Late afternoon began to turn into evening as Dani walked north on the old road near the river. The water flowed out toward the bay, and a bald eagle soared above. She always enjoyed spotting eagles or ospreys patrolling the waterway. Her attention diverted to the sound of an approaching vehicle. Only the wealthiest Brigands owned cars or trucks, and with gasoline so limited, few were ever driven. There were solar cars too, of course, but powering them was an issue, as the charging equipment deteriorated over time. Repairs were ghastly expensive due to the scarcity of replacement parts, even used ones. The most successful business people in Bangor were brothel/pub owners, lumberjacks and jills, and mechanics.
Dani stepped off the road as the car crept over the battered asphalt toward her. She smiled when she recognized the driver.
“These roads are shit, but it sure beats walking,” Hattie said, slowing to a stop beside her. “You’re still a bit gimpy on that ankle. Want a ride back to Jace’s?”
“Back? You were already there?”
Hattie gave Dani a wink and a grin. “Your brother is doing just fine for a man in his seventies.”
Dani smiled politely, though the thought of her brother having sex with Aunt Hattie made her cringe. Jace and Hattie shared a semblance of a relationship, but Dani could live without the mental image of them in bed together. “I’m fine to walk the rest of the way. Thank you for the offer.”
“Suit yourself. I must be getting back. Work beckons as the sun goes down. Oh, and thanks for the solar panel, honey, but you will have to come by to put the damn thing together for me. I know that wasn’t part of the deal; I’ll feed you and the mutt well as payment.”
“Yeah, I’ll swing by.”
“Good. I’ll tell Mary you’re coming,” Hattie said with a wink. She removed her foot from the brake and rolled the car forward, maneuvering around the worst of the holes and buckles in the road.
Dani continued her walk to the small home she had shared with Jace until just a few days ago. When she arrived, she stood outside for a moment and watched him move around inside. He scooped food from a pot into a bowl and eased his arthritic body into a chair at the table. He poured a dollop of liquid from a bottle on the table into his bowl—a bottle the same size as the one Hattie had given her the night at the brothel. She was glad her brother had something to ease the pain. She considered leaving and coming back tomorrow, but she needed to end the battle between them. She made Brody wait a few feet from the house before she approached the door and knocked.
The chair scraped against the floor for a second, and Dani heard Jace’s footsteps as he came to the door. He smiled as he opened it, but his smile faded upon seeing her.
“Sorry, I’m not Hattie,” Dani said.
“Where’s the dog?”
“Around back.”
Jace grunted and, leaving the door open, returned to the table. Dani figured the fact that he hadn’t slammed the door on her meant his temper had also cooled. She entered and closed the door.
“Hungry? There’s a little stew left in the pot.”
Dani recognized the smell as Hattie’s recipe; she appreciated the older woman’s efforts to take care of Jace. “I’ll eat later.” She removed her pack and pulled two smaller sacks from it. She placed the sacks next to the pot before sitting in the remaining chair at the table.
Jace ate in silence, and Dani glanced around the room. She’d tended to keep the house tidier when she was there. Now that he was living alone, Jace had a mix of clothing and tools in various places of his room. His bed linens were also in disarray; Dani turned her eyes from the sight. She didn’t need the reminder of her brother’s extra activities with Hattie.
“Ever think of moving closer to town?” she asked.
“Why would I do that? Too many people.” Jace set his spoon aside and brought the bowl to his lips. He slurped the remaining stew until it was gone. He placed the bowl back on the table and leaned back in his chair. “Why are you here, Dani?”
“I wanted to apologize for being angry with you the other day. I never thanked you for coming to Aunt Hattie’s to help me with Oliver.”
“You thanked Gavin by moving in with him.”
Dani’s temper began to flare, and she pinched her lips closed so she wouldn’t blurt anything back at him. She didn’t need a fight; she needed his help, again.
“I’m not living with him, Jace. Near him, yes, but not with him,” she said once she’d suppressed enough of her irritation to speak almost nicely.
“Food in those sacks?” he asked with a nod toward the sacks she’d left near the pot.
“Stuff foraged from the forest and fields, plus a little jerky and bread.”
“So.” Jace narrowed his eyes. “You come here bringing food and apologizing. You even remain polite when I jab you about Gavin. What do you want?”
He had intentionally tried to provoke her, and he knew she was up to something. “You can be a real prick, brother.”
“Uh-huh. What do you want?”
She was tempted to stall. This is what I came here for, she reminded herself. She took a breath. “I want to end this war, Jace.”
He leaned forward in his chair. “War? The one between us? You don’t care—”
“No, Jace. No, no,” she said, ending his rant before he could get going. “The war.”
Jace flinched at her response. He shook his head. “You want to end the war? What exactly does that mean?”
“I’m not signing up with the CNA, so stop freaking out. But what if we—meaning the Brigands—joined forces with the CNA against the Wardens? Not as MPs, but as allies?”
Jace blinked several times without speaking. When he opened his mouth, Dani expected him to say something, but instead he erupted with laughter.
She rolled her eyes. Normally this would be when she’d become so annoyed with him that she’d leave, but she remained planted in her chair.
His laughter subsided when she stayed. “You’re not serious.”
Dani stared back at him.
“No, Dani, you cannot be serious.”
“Brigands combined with the Commonwealth are 80 percent of the population. We have the numbers to crush the Wardens and their attempts to take over Earth.”
“The Wardens have all the tech. They blow the CNA to bits every time they attack.”
“Yes! That’s my point. The Wardens are always the ones to start a fight. What if the CNA and Brigands did it instead?”
Jace shook his head. “The CNA never attacks first.”
“And they get their asses kicked almost every time they only defend. They survive, but they get the shit kicked out of them for it. If we join and attack first, the Wardens will never see it coming, precisely because it’s never been done before.”
Jace remained silent. Dani took that to mean he was in some form of agreement with her.
“Jace, forget the war for a moment. Biologically speaking, we, Echoes, have the potential to be immortal. The human numbers are still higher than the Echoes’, but we’ll ultimately outlive them. Used to be uncommon to cross paths with an Echo, right? That’s what you told me when I was little. That’s not the case anymore. When the humans die, that’s it. They’re gone. In time, especially with this war killing everyone off, the Echoes will be the only ones left. And the Wardens are only interested in taking Echoes, which means we’ll always be hunted until we’re all caught or dead.”
Jace folded his arms across his chest.
I fucking hate when he does that. She again pushed her irritation aside. “Oliver, Miles, and Hattie, along with every other human friend we have, will die. They’ll all die, Jace. I can’t live with myself if I do nothing and let that happen.”
He unfolded his arms and scratched at his beard. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“Be honest, Jace. I have never had a mind. Damn thing keeps resetting on me.”
Jace’s frown slowly transformed into a wry chuckle at her joke. “Okay, I’ll bite. How do you plan on ending the war?”
“We need to bring the Brigands together. Stop operating independently of each other. If we can unite the Brigands, we can fight alongside the CNA.”
“You mean join the CNA?”
“No. The Brigand army becomes its own entity. We partner with the Commonwealth.”
“And you will lead this Brigand army?”
“Gavin will.”
Jace erupted again with laughter. “So he’s brainwashed you into thinking this is not only possible but is a good idea too?”
“I convinced him.”
Her brother’s laughter ended in a startled cough.
“We’ve always avoided the war, or tried to, but by avoiding it, we’ve made it worse, Jace.”
“The Brigands partner with the CNA, and then what? Team scavenger hunts?”
“We retake Maine from the Wardens.”
Jace’s mouth dropped open, and his face paled. This was the second time in the span of days Dani had thought she might see her brother die of fright.