by AR Colbert
“What about the Exiled? Is information about them only available to those who need to know?”
Mitchell frowned. “If it is, then I am certainly not privy to it. I’ve told you everything I know. And I will continue to share anything I find out about. I want nothing more than to put a stop to those thieves and murderers.”
Dax, Rider, and I returned to the van later with full bellies and tired muscles. An unspoken bond had been created between the three of us, even with Rider. You can’t see people working so hard and dealing with such loss and still accuse them of doing the very crimes they were victims of. Rider had unwittingly become a conspirator against the New American government. And I had to say, I liked him better for it.
Aiden peppered us with questions on the way back home. Dax did most of the talking, but Rider’s silence was no longer a source of anxiety for me. It was a relief.
“I told you,” Dax said, his voice dripping with irritation, “we’re getting close. The leader was just here last night. We spoke to as many people about him as we could, but he’s gone off again. He can’t be far. We’ll bring all the information back to the Leadership Monday morning and see how they want us to proceed.”
“Monday is too late,” Aiden replied. “He might be long gone by then. I’ll call Dimitri tonight and set up an emergency meeting for tomorrow morning. We’ve got to find this guy so we can destroy the Outsiders before they get any more of our people.”
I actually agreed with Aiden for once. Only my people were the Outsiders.
CHAPTER 15
We were all exhausted when we rolled back into Classen City that night. Well, all of us but Aiden.
There was so much information for me to process. I would have loved the chance to sit and discuss everything with Dax and Rider—to learn what they’d discovered during the day’s events. Maybe if we pieced together everything we’d heard we could come up with a really solid plan for locating the Exiled.
But of course we would never attempt that in front of Aiden. He dropped us off in the Center with a serious expression. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”
“See you then.” And hopefully we could all get our stories straight before meeting with the Leadership.
An attendant was already at the door when we stepped out of the van, opening it wide so Dax and I could come inside. Only, it wasn’t an attendant. It was Felix! With all the chaos of the week, I’d forgotten that he was returning today.
“Hey, beautiful.” He greeted me with a warm smile, but his eyes were tired. It left me wondering about his trip and looking forward to exchanging stories from the few days we were apart. He looked like he’d been through almost as much as we had. Minus the dead animals... hopefully.
“Hey.” I fought the urge to greet him with a hug. It seemed natural, like what old friends would do. But we weren’t old friends. He was technically my boss. So I overcorrected and reached out to shake his hand instead. He obliged with an amused snicker. I was getting really good at making things awkward with him lately.
Jean had a fabulous meal prepared for us, but I was far too distracted to enjoy it. I knew we couldn’t speak freely in the dining room, so I picked through my plate quickly, eager to get into the study where we could talk. Finally, we settled into our usual armchairs by the fire.
“Alright,” Felix said leaning forward with his forearms on his knees, “I’m dying to know how your week went. Tell me everything.”
Dax yawned through a nod and rubbed his face before getting right to the point. “We haven’t placed any amplifiers yet. We rolled through a few camps but told the guys we needed to save the tech for where the leader was. The camp we visited today just got attacked by the Exiled, so we think we might be close. We’ll have to defend our choices in an emergency meeting tomorrow morning though.”
Felix lifted his brows. “That’s uh...”
“It’s a lot,” Dax said before yawning again. “Claren, you can fill him in on the details. I’ve got to hit the shower and get to bed.” He stood and stretched his long arms toward the ceiling.
“Get some rest, Dax. I’ll see you in the morning.” Poor guy had gotten less sleep than I had, which was saying something since my mind had been racing too much to nod off hardly at all this week.
Felix chuckled and turned to face me as the door clicked shut behind Dax on his way out. “Okay, so what in the world is he talking about?” His eyes sparkled with curiosity, but again I couldn’t help but notice the exhaustion behind them.
“Well we only have four amplifiers right now, so we decided as a team before we visited a single camp that we would save them for when we found one of the leaders Outside. And of course we found one at the second camp—Frank was there—but there was no way I was going to let them listen in on him.”
I got excited as I recounted the events, speaking quickly as I continued. “So I asked Frank what he thought we should do. I know we need the Leadership to believe that we’re locating the Outsiders, so we’re going to have to place the amplifiers eventually. And that’s when I learned that there are two groups Outside, the Embers and the Exiled.”
Felix nodded. He didn’t seem surprised by anything I said, but he was clearly interested in hearing more. “Oh—and I’m pretty sure it’s the Exiled who have been hurting people in the city. Obviously the Embers would never do that. And Raf, my friend from Morton is okay! We saw him at the second camp.”
I couldn’t help but smile when I spoke of Raf, but Felix didn’t return this one. He sat back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “Raf is the guy you wanted to talk to before ever going out there, right?”
“Right. He’s helped me before, so I thought he might have some ideas on what to do now, too.” My face felt hot all of a sudden. I didn’t know if I was embarrassed by my relationship with Raf—if you could call one kiss a relationship, that is—or if I was more embarrassed by Felix’s reaction to his name. There was definitely some unchecked jealousy behind his cool facade. But it faded quickly, replaced by a forced smile.
“I’m glad your friend is okay. You look like you might have been really happy to see him.” His cheek twitched slightly.
“I was.”
“Well if you’re happy, I’m happy,” he said. I wasn’t so sure I believed him, but there was a lot more we had to talk about before the meeting with the Leadership, so I plowed ahead, ignoring any lingering weirdness.
“Thanks. So the Exiled is basically a gang of criminals that were, well, exiled, from Classen City. And maybe other cities, too? I’m not completely sure. But they’re bad. They steal and kill and have no regard for anyone but themselves. I think they’re behind the attacks here in Classen City, and they’re also behind some attacks at Ember camps.”
“Sounds like these are the kind of guys who deserve to be handled by Dimitri’s defense team.”
“Oh, they definitely are. Which is good news and bad news.”
“How is this bad?”
“Well they don’t stick to one campsite for any length of time. Which means we may have a difficult time placing the amplifiers.”
Felix winced. “Justice Hines and the others won’t be very happy without some real progress with those amplifiers.”
“I know.” I sighed. “So that’s where we’re stuck for now. The Exiled attacked a camp east of town last night, so we suspect they’re probably in that area still. We just don’t know exactly where to find them.”
“So what are you going to tell the Leadership?”
“I’ll tell them the truth. Their rebel leader is on the run, and I’m doing everything I can to find him.”
Felix nodded. “Honesty is always the best policy.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but he clenched his jaw together to keep quiet. It reminded me of something though...
“Oh, and Felix? There’s one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“Rider knows the truth.”
Felix cursed under his breath.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
We were all a little more tense the next morning on our way to the meeting. Felix didn’t seem to have much confidence in Rider, which was disappointing since I didn’t get the impression that he would turn against us any time soon. He definitely knew enough to get me into a lot of trouble and to wipe out several of the Ember camps. I hoped Felix was wrong. Rider seemed genuinely concerned for the people we helped the day before.
I squeezed into the back seat between Dax and Felix on the ride over to the municipal building. Dax’s lanky limbs filled the seat like spaghetti, so I found myself leaning closer to Felix. He sat sturdy and strong, his broad shoulders supporting me easily. Felix’s presence was a warm comfort on a chilly morning, a balm for my nerves.
But Felix was on edge as well. I leaned my head, resting my temple on his shoulder and projecting a sense of calm through him. It wasn’t as strong through his suit jacket, but I hoped it would be enough. Skin to skin was always better, and the thought of resting against his bare shoulder sent a strange sensation through me that I didn’t want to want. Felix had some misguided feelings for me, maybe, but I couldn’t allow myself to get caught up in his emotions.
My feelings were different.
But it still felt nice to rest with him for a moment—too brief a moment as we pulled up to the municipal building just minutes later.
“Good morning, Mr. Walsh.” A friendly familiar smile greeted us as we exited the vehicle.
“James,” I said. “It’s so good to see you again this morning.”
His eyes twinkled. “The pleasure’s all mine.”
My smile faded as we approached the double doors. Felix led the way up the elevator, down the hall, and through the doors to the Triple-T headquarters. Dimitri, Justice Hines, Aiden, Rider, and Emilio were already waiting inside when we arrived.
“Is this everyone?” Aiden asked.
“We’re just missing Emmaline,” Dimitri said with a grim expression.
She fluttered in a few moments later, all smiles in a ruffled pink blouse and navy skirt, carrying a hot beverage. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I had to find some cream for my coffee.”
She grinned at Justice Hines as though the cream was some sort of inside joke. But if it was, Justice Hines obviously didn’t get it. She looked like she could use some coffee as well.
“Great.” Aiden clasped his hands together in front of him. “Thank you for attending this emergency meeting on such short notice. I wouldn’t have asked you all here if it wasn’t such a time-sensitive matter. But I’m afraid time is of the essence, especially with such an important issue as that with which we are currently facing.”
Justice Hines looked like she wanted to yell at Aiden to shut up and sit down, but luckily for him, Emmaline spoke first. “Thank you for the kind welcome, Aiden. Claren, please feel free to take over from here.”
Aiden looked hurt. I almost felt bad taking the lead from him. He so desperately craved the attention, and I was happy to let him have it. But they were right. We’d be here all day if I let Aiden talk.
“Right. So you may have noticed that we haven’t placed any amplifiers yet.”
“We have noticed, yes,” Dimitri said. Justice Hines scowled.
“Well the problem is that the rebel leaders are hard to pin down. They’re always on the move.”
“Do you mean to say you haven’t actually found any Outsiders yet?” Justice Hines’ eyes gleamed like a cat watching a mouse. She was trying to catch me in a lie. Emilio told us about the GPS trackers, so I knew she knew we’d been to a few camps already.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. We’ve found a few settlements of Outsiders. But they don’t know anything about any attacks or plans to attack the city. I can confirm that they were telling the truth. There were a number of women and children there, too. These aren’t the people we need to be watching.”
I glanced nervously at Rider, waiting to see if he planned to add any details about my real involvement with the Embers, but so far he remained quiet. Good.
“The leaders are who we want. And no one knows where the leaders are until they make surprise visits to the camps.” I was actually referring to the Exiled, of course. But I hoped it was close enough to the truth for Emmaline and Justice Hines to feel my sincerity. They’d have no problem catching me in a lie with as high as my nerves were. I never was any good at lying.
“But yesterday we visited a camp that had just seen the head of the rebel movement. He was there the night before, but gone before we arrived. It’s a settlement an hour or so east of town, and we suspect he may still be in the area.”
Dimitri’s pulse quickened. Of course he would be excited at the prospect of a fight soon.
Aiden looked almost as excited beside him. “But we’ll need to go out again right away,” he added. “They could be long gone if we wait until Monday.”
Emmaline nodded. “That is certainly alright with me. But how do you plan to place the devices with a group that is always on the move?”
“Very carefully?” This was the part I was still really unsure about. I looked to Dax and Rider, hoping they might bail me out of this, but both remained silent. Great.
“We’re just going to have to barge right in, guns blazing,” Aiden said with a crooked grin.
“Not exactly,” I added. “Obviously if we make an aggressive entrance, we’ll not only endanger ourselves, but we’ll also compromise the mission. We need to be stealthy, and place the devices without them knowing. I’m afraid if we kill this leader, there will be others who will pick up where he left off. And we’re no better off without knowing their plans. We have to keep him alive for now until we know what they intend to do. Then you can blaze your guns all you want, Aiden.”
“I agree,” Emmaline said. “You’ll need to remain unseen if possible. And I wish we had more time to develop a plan, but I’m afraid they’ll move on if we put this off any longer. Are you all ready to go now?”
Heads bobbed up and down around the table.
“Great. You can all wait downstairs while Aiden pulls the van around. I’ll send an attendant down with some sack lunches for you. And Emilio, please stay behind with us for a moment while the others are getting everything ready.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a shaky voice.
Aiden practically jumped out of his seat to go prepare the vehicle for us. Dax and Rider exited first, with Felix and I slowly bringing up the rear. Felix’s breathing was heavy, and I so badly wanted to reach out and ask him what was on his mind. He was struggling with something, but he wasn’t quite ready to tell me about it yet.
“We’ll be okay,” I said trying to reassure him.
“I know that you will. They all know the consequences if they let anything happen to you.” His jaw clenched. “But we need this to go as smoothly as possible. You’ve got to successfully locate the rebel leader.” His eyes had an intensity that left me no room to argue. “And ideally, you’ve got to do it before the end of the month.”
“Why before the end of the month?” I asked.
“Because that’s when my father is officially moving to the district. At the end of the month, I’ll be the new Senator Walsh. If you don’t succeed, they won’t allow you to stay on my team. And Claren, I need you.”
CHAPTER 16
Aiden wasted no time preparing the van for us. It waited by the curb when we got downstairs. The doors were all open, and Dax and Rider were with him, filling boxes with supplies and adding additional weapons. They really weren’t messing around with this trip.
Felix’s words sat heavy in my mind. I was kicking myself for not asking him for details about his trip earlier. I’d forgotten to with everything that took place Outside. Felix was feeling the pressure of taking his dad’s role. It was understandable considering how little training and mentorship he’d had for the position. He’d be the youngest Senator Classen City had ever appointed. But t
here was more to it than that. Felix walked around as though a dark gray cloud hung over his head and no number of storm warnings could protect him from what was coming. What else had his father said during that meeting?
I wanted to comfort him somehow, but there wasn’t much I could do. We stood facing each other, a river of unspoken words flowing between us, until Rider approached. He never made eye contact with Felix. He looked only at me as he spoke.
“Everything’s ready to go. Where’s Emilio?”
“I’m not sure.” I turned to see if Felix had any insight on what Emmaline wanted with him after the meeting, but Felix wasn’t thinking about Emilio. He was too busy slicing Rider to pieces with the intensity of his glare. Down boy.
Rider stood unflinching as though Felix didn’t even exist, which only seemed to make matters worse.
“You better take care of her out there,” Felix seethed.
“I’ll do the job I was hired for.” Rider’s eyes were still fixed on me, making me feel like an uncomfortable pawn in whatever game they were playing. Felix was red hot, angry and protective, while Rider was cold, uncaring. He wore a cool mask of apathy, but underneath I knew he was hiding something too. I just couldn’t be sure what it was.
The double doors to the building swung open behind us, and a jittery Emilio came jogging out. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he panted. “Emmaline was giving me these.”
He lifted a cardboard box full of rubbery black watches. Only they weren’t watches. They were bands with faceless black rectangular boxes where the clock should have been.
“They’re tracking devices.” Emilio frowned. “She’s concerned about our safety out there, so she wants to know where each of us is at all times.”
