DAY
June has a plan.
That is to say, I hope to hell that June has a plan because if she doesn't we're in trouble. Right now she's sitting across from me on the cold mettle floor looking for all the world like a woman at a state dinner, rather than a captive being carted off to certain doom in the back of a death van. She wears her haughtiest upper-class face, somehow managing to look bored even with her hands cuffed behind her back. Her fierce black eyes calmly take in every inch of our portable prison before landing on the pair of guards who are being jostled around back here with us. She scans them head to toe with painfully slow precision and when she's finally finished it's clear she's passed judgment and found them wanting.
The men sense it too and after a moment they look away unnerved by June's behavior and the intensity of her glare. I'll admit I'm more than a little confused myself. She's playing at something, no doubt about that but damned if I know what the game is. I hope it's good.
I glance over to where Alisha sits hunched beside June her hair hangs in a tangled mess across her face so that I can't tell whether she's terrified or ashamed. I want to hate her, I want to blame her for dragging us all into this goddy awful mess but I just can't. I know without a shadow of a doubt and without even needing to call up my dubious memories that if it had been Eden being sold like that I would have cut off all my fingers and moved heaven and hell to get him back. It's hard to muster up righteous indignation when I might have done the same thing. But all those kids I think, I wonder if she even understood the far-reaching effects of her decision to come here. She must have, she's well versed in politics but she chose her sister. I can't say I respect that, but I understand it.
"What are you staring at?" one of the guards growls breaking my train of thought. Suddenly my attention is locked on June again, her face is still a mask of indifference but her shoulders shift ever so slightly in a way that makes me think she's finally managed to work free of her handcuffs. Good. That makes two of us. Maybe I'll harass her later about how much faster I got out. Then again she's been a little busy distracting these meatheads with mind games and I didn't have to be as careful.
"I'm evaluating our position and developing the optimal strategy to disarm and incapacitate you without alerting the driver before it would be advantageous to do so. "
Well, I guess she's gonna go with truth telling. Interesting plan. The guard however is obviously an even bigger idiot than I thought and he thinks she's being sarcastic. His cracked lips curl into an ugly smile that frames his even uglier teeth.
"Oh yeah sweetheart? We'll be there any minute. You look tougher than your boyfriend but I don't think I'd put money on your chances."
I must have made some sort of noise when the goddy trot called her "sweetheart" because for a split second the neutral expression on June's face slips and she shoots me a sharp warning glance. Don't be irrational her eyes seem to say and I belatedly realize that my body is coiled like I'm about to spring to my feet. I give June an almost imperceptible nod and carefully shift myself into a more relaxed position to wait for her to make a move. I can't afford to be distracted.
"Don't be ignorant Sal." The other man, the one with dark skin and even darker eyes snarls unlike his friend his English isn't accented, probably a Dakota native. "You saw what they did to Tucker and Rodriguez, she's not some fancy whore, I don't think she's kidding." He's got that right. This one's smarter for sure, it's written all over his face and in the cautious way he holds his weapon. It's obvious he's wary of June, of us, that could make him dangerous but instead it's making him nervous, easy to make stupid mistakes when you're nervous.
"He's right Sal." June says her voice low, she's not looking at him though, her eyes are locked on Sal's buddy, who's hands grip his weapon a little harder. She's noticed his anxiety too and is playing it for all its worth. "I'm not lying and I wouldn't discount my boyfriend if I were you, he's very fast, any second now he could come in behind you, take you out without even making a sound while I take care of your friend here." She tilts her chin in an arrogant manner but I notice her take a slow breath, square her shoulders and relax her jaw like she does when she's training, like she does just before a fight. Suddenly I understand what she's been doing and I almost laugh. She's giving me instructions, spelling out her plan and hiding it in snobbery. Brilliant.
No time to appreciate her artistry though because less than a second after I make the connection the two men glance at each other and June seizes on the momentary distraction and strikes. She's fast, precise; her body uncoils from its place on the floor and flies at the dark skinned man in one fluid motion like a viper. I'm already up and moving but for a split second I see a flash of teenage June in a dirty skiz ring, must have been the first time I ever saw her fight. She was deadly even then, some things don't change I guess. By now I've got my new best friend Sal in a headlock and I'm crushing his esophagus so that he can't cry out. Sal's stronger than I am though so I need to end this fast before he fights me off and alerts the driver. Can't bash his head into the wall, too much noise. But I don't actually want to kill him if I don't have to so instead I take the extra second and let him pull me forward enough that I'm perfectly positioned to drive his head right into my knee. Thankfully, the awkward maneuver works. Sal obligingly collapses at my feet and saves me from needing to be rescued by June who dispatched of her target with a bit more grace and is watching me with a hint of a smile on her exhausted looking face.
"What took you so long?" I ask before she can comment on my technique, "I almost fell asleep waiting for you to get out of those cuffs." June stares at me with a blank expression for a moment and then laughs quietly.
"What can I say? You're the Legend. Why don't you show off a little more and see how fast you can get Alisha out of hers while I borrow us some weapons." She bends over the two men knocked out on the floor of the van without another word and quickly begins removing their gear. I nod and crouch down next to Alisha but the moment I reach out to start work on her hands she flinches violently and backs into the wall of the van with such force that I'm afraid the men in the front heard. The look on her face as I snatch my hand back is wild with fear. I don't understand what happened, she was talking to me just fine earlier in the cell although only June got close to her.
"Hey now." I say in my gentle voice. "I'm just gonna get those off, ok?" I hold up the lock pick I'd had hidden in my boot and used to break myself out. "I wont hurt you." She takes a deep breath and nods but when I move in close again and touch her wrists a small noise escapes her and she starts trembling uncontrollably. I know I didn't go anywhere near her wounded hand or the bruises on her arms and face so whatever's bothering her isn't physical pain. A sick weight settles in my stomach and I wonder if the men who interrogated her after we arrived did more than just knock her around.
"June." I say quietly, turning away from Alisha. "I need you to do this, I'll take care of them." June looks up and quickly assesses the situation, her expression darkens but she trades places with me without comment. Less than a minute later Alisha's free and we're armed to the teeth. Sal's friend had quite a collection of knives; if he wasn't with these black-market trots he'd be my kind of criminal. "Alright Commander, what's the plan?" I ask as quietly.
"We are going to cause a scene." She replies holding up one of the guns we pulled off the guards. "Alisha, as soon as we start shooting I want you to scream, don't stop until they pull over and open the door, Daniel and I are going to play dead, when they come to check things out we'll take them down but the moment you see an opportunity I need you to run ok?"
"Run where?" Alisha asks, her voice surprisingly calm.
"Away, just get off the road and to the nearest home or business. Try not to leave an easy path in the snow for someone to follow. I need you to do whatever it takes to find help… Alisha, I need you to call Anden. Tell him where you are and what happened, he'll be able to get in contact with Daniel's people and they can get us all out." Alisha blanches and bites her lip hard but her eyes are like stone.
"What about my sister?" She asks. "They'll kill her if the Antarticans come for us. "
"We'll go for her. I think I know who has her and where. We can get to her before they cut and run but we need to do this now, ok?" Alisha takes a steading breath and nods June looks over at me, "Ready?" she asks.
"I was born ready sweetheart." June shakes her head but her eyes flash with amusement then she lifts her gun and aims at the floor of the van away from our feet.
"Shoot through the floor." She instructs, "The metal is thinner there and the bullets should go clean through without ricocheting back at us."
I nod, give her and wink and my flashiest grin and then all hell breaks loose.
The gunshots and the screaming bring the van to a sudden violent halt. Shouting and footsteps thunder all around the vehicle and June and I fall to the ground and hide our weapons moments before the back door opens and the driver and the other guards crash in around us shouting and swearing. Blood is pounding in my ears so I can't even make sense of half the things they're yelling but the moment one of the men kicks me over I spring to my feet and crack him across the face with the stolen gun. I turn just in time to see another aiming his weapon from outside the van at June who is busy grappling with a tall lanky guard. Without thinking I leap up and grab a bar on the roof with both hands swinging myself out of the van feet first. The heels of my boots connect solidly with the gunman's head. A shot goes off, I can tell it missed June but the rage I feel seeing her at the wrong end of a gun for the third time in a week puts me over the edge. Rage builds up inside me and explodes out onto my opponents the fight continues in a ferocious blur and it's over before I'm able to calm down.
Still seething, I look around and see that June and I both managed to fight our way out of the van. The night is bitterly cold and utterly silent, eerily still except for the heaving of our chests. Our guns are still raised but no one else comes at us. I move around the van with June covering me but we are all alone on the icy road.
"I don't think anyone else was in the van" June says reading my thoughts "There were five of them, a driver and four passengers, one in the front and three in the back. I doubt there was room for anyone else."
"Did you see Alisha leave?"
"I'm here." She says softly stepping out from behind the other side of the van somehow she managed to get ahold of a gun and she holds it with practiced caution.
"I thought I told you to run." June says.
"I wanted to make sure you were ok. I know how to shoot." She replies, her voice wavers but she lifts her chin defiantly.
"Thank you." June says in a voice I bet she uses on her new recruits.
"What now Commander?" I ask, June nods her head up the road and I can just make out an iron gate in the darkness about a quarter mile away.
"I think that's where they were taking us."
"You know what we'll find up there?"
"I think so." She sighs and turns back to Alisha, "See those lights over there?" She indicates a glow coming from behind a small stand of trees and Alisha nods. "Head in that direction, run. I don't think you'll be able to avoid tracks so you have to get away from here as fast as you can. Tell Anden where we went. Go now." To my surprise, Alisha doesn't hesitate as soon as June is done speaking she gives up both a terse nod, turns away and runs towards the trees moving much more quickly than I would have imagined.
"Think we can trust her?" I ask as I watch her delicate frame being swallowed up by the darkness.
"I hope so."
"Me too." With that I reach out to take her hand and we continue on up the road.
Ten minutes later we're standing in the shadows of a huge house having easily scaled the fence and avoided detection by cameras. Can't even call it a run by my usual standards but we still have to get into the house and the best option looks like a third story window which might provide a slice of entertainment. Now that we're here though I'm having second thoughts. My eyes rake over June she looks bone pale and utterly drained. I'd never say it to her but she isn't moving with her usual speed. Something is wrong and I've got a heavy feeling in my stomach about going in there.
"We don't have to do this." I say quietly reaching out to cup her cheek in my hand. "We did what we came to do, we could leave now. Go home." Make sure you're all right I add to myself.
"No." She says, turning her face to kiss my hand before dropping her head against my chest. "This might be our only chance to get Alisha's sister, besides if I'm right about who's behind this I need to be able to prove it so that we can stop this from going any further." I lean my chin on the top of her head and pull her closer. I'm struggling to put my thoughts into words.
"Why us?" I say in a broken whisper, "I can't stand to see these trots to get away with this and what they do to those kids kills me but..but our family is important too, yeah? I don't know what I'd do if…" She lifts her head and studies me with those beautiful liquid eyes.
"I know. But we're here and you know we won't walk away. This is the right thing to do. It's who we are." She shrugs her shoulders and tilts her head almost playfully. "You try to walk in the light, yeah?"
Her words, my words, hit me. They were like a mantra to me guiding me through years of darkness, but I haven't forgotten the rest of that mantra either. I stare at her for a long moment torn between snatching her up into my arms and getting the hell out of here before either of us has a chance to "die in the moment" and going in there to try and save a small corner of our world with her. Again.
"Yeah." I say at last gently pressing my lips to her forehead. "You really shouldn't listen to a dirty street con though you know, stupid kid was completely cracked."
June laughs softly and holds me tighter for just a moment before turning to begin the climb into the house.
Thank you all again and again for reading and for being encouraging and patient. As I begin to draw this story to a close I'll try to be more regular in updates (hopefully within a two week time frame…I know that's not ideal but I want this to be the best story I can give you : )) providing my sad little computer does not decide to break down on me again. As always I would truly love to hear what you think and I thank you in advance for your thoughts, they mean a lot! Have a great week, Walk in the light.