Outcasts (33 page)

They rounded the landing for the fourth floor and continued down.

“There aren’t as many cameras in the Midlands,” Omar said, “and Zane can switch them on and off.”

“Then tap Zane,” Mason said, as they rounded the third floor landing. “We’re going to need his help.”

“I can’t without a ghoulie tag.”

Mason sighed and dug in his pack until he found the little metal box. He opened it and found a thick silver ring. “Put this on and see if it will work.” He handed the ring to Omar, who slid it onto the middle finger of his right hand.

“SimTalk: tap: Zane,” Omar said.

Mason held his breath, praying it would work.

“Hay-o, yourself,” Omar said, continuing down the stairs. “Yeah, we need your eyes.”

Good. Mason slowed a little and pulled out his portable Wyndo. He used the Friend-Finder to look up Ciddah’s location, moving slowly down to the second floor landing as he read the screen. Her SimTag was at 79 Summit Road, which was on the southeast edge of the Highlands, near the top curve of the bell. He tapped to identify the location as he started down the last flight of stairs. The address came up unregistered.

Was that allowed in the Safe Lands?

Perhaps it was a private residence of some kind, secluded from the rest of the city. Lawten’s home, maybe? If so, what did he want with Ciddah?

Next he used the Friend-Finder to locate Ciddah’s parents. They were home.

“What are you doing?” Omar asked.

Mason looked up to see his brother waiting at the bottom of the stairwell. “Attempting to locate Ciddah.”

“I thought you didn’t trust her.”

“That was … before.” He didn’t like not knowing where she was, whether or not she was okay.

Omar turned away and cupped his hand over his ear. “Zane says enforcers are out front, but the back is clear. He says to go to the train station on Snowmass and Washington Gulch.”

“That’s quite a walk,” Mason said.

“Yeah, well, he says enforcers are all over downtown, and this is our best bet.”

They pushed out the door and ran through the night. They crossed Gothic Road, which was always the busiest road in the Highlands.

“Slow down,” Omar said. “Zane says we’ll only call attention to ourselves it we’re running.”

Happy to. Mason wasn’t nearly as physically fit as his little brother. “We have to take the train to Midlands West,” Mason said. “Tell Zane. We need to get Ciddah’s parents into hiding. Lawten has been using them against her, and she’ll keep doing what he asks until she’s certain they’re safe.”

“Are you crazy? Levi will turn purple.”

They passed down an alley to Snowmass Road, which had far less traffic, and Mason relaxed a little. “There’s nothing he can do once we arrive. We need to get to them before Lawten does.”

“Maybe he already has. Have you thought of that?”

Mason wished Omar would stop arguing. “I used the Friend-Finder on my portable Wyndo. Both Droe and Losira are at home.”

Omar grabbed Mason’s arm and stopped him in front of a Lift shop. “You didn’t sleep with her, did you, brother? ‘Cause, Mase, that’s how I got the thin plague. You might be infected.”

The accusation flustered Mason. He pulled free from Omar’s grasp. “I have not been intimate with Ciddah.” Though he had been careless. One should not be able to contract a blood-borne disease from kissing, but it was certainly possible. “Lawten has been blackmailing her. I simply want to help her.” Mason kept walking.

Omar quickly caught up. “That guy is the lowest kind of maggot.”

“Yes, well — ”

“So you’re rebel scum now, brother. Just like me.” Omar grinned and punched Mason’s arm.

“There’s more,” Mason said, pausing to look both ways before crossing Rebon Street. “I saw Penelope today. They’re moving her into the harem next week, so we made a plan to get them out tomorrow night. But I still have no method of getting into the nursery.”

“I got that covered, Mase,” Omar said, “but I’m going to need you to help me convince Levi.”

“Of what?

“I promised Kendall Collin I’d get her baby too when we went for our kids. She’s been to the nursery and wants to help. She knows the layout.”

Excellent. “That’s most encouraging. Why would Levi refuse her assistance?”

“Because she’s a flaker like me. In case you missed it, Levi doesn’t like flakers.”

Mason winced at Omar’s tone. Clearly Levi had failed to mend his relationship with Omar. The train station came into view in the distance. Almost there. “Levi can’t afford to be selective. Why didn’t Kendall Collin take her offer to Levi? Or Jemma?”

“I don’t know. I guess we kind of became friends.”

Mason raised his eyebrows. “Kind of? What about Shaylinn?”

Omar punched Mason’s arm again. “Not
that
kind of friend. Walls, you’re prude, Mase, you know that?”

“I do. Ciddah and Rimola are always quick to remind me.”

“So, you really like that doctor woman?” Omar asked. “What do you think Levi will say?”

“Levi’s not going to like having to worry about Kendall’s child,” Mason said, changing the subject as he headed up the steps to the train platform and locker 127.

Omar kept pace beside him. “Yeah, but if you side with me, he has to agree.”

Kendall had always been a nice girl. And Mason felt bad that the Safe Lands had taken her baby. But he didn’t want to put himself in the middle of an argument between Levi and Omar. “We’ll see.”

L
evi stood behind the island in the kitchen of Zane’s house, observing the people in the living room. Almost everyone had arrived: Beshup and the other four men from Jack’s Peak, Jordan, Jemma, Ruston, and Nash. Some were sitting in the circle of chairs, some were standing and talking to each other. Zane, Mason, and Omar should have been there by now. But Ruston had told Levi that Zane was down in the nest, helping Levi’s brothers escape enforcers in the Highlands.

Mason and Omar’s leaving the grid had not been part of the plan. His brothers were not skilled hunters or fighters, and Levi wasn’t convinced Zane would be enough to help them evade enforcers. What could have happened that they needed to flee?

Beshup and Mukwiv approached the island. Levi had been trying to stay away from the Jack’s Peak men, distancing himself from another debate. He slipped around the opposite end of the island to where Ruston and his son Nash were standing by the fireplace. Levi stopped beside them.

“What’s up?” Nash looked like Zane, with dark hair, pale skin, and deep-set eyes. But Nash had both ears and his skin wasn’t flaking. Thin plague free, perhaps? Levi wondered how Nash was dealing with
his little brother leaving their underground community and becoming a flaker.

“Trying to avoid another confrontation,” Levi mumbled.

But Beshup and Mukwiv were not to be discouraged and followed Levi to the fireplace.

“I’ve been thinking,” Beshup said, edging into the space between Nash and Levi. “We are six men, you are four. Together we have ten. If we split our number between the school, the nursery,
and
the harem — ”

“We’ll have too few.” Levi wasn’t going to alter the plans at this late hour. They were sketchy enough as it was.

“Then why not focus on the harem first?” Mukwiv suggested. “With our women free, we’ll have more than enough warriors to take back the children.”

Levi gave the man the same answer he’d given him before. “If you’d like to take your men to the harem, go right ahead, but without Jack’s Peak’s help, it’ll be difficult to know if we have all your kids. I don’t know what they look like.”

“I thought we were freeing all the children,” Ruston said. “No sense leaving any to be brainwashed further.”

Now this again. It seemed everyone had their own “pet agenda,” as Zane had called it. “How could we free all the children with so few of us?”

“Our women could help,” Beshup said, one eyebrow raised in his calm and silent defiance.

Beshup was really getting on Levi’s nerves. “This is not open for discussion.”

Mukwiv crossed his arms and grunted the way Chief Kimama was known for. “You are not the chief of Jack’s Peak.”

“And you’re not the rebel leader, either,” Ruston said. “You can’t pull this off without my help, so I get a say in who gets rescued.”

Disagreement from all sides. Levi couldn’t take this much longer. Silently, he recited the verse Jemma gave him to help him stay calm.
Refrain from anger, turn from wrath.
“Trying to free all the children makes everything more — “ Raised murmurs pulled his gaze to the
entrance, where Mason had just come inside with a strange man and woman who looked to be in their late thirties. Safe Landers. Levi could tell from their skin. Omar was the last to enter, and he shut the door behind them. All four were carrying suitcases.

“What’s this?” Ruston asked, the tone of his voice incredulous.

Levi couldn’t believe his brothers would bring strangers here, and Omar’s swollen eye concerned him. “I have no idea. Why would the guards let them pass?”

“The guards trust Omar,” Nash said.

Levi and the men crossed the room, and by the time they reached the front door, Zane had exited the top of the basement stairs and greeted Mason and Omar with smiles.

“Wasn’t sure you were going to make it there for a bit,” Zane said.

“What happened to your eye?” Levi asked Omar.

“Otley.”

What? “How did — ”

“Levi.” Mason beamed like this was some sort of celebration. “This is Droe and Losira. They’re Ciddah’s parents.”

Ciddah? The medic? “Mason, I don’t — ”

“Their SimTags?” Ruston pushed to the front of the group.

“I removed them and left them in their house,” Mason said. “They want to go into hiding. Ciddah wanted to come too, but Lawten took her. I have no idea why.”

“I told yoouuuu.” Losira smiled like she knew a secret, and her voice was twice as loud as need be. “He loves her. No matter what other femmes he takes into his life, he keeps coming back to my girl.”

Mason scratched the back of his neck, forehead creased. “I think it’s because she found out something. It’s been rumored that Lonn was fired from being a medic and arrested because he discovered something the Guild didn’t want anyone to know, right?”

“That’s one theory,” Ruston said. “What did Ciddah uncover?”

“There’s a stimulant in the ACT meds,” Mason said.

A grumble rose in the small room. Levi hadn’t realized everyone
had crowded around Mason and his mystery guests. Was he the only one in the room who didn’t understand what his brother had just said?

“Can you prove that?” Ruston asked.

“Yes,” Mason said. “We mixed my blood with the meds and tested it on a blood meter. The result was Xiaodrine.”

“That’s prescribed for obesity, I believe,” Droe said.

“Really? I’ve never heard of it. Before we learned the result, enforcers showed up and took Ciddah. So I wasn’t able to talk with her about it. I think they knew what we were doing. She told me they were listening, and we tried to be careful, but … If we can find out what Lonn was arrested for, I think it might provide a clue as to whether Ciddah and I were on the right track.”

“I’ll tap my peer in the enforcers now.” Zane limped away from the group and down the stairs.

“Lonn never confided anything like this to you?” Mason asked Ruston.

“Lonn didn’t trust many people,” Ruston said. “In the end, he and Bender were closer than anyone.”

This was madness. They couldn’t afford to waste time trying to solve some mystery of the past when they had a rescue mission to plan. Levi squeezed Mason’s arm. “Can I talk to you for a minute, brother?”

“Talk
to
me or
at
me?” Mason said.

Levi dragged him after Zane, stopping on the landing halfway down the stairs, hoping they wouldn’t be overheard. “What
is
this?” he asked, keeping his voice low. “Bringing two flakers to the rebel meeting? I thought you were the smart one.”

Mason visibly stiffened at Levi’s rebuke. “I had to. Once Ciddah finds out they’ve gone into hiding, she’ll know that Lawten doesn’t hold anything over her.”

“How? What if he tells her he took them and that he’s keeping them somewhere else?” Had Mason even thought this through? And why did he care what the task director general did to the medic?

His brother paled, combed his hands into his hair, and gripped it
like he might try to pull some out. “I didn’t think of that. Everything happened so fast.”

It wasn’t like Mason to do something so rash. “I wish you would have asked me first, brother.” Now they had no one officially on grid.

“But there was no time.” Mason slid his hands down to his face and rubbed it. “If I hadn’t left my tag and hid, they would’ve caught me too. I’d be in the RC right now.”

Omar slipped down the stairs to join them. “You should trust Mason. He always does the right thing.”

“I do,” Mason said. “I try, anyway. But not tonight. I’m going after Ciddah, Levi. And once she’s safe, I can think about everyone else. But until then — ”

“Whoa! You can’t go anywhere,” Levi said. “Do you even know where she is?”

“Seventy-nine Summit Road,” Mason said.

“That’s Champion House,” Zane said, coming back up the stairs. “The home of the task director general of the Safe Lands. It’s a fortress. No one can get in there.”

“Lawten’s house,” Mason mumbled, then his face hardened. “I’ll find a way.”

Levi had never seen Mason so agitated. What had come over his bookworm brother? “Let’s relax a bit, have our meeting, and once everyone leaves, we’ll talk this out, okay?”

“I’m not going to let you talk me out of it, Levi.” Mason lowered his voice. “I love her.”

That confession hit Levi like a bucket of ice water. “That’s just perfect.” Levi paced up a few steps, then returned to the landing. “What’s wrong with you?” What was wrong with everyone? It was impossible to lead people who did whatever they wanted. How had Papa Eli done this for so many years?

Mason’s expression was intense yet apologetic. “I didn’t mean to, brother. It just happened. I had planned to ask for your blessing in front of the elders — ”