arbitrate (daynight) (36 page)

She puts on my shirt. It practically swallows her, she’s so tiny. But it’s still better than the flimsy slip. I grab a knife out of the kitchen and hand it to her. I hear some noise in the back. “We’ve got company. Let’s go.”
 

We reach the front door just as a half dozen guys come charging out of the back room. They pause when they see we are armed, and we’re able to rush out the door.
 

When Madison’s bare feet hit the hot pavement, she whimpers. “Ouch.” I pause long enough to make sure my backpack is secure and then scoop her up in my arms. Unlike the load on my back that is cutting into my shoulders, she’s light as a feather. I try to put some distance between us and the brothel, when I nearly collide with Bailey and Adam. They must have followed me here and are waiting in the path leading away from the house.
 

Bailey scowls at Madison and me. Sending Madison here was a revenge move on her part. I left Bailey to go after Kira’s kid, and she’s going to make me—and anyone I care about—pay dearly. In a low voice, I hurl two words at Bailey. “Failed payback.” I shift my gaze to Adam and bark, “If they come after us, run interference.” I hope that he hears the urgency in my voice and will help.

I make sure I have a tight grip on Madison, and I run.

Once I get a couple rope bridges behind us, I am able to slow the pace since no one seems to be following. The guys from Madame’s den of iniquity must have decided to let us go, or Adam slowed them down. With the sun up and a number of people still out and about this hour of the morn, Madame and crew would be idiots to pursue us.

“Clear the way,” I shout to those in our path. “Injured girl.”

We make it to the hospital without incident. I find Doc tending to a fisherman who got bit by a gator. “Doc. You let Bailey send her to a freaking whorehouse. Who is in charge of your security?”

He tells me where their undermanned force resides but tells me that it will hardly be worth security’s time to go after Madame and crew. That they’d likely moved their “shop” by now. When I insist he provide Madison with a full time bodyguard, he tells me that he doesn’t have anyone he’d trust to do it. He suggests I keep an eye out for her as long as I’m here.

Well, that’s all fine and good, but what the hell’s going to happen when I have to leave?
 

Five weeks prior: Military City

Every time I knocked
on that door I felt like I was playing Russian roulette. Would I win and get Jax, who I came for? My extremely cranky brother, Ethan? Or Kira—who with one look could heap a mountain of guilt on me? I got why she was annoyed with me. I was a crappy father. I figured it was genetic. The Blake didn’t fall far from the Hank or whatever.

When Jax answered, I breathed a sigh of relief. Until, I saw he was holding Aiden and had Zander in some sort of baby backpack.

“Here.” He shoved Aiden at me. The kid smelled like a cow pasture. There was no way I was letting that heap of toxic waste he was packing anywhere near me. I held him as far away as my arms would reach and scowled at his shirt that incorrectly said, “Daddy’s Boy.” Jax marched into the kitchen and in about five seconds flat had Zander out of the backpack and into a reclining chair with toys on it. He pulled some sort of pouch with frozen white stuff out of the freezer and put it in a cup of water. “There are diapers and baby wipes in the family room. I’ve got to feed Zander.”
 

Aiden was making terrible faces at me and looked like he would burst into tears at any moment. “Where’s Kira? Can’t she take care of this?” I dangled Aiden in front of Jax’s face. “I uh…can’t.”

Jax didn’t even look at me as he removed what was now white liquid out of the water and poured it into a bottle. “You can, and you will if you want my help. You take Aiden’s clothes off, remove the diaper, clean his bottom with the wipes, and then put the new diaper on. It’s not rocket science.”

I snarled at him and then took the wriggling package into the family room in search of the wipe things and a fresh diaper. Once I located the stuff, I tried to hold the kid with one hand while I took his pants off with the other. It wasn’t working too well, so I put Aiden on the floor. To even get to the foul smelling diaper, I had to unsnap his shirt. Why on Thera would they put snaps on a shirt? And I thought breaking into the Garden City mega-portal was going to be hard.

The diaper itself should’ve been simple, but it was strapped to the kid by industrial strength tape. While trying to dislodge it, I ripped off a big chunk of diaper and hundreds of clumpy, beady things went flying. The smell made me dry heave. To add insult to the destruction of my olfactory system, the moment I uncovered his mini-dong, Aiden decided to unleash a fountain of pee that hit me square in the eye.

I jumped backwards and away from the dangerous beast who was giggling at his accomplishment. I grabbed the container of wipes and attempted to clean up the damage that had been done to me. After I’d sufficiently scrubbed my eyes, I looked back at Aiden. He had managed to roll on to his stomach and completely out of his diaper. His crap-covered butt was sticking up into the air.
 

Perfect. Now I could reach the soiled area. “Do you have gloves?” I shouted to Jax.
 

“Nope.” He yelled back.
Fine
.
 

It took three quarters of the package of wipes, but I finally managed to remove any traces of brown. Putting the new diaper on was even harder than the wiping. The kid didn’t roll back over and was squirmy, so I had to try to hold him still while I tucked half the diaper under him and then fastened the tape.
 

Jax loomed over me with Zander, inspecting my handiwork and laughing heartily. “You put it on backwards.”

“Not my fault. He didn’t roll back over.”

He shook his head at me. “
You
could have turned him over.”

“Whatever. It wasn’t like I was going to do him any favors after he peed all over me. Now do you suppose we can get going? You promised that you’d take me to check out the Garden City mega-portal at daybreak.”

Rather than answering me, he put Zander down on the floor, fixed Aiden’s diaper, and dressed him. Then he got rid of the large pile of used wipes and the foul diaper. Afterwards, he scooped both Aiden and Zander up and disappeared. I took the opportunity to go scrub myself with soap in the kitchen sink.
 

Jax returned a few minutes later. He put a hand on my arm, and the kitchen faded out. What faded in was unexpected. We were on our stomachs in a highly confined space. Below our heads was a grate that allowed us a view of a very large round room below.
 

“The upper platform of the mega-portal handles the incoming. The lower handles the outgoing,” he whispered. At 0800 hours on a Sunnight, the traffic was light below. As far as I could see, there was no security on the platform itself. I’d have to guess that the platform could hold upwards of a few hundred people. A large ramp provided access to both the lower platform and outside.

After we’d checked out the upper platform, Jax moved us to the ducts above the lower platform.
 

“What about outside the portals? What’s security like there?”

Jax relocated us to a spot that was shielded by one of the tunnels. He pointed to a couple men with automatic rifles standing guard at a door into the space. “They make sure all travel in and out of here is authorized.”

He showed me various vantages along the entire path out through Garden City Headquarters. All told, there were a dozen or so guards on duty at all times.

“Are there mega-portals in every city?” I asked.

“Only here and Military City. Military City is very heavily guarded.”

“So what about the other cities?”
 

He looked hesitant to give me any information but finally gave in. “They’ve got two inter-Thera portals out and two portals in. There are armed guards at each checking papers, but the buildings are…less secure than here.”

Interesting. It appeared that the easiest way in would be by another Theran city.

Present

Madison and I sit
on a bench outside the Exiler Board commune, waiting for the meeting to start. Having missed dinner, I’m starving. And Madison hasn’t eaten since leaving the hospital. Those bastards didn’t even have the common decency to feed her. So I break into my pack to provide this poor wisp of a girl a decent meal. Beef jerky, dried fruit, and chocolate chip cookies are pure heaven compared to gruel and fish.

“Thank you,” she whispers, and I know she is talking about more than the food.

I smile. “It’s the least I can do. You’re looking a little malnourished.”

Red seeps into her cheeks. “I meant thank you for saving me, but I appreciate the food too. I warn you though…my metabolism’s out of control, so it won’t matter how much food you stuff me with. I’m still going to look like a twelve-year-old skeleton.”

It’s my turn to sport some clown cheeks. Although the girl is small, she doesn’t look remotely twelve. She’s stunning. Her guarded, chocolate-brown eyes are huge and framed by thick dark lashes. Her lips are full, and she has pronounced cheekbones. And her tiny body has some lovely curves that were way too apparent under that slip she was forced to scrub floors in. Thank goodness Doc managed to find some clothes for her to wear at the hospital. I have my shirt back on, which smells sweet and fruity.

I take a deep breath and try to slow my racing heart. After everything she has been through, she needs a protective big brother, not someone trying to put the moves on her. “I don’t think you have to worry about looking twelve. And you’re welcome to eat as much of my food as you can get down.”

She suddenly turns serious and her eyes get a little glassy. “How am I going to stay here, Blake? This isn’t like Western City where they issued me a gun. How can I protect myself?”

“I’ll protect you.” My words feel shallow as they leave my mouth.

Madison lowers her head and shakes it. “You’ll leave again, and then I’ll be on my own like I always have been. Can you teach me how to fight?”

It takes effort to keep from smiling, but I do. I don’t want her to think that I’m making light of her dire situation. There’s no way—even with the best of self-defense training—that she’d have a chance against guys like the ones who planned to rape her at Madame’s. Perhaps I could leave her the Taser? Or force Doc to take her in. Then again, with Bailey living in the commune, Madison would be at equal risk there. It won’t matter to Bailey that I’m not pursuing Madison. It only matters that I spent more time with Madison than Bailey on my last visit. And Bailey can’t stand to not be the center of attention.

I don’t directly answer her question. “I will figure out a way to keep you safe.” I check my watch and see that it is 2258 hours. The meeting starts in two minutes. “I’ve got to get in there.”

“Do I need to wait out here?” She looks terrified.

“No, of course not. I told you I was going to keep you safe. I just meant that they’re expecting me in there.”

I usher her in by putting my hand on the small of her back, and I have her take a seat in the kitchen. The board will discuss matters in the spacious “communal” room.

Doc claps me on the back. “Your timing couldn’t be better, Blake. We’re ready to make our move on those SCI bastards.”

I look at him like he has lost a few too many brain cells in his advanced age and cup my hand around my ear. Why is he so openly discussing things when he knows the SCI listens in on everything?
 

“We can talk freely, Blake. We have got ourselves an electronics genius on the board now—Ollie Burns. He ‘relocated’ all the listening devices within 500 feet of here to the other side of town.”

“And you are sure he got them all? That seems pretty risky to assume.” I don’t plan to say anything that could have Brad scheduling my execution date. Where’s Jax when I need to make sure a conversation stays private?

“Yes, he’s sure.”
 

Bailey’s glaring at me from across the room. Adam’s making patterns on her leg with his finger. I’m sure it’s something akin to, “Mine. Mine. Mine.” I wink at him, and he scowls in return which makes me laugh. Why doesn’t he get that I don’t want her anymore? He can have her and all the drama that comes with her. I do feel kind of guilty that I haven’t warned him about what happens “post” relationship.

Doc stands up to address the crowd. “We’re here this morn to discuss the timing of our invasion of Garden City.”

I wait for the explosion. Surely Brad will blow this place sky high if he heard that. But there’s nothing. Maybe “Ollie” is as good as he claims to be at “bug” extermination.

Doc pulls out a map that he has drawn on the back of a supply box. “From the intel that Blake has given us, we know that the portal leads to here—the mega-portal in Garden City.” I look around the room, wondering which direction the missile will hit from. Instead, my eyes land on Jax. He gives me a quick nod and I mouth, “Thank you” to him. I can’t believe that Doc’s gotten so careless. Even if the listening devices have been moved, Brad’s hired moles could lurking in the shadows.

The board’s plan is solid but not foolproof. Send the best fighters through the portal. Disable the guards. Bring the rest of the Exilers through. Take out the portal so that the troops can’t arrive from Military City. And then storm headquarters, performing a coup on the SCI government in the process.

I point out the holes. The lax security that I saw at the mega-portal previously has definitely been increased. Plus, Brad is already worried about the Exilers trying to invade and likely has some contingency plans in place. By sending in our best fighters up front, they could all be mowed down, leaving the rest of the Exilers vulnerable. If Brad gets wind of the plans, he could decide to blow Art City to kingdom come. And while Brad has a wide variety of weaponry at his disposal, the Exilers do not.

Jax pulls me into the kitchen to talk to me.

“I can’t involve myself, but I just want to express my deepest concerns.”