They headed back up the slope. Brody roused himself and walked beside them instead of racing ahead.
“I think he’ll will sleep a long time tonight,” Oliver said.
“I’m sure he will.”
“Dani,” Jace said.
Oliver and Dani turned. Jace stood under a tree, and Oliver was surprised to see him smiling. Granted, it was the tiniest of smiles, but it was still a smile.
“Why are you here?” Dani demanded. “Is the meeting over? What’s the decision?”
“Relax, Dani. We ended it early today. Things are going well, and we should wrap up tomorrow. Though it might drag on, since Houston likes the food in town way better than what is served at the barracks.”
“We have terrible food,” Oliver said.
“Part of the agreement we sign will be that Brigands aren’t forced to eat CNA rations,” Jace said and laughed.
Oliver grinned. He thought the old man was joking, but maybe he wasn’t.
“Dani, Hattie wants to speak with you. She said ‘yes,’ if you can believe it.” Jace shook his head.
A smile spread across Dani’s face. “Congratulations, brother.”
“Thank you. Now go on, we’ll catch you later. I need to speak with Oliver.”
Dani paused at this unexpected dismissal. Oliver shrugged when she looked at him. He wasn’t sure why Jace needed to speak with him either.
“Okay,” Dani said slowly. “See you later, Oliver. Let’s go, Brody.” She strode off with a slightly confused look on her face.
Jace and Oliver started the walk back at a meandering pace.
“Thank you for teaching her to skip rocks, Oliver.” Jace rubbed the back of his neck. “I was always too busy teaching her how to survive. Thank you for showing her how to live.”
“She knows how to live.”
“No, not really. Surviving and living aren’t the same. Dani doesn’t laugh much, and I’ve never seen her as happy as she was throwing those silly rocks. That’s living, and that’s something I regret not doing myself. Though I will say, I’m learning how to do it now.” Jace smiled. “Hattie and I are getting married.”
Oliver’s eyebrows went up. “That’s great!”
“You don’t think of me as the friendliest of people, and I can’t blame you.”
Oliver felt his face flush with embarrassment.
“This bag,” Jace said, patting the messenger bag resting just behind his hip. “I have a journal in here that I want you to have if anything happens to me. I think you know Dani better than anyone else does, and you’ll know when she’s ready to read it.”
“Why don’t you give it to her now?”
“The last time I let her read it, she died a few hours later. When that happens, Dani resets to a child of about ten years.”
Oliver nodded. “At Aunt Hattie’s, when Dad came for me, Dani said she forgets everything after a regen. Why does she forget?”
“I don’t know.”
Oliver remained silent for a few minutes. “That must be terrible when she forgets you too,” he said and looked up at the man. Jace’s eyes flicked down at him. Oliver wasn’t sure what emotion Jace was feeling, but his eyes were shining.
Jace nodded. “You’re a good kid, Oliver. Your father did a fine job raising you, even if he and I aren’t always on the best of terms.”
“Mom raised me too, up until three years ago.”
“She left?”
Oliver shook his head. “Died.”
“What was her name?”
“Emily,” Oliver said. “Emily Coulson. She didn’t take Dad’s name when they got married.”
Jace glanced down at him again. The man’s eyes were dry this time, but they scanned Oliver’s face before returning his attention to the road. “She an MP like Miles?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Interesting.”
“What is?”
“That two MPs could raise a good young man like you.”
Oliver didn’t reply, but he knew Jace wasn’t being honest with him. They arrived back at Aunt Hattie’s, and Jace left him before he could ask more questions. He spotted Dani and Aunt Hattie talking alone at the side of the room while other people moved around them. Mary delivered several mugs to tables occupied by a mix of council members and Commonwealth officers. Lieutenant Colonel Houston said something that created raucous laughter just before the group bumped their mugs together and drank.
Jace wasn’t kidding. The meeting seemed to be going well—so well that it was continuing after the formalities ended. Oliver had never seen CNA troops and Brigands sitting, much less celebrating, together. This was a miracle.
His eyes wandered back to Dani. She and Hattie smiled as they talked, and Oliver remembered Jace’s words. Oliver had made a promise to Dani that she’d never know existed. As long as he was alive, he would do anything to make his best friend happy.
CHAPTER
32
Following his usual routine, Rowan traversed the base, getting updates and performing small inspections when needed. Curtis remained at his side, as always, feeding him any additional necessary updates as they went: supplies, munitions, troop numbers, and anything else relating to base operations.
Rowan stepped aside and observed a platoon as they jogged past. Their uniforms were crisp, their movements in sync. He nodded with approval before turning to his friend. “Have you sent requests to Boston, as I asked?”
“Every day, sir,” Curtis said.
Rowan sighed and shook his head. “They’re too passive.”
“My aide has word to find me immediately if anything comes through about Bangor. We’ll hear something eventually. I must be pissing them off by now.”
“Good. They need to remember how to be angry.”
Once the base and barracks were covered, they got into a truck and drove through the region. Rowan continuously scanned the landscape while Curtis drove and talked. They reached the eastern end of Portland’s peninsula, the Eastern Promenade, and Rowan had Curtis stop near the monument displaying the four names the city had been dubbed with during its history. The obelisk was broken and smeared with decades of dirt.
They stepped out of the vehicle, and Rowan walked the length of the overlook before returning to the monument. He paused and turned to look back at the city. He pointed toward Congress Street, which stretched out before him and ran from the Eastern Promenade to the center of the city. “We need to make some changes here.”
Curtis’s comm beeped an urgent notification alert, and he turned it on. “What is it?”
“Sir, we received word from Boston on your inquiries,” his aide said.
Rowan grinned.
“And?” Curtis asked.
“We have permission to raid Bangor in the spring,” the aide said.
Rowan’s grin disappeared, replaced by a scowl.
“Anything else?” Curtis asked.
“No, sir. That’s all the message said.”
“Thank you.” Curtis closed the comm link.
“Spring? Fucking spring?” Rowan shook with anger. The incompetence of his superiors never ceased to amaze him, or to make him livid. “Why so long? What the fuck are they doing in Boston that means I have to wait months before obtaining more resources for the Wardens? Do they not realize this raid is for all loyal Echoes?”
He continued his rant for several minutes before calming. Curtis remained silent during his tirade. He’d said things and issued threats that would get him tried, convicted, and executed for treason if anyone above him heard any of it, but he knew Curtis would never betray him. He took a deep breath to calm himself a bit more before speaking again. “I’ve lost contact with my insider in Bangor.”
“Captured?”
“Not sure. He made such a mess of things, I imagine he failed at the cleanup and got himself killed.”
Curtis shrugged. “You said he was a human.”
“Yeah. Nothing lost there, other than word on what the Brigands and CNA th
ere are up to. The Commonwealth can’t be doing much, since their leaders are somehow bigger idiots than ours. The Brigands, though—I want to know more about their unification attempts. I’ll need another resource.”
“I have an aide that is dying to move into another role. She would do well blending in with the Brigands. She’s smart.”
Rowan shook his head. “She’s an Echo, so she’s not expendable. What about one of your Brigand insiders in the Portland area? I want a human.”
“I have a couple in mind that should do well. I also maintain people in Augusta and Waterville, but there really isn’t anything happening in those towns—not with the Commonwealth or the Brigands.”
Rowan turned to Curtis. “Both towns?”
Curtis nodded.
“And you’re only just now telling me this?”
“Any news they’ve been able to send me has already been passed straight to you, Rowan.”
“Hmm, so the Brigands there are doing absolutely nothing?”
“Correct.”
Rowan grumbled with frustration. “We won’t be doing anything for a while either. Spring. Fuck. The only consolation is that we can hit Augusta and then Waterville on our way north to Bangor. What’s the term for three goals in hockey?”
“Hat trick.”
“Yes! We shall plan for a hat trick in the spring, then, if HQ doesn’t modify our orders.” Rowan smiled. “Back to business. I can barely see the observatory from here; all the trees and old homes and buildings still on this end of the peninsula are in the way. Knock it down, burn it, I don’t care. I want a clear line of sight from the observatory out to sea from any angle. Start at Washington Avenue and level everything from there to the Eastern Promenade. Once the area is cleared, start building a newer, taller tower with better optics. We have forty miles of visibility with the current optics. I want more.” He looked at his friend. “You’re smiling. What?”
“When we returned to the base, I planned to take you out to the fields to show you a new weapon. I think you may have more fun watching it in action on something other than dirt targets.” Curtis turned on his comm. “I’ll let the R&D team know we’re waiting for them out here.”
Thirty minutes later, two trucks arrived. Six Wardens leapt out of the back of each one while the R&D scientists, designated by the green stripe on their uniforms, climbed out of the cabs of the vehicles and gathered near the rear of the trucks. They instructed the troops on how to unload and where to place the crates inside.
One of the scientists brought a grenade launcher to Rowan. He held it out with both hands, like an offering.
Rowan took the weapon and examined it. “Grenade launcher. We have plenty of these.”
“It’s what’s on the inside that counts,” Curtis said with a grin. “Pick your target.”
Rowan lifted the launcher to his shoulder, and his eyes landed on a house on the corner.
“Uh, not that one, sir,” Curtis said. “It’s a bit close.”
“Fine.” Rowan started up the street to find a target far enough away to meet Curtis’s approval. Two blocks up Congress Street, he spotted a square, three-story, red brick building with another two levels of roofing. “That one?”
Curtis nodded. “Perfect.”
Rowan flipped the optics open and aimed the launcher at the center windows of the second level of the structure. He’d launched many quake grenades as a Warden; one could collapse a wooden building, but it took a few hits to bring a brick or stonework building down. He expected to blow out all the windows and maybe part of a side wall with this first grenade.
He squeezed the trigger, and the grenade left the launcher. It shattered the glass window as it entered the building.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then a blast ruptured the brick building from the inside, followed by a secondary blast that brought the structure and the buildings on either side of it down too.
Rowan wobbled from a momentary loss of balance as the ground shook. He stared at the ordinary-looking launcher in his hands. “What the hell was in this thing?” he asked with a wide smile.
“They call it a cluster grenade,” Curtis said. “Two blasts within each of the individual ones you witnessed, so four total. First a sonic pulse, then the typical expansion blast. It’ll easily rupture brick, but it can also take down heavier stone or granite structures. It’s about five times more powerful than a standard quake grenade.”
“It’s perfect!” Rowan strode back down the street and returned the launcher to the scientist who’d given it to him before addressing the R&D team. “Ladies, gentlemen, the cluster grenade is a thing of beauty. Well done! Reload it for me and bring a map. I’ll show you what we’re leveling today.”
When the troops were gathered around him, Rowan traced his finger over the digital map along the streets he’d called out to Curtis earlier. “This is a roughly one-and-half-square-mile area. I want it leveled so nothing obstructs the views of water or land from the observatory.”
“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.
Rowan disliked how much time he’d been spending in his office and in meetings lately. He reveled in this chance to use the new tech. Over the next couple of hours, he destroyed several buildings, and whooped with glee when his troops fired their own weapons. Soon, every structure that stood in the targeted radius had been leveled. He congratulated the research team again before returning to the base with Curtis.
Back at the base, Rowan returned to his office and pulled up his familiar map of Bangor. “I’ll introduce you to our new cluster grenades in the spring,” he said to the map, smiling.
CHAPTER
33
“The town’s celebrating, and you look like hell,” Mary said. She placed a mug in front of Dani and sat in the chair across from her.
Dani rubbed her hands over her face and groaned. She leaned back in her chair, careful not to bump her sore ribs. “I’m thrilled we have a treaty with the Commonwealth, but Gavin’s training hasn’t let up. He’s a fucking machine. He never stops. I took my beating this morning and have one more to go this evening. I don’t know how he does it. I swear he’s not human.”
“Because he’s not human,” Mary said.
“I mean, I know, but I’m an Echo too, and I still can’t go like him. He never gets tired. I’m exhausted.” Dani sipped at her ale, glad her mug lacked any other surprise ingredients.
“We are still talking about your combat training, right?” Mary asked with a sly grin.
Dani laughed, but her face flushed red.
Mary leaned forward. “What are you hiding?”
Dani kept her eyes on her ale. “Nothing.”
“You suck at lying. Are you sleeping with him?”
“No. We … like each other. But we agreed to put things on hold until after we sort out Portland.”
“That’s the stupidest decision ever.”
“I thought you were in favor of us taking Portland back.”
“God, you’re so dense. I mean, you’re ridiculously intelligent, but there are some things you just don’t have a goddamn clue about, Dani. Why put your life with him on hold for anything other than, I don’t know, the world exploding and taking everyone with it? As a human, I understand how finite my life is; I only get one shot. And you’re not much different, since your mind reboots back to zero.” Mary’s attention diverted for a moment to another area of the crowded room. She stood to leave. “Aunt Hattie wants me for something. Rethink your plans with Gavin. Better yet, forget him altogether and spend an evening with me.” She squeezed Dani’s shoulder as she walked out.
Dani smiled and resumed drinking her ale. She sat alone for a while, wondering where her friends were. The room was packed with Brigands and CNA troops eating and drinking together, but she didn’t see Miles, Gavin, or Jace among them. Oliver had taken Brody for a walk, and they hadn’t returned yet.
She stood, her side still aching from Gavin’s punch that morning. It didn’t matter how
many times she did guard her ribs, he still exploited the one time she didn’t.
“Hey,” Jace said.
Dani flinched at his unexpected arrival at her side; as usual, she hadn’t heard him coming. Before she could greet him, he picked up her mug and pressed it into her hand. He then took her arm and led her from the crowded room. He didn’t say anything until he brought her to the private dining area where she’d barged in on his evening with Hattie.
He closed the door behind them. “I need to talk to you.”
“I figured as much,” Dani said.
“I noticed you’re avoiding Miles.”
“That must thrill you.”
“Normally, yes, it would make me quite happy, but things have changed. Stop avoiding him.”
“He shoved a knife into a Brigand’s heart, Jace. He was cleared by the military brass, but the other day I asked him what really happened with Xan, and his answers were evasive. I don’t think I want to be around him.”
“You may want to sit, Dani.”
She refused.
“Miles didn’t kill Xander; I did.”
Dani stared at her brother.
“I killed Xander,” he repeated.
She placed her mug on the table so she wouldn’t drop it, then leaned her palms against the wooden tabletop. “Why?” she asked without looking at Jace.
“I went after Al to kill him for attacking you, and Miles stopped me when Xander showed up. We overheard their conversation, and when Al threatened to expose Xander for working with the Wardens, Xander killed him. Miles tried to arrest Xander, and that went horribly wrong. He was about to beat Miles to death with a stone; I stabbed him in the heart.”
“If you kill to protect yourself or someone else, it’s not murder.”
“I killed him because I wanted him dead. Saving Miles was just a side effect.”
Dani remained silent.
“Miles insisted on taking the blame to keep me out of jail. The MPs would’ve executed me for killing one of their own.”
Dani turned to face her brother. She suddenly doubted everything about his character. He was nothing like the person she’d believed him to be. “He offered to take the blame, and you let him?”
Echoes of War Page 19
