Outcasts Read online

  “Can you prove that?” Ruston asked.

  “Yes,” Mason said. “We mixed my blood with the meds and tested it on a blood meter. The result was Xiaodrine.”

  “That’s prescribed for obesity, I believe,” Droe said.

  “Really? I’ve never heard of it. Before we learned the result, enforcers showed up and took Ciddah. So I wasn’t able to talk with her about it. I think they knew what we were doing. She told me they were listening, and we tried to be careful, but … If we can find out what Lonn was arrested for, I think it might provide a clue as to whether Ciddah and I were on the right track.”

  “I’ll tap my peer in the enforcers now.” Zane limped away from the group and down the stairs.

  “Lonn never confided anything like this to you?” Mason asked Ruston.

  “Lonn didn’t trust many people,” Ruston said. “In the end, he and Bender were closer than anyone.”

  This was madness. They couldn’t afford to waste time trying to solve some mystery of the past when they had a rescue mission to plan. Levi squeezed Mason’s arm. “Can I talk to you for a minute, brother?”

  “Talk to me or at me?” Mason said.

  Levi dragged him after Zane, stopping on the landing halfway down the stairs, hoping they wouldn’t be overheard. “What is this?” he asked, keeping his voice low. “Bringing two flakers to the rebel meeting? I thought you were the smart one.”

  Mason visibly stiffened at Levi’s rebuke. “I had to. Once Ciddah finds out they’ve gone into hiding, she’ll know that Lawten doesn’t hold anything over her.”

  “How? What if he tells her he took them and that he’s keeping them somewhere else?” Had Mason even thought this through? And why did he care what the task director general did to the medic?

  His brother paled, combed his hands into his hair, and gripped it like he might try to pull some out. “I didn’t think of that. Everything happened so fast.”

  It wasn’t like Mason to do something so rash. “I wish you would have asked me first, brother.” Now they had no one officially on grid.

  “But there was no time.” Mason slid his hands down to his face and rubbed it. “If I hadn’t left my tag and hid, they would’ve caught me too. I’d be in the RC right now.”

  Omar slipped down the stairs to join them. “You should trust Mason. He always does the right thing.”

  “I do,” Mason said. “I try, anyway. But not tonight. I’m going after Ciddah, Levi. And once she’s safe, I can think about everyone else. But until then — ”

  “Whoa! You can’t go anywhere,” Levi said. “Do you even know where she is?”

  “Seventy-nine Summit Road,” Mason said.

  “That’s Champion House,” Zane said, coming back up the stairs. “The home of the task director general of the Safe Lands. It’s a fortress. No one can get in there.”

  “Lawten’s house,” Mason mumbled, then his face hardened. “I’ll find a way.”

  Levi had never seen Mason so agitated. What had come over his bookworm brother? “Let’s relax a bit, have our meeting, and once everyone leaves, we’ll talk this out, okay?”

  “I’m not going to let you talk me out of it, Levi.” Mason lowered his voice. “I love her.”

  That confession hit Levi like a bucket of ice water. “That’s just perfect.” Levi paced up a few steps, then returned to the landing. “What’s wrong with you?” What was wrong with everyone? It was impossible to lead people who did whatever they wanted. How had Papa Eli done this for so many years?

  Mason’s expression was intense yet apologetic. “I didn’t mean to, brother. It just happened. I had planned to ask for your blessing in front of the elders — ”

  “Marry a flaker?” What had come over his dutiful brother? “You can’t be serious. Papa Eli said never. And you of all people know what that would mean.”

  “Irrelevant.” Mason’s jaw hardened into a determined scowl, but it wavered when his gaze met Levi’s. “Ciddah’s the one for me.” He paused, breathed in and out a shaky breath. “And that’s saying a lot.”

  Ridiculous. The medic had brainwashed the logic right out of Mason. “We’ll talk about this later. We need to get this meeting started.”

  “Hold up,” Zane said. “My enforcer friend checked the arrest records for Lonn. Said he was charged with” — he read from his Wyndo — “assault, theft, fraud, conspiracy, criminal impersonation, perjury, making false statements, and obstruction of justice.”

  Omar whistled. “That’s a lot of charges.”

  “Assault against whom?” Mason asked.

  “Three enforcers and one Lawten Renzor.” Zane waggled his eyebrows.

  “What about the conspiracy?” Mason asked.

  Zane looked to his Wyndo again. “It says conspiracy against the Safe Lands. That could mean anything.”

  “He was looking into the meds, just like Ciddah and me,” Mason said. “Xiaodrine. I wonder if he knew?”

  “I’m more intrigued that he assaulted Lawten Renzor,” Omar said. “What do you think that was about?”

  “Hold on,” Zane said. “Still reading.”

  “We should start the meeting,” Levi said. “We only have tonight to plan this — ”

  “I think I got it,” Zane said. “Renzor is the one who turned him in for conspiracy.”

  “And got a deal for it,” Mason said. “Got put on the Safe Lands Guild.”

  Levi’s frustration boiled over. “What is the point of all this? We’ve got kids to rescue. Who cares about Lonn or Renzor?”

  “You’re still living under the delusion that your people have a way out of the Safe Lands, aren’t you?” Zane said.

  Levi didn’t like his tone. “We’ll find a way out.”

  “But if we don’t,” Mason said, “our only hope is to bring down the government by exposing the truth.”

  “Operation Lynchpin,” Omar said.

  Levi rolled his eyes. “Fine. Fine! But for this meeting, can we focus on the kids, please?” Levi jogged up the stairs and into the center of the circle of chairs. “We’re going to start the meeting now, if everyone can find a seat.” Relief rushed into him at the sight of people scrambling to sit down. He didn’t know what he would have done if everyone had continued to ignore him. He didn’t see Mason’s mystery guests anywhere. “Ruston, where are the medic’s parents?”

  “I took them to one of the bedrooms and got them settled.”

  Good. At least Levi wouldn’t have to worry about them adding their opinions on everything. He’d never have guessed that being a leader was this difficult.

  Once the room had quieted, Levi said, “Mason, tell us what you found out from Penny.”

  “Penelope said if we could get some people on the roof of the Nordic tomorrow night, she’d make sure the board was left up. We’ll be able to walk across the board and get inside the school.”

  “What board?” Nash asked.

  “Why tomorrow night?” Beshup asked. “I thought we all agreed to wait an extra week to plan?”

  “Because they’re going to move Penelope into the harem next week,” Mason said. “And she says she can get the kids ready to leave tomorrow.”

  “Penny in the harem?” Jemma looked like she might start crying, which Levi could not handle right now.

  “What’s Penelope telling the kids?” Zane asked.

  “That they’re going to run away,” Mason said. “Then, if a child accidently reveals something, the teachers will discipline the children rather than tap Enforcer 10.”

  “I’d like to know who she’s telling,” Ruston said.

  “As far as I know, just Glenrock and Jack’s Peak children,” Mason said.

  “That’s wise,” Ruston said. “We can still offer escape to the others, maybe even kidnap some of the younger ones.”

  Kidnap? Was Levi really going to be a part of kidnapping children? “Jemma, can you give us the breakdown of what kids are where?” They needed to focus on the kids who belonged to them.


  Jemma read from a notepad. “We’ve got eleven girls in the boarding school: Penny, Nell, Meghan, Ruth, Lucy, Hailey, Kaylee, Rosalie, and the three from Jack’s Peak: Heather, Haiwee, and Sarajawea. We’ve also got eleven boys in the school. Ours are Trevon, Jake, Joe, and Brian, and Jack’s Peak has another seven: Etu, Dakav, Sakima, Yas, Chua, Dabooze, and Hakam.”

  “Penelope said the boys’ and girls’ dormitories are on opposite sides of the school,” Mason said. “We’re coming down onto the roof of the girls’ dorms, but we’ll have to cross the yard to get to the boys’.”

  “Then there’s the nursery,” Jemma said. “We don’t have any way of knowing how the nursery works. We’ve got seven there. Three girls: Carrie, Hazel, and Kimi. And four boys: Ben, Mutsiku, Kono, and Kaamp.”

  “And Elyot,” Omar said. “I told Kendall we’d get her kid too since she’s going to help us get in.”

  “What?” Levi said. “How is she going to help?”

  “She’s been there,” Omar said. “To see her baby.”

  Why did Omar always feel the need to surprise him? “Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

  “So you could say no?” Omar chuckled defensively. “I just need Zane’s help with the cameras, and it will be easy.”

  “I can do that,” Zane said. “No problem.”

  “I’ll have to remove her SimTag first,” Mason added.

  It seemed his brothers were united against him. “I don’t want either of you near Kendall’s apartment,” Levi said. “Zane said they were watching her.”

  “So we’ll have her meet us someplace neutral,” Omar said.

  “Once you take out her SimTag, take her to the cabin,” Zane said. “And she’ll have to go into the basements with you afterward.”

  Jemma would love that. Maybe Kendall and Shaylinn could share a room and fight over Omar. “So tap her, then make a plan to get her SimTag out and get her to the cabin sometime tomorrow,” Levi said. “We can go over the nursery plan once she tells us what she knows. How many adults will we need to carry all those infants?”

  “I can carry more than one,” Omar said. “I’ll rig up a harness and strap one to my back. Give me the oldest two. They’ll be … sturdier.”

  “You don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Jordan said.

  “No, he’s right,” Jemma said. “Eliza used a baby harness for Brian when Ben was born. Don’t you remember her walking around with one strapped to her back while she carried the other? And Omar’s right about the toddlers being strong enough to handle harnesses. The infants need to be carried more gently.” She smiled at Omar. “You’re going to be a good dad.”

  Jordan glared at his sister, then at Omar. Good grief. Jemma just had to turn every opportunity into a chance to manipulate Omar into marrying Shaylinn.

  “Kimi is only six months old,” Jemma said. “And Kendall’s baby is not quite two months. Those are the only two young enough to worry about being extra careful with. And if Kendall carries her baby …” She shrugged.

  “I will carry mine,” Tupi said, and Levi guessed he must be Kimi’s father.

  “Eliza will freak if she finds out Omar is the one rescuing her baby,” Jordan said.

  Levi couldn’t be bothered with unforgiveness over Omar’s betrayal of Glenrock right now. “She won’t know. None of us are going to be talking to the women about the plans, right, Jemma?”

  “Right,” she said. “It will only make them nervous. We ladies will be praying for everyone, but please don’t give anyone any details.”

  Levi could only imagine what a nightmare that would be.

  “Make sure Kendall knows that too,” Omar said to Jemma. “She’s got a big mouth.”

  “I’ll talk to her,” Jemma said.

  Levi pressed on. “So if Omar gets Carrie and Hazel, Kendall carries her own kid and Ben. Tupi takes his child and another, and we need one more volunteer from Jack’s Peak to grab the last two.”

  “I will go with Tupi,” Mukwiv said. “Tupi can carry his children, and I will carry Mutsiku and Kaamp.”

  “Great.” Levi didn’t know who half these people were. He read from Jemma’s notes. “So Omar, Mukwiv, Tupi, and Kendall are the nursery team.” Good. One thing done. Levi looked to Beshup. “Do you have a preference?”

  “I will go to the boys and Chua,” Beshup said.

  “And I’ll help get the girls out,” Nodin said.

  “Me too,” Yivan said.

  Levi thought that over as he watched Jemma write it down. “So we have four going to get the infants. Jordan and I will head up the team that goes after the girls. With Nodin and Yivan, we’ll be a team of four. But that leaves only Mason and Beshup to the boys.”

  “I’ll go with Mason,” Ruston said. “I’d like to do what I can to bring some Safe Lands children out.”

  Levi stifled a retort and hoped that Ruston’s company tomorrow night wouldn’t be a mistake. “Okay, good. Now that we know who’s going where, let’s talk plans. Zane is our eyes, as always. He’ll be monitoring the grid and trying to throw the enforcers off track. The boarding school teams meet here, and Ruston is going to lead us into the Highlands through the storm drains. Ruston?”

  “We need to be extra quiet in the drains,” Ruston said. “Enforcers have been trying to cut off all exits to the canal. They want to keep you in. So once we get the kids, we bring them back here as quickly and quietly as possible. Then I’ll lead you all to one of my basement locations. From there, I’ll find you all places to live until you’re able to leave for good.”

  “How will we get to the roof?” Mason asked.

  “We’ll take the storm drains from here to an alley off Treasury Road, a half block from the Nordic,” Ruston said. “We’re going to have to take out the doorman at the Nordic. I’ll bring two scouts with me. Farran will take the doorman’s place. It should be pretty slow at that time of night, so hopefully no one will notice. Nash is going to stay on the roof. He’ll tap me if he sees any trouble, but it will be good to have eyes looking down on the school.”

  Two extra men as lookouts. Levi liked that. “So we go from here, through the tunnels, from the alley off Treasury to the Nordic, take out the doorman, then take the elevator to the roof.” Levi met Mason’s gaze. “And then Penny is going to leave us a board to cross?”

  “That’s what she said,” Mason said.

  “And if she doesn’t?” Jordan asked. “The girl does her own thing sometimes.”

  “If it’s close enough for a board, maybe it’s close enough to jump,” Omar said.

  “No one is jumping,” Levi said.

  “Penelope said she’d take care of the board. If it’s not there, something has gone wrong,” Mason said.

  Levi hoped nothing would go wrong. “Still, our whole plan relies on the existence of this board. Let’s take one with us, just in case.” Levi would feel pretty stupid if the entire rescue failed because of a lack of a piece of wood that he could have carried himself.

  “So we’re going to cross some flimsy board, hope not to die, then cross it again, carrying two kids each? That’s our plan?” Jordan looked from face to face, like everyone was nuts.

  “It’s not a flimsy board,” Mason said. “Penelope called it the bridge.”

  “Again … Penny?” Jordan said. “That this whole plan rests on her doesn’t make me all warm and fuzzy.”

  “Just because she doesn’t let you boss her around doesn’t make her incompetent,” Omar said.

  Jordan pointed at Omar. “You, shut up.”

  Could their people look any more mature right now? How was this going to give the Jack’s Peak men any confidence in the plan? “Enough,” Levi said. “We will bring our own bridge board. But we’re going to trust that Penny knows what she’s talking about.” What choice did they have, really? “Have a little faith, Jordan.”

  Jordan sat back in his chair. “You’re the boss,” he said with exaggerated indifference.

  Yes, thanks, Jord
an. Everything rested on Levi’s shoulders. Even if no one listened to him now, they’d blame him if things went wrong. Again he admired Papa Eli for his years of service/suffering. “We cross the board, and Penny should be waiting. She’ll lead us to where we need to go from there.”

  “And she said she’d try to have some children there already,” Mason said.

  “Everyone be flexible,” Levi said. “If we need to shift responsibilities, we’ll work it out. But in the end, know we’re each getting eleven kids. Make sure to count before we leave.”

  “Unless I get more,” Ruston said.

  “Unless you get more.” Levi hoped Ruston wouldn’t slow them down in his desire to be a savior to kids he didn’t even know. “Jemma will make each team a list of names. Call roll before we leave. Good?”

  “Mad good,” Jordan said.

  “What about the SimTags?” Mason asked. “Won’t the children all have them?”

  “That’s on you,” Levi said. “You’re going to have to remove them.”

  “All twenty-two?” Mason asked.

  “And the other seven — eight from the nursery.” Zane snickered and shook his head at Mason. “You’re going to have to work fast, peer.”

  “But how can I be in both places at the right time?” Mason asked.

  “The school group is going to leave an hour before the nursery group,” Zane said. “By the time they walk through the tunnels and go over on the roof and back … all that takes a while. Dayle will have a moving truck waiting behind the Nordic. It’s one of ours, lined with steel and some magnets to hide SimTags. Everyone gets in the truck, and you get to work. The truck will drive you to a location on the west side of Champion Park where everyone but Mason will take a different storm drain into the Midlands. We checked it today, and the enforcers still haven’t found it.”

  “Then Dayle will drive Mason to the Medical Center and pick up Omar’s team,” Ruston said. “Everyone piles in back, and Mason gets to work on the babies. Dayle will drive back to the drain, and when you get the babies on the other side, we’ll have another truck waiting. Omar can drive it up to the cabin for the night. We’ll move your women and babies to the basements on Sunday night.”