Where We Stand

by Angela White

  Marc was frowning deeply, but not allowing anger to take control. He hadn’t noticed her gray curls in the tent shadows, but out here, it was clear that something was going on with her.

  “Are you okay?”

  Like he expected, she blew him off.

  “No, but at least I’m not dying. What else do you need from me?”

  Marc wasn’t ready to start a fight. “Mostly, to know how Adrian’s going to be in front of the camp, so I can get it ready.”

  “With my help and good, old fashioned drugs. I’ve got that covered.”

  “Why am I still in charge and not Kenn?”

  Marc hadn’t meant to ask, but he didn’t call it back.

  “Kenn’s busy,” Angela hedged. She couldn’t spare the time to convince Brady. She was still working on herself.

  “Kenn could have been done, cleared, and out of here by now. Adrian didn’t want that. Why?” Marc protested as they neared the guard on the shower.

  Stalling, Angela viewed Doug and the arm she’d put in a cast and sling last night. “Are you sure you should be working already?”

  Doug’s demeanor was one of grief. “Couldn’t stay in there anymore. And you need me here.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  She was also sure the quick visit she’d allowed from Peggy and Maria’s sons had strengthened the need to be out. Roy and Romeo were a constant sight. The camp had accepted them, but Doug had come to love them.

  “Kenn will be running defense–sure he was sent away, and eager to take control. He and most of the camp expect it to be given to him. When I challenge Kenn, I may need Eagles to assist me–men I can trust, and who trust me. Is that possible?”

  Doug’s tone was satisfied. “Absolutely.”

  Doug’s gaze flicked to Marc’s glowering face briefly, questioning.

  Angela gave her approval silently. “With care. He’s already boiling”

  “Adrian told us to follow you, not Kenn, if anything ever happened. He said for us to make Kenn fall in line behind you–where he belongs.”

  Angela certainly knew what Adrian expected her to do in this moment, but never guessed that he’d taken it so far as to set it all up with his Eagles.

  “I didn’t know.”

  “There was no need to upset everyone, but he was adamant that you would protect our lives better because…”

  “Because of my gifts,” she tried to finish, a bit bitterly.

  Doug furrowed his brows. “Because you value us the way he does. He even said…”

  Doug stopped, glance flicking to Marc again. He gave her the rest of it silently.

  “He said in another life, you would have been given this duty first, not him, and that he would have been honored to follow you.”

  Marc studied them with a feeling of loneliness that he hated. Here it was, the ‘only for the boss’ shit. Now, there would always be secrets between them, new walls. Because she would throw her heart into this. Adrian would have known that.

  Angie’s the CO now, his sharp mind whispered. Where do I rank?

  Marc walked away, drawing Angela’s attention. “Hey. Don’t you need an answer?”

  Marc stopped, but didn’t face her. “I have it now. Kenn’s not in the picture anymore, and no one knows it, not even him.”

  Marc scowled deeper. “That’s why Adrian set me up in the cage! He needed them all to know that I’m hard enough for this place. He knew this was coming.”

  Angela stiffened her shoulders, doing what she had to. “Say it, Brady. Try it on just for size.”

  Marc delivered an angry glower over his shoulder. “I’m tending the herd until you’re caught up enough to handle both sides of the tape. I’m Safe Haven’s new XO.”

  Angela gave him a charged look of understanding, worry, and personal elation. “Congratulations.”

  Not wanting to embarrass either of them, Marc marched toward the big camp, slightly shocked at receiving the position without ever expecting it. He was also furious at Adrian for giving him this when he held such deep a hatred for the man.

  “Call me if you need anything.”

  Angela didn’t have time for his self-righteous anger. The weight settling onto her was far heavier than any she’d ever carried. She was in charge of Safe Haven. This was her camp.

  Angela met Doug’s gaze. “I will do everything I can to keep Adrian alive and here. I don’t want his place.”

  “That’s why we’ll follow you.” Doug already knew that, and had no problem working under female leadership. He was only glad that it was good morning for him–no shakes or extra bathroom trips to be noticed by John’s strict, early release observation rules.

  Behind Doug, senior Eagles began to appear from early morning shadows, showing their unity. Team leaders and XOs came, giving their support, their loyalty. Their thoughts rang in her heart, held her up under the weight of the role she’d been given.

  “He was right to choose you.”

  “We trust you to protect his dreams.”

  Angela let a single tear trace her cheek and quickly scrubbed it from sight.

  4

  Angela found Neil waiting nearby and understood the switch would be done openly and all while Kenn was gone. Adrian was a genius. How would she ever do this so well?

  Neil approached her firmly, and Angela tried not to let it bother her that small populations of the waking camp were now staring at them in nervous groups from the tape. She would learn and so would they.

  “Got a few things for you,” Neil said with forced casualness. “You’ll wear this at all times, keep it under your pillow during sleep.”

  He helped her put Adrian’s cleaned radio and belt on, and then handed her a small box with a snap lid.

  “This is an alarm. Open it for a smoke, and we know to come quietly.”

  Angela grunted, almost frozen with pain. “I’ve had the course on protecting him, Neil. I know what it’s for.”

  She shoved it impatiently into her pocket, adjusted the set, and keyed the mic. She let go just as fast. “What god-awful name did you guys pick?”

  Neil’s lips twitched in the barest of smirks. “We stuck with his.”

  Angela snorted without amusement. “Raven to Kyle. I need a gopher for the main medical tent.”

  “Copy.”

  She glanced at Neil in annoyance. “Next?”

  She reminded him so strongly of Marc on his second day in Safe Haven that the trooper smiled despite the heaviness in his heart. “Questions. You provide the answers.”

  Angela planted her feet firmly, as she’d seen Adrian do so many times, and found the stance almost comfortable. He’d given her a hard duty and she would prove his trust. “Hit me. I can take it.”

  At the moment, Neil had little doubt of that. The waves of determination rolling from her were strong enough to bolster his own lagging faith.

  “First is camp security. Stays doubled?”

  “Yes.”

  “We’re taking in new arrivals, even though we know they might be assassins?”

  “Yes. Myself, Charlie, or Jennifer–in that order–will go through them. If we’re all busy, then they wait.”

  Neil hoped that would be a standard now. They couldn’t take anymore chances, not with the government coming.

  Subtly reading those closest to her, Angela opened a fresh layer of concern.

  “It won’t be just him, Neil. They know about Conner, and about me. One careless slip or forced conversation, and we’re on their radar for Jennifer and Sam, as well.”

  “They’ll take all of you!” Neil realized, horrified.

  “Yes,” Angela confirmed. “And then kill the others here. It’s what you do when there’s an outbreak.”

  “Otherwise it spreads,” Neil stated angrily.

  “Yes, but they don’t understand that the dream of freedom doesn’t belong to one man or even an entire camp. It’s a birthright and we’ll never stop fighting.”

  She glanced around, including the ner
vously listening Eagles. “They’re not taking anyone from this camp. I’ll die first.”

  Neil held out the notebook for her to read the next item on his list.

  Where does she stand on the Gov issue?

  Angela took his pen and quickly scratched two words.

  With Adrian.

  Neil slid the notebook into his pocket and waved Zack over. “He’s your personal shadow for the day. If you don’t see him, even for an instant, trigger your alarm.”

  Before she could question, Neil motioned to an Eagle in the trees that she couldn’t identify from where they stood.

  “That’s Shawn. He’s your sniper today–fresh out of Brady’s class and eager to pull the trigger. If you don’t want them shot, stay out of reach of all new people.”

  Angela agreed curtly. “What else?”

  “Kevin will go over a couple things, then you’ll be on your own.”

  Kevin immediately asked what many were already wondering. “You’ve chosen Marc as your XO?”

  “Adrian gave him that place,” Angela sent back quickly. “I didn’t argue.”

  Neil hid a smirk at the prepared answer and gestured for Kevin to continue. He was getting a crash course on being an assistant to someone in the chain of command. Neil and Kyle had gotten their lessons from Kenn and hated every minute of it. Kevin’s would be better, though certainly not easier considering the circumstances.

  “We realize you’ve had...”

  “I realize,” Neil corrected without the malice that had always layered Kenn’s teaching moments. “The slot comes with the blame, as well as the fame.”

  Kevin cleared his throat. “I realize you’ve had almost no time to adjust, but the faster you settle three things, the easier this camp will run for you.”

  Angela liked it that she wasn’t the only one unsure exactly what to do. She answered reasonably. “You tell me, I’ll argue, and we’ll go from there.”

  Kevin blinked. “Uh, yeah. Okay.”

  He cleared his throat again. “Your chain of command, your rules and punishments, and a meeting where you tell the camp those things.”

  Angela raised a brow. “What’s the third?”

  Kevin made a face. “That was all three.”

  Angela was eager to rise to the challenge she’d been gifted with. “Picking and then telling the camp are on the same ticket. The second is getting the camp to approve my choices. What’s the third?”

  Neil was impressed. He and Kyle had thrown that in with no real hopes that she’d catch it due to their clever wording. “Third is following through–getting it to all work.”

  “Do you know how you’re going to get their approval?” Kevin asked.

  Angela peered toward the medical tent, able to feel Adrian listening–hanging on to a temporary alertness so that he could hear her say she had it covered. He was ready to give up.

  “Yes,” the Witch confirmed. “He brought Conner here and passed control. He will not keep fighting without a goal... and those who cannot find hope will not survive.”

  It was a mirror of what the Witch had told her in Ohio, and Angela glanced at the men waiting nervously for her answer. “No, I don’t.”

  She retreated before they could respond. Of course, she knew how to do it. She had to save Adrian’s life, lead Safe Haven to the mountains, and start settling them inside. During that time, she also had to convince the camp to accept the magic in their midst and help fight the government troops that would come.

  Kevin’s face was red as he caught up. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know they were testing you.”

  Angela shrugged. “They got you too, rookie.”

  “Yeah,” he grunted. “This is all new. I never thought they’d recommend me for this.”

  “Recommend? I get a choice?”

  “Sure. Neil said you’d probably let Brady know who you prefer for your...” Kevin paused, unsure what place he’d been shoved into.

  “Personal assistant to the leader of Safe Haven Refugee Camp,” Angela filled in the title with grave pride.

  Kevin’s mind went to places he knew better than to mourn. Those days would come around again. They were working hard on it even now.

  “I won’t be mad if you let me go for Kyle or Jeremy, or someone who already knows how the inside stuff works,” he blurted suddenly.

  From that, Angela understood that Kevin had been given the chance at a place all the men would want. He was being rewarded for his steadfast performance in Little Rock, she was sure, but there was a feeling that it might be more.

  “I mean it. I won’t be mad. I don’t have enough experience for this.”

  “That makes two of us,” she stated.

  Angela ducked into the medical tent and went to Adrian, ignoring all those observing her. There were only Eagles in this tent–plus John, Anne, and Conner. The time for hiding what she was, at least with this group, was over.

  Angela raised a hand over Adrian’s feverish body and the Witch scanned him.

  “Dying,” came the prompt answer. “Poison and infection.”

  “I have to have Adrian. I can’t do this without his guidance.”

  “You know the price?”

  “I do.”

  “And you pay it willingly?”

  “Marc will be Charlie’s lifeline, right?”

  “Yes. Fathers have the same gifts.”

  “And Adrian’s right about what he put in the notebook? That... Brady’s been lying to himself and everyone else?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then we’re saving Adrian. If the need ever comes, Marc will cover Charlie.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Now?”

  “You haven’t recovered enough. Another twelve hours.”

  “He may not have that long.”

  Adrian didn’t wake, but she sensed he wasn’t so far under that she couldn’t reach him. How long would it hold?

  Angela turned toward the cooler and got a bottle of water. The more she drank, the faster the chemicals would leave her system.

  She searched herself briefly over the choice to save Adrian and found only a strange chill that hadn’t been there before. She should be devastated that Brady had lied, but she wasn’t, hadn’t been even from the instant she’d read that curtly scribbled paragraph.

  For personal reasons, I’ve chosen not to tell her what Marc’s hiding. When she runs that blue glow through the filters, does she miss the meaning intentionally? I wonder if she hasn’t known all along and allowed him to hide it because she knows what an ugly burden it is to be born this way.

  Yes, she did understand the price of power, but that wasn’t the way it had happened. Until Safe Haven, she hadn’t suspected at all. Once here, though, Marc had fit Adrian leadership profile a bit too closely to be overlooked, even by the bossman himself. That had been her first clue–that Adrian found Marc useful enough to take advice and use him in FND work. Then, she’d noticed Marc’s way with the camp women, heard him using it. Moments from their childhood had flashed her to the magic they’d always shared, to how he’d always understood her so well. By the time the glow had happened, it had only been confirmation.

  Dribbling water, Angela wiped her mouth and mind clear as John joined her. She had work to do. Speculation and conversation would keep.

  “Have him ready to go out for evening Mess and then get him prepped. Wait as long as you can to call me. I still have drugs in my blood that will interfere.”

  “Can we get another water truck and two more tents set up? A few of the patients can be switched out to give privacy and space,” John suggested.

  Thrilled to be getting a cover story with the request, Angela was able to sound almost cheerful. “You, doctor, can have about anything you want.” She hated witnesses.

  John grunted, unable to play along. “How about the cure for Cancer?”

  Angela viewed him in dismay. “It’s back? Already?”

  John took off his glasses, rubbing restlessly at the fra
me. “This is a particularly aggressive type. The chemicals we’re absorbing are feeding it, I think.”

  Angela asked the question that now mattered most to her. “How many people in camp have terminal cancers?”

  John didn’t meet her observant stare. “More than a dozen, with twice that many suspected.”

  “Oh, my god!” she whispered in horror. Was this covered in one of Adrian’s notebooks?

  “That’s like... that’s...”

  “Almost a sixth of them.”

  Angela turned to stare toward the camp that she could hear. One in six. There was no way she could help them all.

  “He said to tell you not to drown in the bad–to swim through it.”

  Angela tried to breathe normally. She wasn’t drowning in pity–she was furious. How dare fate take yet another cut!

  John’s hand on her arm was a warm comfort that she shrugged off. “I’ll work on it. You’ll have him ready?”

  “For both appointments.”

  John slid his glasses on. “You know he’ll be groggy and in pain. They might see through his act this time.”

  Angela sighed, moving for the flap to relay the doctor’s needs to Kevin. “Yes. I also know Adrian would rather be with his people than anywhere else. He’ll pull strength from their joy. They won’t know, but they’ll be the ones who save him.”

  Angela ducked out of the medical flap with guilt and anger warring for room in her heart. They had five men inside with serious gunshot wounds, one with a high fever of unknown origin, and three with minor bone breaks. It had been a rough mission. Twenty four confident, eager men had gone into that city with her. That number had come out, but none of them were the same.

  “What should I do?”

  Angela let Cynthia stay close as she left the medical tent, but didn’t linger. “Get the team–you’re in charge on this one. I want the kids’ group working the QZ gate. Have them scan every living thing that gets close to this camp. When there’s a lull, I want them patrolling the perimeter with the senior Eagles. Make it clear that they do as they’re told or they return to being camp kids. We want their help, but don’t need it should be the undertone.”

  Cynthia left without looking at Kevin.