When Dani had approached Aunt Hattie about her idea and the older woman hadn’t come after her with her ax or thrown her out the door, Dani had assumed that was a good sign. Then Hattie had declared that she would call the council together for Dani to present her proposal. Dani had almost puked at this revelation.
She tended to skulk in the shadows; all of a sudden, she was expected to stand before Bangor’s leadership? Dani had hoped Hattie would take the idea to them, but she should have known she wouldn’t be that lucky.
The council’s response had left Dani disheartened. Some had agreed that the Brigands should organize to help the CNA, but several council members had lashed her with flat refusals and insults, and the rest of the council had refused to commit either way.
Dani sat on the floor in a back room of the brothel surrounded by wiring, pieces of a solar panel, and a battery. Her frustration carried over into her work, and she yelped and dropped the pliers when she pinched her finger with them. Brody’s head came up at the sudden noise but dropped back to the floor. His rounded belly, full of food from Mary, was making him lazier than ever. He resumed snoring seconds later. Dani envied the dog’s ability to sleep so soundly.
“You okay?” Gavin asked as he entered.
Brody opened his eyes, thumped his tail against the floor a couple of times, and closed his eyes again.
“Yeah.” Dani examined her sore finger and rubbed the bruised skin with her index finger.
“I’ve seen you put these things together in no time, but you’ve barely started and you’ve been in here for hours.”
“Are you stalking me?”
“Nah. Mary told me you were having a bad day and hiding in here.”
Dani frowned. She wanted to say she wasn’t hiding, but that’s exactly what she was doing.
“Still beating yourself up over the council presentation?”
“I thought it would go better than it did.”
“You made a great case for partnering with the Commonwealth, and an even better argument for uniting the Brigands. No one could have done better, Dani.”
“You should see the sneers I get when I walk down the street now. I feel like even more of an outcast than before.”
“Just wait until they find out you’re an Echo too.”
“Shut up!” Dani hissed. She leaned around him to make sure no one was near the door. Reassured that it was empty, she punched him in the arm.
Gavin, unaffected by her assault, chuckled and stood. “You’re not an outcast. Build your panel sometime today, will you? I’ll see you tonight. I have something to show you.”
Brody’s tail thumped against the floor again when Gavin stopped to pet him for a moment before leaving.
Dani was used to scavenging alone; she enjoyed her independence. This was the first time she’d felt lonely. What was she thinking, trying to unite two enemies that had hated each other for decades? Her attempt to unite just one of the groups had already failed.
She brushed away the tear that escaped her eye, annoyed by her show of emotion.
“You really are having a bad day,” Mary said as she entered the room carrying two mugs. She handed a mug to Dani before carefully kneeling in her simple blue linen dress. “Quite the shit storm during the council meeting the other night. Lots of stressed-out councilmen and women drowning themselves in alcohol and other activities when it was over. Also lots of talk of uniting the Brigands to form a partnership with the CNA.”
Dani grunted and sniffed her mug. Ale. She loved ale. “I can’t pay for this.”
“It’s on me. I think a partnership is a great idea. To the end of the war.” Mary lifted her mug.
Dani tapped her mug against Mary’s, desperate for the wish to come true. “To the end of the war.” She took a sip of the ale and coughed. “What’s in here?” she asked before taking another drink.
After swallowing her sip, Mary grinned. “Ale with a shot of courage.”
Dani nodded. “I like it.” The mixture burned her mouth and throat, left a soothing warmth behind that she enjoyed.
“Thought you might, but you’ll want to slow down at bit before it catches up to you.” Mary shifted from her knees to her rump and took another drink. “I heard your proposal caused quite the ruckus at the meeting.”
“That’s me, the stirrer of shit,” Dani said with a giggle. She didn’t know what was in the mug other than ale, but it had to be Hattie’s elixir or something similar. She took another gulp, but a smaller one this time.
Mary smiled. “How is Oliver?”
“He’s fine. I saw him and Miles, his father, the other day.”
Dani’s face was impossibly warm, but she wasn’t sweating. Ale would help cool her off, right? She took another sip.
“Don’t drink that so quickly, Dani.”
“Uh-huh.” Dani’s eyes remained fixed on the liquid in her mug.
“Miles is handsome,” Mary said.
“Uh-huh.”
“Gavin is too.”
“Yep.”
“Planning to sleep with either, or both, of them?”
“Nah.”
Mary’s eyebrows went up. “I think you should reconsider that decision.”
Dani laughed and shook her head. She felt like she was swimming though she was sitting on the floor, and her mug was almost empty now. Her eyes only left the bottom of her mug when Mary leaned in close and kissed her.
Dani was stunned by the act, but didn’t pull away from Mary. Instead, she kissed her more deeply, until she tasted the lingering flavor of ale in Mary’s mouth. Finally, she ended the kiss—just as a wave of dizziness arrived. She touched the side of her head and winced.
“I told you to drink it more slowly,” Mary said.
“Did you drug me?”
Mary frowned. “Of course not.”
Dani handed her mug off to Mary. “What’s in mine is not in yours. Why not?”
“I’m on the clock, darling. I can’t drink the heavier stuff.”
“Christ. You’re getting me drunk on purpose.”
Mary shrugged. “You’re stressed out of your mind. You were crying a moment ago.”
Dani wanted to leave the room, but she didn’t trust her legs to hold her up.
“Do you think I’m trying to take advantage of you?” Mary asked with a frown.
“What other motivation would you have?” Dani pulled her pack close and rummaged in it for a moment before removing her canteen of water. She drank the water fast, trying to dilute the mix of chemicals in her gut.
“Are you so dense that you still don’t see how much I like you?”
“Yes—I mean, no. Fuck. I don’t know what I mean. I can’t think.” Dani drained the rest of the water from the canteen. Beads of sweat formed on her face, and she wiped them away.
“I was only trying to help you relax, Dani.” Mary stood. “I’ve never seen you so upset before. You’re usually a bit on the gloomy side, all business. I gave you the drink, yeah, but I didn’t expect you to gulp it. I warned you. Twice!”
Dani couldn’t argue with her; Mary had told her to slow down.
“Granted, I probably shouldn’t have kissed you, but I couldn’t resist when you laughed. I love that sound … and don’t hear it often enough. I’d never drug or take advantage of you.”
Dani remained silent, unsure what to say. Her mind was still so fogged.
Mary shook her head and sighed. “I’ll bring you more water.”
She left before Dani could apologize. She’d hurt her friend’s feelings, and the familiar sensation of feeling like crap returned as the effects of the mug’s contents wore off a little. She stood, wobbled, and waited a moment for her legs to steady.
Aunt Hattie appeared in the doorway, glanced at the equipment on the floor, and scowled.
“Glad you don’t get paid by the hour, honey.”
“I know.”
“Hell, I’m glad you don’t get paid at all,” Hattie said, and she burst into raucous laughter.
“I had a few delays,” Dani said when Hattie was done. “I’ll finish the build today, promise.”
“Good. Your face is flushed.”
“Hot flash.”
“Ha! You’re far too young to be having those. Enough bullshit. The council has decided that if you can convince the CNA to agree with your insane idea, they’re willing to talk to them to work out an agreement.”
Dani stared at Hattie, certain the chemicals in her system were causing a hallucination.
“That’s great news!” Mary stepped past her employer to give Dani a mug of water and placed a second mug on the floor.
“She’ll have to pull a magic rabbit out her ass to make the CNA agree first. Good luck—and finish my damn panel!” Hattie swept out of the room.
Mary picked up Dani’s canteen. “I’ll refill this for you. Just water.” When she was done pouring, she turned to leave.
Dani caught her arm. “I’m sorry I accused you of those things, Mary.”
“I may have been too forward. I didn’t realize how much of a cheap date you are.”
“My fault. Did Aunt Hattie really just say what I think she did? I didn’t hallucinate that, did I?”
“You heard her right. Congratulations, Dani. There isn’t a better person to create this partnership than you. I know you think you’re in this alone, but there are a lot of people that will always be on your side. Other than Aunt Hattie, you may be the most-liked Brigand in Bangor.”
“Me?”
“It’s adorable how clueless you are sometimes. Now, finish that panel before Aunt Hattie skins you alive and makes you the most-dead Brigand in Bangor.”
Dani stepped closer to Mary and embraced her. Hugging wasn’t something she’d done since she was much younger, so the action was awkward and stiff, but she felt compelled to do it. “Thank you for being my friend.”
“Any time. Next time we have ale, it will be just ale, since you clearly can’t handle the heavier stuff.”
“Deal.”
“You’re good at kissing, but you suck at hugging.” Mary winked at her. “Practice on Brody; he won’t mind.”
“No, he won’t.” Dani smiled.
Mary left, and Dani ran her hand through her hair. She was both elated and terrified at Hattie’s news. She needed to tell Jace and Gavin—but she had a solar panel to build first. She chugged some more water, sat on the floor, and went to work.