“Dani!” Miles scrambled down the rocks toward the frozen, sandy area where Dani and Oliver were still skipping stones. “The CNA is meeting with the council. Now. You’re supposed to be there.”
“This is more fun.” Dani winked at Oliver, and he grinned.
“Hattie has threatened me with bodily harm if I don’t bring you back.”
“She was probably joking,” Dani tossed another rock on the ice. It bounced several times before sliding to a stop—well short of Oliver’s record-breaking stone. She frowned.
“I assure you, she was not,” Miles said.
Dani rolled her eyes.
“You should go,” Oliver said.
“Fine,” Dani said. “You hold the record for distance, but don’t plan on keeping it for long.”
Oliver grinned again.
Dani gave him her rocks and started up the slope with Miles.
“Can I come to the meeting?” Oliver called after them.
Miles shook his head. “I don’t think—”
“Sure!” Dani said.
Oliver discarded the rocks. “C’mon, B.”
Whatever injuries Hattie had threatened him with, Miles seemed to believe the woman would follow through, because he kept urging them to walk faster. Dani obliged so he would calm down.
They made the final turn up the last hill and walked up the steps to the old courthouse. Their footsteps echoed in the halls as they moved through the building. Miles opened the door and allowed Dani, Oliver, and Brody through before he followed and closed the door.
Every set of eyes in the room turned to see who’d come to the meeting so late.
Hattie sat with the rest of the Brigand council at one half of a long table; Commonwealth leaders were seated along the other half.
“It’s about fucking time,” Hattie said.
“Happy to see you too,” Dani said.
The room was full of many of the volunteers who had fought for Portland and the remainder of Maine. All seats were taken, so Dani took a place along the wall among several others who were also standing. She leaned against the wall, wondered why she had to be here.
Dani spotted Mary seated among the group in attendance. She was wearing the yellow dress Dani liked. When Dani smiled at her, she pointed at her wrist and mouthed, “You’re late.” That only made Dani smile wider. She was with her friends, and she was happy. She could do without the meeting, but she remembered Oliver’s words and tried to be content.
“We wanted all the Bangor Brigands that took Portland here so we could formally offer our thanks and congratulations to you,” Houston said.
“Is that it? Can we go now?” Dani whispered to Miles. She gave him a mischievous grin, and he tightened his jaw and glared at her in reply. Dani sighed and realized she wasn’t going to get out of this meeting. Oliver covered his snickering laugh with his hand.
Brody sat patiently next to Dani’s leg. She scratched his head while the people seated at the table made various announcements she ignored.
Dani noticed an insignia change on Houston’s uniform. She leaned close to Miles. “Promotion?”
He nodded. “Full colonel now.”
“Huh. Good for her.”
Several commendations were presented to CNA troops and Brigand volunteers. Dani’s mind wandered while everyone clapped. Then Gavin’s name was mentioned as a recipient, and her attention snapped to the present. She glanced around the room but didn’t see him.
“Good thing he’s not here for me to pummel him,” Miles said.
Between herself, Miles, and Mary, Gavin would receive more bruises than awards if he returned to Bangor. That thought made her smile again.
“Still can’t believe that asshole left you,” Miles said. “I just shoot my girlfriends when I’m done with them.”
Dani snorted a laugh that her hand was too slow to conceal.
“Shh!” Oliver hissed at her.
She glanced at Miles. “You’re going to get me in trouble.”
He shook his head. “You don’t need anyone’s help to do that.”
“Captain Marcus is on an assignment in New Hampshire and couldn’t be here today, but I know he was a long-term member of the Bangor community and has friends here,” Houston said.
Fewer friends than before. Dani leaned closer to Miles so it was easier to talk to him and not be too disruptive to the proceedings. “Captain? That was a quick promotion.”
“He’s an Echo; he has more years of military experience than I have of being alive.”
“What’s in New Hampshire?”
“You’d know if you’d been here when this thing started.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but he shushed her.
Houston continued talking, and Dani resumed rubbing Brody’s ears. Her middle grumbled with hunger, and she shifted her stance when one of her legs started to cramp from standing still for so long. Oliver, also bored with the announcements, dropped to his knees to pet Brody. With all the extra attention, the dog’s tail didn’t stop moving.
“In retaking Portland, we have acquired major quantities of food, munitions, tech, and other equipment and supplies,” Houston said. “The shipments designated for delivery to Bangor will start arriving tomorrow, and Brigands and the CNA will receive equal portions of the spoils.”
Several in the crowd cheered.
“The CNA fully understands that we could not have taken Portland without support from residents of Bangor and other towns across the state,” Houston continued. “We also understand that the Brigand partnership with the CNA would not have happened if certain rogue Brigands had not interrupted a CNA meeting and forced us to hear them out.”
People in the room shifted in their seats, and all eyes turned to Dani.
She lifted her eyes from Brody to see everyone staring at her.
“We all suffered a huge loss when Jace died,” Houston said.
Dani wasn’t sure what to say, assuming her voice would actually work even if she came up with something, so she just nodded.
“We’re converting one of the old airport hangars here into a center specifically for training CNA troops on the stealth techniques he taught us early on. Dani, we’d like you to help oversee the training regimens in his place.”
“Yeah, sure,” Dani said, though her voice sounded a pitch higher than normal.
“Great. Thank you.” Houston returned her attention to the greater crowd again. “The CNA has reinforced the Maine borders now that we’ve retaken the entire state. We’ll continue to hold Portland while we rebuild our supplies and weapons. The Wardens’ Research and Development division in Portland was working on groundbreaking tech that we’ve never seen before. We have that research now, and will continue to build upon it with our own engineers and scientists. We will also remain in Portland and reinforce her defenses.”
“When is the next attack on the Wardens?” Dani asked. Shit. Didn’t mean to say that out loud. She swallowed hard, wishing she hadn’t blurted out the question.
Houston shifted in her chair. “Next attack? We suffered heavy losses retaking Maine, Dani. We must conserve our troops and resources to defend—”
“No!” Dani burst out. “God. When will you people learn? We can’t just sit on our asses. The Wardens still control Canada. They also still have New Hampshire to our west and south. You think they’re going to conserve their troops?”
“No, but—”
“You think they won’t come at us from the east?”
“We’re planning for that event.”
“We have secured one fucking port, Colonel. One. How do you plan to get naval reserves in when we have one port? All the lobster boats in the world won’t be able to take on a Warden carrier.” Dani realized she was now standing directly in front of the table. She wasn’t sure when she’d left her spot against the wall to confront the colonel, but she was committed now.
“Can you defend Portland and not lose one person? No. Defending only works if you never take any damage, which you can’t do. This is not the time to sit and regroup.”
Houston leaned forward in her seat. “What do you propose?”
“Rally more Brigands and bring in more CNA troops. Take the ports in New Brunswick and Quebec.”
“Canada?”
“Canada is still part of the Commonwealth of North America, right?” Dani asked.
Houston tightened her jaw.
“Start taking parts of Canada. Only then can we attempt to establish supply routes with other parts of the East Coast and the UK. Troops are spread out so thin across North America they can’t hold anything for long if the Wardens want to take it from them. Abandon non-strategic areas to take the important ones.”
“Bangor Brigands will be part of this offensive?” Houston asked.
“No.”
“So the CNA can do the rest of the fighting on our own?”
“Bangor—both CNA and Brigands—will have a different target.”
Houston laced her fingers together and stared at Dani. “Which target?”
“The largest city in New England.”
Several at the table with Houston gasped; some swore. But most of the Brigands seated and standing behind Dani murmured their support.
“You’re not serious.”
Dani didn’t answer. They had a deadline to end the war; everyone else just didn’t know it yet.
“Jesus, you’re insane,” Houston said, leaning back in her chair.
Hattie grinned and winked at Dani. “As Maine goes, so goes the world.”
Dani turned to face the room. “Portland was the first target, and we have many others to take before we’re done. We have a long fight ahead of us, but Boston will be ours again. It’s time for the Wardens to get the fuck off our planet.”
“Boston! Boston!” the crowd chanted.
“Won’t exactly be a sneak attack this time, with everyone knowing the target—not to mention how we took Portland,” Houston shouted to Dani over the noise.
Maybe she really was crazy. But her flicker of doubt disappeared when Miles appeared at her side and gave her left shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She felt a tug on her right hand, and found Oliver looking up at her from her other side with a smile on his face.
Dani squared her shoulders. “We’ll find another way in.”
“Boston?” Houston said. “Are you sure? What about Portsmouth instead?”
Dani grinned. “We’re retaking Boston.”