A voice rose up that wasn’t Nathan’s.
“Good choice,” Bridge said. “She won’t let you down.”
I looked at him in confusion and appreciation.
“She’s a sure shot, that’s for certain,” Zion added.
“One of the most reliable and loyal team members we have,” Alexy said.
“I owe her my life,” Jackie piped up.
“So do I,” Nathan finished.
And then, to my shock, the crowd began to applaud me. I sat dumbfounded and tried to take it all in. Jace clapped his hand down on my shoulder and flashed me a proud smile. And with so much support and encouragement, I was able to fully trust in myself and my abilities.
We could do this.
“How do we get the message across that I’m going to take their deal?” I asked.
“I already did,” Nathan answered. “I told Mavis that I intercepted her message but that I would be willing to negotiate our terms in person. She and the regime, of course, will be planning to kill me during that meeting. And unless they’re all idiots, they’ll know I’m not going quietly. But she accepted and is expecting us tomorrow morning.”
I furrowed my brow. That didn’t sound like the deal I had been expecting at all. I thought we’d be going in deceptively, pretending to agree to Mavis’s terms. But now she knew that Nathan was coming, which made our meeting more uncertain.
And I didn’t know if that was putting my daughter in danger.
34
Once the meeting had adjourned, with Nathan telling us to grab food and say our goodbyes before takeoff, I took the time to approach him one-on-one.
“Wondering why I reached out to Mavis?” he asked immediately when he noticed me.
I should’ve known he would be expecting the question.
“I was just surprised,” I said. “Since my daughter was a part of that deal.”
Nathan looked at me intently.
“You knew Mavis wasn’t going to honor that offer, Robin,” he replied. “And so did I. Besides, we don’t want your daughter in Chanley when the real battle begins. I wanted to keep her safe.”
I nodded as I processed what he was saying. It made a lot of sense. And any plan that prioritized my daughter’s safety was preferable to me as well.
“Do you think I’ll ever get her back?” I suddenly asked. “I mean, if something happens to Mavis, I doubt—”
“I think you’re a smart, fearless, capable young woman, Robin,” Nathan interrupted. “And I think that if you put your mind to it, you can have anything you want.”
I smiled. I didn’t know if we were going to succeed in Chanley, or even if I was going to survive the mission. But if I did, I was never going to give up on finding Hope. No matter what it took.
I walked away to join Jace and the rest of Team Hood. Soon we were traveling down the stairs and back to the ground floor of the armory.
“How does Nathan expect us to eat before something like this?” Nelson asked as we walked toward the rations table.
“How does Nathan expect us to eat this?” Abe mocked, holding up a freeze-dried pack of apples.
We grabbed metallic bags of rations anyway and headed back to our cots to sit and eat. Juno was still there.
“Is everything okay?” she asked me with a concerned expression.
“It’s fine,” I told her. “But we’ll be leaving tonight.”
“Leaving?” she repeated fearfully.
“We’ll be okay, Mom,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder.
Juno put her hand over mine. “Don’t make me lose you again,” she said softly.
“Robin,” a voice sounded behind us. I turned to see Gabby standing and looking somewhat timid.
“What’s up, Gabby?” I asked her.
“Well, I just wanted to tell you,” she said, seeming unsure of how to continue, “to be careful out there. You’re a great friend, and I want us to be friends for a long time.”
I smiled and stepped toward her, and the rest of Team Hood closed in on us.
“She’s right, Robin,” Nelson said. “We all owe you quite a bit. And we still want many more years of Team Hood, even when all of this is said and done.”
“Yeah, we can be the Team Hood Book Club,” Ant added with a grin.
“I prefer the Team Hood Bowling Team,” Abe said.
“So be careful out there,” Jackie finished.
I tried to choke back my emotion at having all of my friends so concerned about me. But I was most honored that they were confirming something so beautiful: that even after Little John ended, Team Hood wouldn’t disband.
We were friends for life.
“I promise,” I replied. And then my friends closed in for a big hug before we were to set off for Chanley and finish this fight.
* * *
Nathan texted all of us shortly after we’d eaten. It was time.
The huge cave doors opened to a dusky evening on the mountain. The airships were still outside, and the flight and tech teams, including Nelson and Gabby, left at Nathan’s orders to enter the flight coordinates and prepare the ships for takeoff. The combat team was called upon to load the ships, and Jace volunteered to put his strength to good use and assist.
I was shocked as I watched what was loaded: piles of explosives, case after case of weapons and ammunition, airship attachments for humongous blasters and cannons, advanced medical equipment, stretchers, tents, enough rations for what looked like weeks, and additional pods of airship fuel. It looked like Nathan was preparing us for the best- and worst-case scenarios all at once. But perhaps the most important and surprising thing he loaded was another mini-airship.
Jace flew it into the hull of one of the airships himself.
“Just because they’re expensive doesn’t mean I don’t keep a backup,” Nathan joked when he caught me staring at it curiously.
And then it was time for the teams to load up. I looked back at the armory base one last time. Even though Nathan felt like it could withstand an attack, I didn’t know if we were coming back to it as a team after Chanley. And honestly, I didn’t even know if there was going to be a time after Chanley at all. But I tried to remain positive as I boarded the ship with Nathan and the rest of Team Hood.
When the airship hatch closed, the main cabin was strangely quiet for several long seconds. The gravity of the situation was pressing down on all of us. How many of us were going to survive this mission? Could Burchard really be defeated? And how would the country move forward if he was overthrown?
Nathan seemed like an obvious choice to lead us, even after Little John disbanded, but he also seemed completely uninterested in the opportunity. And who knew if he’d even survive this mission? So our futures felt very uncertain.
“Are you ready for this?” Jace asked as the airship began to hover upward and away from the stone ledge of the mountainside.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied honestly.
And then the ship shot forward and away.
Nelson and Gabby worked with the tech and flight teams at the front of the ship, but the more I watched them the more I thought they were getting instructions for more than just our flight. Based on how enraptured they were with Nathan and Sy, those were more than just coordinates they were hearing. Those were mission details. They were listening intently, as if their lives depended on it. And I was also desperate to know more about how Nathan and I were going to be supported as we walked through Chanley.
“Did you see her?” Jace asked nonchalantly as we sat in the cabin seats.
“Who?” I questioned.
“Well, your daughter,” Jace replied. “Sorry, I didn’t know if maybe she was in that message.”
I looked over at him. He appeared suddenly abashed and uncomfortable after asking the question, but I took his hands and turned him to face me.
“You can always ask about her, you know,” I reminded him. “But no, she wasn’t in the message. I don’t know if it would’ve made m
e feel better or worse to see her there. With Mavis.”
Jace nodded. “So she won’t be in the capitol building, then?” he clarified.
“No, Mavis knows that Nathan is coming to negotiate, not surrender,” I replied. “I can’t imagine that she would bring her adoptive daughter into a dangerous situation like that.”
Suddenly I heard Nathan’s voice very clearly over the cabin noise. He was speaking into his phone, and it sounded like he was giving orders to another airship team.
“—perimeter. All explosives teams go. Have combat assist in drops,” he said cryptically.
I listened intently until I was convinced that Nathan was planning on rigging a massive amount of explosives around the entire perimeter of the government buildings in Chanley. My heart leapt into my throat and my palms began to feel slick with sweat. This was possibly Little John’s last mission, and it sounded like it was going to be big.
For better or for worse.
Jace grabbed my hand and pulled it up to inspect the twine engagement ring he had given me.
“You should have a diamond,” he muttered sadly.
“No, this ring fits us,” I told him gently. And then I winked. “We’re not diamond people.”
“I’m worried, Robin,” Jace said. “Worried that we’ll never get to make those vows.”
Tears began to spill over his cheeks. I reached up to touch his face.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know I should stay positive and supportive. I just need you to know how much I love you. And how much I want us to be a family together, with Hope and Juno and Rhea, all tucked away in the woods somewhere when this is all said and done.”
“I want that, too,” I told him. “And that’s why I have to do this. It’s the next step in getting my daughter back.”
And then he pulled me close and held me tightly. I could feel in his every fiber that he was hugging me as if it was the last chance he’d ever get.
“Robin!” Nathan barked from the front of the ship.
I pulled away from Jace and kissed him before hurrying off to join Nathan. I knew it was time to start discussing the details, and I was eager to have them.
“We’re approaching the outskirts of Chanley,” Nathan said. “And we’ll be continuing in the mini-airship while the teams work back here.”
“Work doing what?” I asked.
“Work on our finale,” he said with a grin. “But as for us, I need you to understand a bit of the layout of our journey and what we’ll be aiming for once we get in with Mavis and whoever else she has with her.”
“So we won’t be alone?” I asked. I didn’t expect that Mavis would be so bold as to invite us in without any protection, but I was hoping it would be a small party.
“I don’t know Mavis well, but from what Aurora says she’s a conniving, manipulative woman who will say anything to get her way,” Nathan replied. “And she’ll stab us in the back the first chance she gets. So, no. I don’t think we’ll be alone.”
I winced at hearing Hope’s adoptive mother described so brutally. Did Hope have to feel Mavis’s wrath and deception in their home life? I desperately hoped not. Even if I was set on taking my daughter back and hoped she wouldn’t miss her adoptive family too much, I would never wish a painful or abusive early childhood on her.
“Then how do we know we won’t simply be shot as soon as we walk into Chanley alone?” I asked.
A nagging fear was beginning to take hold of me. I trusted Nathan and his judgment, but I sure didn’t trust Mavis. And if something happened to me on this mission, Hope would be stuck with Mavis forever.
“Oh, she’ll talk to us first. She’s going to want to know where my remaining bases and people are, and she’ll undoubtedly want to get her hands on the contents of my armory, particularly while the regime is so vulnerable,” Nathan replied. “The trick is not allowing her to immediately arrest us and begin torturing us for information. But I think I have that covered.”
The explosives. So that was why Nathan was wiring the government buildings to blow. If he was taken captive, he had an ace in the hole.
But what if Mavis called his bluff? Could Little John really destroy so much of Chanley—with Nathan and me inside—if it meant ending the regime? I swallowed hard.
“I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe, Robin,” Nathan said, seeming to read my mind. “It’s not you they want. It’s me. I haven’t forgotten that I still owe you my life.”
Then he reached out and grabbed one of my hands.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, his strong but aging hand squeezing mine.
I looked up and met his kind but sharp eyes, lined with wrinkles from years of laughter and sadness and strife.
“With my life,” I replied.
Nathan smiled. “Good, because we’re here.”
I looked out the airship window to see that Alexy was bringing the ship down gently along the same road that we had taken when we went to thwart Aurora’s execution. It was late at night when we arrived, but Chanley was dark in a strange and discomforting way, as if the power had gone out all over town.
“Don’t be fooled,” Nathan said as he saw me looking. “They’re just trying to make us slip up by providing us a false sense of security. They’ll be watching us approach with all of the technology they have at their disposal. We have to be smarter than they are.”
I nodded.
“How do we get in?” I asked. “I mean, if we’re trying to go in undetected.”
Nathan shook his head. “We don’t want to overplay our hand too early in the game. So we’ll make sure they can see us while we walk through Chanley. The only thing that should be a surprise to them is when we escape.”
“Does it have to be a surprise to me, too?” I quipped. Because in all honesty, I was feeling very anxious about how we would be able to escape. I didn’t want to get stuck in Chanley when the explosives blew.
Nathan smiled in acknowledgement of my thinly veiled frustration. “The truth is, Robin,” he said, “I’m not exactly sure yet. We have a few options for escape, but it depends on how things go inside. You’ll just have to trust me.”
We all rocked gently in place as the airship touched down.
“All teams have their mission details,” Nathan yelled out. “So begin. Make sure comms are in place and tuned to the right frequency.”
Jace looked over at me anxiously.
“Don’t worry,” Nathan said, following my gaze. “We’ll be keeping him busy on the combat team. Should give him less time to fret over you.”
The airship hatch opened up to allow the cool twilight air passage inside.
“It’s time for us to start walking,” Nathan said to me as he looked outside.
I looked mutely back at the mini-airship, but Nathan seemed to guess what I was thinking.
“In due time, Robin,” Nathan said. “Like I said, both sides will be trying to downplay their advantages. And the only surprises should come at the end.”
He began to walk down the ramp without another word, and I glanced around the cabin to see that all eyes were on us. Team Hood looked anxious but stoic.
“Good luck,” Nelson finally said quietly from the front of the airship.
There were a million things that I wanted to say. I wanted to tell her that I would be back soon and not to worry. I wanted to tell the whole crew that I was proud of them and we’d be back before they knew it. I wanted to run up to Jace and kiss him one last time and say our vows right then and there.
But instead I just nodded and followed Nathan out of the airship and onto Chanley ground.
35
My second-skin suit felt light but protective as Nathan and I walked. We each had a gun holstered at our side and a comm link in our ear. But that was all the safety we were afforded.
We were quiet as we walked. I looked over a few times to see that Nathan’s face was expressionless. There was no confidence, but there was also no fear there; it was just a blank slate. I,
on the other hand, felt like a tangled knot of contradicting emotions. I was afraid . . . but I was prepared.
“Did you say your goodbyes?” Nathan asked suddenly as we trudged up the side of the road that led into Chanley.
I was surprised by his question.
“Yeah,” I replied.
But I wasn’t so sure. Had I said a proper goodbye to the people I loved? I didn’t know if I could ever say enough to my teammates or to Jace or my mother. Words couldn’t express how I felt about them or how much I would miss them if anything happened.
“I’m terrible at goodbyes,” Nathan said. “Feels too final for me. I guess I worry that if I really pour myself into a goodbye then it’ll become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Like it’ll actually mean the end.”
I turned to look at him, but he was staring straight ahead as we walked. I didn’t know what to say.
“But I gave real good goodbyes to Corona and Aurora this time,” he continued.
“Nathan,” I began slowly, trying to process what he was getting at, “do you think you’re not going to make it out of here?”
He sighed. “We’ll get you out of here, Robin,” he replied. “I know that. Everything else is up to chance.”
“Can I ask you a question?” I began. Something had been clawing at me since Nathan first told me about our Chanley plan.
Nathan nodded.
“Why am I here?” I asked. “I mean, if Mavis knew we were going around her offer and that this was going to be a peace negotiation between you and the regime, then why bring me?”
“Mavis insisted,” Nathan replied quickly.
I nearly stopped in shock. Wasn’t that information that I should’ve been told before?
“She’ll want a witness,” Nathan continued. “If they imprison or kill me then they’ll need to parade someone around to say that I was an awful terrorist trying to seize power for myself. An ex-follower would serve nicely for that purpose. And I guarantee they’ll be willing to offer you immunity and maybe even money, whenever they find some, to do just that.”
I felt sick to my stomach.
The Child Thief 6: Zero Hour Page 29
