Abandon (4 page)

She sprinted toward the bushes in my backyard, but no one escapes from a hovercopter.

Like a coward, I slammed the window and drew the blinds. I peeked through two slats, watching the Special Forces agent interrogate her. She didn’t cry. Her fists clenched and unclenched, and she accepted the citation without a word.

The hovercopter zipped away, and that’s when Violet crumpled to the ground. Her shoulders shook with racking sobs.

Then I did what any thirteen-year-old boy would do: I dropped the shades and crawled into bed.

*   *   *

Saffediene Brown sat immediately to my right, frantically writing a report for Jag. Though we were the same age, she reminded me of myself when I first began serving the Resistance. She’d joined a month after I’d arrived in Freedom.

In fact, Saffediene had been my first recruit for the Insiders.

She finished writing, folded the paper, and put her hand on mine. I shook my thoughts away from Vi and that first night in
my bedroom and jerked at the contact from Saffediene. She pulled her hand back and hid it under the table. Her eyes flickered to mine, a small smile playing on her face.

“Zenn?” she said, still watching me. Just like everyone else was doing.

“Indy and her team are drinking protein like there’s no tomorrow,” I said, stuffing my hand in my pocket as I stood. My skin felt hot where Saffediene had touched me. “They’ll be on mandatory rest this week, and then we’ll get them into rotations for duties.”

I nodded toward Pace, who stood and started droning on about some new tech he’d invented that would eliminate the squealing in new implants. When Thane had first brought me beyond the wall of Freedom to this cavern, I’d barely recognized Pace.

The smile that used to come quickly to his lips now took longer. His eyes were dull, and Pace’s long, silver hair didn’t get washed enough, but I suspected that wasn’t the only reason for its lackluster appearance.

When Tyson Schoenfeld died, a big piece of Pace Barque did too. I’d been present when she’d been killed, but the memories of those weeks are shrouded. I’d been brainwashed and medicated, with only moments of lucidity.

Thane had told me the story of Ty’s death. It had aged
him too, though I didn’t comfort him. The first time I saw Pace here in the hideout, though, I had gripped him in a hug that said more than
We’re on the same team.

It had said,
Please forgive me. I did what I thought was right. I miss Ty too.

He’d understood, and he’d freely given his forgiveness—something Jag sucked at doing. I watched Pace now and noticed he’d revived a bit since Jag’s return. I was reminded of when I first joined the Resistance, when Pace and Jag would embrace after months apart. They’d laugh about Irvine’s seriousness and throw wads of paper at Indy as she snored on the couch.

I longed for the more carefree days of the Resistance, when the thought of battling the Thinkers only happened in our imaginations. It was easier then to feel like They were robbing the general population of their free will. I’d believed in the cause of the Resistance with my whole heart. No one should have to conform to a job, a marriage, a life they hated simply because someone with persuasive powers deemed it so.

So the Resistance fought talent with talent. They had Thinkers. So did we. They had voice talent. So did we. They also had vastly more personnel, many and diverse ways to find our strongholds, and untold resources.

We had Jag Barque.

Back before I turned Informant, me, Pace, and Jag would sit around the kitchen table in Jag’s house, making grand plans and playing cards. Sure, we ran minor missions, sent messages, and attended training in Seaside with Vi’s older sister, Tyson.

Ty had the unique ability to make you think you were the most important person in the world. Vi had worshipped her. I’d rescued Ty from the Goodgrounds, helped her through the desert to the Badlands, and passed her off to Jag. Pace had been there, and I still remember the first time he met Ty.

I was young—a few months shy of fourteen—and rescuing Ty was my first solo mission for the Resistance. But I recognized the light on Pace’s face. I’d seen my dad look at my mom with that brightness that said,
The person standing in front of me could change my life.

As Pace spoke now, here in this dingy cavern, it was clear that his easiness had been lost with Ty. He caught me watching him, and I half smiled. He seemed to understand what I was thinking and lowered his head slightly.

After Pace finished his update, Vi stood up and began assigning every member of Indy’s team to one of our existing crew. I imagined how I must look, gazing at Vi the same way Pace had looked at Ty all those years ago. I couldn’t help it.

“Someone to show them around, help them on watch, you know, orient them to our life here,” she said.

And what a crazy-lame life we live inside this blasted cavern.
I didn’t say it out loud, but Vi cut me a hard look anyway.

After Vi sat, Saffediene got to her feet. “Gunner and I have assembled new two-person traveling teams for assignments in the Midwestern Region. You’ll leave tonight.” She listed off partnerships, and I glanced at her when she read my name with Gunn’s.

Another trip to another unknown city. Half of me rejoiced. The other half died a bit more.

Before Saffediene finished her assignments, Jag burst into the cavern with Gunn two steps behind him.

“Cancel everything,” Jag commanded. “Hightower has Thane, and we need to rescue him before eleven tomorrow morning.”

5
.
“I need you with Vi,” I said for the third time. The meeting had broken up, and I’d gone from room to room giving assignments. Zenn had followed me back here to my quarters, breathing reasons he couldn’t go to Freedom.

“You’ve been assigned to protect Vi,” I said again. “You should be happy about that.”

Zenn stood in front of me, his mouth a thin line of disapproval. I didn’t get his hating-me thing. It’s not my fault he defected, left Vi alone so she had to break rules to meet him, or that she got thrown into my prison cell.

I could’ve done without Zenn defecting. Everyone could
have. But I’ve never been sorry for Vi’s rule breaking or that I had to “endure” jail time with her.

“We have an appointment in Harvest,” Zenn said—for the third time.

“Stop trying to get out of going on this mission,” I said, fighting back my voice power. “You want to play the hero, just admit it. Right now I need my hero in Freedom, to rescue Thane.” I stripped off my filthy shirt and replaced it with a less filthy one.

“This has nothing to do with heroics.”

“And,” I continued, almost yelling, “everyone knows you’re in love with Vi, and I’m assigning you to protect her.”

His jaw tightened; his fists flexed. A bolt of satisfaction sang at the back of my throat. “It’s what we both want,” I said, stepping closer. He blocked the doorway of my bedroom, and I had forty thousand things to get ready for the mission.

“I can’t go back there,” Zenn said, his gaze dropping to the floor. The muscles worked in his neck. “You don’t know what Director Hightower’s like.”

“Trust me,” I said, “I do.” Zenn had no idea what my life was like. Where I’d been for those eight months while he and Vi fell in love all over again. No one did.

That’s how I liked it. Removing myself from everyone
and everything helped me keep people out. That way I could do what needed to be done for the Resistance.

No emotional attachments.
That’s why I didn’t try too hard to explain anything to Indy and then brought her brother, Irvine, with me on the mission into the Goodgrounds. She didn’t understand that, sometimes, being the leader of the Resistance required me to make difficult decisions. It was better to be completely detached from everyone.

“Except for Vi.” Zenn didn’t have to say it, but he did. The pain in his voice was poorly masked. He hadn’t even tried. Sure, he was in my head, which annoyed me, but he was acknowledging something he’d rather ignore.

The fight went out of me. “Except for Vi,” I conceded. “I’d change things if I could, Zenn. So many things.”

I felt rather than heard or saw his defeated acceptance. An understanding passed between us.

“You might still make your appointment,” I said. “We’ll get Thane out, and you and Gunner can fly all night.”

“Fine. But you get to tell Vi she’s riding in the backseat on this one,” he said. “She’s gonna be mad as hell.”

“Fair enough.” I followed him into the hall, already dreading the argument I would have with Vi. “And Zenn, you are strong enough to resist this time.”

*   *   *

I found Vi in her room, her face already closed to any discussion. I smothered a sigh and sat next to her on the cot. We both studied the floor. “So, we’re going into Freedom.”

“So I heard,” she said. What she meant was,
I didn’t hear it from you.

“You’ve been assigned to Zenn. You guys will fly mid-pack and stay out of trouble.” What I meant was,
I’m assigning you to Zenn. Ride behind him and keep your mouth shut.

The silence in the room said it all. Her anger. Her defiance. Vi didn’t like being told what to do.

“Do I have your permission to speak?” she snapped.

“Oh, brother,” I said. “Say whatever the hell you want. It’s not going to change my decision.”

“I hate how you boss me around,” she said.

I stood up. “I hate how you doubt all my decisions,” I fired back. “I’m the cracking leader of the cracking Resistance.”

She shot to her feet too. “I’m more than just another one of your Insiders. I’m your girlfriend.”

My stomach clenched. Didn’t she get it? That was exactly why she had to fly mid-pack and stay out of trouble. Sometimes her stubbornness amazed me. I glared at her a moment longer before heading toward the door.

“Stay with Zenn. Mid-pack.” I left her simmering—okay, boiling—in her room. Zenn had been right—Vi was mad as
hell. But you know what? I’d do what it took to keep her safe. Losing her was a risk I wasn’t willing to take.

*   *   *

Gunner spent the afternoon detailing the layout of Freedom for the group. We didn’t have customizable p-screens underground. So Gunn painted a picture of Freedom with words. He spoke in that way that commanded people to listen, using a Thinker’s voice but not its brainwashing ability.

People listened to Gunner because of his quiet steadiness. I’d felt his determination and strength the first time I met him, even though I’d been strapped to a bed at the time. Now I could also feel the myriad of emotions teeming beneath his calm exterior. Because the girl he loved, Raine Hightower, was still trapped inside Freedom.

More than once he’d voiced to me that Raine’s father wasn’t afraid to do horrific things to his own daughter. Gunn never cried, but his desperation to get her out, protect her, never faded. I’d felt an immediate connection to him, because I felt the same way about Vi.

Neither of us could protect the people we loved, and it was killing us.

I listened to him talk about how Freedom was designed on a grid, and how navigating toward the tallest building shouldn’t be too troublesome. Indy and Vi seemed the most
interested. The rest of us knew the general layout. Gunn waved his hand, talking about Rise One situated in the middle of the Rise-canyons.

He paused, and I wanted to get up and clap him on the shoulder. Tell him to escape and have a good cry over Raine. Tell him to be honest with himself for a change. Instead I simply watched as he composed himself and said, “The techtric barrier presents the biggest problem.”

“It’s not a problem,” I said. “It’s a monumental issue.” Everyone swung their attention to me. Beyond that, guards and seeker-spiders would likely present another obstacle. And Enforcement Officers equipped with tasers and various special talents.

“So how do we get past it?” Zenn asked.

I had no genius ideas, so we labored over how to breach the barrier without the loss of life and/or an earsplitting alarm.

“What about coming in over the water?” Saffediene suggested.

Even Vi, who’d been simmering against the wall for the better part of the meeting, gave her full attention to the newbie.

“The water?” Zenn asked, shifting closer to her. He favored Saffediene because she was his first recruit. He’d always said she was smarter than us all.

“Yeah,” she said, taking a few seconds to think. “The ocean. We can fly straight east from here, over the water.”

The tension in the room skyrocketed. Most of it originated from Gunner, though Vi didn’t seem too happy about the flying-over-water thing either.

“What’s the problem?” I asked him. I used to fly over the ocean, playing hoverball with my brothers.

“I don’t know how to swim,” Gunner said.

“Last time I was in the water, I passed out,” Vi added.

I cocked an eyebrow—a story of Vi’s I hadn’t heard. It sounded like an interesting one at that.

“You won’t be in the water,” Saffediene said, glancing at Zenn. When his mouth twitched upward, she continued. “Just flying over it.”

“Still,” Vi said.

“The water is strictly off-limits in Freedom,” Zenn said. “No one knows how to swim. The Thinkers set it up that way so the population won’t try to escape. They don’t even know what boats are.” He kept his eyes locked on Saffediene as he spoke.

“We don’t need boats,” she argued. “We have hoverboards.”

“We’ll have two extra passengers. Maybe more.”

Their volley caused exhaustion to press behind my eyes.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, effectively cutting off Saffediene’s retort. “Can we get around the barrier if we go over the water?”

“I think so.”

“That’s not good enough.”

She crossed her arms and stuck out her hip. “Then, yes.”

“Do you know? Or are you guessing?” Someone had to be a jerk, and more often than not that responsibility landed on me. I caught Vi’s sigh, but I didn’t apologize or back down. This was my job. Keeping people safe—running the Resistance—was more important than coming off as everyone’s friend.