Renegades

by Joanne Sexton

  “Sub level.”

  “Bullshit. One, I went down there this morning, and guess what, empty, and two, you can’t hide anything from me.”

  “She’s in my quarters.”

  “Why?”

  “Would you quit staring at me and keep watch.”

  “Fine.” Simmo turned back to the binoculars. “I’m waiting.”

  “It isn’t comfortable down there. It’s no place for a girl.”

  “She isn’t just any girl, Taylor, she’s the enemy. A citizen. I’m surprised you haven’t thrown her to the gangs.”

  “You know how I feel about that.”

  Ryan toed the dirt with his boots. Uncomfortable and confused by his feelings and Simmo’s judgement regarding his recent decisions, Ryan didn’t want to meet his scrutinizing glances.

  “Besides, do citizens really have a choice but to conform? She isn’t the enemy, the government and their pets, the GAP, are.”

  “Her brother is the General of the army!”

  “I’m aware of this, Simmo.”

  “What happened to revenge?”

  Another contemptuous glance urged Ryan to keep his face indifferent. He still couldn’t explain what was happening.

  “I’ll gladly take it out on Cody when I see him. She has nothing to do with it.”

  “She has everything to do with it! She’s probably just like him.”

  “She’s not.”

  His head swivelled sharply to face Ryan again, disbelief in his expression. “What the fuck?”

  “This has nothing to do with you.”

  “It has everything to do with me, with all of us. She’s our meal ticket, our payment for freedom.”

  “You saw what happened to Adamson. They’re not going to negotiate.”

  “Then what? Let her go, so she can go running to her brother and tell him everything?” With his head shaking vigorously from side to side his best friend slammed his fist into the dirt wall.

  “No.”

  “Then what?”

  “I don’t know, get off my case.”

  Simmo laughed and his whole body shook as he hollered.

  “What’s so funny?” Ryan demanded.

  “Oh, this is too good. You’ve gone and fallen for a citizen, the sister of the general of the GAP, oh, this is gold.” He continued his guffawing, wiping away tears of laughter. “Thanks, man, I needed a good laugh.” He clapped Ryan on the back.

  “Laugh it up, funny boy. You’ll be doing watch alone in a minute.”

  When Simmo regained his breath, he spoke again. “Please tell me this isn’t the truth.” His amusement had been replaced by a frown.

  “She’s … nice, and so … she’s beautiful, okay.”

  “Holy shit, I was joking, but you’re serious. Are you serious?”

  “She’s not like him. Cody has been filling her head with lies. She thought we were like those scum up there. Mackenzie honestly believed he was the good guy and we’re the bad guys. She’s been deluded by him from the beginning.”

  “And you believe her.”

  Ryan went back to toeing the dirt floor. “Yeah, I do.”

  “Man, you just need to get laid.”

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  Ryan didn’t want to tell Simmo how wrong he was. Yes, he was attracted to her, but it was more than physical; he wanted to know everything about her. Talk to her, be around her. He’d never wanted to do this with a pretty girl before.

  “Be careful, Ryan.”

  “Aren’t you tired of this, Simmo, living underground, having no life or girlfriend or something resembling normal?”

  “Nah, man, I would miss the sport.”

  “Yeah, so you’ve said a thousand times.”

  Ryan knew though, deep down, Simmo wanted it nearly as much as he did. His brave credo was wearing thin.

  11

  Dangerous Attraction

  After Ryan left her breathless again and promptly exited, Mackenzie tried to do something with her time. Deciding to utilize his extensive library, she got comfortable by spreading out on the couch, and started to read the first page of the most dog-eared book she could locate, wanting to take an interest in the one that appeared to interest him and thus learn more about what he liked.

  Several attempts proved fruitless, her concentration waned and her thoughts wandered. Although the book was intriguing, several pages in she gave up. She couldn’t concentrate.

  Her attraction and bafflement grew stronger as each minute passed. One minute he scowled, the next he devoured her. She had no idea what to think. What she was feeling, on the other hand, was much easier to decipher. She smiled. Who would have thought the man she felt her first real connection with would be a leader in the rebellion?

  The door unbolting caused her to jump. Mackenzie swiftly sat up and threw the book on the table. His eyes followed it and his eyebrows lifted. A small smile tugged at his lips, sending shivers of anticipation up her spine. Her choice impressed him.

  “Do you like it?”

  “The book? Yes, but I couldn’t concentrate.”

  “I want to show you something.” Holding the door open for her he gestured with his hand for her to exit.

  “Oh! Okay.” She stood, happy to be leaving the confines of the room. “Where are we going?”

  “Just come.”

  With his head stooped once more, they trailed through another maze of tunnels.

  “Why didn’t you make these tunnels higher? It would’ve saved you the trouble.”

  His husky laugh almost had her swooning. She wanted to hear it again.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “We needed to go underground quickly so we had to construct something as fast as we could. They are six-foot high throughout, mostly. There are approximately two women and three children to every one man, so the majority are shorter than six feet.”

  “Where are all the husbands and fathers?”

  He glanced over his shoulder and comprehension hit her. Dead. Either murdered by the GAP, or during warfare. Good one, Mackenzie.

  “So it must have taken a long time to do all of this.”

  “Yes, it did, but we got lucky. We have someone here who knows what lies under the ground. There were caverns-like rooms already here, so it was easier to adapt it. While we were digging and building we lived in tents. We moved around frequently to stay hidden or away from the GAPs. It was an interesting time getting everything we needed underground, but we managed to make it a home of sorts. We have a doctor, engineer, several nurses and computer geeks. We have everything we need except fresh food, which we scavenge for.”

  “I find it pretty amazing that there is almost a small city under the ground.”

  “I guess it is pretty amazing.”

  Ryan stopped, opened a door at the end of one of the tunnels, which led into a small room with four computers lined up on desks across one wall. Three girls and a man sat at the desks, each watching a screen and tapping on a keyboard. The machines were much older than the one Mackenzie used at Gov-Com.

  “This is where we monitor the above ground world,” Ryan said. “Each call is recorded by our software, and our techies read through the transcripts and send relevant information to our comp-phones.” He extracted his from one of many pockets in his black cargo pants and handed it to her. “It’s out-dated, I know, but getting our hands on up to date models is … difficult.”

  “So you do take the chips out?”

  “Yes. Evan,” he pointed to the male tech, “can remove them without disabling them.”

  “So my job was, as I always thought, completely pointless.”

  “Yeah, probably, although some of the street gangs still use them with chips. This way, we can communicate with each other, and be in touch with the outside world, while staying undetected. This is how we learn about deliveries and shipments to ambush.”

  “Do you only do these at night too?”

  “No, sometimes we go up during the day, part
icularly for fresh food, as it’s only delivered during the day. By hacking the government networks, we discover which trucks are heavily armed and which aren’t. We try and avoid casualties for either side, even if they don’t.”

  “Why are you showing me this?”

  “You may be able to send a message to your family undetected.”

  “Really?”

  “You won’t be able to talk to them, but Tracy …” he gestured to the girl at the far end of the room, who looked about fifteen with spiky pink hair. She grinned at Mackenzie who returned the gesture. “… can encrypt messages to send to comp-phones with chips.”

  “What’s the number?” Tracy asked.

  Mackenzie recited Ryder’s number and she entered it. A blank message box appeared. Tracy then stood and offered her the chair.

  “Type in your message, then hit send. It’s all set up to go.”

  “Don’t you want to know what I send?” she asked Ryan.

  “No, I trust you.”

  She sent him a questioning look.

  “It’s okay.”

  She tapped lightly on the keys as she thought about what to send and then made her decision.

  Ryder,

  It’s Mackenzie, I’m okay. I’m not sure what Cody has told you, but I'm at a rebel compound and I’m safe. Tell Mum it will be all right. Please be careful and don’t trust Cody. I know you won’t understand why, but you need to trust me.

  Love you

  Mac

  She hit send as relief washed over her. Her family would be slightly less worried about her now. She also hoped Ryder would heed her warning about Cody. He would wonder why she was suddenly warning one brother against the other, but it eased her mind knowing he would be cautious. Ryder and Mackenzie were close. It should be enough.

  “All done.” She stood up. “Thanks,” she said to Tracy.

  “You’re welcome.” She winked at Ryan as they left.

  “I think she likes you,” Mackenzie said as a stab of jealously shot through her, surprising her.

  “Tracy? No, you’re more her type. The wink was about you. I think you passed.”

  “Oh.”

  He emitted another deep laugh sending her pulse racing again.

  “Thank you, Ryan, for letting me contact my family.”

  “I’m sure they’re worried about you.”

  They walked back through the tunnels, to what she assumed would be his room, until it started to get lighter and louder. Where were they going now? After descending another ladder, they entered a large room, reminding her of a school cafeteria, and she realised he’d brought her here for lunch.

  He guided her to a table, where a gangly red-haired guy sat, before pulling out a chair for her.

  “Simmo; Mackenzie.”

  “Hello.”

  Simmo gave her the once over before speaking. “Hey.”

  “I’ll get us some lunch,” Ryan said and went off to join the queue.

  Simmo's examination had her squirming in her seat, so she looked around the room rather than meet his dissecting gaze.

  “You’d better not be pulling his strings,” Simmo finally said.

  “What?” She turned her gaze to him and found a scowl.

  “Ryan may act tough, and is a brave leader, but he’s a lost soul craving a normal life.”

  “Simmo—

  “Simon.”

  “Simon, I don’t pull anyone’s strings, and, until yesterday, I believed my brother to be an honourable man. I was wrong and Ryan appears to be everything I thought Cody to be.”

  “I can see why he likes you.”

  “He does?”

  “Yeah, Captain Taylor’s not so good at showing his feelings. War, being an orphan, and the stuff we’ve seen, well … it’s more than anyone should.”

  “I hope you’re not talking about me, Simmo,” Ryan said.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it, Taylor.”

  “Taylor. At least I know your full name now.” She offered what she hoped was a friendly smile and she was rewarded with a shy grin.

  Over lunch Ryan and Simmo exchanged the usual male banter and jibe. This showed yet another side to Ryan, confirming what she already knew. She was falling in love with him. Apparently two days was all it took.

  12

  Desire

  Ryan deposited her back in his room, mumbled something about training, and left. She spent the afternoon, as she had the morning, alone. His switching between kindness and affection to indifference left her head spinning. Kissing her one moment then keeping her at arm’s length the next. She understood his caution and hesitance, but she also questioned whether he was feeling the same powerful attraction as her. Didn’t he want to learn more about her as she did about him?

  She had too much time to think and analyse everything, and therefore she endeavoured, once more, to do some reading. This time she was successfully able to concentrate and managed to read most of the book she’d started earlier.

  With only a few chapters remaining, she heard the door unbolt and Ryan appeared with dinner. Her own personal waiter.

  “Tomorrow, if you want, I’ll bring you with me when I go up to do some training,” he said as he placed her dinner on the table. “It can get boring being cooped up here all the time.”

  “I’d like that, thanks.”

  He shrugged and sat beside her.

  “Um, what do you plan to do?”

  “About what?” He stared at her as though waiting for her to eat, so she did.

  “Me.”

  “I want to let you go.”

  “Oh.” Perhaps he wasn’t feeling the same intense emotions.

  “Except, I don’t know if I can.”

  She pushed her dinner aside and turned to face him, encouraging him to continue.

  “But I’m also not sure I can trust you.”

  “Oh.” Deflated by his answer, she let her gaze wander to her hands clenched in her lap.

  “There is also the fact that I can’t stop thinking about you. I want to … I’m not very good at this.”

  “It’s all kind of new for me too. I don’t want to leave either.”

  His hand touched her cheek, compelling her to look at him. She did.

  “I’m in unfamiliar territory here. I’ve never felt so drawn to someone, such a connection before,” he said in a quiet voice.

  “Me neither.”

  He stared at her, but didn’t move, his eyes taking hers in. A gentle caress reminded her that his hand still cupped her face, propelling electricity through her body and sending her heart into an erratic flutter.

  “Kiss me,” she whispered.

  When his lips sought hers, she moaned and then threw her arms around his neck, bringing him down as she lay back on the couch. He trailed his kiss from her mouth to her neck and then lay beside her, wrenching her body against his feverishly, but with a gentleness that surprised her.

  His mouth returned to hers as he explored her body with one hand, while the other held her firm against him. His hand crept up under her t-shirt causing her skin to dimple in excitement. His urgent yet tender touch caused desire to flood her body. His fingers then explored her from shoulder to breast, down her back, over hips and down her leg and back to stay with her breast, which he fondled and stroked.

  As his hand went lower again she felt him tugging at her jeans, trying to unfasten them with haste. She wound her hands into his hair as their hungry mouths fed on each other.

  Having freed the bindings, his hand slipped into her jeans, and stroked her hip and leg before resting between her thighs. When his fingers began to stroke her, she groaned into his mouth while he discovered her with innocent hands. When the tingle began at her toes and the first wave of pure pleasure washed over her body, his mouth left hers.

  She allowed the overwhelming intensity to control her senses. A feeling of contentment spread over her body and caused her to cry out his name in ecstasy. Nothing could compare to this. Ever.

  Mackenzie�
��s moans of pleasure flowed from her mouth to his, so he intensified his exploration of her. His only need was to taste her. When her breathing laboured, he left her mouth to watch her reaction. He was as a bee attracted to her pollen. Every fibre of his being craved to surround himself in her sweetness, luxuriate in her pleasure. His entire body was weak with longing.

  As she threw her head back and arched, he kept the pressure and rhythm until she cried out. When she opened her pleasure-filled eyes and smiled, he stopped but didn’t remove his hand. She lifted her head to touch her lips softly to his for a moment before returning her eyes to his.

  “Will you say something, please?” His voice was thick with desire.

  “Wow.”

  His heart fluttered. He was happy he’d pleased her, but cursed his inexperience, unsure how to bring her more.

  “I wish I knew how to …” She blushed.

  His already overwhelming desire threatened to burst. “You don’t have to do anything, watching you … you’re beautiful.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “I don’t know.”

  A giggled flew from her mouth. Leisurely he stroked his hand back up her body and rested it on her back. Her skin so soft and smooth beneath his touch was almost more than he could endure. He wanted to touch its silkiness and hold her close all night. Another new experience.

  Her head snuggled into his chest had him suppressing the desire to take what he wanted from her, to appease the yearning to feel her and fill her with it. He didn’t want to rush her; they’d only known each other a few days, after all. Not only that; he had no idea what he was doing and what came next. His aspiration to please her again was strong, but he considered his inexperience might inhibit this.

  The intensity of his emotions surprised him and indecision crammed his senses. Could he trust her? Was this what love at first sight was all about? Did she feel it too or was it the thrill of being with the enemy? Unease clawed at his throat.

  “Um, I think I should … um,” he mumbled.