Echoes of War

by Cheryl Campbell

  “He put his prints on my knife and gave me his blade.”

  “Why did he put himself at risk to keep you safe?” Dani asked.

  “He should probably explain that part to you.”

  “Who else knows?”

  “Outside of Hattie, Miles, and me, you’re it.”

  “Oliver?”

  Jace shook his head.

  “Shit, Jace, you and Miles cannot have that kid believing his father killed a man when he didn’t.”

  “That’s for Miles to decide. I wanted you to know the truth because, well, things are changing. I didn’t kill Xander out of any love for Miles, but now I’m glad I didn’t let him bash in his skull. Miles is a decent fellow.”

  Dani’s eyes widened. “Wait, what? You’re saying you like Miles now?”

  Jace snorted. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I don’t hate him.” He rose and put her mug back in her hand. “Keep this information to yourself, and process it all later.” He ushered her out a different door than the one they’d come in through. They emerged into an unfamiliar hallway.

  Dani pulled her arm from his grasp and stopped. “What the fuck is going on?”

  “There’s something I need to show you.”

  “Why?”

  “I realize you’ve just learned your brother is a killer, and I understand if you hate me. But I need you to come with me. Please.”

  Dani sighed and relented.

  They made a turn, passed through a small door, and went down a set of narrow, poorly lit stairs. They walked through another room, lined with barrels of ale, and came to a stop before a wall. Jace passed his hand along the flat surface, and the wall slid aside.

  Dani’s mouth opened but no sound emerged. He took her arm and guided her into the next room, where Miles, Gavin, Hattie, and Mary waited. The size of the underground vault would have impressed her on its own, but it was the stash of neatly organized weapons, tech, and radio equipment filling the room that left her speechless. She recognized the battery unit hooked to the radio as the one she’d traded to Hattie following the Standpipe incident.

  Dani stared at the racks of several dozen older-model plasma rifles, with a few more modern quake rifles mixed in. Plasma pistols had their own racks. Antique rifles and pistols with boxes of ammunition took up another space in the room. She walked past a row of several tables laid end to end. They held boxes and piles of various pieces and parts of Warden and Commonwealth tech. She picked up one device that had a corner of its housing broken off.

  “Took that off a downed Warden helo near Montreal,” Mary said.

  Dani tried to speak, but her mouth had gone dry. She took several sips from her mug and tried again. “It’s part of the rear rotor.”

  Mary nodded. “The motor still works, but I haven’t had a chance to fool around with it to see what I can build.”

  “You and Hattie never needed me to assemble the solar panel. You could’ve done it.”

  “Yeah. We needed to give you a few test runs to see if you could build as well as Jace said you could.”

  Dani tossed the part back into the heap and set her mug aside. She used her fingertips to rub her forehead. The radio crackled with static, and she lowered her hands.

  “How long has this been going on?” Dani asked.

  “Since the start of the war,” Hattie said. “Bangor is sitting on the largest stash of weapons in the northeast. We have six more bunkers, all larger than this one. They’re also all connected by the tunnels under the city used during Prohibition in the 1920s and ’30s. We don’t have the newest gadgets, but these will still put holes in the Wardens. The only thing we’ve lacked for the last five, almost six decades is a reason to pull them out and use them. We always knew we’d have an easy time uniting the Brigands in this area, but we also knew we could never take on the Wardens alone. Seems we just needed someone insane enough to put a Brigand–Commonwealth partnership in motion.”

  “Holy shit,” Dani muttered.

  Hattie shrugged. “I’m not sure how holy it is, but the shit has certainly gotten way more interesting the last few days. I brought Houston down here today but didn’t tell her about our other sites. Still feeling her out for how much we can trust her, you know? Anyway, that panel you built for me wasn’t for a silly lamp. My old panel broke, so our communication with other locations had been cut off for a while.”

  “What other locations?” Dani asked.

  “We have people in Saco, Gorham, and Freeport keeping an eye on Portland. We have other sites, but those three have been the most important lately.”

  Dani turned to Gavin. “This is how you’ve been getting your information fed back to you so quickly?”

  He nodded.

  “The beauty is the radio tech is so old, the Wardens don’t pick up the transmissions,” Hattie said. “They could if they wanted, but they’re too busy monitoring the CNA traffic to worry about us. The CNA has the ability to intercept Warden signals between Portland and Boston, but they can’t always unscramble them.”

  “Do the Wardens oscillate their frequencies?” Dani asked Gavin.

  He nodded. “Can you build something to handle the variance?”

  “Maybe. Their comms are always so far ahead of the Commonwealth’s tech.”

  “Which is how the Wardens planned and coordinated their attack fifty-nine years ago without anyone knowing until it was too late,” Hattie said. “We must have a way to know what they’re up to, Dani.”

  “I’ll need one of their devices to figure it out,” she said.

  “We have one, but it’s damaged. See what you can do with it once Miles gets it from Houston.”

  Dani shook her head. “I still can’t believe this.”

  “We were going to tell you sooner, but other things kept coming up,” Jace said.

  Dani’s frustration released in a wave of fury. “I’ve lived here for fifteen years, and Houston still found out before me!”

  “Pout, punch something, cry, I don’t give a shit, Dani,” Hattie snapped. “Get over yourself real quick, honey, because we have a hell of a lot of work to do now. The treaty is signed. The attack on Portland will happen. Gavin, I need Dani to help fix the tech my people couldn’t. Stop beating the crap out of her every day.”

  “She can tinker in your dungeon between sessions,” Gavin said. “I still have a lot to teach her. I have a personal interest in her being able to protect herself.”

  Miles scowled at Gavin. “That personal interest includes inflicting pain on her for fun.”

  “Jace didn’t come to you to teach her how to fight,” Gavin said.

  “Exactly where is your line between abuse and training?” Miles asked.

  “Both of you, shut up,” Hattie said.

  “I don’t get a say in any of this?” Dani asked.

  “Nope. Mary, let’s go. There’s a business to run upstairs.” Hattie and Mary left, and Dani followed Jace, Miles, and Gavin out. She stopped and leaned her hand against one of the barrels while Jace closed the fake wall.

  “Careful with that,” Gavin said. “It’s not full of ale.”

  Dani jerked her hand back as if burned. She eyed the barrel with suspicion. “What is it full of?”

  “Explosives.”

  With that, he walked away. Jace went with him, leaving Dani in the dank cellar with Miles.

  “How long have you been in on this?” Dani asked him.

  “About twenty minutes before you arrived. I think. Like you, I couldn’t breathe or speak for a while upon first coming down here. It may have been only five minutes, for all I know.”

  Dani half laughed at his remark. She drained her mug and found a barrel with a spout. “This one doesn’t have explosives in it, I assume.”

  Miles chuckled. “Let’s hope.”

  Dani refilled the mug and passed it to him. She wondered how many of the barrels contained ale versus something that could blow a crater in Bangor.

  Miles drank deeply from the mug before filling
it again and passing it back to her. She drank half of the contents in one go.

  “Jace told me what really happened in Hell.”

  Miles nodded.

  “Tell Oliver. Nothing sucks more than family keeping the truth from you,” she said. She handed the mug back to him and left.

  CHAPTER

  34

  Gavin barked at her. “Again!”

  Dani rolled to her side and pushed herself up from the ground. Gavin remained standing, and she hated him for it—as usual. Another morning filled with pummeling, and she was angry.

  She shifted her feet and raised her fists. She swung at him a few times, then sprang away from his attempt to sweep her feet.

  “Good,” he said. “You’re finally learning.”

  She replied with a right hook at his head. As she swung, she shifted her left elbow up and away from her side. Gavin ducked below her punch, sidestepped, and prepared to strike her in her exposed ribs—but she rotated away from his incoming punch and brought her right fist down on his jaw.

  The unexpected blow caused him to stumble. He stopped a few steps away from her and touched his jaw. A slow grin formed on his face. “You baited me. Well done. Solid hit, too.” He worked his jaw side to side a few times.

  He’d baited her enough times, only to launch counters that either put her on her back or in a crumpled heap on the ground. She felt somewhat pleased she’d been able to return the favor, though she still hadn’t managed to flatten him.

  Gavin pulled a knife from his belt and stalked toward her.

  “What the hell? I’m unarmed.” Dani backed away from him.

  “Oops. Did I forget to tell you to wear your knife?”

  He charged, and Dani had no choice but deal with him and the weapon. She left her feet planted and leaned her upper body aside when he made his initial stab at her. She grabbed his wrist, twisted it, and wrapped her other arm around his neck, folding his upper body back as his momentum continued to carry his lower half forward. She drove her knee into his lower back then slammed him to the ground. They scrambled for a moment in a flurry of motion and strikes. It ended with Dani lying on top of him with his knife in her hand. She held the blade against his neck, unsure how she’d even ended up with his weapon.

  Gavin smiled. “Good. Except …”

  Dani flinched when the tip of a knife poked her in her side. “You would’ve been dead before you could cheat,” she said.

  “Not if you hesitate like that.”

  “So you want me to cut your throat to prove I beat you?” She was still holding the knife to his neck, and he was keeping his second blade’s tip against her skin.

  “Seems more like a draw to me.”

  Dani got off him and threw his knife on the ground beside him. “Asshole.”

  Gavin laughed as he stood. “You win. Is that what you want to hear?”

  “Yes! You’ve beaten the shit out of me long enough. I won that round.”

  “One round out of how many?”

  “Fuck you.” Dani left him to find her canteen. She took a drink of water, trying to ignore him and calm her anger, while he brushed dirt and leaves from his clothes.

  Brody trotted over. She knelt and poured water into her palm. His soft tongue lapped it into his mouth.

  Gavin dropped his knife so it lay next to the first one he’d pulled on her. “I can’t use you during the assault on Portland, Dani.”

  “What?” Dani stood and faced him.

  He approached her. She took a step back.

  “I’m going.”

  “Never said you weren’t. I just can’t use you as infantry when the firefight starts. I didn’t think I could, but I needed to be certain. I—”

  “You agreed to train me so you could weed me out?”

  He moved closer to her and slipped one hand around her side to her back. “Let me finish,” he said in a softer voice. “You’re not a killer. You hesitate, and you don’t go into full survival mode unless you think your life is in imminent danger. When you do react, your reflexes are quick and your instincts are spot-on. But you don’t play dirty, Dani, and that will get you killed.”

  “Teach me.”

  “I can’t. You either have it, or you don’t. You’re among the latter group.”

  She flinched again when the sharp tip of another knife poked her back. She glanced behind her and saw the knife he was holding against her skin. She pushed his arm aside and moved several steps away from him. “You’re a real dick, Gavin.”

  “Always carry three blades on you. Most people carry two, as you typically do. Hide a third on you somewhere,” he said. He flicked his wrist, and the blade stabbed into the ground between her feet. “You can have that one.”

  “Keep it.” She turned to leave.

  “Dani, you’re still misunderstanding me.”

  She paused but didn’t turn to look at him. Her eyes burned with tears of frustration, and she’d die before she let him see her cry over this shit.

  “I can’t use you in an assault fireteam, but you’re perfect for sabotage. The first day I showed you how to make a few traps, you excelled. You shoot well enough, but not enough to be part of a sniper squad. The second day, I made things harder. Hell, I thought I was going to die after that run. The fucking pace I set almost killed me. I was trying to make you give up, but you didn’t. Everything I’ve thrown at you has been to see how far I could push you before you’d lash back with an attack meant to kill. Not once have you done that. Not even today, when I came at you with a knife. Sure, you fought back, and won, but there’s a part of you that keeps you from taking a life.”

  She turned to face him. “I killed the Brigand at the Standpipe.”

  “You reacted to his attack and threw him out a window, but you didn’t know how high up you were, did you? You didn’t know the fall would kill him. That wasn’t your intention. You got pissed off, like you did with me, and just needed to get him off you. The window was the quickest way. Right?”

  Dani shrugged.

  “You were threatened, and you reacted. Do you even know how you ended up with me on my back and you holding a knife to my throat?”

  “No.”

  He nodded. “I’m changing your regimen. We’ll continue hand-to-hand drills to keep you fresh, but they won’t be as physical as before. I’m moving you into the recon and sabotage platoon—assuming we have more than just you in it.” He exhaled. “Let’s head into town early to eat. I’m starving, and I could use some rest.”

  “Rest?” Dani gaped at him. “You need rest? I’ve never heard you admit any kind of fatigue before.”

  “I just got my ass handed to me by a woman.”

  She smiled.

  “C’mon. Care to wager on how many volunteers show up?”

  “I’m hoping we get a hundred total,” she said with a shrug.

  “A hundred? Hell, I’ll be thrilled with half that. I just don’t know how many people, CNA or Brigand, are willing to be the first line of attack against a Warden base.”

  Dani had no issues letting Gavin pay for their lunch, especially since he’d just admitted to purposely abusing her under the guise of training.

  After eating, they walked to Hayford Park and waited.

  Gavin turned in a full circle. “This doesn’t look good.”

  “We’re a little early,” Dani said.

  Brody walked through the tall grass with his head down. His tailed bobbed above the grass as he walked, and Dani smiled as she watched him. His head popped up, and Dani turned to follow his gaze. A few Brigands emerged from the trees to cross the field. A moment later, several more people appeared. Gavin bumped her arm, and she turned around. A dozen CNA troops approached from the direction of the barracks, with Miles, Oliver, and Javi at the front of the group.

  Oliver ran ahead, and Brody greeted him. He gave the dog a treat from his pocket.

  “Why are you here?” Dani asked sharply. “Please tell me Miles isn’t stupid enough to let you volunteer.�
�

  “I’m just here to watch and keep Brody company,” Oliver said with a broad smile.

  “Ah,” Dani said, deciding she’d better keep an extra eye on Oliver to make sure he didn’t try to steal her dog.

  Within an hour, around 200 Brigands and 150 CNA ground troops had joined Dani and Gavin. She recognized Mary and a few others among the civilian group as Aunt Hattie’s employees. They were no longer in the nicer clothes they wore when working for Hattie; instead, they’d donned faded and tattered pants and shirts, same as Dani.

  “What do you think of the new clothes?” Mary asked, sidling up to her.

  Dani laughed. “I’ve never seen you dressed like a street urchin.”

  “I prefer guttersnipe.” Mary smiled.

  Jace appeared and walked between them. “We’ll have to keep you two separated or the Wardens will hear you giggling miles before we reach Portland.”

  Dani’s retort was interrupted by Gavin’s booming voice.

  “Commonwealth troops, you’re now responsible for helping teach the Brigands how to line up and use military terminology. Brigands, you’re responsible for teaching your CNA associates stealth and survival skills. Each group has a skill set so ingrained it might as well be in your DNA. Help your fellow volunteers survive another day, and he or she will do the same for you. Line up!”

  Dani joined in the shuffle of people to create a block-shaped arrangement of just under four hundred people. She followed the direction of an MP in the group on how and where to stand. When the shuffling settled, Gavin spoke again.

  “We have a mix in this group of Echoes and humans. Get over it now. We’re all on the same side here. Also, understand that this is a partnership. Brigands are not becoming formal CNA troops, and the CNA isn’t converting to civilian life. Today we’re together as people of Earth who are sick of the Wardens’ genocide. Yes, the Wardens are Echoes, but the Echoes among this group aren’t the same as the Wardens. Wardens hunt Echoes too, and it all must stop. That’s what we’re here to do.” Gavin scanned the crowd. Seemingly satisfied that everyone was still with him, he continued. “Everyone will count off one to four. Jace, take group one to assess stealth. Miles, you have group two and will assess endurance and agility. Javi, take group three to the rifle range. I’ll take the fourth group and start hand-to-hand combat drills. Count off and reform your lines with the others matching your number.”