by L. S. O'Dea
He hesitated. Townsend’s role in this was a mystery. The reporter couldn’t use his real name on the byline, not if he wanted to live, so he wasn’t gaining fame or recognition. He doubted that Townsend was charging for the stories. Most of those who’d be interested in articles like these were living on the streets and eating garbage. Still, in certain sects Townsend’s fictitious name would become well known, but the man had been a successful reporter before the revolution. Until he figured out Townsend’s motive, he’d consider the man a questionable ally, but he was more likely to get a lab if two people were working toward that goal. “Then, I need a lab.”
“Not sure that I can help you with that but let me look into it.”
“I do have to get back.” He stood, hoping Trinity hadn’t left the bathroom yet. He didn’t want to have to explain all this to her, especially since he wasn’t sure exactly what was going on.
“I don’t know why I’m going to waste my breath, but don’t risk your neck for Reese. There are bigger issues at stake than the life of one Guard.”
“Not to her.”
“No, probably not.” Townsend stood. “You do know that they’ll be waiting for you. They didn’t take her on a whim.”
“I know.” It was a trap. It wouldn’t be easy convincing Trinity to let him take all the risks, but he would or he’d go to the nearest police officer and surrender. He wasn’t going to let her be captured too.
“Is there anything that I can say to convince you to leave the city without the Guard?”
“Reese doesn’t deserve this. She didn’t do anything.”
“You’ve seen the city now. No one deserves to be forced to live like that either. You know of the atrocities that are committed on the other classes every day. The atrocities that have been committed on them for years. None of them deserve that.”
“I can’t help them all.” He ran his hand through his hair.
“But you can. With you, we can win this war. Change the way people think. Change lives.” Townsend’s face heated with passion.
“You don’t need me to do that. I handed over scientific proof. You turned it into a story people could get behind. The war needs you, not me.”
“You would’ve made a brilliant politician.” Townsend’s eyes narrowed a bit. “Maybe, you still will.”
“I don’t think politics is in my future any longer.” Once he had his revenge and killed Conguise, he’d be executed and that was fine because at least, he’d deserve that punishment.
“I’ll see what I can do about a lab, so don’t get caught.”
“Trust me, I’m not suicidal.” He held out his hand.
“I think I’ll report on your rescue of Reese. Whether it’s a success or attempt, it’ll breathe some oxygen into the revolutionary fire. High Hugh Truent risks his own life to free his young Guard.” He shook Hugh’s hand.
“Please don’t use my title. It doesn’t apply any longer.”
“The readers love it.”
“I don’t care. Don’t use it.” He couldn’t keep the disdain from his words.
“Okay.” Townsend studied him. “I’ll be in touch.”
“How? No one knows where I’m staying.” Or they’d better not.
“I know a little birdie.” Townsend smiled.
Ah, that made sense. Birdie was everywhere. Of course, that meant he had to be careful. He could probably trust Townsend, but the Supreme Almighty could bribe or force anyone to reveal information. If someone didn’t have a price, they had a secret.
“Remember, the sooner I get a lab, the sooner you’ll have stories.”
“I’ll do my best and Hugh, do be careful. Whether you believe it or not, the revolution needs you.”
He pulled his hood up and left the room. He’d changed his mind. He was definitely going to tell Trinity about this conversation. It was proof that the best thing he could do for the rebellion was work in the lab. If he could convince her that his science was important, maybe they could rework their deal. He had to run his tests even if he got the serum done right away, but he didn’t want to break his word to her because somehow, over the past two days she’d become more than Tim’s daughter, more than an attractive, irritating female and he feared, even more than his friend.
CHAPTER 38: TRINITY
TRINITY SQUATTED NEXT TO Sassy who was lying on the floor near the toilet. Hugh was not going to be happy about this, but at least Sassy had stopped throwing up. It was progress of a sort. She stood. There was no point in delaying the bad news. “I’ll be back in a minute. Okay?”
Sassy waved her hand and mumbled something unintelligible. She left the bathroom and walked down the hall, stopping by Hugh who was still leaning against the wall.
“Where’s your friend?” he asked.
It was best to just spit out the truth no matter how distasteful. “Passed out in the bathroom.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He shot her a disgusted look. It was probably identical to the one she wore on her own face.
“We need to get her home. We can talk to her about helping us tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? We can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“We don’t have a choice.” She wasn’t thrilled about it either, but there was nothing she could do.
“You don’t even know if she’ll help us and I don’t know what your brilliant plan is or if it’ll work.” He lifted his hand toward his hair and stopped. “I hate this cloak.”
“It’ll work, if she’ll help us, but we need to get her home.” She turned and headed down the hallway.
“Just so you know, you stink at making plans.” He followed her to the bathroom.
“Oh, and yours was so great. Believe me when I tell you that’s not how it sounds when Dad tells it.” She opened the bathroom door. “At least mine don’t take place in the sewer with monsters.”
He glared at her as he stepped into the bathroom. “That was your grandfather’s plan, not mine, and”—he shoved his arm in her face—“yours does have a hint of sewer but only on me.”
She smirked as they bent and tried to get Sassy to her feet. The Guard was out cold and her legs kept buckling as they attempted to hold her between the two of them.
“This isn’t working.” He bent and lifted the Guard in his arms, groaning slightly.
“You can’t carry her all the way home.” Sassy was tall and although she wasn’t fat she wasn’t light either.
“Get the door.”
She held it open.
“Can we rent a carriage?” He stepped into the hallway.
“There aren’t any in this area and even if there were we don’t have any money. Plus, we can’t take the chance of someone recognizing you.”
“Like Sampson, you mean.” He glanced at her, his eyebrow raised in question.
“We can trust him.”
“Are you sure? How do you know him?” He walked down the hallway.
“I met him through Jackson.”
He slowed as they approached the Guard who’d been in the hallway when she’d first gone into the bathroom. She didn’t know this Guard but she’d seen him around. He was large with a hard, blunt face and a nose that looked like it’d been broken several times.
“Come on,” she whispered as she made her way past the Guard. They didn’t need to draw any extra attention, carrying Sassy would be more than enough.
He stopped.
“Why are you stopping?” She hurried back to him. “Is she too heavy? I can help carry her.”
The Guard was staring at them. She couldn’t blame him this time, but he always seemed to be watching. He never said much and barely drank, but his eyes were everywhere.
She tugged on Hugh’s arm. “Let’s go.”
The Guard winked at her and opened the door behind him.
Hugh twisted away from her and stepped inside. She hesitated. If they both went in there, they could be trapped. The Guard stared at her, a smirk on his lips. She stepped into the room. She was going t
o kill Hugh.
The door shut behind her and her heart picked up pace. An Almighty sat at a table in the back, a pile of papers in front of him. He smiled. He had a nice smile, but she didn’t trust him. She didn’t trust any Almightys besides Hugh and Kim and...Jethro. She may not have spoken to him in years, but he’d been a true friend when she’d needed one.
“Hugh? I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” said the Almighty.
They knew each other. She spun around to stare at Hugh. How did he know this man and how had he known the guy was here? She had too many questions and no time to ask.
“Can you help us get out of here?” Hugh’s voice was strained.
“I see Sassy has had too much to drink tonight.” The Almighty stood, his eyes concerned as he studied the Guard in Hugh’s arm. “That’s not like her.”
“She’s not exactly light.” Sweat was beading on Hugh’s forehead.
“Of course. Sorry. Bruno,” called out the Almighty.
The large Guard opened the door, staying in the hallway.
“Has the carriage arrived?”
Bruno nodded.
“Follow me.” The Almighty moved toward the door.
“Who is this Almighty?” She grabbed Hugh’s arm, whispering. “Can we trust him?”
“Townsend and I think so.”
“You think so?” Her claws popped out and he jerked away from her before she could dig them into his bicep.
“Do you have a better idea on how to get the three of us out of here without making a scene? Carrying your friend across the crowded bar is not going to go unnoticed.”
She didn’t have a better idea and that stung. This was her mission, her plan and everything was falling apart. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised. This was just like the old days except Gaar and Mirra weren’t here to bail her out of her jams.
“Just as I thought.” He strode toward the door where Townsend stood waiting, an amused expression on his face.
She glared at the back of Hugh’s head as she followed him. This was his fault. Everything had been going well until she’d become involved with the Almightys again.
They moved quickly down the hallway away from the main room. Bruno opened a side door and they entered a storage room. The Guard stepped behind a stack of liquor boxes and opened a hidden door. He peeked outside, nodded and Townsend slipped outside and into a carriage that waited in the shadows.
She grabbed Hugh’s cloak as they stepped through the door and whispered, “Maybe, we shouldn’t do this. We’re outside now. We won’t make a scene.” Once they were in the carriage they’d be trapped. She could escape on her own and maybe even with Hugh but not with an unconscious Sassy.
“This friend of yours isn’t light. I’m not going to be able to carry her much longer.”
“Still...”
Hugh placed Sassy on the carriage seat opposite Townsend and climbed inside. The alley was clear. No one was around. She should bolt but she couldn’t leave Hugh and it was her fault Sassy was here. Bruno stared down at her from the top of the carriage, still smirking like she amused him.
“Is she coming?” asked Townsend. “We can’t wait here all night.”
“Get in,” said Hugh.
“I don’t take orders from you.” Obviously, she did because she hopped into the carriage. She had no choice but to trust his judgement, but she didn’t like it and he’d hear all about that once they were alone.
The carriage took off down the street. Once they got away from the Howling Hut, the heavy clops of the Grunts feet echoed in the quiet night.
“Do you have somewhere to stay?” asked Townsend.
“Yes,” she said at the same time that Hugh said, “No.”
They glared at each other. Townsend laughed.
“You can drop us off near 21st Street and Holly Avenue,” she said.
“And I thought this was a bad part of town.” Townsend studied her. “Of course, that area’s not so bad if you’re a House Servant.”
“Exactly.” She stared at him, not blinking. It usually made all the non-House Servants squirm, but Townsend stared right back at her.
“Who are you?” asked Townsend.
“None of your business.” She glanced around, looking for ways to escape. To get them all out of there, she’d have to incapacitate both the Almighty and his Guard. The Almighty wouldn’t be a problem, but Bruno...That wasn’t going to be easy.
“Townsend,” said Hugh. “I’m losing faith in your reporter’s instinct.”
This Almighty was a reporter. He must be on the side of the Allied Classes or Hugh wouldn’t have been talking to him. She relaxed a little. At least Townsend wasn’t some old friend of Hugh’s, waiting to betray him.
“Bruno, take us home.” Townsend continued to study her.
She was not staying at the home of an Almighty.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Hugh’s eyes met hers.
Townsend laughed. “Trust me, High Hugh. You’re both going to feel comfortable at my house. Plus, no one will ever think to look for you there.”
“I asked you not to call me that.” Hugh ran his hand through his hair, finally pushing the cloak off his head. “I appreciate the offer but I don’t—”
“I’m only a few blocks away from Midtown Lane. It’ll be a short trip to the shelter.”
“Okay, then.” Hugh’s eyes met hers.
“I’m not staying with him,” she said.
Townsend smiled at her but remained quiet.
Hugh shot the other Almighty an apologetic look and then leaned forward. Townsend looked out the window, giving the two of them at least the appearance of solitude.
“What do you suggest we do?” He looked down at Sassy, who was snoring slightly. “I can’t carry her all over town.”
She wouldn’t let Townsend drop them off at Sassy’s house. It was too dangerous. She wasn’t sure if Townsend was a friend or foe and Sassy was often on the run from someone. The young Guard thrived on adventure and risk-taking. Although, she wouldn’t say it out loud, Hugh was right. Neither one of them would be able to carry Sassy for very long.
“Plus, I don’t want to go to Sassy’s house, not with her brother after me,” said Hugh.
That was another problem. Once Sassy woke, she could handle Rocket, but until then, they’d have to deal with him. She leaned back on the seat to get as far away from Hugh as she could. She wasn’t happy about this and if he so much as smirked she was going to scratch the smile off his face. “Okay. You win. We’ll go to his house, but I’m not staying inside.”
Townsend’s lips twitched as he continued to stare out the window.
Hugh shook his head in exasperation, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t’ acting like a child, she was being cautious.
“Why is it that I’m supposed to trust your friends without question but you don’t have to extend me the same curtesy?” asked Hugh.
“Because I know my friends.”
“And I don’t know mine?”
She leaned forward. “You said you didn’t know if we could trust him.”
Hugh’s face reddened as he glanced at the other Almighty.
Townsend didn’t even try to hide his smile as he turned toward them. “Don’t worry, Hugh. I wouldn’t trust me either if I were you.”
That was all she needed to hear. As soon as they stopped she was grabbing Sassy and Hugh and they were leaving.
“But, I promise that I’m on the side of the rebellion.” Townsend glanced out the window again. “Have been for years. Even before there was a rebellion.”
“Why?” asked Hugh.
“You’ll see. Once we get to my house, everything will be clear.”
Hugh glanced at her, his eyes uneasy. Good. He didn’t trust this Almighty either. They were finally in agreement on something.
CHAPTER 39: TRINITY
AS THEY TRAVELED, THE city changed before Trinity’s eyes. It became something more, something beautiful in its own
concrete way. The run-down, abandoned buildings disappeared, replaced by small, quaint shops painted in a variety of autumn colors. Trees grew in neat rows on the sidewalks in front of apartment complexes that were free of graffiti. It looked pleasant and that made her nervous. There were no shadows here, nowhere for someone like her to hide.
The carriage turned down a street and the city disappeared. This wasn’t the forest or the large open area of the Producer Camps but it wasn’t the cramped confines of the city either. Houses lined the sides of the road, but they each had a little square of yard to their front and back. Bruno stopped at the last house on the street, jumped down from the carriage, opened a large door, climbed back onto the carriage and drove inside. They were inside the carriage and inside the house. Bruno hopped down again and closed the door to the outside. They were trapped.
“It’s a garage.” Hugh took her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. “Almightys keep their carriages inside them. This one is connected to the house and that’s good because it means we don’t have to go outside.”
“I’d rather be outside.” She trusted him but he’d trusted the wrong Almightys before.
“Bruno, get Sassy and take her to the guest bedroom.” Townsend opened the door and stepped out of the carriage.
“It’ll be fine,” said Hugh, still holding her hand. “None of his neighbors will see us. No one knows we’re here.”
“You say that like it’s a good thing.”
He stepped out of the carriage, her hand still clasped in his. Bruno squeezed past Hugh, picked up Sassy like she weighed as little as a leaf and disappeared through another door.
“Wait...” This was moving too fast. “Where are they taking her?”
“Come on.” Hugh gave a slight tug on her arm.
She dropped from the carriage. She had no choice. They’d taken Sassy and she wouldn’t leave her friend. “If this goes bad it’s your fault,” she said under her breath.
Townsend snorted softly, covering a laugh as he went inside the house. Obviously, she hadn’t been quiet enough.
“It’ll be fine.” There was a slight hesitation in Hugh’s words.
