I couldn’t imagine how bad it would be actually being there. None of the channels showed Reece so I could see if he was okay. He had to be okay.
“The communications tower is down,” Joseph said. He had been receiving updates from all the teams. The tower was down, the gate was almost secure, the troopers’ base was in lockdown, and the guards were largely doing what they were told after their leader, Grand Marshall Watson, was overpowered.
Everyone had reported in except Reece’s team.
I kept trying to tell myself that it was a good thing, that they were too busy capturing Stone and getting away to report in. A pain in my gut told me otherwise.
“Anything from Reece?” I asked, unable to keep the strain from my voice.
Joseph shook his head. “They will report in soon, give them some time. We knew this wouldn’t be easy, Wren. Things are bound to go wrong.”
Not with Reece. He didn’t let things go wrong. If something was preventing him from reporting in then it was bad. The worst case scenario, the end of the world, all our nightmares coming true.
The whole revolution revolved around Stone being captured. If we didn’t cut the head off the snake then the body wouldn’t die. Reece had told me that on numerous occasions. We had to succeed in this.
Otherwise…
I couldn’t bear to think about it.
Joseph’s communicator suddenly crackled to life, making us both jump. He pressed a button. “Come in. Please report.”
My stomach jumped into my throat.
I chewed my lip until it bled.
Waiting.
Waiting.
“Stone… not… here…” the words crackled through the communicator in nothing but static staccatos. “Gone… failed… don’t… can’t…”
Joseph shook the contraption, trying to force it into making sense. It only crackled before giving out entirely. He swore under his breath.
“They’re too far away, the damaged communications tower must be scrambling the signal,” he said. Indecision and worry crossed his face, so far from his usual calm demeanor.
“Unscramble it then,” I said, my voice a pitch or two higher than it normally was. “We need to know what’s going on. We have to help them.”
“There’s nothing we can do right now. The extraction team will be waiting for them. If they don’t arrive the team will go in and assist them.”
It wasn’t enough. I was about to grab the biggest gun I could find and go myself before Joseph stopped me.
“I think they were trying to say Stone got away.”
“No,” I said. In my head I screamed no no no no. Stone could not have gotten away. She was going down today, she was supposed to be caught so she would suffer for all the horrible suffering she had caused.
She wasn’t supposed to get away.
That’s not how fairytales went. The good always triumphed over evil. And they didn’t get any more evil than President Portia Stone. It couldn’t be how her story ended.
Joseph looked around at the few people that had remained behind. George and three others. They were there to help regroup if something went wrong. I also suspected they weren’t good at doing anything other than giving orders.
“We need to work out where Stone will go,” Joseph said. Everyone sat a little straighter in their chairs. “If she’s fleeing, she has to have an idea of someplace she would be safe.”
“She might go to the gate and try to get out of the city,” George offered. “Our team there will stop her.”
“She might go back to parliament,” another suggested. “It’s the most guarded building in Aria. She would feel safe there, it’s her domain and she can still rule from there.”
“What about an underground bunker? There’s been rumors for years that she has a place to hide if something like this happens.”
“Maybe she ran for the nearest house and demanded the people hide her?”
“She could go to the troopers or guards, thinking they would protect her.”
“She’s probably still on foot so she would need to go somewhere she can get to without a vehicle. She can’t have gone far.”
The suggestions flew around me like a cuckoo bird. I eventually tuned them out as I focused on my thoughts. Stone and I shared the same DNA, I was a carbon copy of her. Would that mean I could get inside her head and work it out for myself?
Some people would say no, because a person was made from their experiences and lessons, not their DNA. I didn’t entirely agree. We were essentially the same person, our brains worked in the same way.
If anyone could know what Stone was thinking, it should have been me.
I pictured her in my mind, running from Aria Square and fleeing the rebels that wanted to capture her. She wouldn’t be scared, she would be angry. She would blame her guards for not protecting her and allowing it to happen in the first place.
Then she would blame the Resistance and be affronted that they had the nerve to ruin her President’s Day. She would want them hurt and killed, shown no mercy by anyone.
She wouldn’t go to the troopers or guard bases. In her anger she would think they were useless and incapable of providing safety for her.
It was Sunday and a holiday, if she went to parliament there would be little there for her. All the staff would be off work, leaving only a small group of guards that were complacent with the lack of people to actually guard.
I was certain Stone wouldn’t go to the gate in the wall. She wouldn’t leave the city she ruled with an iron fist. She had too much arrogance to be run out of the city. Her thoughts would all center around the Resistance being taken out.
She believed her citizens wouldn’t rebel.
She believed she would never lose her reign.
She didn’t know how big the Resistance was.
No, Stone would definitely stay in the city. Once the little incident calmed down, she would go on television to issue a stern warning for anyone that might even hint at being part of the Resistance. She might even broadcast an execution to show an example of what would happen.
After thinking through all her options, I knew where Stone would go. “She’s going to her home in the Hills.”
All the eyes of those seated around the table looked at me. Joseph was the one to speak. “Why would she go there, Wren?”
“It’s secure and it makes her feel safe. She has a panic room there. A safe, steel reinforced room where she can stay for a long period of time. She can also communicate there with the outside world, issue commands to her people. Stone would think nobody had the ability or guts to find her there.”
“It’s not in walking distance from the square,” George said.
“No, but the car she arrived in would still have the driver waiting for her. Their protocol is that the driver is always ready and in the vehicle. She would be able to tell him to go anywhere she wanted and he would obey.”
Joseph thought it through before replying. “I agree.” Protests rumbled around the table but Joseph held up a hand to stop them. “Stone is Wren’s Maker, I trust her insight into our president’s mind more than anything else. We will go to her mansion.”
The men instantly started moving. With our communications down, there was no way to order a team to move in on the mansion. We would have to do it ourselves and take any teams we found along the way with us.
“Everyone move out immediately,” Joseph said. “Wren, stay here and listen for the communications to come back up. Send us a message with anything new that comes in.”
I stood angrily. “No, I’m not staying.”
“It’s going to be dangerous and we need someone to stay here and mind the coms.”
“Then get someone else to do it. I’m coming with you.” Joseph hesitated some more, he needed to remember the conversation we’d had in the kitchen. It looked like I was going to have to remind him. “You promised me, only this morning. I have to be there. Stone is mine to take out. You agreed.”
Conflict r
an across his face before he finally sighed with resignation. “Yes, I did. Okay, hurry up and join the others. George, you’re staying.”
If anything, George seemed pleased with the turn of events.
I raced to catch up with the others as they strode across the wide arch of the warehouse. My foot was holding up well, mostly thanks to Reece’s nightly foot massages I’d had over the last week. I still limped but it wasn’t as noticeable.
Nobody argued when I climbed into the van with the others. I took my place on the floor and tried to calm my racing heart. There was no room for nerves anymore.
I was ready.
Stone was mine.
Only one person was going to wear my face by nightfall.
She was going to die.
Chapter 18: Reece
My nose was bleeding, as was my lip. Hot red blood streaked down my face but I wasn’t going to stop for anything. The guards were our enemy and we would fight to the bloody death.
We were losing.
There were too many guns in the room in the hands of our enemies. Their numbers were greater than ours. It was only a matter of time until we were all obliterated.
At least Wren was safe. Joseph would keep her hidden when the news of our complete failure was reported. The remaining members of the Resistance would return to the warehouse and add up the number of dead.
They might continue on.
Or flee the city entirely.
Whatever it was, their end was going to be better than ours in the small antechamber of the square. Stone was long gone, leaving her men to do battle for her.
I staggered backwards from another blow before racing for the guard and throwing everything I had into another punch to his liver. His armor took the brunt of it.
He was just about to charge again when someone stepped in and put a bullet into his thigh, making him fall to the ground. The loud shot deafened me for a moment before I could work out what had just happened.
The man doing the shooting was a trooper.
It was Dwyer.
“Thought you could use some help,” he said, flashing me a smile through his helmet. He then briefly crossed his arms over his chest in an X, showing us the symbol of our own Resistance. He didn’t wait for an answer before delivering another blow to a guard. He too fell to the floor, clutching his leg.
It only took a moment for Samson and the others to register that Dwyer was working for us and not against us. He fought side by side with our group, evening the odds in the most spectacular of ways.
A new wave of energy charged through me. I wasn’t going to make this a total failure. I would get our men out with their lives so we could track down Stone and complete our mission.
Failure wasn’t an option today.
Dwyer gave me the spare gun from his boot and we injured as many of the remaining guards as possible. When we had the opportunity, it was time to get out of there.
The number of guards and troopers in our fight never increased. Meaning the missions of keeping the bases in control had worked. No backup was coming for them, we only had to deal with the men already in the square.
“Fall back, team,” I yelled out. “We need to get out of here.”
Nobody was left to stop us as we fled via the same entrance Stone would have used to enter the square. We moved in a pack, tearing through the streets without stopping.
I was glad Dwyer had decided to come with us. He had removed his helmet and left it in the antechamber. He was one of us now, a member of the Resistance.
“What’s the plan?” Samson asked.
I took another corner, trying to walk the backstreets to reach our transport. People were still everywhere, trying to get home after the attack in the square. It was making it nearly impossible to get anywhere fast and there were potential tattlers everywhere.
“We need to get to our van,” I replied.
“The troopers’ truck is only a block away,” Dwyer offered. It was definitely the kind of transport we needed. It would get through the crowd much faster than a nondescript van.
“Lead the way,” I said.
Dwyer took us down an alleyway that popped out in the street on the next block. The green camouflaged truck was sitting in the middle of the street, just waiting for us.
“Are you sure this isn’t a trap?” Samson asked, keeping his voice low for my ears only.
It could very well have been a trap. Dwyer might have been setting us up so he could deliver us back to base and collect the reward money. It would add up to a lot with all of us inside.
But he had kept the door unlocked.
He shot guards and troopers.
He helped us escape.
He removed his helmet.
He made our symbol on his chest.
Dwyer wasn’t playing us. He could never go back to the troopers after all he’d done. Even if he claimed he was forced by us, Sergeant Malone would never believe him.
“It’s safe,” I replied. “Trust me on this.”
Samson nodded and we reached the truck. Dwyer hurried to open the door before we all climbed in. He threw me the keys and I took the driver’s seat, my men perched just behind me.
I inserted the keys into the ignition, fired up the truck, and got moving. We didn’t drive at a fast pace so all the people in the streets had a chance to get out of our way before they were run over.
Our destination was the warehouse. Our coms seemed to be down so we had to regroup before we charged off to look for Stone. If we were lucky, another team had already located her and reported it in.
Once we were a few blocks from the square I could increase the speed of the truck. We rumbled through the streets and I was reminded how much I hated those trucks. They were hot, smelly, and loud.
But they did the job.
We reached the warehouse and rushed inside.
It was deserted.
The only person left was George, camping out in Joseph’s office and watching the holographic images from the television. He stood up and pointed a gun at the door when he heard our footsteps.
“It’s only us,” I said as the cogs turned in his brain and he recognized our group.
He waved the gun at Dwyer. “Who’s he? You brought a trooper here? Are you insane?”
“He’s one of us now. Where’s everyone? Where’s Wren?”
George continued to point the gun at Dwyer. He was jumpy, nervous. One little startle and he’d shoot someone. He’d probably never fired a gun before in his life. “They’ve gone to Stone’s mansion.”
“What? Why?” I asked. It felt like I had stepped into some alternative dimension and nothing was as it should have been. Wren was supposed to stay at the warehouse. She shouldn’t be anywhere near the fight. “And will you please lower your gun.”
George looked from me to his weapon, as if he only just now realized he was still pointing it. He lowered his arm so the gun hung by his side. “We got your communication that Stone escaped. Wren thought she knew where she’d go, and of course Joseph agreed, so they took off.”
I ignored his snide comments. “When did they leave?”
“About half an hour ago.”
“And Wren went with them?” George nodded, also rolling his eyes. “Why did Joseph let her go on a mission today of all days? She had to stay here, that was the deal.”
“I don’t know why your precious Def went. I guess she wanted to and Joseph can’t say no to her.”
“She’s not a Def,” I growled through gritted teeth.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did her mangled foot magically heal itself?” Sarcasm dripped from his every word. If I didn’t have more pressing issues on my mind, I would have beat him until he cried for mercy.
I left the room and stepped back into the open space of the warehouse. I’d never seen it so empty before. My team followed me, leaving George to his television and his safe little den.
“We have to go after them,” I said.
“We don’t have orders to,” Sam
son replied. “Joseph said to return to the warehouse once our mission was over. The rest of the city is covered by the other teams.”
“Our mission isn’t over. We didn’t catch Stone.”
“But we tried. Our mission was the square and it’s over.”
We were wasting time. Every beat of my heart said I had to get to Wren and help with whatever she was doing. If Stone did run for her mansion, she was walking into the most dangerous place in Aria.
“I don’t care what our orders are,” I said, lashing out but unable to stop. “I’m going to Stone’s mansion and I’m going to help them get her. I’m going to finish what we failed to do at the square.”
I started walking for the truck.
Dwyer fell into step beside me.
Samson flanked my other side while the rest of the team followed behind. There wasn’t one person of our group who decided to stay. I was proud of them all.
The truck rumbled to life when I turned the key. The road we took to Stone’s house took us past the gate to the outside world. I slowed down slightly, just long enough to see familiar faces guarding the area.
There were no troopers or guards in sight.
The gate team had succeeded.
At least Stone couldn’t leave the city. The moment she stepped anywhere near the gate she would be captured. We were slowly taking back the city and gaining control.
The Resistance would succeed.
Maybe.
The roads next to the wall were all quiet, eerily so. I guessed if people weren’t still in the square they were all home and tucked away from the confusion of the revolution. They were probably glued to their televisions and craving updates.
I’d never seen the roads so quiet before. There were no troopers patrolling, no guards doing the president’s work, and no citizens going about their business.
Change was definitely afoot.
As far as I could tell, my team was the only one that had failed in their mission. We had the most important task and we had let everyone down.
We had to get Stone.
One Spark of Hope Page 17
