Broken Truce (Broken City, #2)

Broken Truce (Chapter Seven)

                                                                        Chapter Seven

                                                                                Deeta

I’ve seen the weapon many times before, to me it’s almost as if it’s a part of Tom, but I don’t want to see him use it. Bile rises in my throat and I look away.

I can’t watch.

I know that Tom has to protect us but I don’t want to see him kill someone. Bowing my head I bite down on my lip so hard the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth.

A grunt, a quiet scuffle and then silence.

“We can’t stay here, we’ll be cornered.”

I venture to look in the direction of Tom’s voice, he’s bending over the prone Lewis soldier making a quick and thorough search of all his pockets. As he pulls the radio from the soldiers ear his head rolls sickeningly, and I feel my stomach lurch and I gag.

“Come on.” He turns to me, one hand outstretched.

My gaze wanders past him to the Lewis soldier.

“I didn’t kill him.”

Tom reaches down hauling first me and then Jan to our feet.

“We need to move.”

Tom urges us through the door, his attention halved between us and the threat that the Lewises pose. Shaking my head I try to pull myself together. Tom needs me. He needs me to step up and take care of Jan, so that he is free to concentrate on getting us out of this mess. He can’t carry this burden all by himself, or at least, maybe he could, but he shouldn’t have to.

I touch his arm and gesture that I will take charge of Jan. Relief flashes in his eyes, but I can’t tell if it is because I’ve taken her off his hands, or because I’m no longer following him mindlessly, like some sort of zombie.

We weave between the buildings, our pace so quick I’m breathless. Every now and then Tom pauses briefly and listens to a garbled transmission from the Lewis soldier’s radio, before changing direction.

I begin to entertain the hope of escape, that somehow, miraculously, Tom will lead us to safety. Almost immediately I see a soldier in front of us creeping slowly through the rubble, and Tom drops down into a crouch, Jan and I right behind him.

The next thing I notice is that the soldier is wearing black and grey camouflage, declaring him Andak. Tom raises his hand to the short wave radio in his ear, but he speaks in code so I can’t tell what he’s saying. The figure in front of us turns sharply, and begins to make his way toward us.

“Boy, am I glad to see you, sir!”

Colin Gates freckled face is smeared with dirt and glistens with sweat, he looks very young and horribly frightened. His hands shake as he grips his gun, and I remember suddenly that this is his first time outside of Andak territories.  

“What can you tell me, Gates?”

Tom’s calm, authoritative voice seems to take the edge off Colin’s panic, and his breathing slows a little.

“From the looks of it, sir, we’re surrounded.”

“A trap?”

“Yes sir, the sniper, the soldiers, it’s all been planned to make sure we can’t escape,” he hesitates. “There were two gunshots, sir?”

His eyes travel meaningfully toward the still sobbing Jan.

“Ryder’s down.”

Colin swallows jerkily.