Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Chapter 29: gunshots

Cameron sat on the couch and listened to the two men argue. They didn't need any more opinions in the room to come to a conclusion and she hoped that perhaps she could find a compromise. Harper was definitely shaken from hearing about Dylan and Levi's arrest, and Cameron wondered if that was what was fueling this fight to begin with.

O'Keefe scoffed. "I would agree with you, if this was a week before Landing Day," he said finally. "I think it's a good plan. I also think it's not enough. If we hadn't been finding guns left and right across this base, and if they hadn't murdered a dozen people, and if we had a hope of congress ordering any execution, then I would agree with you. Tell me, what happens if they go to arrest Lincoln and he shoots all of them? Isn't that blood on our hands?"

Harper glanced at Cameron, as if hoping she would say something. She had nothing to counter O'Keefe argument. Harper swallowed, his shoulders slumping. O'Keefe had won him over.

"Yes," Harper relented. "But how do we keep Dylan and Levi from being blamed? They are innocent."

"We go tonight," O'Keefe replied. "We hit both Julius and Lincoln. We can split up, and then we get out. Tomorrow, I'll tell congress what I've done and let that be the end of it."

"You can't," Cameron objected, finally entering the conversation.

"I have never cared much for Dylan and Levi, but they have always put the needs of the base before their own," O'Keefe replied. "I took Levi's ability to walk, the least I can do is make sure he doesn't pay twice for my misdeeds. I am an old man. You two are young, full of everything ahead of you. The important thing is that Lincoln and his ilk are gone. My partner is dead; my sister is dead. I doubt they'd kill me, but taking my life is not much of a loss."

Cameron nodded, unable to argue with him.

"We're taking Lincoln," she said. "This is one time I wish to pull the trigger."

O'Keefe frowned as if he was going to protest. For O'Keefe, it was revenge. For Cameron, it was justice. She needed to stand over Lincoln's body, and know that the violence that he had brought to the base was gone.

"Fine," he said. "We'll need to wait a couple of hours until it's a little later. People are still wandering about the base."

He nodded toward the small bedroom and the screen that they could see on the desk. There were still holo-ribs moving around, and Cameron did not want to risk being caught, not while they were so close. Secretly, she was glad O'Keefe had talked Harper out of changing their plans. Perhaps the previous congress would have done something, but this one, the one she was on, was too big and too apathetic.

So they waited. Cameron watched as the dots settled in for the night. O'Keefe checked each of the guns, handing Cameron and Harper each their own. Harper shook his head.

"I can think of no reason I'm firing a shot," Harper insisted. "I'll be with Cameron. That's enough."

"Harper, it's not going to hurt you," O'Keefe scoffed.

"Maybe, but I still have burn marks from last time and I just don't need one," he answered.

It was the middle of the night before they crept out of the berth, nodding goodbye at the next hallway. Cameron could feel her heart beating faster as they made their way to the utility closet and then into the walls. She moved quickly, knowing no one could hear them and wanting this to be done and over. Harper stayed close behind her, but didn't say a thing. She wondered what he was thinking.

They made it to Lincoln's berth quickly, and Harper lifted the panel up and over to the side. Cameron stepped through, looking around. The room was quiet and empty. She walked to the bedroom, but when she opened the door, there were no sleeping persons in the beds. Cameron could feel her blood go cold. Something was wrong.