Dissidence (36 page)

“Being afraid doe
sn’t make you a disappointment. I
t makes you human. You don’t think everyone here is ready to pee their pants?” I can always count on Connor for a laugh.

“It makes me feel . . .” I sober as it dawns on me what it is I actually feel, “like a coward.”

That uncharacteristic, serious look creeps back onto Connor’s
face
, tightening his eyes as he shakes his head at me. “You’re a lot of things, Girlie
.
Strong, yes.
Funny, yes.
Stubborn,
definitely.
B
eautiful, hell yeah
.
B
ut a coward?
No. No way. You just need a little more confidence in yourself. If you could see what I see when I look at you, you wouldn’t have any doubt that you can do this. You can do anything.”

I glance at the clock on the wall over his shoulder to avoid the intense look in his eyes even as his words send a warmth coursing through my veins. It’s almost three o’clock. “Guess we’d better get moving.
Wouldn’t want to keep the President waiting.”

Everyone’s already there when we arrive. I notice Peter watching me as I drop into a chair
beside Connor, but I ignore him
and search for a good view of my favorite map. They’ve both agreed to let this . . .
situation
go for now, but that doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable.

“As of an hour ago, a plan has been set in motion,”
Syms
informs us, snapping my attention back to the group.

A plan’s been set in motion? Wait, what plan? Isn’t that something we should have discussed, I don’t know, maybe
before
it was ‘set in motion’?

“We’ve requested a meeting between Robert
Perman
and
myself
, and he’s agreed to meet at his offices at two p.m. the day after tomorrow.”

“The day after
tomorrow
?
”
That’s way too soon to have everyone ready.

“It’s the only time he claimed to be available, so we’re going to have to make it work.”
Easy for him to say.
“It’s the only way to be sure he’s in the building when you bring it down.”

“Bring it down?” Yes, I do realize I’m just repeating everything the man’s saying in the form of a question, like some kind of neurotic parrot, but what kind of plan is this?

“This,” one of
Syms
’ lackeys pulls a small metal object, no larger than a tennis ball
,
from a bag, “is a powerful explosive device. If placed correctly
,
it should be able to bring down the entire structure, with
Perman
inside.”

I’m finding it hard to believe that such a tiny thing could do so much damage.

“This is the detonator.” Next, he pulls out another chunk of metal, rectangular in shape this
time, with
what looks like a switch and button on it. It almost looks like a child’s toy in its simplicity, a very
dangerous
child’s toy. “You place the explosive, activate the detonator here, press the button, and . . .
ka
-boom.”

Well, that all seems too easy. So, what’s the catch?

“The explosive needs to be placed here.” He g
rabs the map of
Permatech
—my map—
and spreads it across the table in front of us. I knew that would come in handy. “This is the center support beam.”

He indicates a column at the exact middle of the map. Guess that makes sense. Of course, it couldn’t be further away from any of the doors.
Thus,
the catch
.

“How do you suggest we get the explosive in there?” I can’t see any easy access, and I’m guessing the place is likely to be crawling with soldiers.

“Our recommendation is that you approach this as a covert mission. Use an ambush outside as a distraction, and then focus your efforts on getting one or two people inside with the explosive. With any luck, the attack will draw all of
Perman’s
troops outside to defend the building, and it will be clear sailing once you’re in.”

“If we can get inside the bu
ilding, can’t we just shoot him
or something? Do we really need to bring the entire building down?” Connor makes a good point.

“Even if every other soldier in the place is outside fighting,
Perman
will still have his personal security team around him. Hopefully, they’ll stick close to his office on the fourth floor because of the threat outside, but if you’d rather risk trying to get through them to get to him instead of dropping an explosive in a vacant floor, then be our guest.”

‘
With any luck
’
,
‘
hopefully
’.
T
h
o
se are not words I really want to hear concerning our battle plan, but what the hell, we’ve gone on less before. I glance around the table at the others. They all look about as convinced as I am, but one after another
,
they each give a silent nod.

“All right, fine. We’re in.”
Syms
looks pleased with my agreement, as if we’re doing any of this for him.

They give us some more detailed instructions on how and where to use the explosive, and then hand over a small backpack with the bomb and detonator inside. I snag it before anyone else gets the chance, already knowing that it isn’t going to go over well, but tough. This is mine.

Chapter 34

There’s no time to spare
,
so we board the train and head back to L as soon as the meeting wraps up. By the time we get there, we’re all on edge. We’ve only got about sixteen hours to get everyone armed and ready to go.

We all work
late into the night
,
making
sure each person has a weapon
and knows what to expect. The sound of gunfire coming from the shooting range rings across the camp for most of the night. People are nervous. I don’t blame them, I’m nervous too. I’d be right out there with them if I didn’t already know that there’s no hope for my atrocious aim. I take a hand gun anyway, just in case, and tuck it into my belt. 

“Have you ever fired one of those before?” Peter teases.

“How hard can it be?” The first time we said those words seems like lifetimes ago. 

“I don’t know, but you make it look nearly impossible.”

“You’re hilarious. Who needs a gun when you can just knock ‘
em
dead with your wit?
”

“I
am
pretty witty. So, are you ready?”

“No, are you?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Oh good, we’re all set then.”

The sound of his laughter is oddly comforting, and I can’t help smiling. Why do we always find the most terrifying, absurd situations humorous? Clearly, we could both use some sleep.

“Hey, Leigh?”
Peter whispers as I curl up in a ball near the wall in the already crowded dorm. “It’s almost over.”

I nod at him, and watch as he lies d
own to sleep. ‘It’s almost over
’
.
I repeat his words to myself until I finally manage to do the impossible and fall asleep.

***

“Up and at
‘
em
.”

It’s Connor’s voice dragging me kicking and screaming back to the land of the conscious. 

“What time is it?” I ask groggily.

“Nearly six.
We’ve got three hours, so go and eat, and then give me a hand, would
ya
?”

“What time did you go to bed?” Dark circles shadow his eyes.

“A few hours ago.
I was helping some people out at the firing range.”

“Oh, sorry, I should have been helping you.”

“At the firing range?
No thanks,” he laughs. “There’s something else you can help me with
,
though.”

Oh yeah, laugh at me and then ask fo
r my help
.
What a dazzling display of common sense.
“What?”

“We need to start getting everyone on board. With this many people, it could take a while.”

“Sure. I wanted to try and get everyone situated in their groups before we left
,
anyway, so we wouldn’t have to worry about it once we get there.”

“But, hey,” he calls after me as I turn to go, “eat something first,
Girlie
.”

Connor chuckles at my eye roll a
s I leave the mother hen behind
and head for the station platform. The train has a few passenger cars as well as a half dozen cargo cars. For this trip
,
we’re going to need them all.

On the way back to L, it was decided that the workers should be divided up evenly between the nine of us. There isn’t enough time to get each individual pe
rson up to date with our plan—
not that we
really have much of a plan. But
at least this way everyone will have some sort of direction once we get there.

Peter shows up with the first group of workers meandering over from the eating area, and shoves a bowl in my hands. “Connor seems to think you won’t eat unless I make you.”

For crying out loud, I have bigger concerns than an empty stomach at the moment, like a bullet hole. I take a few bites just to placate him and then discard the bowl as more workers start arriving at the platform. Peter helps me get them all sorted out and situated. A few hours later, we’re just about ready to go when Connor turns back up. I really hope he took a nap, but somehow
,
I doubt it.

“How
ya
doin
'
, Girlie?”

“Fantastic.
Can’t wait to start getting shot at.”

“Oh yeah?
Me neither.”

“Guess we’d better get this show on the road
,
then.” Peter joins us looking more than a little harried, and I fail to suppress a laugh. “The
engineer
says we should get moving in a few minutes.”

As expected
,
the train is filled to capacity. Luckily,
Permatech
isn’t all that far, but it’s going to be a very cramped six hours. The three of us seek out a
few open seats
in one of the passenger cars and make ourselves comfortable. I don’t think anyone really knows what to say, so despite the sheer number of people in the car, the trip is one of the quietest I’ve been on so far. For over an hour, no one says a word as we
all stare absentmindedly out the windows
. I’m still having trouble believing this is actually happening, but the gun in my waistband is a constant reminder that it’s for real. After a while
,
I start driving myself crazy—
which is prone to happen when I’m left
to my own devices for too long—
so I’m thankful when Connor finally breaks the dreaded silence.

“This time tomorrow
,
we’ll all be free to do as we please.”

He doesn’t say it to anyone in particular, and no one responds, so it hardly turns out to be the conversation starter I was hoping for, but at least it’s given me something better to think about.
Freedom.
It’s hard to even imagine what it would be like to have a choice. What would I choose? I’ve never even considered it before. Where would I
want
to work? Where would I
want
to live?
Who
would I want to live with? Now I’ve come full circle, right back to another c
razy-
inducing topic. How am I ever supposed to make that choice?

The hours seem to crawl by, but at the same time
,
we arrive in what feels like no time at all. Hefting the pack, I let Connor pull me to my feet. He looks like he’s biting his tongue so hard that it may actually be painful.

“Oh just spit it out, Connor.”

“I don’t want you to go,” he blurts almost before the words have left my mouth.

“Du
ly noted.
Can we move now?”

“Yes.” Well, that was easier than expected.

“Good. I’ll take my team aroun
d the side and—
”

“I think
our teams should stick together.
”
I should have known better than to think I’d get out of this without a Peter lecture. “No offense, Leigh, but you’
re impossibly bad with that weapon.”