Chapter 24 #2
I shrug. “If you had not hurt Mason, I would have been more impressed than angered. The aim was so precise—I knew whoever shot me didn’t want to kill me, even if Lucy thought I was nuts.”
“I never said you were nuts,” Lucy replies. “At least not out loud.”
Roxana peers down at the photo in her hands. “If there is an afterlife, Paul is waiting to give me an earful for shooting our daughter.”
For some reason, this makes me laugh. It spills out of me abruptly and Roxana is at first surprised, then joins in with a chuckle of her own. She turns the frame over in her hands and pops off the back, slides out the worn photo, and hands it to me. Hesitantly, I take it. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Your father would want you to have it.” After I tuck the photo away into one of my pockets, we stare at each other, almost at an impasse.
“Obviously, my involvement in this coup is personal. She’s in a position she was never suited for to begin with, and she’s only there because she betrayed me and Paul. ”
“Whose involvement isn’t personal? Everyone in this room has a reason to hate Theia,” Lucy says as her hand drifts up my arm and she methodically rubs the back of my neck. I’m still sort of in shock that we’re allowed these intimate touches. “So, when do we start for New York?”
Roxana chuckles at Lucy’s exuberance and Delilah steps forward, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. “We can leave tomorrow morning, but there is one issue.”
“How to get into New York without being seen,” I surmise. Throughout this conversation, that has sat in the back of my mind. “Especially for a region leader, a general, and a ghost-heiress.”
The papers spread across the table are not only maps of current brawls, but also several maps of the island of Manhattan.
Before the war began in earnest, you could get in by water or by air.
Waters were easy to smuggle in, as the locals could be paid off.
Copters weren’t regulated, as Leader Piccolo erroneously assumed their expense made them exclusive to the Upperclass and his police. Theia isn’t nearly as stupid.
“We haven’t figured out yet what the best course of action is.
Nobody needs to perish unnecessarily, but I cannot imagine Theia letting us to walk into the city.
” Delilah paces the room, one hand on her hip and the other near her mouth.
She’s deep in thought—her experience as the region leader in the MidCountry, however brief, has served her well.
Much of our success was due to her superb and meticulous organization and planning.
“Luciana, be a dear and bring the others back in, will you?”
Dutifully, Lucy goes to the door and calls into the hallway. Behind her, Mason, Cassie, and Captain Finley walk in single file and return to their original seats. Mason is barely hiding a smirk and Cassie fumes next to him, her face red with blush.
“This is a moment of decision for the rest of you. Roxana, Taylor, Luciana, and I will be going to New York. This trip will be dangerous, and there is no telling what could happen to any one of us. If you wish to stay back or get to a safe location, we will help as best we can.”
“And not see this bitch get got?” Captain Finley raises her hand. “Count me in.”
“I go with Taylor,” Mason says. “If she’s going, I’m going.”
“Same.” Cassie’s instant loyalty brings me a measure of joy, though I worry about a soldier on her first real mission in these circumstances. “I would also like to see that ‘bitch get got.’”
“Very well. We will leave tomorrow afternoon. I need time to coordinate a transport for us to New Jersey. I have an associate who brings cotton north from Georgia, and I believe she could smuggle us in a truck to at least Philadelphia, maybe New Jersey.”
“The roads are hell.” Captain Finley shakes her head in objection. “If it isn’t some hyper-vigilant UR asshole, it’s another band of thieves.”
“Why not go by sea then?” Cassie rises from her chair and confidently walks across the room with a slight limp.
She spreads a specific map away from the others.
“We aren’t far from the water anyway. We take a boat up the coast, through the Delaware Gap.
The waters are not as well guarded as the roads. ”
Captain Finley whistles and gets up as well, snagging the map and turning it around so she can read it. “Way to go, Blondie Junior. She’s right—nobody is going to look for us coming up the waters. And if they do, we’ll see them coming.”
“The real issue is the city itself,” Roxana remarks. “I’ve been poring over these maps for weeks and I don’t see a single way in that won’t be heavily guarded.”
“I know how to get into Manhattan undetected,” I say.
Roxana peers up from the maps, the ghost of a smirk dimpling her cheek. “You do?”
“Yes. It isn’t foolproof and it will be dangerous, but it won’t be possible otherwise. Boat or plane will be shot down by Lightbringers. Theia retrofit them to protect the city, and I imagine we are no longer on the guest list.”
Roxana glances at Lucy. “You were right.”
“I know,” Lucy replies. She smiles at me with such affection and pride, I blush. “She’s amazing, I told you.”
“And she’s the only person alive who has ever taken down a Lightbringer.” Cassie attempts smugness but she’s too outwardly adoring of me for it to come off as intended. I’m doubly embarrassed and point my gaze firmly at the ground.
“Let’s take the day to pack and plan, and we’ll set out at dawn tomorrow.
” Roxana gestures at us. “Luciana, I suppose you’ll be taking Taylor with you back to your trailer.
I’ll have someone bring by some clothes and weapons for her tonight.
Shea, get Cassie set up in the dorms for tonight.
Start getting in touch with as many of our people as you can and direct them to safe houses.
Tell them not to engage with anyone until they get the order directly from me.
” She pauses. “How old are you, Cassie?”
“I’m sixteen.” She straightens up. “I turn seventeen in the winter.”
Roxana shoots a look at Captain Finley, who in turn stands up and nods. “I’ll keep her away from the wolves, don’t worry. Though, it doesn’t seem like she’ll need my protection. Sixteen and already high on the president’s shit list.”
Cassie bashfully ducks her gaze. “She’s a jerk, so it’s not hard to get on her bad side.”
“Well, you’ll have to tell me about it.” She throws an arm over Cassie’s shoulder, both jocularly and, I think, to help her walk. Her leg is not fully healed from the train fire. Maybe Captain Finley realizes that’s almost entirely her fault. “Catch you in the morning, boss.”
“Mason, I’ll give you the key to where I’m saying,” Delilah says. “It’s a townhouse down the road a bit. Plenty of room.”
Lucy pouts. “Geez, must be nice.”
Delilah smiles as she hands over her key to a playfully smug Mason. “Friends in high places, Luciana.”
“Wait, Mason?” Roxana sizes Mason up, her eyes wide. “Mason as in, the gangly little boy who used to make trouble all over HQ?”
“Oh, shit.” Mason backs up and looks Roxana up and down, grinning ear to ear. “You’re that Roxana. Roxy! Damn, it has been a minute, hasn’t it?”
“That it has. What a handsome man you’ve grown into.” The proud grin on her face turns into a small frown. “I am sorry about your injury. If I could take that day back, I would in a heartbeat.”
Mason nods, but he doesn’t give her any words of forgiveness. I can’t say I blame him. He takes his leave quietly, and Lucy and I follow shortly after.
We see Captain Finley and Cassie halfway down the hallway, and Cassie’s laughter bounces off the walls. Mason nudges me and grins. “I think Cass has a crush.”
“A crush on Captain Finley?” I ask, flabbergasted. “How? And why? I suppose she did take quite a hit to the head in the train derailment.”
Mason and Lucy laugh at me as we walk down the cement staircase a few flights and exit out the door. They hug, and Mason and I do our handshake before we part. “I’ll see y’all in the morning.”
The air is humid and smells like old water, but it’s better than being crammed in the office.
Soggy blades of grass squelch beneath our boots, and despite the unflattering noise, I appreciate the greenery.
During my time in the war, I saw so little grass.
Every city stood thick with concrete and asphalt jungles, most of them covered in snow.
Barren trees with branches like bare fingers clutching toward the sky.
The grass is grounding, welcoming. It is life and water and sun, not death and destruction.
“How sure are you about them?” Collaborating with these fly-by-night opportunists, trying to kill the unelected president of a precarious new nation, trusting a bunch of strangers… Lucy’s impulsive, but she’s also a good judge of character. I need her input.
“Finley is trustworthy. She’s open and straightforward. Likes to fight and does it well. Roxana…well, I didn’t understand her motivations until now.”
“Yeah. This is a lot for me to process.”
“I understand.” She reaches out, and I easily step into her arms. Her gentle touch eases some of the tension keeping my muscles taut. “C’mon. We’ll go back to my place and have lunch, okay? Then we can talk.”
“What about Cassie?” I know she’s more than capable of handling herself, but I can’t shake the idea that I’ve left her to the sharks. Mason will have ten new friends before the day is over, so no need to worry about him.
“Finley will take care of her.” My glare speaks for me and Lucy tilts her head back and laughs. “I know you don’t like her, but Shea won’t hurt Private Frank.”
“I don’t have any opinion about her. But she did try to kill us, so forgive me if I am not as trusting as you are.”