Field of Daisies

Chapter 15

Cameron tosses me into the backseat of his car like I weigh nothing. He may look bigger, and stronger, and meaner than he once did—he appears to actually be all of the above too—but he smells the same: like citrus and cedar. He closes me in without further physical restriction, so I lunge to the door, only to find no handles on either side. Isn't this a safety issue? And there's a grated barrier blocking me from the front. I can't decide if this is better than handcuffs. No, I can. This is far worse.

Cameron begins to drive in the direction Theo went. Please don't be following him. Instead of heading inland, he continues up the coast as Theo and I had been.

I only knew about the Confederates from snooping through Cameron's stuff not long before my Assignment was received. My curiosity got the better of me that day, but I was looking for signs of a gift or something since we were planning to celebrate together.

Confederate is the coveted position of an undercover investigator who hunts down fugitives. Under the guise of officer, or something else if given permission, they live a life of secrets and deception, but also of great honor to their Field. There was a packet of officer information hidden in a novel on Cameron's bedside table. I was interested in the book, I told myself, but really wanted to know what the thing sticking out of it was. The only bookmarks he ever had been known to use were folded corners, a habit I could never correct despite my best efforts, the paper was unusual. The packet came with a letter, but I never got to read it and barely escaped being found with it in my hands.

I should have known this would happen. Cameron being the Confederate to hunt me down like some kind of animal. This is all a game to them. Another cruel joke from whoever Assigned me to Steward...

"So, Daisy," he breaks the silence and my thoughts, "have a nice little vacation?"

"Where are you taking me?"

"Really? No, 'Hi, Cameron!'? No, 'Nice to see you'? No, 'How have you been?'?" I can tell he's trying to get me worked up. "I've been doing great, even got promoted recently. When I heard about your little stunt, I knew I had to take on the job, the boys even encouraged it! What I don't understand is why you'd want to leave a nice place like New Haven to slum it up with your little boyfriend, Theodore Kallin."

"How long were you following me?"

"I got word you were spotted, with a poor disguise I might add, headed for The Dossier. You may not look like a Steward, but you look like little Emma Lehman. Made it easy to find you since most who run away try to revert to how they looked when in school. You have some smudge on your face, by the way. I thought they taught you how to properly do makeup during your training?" How much does he know about Stewards beyond what we were taught in school? "Your accident was very convenient for me. I didn't have to track you for nearly as long as I thought I would. Though, it would have been nice to know where you two were even going. Care to share?"

"Where are you taking me?" I ask again because I can't think of anything better and I'm not answering his question.

"Talk to me Daisy, it's been so long," he whines. He really knows how to push my buttons.

"Not long enough," I say to myself, but I know he hears.

"Didn't you miss me at all?"

"Why would I? It's not like you cared about me." I'm referring to how cold he turned after my Assignment and he knows it.

Cameron laughs once. "Of course I cared about you. I cared enough to dump you before you became a Steward, and make it hurt enough that you and I could move on quicker." Is he trying to justify his actions? "Ever hear of a Steward in a relationship?" He finishes. I hate that he's right, I haven't heard of any Stewards dating, there's no time with working constantly. And really no desire to on the pills "Plus I cared about you enough to come and get you personally. I still care, I should say."