Chapter 6
Caden
I manage to avoid his kick, but before I can throw a punch at his face, he kicks again and hits my ribs. Even with the protective gear, the sharp pain knocks the air out of me. I grunt and lunge, but I misjudge my kick, and Adam easily jumps back.
“What the hell are you doing, Anderson? Focus.”
He’s right. “Sorry.”
Adam goes harder, teaching me a lesson. I withstand his punches and focus on keeping my cool through the pain, showing him I can think before I act.
He used to give me shit when I was a cadet.
As a captain, I don’t need to come here for training, but as the man who recently lost his squad, I need to challenge both my mind and body.
“Someone’s looking at you,” Adam says while we both stand with our fists raised, waiting for an opening.
“Who?”
“Someone who seems into you.”
“You’ll have to narrow it down.”
He snickers, then lunges, but I shift in time. I take my chance to punch at his ribs. He hisses and hops back. Now I can see who he was talking about, even though I knew it was Finn.
Adam’s next attack is brutal, but I push through the pain until he makes a mistake. I’m on him like a raging lion, and in less than a minute, he calls for me to stop.
“Bastard,” he pants and throws his boxing gloves onto the mattress. “No crowd next time. You get off on that.”
I remove my gloves to shake his hand, both of us grimacing and dripping sweat. I’m only wearing training shorts and protective gear that I’m happy to take off because it itches.
Before I can turn to leave, Adam grabs my arm and quietly says, “I know you think you can control everything, but you can’t.
What happened to your squad was terrible, but some things are beyond our control.
I’ll be here if you need to blow off steam, but at some point, you’ll need to shake it off and move on. ”
I appreciate his words, but he doesn’t know exactly what happened, how my squad was wiped out without firing a single shot. I walk away from the training area to meet Finn, who’s standing next to the locker room, holding a bottle of water.
“For me?”
He raises his eyes from my chest. “Yes.”
I take the water, brushing my fingers with his. He looks away as I drain the bottle. It’s evening, and this area of the facility is now empty after Adam left.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“I spoke with Helena.”
“As in Mother?”
“Yes. I told her that I’d be leaving for High Hope with Timothy. She communicated with River, and he said that he and Josh would meet us in High Hope.”
I take in his words. I haven’t decided yet how to handle Finn’s request for me to escort him, but this changes things.
“Are you sure he’s going to be there?” For a second, I wonder if he’s just saying that to make me agree to come, then I feel like an ass for thinking that.
“Well, I only know what Helena told me. Things might happen on their way there. I want to leave in three days. It’s up to you whether to come or not.”
“I’m not managing my own assignments. I’ll need to get approval for something like that, likely from the general himself.”
“I know, but first you need to make a decision. I won’t beg.”
No, he wouldn’t. He has as much pride as I do, maybe even more. “I’ll talk to him and get a sense of where he stands. In the meantime, use the time to practice shooting.”
“You know I don’t like guns.”
“I reckon you’ll like dying even less.”
He sighs. We’ve had this discussion before, but whether or not he’ll have me protecting him on this journey, it’s going to be dangerous. “I know how to use a gun, but I have other ways to defend myself.”
“Your sharp tongue can only take you so far. You should—” I look down when I catch him moving his hand. Before I can ask what he’s doing, I feel the cold blade against my neck.
“I have more than my sharp tongue, okay?”
I’d chuckle, but I don’t want to cut myself. “Okay.”
He removes the blade. “If you can’t make it, we’ll need to get somebody else. Please let me know as soon as you can.”
He walks away, but I still feel his blade against my neck, and I don’t mind the feeling.
*
I need to wait an hour for General McCoy to see me, but I did show up without an appointment. His office is mostly taken up by a large table covered with maps, but he’s currently sitting behind his desk. I salute, and he gestures for me to sit.
“How are you holding up?”
Since I’m not here to talk about my feelings, there’s only one right answer. “I’m doing better, sir. Ready to get back out there.”
“Yes, your major told me about your little… discussion.”
I shift in my seat. “Yes, sir.”
“At some point, threatening to resign will stop being cute. Remember that.”
I’m allowed to leave the force as long as I’ve completed at least four years of service. I’m now in my tenth year, and I can’t see myself doing anything else. It was never just a job for me, but a calling, yet I won’t stay at all costs, and it’s important for them to realize that.
“Perhaps I should’ve shown more respect to the major,” I say.
“I hope your shooting is better than your apologies. Regardless, you’ll get a squad, but it will take some time. I’m sure you’re not interested in a bunch of new recruits.”
Hell no. “Thank you, sir, but I’m not here for that.”
He sighs, making it clear he knows what I want to ask. “Your place is either at HQ or commanding a squad in battle. Escorting an ex-Raider and a plastic spider is not something my best captain is going to do.”
I’m too angry at his words to feel flattered by his rare compliment. “With all due respect—”
“I don’t underestimate the importance of our relationship with High Hope, but after what you just lost, do you think it makes sense for you to disappear for weeks?”
The Defender in me understands the general’s logic.
I should stay close to the Hive if things are heating up, but defending the Hive won’t solve the growing danger in Denver—establishing an alliance with High Hope might.
Before the fiasco with the New-Humans, all I cared about was protecting my little part of the world, but I know now that isn’t sustainable, not if we wish to prosper rather than merely survive.
“I’ll be more useful if I join the delegation, sir. We didn’t take down the New-Humans alone; a Defender and a Semi did that. Hell—a mutant helped Josh escape.”
“I’m aware of that, and I’m fully supportive of this delegation. It seems that other members of the assembly are also interested in sending their representatives. Dino doesn’t enjoy everyone’s blind support.”
Something tells me the general had a hand in that, and I try hard to keep my opinion from showing on my face. I know shit about politics, but I do know Dino, and the man is a good leader and a good man. “More people in the delegation will need more protection.”
He leans back in his chair. “A few days ago, you demanded a squad; now you want to leave for weeks. If you want my approval, you’d better be honest with me, son.”
I let out a breath. “Josh is going to be in High Hope.”
“Huh, I see.” I wait for him to say something bad about Josh since it was him who got him exiled last year, but he’s smart enough not to. “So this is less about the mission and more about the guests.”
His words sting, even if they’re true. “I would’ve asked to join the delegation regardless.”
He doesn’t seem convinced, but he knows better than to flat-out call me a liar. What he says next surprises me. “I won’t be the general forever, Caden. I have ten years left if I’m lucky.”
“Sir?”
“When it’s time to appoint my successor, I would like for you to be in the running.”
The hell? “I’m a captain.”
“I hope for your sake that you won’t remain one for a decade. Obviously, it’s too early to discuss this, but I didn’t achieve this position by not planning ahead. You have what it takes to lead the Defenders. Not now, but eventually.”
It’s rare that I can’t find anything to say. I don’t even know if I want to be a general, but I’m honored for even being considered. I can’t help but wonder if my refusal to blindly follow orders was what established me as an option in the general’s mind.
“To achieve such a position will require you to make some tough decisions and sacrifices,” the general says, holding my gaze and bringing us back to the topic at hand.
I don’t need him to tell me about sacrifices. “I understand, sir.”
He smiles. “Good. Are we in agreement, then?”
“I believe so.” I stand up. “I’ll be joining the delegation to High Hope. I’m going to see Josh.”
*
My steps are heavy as I walk back to my apartment, not because I regret my decision, but because I know the ramifications will come back to haunt me. I could see it in the general’s single eye as it held my gaze, giving me a chance to take back my words.
But I didn’t.
I open my front door, surprised to see I left the light on. Then I see Dino sitting on my couch, his legs crossed.
“Did I leave my door open with a sign to come right in?”
“Isn’t every closed door meant to be a challenge?”
“Yeah, if you’re a criminal.” I grab a chair and sit facing him. “You know the codes to all doors?”
“That’s classified. How are you?”
“Fine.”
“How are you, Caden?”
I sigh. “Tired. Angry. People died on my watch.” Again.
“And now it’s up to you to make their deaths count.”
“They were butchered while hiding in the grass, Dino. Their death was pointless and unheroic. It will never count for anything.”
“Then why haven’t you resigned yet? You’re obviously a failure.”
“Watch it.”
“Oh, you don’t agree? So maybe you should find a better use for your anger.”
“Like escorting your delegation? Yeah, I’m going to do that.”
“Of course you will.”
I cross my arms. “Overconfident much?”
“Josh is going to be in High Hope. If that’s not enough of a reason for you to go, then I don’t know you at all.”
I can’t deny he knows me more than anyone.
Josh was always Dino’s favorite, but it’s not like I had anyone but him who gave a damn about me and Ruben during our stay at the orphanage.
Years later, I found out that Dino used to be Josh’s late father’s best friend, which selfishly made me feel better because it meant I hadn’t done anything wrong to make him prefer Josh over me.
“Finn said we should leave in three days.”
“That’s the plan. One more person will join you, the right-hand man of Assembly Member Lock.”
I snort. “Him?”
“Unfortunately, but I need to pretend I’m playing ball.”
“Pretend?”
“When a member of the assembly is directly feeding the general private information, I pretend.”
“You mean Lock? You can expose him.”
“And lose my best way of feeding the general crap?” Dino shakes his head. “Unlikely.”
“You do remember I’m a Defender, right? The general’s my boss.”
“I didn’t reach this position by misjudging people, Caden, and if I can’t trust you, I can’t trust anyone.”
His words mean a lot. Deep down, I will likely always remain the kid who desperately wished to impress him.
“I have a question about Hector,” he says.
My stomach tightens. “What about him?”
“What were his exact words about a plague?”
I try to remember. “He didn’t go into specifics. He just said that a plague is coming and we’d better keep our distance.” I watch him closely. “Was he being literal?”
“I don’t know.”
“I can tell you know something.”
He nods, heaviness in his eyes. “For years, we’ve been in contact with small settlements across Colorado and beyond to share intel.
One of those settlements is called Saratoga, up in Wyoming.
We haven’t been able to reach them for the last two months.
The last we heard was a radio transmission mentioning that they had lost two people on patrol.
They couldn’t find the bodies, just a lot of blood and a piece of skin that was likely torn from a gunshot.
It had scales on it. They suspected their men might have been attacked by wild animals. ”
“And that was the last time we heard from that settlement?”
“Yes.”
“Did we send anyone to check on them?”
“We didn’t want to risk an expedition traveling so far.”
That makes sense. We have enough problems close to home. “Does Finn know about this?”
“Yes, but Saratoga isn’t the only settlement we lost contact with; it’s just the one that mentioned scales before going off the grid.”
“How many settlements are we talking about?”
“Ten, all north of Denver.”
I rub my face. This is worse than I thought. “How many Defenders can I take to High Hope?”
“The general agreed to four plus a leader.”
I wish for more, but I can’t negotiate with the general after our conversation earlier. “Three days, you say?”
“Can you make it sooner?”
“Yes.”
He nods and stands up. “Keep me updated. And when you see Josh, give him a hug from me. A strong one.”