The Child Thief 6: Zero Hour

by Forrest, Bella

  “That’s weird,” Jace said, seeing the same thing. “The horses didn’t spook.”

  “They must be combat trained,” Nelson said.

  “Good, we need all the soldiers we can get,” Abe interjected. “Hope they’re good with guns.”

  Nelson rolled her eyes. “Trained for riding into battle, obviously.”

  Abe feigned disappointment.

  “Think that’ll ever come in handy?” Jace asked, furrowing his brow. “I mean, I don’t think horses will go up well against airships.”

  “Unless you need to make an inconspicuous getaway, like into thick woods,” I replied, reaching back up to pat the yellow mare one more time before we continued our walk to our campsite. The skies over us had begun to darken to the same color as the thundercloud, and I wasn’t in the mood to walk the rest of the way soaking wet.

  We quickened our pace to beat the rain. But even with the electric static of lightning in the air, I couldn’t help but pause as we passed the hospital. The first few drops of rain were already beginning to fall gently around us.

  “Robin!” Jackie warned. “The rain is almost here.”

  But as I thought of the new intel, our upcoming missions, and the timeline that Nathan had given us, I made up my mind.

  “You guys go ahead,” I said.

  The rest of the team began to walk quickly toward the camp, but Jace lingered, staring after me.

  “I’ll be okay,” I assured him. “Go ahead. I’ll be back soon.”

  Jace finally nodded and jogged to catch up with the rest of Team Hood. The raindrops were falling more solidly now, so I hurried up the steps and into the Brightbirch hospital. After a quick jaunt up the elevator and down the hall, I was staring into Juno’s hospital room again.

  Juno was standing next to her hospital bed and staring out the window toward the mountains. She didn’t hear me as I entered.

  “Mom?” I said, announcing myself. It was the first time I had called her that, and it felt strange but wholesome coming out of me.

  Juno turned and flashed a huge smile at me.

  “Robin!” she said, walking quickly to the door to embrace me.

  I hugged her back just as tightly, still in disbelief that I was actually here with my biological mother after so many years. When we finally pulled away from each other, Juno grabbed both of my hands and held them tightly.

  “I’m being discharged in a few days,” she said excitedly. “I’m not sure how your living quarters work here, but hopefully we’ll be close enough to be able to see each other more often.”

  I smiled, thinking of Juno pulling up a tent with the rest of Team Hood. Luka and the rest of the Brightbirch teams hadn’t made any allusions to the “permanent lodgings” we were supposed to be getting at some point, so I wasn’t holding my breath any longer.

  But the tents were warm and dry and charming, so I also wasn’t complaining.

  “How are things out there?” Juno continued. “With the rest of your organization?”

  My smile faded. “We’re planning some . . . missions for the near future.” I wasn’t going to use Nathan’s word—attacks—and risk frightening her. I knew she was already wary of losing me again.

  Juno narrowed her eyes. “Well, please be careful. The ward has been positively abuzz with talk about a botched public execution in Chanley. Word has it that this group was involved.”

  I nodded, trying not to give away just how involved in that mission I had been.

  Juno cocked her head to the side, undoubtedly picking up on the emotional turmoil that I was feeling. “Is everything all right?” she asked gently.

  It was a loaded question. Little John was quickly approaching its apex, which was more than all right with me. The sooner we could end our official Little John missions, the sooner I would be able to focus on getting Hope back and taking Juno somewhere safer. I was ready to put all of this dangerous work behind me. I was loyal to Little John, their mission, and their leader, but deep down I knew I wasn’t a soldier. I was a mother who wanted to get back home to my modest cabin and my wolves with my daughter and Juno and Jace. And there was always the risk that I could be killed or captured during one of the missions, which would stop me from ever having a future with my family.

  And I didn’t want to keep risking that.

  “Yeah,” I replied slowly. “Everything is okay. I just wanted to see you to tell you something important.”

  Juno looked confused and nervous.

  “What is it, Robin?” she asked, squeezing my hands again.

  I looked deep into Juno’s eyes, which were like mine and also different. I gripped her thin hands tightly in return. “How much I love you,” I said.

  * * *

  I left Juno’s room after the rain had let up a couple of hours later. Whatever happened in the next few days, it was nice feeling like Juno and I had been able to spend quality time together as mother and daughter.

  Just in case we never had another chance.

  Nelson gave me a knowing and sympathetic look when I approached the Team Hood tents a quick walk later. The rain had soaked the firepit, making fires in the campgrounds more or less impossible for the night, but the team was still sitting around on the logs drinking mugs full of hot beverages to stay warm.

  “There’s cocoa on the picnic spreads tonight,” Nelson said.

  “Thanks,” I replied. “I’ll go get something shortly.”

  “Got you covered,” Jace said, handing me my own mug. “Although, it’s probably not very hot anymore.”

  “Thank you,” I told Jace, taking the lukewarm mug into my hands. It was the thought that counted anyway.

  “How’s your mom?” Jackie asked thoughtfully.

  “Being discharged soon,” I replied, feeling hopeful. But then, giving the uncertain safety of the base some thought, I continued. “If there’s still a Brightbirch left for her to be discharged to.”

  We sat quietly for a few moments until I continued.

  “Aurora shared some interesting news when she was here yesterday,” I began. “About Preston Industries.”

  “Oh?” Jace asked, prompting me to continue.

  “Yeah, apparently it’s related to Hope’s adoptive parents and mine,” I said. “The Preston family that owns the business is the same family Hope was adopted into. And my adoptive father is on the board of the company.”

  “Does that mean he’ll be at the leadership summit?” Cloyd asked softly.

  I looked over at him quickly. The truth was, I hadn’t even considered that possibility. And suddenly I was trying to fight down the tears that were threatening to fall. It was hard to understand. I certainly didn’t feel affectionate toward my adopted father, but that didn’t stop me from feeling like he was a family member whom I had once loved.

  I didn’t think I could watch him die. And I definitely didn’t want to play a part in killing him.

  Cloyd seemed to realize that he had spurred some unwelcome emotions in me. “I’m sorry,” he sputtered.

  I shook my head. “No, no,” I said. “It’s fine. I guess I need to start considering things like that.”

  “How are you guys feeling about the Preston Industries plan?” Jackie asked. “Do you think it could work?”

  “Nathan seems pretty convinced,” Nelson replied.

  “Yeah, but I think it’s Aurora’s opinion that matters most here. She’s the one who knows these people personally,” Jace added. “And it sounded like she was fully on board with the plan.”

  “I guess we’ll find out soon,” Abe said heavily.

  There was another long silence before I changed the subject.

  “Apparently Hope’s adoptive mother is the head of public relations for Burchard,” I said.

  Nelson’s eyes went wide. She was also the first to put clues together. Mavis had introduced herself that way at the execution.

  “She was on the platform with Aurora,” I continued. “I had the chance to take her out then, and I didn�
�t.”

  “You didn’t know it was her,” Gabby chimed in. “That’s not your fault.”

  I looked down into my mug. “I don’t know if that would’ve been the right thing to do anyway,” I said. “There’s a good chance that my daughter loves her, even if Aurora says she’s not a very pleasant person. I just don’t know what to do.”

  “What do you mean?” Jackie asked with concern.

  I shook my head. “I just wonder how hard it’s going to be for Hope.”

  Nelson reached over and placed her hand on my knee. “You’ll know when the time is right, Robin,” she said. “There’s a reason why we reclaimed kids that were Hope’s age back when it was just us working as Operation Hood. It’s because they are so fluid and can still recover from returning to their biological parents.”

  I nodded, but I wasn’t convinced. What if Hope couldn’t get over losing the Prestons? What if she only wanted me to call her Genevieve? What if she never accepted me as her mother or, even worse, thought of me as her kidnapper?

  “This isn’t easy,” I finally managed to spit out. And then, despite my best efforts, the tears began to flow.

  Jace stood to come behind me and wrap his arms around me, while Nelson crouched on the ground to get closer to me. Gabby and Jackie ran over.

  And then, before I knew it, all of Team Hood was over and around me, hugging me. I let the emotions pour out of me, grateful for all of them at that moment, but especially grateful for Nelson. She understood the pain I was feeling in a way that no one else on Team Hood could.

  She was a mother just like me, straddling a fine line of morality as it came to our stolen daughters. How much longer did we have until it would be a cruelty to take them back from their adoptive parents? Would they remember us? Or would they fear us?

  Even if Little John succeeded and the regime was overthrown, and even if we both got our girls back and were able to return to society, could things ever be normal?

  Down on the ground beside me, Nelson leaned in and whispered something.

  “It was never going to be easy,” she said softly. “But they’re worth it, Robin. Our girls are worth it.”

  28

  Airships were touching down in Brightbirch again when I woke up.

  I stepped out of my tent in the gray, dewy morning to see them hovering over the tarmac, preparing for landing. But I was surprised that they weren’t the sleek, purple airships that we were used to seeing on Little John bases. They were older, bulkier, more commercial airships. I got nervous looking at them, but they definitely didn’t look like warships of any kind. So I didn’t think we were under attack.

  “The presses,” Jace said calmly beside me, answering a question that no one had asked out loud yet.

  I looked over at him quizzically.

  “The printing presses,” he clarified. “Nathan said he was having some delivered by outside scouts. I bet that’s them.”

  I looked back at the two airships coming down. That made sense.

  “You think they’re that big?” I asked Jace, still looking toward the tarmac. “Big enough to need two airships to transport them?”

  “Well,” Jace replied, “Nathan said he was going to paper the nation. Maybe one of those ships is just transporting the paper.”

  Jackie walked up beside us, stifling a yawn with one hand.

  “Hope Nathan has a lot of trust in whoever is landing those old things here,” she said.

  “If they’re scouts, then they’re Little John members just like us,” I replied. “Probably trusted, seasoned members. I’m sure Nathan’s careful when it comes to sharing the locations of the bases.”

  As we stood and looked over the camp at the tarmac, I noticed that one specific group in our campground had begun to stir with particularly energetic activity, like they were all leaving at once.

  “Which team is that?” I asked. “It looks like they just got summoned to a meeting.”

  Jackie furrowed her brow.

  “The schoolhouse team,” Jace said. “I recognize some of them from visiting Rhea.”

  “Then you must’ve been right. The airships must be bringing the presses. And those,” I said, gesturing toward the schoolteachers, “must be the new journalists.”

  We watched quietly as the team made its way through the camp and toward the road that would lead them to the administrative building. If our guesses were right, and if Nathan’s calculations were accurate, then they were about to become integral players in the battle that was to come.

  They were finally going to deliver the truth to a nation that had been blinded by ignorance and lies. And maybe when they saw that truth, they’d be ready to make the types of hard changes that would be required once Burchard was gone.

  Although, I still had no idea how that would work. What would happen to the UNA once its current regime was abolished? Who would lead then?

  Once the airships landed, they were out of sight, and we were just starting to turn away when Ant walked up, unaware of the conversation that we had just had. He bumped his hip playfully against Jackie’s and then stood beside her.

  “What are you guys all staring at over here? Because unless it’s the breakfast spread being unloaded, I’m going to be disappointed,” he joked.

  “Don’t you ever think about anything other than food?” Jackie asked him.

  “You, sometimes,” Ant replied quickly. “But otherwise just food.”

  Jackie grinned and pressed her hip against his again. I smiled while watching them. Jackie was similar to me: she had been so hesitant to accept love and romance when it came her way. Maybe she felt like I did. Perhaps she was worried to love again when she had lost loved ones before, just like me. I knew that losing Jace or Ant would crush us.

  “Think we’ll be hearing from Nathan today?” Ant continued. “Since apparently we’re leaving on a massive mission tomorrow.”

  “Maybe,” Jace replied cryptically. “Once he’s done with his current meeting.”

  And then Jace and I turned to head to the breakfast spread, leaving Jackie to explain our latest guesswork to Ant.

  “What if we don’t hear from Nathan?” I asked Jace as we walked. “He hasn’t been as forthcoming about plans since the news of the mole broke. It’s almost like he’s afraid of us knowing too much ahead of time now.”

  “He’s making sure information doesn’t leak beforehand,” Jace replied. “It’s a smart move. Particularly if he’s telling different teams different things.”

  I looked over at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, if it were me,” Jace answered, “I’d change up the details depending on who I spoke to. Just a little bit. That way, if information gets out, you can trace it back to one team.”

  I filled my plate to the brim at the breakfast spread for the first time in a long time. Living off of Nurmeal for years had shrunk my stomach down so that I needed less and less food to survive. But on the eve of our biggest mission yet, it seemed important to fill up and enjoy the food that was being offered to me.

  I carried my plate back to Team Hood’s firepit. Cloyd, who had taken over responsibility of maintaining the pit, had a nice fire roaring by the time we got back. He smiled at my overflowing plate as I walked up and took a seat on one of the logs.

  “Nice to see you finally eating like the rest of us,” he said with a wink.

  “Never know which day will be your last,” I replied, trying to sound casual instead of ominous.

  I managed to get a good portion of the food down before we got Nathan’s text calling us to our planning meeting.

  “He sure chooses inopportune times,” Alf complained as he stuffed the remainder of an apple turnover into his mouth and then stood.

  We all gathered our things and began to make our way through the camp just in time to see the school faculty returning from their meeting. I peered through their small crowd, searching. Then I spotted him.

  Robert. So he had been invited to the meeting
with the rest of them. But what did that mean? Was Nathan so changed that he was ready to put aside all of his suspicion against Robert already?

  Or was Jace right? Was Nathan testing the waters, to see which parts would leak?

  Robert looked up and made eye contact with me as we passed each other. His face was a strange mix of anger and smugness. But there was also a hint of melancholy there as well, like he was lonely and downtrodden. It bothered me to see it.

  I couldn’t know for sure that Robert wasn’t the mole, but he had certainly made me doubt all of my reasons for believing that he was. And I felt guilty and confused about the whole situation.

  We continued on, watching as other teams began to gather and head for the meeting as well, and soon we were all heading to the admin building.

  We didn’t talk much during our walk. The gravity of the situation was weighing down on all of us, making light conversation impossible. The mission planning at Brightbirch had definitely ramped up quickly, and that was making all of us nervous. Especially since, following our Helping Hands mission and the attack on Edgewood, most of us had been feeling the sting of loss.

  Soon we were inside Fiora’s office and staring at the usual trio at the head of the desk: Nathan, Corona, and Fiora. Aurora was there as well. But . . .

  “Where are the other base leaders?” I asked Jace under my breath. It wasn’t like them to not be present for a meeting.

  The flight, medic, combat, and tech teams found seats around us. Several of the Brightbirch citizens, like Luka, were present as well. I also noticed a small team that I had never seen before and didn’t recognize. But I didn’t have too much time to consider it. As soon as everyone had found their seats, Nathan assumed his position at the front of the desk to call our meeting to order.

  “This will be our final meeting before we attack Preston Industries,” he began. “And I won’t keep you here long. For one thing, we’ll be leaving for Preston Industries after this meeting.”

  “But the executive summit isn’t until tomorrow,” Luka interrupted.

  “Yes, and they’ll be on high alert tomorrow for any unexplained air traffic. So we need to get there early,” Nathan replied. “To hide out and wait for them to gather.”