In The Shadow of Steel (Paladin Danse)

Part Twenty Eight

   "Sir, I have something important I need to discuss with you."
The Knight had barged into my living quarters without even offering a knock. Had it not been for the look of distress on her face, I'd have scolded her; my anger switched immediately to concern.
   "Knight Lawson, what is it?"
   "She's innocent."
   "What?"
   "Knight Winters, she was telling the truth. She never betrayed us, sir. It was a set up and we walked right into it." In her eyes she held remorse, guilt. My insides felt like they were bound with rope, and the rope was doused in poison.
   "What proof do you have of this?" My voice was hopeful, it had to be the truth.
   "I-I had a hunch, Paladin, sir. I followed it, and it proved to be true. I'm afraid to admit that we do indeed have a rat, but we banished the wrong person."
   "Who is it?"
She looked down at her boots, as if inspecting for dirt before slowly her eyes rose back up to meet mine, glum. "Initiate Shane Hopkins."
The anger returned faster than a molerat could breach out of the ground. "That scumbag! He's been around Shaun this whole time! I'm gonna kill him." I pushed off of my feet and headed for the door but Katie blocked my advances.
   "Wait! He doesn't know I know! If you rush in and confront him, who's telling what he'll do. And it could result in Evelyn getting harmed, if she hasn't been already."
I stopped fighting. God, what have we done? She'd pleaded, begged me to help her, to believe she was innocent, and I'd turned a blind eye. I'd betrayed her.

   "Paladin Danse, sir, we need to come up with a plan."
   "You're right. I can't believe I let her go."
Katie offered a small, sympathetic smile. "Under the circumstances at the time, it was hard to know what to think. Their story was pretty compelling, we all believed it, even if we didn't want to."
   "It's not enough, I should've believed her. I let the enemy get inside my head." I paused, groaned and ran my hands aggressively across my face.
   "We should go and tell Maxson. I only came to you first because I believe if you're there to back me up he's more likely to listen to the truth."
   "No, we can't tell him yet, he'll issue a manhunt and have him executed. We need to make sure Evie is safe first, we owe her that."
   "That's a good plan. So what do we do now?"

A tap at the door caught us both off guard and I felt my breath hitch in my throat. I cleared it out before the lump could settle.
   "Who is it?"
   "Is this Paladin Danse's room? Please tell me it is. The other five doors I've knocked have given me the boot and I'm starting to regret my decision in coming here-"
I swung open the door and pulled the rambling guy in before holding him hard against the wall. Katie closed the door quickly, though not before checking to see if we'd attracted anyone's attention. "Who the hell are you?"
   "Are you Paladin Danse? Actually, don't answer that. I know you're him." I tightened my grip on his fatigues, a uniform I figured had been stolen, for this coward was no Brotherhood soldier. If he was, he'd skipped a hell of a lot of orientation.
   "I'm in a real bad mood so you'd best start talking. Who the hell are you?"
He winced. "Names Deacon, I've got a message for you from Evelyn." The tight grasp I held him with faltered for a moment before returning with a furrow of my brows.
   "Where is she? If you've hurt her I swear to God -"
   "Dude, chill, I'm on her side. We rescued her from those Lab Coat Dicks you ditched her with. She's fine, she's recovered, and she wants you to know that she's innocent. But...from the way you're holding me and the threat in your angry little eyes, I imagine you've already figured that part out."
   "She's OK?" Katie perked up, a sigh exhaling as her shoulders relaxed.
   "Yeah, she's doing alright. Can you let me go now?"
   "Fine." I released my grip and he brushed his shoulders off, adjusted his sunglasses.
   "Thanks, I forgot how hard-headed you guys are."
   "And who is it you're supposed to stand for?" I crossed my arms, the both of us seemed to share a mutual distrust for the other.
   "That's not really relevant right now. I'm here for Evelyn because this is what she needed me to do. We don't turn our backs on friends."
Katie quickly came between us to intercept before I had the chance to retaliate. "Now's really not the time to compare sizes. Evelyn needs our help, and we've got a rat to catch. But first, can you take us to her?"
   "I can arrange a meeting, yes. I'll have her meet us someplace safe, out of earshot from anyone we can't trust. Are you ready to head out?" Deacon flicked his vision between the two of us.
   "Yes."
   I grabbed her arm. "You should stay here."
   "But -"
   "We can't risk any suspicion to be raised, or for anyone to catch wind of what we're doing, so it's best I go alone. Besides, I need you to stay here and ensure no harm comes to Shaun. We can't allow Hopkins to suspect anything is off, but you spending time with them both will be quite normal, especially considering Shane is a member of your squad."
She gulped. "Don't remind me. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner."
   "Hey, none of us did. It's hard to believe anyone in a team as close as yours could break your trust. And double-agents are picked for being the sneakiest of all people, that's how they get away with it for so long. In my opinion, people who spend their lives undercover tend to be sad loners with a hell of a lot of issues." I offered a comforting half smile to which she quarter-returned. Beside me, Deacon frowned.
   "All right, peppy talk over. Let's go, Danse."
I nodded. "Affirmative. I'll see you soon, Knight."
   "Bye, be safe out there."