A/N… Opinions on everything are all over the place. ;) That's okay. I'll let you get to it.
~oOo~
Chapter 21
BELLA
"You know, there was a movie once called Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," Dad muttered as he stood next to me in the resistance meeting room. "That seems to be the title of this great debate."
I giggled because I simply couldn't help it. The whole room was raised voices, stressed-out people, and the inability to come to an agreement. After the USS Sanctum had docked, Marcus had called two of his people to disembark.
Liam Pearson reminded me a bit of Garrett – easy and casual, despite the Navy uniform. He'd been the one to answer Marcus's original radio call. Along with him came a woman named Chelsea Stone. She, too, was in the military – Marines. She seemed to have a close relationship with Marcus. She reprimanded him for coming alone, and he seemed to take it with a soft, kind smile. She treated him like a father.
My own father was correct, though. This debate would go on forever. We could take a train, load it up with weapons and fighters, and then take the whole shebang to Atlanta. We'd moved far enough south from the Sound to acquire another train, which Flash said was sitting unused at a station in Tacoma.
Rose, Jake, and Seth were poring over books to figure out if we could indeed learn how to operate the damn thing at all. They were just as loud as those debating over the other option.
Sailing Marcus's ship to Savannah would allow for more of us to tag along. Marcus's people said that there were a few military bases where tanks, Hummers, and heavy weaponry were still being stored. That option required way more fuel, time, and effort.
"I think the ship is a stupid idea," I said, turning to my dad. "It's the longer, more complicated route to take."
"And the train?"
"As much as I hate the idea, that plan lets us pull straight into Atlanta, because that little asshole thinks he's still calling the shots," I replied harshly, which made my husband grin down at the map on the table and glance my way. "He thinks he can threaten innocent people and someone will do what he says. Honestly, it sounds like an empty threat. A false threat. Like a belligerent teen."
Marcus chuckled, meeting my gaze. "You're not wrong, Miss Bella."
"You would know," I teased him because I liked Marcus. "Let me guess – he was the tattletale when you were little."
It was easy to like him. He came in with no agenda, and he was willing to listen. He didn't act like a politician. He acted like a man who had too many responsibilities on his shoulders, and he was only doing it because it was the right thing. I could respect that.
Marcus grinned. "And then some." He faced Edward, Jasper, and Garrett. "She's got a point. The train gives us an advantage. Caius will think you're giving into his wishes. You've cut off his ability to contact the other walled cities, so the fact that you're even talking to him makes him think he has an edge."
"The only issue I take with any of it is that we don't know this walled city," I told them, walking to the map they had spread open. "See, in the Sound, we had safe houses, dark houses, places we could hole up if teams were separated. We had an underground passage that pretty much allowed us to get from one end of the city to the other without being seen." I tapped the paper. "We know nothing about Atlanta."
Marcus looked to Edward, who said, "Bella knew those safe houses like the back of her hand. In fact, every time we went over the wall, she was the one to guide us if shit went sideways."
"You fought?" he asked me.
Nodding, I said, "I was taken from my parents." I pointed to my dad. "I actually ended up in Edward's home. He smuggled me out with Emmett's help. After that, my dad went undercover, and Edward and I started fighting, started to smuggle slaves out, and we intercepted as many supply and slave shipments as we could."
"How old were you?" he asked.
Edward chuckled a little. "Twelve and thirteen."
Marcus smiled but glanced up when Flash approached the table with one of his laptops. He set it down, spinning the screen toward us.
"We've broken into Caius's network."
"What can you access?" Edward asked him.
"Everything."
"Security cameras?" my dad asked, stepping forward.
"Let's see," Nolan said from the front table as he clicked away with the mouse. "Yeah. What are you looking for?"
"Blind spots, the train platform, and raider routines," Dad answered immediately, taking a seat next to Nolan. "If we're in, then we can study them. We can plan accordingly."
"How about Caius's living quarters?" Edward asked, sitting down on the other side of Nolan. "If we can see where everything is in relation to the train platform, then we may stand a chance."
Pearson stepped up to Marcus. "Chief, it seems we have someone on board who is familiar with trains –more specifically metro trains, but he's offering his help. Arthur Nixon. We also have Phelps working on more diesel fuel. We're gonna need it for the train."
"Okay, then we need to get Nixon here so we can have these people brief him on what we're working with," he replied. "We'll only go on their say. That's it. If they can't make it work, then we'll have to do it another way. They're doing us the favor."
"Sir," Pearson grunted out softly. "But they're civilians."
"Right. Civilians who were able to take down Aro when we weren't. Caius will be just as difficult. We'll let them decide who will lead their team."
"It'll be Edward," I said, wrinkling my nose a little at the thought of him doing this mission. "If you want someone who is going to lead and protect the people with him, it'll be Edward. He started leading missions over the wall of the Sound when he was fourteen. He hasn't stopped."
Marcus frowned. "But you just had a child."
"We did, but honestly, he's your best fighter. You'll need Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Sam and the boys, and my dad. Rose over there can drive just about anything with wheels. The boys, as rambunctious as they can be… They are fast, with an endless knowledge of explosives. From what I hear, Garrett is also good in a fight."
"You don't know?"
"Garrett was a spy, helping my dad on the other side of the wall. He joined us after Aro went down. I've personally never worked with him, but I've worked with everyone else," I explained to him.
"What about you?" Pearson asked me.
I shook my head. "Edward will never allow it, and really, I can't leave Emily. Believe me, I'd love to help, but I can't go."
I didn't even need to have this discussion with my husband. I already knew what we needed to do. Marcus would need Edward, but Emily and Oz needed me. It wasn't even something that I could waver over. The mere idea that Edward would be traveling across the country for this had me worried sick already, but I knew he'd never be able to live with himself if he didn't go as the leader of our resistance team.
Glancing between Marcus and Pearson, I asked a question that I'd been biting back. "Why us? You have enough men. You don't really need us to go." I gestured a hand around the room. "Don't get me wrong; we're committed to ending it. We always have been, but you technically don't need us."
Pearson turned to Marcus for the answer, who said, "We do need you. Your help is two-fold, Bella." He walked to the window and tapped the glass. "There are five hundred men, women, and children on that ship who can't fight. They aren't soldiers. Hell, they're not even resistance. They're simply people who were shoved aside or forgotten in the big picture. They need you. I need to be able to leave them in your care when we do this."
He went quiet, but so had the whole meeting. Slipping his hands into the front pockets of his pants, he sighed wearily.
"What you've done here is nothing short of a miracle," he said, turning to face the room. "You moved an entire community, you freed them from oppression, and you don't need to trade. You've got everything you need right here. And if you don't, then you find a way to get it." He faced me specifically. "Why you? Because it isn't about the fight or my brother. It's about what comes afterward – the lost, the aimless, the scared and scarred. And you'll know just what to say and do for people when they don't know what the next steps are supposed to be.
"Eventually," he went on, gazing slowly around the room, "you will need trade. You'll have to set up communication, rely on each other for different crops or industry, and start this country over." He smiled sadly. "I'm just an old soldier, so I am a little out of my element with this President business. I just want to piece this country back together. Even if it's set back a hundred years."
Marcus faced me again, leaning against the window. "You're right; I don't need you for the fight, but I need your knowledge and instincts for helping the people my brother has been torturing, and I need to be able to leave the people on my ship somewhere safe in order to stop something that never should've happened."
I nodded, swallowing nervously, because the mere idea of Edward going – of all of them going – was making me anxious. I met Edward's gaze across the room, thinking he and I needed to have a long conversation before any of this took place.
We had time. Fuel was being made by a chemist from Marcus's ship, the train needed to be checked and readied, and teams and plans needed to be put together. Luckily, Marcus had plenty of ammo and equipment to carry this out. All of that would give us a chance to prepare.
This would be a long process. From studying Atlanta, to getting things ready, to actually leaving – this would be several weeks. And it was quite possible that once they arrived in Atlanta, they'd be there a bit longer.
Frowning down at the map on the table, I let the knowledge that everyone I knew would be gone for weeks, maybe months, soak in. I didn't like it, but it seemed I didn't have much choice in the matter.
~oOo~
"Threatening innocent people isn't going to make this go any faster, Caius," Garrett stated firmly over the video call. "Your brother is dead, so if you want this transport, then you'll sit down and shut up. It'll come when we're ready."
"I'll set the slums on fir—" Caius started, but Garrett immediately interrupted his rant.
"No, you won't." He sighed deeply. "You can't. I know you can't because you're not receiving shipments from any city. Which means you're running low on ammunition, fuel, and medicine. And probably slaves, if you treat them like Aro did – disposable."
Caius wisely shut up. We'd made Garrett the face of Seattle for these video calls because he was really good at keeping his face stoic and holding firm to what we were telling Caius. We didn't have much choice in the matter because Caius kept calling, so we had to put someone on there who wouldn't put up with his grandiose threats.
Marcus had been with us now closing in on a month and a half, and while we used that time to monitor Atlanta and get our teams and train ready, Caius was growing more and more impatient. We'd also made contact again with New York and Boston. Those two rather large cities were doing their best to get some sort of control and system reestablished.
New York was a bit erratic, but they were following an older retired firefighter by the name of Giovanni Delfino – or Gio to his friends, which seemed to be everyone he met. He was easy to like, and it was understandable why he was leading his city. He was firm and smart, charming and funny, and he knew his city inside and out. He thanked us repeatedly for shutting down the network of Manhattan's walled section.
Boston, on the other hand, had a small council. They included every race, age, and gender, too. The head of that council was a woman. Louise Murphy was a tough lady, but she had a sweet smile and dark hair that was starting to turn gray.
Both New York and Boston actually offered their help with Atlanta. We weren't sure how they could help, since distance and travel were the big issues. However, they were now working together to figure something out. It seemed they would be using the boat idea, sailing down the East Coast to one of the military bases that Marcus had suggested, because it still had vehicles and some heavy weapons.
In fact, Gio's people and Louise's people were about to load up and start heading south. That meant our people were just about ready to leave, which was why Garrett was having to tolerate Caius in the first place.
"We'll be pulling out with your shipment in two days. If all tracks are clear, then we should be arriving within a week," Garrett promised him. "So if you haven't set your 'slums' on fire by then, we'll take them in trade for the things you've requested. If you're willing to kill them, then you can certainly live without them. Deal?"
Garrett raised a deadly eyebrow at Caius on the screen, and I snorted, going back to the task in front of me. We were using old raider uniforms for everyone who would be visible when they pulled into the train station in Atlanta. Marcus's military team would be in their own uniforms, but our guys and a few of his would be in black raider gear, which needed to be cleaned. Some needed repair, and some needed altering just a bit, which was what Sue, Esme, and I were doing.
And damn it, they'd all be wearing bullet proof vests. It was nonnegotiable.
Along the wall, weapons and ammo were spread out on the table for Oz's team. Marcus's people had their equipment already loaded up on the ferry to take to Tacoma, where the train station wasn't far from the docks.
Pearson, Stone, and their train guy, Art, were all set to go. The argument was that Marcus shouldn't go for his safety, but he wouldn't hear of it. He was going. In fact, he was leading the whole mission under the advisement of Edward and my dad. Emmett, Rose, Jasper, Alice, Sam, and the boys were all going with them. Garrett was staying in Oz, along with Sue, Angela, and Ben. Security would be limited on the island, but Carlisle offered to help with patrols, and Marcus was leaving behind a small troop of soldiers.
Flash and Nolan had watched so much security footage that I was surprised they weren't going blind. However, most of the maps and schematics were hanging on the wall. Dad and Edward had studied them just as much, but they came away with a pattern of patrols, blind spots in buildings, and a few faces that visited Caius's office with some sort of regularity.
"Prick," Garrett muttered, closing the laptop and rolling his eyes. "Will you give that asshole a fat lip before this is all over? Christ, every time I talk to him, I feel gross and dirty."
Chuckling, I glanced up from the hole I was repairing in the pocket of a pair of black cargo pants. I laughed a little more when Garrett shivered dramatically.
However, the sound of Emily's cry cut through everything as Carlisle stepped into the resistance room with my daughter in tears. She was now pushing five months old, and her hair was pretty much mine and Edward's mixed – his copper color, only darker – and it was coming in thick and beautiful. Some days, she allowed me pull it back with bows or barrettes. Other days, she pulled that shit out immediately.
But that frown was Edward made over.
"What happened, baby girl?" I asked her as Carlisle handed her over. He'd been watching her while we were getting ready.
"Vaccinations," he replied sheepishly.
I grimaced. "Owie! Was Pops mean to my girl?" I asked her, getting up from the table and grinning at Carlisle's chuckle. "Mean ole Pops."
Emily and I stepped outside, and I walked her around to settle her down. Carlisle and Esme were Pops and Nana, and my dad was Grandpa. And Sue would be Grandma for every-damn-body.
I sat down on the steps to the resistance building, pulling her back so I could wipe her tears. "You're okay, Em," I told her, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "It's only temporary. I promise."
She'd grown so much. She was sitting up, babbling like a pro, and she was all about some animals. I stood up, walking her to Jasper's gorgeous horse, Duke, who stood tall with his striking blue eyes and unusual color. Tears dried instantly when Emily giggled at his velvety nose snuffling and pushing on her gently.
However, no one caught Emily's attention better than the person walking to us.
She was all smiles, bouncing a little in my arms.
"There's my girls," Edward said, taking Emily when she reached for him. "What happened, my little sweet potato?"
"Shots today, Dad," I told him.
Smirking, I shook my head at the nickname but said nothing as I sat back down on the step. Edward joined me, glancing my way as Emily played with Edward's fingers.
Reaching up, I pushed his hair from his forehead, trying my damnedest capture this moment. Edward with his daughter. In a few days, he'd be leaving to start a fight on the other side of the country. This was worse than the fight in the Sound. It was far away, with little to no communication, and it would take time to get back home.
And that's if he survived the fight.
"Your face reads like a book, love," Edward said sadly.
I shook my head, gazing out over the island. From where we were, I could see the wheat crop coming in next to the corn. A little farther to the left, cows and goats roamed a rather large pasture. In the distance, Marcus's ship sat looming over everything.
I'd met several of the people from that boat – survivors of horrific experiences, people who had barely been making it day to day. The civilians on that ship had an unending appreciation for Marcus, but they also were willing to work together with the people of Oz. Some had decided to come ashore and settle in. They told amazing stories of how they'd worked to survive over the years, how Marcus did his best to protect whoever was in charge, eventually having to reluctantly step up as President himself.
There was a part of me that was fairly certain that Marcus would settle somewhere around the Tacoma area, maybe Olympia. Washington DC was no more, so he could declare anywhere as the new country's capital.
"I'm sure it does," I muttered, shrugging a shoulder. "I don't want you to do this, but I know that you have to go. No one understands the need to help more than me, but I…" I sighed deeply, trying to keep my emotions out of this conversation. "But I honestly don't know what Emily and I will do if something happens to you, Edward."
"If I don't go—"
"I'm aware," I interrupted him, turning my head to meet his worried gaze. "I know. You've run these missions since we were kids, and you know your team better than Marcus, so yeah, I understand why you have to go. And I know why I can't go. I know all of these things, Edward."
He stayed quiet when I got up to pace. Emily had snuggled into his arms, her eyes slowly slipping closed, because no one calmed her like her daddy, which was one more thing that would be missed while he was gone.
"You're leaving in like two damn days, and I don't know how long you'll be gone. Or if you're hurt. Or not coming back. Or if my dad isn't coming back. None of that information will come my way if something happens," I ranted, trying to keep my voice down because Emily was truly crashing hard in his arms.
"Flash has some radio boosters and relays that we'll be setting up along the way so that we'll be able to communicate back home," Edward replied, smirking when I sighed exasperatedly. "What do you want me to say, Bella? That I wish you were going with me? Hell, yes, but do we risk both of us? No. I can't let Marcus take my team without me. I trust no one to run this without me. Not even your dad."
My nostrils flared because this had been building over the last couple of weeks. The more we prepared, the more anxious I became, and the mere idea that I could lose him made me crazy.
Edward dropped kisses to Emily's hair, finally standing up. "C'mon. We're going home. In fact, I want everyone to take a break. We're tired and stupidly nervous. I'm surprised that Jake and Seth haven't punched the shit out of each other."
Edward stepped into the meeting room, telling them all to go home, that they'd load up and head out on the ferry in forty-eight hours. I heard some protests, but they were halfhearted at best. Most simply packed up and spilled out of the door.
Edward walked to me, and I took Emily, snuggling her close as I sat down on the golf cart. He seemed to wait until everyone had saddled up or pulled away before he set his deep, green gaze on me.
"Here's what's happening, Bella. The three of us are going home, and the topic of missions and Atlanta and Caius are off the table. Not one bit of it is allowed until I'm packed and loading up on the ferry."
I snorted into a laugh, knowing he was totally full of shit, which made him grin.
"Okay, well, we aren't going to dwell on it. I just… Bella, I just want my girls for the next day and a half, okay?"
I nodded, turning to bury my nose in Emily's hair and swallowing around the lump in my throat.
"Promise me," Edward begged, turning my face gently with his fingers beneath my chin. "I just want you two for a bit without the stress."
I turned to kiss his palm. "I promise, Edward."
~oOo~
A/N… If you can't guess, then family time is up next, with a small exception. You'll see.
The discussion on Facebook was all about Marcus this week. Is he bad? Is he good? Is he playing them? This was all Bella's POV, but Edward's opinion may be helpful. We'll see. It's coming, because that man doesn't hold back.
Sunday's looking fine for the next update. Until next time… Mooches, Deb ;)
