Escape from Harrizel (24 page)

A Clansman bumps into Able in his haste to
pass.

“Sorry Rogue Commander,” he stops and
bows.

“It’s fine,” Able nods him off as the
Clansman moves ahead, into the glow of Pratt’s babeeb up ahead.
Able watches him for a minute longer before turning back to me with
a whisper, “…He’s just now starting to reappear. Up until a few
weeks ago, he was inaccessible,
incognito
—wouldn’t even talk
to the guys.” Able lowers his hands, palm down. “No one wants to
jinx this.”

“Well what happened?” I press, “Why’d he cut
off all communication?”

Able shrugs, his mind wandering to some
memory, “Embarrassed, probably… the way she humiliated him.”

“What do you mean?”

His mind dances around the scene, his mouth
opening to explain. But then he looks up, startled to see me again.
Was he about to reveal something he shouldn’t have? He shakes his
head in dismissal. “What? Nothing. Nothing.”

“Who humiliated him?” I pull him to a stop,
the light lowering between us. “Was it Ansley?”

A few Clansmen sweep by. They ignore us
mostly, seemingly more interested in this underground Maze than a
conversation between Able and I.

I shake his arm for a response. “Was
it?”

“Yes!” he snatches his arm away.

“Why?”

“You must think I’m an
idiot
to tell
you that,” he starts walking again.

“Not an idiot… a new best friend?” I’m at
his side, arching my brows with high hopes.

He looks over, amused. “Don’t you have one
yet?”

“Still looking,” I stop him again, “come on,
please
? Just tell me if he’s still…” but I can’t find the
words to ask what I really want to know.

“He’s
not
,” Able shakes his head,
helping me finish my thought. He starts walking again, “That’s why
you throwing me flirty grins isn’t exactly beneficial to my
health.”

“You look tough enough.”

“Against Rox?” he laughs at the possibility,
playing over some distant memory, one that quickly makes him
shudder.

“Aw…” I mimic his patronizing tone from
earlier. “Someone’s being modest.”

He feigns a grin. “
Your
safety is not
in jeopardy.”

“Says who? Mantis looked like he wanted to
eat me.”

“Maybe he does,” Able agrees without
hesitation. Fear must register on my face because he follows it up
quickly, reassuringly. “I wouldn’t worry about him though.”

“I’m not worried.”

“Well, you’re tougher than me,” Able gulps,
his eyes large amber disks, “That’s one scary bastard.”

“But he’s not actually in charge of the
Kings, right?”

Able frowns at my knowledge, proceeding
cautiously, unaware of what information Reid’s already
divulged.

“Right… but Grisham is laid back compared to
Mantis,” Able stares off a second, “Sometimes I wonder if Mantis is
really in charge.”

“Is he?”

“Has Tucker actually been running the Rogues
this whole time?” Able narrows his eyes, “But really, depends on
who you ask. Tucker thinks Grisham is still in charge… Reid might
have something different to say.”

“So… does this mean Reid’s back with you
guys now?”

“Seems so…” Able shrugs, “though you’d know
before me.”

“Meaning?”

His face flattens to a dull eye roll at the
question, as if it was the most ridiculous thing to want answered.
He speeds up, taking the light with him.

“…Just one more thing,” I rush back to his
side, ignoring his heavy sigh at my dogged attempts to keep the
information flowing.

“Isn’t there always?”

“How long were they together?”

“What?” he glances over with an
uncomfortable frown.

“How long?”

“Come on,” he shakes his head, moving
faster, “haven’t you exceeded your questions for the night?”

“Almost. Come on new best friend—how long?”
I jump around in front of him, cutting off his path. He tries
dodging around me but I sprint in front of him with each turn.
Finally, Able sighs, stopping in defeat.

“Why do
I
have to be the one to tell
you?” he gripes, as if taking on the burden of the world, “If I
lose rank because of you, we’re no longer best friends.”

“Deal.”

He stops, and, with an exasperated sigh,
admits. “Two years. But that’s all,” he offers an adamant hand
swipe. “I’m cutting you off.”

We head the rest of the way in silence.
Nearly upon the burrow’s entrance, Reid jets past as the line comes
to a complete halt. We file in one by one and Able’s right behind
me, gesturing to the immediate left so we can watch as everyone
enters.

“Listen,” he keeps his voice low, “I like
you for him so I want to help. This is a freebee,” Able glances at
me, then back at the entrance, “You’re going to want to pay
attention. This is probably the last time you’ll see them all
grouped together in one place like this,” he motions to the
entrance. With a cluster of babeebs hovering above his head,
Sampson stands like a lantern. To his left, Reid and Tucker greet
each Clansman as they trickle in.

Able’s in my ear again, speaking fast but
low. “You’ve got five divisions.
Assignments
,
Tokens
,
Enforcement
,
Recruitment
and
Supplies
, each
lead by its division R.C.”

“Like you and Jace?”

“Yep,” he nods, “but I’ll get to us in a
second.”

Able motions to a husky American Indian with
black hair done in two braids that fall over his shoulders. The
plaits surround his angular brown face while white feathered
earrings hang from both lobes. He takes Reid’s hand in both of his,
grasping it.

“Chief.” Able whispers next to me.

“That’s his name?”

“Well… that’s what we call him. No one can
really pronounce it. Starts with an A-Y…”

“He ever smile?” I ask as his hardened stare
casts about, surveying the room. His sights lock on me as he makes
his way to the opposite wall and folds his arms.

“It’s a rare sight,” Able whispers.

“
He’s
a rare sight.” We exchange
glances.

“Chief’s the RC over
Enforcement
,”
Able indicates to each Clansman as they pass from the outside
corridor into the hollowed burrow. “You’ve got Booker, Kenya, Simon
and Merritt. Useful for scare tactics and if it comes down to it,
muscle
, though all Rogues know combative basics. ”

They emerge one by one, most reacting the
same—ogling this hollowed trunk with wonder in their eyes and
disbelief in their gaping jaws. Reid shakes hands with everyone,
offering a quick pat on the back, greeting and thanking each
personally.

“And then there’s Harrison for
Supplies
,” Able motions to a Rogue scanning the space with
an impressive whistle. Leanly built, he’s tall with light brown
waves covering his head and lower half of his face. Behind him, two
boys prod through, both somewhat short with dark features and
devious, eager grins. “The Carpenters,” Able explains, “Rooney and
Drenz. Make you anything you need.”

“Like what?”

“Brushes,” he shrugs, tossing out the first
things that come to mind, “shaving razors, dice, utensils, jewelry.
You give them the order and they construct it from the gibb.”

“So they can make
anything
?”

“Well… has to be approved by Rox, of
course,” Able offers me a fleeting glance, “Then there’s Kelly.
Assignments
,” he stresses, “…not to say one division’s more
important than the other but
Assignments
is where we tend to
obtain most of our information.”

“The working with Clients and such?”

“Exactly. Kelly’s Rogue Commander… also not
a big smiler,” he indicates the Rogue with jet-black hair,
impossibly large muscles and an indelible scowl that looks carved
into his face. He moves into the burrow, a line of boys behind
him.

“You’ve got Niles, Werzo, Dowdy, Peel, Ando
and Oscar, all on assignment, all in control of the Scouts,” Able
nods to himself before amending his statement, “except Pratt of
course.”

“What about Irie?”

“Him either. Both fall outside Kelly’s
jurisdiction.”

“Why?”

He shrugs, crossing his arms. “Perk of being
personal Scout to Rogue Leader and Rox.”

“Okay… and where do you and Jace fit
in?”

“Jace is
Recruitment
. Scans all
Arrivals for possible threat or potential. With him,” Able gestures
to the back of the nearly filled room, to the two clansmen that
entered before me, “Moss and Cramp. Quiet boys. Real people
watchers… kind of fits the job description.”

“And you?”

“
Tokens
. Importing and
exporting.”

“And who helps you?”

“Artisten,” Able indicates the next Rogue
entering the burrow. Reid takes his hand, welcoming him. “He
manages exporting all goods to the Scouts and Clients. The curious,
oh so stunned beefcake behind him is Looper. Among other duties, he
keeps all Clansmen fed and supplied. Geppers and Dale work under
Artisten and Hedrick and Vennis under Looper. That should be
everyone…” Able stops, thinking, “all Rogues and Rogue Commanders
at least.”

“And where are all the girls?”

Able shrugs, “tough business being a Rogue.
Rox didn’t want any inadvertently hurt.”

“Even under assignments? Is that still super
dangerous?”

“Are you kidding?” he laughs,
“
everything
is dangerous. If we had any female Rogues, the
Kings would go after them first. It’s next a sexist thing—it’s a
safety thing.”

“Okay…” I glance around the room which is
overflowing with Clansmen. All together, they’re a ferocious lot
and suddenly, fear swells in my abdomen. As if he could hear it,
Able leans over, gesturing toward their unforgiving faces. “You’ve
got to
impress
them to get respect.”

“How am I doing so far?”

“Hard to say. You ran straight into that
riot. Shows bravery… and stupidity. You stood up to Tetlak,” he
shrugs, “but Reid came to your rescue. Twice. I think it’s all
balancing on tonight.”

I roll my eyes, the pit of fear in my belly
racing my heart, “Thanks for the pep talk.”

“Oh—is that what you wanted?” he laughs.
“It’s not complicated. They listen to Rox because he
demands
it,” Able narrows his eyes, suggesting the mere simplicity of it.
“Do the same.”

Sampson closes the door behind Dale,
enclosing the hollowed trunk teeming with oversized Rogues. It’s
quiet, almost uncomfortably so, until the Clansmen start sharing
wise cracks about the location and joking how they’d never get past
the gate. Scanning the room, I do a quick count. Twenty-six
clansmen. Not bad. And not including Reid. Twenty-seven in total.
They range in age from mid teens to late twenties, with Sampson
being, by far the oldest person in the room.

Tucker, Reid and Sampson still surround the
door, exchanging quiet words, periodically glancing to the small
bubble of space in the center of the room. The Clansmen’s
conversations grow louder and with it, their energy.

“Hey!” Tucker roars, offering a final nod
back to Reid. Reid agrees to whatever was said and Tucker turns to
the room, clapping as he circles the small space allotted for him.
“Come on guys, hey! Settle down! Settle down… because
guys
,”
he lightens his tone as the trunk settles to quiet again. “We got
company.”

“Yeah!” someone shouts, igniting a chorus of
whistles and cheers.

“Rox!” More chant as the hollowed burrow
vibrates with energy, urging Reid’s return. Finally, obeying their
request, Reid exchanges places with Tucker and the Rogues go wild
at seeing their leader. He takes the center, allowing them their
cheers a second longer before lowering his hands, indicating for
silence. They quiet themselves immediately.

“Hello, hello to all of you,” he rubs his
hands together and nods at his Clansmen with a shameful grin. “I
haven’t been around recently and I should have. For that…” he
shrugs, slow to admit his fault, “I’m sorry. We’ve got some
additional company,” he gestures to Sampson, Vix and Clark, then to
me and Pratt, “and yes, Pratt is here and
not
out with the
other Scouts. That will be addressed soon, but first,” he moves
around the circle, locking eyes with everyone as he passes, his
hands raised, “as sworn Rogues, I know everything revealed tonight
will stay here,” he points a finger to the ground, no longer
asking. “It will not leave this compound.”

Chief shifts his weight, his feathered
earring swinging. He casts me a quick glance, returning focus to
Reid.

“Tucker’s done an excellent job leading you
in my absence, but things are changing,” he surveys his audience,
“
increasing
. The lists… the pills… It’s past time we meet.
Firstly, again,” Reid strolls about the small space allotted for
him, “we’re joined by additional company. I trust that
you
trust I have your best interests and those of our Scouts and
Clients, in mind. Those here tonight not part of the Rogues are
friends. Going forward,” he cups his hands behind his back, “you’ll
give them the same respect and loyalty as you would
me
. Now
this,” he gestures to the hollowed tree surrounding us, “is a
conversation for a later date and I
do
appreciate your
patience on that. There are more immediate things to be discussed
so on that note, let’s get down to it,” he rubs his hands, scanning
the room again. “You’ve sent your Scouts out without knowing the
reason. You did this on Tucker’s request—on mine. Why’d we ask this
of you?”

“We were hoping you’d tell us,” a laugh rips
through the dimness. Half the room follows but Chief and Kelly are
not amused.

“Harrison.” Able leans over, reminding
me.

“Well,” Reid grins, “sorry to disappoint. I
have someone else to explain that to you. It was her idea so…” he
shrugs, gesturing me forward, “best she explain.”