to take things much further with him yet. While she had no moral issues with having more than one partner, she didn’t intend to slide into Jeremy’s bed just because he wanted it. She had to need it, too, and right now, the magic of Neil’s touch was still lingering–keeping her demons at bay. When it wore off, she’d find this laptop-toting genius and either break through his wall or end their friendship completely. The odds were 50/50.
Jeremy set the laptop aside, but didn’t leave. He stared at her for a long time, trying to find a solution, when all he wanted at that moment was to be close to her. The thought of her with Neil was a stinging wound, but a few minutes spent in her arms–with no talking–sounded right. Jeremy was ashamed of it.
Samantha slowly rolled onto her side, away from him, and Jeremy scowled at the attempt to draw him closer. The sight of her from this angle was incredible. “That is so unfair!”
Samantha was tired and didn’t waste any more quiet time trying to convince him. She allowed her mind to slow as she shifted her arm under her neck. “I need to be up in an hour.”
A bit uncomfortable, Sam quickly began to fade into a doze.
Jeremy tried to resist the feeling of manly protective pride at having her on his truck bed, vulnerable enough to sleep. It showed that she felt safe here, even when she knew he was upset with her. It also said Neil wasn’t enough or she would have done her duty check and left. Instead, she would sleep here, dream here, and he’d want to be with her even then.
Jeremy also hated himself for that. He didn’t want another competition with Neil. Neither of them could win, only be hurt by it and spread that disorder. He also welcomed it a bit. Even the war hadn’t shaken Jeremy from his guilt over his fiancé’s death. Only Samantha and her cornflower blue eyes had been able to accomplish that.
Sam shifted, clearly uncomfortable on the truck’s hard bed.
Jeremy glowered. “Damn you.”
Samantha adjusted again, this time to sleepily sweep her hair over one shoulder. It bared her neck and cleared the place behind her. If he wanted it.
Jeremy recognized the request and couldn’t refuse. It was where he longed to be and at this moment, an hour was longer than sixty minutes.
Jeremy didn’t climb in carefully to keep from spooking her or even out of respect. He took his time–determined to steal every sensation that he could. He sensed instinctively that sharing sleep with someone like Samantha might be more than just a nap.
“Power rubs off.”
Jeremy heard Angela’s words again, but instead of bringing up the wall that she was teaching them, Jeremy consciously tried to drop his mental defenses. He wanted to go where Samantha did. He wanted to explore her dreams so that he could make them a reality.
Samantha allowed his arm under her neck to provide a sexy cushion. His big body pressed tightly to hers, other hand coming to her hip to pull her closer, and Sam moaned in pleasure. “Nice.”
Jeremy tightened his grip in response. The wind blew her silken curl over his arm and cheek, and the Eagle faced the truth. She hadn’t asked him yet, but there was no point in denying it to himself until she did. It didn’t matter. Samantha could sleep with every man in this camp and he would still want her.
No longer fighting himself, Jeremy’s mind clicked out of the high gear it had been running in since seeing those entwined shadows on the tent wall. Sighing in miserable happiness, he let himself drift and enjoy holding her openly. He and Neil were officially sharing Samantha.
Jeremy’s last thought was to wonder how Neil would take the news. After a night with her, the trooper had likely assumed they were a couple, that her desire for other men was over. This sight would tell him otherwise.
3
“Everyone ready to put on a good show?”
Angela opened the flap without waiting for any of their half-hearted responses.
Kyle followed her in with the wheelchair as Kevin held the flap.
“We’ll get his pants and boots on, you’ll help him stand, and I’ll wrap him up tight. Let’s do it.”
Daryl waited by the flap as they worked. He was firmly on Kyle’s right now, but he still hadn’t managed to make that connection with their team that an XO needed. Everyone still missed Chris, himself included. As a result, Daryl was putting in the extra effort to stay close to his team leader and that meant helping with all the undercover work that the mobster did for the chain of command. It was exhausting.
Angela unhooked Adrian from the IV, and injected a small amount of emerald liquid into his tube. Almost immediately, the deep lines of pain running across his forehead eased a bit. His knuckles were still white from their grip on the sheet, though, and he stayed that way as they put on his pants and boots.
When they lifted him to pull the loose (Kenn’s) jeans over his hips, a small moan of agony escaped his lips, but it was the only sound he made.
They put arms under him, Angela slid the bed over, and then Adrian was on his feet. His face was pale as he steadied himself, clearly not in control. It was scary how different he was.
“Ready?” Angela asked, trying not to care.
Adrian braced himself as best as the drugs would allow, floating in a world of hurtful instinct. “Do it.”
An arm around each man’s shoulders, they leaned out of the way as Angela gently taped two flat, hard pillows to his stomach and hip. A minute later, they put the shirt on him and buttoned it.
Angela placed three green pills into the front pocket of the shirt. “You’ve already had the equivalent of one. Try to save these for when we bring you back and do surgery prep.”
Adrian let Kenn and Kyle help him into the padded wheelchair, but his attention stayed on Angela. “What else do you have for me?”
She held up a capped syringe. “An energy booster. It won’t last but ten minutes, so don’t linger.”
Adrian slowly captured a pill and Angela sat an opened can of Coke in his hand.
“Push him to the flap, let him hear what he’s about to face.”
Nearly every member of the camp was outside the caution tape. They were staring at the tent with needy, worried expressions that begged Adrian to come out and tell them where to sit and stand.
Adrian listened to snatches of the conversations that he could distinguish. Concern, prayers, hopeful murmurs. My people!
“They’re going to cross the tape when we go out. Let them,” Adrian ordered.
Angela could tell from his steady tone that his body had finally taken notice of the medication and was reacting accordingly. “Ready?”
“No, but do it anyway.”
She quickly injected him with the syringe. A few seconds later, they were outside, in view. A loud cheer split the air.
“Adrian!”
“It’s Adrian!”
“Yeah!”
Adrian gave a slow, carefree salute. “Take me to them.”
The crowd broke the tape as they surged forward and then Adrian was surrounded by his followers. He didn’t flinch from pats on the shoulder and he shook every hand put out to him.
“You okay?”
“You need anything?”
“I’m fine. They’re taking care of me so well that I’m almost ready to be alone again,” he joked.
“What about your hip?”
“Yeah! How bad is it?”
“Can you walk?”
Adrian blew out a breath that looked like mild annoyance to the crowd, and pain to Angela and the Eagles.
“The hip’s bad. I can walk if I have to, but the docs tell me I’ll heal fully if I stay off it. Guess I’ll have to listen to them since I always tell you guys to.” Adrian glanced around cheerfully. “Anyone got a smoke?”
Cynthia’s hand was the quickest and Angela was glad when the reporter ran block between the more aggressive people, using her small body for his protection.
“This is another thing they’re against. If not for the great service, I don’t think I’d want to bunk with them anymore,” Adrian quipped, drawing grins.
Angela saw his finger put an extra cigarette into his pocket and come up with something green that quickly vanished under the cover of a swallow of Coke. He was hurting enough to risk someone witnessing it.
One minute and I’m directing you along, Angela sent, not shoving energy into him like she wanted to. She would need it later and so would he.
“I hear there’s a party tonight. Everyone gonna get drunk, throw up, and spend all day whining about their hangover? It wouldn’t be a Safe Haven party without that.”
Angela observed the crowd that was already starting to break up, trying not to resent them for getting to go to a stress-free evening while Adrian fought for his life. She was also grateful that in all the confusion, the big question hadn’t been asked. No one wanted to know why they were having a celebration now, when most of the men who were heroes weren’t even out of the QZ.
“I’m gonna get a tray, folks,” Adrian said, though even the thought of eating was painful. He forced himself to give another of those larger than the sun grins, dazzling them one last time. “I would have had three beers, two burgers, and danced with all the single ladies. You guys handle that for me.”
They laughed again and it sounded relieved, relaxed. Adrian was fine to their unobservant eyes.
The Eagles wheeled Adrian toward the little mess. On the way, he took the last pill and closed his hand into a fist while he waited for it to take effect.
Neil hated Adrian’s pain as much as he had Angela’s. “Why don’t you go back and we’ll bring them…”
“No,” Adrian insisted.
The little mess was full of recovering Eagles and the scene of joking and calm was repeated, along with praise for following his orders.
“You men did a good job, you should be proud. We’ve taken hits and we don’t forget or treat it lightly, but we can sleep better knowing we eliminated another threat to our survival.”
The Coke can crackled loudly under his tightening grip.
Angela nodded to Kyle. “Let’s go.”
Kyle and Neil pushed the chair while Angela carried the tray. As they disappeared into the tent, Adrian’s energy ran out and the can fell from his hand. He sagged forward, succumbing to the bright glare.
Angela hurried to catch him before he could slide any further. “Get John! Then tell Marc we need the camp distracted now. We can’t wait any longer.”
4
“All yours,” Adrian muttered, fever climbing. “Lead them right.”
Angela and John exchanged worried looks over his body. Time had grown shorter.
“Let’s get started,” Angela instructed, bringing the witch forward as she and Anne assisted. If John missed any of the infection, the witch might catch it.
The silence was thick as John began administering the drugs that would put Adrian out of pain’s reach. Two of them flashed to the last surgery John had performed and Angela shoved her thought away. Her surviving Cesar had not been this trade, hadn’t put Adrian under the reaper’s dark shadow. Even fate wouldn’t be so cruel…right?
It took most of an hour to cut out the infection and cleanse the gaping wound. Smells of blood, disease, and decay hung thickly as it filled the tent and then their noses.
“Mm…”
“He’s coming up already.”
“Damn. He’s at the limit. Can you do anything?”
Angela slipped into Adrian’s fog-layered mind. The hum of power rose softly among the gore.
Angie?
Angela winced at the variation of her name that Adrian was always careful not to use aloud. Coming from his lips, it was a caress, an endearment between lovers.
I’m here. Stop trying to surface. John isn’t finished yet.
Angela heard the monitor settle into a calmer rhythm and went in a bit deeper. She remembered the fog of the medication and the sense of aloneness. Would you like me to stay a bit?
Adrian reached out through the white glare, mind scattered, thoughts ugly. Yes. I hate to be alone.
Angela clasped his hand tightly, heart picking up a beat. So do I.
Angela listened to the music and fireworks, to John’s mutters and the machine’s steady beeps, unaware that Adrian was laboring to show her something. He shoved an image at her, one he’d been hiding–even from himself.
Angela stared at the picture, resolutely memorizing every curve and line of the object Adrian had sworn he had no knowledge of.
“The witch says if you die, you kill us all.”
John blanched at Angela’s words, working as fast as he could. He held many concerns–about the strength of the infection and Angela’s energy levels–but the worst was the self-doubt. Conner’s weakened blood and Adrian’s depression notwithstanding, John didn’t think he was good enough to pull Adrian through this.
Anne knew John was stressing–the way he bit his lip under the surgical mask hadn’t changed in thirty years. She didn’t distract him, though. She would offer comfort later, when Adrian showed signs of improvement and John made the call on life or death.
Unlike the others, Anne had complete faith in Adrian’s recovery. The men might not understand what was going on in this camp, but Anne was clear. The human species was evolving and much like with any other life form being forced to change in order to survive; having only one mate wasn’t enough to ensure extinction wouldn’t come within a few generations. Angela and Adrian were close–anyone could tell that–but Anne knew it ran deeper. If anything happened to Brady, Angela would go to Adrian. It wasn’t like Samantha, where the urges were driving her to have more than one partner. Angela and Adrian’s connection went further. If Marc weren’t in the picture, theirs would be a love match.
About Seth and Becky, Anne hadn’t decided yet. Teenagers were unpredictable when it came to matters of the heart. She was reserving judgement on that situation, but Anne didn’t think any of it would matter in the end. Evolving wouldn’t be enough against the government. Safe Haven’s power was a serious threat to the remaining authority and when they came, nothing would stand.
5
“Where is she?”
“In the medical camper. She said she needed to lie down for a couple minutes,” Kevin explained quietly. “I didn’t like how she looked.”
Marc walked faster, waving Kevin off when he would have followed him inside. “I know what she needs.”
Kevin took up a post outside the door and kept his ears open for any sign that he needed to call John.
Marc found her curled onto the small couch, nearly invisible under a stack of jackets.
When she smiled and her teeth began to chatter, he scooped her into his arms and dropped back down, holding her on his lap. “You’re empty, right?”
Angela slumped against his big chest, resisting the urge to inhale deeply. “I don’t want to.”
She sounded like a petulant child and Marc burst out laughing.
Angela couldn’t even summon the energy to adjust the slightly uncomfortable position. “Sleep, Brady. Just an hour.”
Marc shifted so that he could see her pale face “Meeting’s in half that, honey.”
She groaned weakly and Marc forced her hand. He talked directly to the witch.
Take what you need, but nothing more. You don’t need her permission if you have mine.
Marc stiffened as the witch greedily sucked at him.
Angela snapped their connection, gasping at the need fluttering in her veins. “Not in control now, Brady. Sleep!”
Marc wasn’t worried–the witch didn’t want him dead. But she did want him…
Marc leaned forward to deliver a slow kiss and felt the witch start drawing while Angela was distracted. After a minute of the blinding heat, Marc didn’t care how much energy was taken, so long as they weren’t interrupted.
Kevin, once he identified the noises, made sure that they weren’t.
6
Neil stared at the sleeping couple with a blank face and a breaking heart. Only napping together, it was more intimate than if they were naked.
Neil forced his feet to take him closer. Samantha hadn’t made any promises and he’d known better than to ask for one. This was how she wanted things.
Neil cleared his throat as he neared the truck, stomach boiling. “You guys awake?”
Jeremy raised a hand and made a curt motion. What?
Neil kept his distance. “It’s time for the meeting.”
Jeremy sighed. “Yeah, okay.”
Neil left without spewing any of the vileness coming to mind, proud that he could. He’d shared an amazing night with the woman currently rolling over into Jeremy’s arms. Neil spun around as she allowed Jeremy to give her a tight hug. Even that was too much to witness.
Jeremy helped Sam sit up, sympathizing with her small moan at the soreness. Nothing said aches and pains like sleeping on a hard, flat surface that you weren’t used to.
Samantha stretched, arms going around his neck. “One more minute gonna matter to the new boss lady?”
Jeremy tugged her close. “We’ll make it up later.”
Sam surrounded herself with his quiet protection. Yes, she did want him because he was safe, but boring? She didn’t view him that way and when she finally told him he didn’t have to hold back with her, no one else would think that either.
“Come on.” Samantha kept her arm around his hips, a bit embarrassed at some of the glares as they walked, but determined to live life by her desires instead of someone else’s expectations. She needed both men, in different ways, and now she had them. It was finally her turn for happiness.
Neil winced at the sight of Samantha and Jeremy walking into the meeting together, but it was his only reaction. It calmed some of the Eagles, but the tension was thick as everyone began to gather inside.
Neil went to a far wall and was dismayed when Samantha immediately led Jeremy to his side.
The two men glared at each other for only a brief moment, and then Jeremy gently placed Samantha between them.
Sam put a hand on each wrist, sending a flare of pleasure up both arms.
“Thank you,” she whispered, not letting go when they both tensed under her fingers. “This is all I need for now.”
Neither man fully understood the details of it, but there was no denying the waves of contentment coming from her. Knowing Samantha was happy meant more to them now than their desires of ownership.
Because they were accepting it, the other Eagles had to, but there was little chatter in the half-filled tent as they all waited for Angela to arrive.
Kenn and Kyle exchanged a quick look in the silence. They had their own plans for the outcome of this meeting and the tension already in the canvas would help it along. The air of danger would be hard for Angela to miss.
The noises of music and fireworks filled the tent as Marc stepped inside, sweeping every person before ducking back out. He looked exhausted.
Kenn recognized the security check and gave Kyle a nod that said to stick to the plan.
The mobster gave one in return that told Kenn he would do his part. Too much depended on this to make mistakes.
Cynthia came in next, followed by a few senior Eagles, and the tent began to heat up as glares were thrown and caught.
Not just Kenn and Kyle had put thought into this meeting. There were many ways that an Eagle could rise in Safe Haven. Usually, those involved hard work, but in a moment like this, a promotion or demotion could happen instantly. Angela wasn’t Adrian–she wouldn’t have the same needs from a staff–and all of them were fighting flashes of previous competitions for their current place as they waited.
7
Angela entered the tent to find three dozen men and two women waiting. She turned a raised brow to Kenn. “This is a few?”
The Marine shrugged. “I only brought the team leaders and their XOs. They brought the others.”
Doug stood up. “You’ll want all of these men.”
Angela didn’t argue. She went to the front of the tent and sank down into the waiting chair with relief. It felt great to sit. Marc’s energy was keeping her on her feet, but she’d stopped the witch from taking more than he could tolerate. He hadn’t realized how empty she was.
Kevin handed her a cup of coffee and she sipped it, surveying the area. The tension in the tent was thick.
“The Major had troops out gathering supplies. They returned to find our mess and now, they’re on the way to Utah. The government will know about Adrian escaping–and about Safe Haven–in short order.” Angela glanced at Marc, then Kenn. “How long for them to reach Utah?”
They conferred briefly.
“Ration conditions, eighteen hour days...”
“Two supply stops...”
“Roughly two weeks.”
Angela was impressed and horrified. She viewed Kevin next. “How long did John say?”
“At least five days, depending...”
“On Adrian’s recovery,” Angela finished. “Okay. We’ll stay the full five that John is recommending and then go.”
“Hard and fast,” Kenn added.
Angela studied the Marine. “Would Adrian run?”
“Yes, and he’d say do it now, to leave him,” Kenn answered, sure that she wouldn’t.
The reminder that the camp mattered more than any of them echoed through the tent.
“Are we going to take off, try to hide?” Neil asked quietly.
“No, Adrian’s Eagles don’t run,” Angela answered firmly.
Silence...then a cheer that she had to wait on before she could continue.
“In the next three weeks, we have to tell the camp that the government is coming, convince them to fight, and get to the mountains to make our stand.”
Neil and Kyle exchanged a look. She had known. She’d lied earlier. Why?
Silence again as the enormity of the challenge struck. Angela let them think it through. Most of these men had expected to hear that running was her solution.
“What happens if we hold a camp meeting and tell them? A lot of them already suspect that some of our people are...different,” Kevin wanted to know.
“We only tell them about the government coming,” Neil stated firmly. “Otherwise the camp will ask them why they can’t defend Safe Haven on their own, with just their gifts.”
People immediately began turning toward Angela, wondering the same thing.
“Magic,” she supplied. “It’s time we used the word among ourselves. There are people here who were born different. We have magic to use.”
“But there’s a reason you guys can’t stand and fight alone, right?” Jeremy asked, ignoring the scowls.
“Of course.” Angela viewed Marc. “Please.”
Marc grunted unhappily. “Fear. If the camp witnesses the power, but doesn’t share in the fight, they’ll be scared of her–of them all.”
“They’ll start sneaking off in the night, a few here and there, and then whole parts of Safe Haven’s population will go openly. Even the Eagles will be torn between us and loved ones,” Angela predicted.
“Why not go out and eliminate them, like we did the slavers?” Kenn asked, earning ugly glares.
“I haven’t ruled it out,” Angela answered. “It depends on what type of a warning we get and how many soldiers they send the first time.”
“That’s right! There’s a lot of room in even one bunker. They’ll still outnumber us.” Zack was worried for his rebellious sons. “When the first group reports, they might even send planes!”
“Not if we kill them all.”
Marc stood straight and unflinching in the silence caused by his cold suggestion. “Adrian told me he thought the mountains were a bad idea–that bad things would happen there and push the camp into agreeing to go south. I say we stick to his plan.”
Marc lit a smoke and tossed it toward Angela, who caught it with a juggle. She waved for him to go on. Convincing the troops was his job now.
Marc raised his voice over the murmurs and mutters. “Adrian knew we’d have trouble with the government at some point. It was what tipped him in favor of leaving for a while. We can heal and get stronger, but only if we have the time. If the government comes and we lose or even negotiate, that puts them in charge of us. We’ll have to register our location, give information on the people here, and their doctors will want access to all of John’s patients.” Marc perched on the edge of a crate. “That’s just for starters. The war never officially ended. We’re still under martial law, the draft. They’ll come in and take every Eagle here. Then, they’ll sort through the camp and demand a cut there.”
Marc looked to Angela, who took up the scene-setting moment.
“Those like me will have to run. If the government gets their hands on us, it’ll be like with the Major, but worse. We’ll be drugged, abused, locked up, and our power will be in their hands. We’ll try to escape, of course, but I won’t ever leave Charlie behind. Jennifer wouldn’t leave her babies. Adrian wouldn’t leave Conner, and so on. It’s very unlikely that we’d see the light of day again. So we’ll scatter across the country to keep it from happening. We’ll go back to being what we were before Adrian called us together–doomed.”
“So keep to the plan, let the bad shit happen?” Billy asked, leg propped up on the seat next to him.
“That’s what we have to decide,” Angela stated. “But, yes, I believe so. We’ll make our stand in the mountains, then go south. By the time they find out and send a real force, we’ll might even be gone.
“What about planes?” Daryl inquired. “Won’t they find us on the open ocean?”
Angela pulled a paper from her pocket and handed it to the closest Eagle.
“Adrian assumed otherwise. He thinks they won’t want to chase us, that they’re already low on men due to fighting, escaping, and being made examples of. And that they’ll fear their men joining us.”
Marc and Angela exchanged concerned looks as the mutters increased. Showing them the page from Adrian’s journal was the fastest way to gain the full support of these men, but it was also dangerous. It revealed how much Adrian had known, expected, and chosen to allow fate to control.
“What does he mean by young sacrifices and nuclear blood?”
“The children we’ve lost, the hell we’ve suffered through the war.” Angela was prepared to answer those questions, but the next one hadn’t even been considered yet.
“What if we skip the fight all together?”
Cynthia flushed at the attention swinging her way. Samantha had waved her along–Jennifer busy scanning people at the QZ–but she knew she didn’t belong in this tent.
“You mean run for a ship now or try to disappear?” Angela tried to clarify.
The reporter cleared her throat. “Neither. I mean make a deal. Sort of, anyway.”
Not able to stand a disjointed report, Angela’s tone got sharp. “Spit it out, already.”
Cynthia’s nervousness was replaced with defensive anger. “I meant make a deal with the camp–to get them to fight. The government battle we can’t run from.”
“Why not?” Kenn asked. “And while we’re at it, why not supply a body?”
“Make them think he’s dead?” Angela considered it, ignoring the pros and cons being called out. The final choice was based on ability.
“I don’t think John can do it well enough to get us a match, but it could buy time. We’ll probably use it.” Angela viewed Cynthia. “Do you honestly understand why we can’t run?”
“Yes. It’s not just our freedom at stake,” Cynthia stated gravely. “If they take Safe Haven, they officially run the country again. We’re the only opposition party.”
“Excellent,” Angela praised. “And terrifying to carry all the responsibility for it.”
Angela glanced around. “We’ll come together again in 24 hours with fresh ideas. One day after that, we will have a plan.”
There was no room for argument, but more importantly, there was no doubt. If Angela said they could do it, then they could. Nearly everyone left the tent with a version of that thought in their minds. She’d never been wrong.
Angela and Marc were among the last people in the humid canvas and they stayed quiet, listening to the few ideas that hadn’t been openly discussed.
Kenn and Kyle had each been working on the problem since being inside Little Rock and finding out that the government had also survived the war. Both men were brutal in their thoughts, and for once, on exactly the same page.
“That’s what I’m saying. If we get ugly enough, they’ll back off.”
“I think so, too. They can’t outnumber us by that much. It’s only one bunker.”
“That we know of,” Marc interrupted. He didn’t like where this was going.
“If they had another, they would have gone there. Anywhere is closer than Utah,” Kyle protested.
“Let me be sure I’m clear,” Angela interrupted the starting fight. “You’re both saying we should drop a decoy body for the first group they send, get the herd south, and then follow them to Utah.”
“Yes.”
“Yes. We’ll grab a couple of them and pry out some basic details–then we take it down.”
“Attack a bunker? Like the slavers did to NORAD?” Marc snarled.
Angela put a hand on his arm. “All options. I’d hear this one.”
Marc grunted angrily, but held his tongue.
Kenn and Kyle went back to unveiling their amazingly similar plans. Neither of them cared about Marc’s displeasure in this moment.
“A few of the gifted people will have to come along to provide personal shields,” Kyle stated.
“And that means we don’t have to kill them. Adrian would prefer it that way and I know you would too, but for us, it means those soldiers can be converted into Eagles,” Kenn explained. “They’ll be able to help with the training, fill out the missing careers and culture gaps.”
“We’ll get the others they’re probably holding–others like Conner. I think we’ll also get a nice add to the herd,” Kyle told Kenn, deep into his first mass ambush. He hadn’t thought of using non-lethal methods.
“How do you figure?” Kenn asked.
“Draft families. Some will have survived and made their way inside, but with that many males locked up together, I’d guess the bunker is encouraging relief sources. Sex makes a good distraction.”
Kenn hadn’t thought of that, but it instantly made sense.
Both trained killers peered at Angela eagerly.
“We can do this.”
“It has a lot of benefits.”
“And so many flaws that I can’t count them all,” Marc accused, unable to hold silent anymore. “You don’t know how many, where, or what type of hardware we’d be facing. It’s suicide.”
“Put it on the list.” Angela’s words sent a cold chill through the tent. “Work out the kinks before you mention it to anyone else. They won’t agree to kidnapping and torture, and neither will I. Not even if we’re the ones doing it.”
Kenn and Kyle left the tent without another word, both surprised to have gotten that far.
The instant they were alone, Marc opened his mouth to protest.
“Wait,” Angela cut him off. “Can you give me a few minutes? I need to look.”
Marc stomped from the tent, huffing in annoyance at the drunken partiers and loud music. He spotted Kenn and Kyle lurking nearby, but was again stopped before he could vent.
“Adrian wouldn’t ever agree to this.” Kenn gave him one of their older, snotty glares. “Why do think she would?”
Kenn left him standing there–speechless.
He’s right, Marc realized after a few minutes of thinking. Angie would never agree to anything so reckless. She’d been placating Kenn and Kyle, keeping them busy.
But Kenn knew that and wasn’t upset... Confused, Marc observed the two men now talking quietly as if there had never been a problem between them, let alone hatred. What was going on?
8
“What do you think?”
Kenn shrugged. “Her mind works like Adrian’s. She’ll look. If it will work, she’ll give us the green light when the time comes.”
“And you’re sure?” Kyle asked. He hated manipulating her this way, but they had to know.
“Yes. She’ll do whatever it takes to hand this camp over to Adrian in the same condition that she received it.”
“Even kill innocent people?”
Kenn stared at the canvas walls, that stiff shadow. “If she needs to.”
“When will we know?”
Kenn settled back to wait. “She’ll tell the others at tomorrow’s meeting, but we’ll find out when she comes from the tent. Watch her face. She doesn’t handle death as well as everyone thinks.”
Angela found Kenn first as she came from the tent. The hateful glower they exchanged made Kyle tense. They’d spent the half hour chatting about baby furniture, of all things.
Angela’s face tightened into a mask of pain and anger, and Kyle realized she and Kenn were talking. He forced himself to wait until she turned for the medical tent.
“Well?”
Kenn was staring after her in concern. Kyle understood it wasn’t good news. “What did she say?”
Trying to redo their plans, Kenn growled, “That when it comes time, you and I will be on the front lines, not Brady!”
Kyle wasn’t sure what to make of that. “It will work? Fool them?”
“She wouldn’t tell me. But she’s pissed, so I’d guess it will.”
Kyle frowned. “What’s the problem, then?”
Kenn gave one last look over his shoulder, toward where she was vanishing into the dim tent that held Adrian. “She has her own plans and I think maybe we just became her Point men for them.”
“Is that bad?”
“It could be. She knows we were trying to manipulate her.”
“What do we do now?” Kyle asked.
Kenn’s answer wasn’t encouraging.
“Wait until she gives the orders and follow them. She’ll still hold the meeting tomorrow and then the one to announce the plans, but in her mind, it’s a done deal.”
“What is?”
“A future-deciding battle with the government. Even if they don’t figure it out, she’ll bring them to us. We really are done running.”