He also feared what Mackenzie would do. Would she go back to avoid repercussions? Would she try and reason with Cody? Both of these options didn’t sit well with him. Knowing her as he did, he knew she wouldn’t do nothing either.
Several minutes later she returned looking concerned, with a happy Simmo. They exchanged the ‘glad you’re okays’ before he turned sombre again.
“Could you excuse us for a few minutes,” Ryan said to Mackenzie.
Her expression told him the answer was no. If she suspected that her presence could cause another raid, then she might decide to take matters into her own hands. How she did that would be another question he couldn’t allow his mind to consider.
“Why?” she asked.
“I want to talk to Simmo.”
“Why can’t you say it in front of me? Is it about Cody?”
With sigh, he continued. He would deal with the consequences later.
“We need to be prepared for another attack.”
“Did Cody tell you this?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Why would he let you go and then make threats?”
Ryan shifted his gaze from her to Simmo, whose wide smirk showed him just how amusing he found the conversation. Mackenzie and her stubbornness.
“He let me go because he cares about you. He also told me that if I don’t let you go and we don’t surrender, they will attack again.”
27
Sacrifice
Eerily quiet days passed while Ryan recuperated from his injuries. There was no sign of Cody’s threat occurring. The fence had been mended and they prepared themselves for attack. They had put off joining forces with the gangs while Ryan recovered.
The scare of nearly losing the man she loved compelled Mackenzie to spend every waking moment helping Ryan recover. As his bruises turned yellow and his bones healed, her disbelief and anger towards Cody, and the government he served, grew.
Would this ever end? Would she come to hate her brother? The brother who stood up to bullies at school for her, teased her in jest and helped bury her pets when they died with compassionate hugs, had become a monster. The idea that he would do this to the man she loved sickened her. He might have let Ryan go, but it didn’t change the fact that he let this happen, ordered this to happen.
Ryan had gone to see Cody with an olive branch, a way to bridge the gap that lived between the government, citizens and renegades, but instead Cody ignored his plea for peace and allowed him to be beaten senseless. Would there be any way to reason with him? Would he still follow through on his threat and invade the compound again? If they were to invade there would be more casualties this time and Cody wouldn’t leave without ensuring he wiped out everyone in the compound.
A week after Ryan returned, Mackenzie made a decision. She would do as he asked and leave the compound. Return home to ensure the safety of the people she’d come to consider her friends, her family.
She could also work on Cody, see if she could get him to see reason, find out if the brother she once knew still lived inside. There could be troops within the GAP tired of the fighting too; maybe they felt as Ryan and the others did about the government, how she now felt about the government. Maybe there was a way they could overthrow Sinclair from within.
Ryan lay beside her while she pondered. How much to tell him about her plan? When his bruised eyes opened and he winced out a smile she knew exactly what she would say.
“Morning, sleepyhead, how are you feeling?”
“Better. Still feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.”
A small smile touched his lips again. Mackenzie couldn’t return it. His smile turned into a frown.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“Oh no, this can’t be good.”
“I shouldn’t stay.”
“Is this about Cody?”
“Yes. I don’t want to be responsible for more people getting hurt or dying. He won’t go easy this time. One thing I know about Cody, either in good times or bad, he’s stubborn. He won’t give up. So, for the safety of the others, we should give him what he wants.”
“I don’t want you to leave,” he said, his eyes showing his fear and sadness at the prospect. “We’ll fight them again. I’m not afraid to stand up to them. Let them come!”
“I don’t want to leave either. It isn’t the end, not for us, but I think for the safety of the compound I should go. I’ll take a comp-phone, we can talk every day. You can come and visit.”
“I don’t want to wake up every day and not see your face. I love you, Mackenzie.”
“I love you too.”
She didn’t know what else to say, her heart ached at the prospect of leaving, of not waking up to him every day too. Now she’d found the love of her life, she had to leave him, even if it was only temporary.
Who knew how long it would be. The fight had been going on for years, how much longer could it go on? This made her more determined to get to Cody, see if they could overthrow the government from within.
She averted her eyes from his intense gaze. She couldn’t tell him of her real plans, because he wouldn’t like it. He didn’t trust that Cody could be turned. She wasn’t convinced of it herself, but she had to try.
His frown greeted her when she lifted her eyes up to meet his. Confusion and sadness hung heavy in his eyes.
“Please don’t go.”
“I have to. It’s the only way.”
“I won’t allow it.”
She laughed despite herself. His orders were endearing.
“Are you trying to tell me what to do again? It didn’t work last time and won’t again. As much as it hurts to leave you, I’ve made up my mind.” Tears prickled her eyes as the realisation of what she was about to do hit her.
“I’m going to miss you so much,” he whispered.
Tears appeared in his eyes and her heart leapt. Who would have thought her tough renegade would become the sweet man before her? Life, war and murder had given him a tough exterior, but his warm loving nature still lay beneath and hadn’t been crushed by a cruel tyrannical government.
“I’ll miss you too. I promise I’ll ring every day. You know this is the only way to ensure the safety of the compound, right?”
Silence answered her as he studied her face and stared at her in his intense way. She also saw within his eyes that he knew she was right; he just didn’t want to accept it.
“I know it’s the right thing to do and as captain I have to think of the others, but I hate that I have to sacrifice you for it. I’m sorry, but it just makes me want to kill your brother even more.”
The harshness of his words shocked her for a moment, yet she understood exactly how he felt; she wanted to throttle her brother too.
So darkness would be their friend, they went after sunset, and headed towards Cherrywood Estate. Haste should be exercised, but they didn’t want the journey to end, for that would mean saying goodbye, again
They’d spent all day in bed ensuring they took in every inch of each other before they would be parted. They’d said their temporary goodbyes, but it didn’t make it any easier when the time came to cross the desert to her home.
His hand clenched hers so tight she thought he’d break it, but she didn’t want him to loosen his grip. While he held onto her she was still with him. Holding her hand was the only thing he did as they trudged across the desert and through the city, his unspoken words like a shadow over him. His silence told her everything; his fear, his love, his sadness screamed at her through his stillness. If they spoke both would break and they needed to be strong.
The gates of Cherrywood loomed closer and her chest filled with the anxiety of leaving him. Words could not explain how much she would miss him.
“How are you going to get in?” Ryan asked when they arrived, breaking their silence.
“I’ll have to ring Ryder,” she said, pulling the chip-less comp-phone that Ryan had given her from her pocket.
“Wait, don’t ring yet,
” he whispered, before capturing her lips.
His kiss was so desperate and hungry with passion, it was as though he wanted to breathe her in and take her with him.
Their tears mingled together as minutes passed, their bodies and mouths pressed together in love and desperation. They didn’t want to stop, but knew they had to before they were discovered and her leaving became for nothing.
“You’d better go,” he rasped, his expression distraught.
Through tears she managed to punch in Ryder’s number and after a brief explanation the gate opened.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” she vowed, and ran towards the gate before she changed her mind.
“I love you,” he whispered into the darkness.
28
Family Reunion
Seeing her family again helped with the pain of Ryan’s absence. Their phone calls were frequent and long, but it did little to dampen the fire that burned inside her. Even trying to pass the time formulating what she would say to Cody, putting a plan into action, didn’t stop her missing him or take her mind off the fact they’d been separated by her own brother’s threats. Her anger fuelled the fire that already couldn’t be quelled. Action needed to be taken.
Nearly two weeks had passed, there had been no invasions at the compound and Ryan had been to see her twice. Cody had yet to show his face at the house, but she knew he must know she was home. She hoped it was shame that kept him away because that was what he should be feeling as far as she was concerned.
Now that her plan was formulated, she decided if Cody wasn’t coming to her, then she was going to him.
As she had over the past weeks, she needed Ryder’s assistance to open the gate for her. Getting around Artinean was proving to be a pain without a BIT. As much as she didn’t want hers back, it was annoying that she couldn’t even leave the estate to see Ryan when he visited, or to just come and go when she needed to. She hoped Cody wouldn’t notice its absence and insist she get a new one. Just as she thought he might insist she go back to work. She guessed she would find that out soon enough.
Once Ryder had let her out, Mackenzie took her time walking to the GAP barracks. A large foreboding compound that took up a good portion of Artinean to the north, it contained lodging for all the troops, a prison and other government buildings, including Sinclair’s majestic quarters that was the size of Cherrywood Estate.
It seemed power bought the best of things. Hundreds of Artinean citizens either lived underground or on the streets, while Sinclair sat up in his castle dictating the lives of others. Now that she saw everything differently, she couldn’t understand how she hadn’t seen it before. How wrong the whole system was. Cody would listen to her. This had to end.
After announcing who she was to the sentry at the gate, she waited impatiently to be led inside. Mackenzie still hadn’t revealed to Ryan the conversation she was about to have. If it proved to be pointless, then telling him of it would be moot and would only fuel his anger for Cody and his concern for her.
Living as a citizen without a BIT was playing with fire and the only thing protecting her right now was the man she was about to see, the brother she no longer knew. If she crossed a line here then she could be putting herself and the lives of the people at the compound at stake. Cody might decide to attack anyway, just because he could or was told to. She could be wasting her breath.
Finally, the guard called her through and led her to Cody’s office.
Once the door closed, Cody turned to her and a rampage of emotions surged through her. There was a fine line between love and hate and right now she straddled the line.
“I’m glad to see you back safe and well, Mackenzie,” he said, his voice foreign sounding to her now.
It lacked emotion; it lacked everything, was just a monotone of noise now.
“I wouldn’t say I’m well, Cody, I didn’t want to go home, but you gave me no choice.”
“You always have a choice, but I’m glad you came back. You’re out of harm’s way.”
“I wasn’t in danger there, not with Ryan, or any of the others.”
“You would’ve been if you’d stayed. We still plan to attack the compound. It’s about time they came out of their hidey hole and we finished this.”
“You said you would only attack if I didn’t come back!”
“I want them to think that too, that’s why I’ve waited. They won’t be ready.”
“You son of a bitch!” she screamed, launching herself at him before slapping him hard across the face.
Cody grabbed her hand and before she realised what he was doing, he turned her hand over and examined where her BIT had been. His frown showed his displeasure.
“What the hell did you do?”
“I burnt it off.”
“You wanted to be like them so much you put yourself through this?”
“Yes. That’s how serious I am about this, Cody. I believe in what they do. I love Ryan and the only reason I left was to protect them. If I’d known you were going to attack anyway, I would have stayed. In fact, I think I’ll go back.”
“I won’t be able to protect you if you do.”
“Why are you doing this, Cody? What happened to you?”
“I don’t know what you mean. I serve the government. I believe in conformity. The renegades prevent Artinean being a peaceful place. They are the ones at fault. I’m still the same man fighting for a just cause.”
Mackenzie shook her head. She couldn’t believe the crap coming out of his mouth. Propaganda spurting from his lips as though he was a programmed robot, this wasn’t her brother, this was a servant of Sinclair.
“There is no justice in what you're doing, Cody. You and your troops are the killers. The renegades are just fighting for their lives. Ryan didn’t kill our father, but you killed his family, you had him beat up, he nearly died. I don’t see them doing these things to GAPs.”
Mackenzie was now panting in anger, frustration, and disbelief. She never wanted to hit anyone so much in all her life and not just a slap either, a full-blown punch in the nose. She never thought she would feel this way about her brother, but he needed to see sense. He’d been brainwashed and she didn’t think there was any way to get him back.
“It’s all lies, Mackenzie, to trick you.”
“No, Cody, everything you tell me is a lie. I came here to talk to you today because I believe the brother I love still lives inside you somewhere, but I was wrong. We’re done.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and waited for him to open the door. In a quiet, almost defeated voice, her brother activated the door and she stormed out of the compound and onto the street. Now what?
She had to warn Ryan.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said after answering. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too.”
“We’re going out tomorrow night to scavenge. I can come and see you.”
“That’s sounds great.”
“Don’t sound so enthusiastic,” Ryan said with a nervous laugh.
“I am, but there’s something else. I saw Cody today.”
“Why?”
“To see if I could talk to him, get him to see reason. I don’t know what I was thinking, there’s no talking to him.”
“No, probably not.”
“They’re going to attack anyway.” Silence followed. “Ryan?”
“I’m here. When?”
“Sorry, I didn’t get that far. I got so mad at him. I’ll talk to him again, try and find out.”
“I don’t want you to do that. We’ll find out.”
“I want to come back.” Silence again. “Ryan!”
“Please don’t do that.”
“Don’t you want me to come back?” Her voice broke over the words.
“Of course I do, but I don’t want you here when it all goes down. You’re safer there.”
“I don’t care. I’ll go crazy not knowing if you’re okay!”
“Don’t worry, beautiful,
I’m harder to kill than a cockroach.”
“Please don’t joke.”
“Don’t worry, Mackenzie. I’ve gotta go update Simmo. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
29
Stolen Moments
As Ryan prepared to leave the compound his excitement almost made him rush through his weapons check. His longing to see Mackenzie made him feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. He couldn’t wait to see her, touch her, kiss her, it had been too long.
He hoped tonight they would have more than the usual brief exchanges. Tonight he had other plans. While the others scavenged, he hoped they could spend the time together. This would give them at least an hour. Where they would go, he wasn’t sure, but if he didn’t make love to her soon he was going to burst.
Her phone call the day before hadn’t surprised him. He realised Cody would go back on his word and invade anyway. The Government was impatient to end the rebellion and have complete control. This was part of the reason he let her go, she was safer away. Though he’d put up a fight in the beginning, because he knew how much he would miss her, he also knew this wasn’t over. The mutual vendetta that Cody and he shared had yet to be appeased and wouldn’t go away without a fight.
As sweet as it was that Mackenzie had attempted to coerce Cody, she was wasting her breath. The only way for this to end was either death or the government overthrown. Neither party were willing to allow this to happen, so they were stuck in this never-ending stalemate.
He just hoped their will was strong enough to abstain. He grew weary of this life and he wasn’t the only one. How long could they live like this? Added to it all was the pain of being separated from the woman he loved.
A knock at his door indicated they were ready to go and he allowed a smile to spread across his face. Soon he would see her, touch her. He could barely wait. It would be painful to leave her again, but it would be worth it to steal time alone with her.
Renegades Page 16
