Recompense

TWENTY-TWO

For the second time, I watch from the window of an aeropod as Settlement 56 grows smaller and smaller beneath me. This time I know what I'm getting myself into. I have Ethan beside me and I'm confident that my family is managing just fine without me. But it really isn't any easier.

I feel Ethan's comforting squeeze on my shoulder and allow myself to watch the cove recede into the distance. Then it's time to focus again on work. Breathtakingly huge problems await us, and I need to be in the proper frame of mind to deal with them. I rub at the ache that lingers above my eyes and draw back from the window. "So, what did Willoughby have to say about our discovery?"

"We've already set plans in motion to penetrate that complex we found last night. Haven't you checked in with him yet?"

"I wasn't feeling very well last night. I figured he'd call me if anything important cropped up." But when I check my holoband, I see it is still powered down. I look up sheepishly. "Oops."

He frowns. "You never turned it back on?"

"I didn't think about it. I've never shut off before," I say a little defensively as I hit the power button. "Besides, you were in the next room."

He's still looking at me with disapproval. "A good soldier always maintains open—"

The rest of his censure is cut off by the repeated dinging of the alarm that tells me I have missed calls. Twelve of them, to be exact. I look up at Ethan with apprehension. "They're all from Jewel."

I skip the messages and go straight to the call button. Jewel's face appears almost immediately. The dark face paint makes her eyes look tense and tired. "Jack, where the criminy have you been? I've been trying to reach you since yesterday."

"Sorry, Jewel. I was out of range, and then—"

She cuts me off. "It doesn't matter. Listen, we have a situation here. The day after the fire, Berg and Tricia sent out a bunch of Lowers into the rest of the old city. They formed teams to search out any places those creeps might be using to hold other kidnap victims. This week, they found seven buildings that had evidence of recent occupation. They were all empty. The girls were gone.

"We've still got about twelve teams searching Epson City, but five days ago, Berg started sending guys up the rails to begin organizing elsewhere. Last night, a team in Brighton City rescued sixteen girls from an abandoned textile mill. They killed five of the culprits and took three alive. They're holding them in the mill and caring for the girls. We've been trying to reach you to find out how you want us to handle this."

I gape at Ethan. He shoves in beside me. "Have you gotten the authorities involved?"

"No. City government doesn't care what goes on in the old districts."

Ethan's already pulled up his holoscreen. "I'm on this. Let me talk to my superior and I'll get right back with you."

"That's not all," Jewel continues. "This morning, a team out in Latham City located another cache of girls. There's a standoff at an old grain elevator in process as we speak. The two sides are pretty evenly matched." She grins. "Apparently some of the cowboys out in Plains Zone didn't turn in all their guns."

Ethan and I simply stare at her. "You're serious," he manages.

"Dead serious. Our boys out there could really use some help."

Ethan begins furiously typing on his screen. "On its way. We have authority over the local Greencoats."

"Good," Jewel agrees. "As far as the Lowers are concerned, the Military lies too deeply in Macron's pocket. There's one more thing."