Leah felt anger rising. She was part of TRACE now. “I’m in, too.”
Alice smiled, and the pride in her eyes washed away Leah’s anger.
“Okay,” said Alice. “Hobbs, I need you to work out where we can get a vehicle.”
“Sure. They probably just leave them lying around that town.”
“The rest of you,” said Alice, pointedly ignoring Hobbs, “go help Wichita load up the truck. He should be in the loading area by now. We’ll leave in fifteen minutes.”
“No problem, Sarge,” said Doukas.
Da Silva, Hobbs, and Doukas left the room, talking animatedly. Leah hesitated when she reached the door, unsure whether she should bring up the suspicions that had settled over her during the briefing.
“You look like you want to ask me something,” said Alice.
Leah started to shake her head then changed her mind. “The infiltration mission was real, wasn’t it? I mean, it wasn’t just a training simulation.”
The corner of Alice’s mouth curved upward. “I figured you’d work it out.”
“What did I do?”
“You inserted a dummy email chain I created into one of TRACE’s intelligence streams.”
The revelation stung Leah. “You used me.”
A pained look twisted Alice’s face. “I didn’t want to get you involved. If Billingham finds out, you can honestly say you didn’t know what I was getting you to do. He’ll be angry, but he’ll still blame me.”
“You think he’ll find out?”
“Probably. If one of the techs looks at the logs, they’ll see it’s been tampered with.”
“Because I left the storage module behind?”
“Don’t worry; we’ll deal with that if it happens. We should be in the clear for a couple of days, at least.”
Leah chewed her lip. “So, Morgan might not actually be in that facility?”
Alice flicked the projector off. “I think he is, for now, but Transport isn’t just going to leave him there forever. We couldn’t afford to wait.”
“If he’s that important, why won’t Billingham let you go in after him?”
“Because he’s an idiot.”
The venom in Alice’s voice almost made Leah step back, but when she spoke again, it was gone.
“I’m sorry I misled you. I did it for the right reasons, but it was still wrong of me. You should have had the choice not to get involved.”
“It’s okay, really.”
Alice didn’t look convinced. “Next time, I’ll tell you what I’m planning.”
Leah nodded and tried to smile.
“Come on,” said Alice, “let’s go make sure Da Silva brings enough guns.”
The truck was ready by the time they got upstairs. Wichita was sitting in the driver’s seat. Doukas was standing nearby, reading something on his tablet. When he saw them approaching, he switched it off and joined Da Silva in the back of the truck. She was checking one of her rifles while Hobbs apparently took a nap beside her.
Leah moved to get in, but Alice caught her arm. “Are we good?”
Leah tried to give Alice a reassuring look. “Yes, I promise.”
Alice smiled halfheartedly then nodded.
Leah climbed into the back of the truck and sat down beside Doukas. A couple of minutes later, the metal gate to the station rattled open, and the truck rolled forward, tires crunching over gravel. Leah watched the gate close behind them and tried to settle the nerves churning her stomach.
6
They found what they were looking for about a mile outside of Adderbury—a black Transport SUV parked at a crossroads. Two Transport officers stood near the vehicle. One leaned casually against the front; the other stood a few feet away in the middle of the road. He kept looking left and right as though waiting for someone to arrive.
Wichita had dropped them off at an abandoned house, one of a handful that clustered around the junction like flotsam trapped in the bend of a river. As usual, Wichita had stayed with their truck, ready to come riding to the rescue when things went wrong.
Alice stood at one of the few windows that still had glass in it. The panes were covered with a thick layer of grime that all but obscured the outside world. She’d wiped away a narrow strip of the dirt and was peering through it.
“The good news is, it looks like it’s just a local vehicle. Should be just what we need. And there’s only two Transport officers.”
“And the bad news?” said Hobbs.
“There’s no way we’re going to get to it without them seeing us.”
Alice stepped back, and Hobbs took her place. He scratched his chin and let out a soft harrumph.
“We could take them out,” said Da Silva. She was sitting on her haunches in the corner, her back pressed against the wall and her assault rifle resting across her knees. Her hands rested lightly on the weapon, almost lovingly.
Alice shook her head. “Not unless you brought Samuel with you.”
“Dammit! I knew I shoulda packed him. Didn’t I say, Doukas? I should bring ole Samuel along, just in case.”
Doukas grunted noncommittally.
“Samuel?” said Leah.
She was looking at Alice, but Da Silva replied first. “He’s my bay-bee.” She drew out the last word, smiling again.
“Sniper rifle,” said Alice.
“My bay-bee.”
Da Silva exaggerated her Southern drawl as she spoke, and Leah smiled.
“Any ideas?” said Alice to Hobbs.
Hobbs sighed. “We need a distraction.”
“Like a ‘boom’ distraction?” said Doukas.
“No,” said Alice. “Who knows how many friends they’ve got wandering around here, and the town’s not that far away. The last thing we need is them to be alert when we drive up to the gates.”
Hobbs turned away from the window. “Well, it’s not like we can just walk up to them, waving our guns in their faces.”
“I could,” said Leah. “Not the gun bit, but I could distract them.”
Alice looked dubious.
“I’m just a little girl, remember?” said Leah, thinking of Billingham’s reaction when they’d first met.
“She’s got a point, Sarge,” said Hobbs.
“You’ll need to go unarmed,” said Alice.
Leah nodded.
Alice looked toward Da Silva. “Any other ideas?”
Da Silva puffed out her cheeks. “Not at the moment.”
Alice frowned at Leah, but she held her gaze.
Eventually, Alice caved. “Okay. It looks like they’re waiting for someone, so we’ll need to be quick. Leah, circle around the houses to the south. Move slowly, and keep your hands where they can see them.”
“Got it,” said Leah.
Alice looked at Da Silva and Doukas. “Hobbs and I will come in from the north. Keep us covered in case something goes wrong and things turn nasty.”
Da Silva nodded sharply, her earlier humor replaced with a cold intensity.
No one spoke as they prepared to leave, each member of the team knowing instinctively what to do. Even Leah was becoming comfortable with being part of TRACE. She handed Alice her pistol. After a moment’s consideration, she handed over the jacket as well. It looked too much like a TRACE uniform. Then she stood and tried to come up with a cover story while the others checked their weapons.
7
Leah kept close to the other buildings as she jogged south, alert to any signs of Transport. She tried not to think what might happen if anyone spotted her, but the houses were little more than derelict shells, really, and she saw no one.
When she reached the farthest building, Leah checked her watch. Alice had told her to give them three minutes to get into position. There were still fifteen seconds to go.
She pulled at her T-shirt, untucking it, then picked up some earth and dusted it across the shirt in an effort to make her seem more like a dusty traveler. She wasn’t sure it worked.
Her heart was beating fas
t. The first few seconds would be critical. If Transport decided to shoot first and ask questions later, Leah’s part in TRACE’s revolution would be over very quickly. A brief image of her father slumped against the rock in the rural zone outside Columbia flashed through her mind. She forced it away by focusing on the digits on her watch. As they flicked over to three minutes, Leah walked around the corner of the building and into the middle of the road.
She’d barely made it twenty feet before the Transport officer leaning against the front of the SUV saw her. He said something to his companion, who immediately turned. Less than a second later, they both had their weapons up and pointing at her.
Leah slowly raised her hands and let her very real fear show on her face. She felt dangerously exposed and had to force herself not to run for cover. As it was, she slowed down a little, hoping it might calm them down.
“Hold it right there!” said the officer in the road.
Leah stopped and lifted her hands a little higher.
“Who are you?”
Leah paused. She had a story prepared, but she’d forgotten to come up with a name.
“My name’s Sarah,” she said, hoping the officers wouldn’t notice the hitch in her reply.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m just passing through on my way to Adderbury. I’m looking for work.”
The other officer had stepped away from the SUV now, and Leah willed him to join his companion in the road where Alice and Da Silva could get to him. Her heart sank when he moved in the opposite direction instead, widening the gap between them.
“Where are you from?” said the first officer.
“I grew up in Columbia.”
Leah tensed as the officer’s eyes widened in surprise. This bit of her story was a gamble. Now they knew she’d survived the bomb that had destroyed the city, they might think she was looking for revenge and shoot her or want to bring her in for questioning to find out how she’d survived. But her father had always been good at catching her in a lie, and one day he’d told her it was because she’d always over-embellished them. The best lies, he’d said, were close to the truth. Knowing his secret hadn’t helped her keep things from him, but she’d remembered it nonetheless.
“Columbia’s a long way from here,” said the second officer. He’d stopped walking now, but he was a good fifteen feet from the other man.
“I hitched a ride,” said Leah. She flicked her head back over her shoulder. “They dropped me in a town back there.”
Leah caught sight of movement, just a quick flicker of shadow behind the SUV. She forced herself not to look at it and focused on the man in the road instead.
He regarded her for several long seconds then waved her over. “Come here, slowly.”
Leah kept her hands raised and did as she was told, her eyes locked on his.
When she got to within ten feet of him, he gestured for her to stop. He was younger than she’d expected. His dark skin was smooth, with no sign of any stubble. She wondered if he was in charge. She wanted to look at the second man to see if he was older, but she was afraid to in case she saw Alice or Hobbs and gave them away.
The man pointed a finger upward and twirled it. “Turn around.”
Leah spun slowly on the spot.
When she’d done a full three-sixty, the man lowered his gun. “You can put your hands down.”
Leah smiled gratefully but took her time lowering them nonetheless. When she finally did look at the second officer, he looked just as young as the first and was still aiming the gun at her.
“What makes you think there’s work in Adderbury?” said the first man.
Leah shrugged as though she didn’t really know. “Someone told me there might be.”
“I doubt it; there’s not much going on in Adderbury.”
The man had a soft voice. Now that he’d lowered his gun, he seemed friendly, approachable. Leah almost felt sorry for him when she saw Alice come charging out from behind the SUV.
She had time to look to her right and see Hobbs collide with the second officer before Alice hit her man, knocking him to the ground in a startled heap. He let out a grunt. His gun was knocked loose. It clattered across the ground.
Leah lunged for it. Her fingers clenched around the still-warm handle. She pointed the gun toward Alice and the officer. She lowered it again almost immediately. If she fired, she was as likely to hit Alice as the man she was fighting.
The man was facedown with Alice on top, fending him off as he swung his elbows toward her face. He twisted and managed to catch Alice beneath her jaw. Leah heard Alice’s teeth clack. Alice responded by ramming the heel of her hand into the back of the man’s head. His forehead hit the road. He stopped trying to hit Alice and instead swung at her face. Alice pulled back, out of his reach, and grabbed his arms, pinning them behind his back.
Leah raised the gun.
The man tried to squirm free, and Alice pushed his head into the road again. “Stay still, and we won’t hurt you.”
The man continued to struggle for a few seconds, then gave up and relaxed.
Across the other side of the road, Hobbs was standing over the second Transport officer, who was lying on the ground, either unconscious or dead.
Hobbs gave a thumbs-up.
Alice took the pistol from Leah and pressed its barrel against the back of the Transport officer’s head. “What’s your name?”
“Leroy. Leroy Harper.”
“I don’t want to kill you, Leroy, but I will if I have to. That clear?”
The man nodded, scraping his cheek along the road in the process.
“Good. Now I’m going to let you stand up, and then we’re going to go join your friend over there. I strongly advise you not to make any sudden movements. My trigger finger is a bit twitchy at the moment.”
“O-Okay.”
Alice paused, then slowly lifted her weight off Leroy and stood. As she did, she pulled him upright, the gun still pressed to the back of his head.
Leah stepped back, but she could see the fear on the man’s face. There was gravel embedded in a blood-smeared cut on his cheek.
Alice walked him across the road.
The other Transport officer was still down, but Leah could see him breathing.
When they reached Hobbs, Leah heard the thump of boots on tarmac. She whirled around, wishing she had a gun, but it was just Da Silva and Doukas jogging across the road to join them. They scanned the road left and right as they ran, their rifles held ready.
“We’ll take them into the trees,” said Alice.
A terrified look filled Leroy’s face.
“Don’t worry. I told you I’m not going to kill you.”
“But I might,” said Da Silva. She grinned maniacally, but Leah wasn’t sure she was joking.
Leroy eyed Da Silva nervously but didn’t speak. Alice gave him a slight push toward the trees. Hobbs bent down, grabbed the officer at his feet beneath the arms, and dragged him after Alice. Leah, Doukas, and Da Silva followed behind.
They’d almost reached the edge of the forest when there was a crack of breaking branches and a man in the familiar blue Transport Authority uniform stepped from behind one of the trees.
There was enough time for Leah to see that he was older than the other two officers and had dark eyes and a neatly trimmed mustache, and then he raised his gun and fired. The shots echoed through the forest. Doukas’s head snapped back, and he went down.
There were half a dozen rapid cracks as Da Silva fired her rifle. The shots buried themselves in the Transport officer’s chest, and he fell, jerking. Da Silva ran forward, the rifle still trained on the man, while Hobbs ran to Doukas.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Leroy started to run. Alice kicked out, catching him in the knee. Bone cracked, and he fell to the ground with a scream of agony.
Da Silva reached the fallen officer and fired four more shots. The body twitched as the rounds hit it. She stood over the body, breathing heavil
y.
Hobbs was crouched next to Doukas. He ran his fingers through his hair. Doukas lay on his back, blood seeping from a ragged wound in the side of his head. His eyes stared glassily into the sky.
“Dammit!” said Alice.
She dragged Leroy across the forest. He was moaning and clutching his knee. When he saw Doukas, he let out a terrified cry and tried to pull away.
Alice looked like she was going to kick him, then she thought better of it. She gave Leah her gun. “Watch him.”
Leah nodded and pointed the gun at Leroy where he lay on the ground. She tried not to think about the hole in Doukas’s head.
“Hobbs, get that body hidden.”
Hobbs nodded and went to Da Silva. She didn’t react until he placed a hand on her shoulder. She started and turned on him. For a moment, her eyes were filled with rage. Then she seemed to recognize him, and it faded.
They dragged the body behind a cluster of bushes and then joined Leah and Alice. Da Silva stared at Doukas’s body. Her eyes were filled with rage.
“Stay focused,” said Alice. “We’ve got a job to do.”
“I say we just keep things simple and kill them,” said Da Silva.
“No, we stick to the plan.”
Da Silva’s nostrils flared, but she didn’t respond.
Alice grabbed Leroy by the shirt and hauled him upright. He struggled to get his feet beneath him. His face was filled with terror, and the look only deepened when he saw the anger in Da Silva’s eyes. He tried to struggle free. Alice yanked on his shirt. It cut into his throat, and he let out a choking sound.
Once Leroy was on his feet, Alice said, “Strip.”
His eyes widened, and his mouth opened to say something. Alice waved her gun at him. He closed his mouth and began unbuttoning his shirt.
Hobbs knelt beside the unconscious officer and unzipped the man’s pants.
When Leroy was down to his underwear, Alice told him to kneel.
“P-Please,” said Leroy.
“Be quiet. I said I’m not going to kill you.”
Alice’s words didn’t ease the fear on Leroy’s face, but he knelt anyway, clasping his hands together to pray as he did. He saw Leah watching him. His eyes implored her to help, to save his life somehow.
The Girl in the Machine (Leah King Book 3) Page 3
