Allies (10 page)

“I don’t need him to convince me of anything,” Tom burst out. “I’m sick of this. It’s the same thing over and over again. You lose all our money, and I miss school and have to deal with Ms. Falmouth. I bet this is why—” He stopped talking.

He’d almost said it. That dark thought, the one he never voiced.

I bet this is why Mom left us.

It took Neil a moment to speak, as though he’d heard the phantom words. “This is not the only way we have to live. If you’re tired of this, we’ll settle somewhere. You don’t have to join them. Next win and I’m done.”

Tom closed his eyes, blood beating in his head. There would never be a “next win.” And even if there was, it wouldn’t be enough, and the next win would be gambled away just as quickly as the other ones. He’d heard this all before. His dad would never give up this life. The promise was worthless. And Tom would be worthless, too, if he didn’t get away while he had the chance.

“I don’t have
to join the military, Dad. I
want
to.” He opened his eyes and approached it from his father’s perspective. “Is it the money thing? My salary will be in a trust, but I get a living allowance. I can send some along. I can help you out.”

Why was Neil looking at him like he’d stabbed him or something? They both knew Tom was the one paying for their rooms lately.

Neil’s jaw clenched. “Fine. Fine, Tom. I’ll sign whatever blasted form you want. You want to throw your life away? Want to pledge yourself to the corporate war machine?”

“Yes, Dad. I want to pledge myself to the corporate war machine.” Tom’s voice grew ferocious. “It’s my choice.”

“It’s your mistake.”

“Maybe. But it’s
mine
.”

Neil yanked the consent form from Tom’s hands. “This isn’t how teenaged rebellion’s supposed to go. You’re supposed to shock me by doing something scandalous. Not by joining the establishment.”

“This is about as scandalous as I’m going to get, Dad. Sign the form.”

“I’d rather you got a tattoo.”

Neil scrawled his signature on the form and handed custody of Tom over to the US military.

L
ATER IN THE
afternoon, General Marsh returned to collect the contract—and his newest recruit.

“Mr. Raines, you have no need to worry about Tom while he’s with us. We’ll take good care of your boy.” Marsh offered Neil a hand to shake.

Neil stared back at him with stony hatred. He ignored Marsh’s hand and instead reached out to envelop Tom in a rough, parting hug.

“Tom”—Neil ruffled his hand in Tom’s hair—“whatever happens, you take care of yourself. Got it?”

“Got it.”

Tom couldn’t help wondering at the look on his dad’s face when he walked away. Neil stared after him like he was sure this was the last time they’d ever see each other.

About the Author

S. J. Kincaid was born in Alabama, grew up in California, and attended high school in New Hampshire. She also interned for a politician in Washington, DC, and received degrees from universities in Illinois and Ohio, but it was while living beside a haunted graveyard in Edinburgh, Scotland, that she realized she wanted to be a writer. Several years, several manuscripts, and several jobs later, Ms. Kincaid now lives in Chicago, and
Vortex
is her second novel in the Insignia trilogy. You can visit her online at www.sjkincaid.com.

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Also by S. J. Kincaid:

Insignia

Vortex

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Copyright

Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Copyright © 2013 by S. J. Kincaid

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

EPub Edition © APRIL 2013 ISBN: 9780062285096

ISBN: 978-0-06-228509-6

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