Outcasts (7 page)

Kendall paled. “Kill me?”

“I know you’re not a murderer, Kendall. So if you have Chord’s messages, I figure you have a good reason.”

“I have them,” Kendall said, her eyes glossy with tears.

Shaylinn breathed out a sigh, hoping Bender would leave Kendall alone once he had the messages in his possession. “Can I have them? To give to Bender?”

Kendall’s bottom lip trembled. “When I found Chord, he’d been attacked. With his dying words he asked me to deliver the messages to the addressees and no one else. I think Chord knew someone else would come looking.”

“Maybe Bender is worried the addressees will be exposed to enforcers,” Shaylinn said. “Maybe he’s just trying to protect his rebels.”

“Maybe Bender killed Chord.”

What a terrible thought. “Why would he do that? He’s a good guy.”

“Anyone who threatens to kill someone is not a good guy.”

Yeah. Good point.

“I’ve had the messages for three days,” Kendall said, “trying to decide if I should deliver them or destroy them. Let’s read them.”

“That seems a little nosy,” Shaylinn said.

“It’s the only way we’ll find out the truth.” Kendall walked to her refrigerator and opened the freezer. She removed the ice bin and dumped its contents into the sink. Then she peeled a plastic bag off the bottom of the bin and left the bin in the sink.

She carried the bag to the kitchen table and sat down. Shaylinn pulled out the chair beside hers and sat too. It felt good to get off her feet. The high-heeled shoes were painful after wearing them too long.

Kendall opened the plastic bag and set four messages on the glass
tabletop. “Three are private residences. But this one” — she tapped the message addressed to a Ruston Neil — “is an MO Box from my branch.”

“What’s the difference?” Shaylinn asked.

“This Ruston doesn’t get mail at a residence. He picks it up at the messenger office.”

Shaylinn read the names on the envelopes: Ruston Neil, Dane Skott, Domini Bentz, and Charlz Sims. “I know Charlz’s name. He helped Omar get Levi and Jemma out of the RC.” And it had earned him an X after his number, same as Omar.

“Let’s open that one first, then.” Kendall ripped open the envelope and removed a single white card. There were only three lines of text.

Want freedom?
We have answers.
Cinetopia, Theater 9.

“Sounds subversive,” Kendall said. “If Chord was involved in some rebel cause … that might explain his death. People who rebel in the Safe Lands don’t rebel for long. As Luella Flynn would say, ‘Rebels are a blemish that must be painted over.’ ”

“Chord was a rebel,” Shaylinn said, feeling as though that supported Kendall’s theory. “And theater nine is where we meet — the rebels, I mean. To talk about our plans. I bet this is an invitation for Charlz to join the rebels.”

“So this Bender man wants to kill me in case I might expose his potential recruits?” Kendall asked. “That doesn’t seem like adequate motive.”

“Let’s open the others,” Shaylinn said, curious if they were all the same.

The messages to Dane Skott and Domini Bentz were identical to the one addressed to Charlz Sims, but the message to Ruston Neil was totally different.

“Bender must have killed Chord,” Kendall said. “What are we going to do?”

Shaylinn’s head tingled. So did her arms. Hot and cold all at once. Bender kill Chord? She jumped up and trotted toward the door. “I have to go! I have to tell Jordan and Levi.”

“Wait!”

Shaylinn reached the door and slammed her glove to the SimPad. It swung inward, but Kendall arrived and pushed it shut.

“What are you doing?” Shaylinn pounded her fist against the SimPad again, tears blurring her vision. “Let me out! If Bender killed Chord, he could kill any of us. Whenever he wants! I have to warn them!”

But Kendall closed the door again and this time took hold of Shaylinn’s shoulders. “Just think for a minute, Shaylinn. Please. We have to be very careful and very smart. If Bender sent you here, he
could be outside, watching. If you go running out of here, upset like you are … It will look bad, okay?”

“Okay.” Shaylinn scanned the room, wishing there were another exit, but Kendall’s words slowly sank in. She took a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Come back and sit at the table so we can decide what to do.”

Shaylinn obeyed, rubbing her eyes as she clomped across the kitchen. She fell onto the chair and took another huge breath. “What if we delivered them but kept copies of the messages. We’d need new envelopes, and we’d have to make them look as dirty and rumpled as these. But I could take the copies to Bender, and you could mail the real ones.”

“I don’t know.” Kendall paced to the fridge and back to the table. “What if we get caught? If Bender never delivers any of the messages, then these people show up at your theater meeting with the original letters …”

Good point. “Then we’ll make new envelopes and give these originals to Bender.” Shay gathered the recruitment cards. “But we need to deliver the original letter to Mr. Neil and give Bender a copy. That’s the only way to make Bender leave you alone and still honor what Chord risked his life for.”

Kendall stared at the letter to Ruston. “I suppose. But won’t Ruston’s letter expose Bender? If Bender gets proof that Chord saw him and wrote a letter telling someone, he might assume that Chord told others as well. And if he thinks any rebels know about his deal with Otley, he might — ”

“Tell Otley where my people are hiding!” Or worse, kill them. That left only one option that Shaylinn could see. “So we give Bender the three recruitment letters and that’s it. But we also have to go to Levi right away and hope he can come up with a plan before Bender betrays us all.”

Y
ou sent her where?” Levi fought to bottle his anger —
Refrain from anger, and turn from wrath
— but the careless look on Bender’s face almost put him over the edge. They were in the main room in the underground bunker. Levi had brought Bender and Rewl in for a quick discussion about recruiting Omar’s friends Charlz Sims and Dane Skott, but instead had found Jemma in hysterics over her missing sister.

Bender had confessed straight away, as if his forcing Shaylinn to work for him was no big deal. “You worry too much.” Bender leaned back on the sofa and set his arms along the top. “The girl is stronger than you think.”

“That’s not the point.” Levi tapped his chest. “Where my people are concerned,
I say
, not you.”

“Where did you send her?” Jemma asked, her voice quavering.

“We set her up in her own apartment next door to Kendall Collin’s place,” Bender said. “I need someone Kendall trusts to be the one spying on her.”

Levi motioned to his brother, who sat at the table, vapo stick hanging from his lips. “I sent Omar to spy on her.”

“She’s got a bird,” Omar said. “It sits in her window and sings.”

“Omar won’t get the answers we need,” Rewl said. “My sources tell me Kendall doesn’t trust men.”

“Go to Kendall’s place and bring back Shay,” Levi said to Omar.

Omar nodded and stood, exhaling a cloud of black vapor. “On my way.”

“There’s no need.” The soft voice drew Levi’s gaze to the door. A woman stood there, wearing a glimmering silver tank top, black half-gloves, tight black pants, and silver shoes with spiky heels. Her hair hung to her waist, long and straight like a horse’s mane and streaked with strands of silver.

Who in all the lands was this? And how had she gotten in?

“Shay!” Jemma set her hand over her heart.

“Walls,” Omar said, his eyes round.

Shaylinn?
Really?
Levi squinted at her as she thumped across the room, unsteady on those ridiculous shoes. Her eyes were green and she’d changed her hair. And he could hardly even look at what she was wearing, but, yes, her face was there. Little Shaylinn, looking far too grown up.

“Red cleaned her up nicely, don’t you think?” Rewl smirked, his eyes locked onto Shaylinn’s body in a way that made Levi want to throw him out into the storm drain.

“Red did this?” Omar said, still staring at Shaylinn.

Shaylinn stopped before Bender and tossed three messages onto his lap. “Kendall didn’t deliver them. Chord asked her to, but she was too scared. She was keeping them in her freezer. When I asked about Chord, she gave me the letters. Will you leave her alone now?”

“Of course.” Bender shuffled through the stack. “This was it?”

“Yes. I hope they were worth it. You scared me and Kendall practically to death.”

“Oh, they were worth it, femme.” Bender smiled up at Levi. “I told you this one has talent. We could use her to — ”

Levi grabbed the front of Bender’s shirt and pulled him to the edge
of the sofa. “You talk to my people again behind my back and … we’re done. You get me?”

The click of a gun cocking stiffened Levi’s spine.

“No!” Jemma yelled.

Rewl had pulled a handgun — what looked like a real one, not a stunner — and had aimed it at Levi. “Let him go.”

Levi shoved Bender back against the sofa cushions and glared at Rewl, wondering if the kid could shoot. “Omar, show Bender and Rewl to the door, will you? It’s time for dinner.”

“You know what? I’m ready to go, anyway.” Bender stood and walked toward the door. “Thanks, Miss Shaylinn.”

Shaylinn glared at Bender, and Jemma wrapped her in a hug.

Omar got up and followed Bender, staring at Shaylinn until he nearly walked into one of the tables. Rewl kept his gun pointed at Levi as he waited for his boss.

Levi pretended he wasn’t looking and sat on the couch, but he watched out of the corner of his eye until they were gone. Then he tore into Shaylinn. “What were you thinking?”

Shaylinn folded her arms. “He threatened to kill Kendall if I didn’t help him.”

“I don’t care who he threatened or — ”

“She’s my friend, Levi,” Shaylinn said. “I knew he was tricking me.” She glanced at the door as Omar returned and locked it. “Bender and Red both tricked me. But I didn’t see any other way. And you should know something about Bender. He — ”

Levi jumped up from the couch and clapped his hand over Shaylinn’s mouth. “Not here,” he whispered. Their gazes locked, and Levi raised his eyebrows until Shaylinn nodded. He released her and turned to face the table. “Omar, we’re going out. Shaylinn, go change. You’re coming with us but not dressed like that. Is there a SimTag in those gloves?”

Her face paled. “Yes. But Bender said it wouldn’t show up underground.”

“Probably a ghoulie tag,” Omar said.

Levi sighed. Bender said a lot of things. “Give me the gloves.” He walked over to Shaylinn and waited for her to take them off. “Naomi? Tap Jordan, please. Tell him we’ve got Shaylinn and to meet us at Café Eat.”

“What about dinner?” Jemma asked.

“Eat without us, Buttercup. We’ll be awhile.”

Levi, Omar, and Shaylinn all put on pairs of gloves that held ghoulie tags, which were SimTags Zane made that reflected numbers on their cheeks and hands but were off-grid. And just in case, Levi tossed the lace gloves Bender had given Shay into a dumpster.

When they arrived at the café, Jordan and Zane were already eating at a table in the back corner. Levi, Omar, and Shaylinn joined them, and within seconds, the waitress appeared.

“Where were you?” Jordan asked Shaylinn. “And what happened to your hair?”

“In a minute,” Levi said, nodding at the waitress. “First, let us order.”

Jordan fell back in his chair and shoved a handful of fries into his mouth, while Levi and Omar ordered burgers and fries and Shaylinn ordered a salad.

“Back in three or it’s free,” the waitress said, walking away.

“Jordan, you can talk with Shaylinn later about what she did,” Levi said, knowing Jordan would want to discipline his sister. “Right now, we need to address how it happened and what she found out. Bender came into the bunker when he knew Shaylinn was alone, and he tricked her into helping him spy on Kendall Collin.”

“That cud-chewing maggot.” Jordan glared at Shaylinn. “How’d he trick you?”

Shaylinn cowered a little under her brother’s glare. “He said he thought Kendall had Chord’s messages and that he was going to have Rewl kill her in case she was working with Otley. I knew he was talking
down to me, but I didn’t see any other way to save her. So I volunteered to see what she knew.”

“He tried to scare you,” Zane said. “Fear is one of Bender’s favorite methods.”

“And the rest of the story?” Levi said, eager to know himself. “Tell us what you found.”

Shaylinn glanced at Zane. “Are you sure?”

“I trust Zane.” There was really around 1 percent doubt in Levi’s mind as to Zane’s loyalties, but he had to trust someone in this place, and Zane had yet to let him down. “We’re here to ask his advice on all this. Tell us what happened.”

“Kendall and I couldn’t figure out why Bender wanted the messages. So we decided to open them.” Shaylinn reached into her back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “There were actually four messages. Three of them were rebel recruitment cards. But the other one was a letter from Chord. We put the recruitment messages into new envelopes, and I gave them to Bender. But not this one.” She held up the paper.