The Alliance (25 page)

 

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins
Publishers

....................................

Chapter
66

It was difficult for me to accept my daughter is now property of the American government. I confronted the grand commander about this and his words did comfort me. She is part of the next generation and must be raised to accept that fact. I agree it would be hard for her mother or myself to ready her for the life she must lead under these dire circumstances.

—­The journal of Isaac Ryland

“Let's go over the plan one more time,” Zack said.

“We've been over it one hundred times,” Carter said.

“The car comes back here for us in three days,” Trent said. “We should be overprepared by then.”

Andrew, Carter, and Zack all turned to the corner of the wooden room. Trent sat in a chair with his arms crossed.

“What?” Trent said. “I'm as much a part of this now as you three. I want to help.”

“You're only in this room so Mikey doesn't have you killed,” Zack said. “As soon as we're out of here you're back to prisoner status.”

“You think I would betray you?” Trent said.

“The first chance you get,” Zack said.

“Andrew, tell him how I've changed, how I've helped you since we've been here,” Trent said.

The group spent their days helping out around the camp. Trent was always at Andrew's side. Earlier in the day Andrew had been chopping wood and Trent was right next to him, slamming the ax down on the logs. Andrew found the activity relaxing; he didn't need to focus on stopping the government or worry about Mia's whereabouts. Instead he focused on the wood. He got too lost in his activity and forgot to drink. Trent was paying more attention to Andrew than himself and made sure he stayed hydrated. Andrew admitted he enjoyed the assistance, and the fact that Trent never tried to attack him with the ax. Andrew shook his head.

“Stay quiet,” Andrew said.

“Back to the plan,” Zack said.

“We should arrive at the capital the day before Grant's wedding,” Andrew said. “We meet up with your contact and lay low until the following night. There will be less security at the Mission that night since every important person will be at Grant's estate.”

Andrew didn't think it was the right time to mention his and Carter's plans to go after Rod. He glanced at Carter who seemed to agree and continued on with the explanation.

“That night we start a small explosion at the office building across the street,” Carter said. “The guards out front will go check on the flames and we'll sneak inside.”

“Dressed as guards ourselves,” Zack said.

“Right,” Carter said.

“Then I stay behind and watch the door,” Andrew said. “To monitor if anyone has noticed our presence.”

“I escort Zack to the hidden room with the server,” Carter said.

“I punch in all the codes Affinity has obtained,” Zack said. “And then we get out of there.”

“Someone will know right away,” Trent said. “It's a bad plan.”

“What would you do differently?” Andrew asked.

“There are security cameras everywhere,” Trent said. “Don't you think they'll notice someone entering the grand commander's secret room?”

“Affinity has guaranteed us someone will remotely control all the video feeds between 7:41
P.M.
and 7:57
P.M.
,” Zack said.

“So you have sixteen minutes to pull this off?” Trent said. “It will take you that amount of time just to walk inside.”

“Why is it only sixteen minutes?” Carter asked.

“That's the longest a hacker has been able to stay in the system undetected,” Zack said. “Any longer and they'll get bounced out.”

“What if that night they get bounced after two minutes?” Trent said. “Then you're all dead and the Registry lives on.”

“Pointing out problems without a solution doesn't help,” Andrew said.

“I have a solution,” Trent said. “Take me with you. I'm a legitimate RAG agent. They'll let me in, especially if I say I have information for Grant Marsden about his ex-­wife.”

“You want to draw Grant there?” Andrew asked.

“He won't come,” Trent said. “It's his wedding night. The men will trust me though.”

“Even if that was an option how would that help us?” Zack asked.

“Because the guards will be more distracted by me than a fire,” Trent said. “And once you're in the building I'll take them out. Then I can monitor the security cameras and make sure nobody is coming in or out.”

“That's Andrew's job,” Zack said.

“He's just watching the doorway,” Trent said. “I can get into the security room.”

“You don't even know where that is,” Carter said.

“Of course I do,” Trent said. “First floor to the left of the main entrance. There are an additional two guards posted there at all times.”

“How do you know that?” Andrew asked.

“I'm a RAG agent,” Trent said. “Former, of course. Even if all three guards run to check out your little fire you still have the two inside, and that doesn't include the fifty-­plus roaming the halls.”

“There won't be fifty,” Zack said.

“Say there are twenty,” Trent said. “Three men still can't take them all.”

“But four can?” Carter asked.

“Makes for better odds,” Trent said.

“Once the virus is planted, what's the rest of the plan?” Zack asked.

“Try to get out of there,” Andrew said. “Don't wait for anyone. Make it back to our hideout.”

“So you'll all abandon each other?” Trent said. “So much for teamwork.”

“There's a good chance all of us will die,” Zack said. “But it would be worth it if we succeed in destroying the Registry.”

“We give our contact the go-­ahead to appear on television. They present the file Rex has taken from Grant's house about Mia's escape,” Carter said. “Affinity starts destroying all the online copies of the Registry and ser­vice list. We tell the ­people it's over.”

“What about Mia?” Andrew asked.

“If we regroup with her she's the one who goes live,” Zack said.

“What if the ­people still want to follow Grant? Have him rebuild the Registry and ser­vice list? Without Mia they might still have faith in him.”

“That is a chance we have to take,” Zack said. “There might never be an opportunity like this again.”

“She'll be there,” Andrew said.

“Has anyone heard from Rex?” Carter asked. “Did he get the file?”

“Not the last time I made contact,” Zack said. “But I wouldn't worry about Rex. He can take care of himself and if Mia doesn't show up the file is worthless.”

“We should kill Grant then,” Trent said. “To make sure ­people don't stay loyal to him.”

“If he dies before we can make our move it would turn him into a hero,” Zack said. “And then someone else would take his place.”

A knock sounded on the door. Andrew turned to see three girls in the doorway. All of them wore the same tight pants and long-­sleeved T-­shirts.

“We thought you guys might be hungry,” Dawn said.

She was the leader of the group; Andrew guessed she was in her early twenties. Her brown hair was kept short and tucked behind her ears. She walked over with a dish and set it down in front of Zack.

“We don't make much dessert up here,” she said. The plate held three brown lumps.

“We tried to make brownies,” Karen said.

Andrew looked to the door. Karen had lighter and longer hair. She didn't follow the tray in and instead leaned against the wall, her eyes glued to Trent.

“Carter, you have to try one,” Kristin said.

She was already at the table, picking a brownie off of the plate and holding it to Carter's mouth. Her blue eyes were magnified by large glasses and stood in stark contrast to her long black hair.

“I would try one of your brownies,” Trent said. “But I'm not allowed at the table.”

“We only had enough to make three,” Karen said. She walked over and picked one off the plate.

“Sorry, Andrew,” Dawn said. “But we didn't think you'd want one.”

“No apology necessary,” Andrew said.

Of the forty-­two ­people in the camp, six were unattached females in the age range of Andrew and his team. Over the past week they'd made it a point to speak to the men whenever possible. Kristin had approached Andrew the first night and all he did was talk about Mia. Since then none of them had seemed interested in him and for that he was grateful.

Carter was turning his head, trying to avoid eating the brownie Kristin was waving in front of his face.

“There's a few ­people sitting around a fire tonight,” Dawn said. “We hoped you guys would join us.”

Dawn reached down and put her hand over Zack's, then pulled away before he had the chance to.

“We have a lot of work to catch up on,” Zack said.

“Please say you'll come,” Kristin said.

“The last time we joined you for socializing you beat us up,” Carter said.

Two nights ago the group of girls had played like they were lovesick puppies, then asked Carter if he would teach them how to defend themselves. It did not end well for Carter.

“I'm just a little girl,” Karen said. “How could I beat anyone up?”

Andrew looked behind him and saw Trent chewing his brownie.

“Trent, I wouldn't eat that,” Andrew said.

Reality seemed to come back to Trent and he spat the food on the floor before scraping the rest off his tongue. All three girls broke into fits of laughter.

Mikey had warned the group about the girls in the camp, but Trent seemed too enchanted to remember. These women were not like the average American girl and seemed to enjoy finding ways to torture the visiting men.

“We'll come to the fire,” Zack said. “If you promise to treat us like normal human beings.”

Kristin leaned away from Carter. Her voice dropped the seductive drawl. “We're just having fun,” she said. “We don't meet a lot of new ­people, especially ones who think women are for sale.”

“None of us think you're for sale,” Andrew said.

“How come the first night we met three of you were drooling all over us?” Dawn asked.

“Because you're pretty,” Carter said.

“I bet you think I would make a great cook and cleaning lady too,” Kristin said.

Andrew let out a laugh. These women had power and knew how to wield it.

“I will scrub every inch of your room if you let me spend time with you,” Trent said.

The guys turned and looked at Trent. He stared at Karen. She had a small smile on her face.

“The brownies were the prank tonight,” Dawn said. “We promise, just some ­people sitting around.”

Carter looked at the brown lump.

“What are these?” Carter asked.

The women laughed again.

“Look for the campfire,” Kristin said. “If you decide to join us.”

Dawn signaled to the other girls and they left the building.

“These ­people are nuts,” Carter said.

“Mikey told us to keep our plans to ourselves,” Andrew said.

“It would be easier to avoid them if they were hostile,” Zack said. “But they're messing with my head.”

“I think they're wonderful,” Trent said.

Zack rolled his eyes.

“Can we go to the fire?” Trent asked.

“Let's review our strategy again,” Zack said.

“It might be fun,” Carter said. “They promised no more pranks.”

Zack gave Andrew a look; he was the deciding vote.

“Review one more time,” Andrew said. “Then we can go visit for a little while.”

Andrew looked behind him at Trent. The man was staring out the door, trying to watch the women walk away. Andrew thought about his first interactions with Mia; he'd had a hard time treating her like an equal. But Trent was not above treating himself like less of a person for women, even though they were trying to cause him harm. Maybe if there were more ­people out there with his attitude, stopping the Registry wouldn't be so hard.

 

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins
Publishers

....................................

Chapter
67

I have had my third child ripped from my arms now. My husband no longer wastes his time with lies. I am certain all baby girls are being groomed as wives, but whatever is happening to the baby boys troubles me more. I have thought about denying the opportunity to have another child but fear whatever outcome would await that decision.

—­The diary of Megan Jean

Sweat was pouring down Mia's forehead. Her body ached from the abuse she'd subjected it to. Riley charged at Mia from across the open room and Mia ducked, avoiding her right arm. She did not turn around fast enough and felt Riley's foot hit her back, and Mia fell to the ground.

“I think that's enough for this morning,” Riley said.

She walked over to a chair and grabbed a towel, tossing it at Mia.

“I'll never beat you,” Mia said.

“No,” Riley said. “You won't, but you're getting much better. You could beat an untrained person with ease.”

Mia forced herself up and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She looked out the window and saw Corinna and her mother working with Alex and Frank outside. They looked much less spent.

“What is the point in training my family?” Mia asked. “You know I don't want them anywhere near danger.”

“It keeps them busy,” Riley said. “Makes them feel like they're part of the team.”

“We have four days to get Rod out,” Mia said.

“And we leave tomorrow night,” Riley said. “Are you ready?”

“Still no word from Andrew,” Mia said.

“We don't need him for the rescue,” Riley said. “Focus on one thing at a time.”

“Once this is over,” Mia asked, “where are you headed?”

“After we rescue Rod?” Riley asked.

Mia nodded.

“Right back here,” Riley said.

“What?” Mia was surprised.

“You're my friend,” Riley said. “Pretty much the only one I have. This place is secure. I'll stay with you until you no longer need my ser­vices.”

“That makes you sound more like an employee than a friend.”

“Nonsense,” Riley said. “Friends help each other. You need what I have to offer and I will supply you with it.”

“What do I help you with?”

“Not thinking about my missing husband every second of the day,” Riley said.

Mia was quiet for a moment.

“Tell me where you've been,” Mia said. “Maybe I can share some insight.”

“Not much to tell,” Riley said. “After the lead in Mexico turned out to be wrong I went back to Ireland. I wanted a new mission; they told me no, that I was still incapable of thinking straight. But I know they think I'll lose another agent if I have an operation again.”

“That's not true,” Mia said.

“Maybe it is,” Riley said. “I'm lucky in a way. They didn't force me to quit; I have the Irish government backing my trips across the world chasing a ghost.”

“He's not dead,” Mia said.

“He is dead,” Riley said.

“You don't know that,” Mia said.

“Yes,” Riley said. “I do.”

“How?”

“I followed a lead to another militant group,” Riley said. “They had him there for less than a day before he was executed.”

“I'm so sorry,” Mia said.

“I destroyed their base,” Riley said. “Killed hundreds of ­people in the process. It didn't make me feel any better.”

“Then why are you still looking for him?” Mia asked.

“Because if I tell my government he's dead then I'm all out of missions,” Riley said. “They'll give me a desk job or let me go off peacefully to spend the rest of my days doing as I please, when rescuing ­people and working on dangerous strategies is all I want.”

“I didn't realize,” Mia said. “I shouldn't have been going on about Andrew.”

Mia felt a lump in her throat. If Riley's husband was dead maybe Andrew was too.

“I know how your brain works,” Riley said. “Stop it. Andrew was not captured by a dangerous military presence—­well, technically he was, but you already saved him from them. Focus on things you can help. Like rescuing Rod. It's the only way to stay sane.”

Mia went back to the window. She watched as her mother and Frank fought with sticks.

“Are you teaching them how to sword-­fight?” Mia asked.

“I think it's one of the more fun ways to defend yourself,” Riley said.

“Thank you,” Mia said. “For all your help.”

“Get cleaned up,” Riley said. “You need more relevant skills. We're working on shooting this afternoon.”

Mia hated guns, but over the week her aim had been improving.

“Do you think I'll have to kill anyone?” Mia asked.

“Not if everything runs smoothly,” Riley said. “But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be ready.”

Mia nodded, but the thought of ending a life sent a shiver down her spine. There was no way she would ever be ready for that.