Numbers Game (14 page)

The soft white glow of a handful of lanterns greeted us. The lights were concealed deep within the branches of the trees, so they didn’t do much more than guide us to the dark outline of the waiting group of soldiers. From what Vance had said, these three hundred were only a third of our troops on the mountain. Apparently NORA wasn’t taking any chances this time.

Poly motioned for us to stay here as he and Vance pushed their way through the ranks. Major Murphy waited stiffly in front of a makeshift shelter in the center, arms folded, wearing the typical armored military uniform. A shorter figure came out of the shelter and stopped next to him. I squinted, trying to see better in the low light, wondering why the man seemed familiar. I leaned toward Neb. “Is that who I think it is?”

“Commander Denoux himself,” he said in wonder. “I can’t believe it. He’s overseeing this mission? This must be really important. “

A sick feeling crept through my stomach, but there was nothing I could do now. I’d already agreed to this. Well, I’d been ordered to do it, and that was the same thing. Nine hundred soldiers waited to be led by the commander and the EPIC team. Was this the commander’s way of punishing us for Vance’s earlier outburst? But if that was the case, what was my part in all this?

If the empress really needed me to catch a traitor, why march me in front of an armed settlement?

After a few minutes, Poly and Vance approached with somber faces. Everyone was alert, stretching sore legs and arms and checking their weapons.

“Why is the commander here?” Neb asked when the EPIC leaders reached us.

Poly glanced away. “This is the first time we’ve combined forces with the military. He wants it to go smoothly.”

“He doesn’t trust us,” Daymond said.

“So what are the orders?” Semias grumbled.

Poly glared at him but continued. “The settlers are getting smarter. They won’t be taken easily. The perimeter wall is made of NeoSteel, electrified and too smooth to climb. We can’t go in with an aerial attack or we’ll destroy too many targets. So a decoy is our only choice. Treena, you will pose as a beggar, approach their front gate, and convince them to let you in. Once you’re inside, get this device as close to the center of the camp as you can.” He handed me a small metal rectangle and pointed to a switch on the side. It gave off a warm vibration even through my gloves. I stuck it in my pocket, feeling another wave of nervousness as Poly continued. “It should disable every electronic lock within a two-hundred-meter radius of the center point, allowing us to surround and penetrate the camp. EPIC will be the front line. These soldiers aren’t familiar with settlers at all, so they’ve been ordered to follow our lead. Oh, and, men, set your guns to stun. Under no circumstance will you shoot to kill.”

“I don’t like this,” Vance muttered.

“Just obey orders this time, Vance,” Poly growled. “Time to get your personal feelings out of the way.”

“How many people in the settlement?” I asked.

“Preliminary estimates are a thousand,” Poly said.

“A thousand!” Neb exclaimed, his voice cracking.

“Poly,” Vance said. “I can’t lead a unit of NORA soldiers. You know how they see me.”

“You can, and you will,” Poly said, his voice low and hard. “I understand your feelings, but if you care about these people, you’ll stun as many of them as possible. It’s the ones who fight back that will get hurt.”

“But the soldiers—”

Poly whirled to face him. “You
are
a soldier. Act like it, or I’ll turn you over to the commander.”

Vance recoiled, his face hard. Our group was silent for a moment, everyone suddenly very interested in the ground.

“Yes, sir,” Vance said.

The order came to move out. The hike to the structure was slow. There was no clear-cut trail, and at times we had to climb over sharp rocks and leap across streams—all in the darkness of night. I had a dozen cuts and bruises under my uniform, but I didn’t dare stop for fear I’d end up at the bottom of a ravine. I caught Vance’s gaze once, but he turned away in frustration, his body stiff as he looked into the night. No doubt this was bringing back awful memories for him. Except that he was the attacker this time.

After a couple of agonizing hours, the scouts detected four watchers up in the trees, two men and two women. I didn’t know what was happening until the scouts retrieved the bodies from the ground, their movements coldly efficient. I felt sick. The lookouts were probably parents, moms and dads trying to protect their children from danger.

Before the wall was even visible, the order came to halt and take cover. Poly scattered the

EPIC team to various checkpoints, then spoke to someone in sharp whispers on his feed. My heart thudded so painfully I could barely hear anything else.

Finally Poly nodded to me.

I took a deep, ragged breath, and Neb and Ross whispered their encouragement as I walked slowly past. Vance clenched his fists and watched me go.

My body shivered violently as I forced one foot in front of the other, feeling hundreds of eyes on my back. The walk to the gate felt like several kilometers, but it probably only took a few minutes. It was the longest walk of my life. The giant steel wall was just in front of me now. A reinforced metal gate at least six meters tall lay silently in the distance between two trees. A faint electric buzz sounded from somewhere. These people were serious about their security.

There was no sound behind the wall. Maybe the settlement really didn’t know we were here. I didn’t dare touch the wall, let alone knock. It was too dark to see anything, so I just stood there and called in a shaky voice, “Hello?”

No answer, but I heard shuffling. Finally a head popped up over the wall. It was a boy, maybe thirteen or fourteen. “Stay where you are and put your hands up.”

I complied. At least he hadn’t shot me on the spot.

“Bert,” the boy whispered, and I saw a small radio in his hand. It looked old and clunky. “There’s a girl here. She has red numbers on her head. Want me to shoot her?”

“Please,” I said, trying to hide my sudden horror. “I’m so cold. Do you have an extra blanket? That’s all I ask.”

“Shut up, girl,” the boy said. “Don’t move. I never miss.” He tapped a long wooden stick—a rifle, probably—and halfheartedly aimed it at me.

“If you won’t give me a blanket, can I at least go through your garbage?” The word
garbage
seemed strange on my tongue, but Vance had insisted. If I said
refuse
, they’d get suspicious. “I haven’t eaten anything in days.”

The boy hesitated. “You’re from NORA. How’d you get out?”

“They destroyed my settlement a couple of years ago—burned it down, integrated us. I worked with the smugglers for a while, but we got attacked in Meridian. I was lucky to get out in a transport full of apples.”

The boy stared at me, bug-eyed, his gun still trained on my head. “The Meridian hub was attacked?” The gun lowered a bit. “Hang on a sec.” There was a one-sided whispered conversation again, low enough that I couldn’t hear anything this time.

My legs shook so badly I worried they’d give way. After walking for hours, standing still was utter agony. The device in my pocket seemed to burn a hole through the thin layer under my coat, despite the rest of me being past feeling.
Just get inside, Treena. Deploy the device and get out—that’s all they want.

“My backup is on the way, but first I’m supposed to ask you a question,” the boy said. “If you’re really an Integrant, what was your clan leader’s nickname?”

Oh no.
My stomach sank. Vance’s last name was Hawking, I remembered. But surely that wasn’t what the settlers wanted. I wore an earpiece—the earring kind again, so I knew Vance was listening. But revealing this code word meant betraying his people in a very big way. All he had to do was stay silent, and I’d be arrested. Or shot. Our entire operation would be buried before it even began. There was no sound in my earpiece except the muttering of soldiers in the background.

Please, Vance.

“Well, girl?” the boy said. He clicked something on his weapon and closed one eye as if to aim.

Please.

“His name was Sebastian Hawking,” Vance whispered, his voice hoarse. “His nickname was Iron Belt.”

Hiding my relief, I repeated the words. The boy looked surprised, but he lowered his gun and raised his radio to his lips. “She passed, Bert. Another one of Old Man Iron’s clan.”

The gate didn’t open immediately. I shivered for several minutes while he conferred with two men who had joined him. The three figures kept turning toward me, then talking some more.

I was about to speak when a section of the wall opened. It swung inward into blackness, revealing an opening just large enough for a person to slip through. The large gate had been a decoy.

I allowed myself a tiny shred of hope. If they were going to shoot me, at least it wouldn’t be here.

Several heartbeats later I made my way to the wall and stepped inside. It wasn’t three people who greeted me there but eight, all armed and suspiciously staring me down.

A woman stepped forward. “Hold your arms out. I’m checking you for weapons.”

“Sure,” I said and obeyed. She ran a detector across my arms and down to my feet. I held my breath, but it didn’t make a sound when it ran over the unlocking device in my pocket. Luckily Poly had insisted I come unarmed.

“Nothing registered,” she said.

“See? Told you she’d pass,” the boy said. “Can I take her in?”

The woman hesitated. “Valor, go with them. Keep your weapon trained on her, just in case. I’ll meet you inside.”

A balding man nodded and stepped forward. The boy barely seemed to notice and motioned for me to follow him. “I’m Lowry. My Uncle Drumlin’s the clan leader. Least, he was, before we combined. I guess our clan doesn’t really exist anymore.”

“This is huge,” I said with genuine awe at the settlement that opened up in front of me. Even in the darkness, I could see hundreds of dark structures. Cabins. They surrounded a huge building in the center. I’d never seen so many wooden buildings in my life. We used concrete and steel in NORA. I’d heard that some cities to the east had real trees, but I’d never seen them. Here, there was hardly anything in sight that
wasn’t
made of trees, a stark contrast to the modern wall that enclosed the place. The low rumbling of a generator grew louder with each step. The ground was packed hard from foot traffic, so it was much easier to walk here than in the forest.

“Four times larger than yours was,” the boy replied with a proud tone. “I’m supposed to take you to that center building. That’s the kitchen. Bet you’re excited to have real food after so long, right?”

“Absolutely,” I said, feeling the nervousness flare up again.
Uh-oh.

“I hoped they’d let you in right off. Red numbers are fine. It’s the ones with green numbers you have to watch out for, you know?”

“How long have you been here?” I asked, eager to change the subject.

“Almost a year,” he replied proudly. “Built two of these cabins with my dad. NORA doesn’t know it, but our buildings are lined with metal stolen from their own military base. We have fire extinguishers in each building, and every person has an air mask in case they try to use knockout gas. It’s crazy high-tech. This is the safest place for you, trust me.”

“Impressive. You really think NORA would attack you here?”

“My uncle thinks so, but I doubt it. They wouldn’t dare.”

“Lowry,” the older man, Valor, said from behind us. I had forgotten he was there. “Quit running that mouth of yours. She hasn’t been cleared yet, you know.”

“Sorry.” The boy shot me an apologetic look, then leaned closer and pointed to my forehead. “Does that thing hurt?”

I touched my Rating with one gloved finger. I didn’t even notice it anymore. “No.”
Yes. Every day, but not in the way you think.

“Weird. Well, they’ll probably take it out tomorrow, regardless. Here we are.” He headed

for a steel door in the north-facing wall of the largest building. Four short knocks and the door opened with a moan. A figure stood in the darkness of the opening.

“This is her,” Lowry said.

“Let’s get started,” a deep feminine voice said from the doorway, and she stepped aside, holding the door open for me. Her smile was forced, her eyes strained and tired. They’d probably woken her up for me.

“Doing what?” I asked.

“Why, your dinner. It should all come back to you pretty quickly. Assuming you are who you say you are.”

I forced my shoulders to relax. “That sounds great.”

The door slammed shut behind me.

21

W
hat’s
taking her so long?” someone grumbled. “She must be close enough by now.”

“They’re making her eat something,” I said, only half listening. I mentally kicked myself for not preparing her better. Of course they’d offer food. It was the best way to test a former settler. Treena wasn’t handling it well—she was choking like a goat trying to swallow an entire transport at once. “Chew carefully for twenty seconds, then swallow it just like a pill. Wash it down with water if you need to.”

The men in my charge stood there, shifting their weight from one leg to the other, muttering quietly to themselves. One of them shot me an icy glare. I stood a little straighter, meeting his expression. I was the youngest guy in the group, an Integrant, and a red—yet they were supposed to obey me. Blasted commander.

“Whoa there, honey,” the woman’s voice said over the feed. “Take smaller bites.”

“I’m sorry,” Treena responded, her mouth still full. “It’s just that it’s been so long—my jaw must’ve—ugh—forgotten how to chew.”

“Interesting.” The woman wasn’t fooled, and it was obvious in her voice. “I’ll take you to your room, then.”

“Thank you. It’s been a really long time since I’ve eaten.” Treena’s voice sounded a little off. “But my stomach hurts a little. Do you mind if I walk it off?”

“In that case, it’s straight to your quarters for you. There will be plenty of time to explore in the morning after you’ve rested. And after you’ve been cleared, of course.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“Your former clan will have to identify you.”

There was a pause. “That will be nice. Um, can I use your washroom really quick?”

“Our what?”

I cursed, straining to hear better.

“Uh, bathroom,” Treena said quickly. “Sorry, they had me trained pretty well.”

The woman’s voice hardened. “Just up these stairs.”

There was nothing on the feed for a while, then Treena thanked the woman. A door opened and closed. There was the sound of heavy breathing, then a big thud. Silence.

“Treena,” I whispered. “Are you all right?”

Another moment of quiet, and then the sound of heaving. Ah. So she hadn’t been faking her stomach sickness after all.

“What’s going on?” someone asked—a captain, by the bands of rank on his arm.

“She just needs a minute,” I said.

The captain grumbled something, but he sat back again to wait.

Soon a shaky voice came back on. “Sorry, Vance. Don’t know what came over me, but I’m ready now.”

“Are you sure? You can always—”

“Yeah, I can do this.” She coughed. “Here goes. Three. Two.”

“All units, ready,” I said, and the command was repeated down the ranks.

“One.” It was almost a whisper.

A buzzer sounded somewhere, and Murphy’s voice yelled over the feed, “Attack!” Suddenly the ground thundered with the sound of hundreds of heavy feet running through the darkness, all headed for the wall. Then the shouting began.

I looked longingly at the dark and welcoming forest. It would be so easy to slip away and hide. But if I did, my family would be executed. I was as much a prisoner here as I was within NORA’s borders.

The soldiers assigned to me watched me with dark expressions. They seemed to know what I was considering. Had the commander assigned them to me, or me to them?

It didn’t matter right now. I’d promised Treena protection this time. Our superiors had insisted that Treena enter unarmed, as there was no way a real refugee could have obtained a weapon. They obviously weren’t concerned about what would happen to her once her betrayal was discovered.

“On our way, Treena,” I said into the feed. “Just hold on.”

When we arrived, the wall was much higher than I’d imagined. The gate was still closed, and it buzzed loudly with electricity, causing the soldiers to slow down in confusion. A section of the wall stood open, just large enough to allow one person through at a time. I groaned. This would take forever.

A familiar click sounded above my head, and I froze. A dozen rifle barrels sat atop the wall, and one was aimed right at me.

I barely had time to spring out of the way before the shooting started. The thunder of bullets and screams of dying men echoed sharply across the sleeping forest. So much for the element of surprise. Amid the chaos of rifles and stunners exchanging fire, I saw that the thin doorway was closing now, shoved by men from the other side who had finally realized that the locking mechanism was disabled.

We didn’t have time for this.

I leaped over and shoved my way through just as it slammed shut. Surprised grunts were replaced with cries of pain as I let myself loose—a sweep to the leg, an elbow to the face, the crunching sound of breaking bone. A thud as someone fell, then another. And another. There were only two men holding desperately to the door now, both watching me wide-eyed, knowing they were next. One of them looked upward and shouted for help from their armed comrades.

I twisted around them, reaching instead for the solid metal lever above the shorter one’s head. It was similar to the one on NORA’s border wall, almost like they’d stolen the technology. I plunged it downward. The wall emitted a deep moan, and the buzzing of electricity sputtered and died. The two men stared at the lever, then at each other, and took off running and shouting just as the door burst open.

“The wall is clear,” I shouted. Only one of the gunners at the top of the wall remained, and he was facing the other direction. I took off at a sprint.

An alarm started to wail somewhere. If the gunshots hadn’t already awakened the sleeping settlers, the alarm would.

“Open this door, now!” the woman screamed through Treena’s feed.

“It won’t lock,” Treena said into the feed, her voice strained. “Must be the device jamming it like all the other locks. She’s going to kill me, Vance. Fates! I can’t hold this much longer!”

“Is there a window?” I asked, lengthening my stride.

“Well, yeah.”

“Prop something against the door,” I said, panting, “and then climb out the window. See if you can find handholds along the exterior of the building. I’ll be there in half a minute.”

“But Vance, I can’t—I’m not good at heights.”

“Do it now!” By the banging sounds on the feed, the woman was seconds away from pushing through. I checked behind me, surprised to see that my troops had gotten past the wall and followed. “Head for the center structure!”

“Okay,” she said in a tiny voice. She sounded sick again.

Around us, soldiers banged on smaller cabin doors. These people were well trained, though, and many answered with a rifle shot through a window. The few who did come out, bleary-eyed and confused, were stunned unconscious and now lay in a heap.

A figure jumped out from behind a building, fired a shot that struck one of my soldiers, and ducked out of sight again. A surge of pride filled my body before I remembered that resisting would only be more dangerous for them. It would be too easy for a soldier to “accidentally” slip the stunner into fatal mode and return fire. Even now I could see the crazed, murderous look in some of their eyes. I shouted, “Five men per cabin, but drag the stunned settlers to safety until the fighting stops. Remember that the cabins are probably connected underground. The rest of you, follow me!”

My orders were repeated through the ranks, and a few actually broke off and obeyed. I saw Treena immediately. She clung to the window frame, struggling to place a foot in the mortar between the logs but slipping with each attempt. A woman yelled out the window, fist shaking, and then she reached down as if to peel Treena’s fingers off her perch. I took aim and fired—one shot, and the woman spun backward and disappeared. Treena whirled around to see, nearly throwing her off the four-story building completely.

“Someone help her!” I yelled, frantically searching our equipment for another ladder—a wooden one, or a long object—but nothing was long enough. “We need some kind of net!”

Instead of obeying, a line of soldiers surrounded me on either side, gazing upward at the flailing girl, and one of them slowly raised his weapon. My eyes went to the window, but there was no one else there.

He took aim—right at Treena.

“Wait! Don’t shoot!”

He fired, but I swept his leg just in time, throwing him off balance. He landed flat on his back with a grunt. “What’s wrong with you?” I snapped. “She’s on my team!”

“Fates, just following orders!” the man gasped.

“I never told you to shoot her!”

The blast from the stun gun must have hit close because Treena lost hold of the windowsill with one hand. She swung precariously from the other hand before regaining her hold. Daymond finally jumped into action, twisting two rope ladders together to form a makeshift net, and tossed it to Ross. They stretched it taut below Treena’s desperate form.

I didn’t have time to watch, though. The fallen NORA soldier was getting up, and the others had noticed the scuffle. They circled me like carnivores before their prey.

“You’re not talking about my orders,” I said. “You’re getting them from someone else.”

“What kind of fool would follow a red?” a fat-nosed soldier asked, grinning down at me like a boy at mealtime. “At least you’re smart enough to understand that much.” He raised a fist, but my instincts took over. When he stepped forward for the punch, I gave him a swift kick to the knee, dropping him just before the guy behind me attacked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Treena let go.

“No!” I shouted, but Daymond and Ross were ready. They stretched the rope ladder as taut as it would go, and Treena fell perfectly into it, back first, spreading her weight out like a winged bat. She hit the ground, but the net seemed to have broken her fall just enough. She sat up right away, looking dazed but unhurt.

It distracted me just long enough for a couple of soldiers to grab my arms. I tried to whip around, but a third soldier wrapped his arm around my throat and put me in a headlock. I kicked backward to break away, but the arm tightened around my throat. My vision blurred, and I mentally kicked myself. Any idiot knew not to get distracted. These men weren’t sloppy smugglers but trained soldiers, hardened from decades of careful training.

The captain who’d pretended to relay my orders approached. “Stupid red. I hoped you’d give me a reason to do this.” With a smile that looked more like a grimace, he raised his gun and aimed it at my head.

“Stop!” Treena shrieked as she struggled to untwist herself from the net, but it was too late. The impact exploded into my brain like a transport train.