Tested

by Stalder, Janelle

  Everyone had split up to cover more ground. Phoenix wasn’t overly pleased about not having back-up, but she trusted her girls to stay safe. She didn’t know much about the others, but she figured the guys from the eastern ghetto knew enough to stay low-key. It was definitely hard to miss them in a crowd, she thought, thinking of the burly form of Trent McKay. A man like him didn’t go unnoticed. Not that she noticed, she added as she kept up a brisk walk. Sure, she took note of his size, but only because he was so much larger than she was. It wasn’t like she appreciated his size, or good looks.

  She gave herself a quick mental shake. Enough of that. She needed to stay focused and help them find their friend. People didn’t go missing right off the streets on her turf. Something strange was happening, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. The whole situation reeked of the General, but she wouldn’t know for sure until she got some concrete answers.

  “Hey, Red!”

  Phoenix turned at the sound of a man’s voice to see one of the homeless guys she often networked with come stumbling down the street toward her.

  “Hey, Hal,” she greeted.

  “It’s Cal.”

  “That’s what I said.” Phoenix took a small step back as the man reached her, the harsh stench of unwashed body enveloping the space around them. Breathe through your mouth, she instructed herself. “What’s up?”

  “I’ve got some information you might want,” he said with a loud burp or hiccup, it was hard to tell which, at the end.

  “What about?” She crossed her arms, keeping a passive look on her face. Half the time the men off the streets had very little of substance to pass along. Most of it was either made up, or completely useless to her. However, now and again they’d pull through for her so she always listened to what they had to say. Someone lives out on the streets long enough, they’re bound to see or hear something.

  “I heard you were asking around about a van?”

  She perked up, dropping her arms. “You heard right. Have you seen one?”

  He smiled, the remaining teeth in his mouth blackened and rotted. Phoenix cringed inwardly. “Sure have,” he replied. “A bright white one.”

  “You sure it was white?”

  “Red, ain’t no vehicles come around these parts hardly, unless they are those large, black trucks them soldiers drive. When something white and even larger comes along, I notice the difference. I’m a drunk, not blind.”

  Well she couldn’t argue with that, although she was tempted to point out that his sight was definitely impaired when plastered, but she kept her mouth shut.

  “They been picking some of us up,” he continued.

  “Who has? Who’s us?” Phoenix asked.

  “The people in the van,” he answered. “They’ve been driving around, picking up people off the streets. I haven’t seen any of them since.”

  Phoenix stood up even straighter, her blood now chilled. “You sure about that? You’ve seen them take more people?”

  He nodded. “I don’t know who they are, but they appear and disappear like ghosts.”

  She looked down, wracking her brain on just what could be happening right now. None of this made any sense.

  “Except one time I followed them,” he said, with a proud smile. Her head snapped up, looking at him as hope bloomed inside.

  “Followed them where?”

  Phoenix was practically running as she made her way back toward the main market square where they’d all planned to meet. As she rounded the corner she ran smack into a hard chest that had her bouncing back toward the pavement. Strong hands gripped her arms, saving her from a nasty fall. She looked up into sea green eyes, narrowed in annoyance just like they always were.

  “Hey, hot shot,” she said with a smile, ignoring the feeling of his hands on her. Trent righted her before glaring down.

  “You should watch where you’re going,” he said. “What are you running from?” He looked behind her, his eyes scanning the area. Phoenix took that brief moment to let her eyes roam the hard lines of his face. His dirty blonde hair curled around his ears, tempting her to run her fingers through it and mess it up a bit, but of course there was no way she was going to do such a thing. Trent McKay might be nice to look at, but he annoyed the crap out of her. She was surprised they hadn’t killed each other yet. There’s always tomorrow, she thought.

  “I’m not running from anything,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I was just excited to get back. I learned something.” She was practically jumping. Actually, she wasn’t practically, she was. Hopping in excitement, she quickly told Trent what Hal had told her.

  Trent listened in silence, his eyes watching her as she exploded with energy. Where Phoenix was constantly moving, talking – acting like a person who was alive – Trent was stoic, quiet, and appeared pretty much bored to death. She couldn’t understand how he managed to remain so blah all the time.

  “Maybe we should go check this building out first, before we tell the others,” he suggested. His reply actually made her stop moving in shock. She had wanted to go by herself when she’d first learned about the building Hal had followed the van to, but knew the others would have her head for it. The man standing in front of her would have been the first to jump down her throat. The fact that he was suggesting the two of them go without anyone else was the last thing she would had expected.

  “It will be easier for just the two of us to sneak around than it will be for the entire group,” he said.

  “Aw,” she said, batting her eyes at him, “are you just trying to get me alone, hot shot?”

  His mouth thinned as his jaw ticked. “You should be so lucky, Princess,” he said. “Are we going or not?”

  The area wasn’t far from where they were, but it felt completely different. No one walked the streets, the buildings too destroyed for anyone to inhabit. The eerie silence gave Phoenix the creeps. It was like walking through a ghost town. The Archers stayed away from places like this, knowing not many people ever went to them. That, and they all knew what could happen if one of them got caught out in these areas alone. Missy’s incident made them all a little more cautious.

  The building Hal described was at the end of the block, looking just as empty as those around it. Phoenix and Trent walked slowly, their eyes constantly scanning the area. New World soldiers were known to walk the emptier neighbourhoods, preying on anyone who happened to be passing through. Phoenix knew for a fact this was true.

  As they drew closer to the building, Phoenix tried to get a look at some of the windows dotting the exterior for any sign of life within, but all were black. They could have them covered up from the inside, she reasoned.

  The sounds of footsteps had her looking away from the building right as Trent’s body crashed into hers. Suddenly she was pressed between the brick wall behind her, and the hard chest of Trent. Her hands reached up to grip his biceps with the intention of pushing him off her, but his whispered words had her halting.

  “Two guards are coming this way,” he said against her ear. She tried not to shiver at the feeling of his lips brushing against her as he spoke. “Act like we’re drunk and fooling around. Maybe they’ll ignore us and walk by.”

  Phoenix highly doubted it, but her rebuttal froze on the tip of her tongue as Trent’s face lowered to the cradle of her neck. His hot breath heated her skin as he pressed even closer. Her hands now gripped him of their own accord. His lips brushed along the side of her neck so lightly, she wasn’t even sure it had happened. Her heart quickened as blood rushed through her body from the heat of him. Normally she would have been concentrating on the possibility that they were about to get into a dangerous situation with soldiers approaching, but Phoenix was having a hard time focusing on anything but the man in front of her. They might be pretending for the sake of the moment, but her body didn’t seem to know it.

  He heard the catch in her breath as he let his lips ghost along her skin again. A slight shiver ran through her body causing his to respond
immediately. His pants were becoming uncomfortably tight. Trent prayed she wouldn’t notice. He ran his nose from her ear to her shoulder, breathing in the fresh scent of Phoenix that reminded him of berries or an apple orchard.

  You’re just pretending, he reminded himself. There was no way he was actually attracted to the maddening woman pinned against him, but his body had a mind of its own at that moment.

  “What do we have here?” one of the soldiers said loudly. Trent hoped the man didn’t notice how his body stiffened instinctively.

  “Heeeey offisssser,” Phoenix said, laying it on a little thick. Trent rolled his eyes before turning to look at the two men leering at them. He knew right then that there was no way they were going to just walk away from this. The situation had just become exactly what he didn’t want.

  “Hey man,” Trent said, putting on a goofy smile. “We were just stopping to have some fun.”

  “Yes. We. Werrrre,” Phoenix said, walking her fingers up his chest. He squeezed her waist in warning.

  “We’ll be leaving now,” he continued.

  “What’s the hurry?” the other one said. “We like to have fun too.”

  “Yeah,” the first one agreed. “How about you share that hot little piece of ass with us, and we won’t cause you any trouble after?”

  Trent clamped down on the rage that burned inside him at the way he’d described Phoenix. He didn’t like anyone speaking about her that way, especially not some sleazy New World soldier. “Nah, we’re just going to –”

  “We weren’t asking,” the soldier interrupted. “Move into the alley there. We’ll let you go last.” They both snickered.

  Trent’s realized his hands gripped Phoenix so tightly he was probably hurting her. One of her hands stroked his bicep in silent comfort, letting him know she was okay. He didn’t like this situation one bit, but there was no way around it. Taking a step back, he reluctantly released Phoenix and let her lead the way into the secluded alley.

  “Your boyfriend doesn’t seem too happy anymore,” one of them said to her as the other one walked around to close her in between them.

  “He’s not much of a sharer,” she said with a sweet smile that Trent knew meant these men were about to get their asses handed to them. “In fact, neither am I.” Phoenix kicked back with lightning speed, catching the one behind her off guard. He instantly bent over, clutching his stomach as she spun around to land another kick to the side of his head.

  Trent didn’t see anything else as he reached out and grabbed the other one’s hand as it grabbed the pistol holstered at his hip. The man screamed as Trent crushed his fingers until the gun fell uselessly to the ground. He didn’t stop until he heard the sickening sound of bones breaking. With two solid shots to the side of the guy’s head, he was slumped on the floor of the alley, passed out cold.

  When he looked back over to Phoenix, he saw she had done the same thing to the other guy. Both soldiers lay unconscious on the disgusting floor like the trash they were. Trent had a strong urge to kick them both while they were out cold, but fought the desire. He met Phoenix’s stare as they both calmed down, letting their adrenaline simmer.

  Then she smiled that smile Trent knew meant she was about to say something off the wall. It was one of the things he both hated and loved about her, although he’d never admit the latter.

  Phoenix wiggled her eyebrows up and down as she said, “should we strip them naked?”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Missy watched Pete and Charlotte from her seat, her novel held uselessly in front of her face. She hadn’t read an actual word for the last fifteen minutes, despite the quiet that had finally settled into the house as most of the crew went out into the streets. It was the fourth day in a row that they’d left. Missy had thought she would be happy once she got her space back. She was definitely not used to having so many people around her constantly.. However, as the days went on, she started to remember just how lonely it was before Pete and the others had arrived.

  Charlotte lay on the couch, her head settled on a pillow in Pete’s lap. Pete’s focus was on book he held, but one hand continually stroked through the long, dark tresses of Charlotte’s hair. They were so at ease with one another, Missy couldn’t help but watch with envy.

  Her father and Michael, Pete’s dad, walked in suddenly, breaking her attention. She smiled as her father kissed the top of her head like he always did. The two old friends sat down in the chairs on either side of her.

  “Would you like some tea?” she asked Michael, knowing how much he enjoyed his afternoon cup.

  “Please,” he replied happily.

  Missy walked into the kitchen only to find another couple seemingly caught up in their own world. Roman sat hunched over the table, his eyes trained on the map of New Berlin Lake somehow acquired. He was doing his best to figure out a route to get help in and out of the city, since apparently via air was a no-go. He was certain any planes would be shot down within seconds. Bridgette stood behind him, her hands massaging his shoulders, as she looked down at the map as well. Her husky voice pointed out a few options, but Roman would quickly explain why they wouldn’t work.

  Neither seemed to be aware that Missy had entered the room. Looking away, she headed to the stove, throwing a couple of logs on the fire to keep it going. She filled the kettle then stood back and waited silently for the water to boil.

  The crash of the front door had her jumping. Roman and Bridgette looked up in unison as Phoenix and Trent walked into the kitchen. Missy took one look at her sister and knew she had discovered something today. A look of triumph and unease warred on her face.

  “We’ve got a lead,” she said, confirming Missy’s suspicions.

  “On Tyler?” Bridgette asked with a hint of hope.

  Trent nodded. “It’s not good,” he said. Missy watched as Bridgette’s shoulders dropped, just as a wave of sickness filled her own stomach.

  Realistically she’d known when, or if, they found Tyler it was going to be bad, but to hear Trent confirm it still felt like a punch to the gut. Charlotte, Pete, and their fathers walked in, their faces identical masks of concern.

  “Should we wait for Seamus and Garrett?” Trent asked his brother.

  Pete shook his head. “We can fill them in later. Tell us what you’ve found out.”

  The high pitched squeal of the kettle had Missy jumping again, her nerves completely shot. She quickly made the tea then joined the rest of them at the table. Normally she would have kept to the background, but she wanted to hear what they’d discovered.

  “One of my guys that hangs around the old hospital, you know the one from Uxbridge?” Phoenix said, looking to Missy. Missy nodded knowing the man she spoke of. He was a drunk, and probably not the best source for information, but she didn’t say anything. “Well he’s been seeing a white van all over the city, picking up most of the homeless.”

  “Homeless?” her father said. “That doesn’t really fit with Tyler then,” he pointed out.

  “I know,” Phoenix agreed. “I have a gut feeling he was targeted specifically.” Her eyes went to Bridgette and Charlotte. Missy got a sinking feeling when she realized where this conversation might be going.

  Charlotte cursed under her breath. “Our father?” she asked.

  Bridgette and Charlotte’s dad, Douglas Hatcher, or better known simply as ‘the General’, was the leader of the rebellion. He was a man with misguided ambitions. Their crew, the Archers, had known right away that they wanted nothing to do with his rebels from the eastern ghetto. They’d always made an effort to keep the western ghetto rebels away from the General’s men. Knowing what they knew about him, especially the newest information that had come to light since rescuing Bridgette, made Missy wonder if he was any better than the man he was fighting against.

  Phoenix nodded as Trent’s mouth pressed into a flat, firm line. He didn’t look happy.

  “I guess my guy heard that we’d been asking around about a white van, and had a hunch it
might be the one we were looking for,” Phoenix went on.

  “Considering there aren’t very many vehicles period in the ghetto, I’d say that assumption wasn’t too hard to reach,” Trent said.

  “If you met my guy, you wouldn’t be saying that,” Phoenix countered.

  Missy couldn’t help but snort, attracting attention. “I’m surprised he even noticed the van. He’s not the most observant, or coherent for that matter,” she explained.

  “Great,” Pete muttered. “Can we even trust this guy then?”

  Phoenix instantly nodded. “I believe everything he told me.”

  “So what happened then when he saw it?” Charlotte asked.

  “He followed it to see where they went.”

  “How can a man follow a vehicle?” Roman asked.

  “He has a bike, and he knows all the shortcuts through the city,” Phoenix answered. “Trust me, this guy can get around on that bike way faster than anyone with a motor.”

  “They went to a building on the outskirts of the city,” Trent said, taking over the story. “We checked it out right after Phoenix found me and told me what the guy had said.”

  “You went there, just the two of you?” Pete said angrily.

  “We weren’t that far, and two people are a lot less conspicuous than a whole group. It just made sense,” Trent argued.

  “It was stupid,” said Pete.

  “We had it under control,” Phoenix defended. She and Tyler shared a quick look that told Missy something must have happened, but neither said a word.

  “What did you see there?” Missy asked, growing annoyed by their useless argument. She just wanted to hear what they’d learned about Tyler. Not that she was happy with her sister for going into a potentially dangerous situation without back up. She also wasn’t surprised by it.