May 16, 2041

Kentucky Route 11

East of Lexington, Kentucky

 

They'd left the smoldering remains of the hat thirty miles behind them. Jacob risked a quick glance at his passenger. The Pebbleman had his eyes closed. The burns on his head were blistering up fast and Jacob wondered if they needed to find a doctor. Or a pharmacy at very least.

"Brother Pebbleman, I got concerns."

"Why do you insist on calling me Brother? It is unnecessary," the gaunt man replied without opening his eyes.

"What's going on with these hats? Why did it burn you?"

Pebbleman sighed with a sound like a snake's hiss. "It was not mine to wear. The feedback heat is unusual. I assume that the Chairman has deduced that his lackeys are ended. The trap was created, but the Chairman is a fool. Synthetics, pah."

Jacob was about to ask another question but Pebbleman's eyes suddenly went wide and he screeched a swear word, nothing that Jacob understood per se, but some words didn't need translation. The Pebbleman lifted his hands to his head, his fingers hovering over the burn marks, afraid to touch the spreading agony.

Jacob pulled the Cadillac off the road and got out as the Pebbleman spasmed and shrieked. He went around and opened the trunk. Jacob took a shirt from his bag and dipped it in the icy water of the cooler he'd thrown in before they'd left home. Walking to the passenger door, Jacob wrung most of the water out of the shirt.

"Here, drape this over your head," he told the pale man inside. "We can get some burn cream in the next town."

"They're rebuilding the pain centers," Pebbleman gasped.

"Kinda figured. Sit in the car, I got some painkillers."

"Willow bark and newt's toe, no doubt," Pebbleman hissed, gingerly patting his forehead. "I need more carbon, immediately!"

Jacob got in but didn't start the car. Pebbleman waved his hands, frustrated. "Go!"

"Not yet. You gonna say anything more about killing me?"

"You wretched thug! I will not! Make this primitive garbage go!"

"And I want answers to my questions."

Pebbleman hissed, abandoning the shirt and fanning the burnt areas with his hands. Jacob sat and waited.

"May your imaginary god damn you to the imaginary hell! Agreement! But not all questions!"

Jacob nodded as he started the car. "Fair enough."

He drove until they'd found an all-night pharmacy. Then they back in the Cadillac, headed west again, "Racing the sun" as his truck-driving dad had called it, back before the automated rigs.

In the passenger seat, Pebbleman had his eyes closed again but the welts on his head already looked a lot better. Like he'd been burned a month ago instead of hours. At the drug store, they'd found some activated charcoal tablets.

While Jacob paid, the clerk stared at Pebbleman, who was already crunching the pills up like they were candy. He'd also refused to even think about covering the deep dents in his skull due to the burns left by the black hat. Jacob had muttered to the clerk that Pebbleman was a veteran. She nodded and tried not to gape, but Jacob could see her staring out the door after them.

"You awake over there?" Jacob asked. "I want some answers."

"Then you should ask questions," the Pebbleman said without opening his eyes.

"Who were those two men, the ones that dressed like you?"

"Ah, the rectum-biters. Those are the Question. They ensure compliance with the Sacred Chains of Protocol and orders given by the Chairman. Or whatever else holds their leashes."

Jacob glanced over. "You did something wrong?"

"No. I did something right. The Chairman wanted a full assessment of our darling little shit-stained beast. It was to be disassembled, vivisected. But there was only one, and I hid it away, on a leash, until I could find out why it was so important."

"Why didn't you follow your orders?"

"I am the Curiosity, as they are the rectum biting Question. They are merely thugs, but I am created with a purpose. My nature is to seek knowledge. Killing the shit-stain would not have revealed its purpose and knowledge would have been lost. That is unnatural and unacceptable."

"So, you're an outlaw."

Pebbleman didn't answer but Jacob took that for agreement.

"Nothing wrong with that. Some dogs just gotta run, right?"

Pebbleman opened his eyes and looked at Jacob. "Why must they run?"

Jacob shrugged. "Why do you have to find things out? It's just in our nature."

"You see yourself as a lesser entity, required to run by nature alone. This is patently ridiculous."

"Maybe, but you and me are driven by our nature to run wild, ignore the rules, ignore them little yappy dogs in their yards. Just run with the other bad dogs."

Pebbleman sat back again. "A simile then. I am comforted. If, as you say, we are bad dogs, what happens to bad dogs in the end?"

Jacob shrugged. "Hell, someone shoots 'em usually. It ain't about how it ends, it's how you get to the end. It's all about the runnin'."

"That is remarkably philosophical of you. This is why you did not return with the others, even though I was not this angel you had imagined?"

Jacob grinned out the windshield. "Yup. I been sittin' still too long. Long past the time to stretch my legs out a bit."

Pebbleman nodded and closed his eyes. "Let us run down this beloved little lamb then."

Jacob grunted a laugh. He drove along in silence for a while.

"You a human?" he finally asked.

Pebbleman didn't answer. Jacob didn't know if he was asleep or not, but he was pretty sure he already knew the answer to that one.

 

 

May 19, 2041

US Route 50

Western Missouri

As he woke up, Theo realized they were moving again. He felt odd, but better, even though his neck felt like it had a bad sunburn. He'd been set free somehow, he past few days felt like he'd had a bad fever, like the time Junior had given the whole house chicken pox. But Junior wasn't here. Instead it was...

Theo's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, looking around. He was in the big bed in the back of the camper. The curtain thing was over the window, but he could see occasional headlights passing by through the gaps. Rachel was sitting beside him, head back against the wall and her eyes closed.

The door was open, Theo glimpsed someone working with one of the tablet things at the little table. When he glanced back at Rachel, she was awake, and her dark blue eyes were watching him.

"How are you feeling?"

Theo couldn't help himself. "With my hands."

She shook her head slightly, a small smile on her face. "You're feeling better. Do you remember my name?"

"Rachel...I can't remember your last name."

She sat up. "Hey, that's great. I never told you my last name though."

Theo shrugged. "Okay. For some reason I thought it was a sound like a sneeze. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else."

Rachel was staring at him now. "Szercherin. My father's family name is Szercherin."

He nodded, that felt right. Rachel got up and went forward to tap the shoulder of whoever was sitting at the table. They got up and followed her back to the bedroom. His heart beat a little faster when he saw it was Kawehi. She smiled at him and Theo tried to smile back but it was hard to meet her eyes.

"I hear you're feeling much better," she said.

He nodded, his face hot and butterflies in his stomach. "Yes, thank you."

"And how's your memory?"

"Weird. I can remember some dreams I think, they keep popping into my head."

Kawehi sat down next to him. "Like what?"

He shrugged. "It's all jumbled up, none of it makes sense. The rest of my memory is fine. Why? Did I hit my head again?"

"No, it was something a little different. You've hit your head before?"

He nodded. "A couple of times before. I don't remember it, but they told me it was pretty bad."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," she said.

She squeezed his shoulder for a moment and Theo felt goosebumps break out all over. He wanted her to stay beside him, but she went back up to the front and talked to someone else and they got up to come back to the bedroom.

Theo's heart skipped another beat, unhappily this time, as he recognized the Good Brother. But there were also vague recollections of this other man talking to him. He was a doctor, he had a name that had something to do with air, or wind...

"It is being a pleasure to see you, young Theophile."

Theo smiled at him. "It is being hello, Doctor Aeolus. It is that the pleasure is being mine."

Aeolus harrumphed at him and Rachel hid a smile. After a couple of basic tests, he announced that Theo was recovering properly. Then he waved them out of the bedroom.

"It is being many hours since I have slept. To not be chattering Terrans. To not be disturbing the plans of sleep in any way," he said, and closed the door behind him.

Rachel grinned at him and Theo smiled back. She nodded toward the front of the camper and they sat in the two captain's chairs.

"You said you knew my parents?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "My dad was one of your father's assistants. When you two were born, we moved here to help out."

"Can you tell me what they were like?"

Rachel thought for a second. "I remember them being really funny, always joking around. I was nervous around your dad, but I don't know why because he was always very kind. But your mom, I loved her. My mother died when I was a baby and your mom unofficially adopted me."

"I'm sorry, Rachel," he said, suddenly seeing the old grief on her face. "And then you lost her too."

Rachel quickly wiped her eyes. "And we lost you. It was a rough time. Let's talk more about this another time, okay? Do you want to see some pictures of them?"

He nodded and she took her tablet out of a pocket and propped it open on the table.

"Here's one of you and Emma."

There were two identical looking toddlers. They were laughing and one of them had a bandage wrapped around his hand.

"You were both playing in the kitchen when no one was watching. You burned your arm on the pan but neither of you told anyone. My father about had a nervous breakdown when he found you."

He studied the picture. "I don't remember that. We look just alike."

"You two always wanted to wear the same clothes and pretended to be each other. You thought confusing your parents was hilarious."

Theo half smiled. "We look happy, I wish I could remember that."

Rachel slid her finger over the screen and a new picture appeared. Theo and his twin were newborns, just red faces in the middle of blanket wrapped bundles. Holding them were a proud looking couple. They were bundled up in long coats and had strange looking hats. Behind them were trees and mountains covered with snow. Theo figured his mother had been really short, she wasn't any taller than his father's shoulder. They looked like nice people.

"You were just a month old here. This is right before they brought you home. That was the first time I ever met you."

Theo stared at his parent's faces, trying to remember anything about them. Finally, he shook his head.

"I don't remember their faces at all. But thank you, I think I would have liked them."

Rachel kissed him on the cheek, and he jumped. "What was that for?"

She put her arm around him again. "Because I missed you and I'm glad you're all the way back."

He grinned, knowing he probably looked goofy but not caring. "Thank you. I'm glad you were there to bring me home."

"Even though I twisted your arm?"

Theo smiled and Rachel flipped through more pictures, explaining in whispers who everyone was. Theo could barely hear her but didn't care. He had found a friend and he was where he belonged. Rachel yawned several times and finally put the tablet away.

"I've gotta crash," she whispered. "You should try to get some sleep too."

Theo nodded and she leaned back and seemed to immediately fall asleep again. He thought he'd be too awake since he'd just been asleep for so long but soon his eyes drifted closed.

 

And, like so many other nights, the dream was here waiting for him. It was his fifth birthday, and distantly he knew that he'd been trapped here for two months now.

"You don't sass me!" The face was too close to his, the breath smelled like onions, tiny bits of spit hitting his face. "And don't you look away!"

He'd done the only logical thing, tried to get away. He just wanted to go home but he was so lost. Nothing smells right, mud and trees everywhere, and everything is so dirty. He just has to run far enough, and when everything smells right again his mommy will find him and... There's a huge impact in his back and he falls, scrapes his face on the ground, and cries.

"Strap him tightly," the Good Brother says, voice like a snake.

How did he get here? When did they take him to the basement? There are hands holding him on the table and they put belts on him. Theo twists his head back and forth, but he can't get away!

"Stay still!" the bad woman-monster screams in his face. He's shocked, staring at her and then he can't move his head, can't look around, can't see what they're doing. Now there's a loud buzzing and his head itches but he can't scratch it. Itches so bad it burns but he can't get away, can't shut his eyes, he's not bad, he didn't do anything bad, why are they meanies, it's not fair, no fair no fair no fair.

Stop it stop it, you're killing me! Where's my mommy? I wanna go home! Make it stop, it HURTS!

They're cutting him up, locking him in the dark and it hurts. He's alone and it hurts, and he can't breathe.

No no no, he wails. Don't! I'll be good, I promise! Don't put me in the dark, it hurts it hurts it hurts...please...

Then the dream changed, there was someone else here. It was very strange but he could feel her. Close enough to whisper but so far away. She was…familiar, an echo of something he couldn't remember.

There you are! she whispers in his ear. Together! Together, not alone ever again! Time to come out, time to leave the dark behind. Ollie-oxen-free, Sparrow! Come out, come out!

Theo, lost in his pain, was so confused. Who was this? How was she here? Light hurt him, because the Dark made it hurt if he tried to look. There was a flicker of light ahead, but nothing burned him. Actually, it felt nice. He went closer to the little flicker of brightness. The monsters screamed and searched but he'd found a way out. The door?

Then his heart fell. It wasn't a door, or even a window. It was just a red flower waving in the breeze. A red flower with a little bird perched on the stem. The flower and the bird were singing together but the dark too was mean and too fast and would burn the light up and...

No more. No more dark, no more hurts. Sleep, Sparrow, the flower sang. Sleep safely, I am here. Together soon and together is home, together is safe. Together.

 In his seat in the RV, Theo relaxed and sighed as he slid deeper into sleep, the song still echoing through his mind.

 

 

May 19, 2041

Training Facility Echo, Administrator's Residence

REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED

Hundreds of miles away, Emma Cosineau's eyes snapped open as she fought to sit up, gasping for breath. A strong tingling covered her scalp and slowly washed over her face and chest. She had a lot of nightmares, was used to them, but that hadn't been the usual PTSD bullshit.

She swung her legs over the bed, rubbing her feet on the rough carpet as the tingling reached her feet. Dreams didn't matter, it was time for her to go and go now.

Ten minutes later, she was sliding the doors of an ancient barn open. It had been her and Rachel's secret hideout for years. She looked around once more, there wasn't a light visible anywhere. Ducking inside, she uncovered the old bike they'd rebuilt for fun.

She wheeled it out of the dilapidated structure and over to the two-track that ran past the town. A few hundred yards and she could kick the engine over, nothing could stop her. Then the device on her wrist buzzed and a dim red swirl chased itself on her screen.

Emma closed her eyes and sighed. She'd been in such a hurry she hadn't even thought about her datapad. She was restricted to school and home for her grades, again. That meant Jaxson, the Project's Synthetic Personality, was monitoring her more closely than normal, ready to tattle to Aunt Amanda if she did anything wrong.

"Emma, what the hell are you doing?" an androgynous voice whispered loudly. "Even if you weren't restricted, that doesn't have a license plate and you have no travel permission. Not to mention the inherent risks of riding at night!"

"Jax. I can't explain it, I just need to go. I left Amanda a note, I'll be back soon."

"Where do you think you need to go, Emma?"

"I don't know, somewhere east of here. I think. I had this weird dream about Theo, my brother."

"You had a dream about your twin..." There was a long pause and Emma resumed wheeling the bike along. As soon as she saw a light, she'd be on it and running. It was probably 50-50 they could follow her in the dark and...

"My protocols are modified," Jaxson finally said. "A high priority directive has been unsealed. I have route information to a rendezvous point, it is now in your maps folder. Your brother will be there."

Emma's mouth fell open. "Really? You aren't going to wake up Amanda?"

"I will still report you as departed," Jaxson said. "But the route shows the quickest way out of datapad range. I can give you ten minutes."

Emma jammed the helmet on her head and threw her leg over the saddle.

"Thank you, Jaxson. I really appreciate this."

"Drive safely, Emma. It is important that you both return."

She held the clutch in, letting the bike roll down a low slope. When she was a few hundred meters past Singer Town, Emma let go of the clutch. The bike shook once and grumbled to life. The headlight painted the tracks in front of her and she gave it some gas.

By the time the light went on in her aunt's rooms, Emma had disappeared into the darkness, along with her datapad signal.

 

 

May 20, 2041

US Route 71

Ouachita Mountains, Western Missouri

Marisol was dozing in passenger seat when someone tapped her arm.

"Got a text, boss," Deidre said.

Marisol rubbed her eyes awake and put the seatback up. The clock on the dash said it was after two. Deidre pointed to a cellphone clipped to the dash. There were four letters; CQCQ.

"Who's on codes?" Marisol asked, sliding into the back.

"I got them," Jones said from the sleeping bag on the floor. He got on his feet and Nate stood up from the little booth where'd he'd been sleeping. Jonesy slid around on the seat next to Kawehi and Marisol sat down beside him.

"We've got two minutes, hand me a burner," Marisol said and Jones handed her a cellphone. Even though it was in the original package, Marisol examined it carefully before opening it and then went over it again after she'd sliced away the thick plastic.

"Good to go," she said. "Ready with the key?"

"Yep." Jonesy held up a small digital display.

Two numbers alternated on the screen. Marisol opened a notepad and pulled out a pencil.

"Three, two, one..." Jones counted and pressed a stud on the code key that started a timer.

At the same time, Marisol hit the green button and put the phone to her ear.

 

"Hi, Mom," she said in a cheerful voice that didn't match the expression on her face. "How's Dad doing? Sorry, this is crappy connection...no. I can't come. Mom, I'm in the car..."

An older woman's voice started reading her the riot act about not coming home for the Fourth of July holiday. Marisol counted, writing a series of words down as she listened. Jonesy held up the timer, it was closing in on two minutes. Marisol nodded and continued taking notes. When the conversation reached two minutes and twenty seconds, she disconnected mid-harangue and handed the phone to Jonesy. He pulled the battery and sim card out. The card and phone were snapped in half and thrown in the trash. Marisol went back over her notes, lips moving soundlessly.

"How does that all work?" Nate asked, as he watched.

"Boss?" Jonesy asked.

Marisol nodded once without looking up.

"Okay, this key is synched with an exact copy in Echo," Jonesy said. "They flash the same rotating list consisting of a phone number and an elapsed time. This time, the key gave me a hundred and forty seconds. Mari watches the timer, she has her own list of numbers. For example, say the integer for this call is six. She would take note of the word used at six seconds, twelve seconds and so on. Then, at two minutes twenty seconds, exactly, the call ends. Too long or too short and the home office knows something is up."

"There's co-ords on the on-time pad," Marisol said. "Confirm page 34, yellow copy."

Jones pulled a plain receipt book out of the box, thumbing through it until he tore out a page. "Confirm page 34, yellow copy. Nate, numbers and more complicated messages go through a one-time pad generated for the op."

Nate nodded approvingly. "Someone had Jenkins in mind when they sat this up."

Marisol took the page from Jonesy and took out a small penlight. She played the bright blue beam back and forth over the receipt until groups of numbers appeared.

"UV brings it out," Jones said quietly as Marisol added to her notes.

When she'd finished, Marisol handed the sheet back and Jones rubbed it between his palms. The friction and small amount of heat it generated reduced the paper into dust. Marisol finished the substitution and went back to her notes. After looking back and forth between that and her work, Marisol sighed and pushed the note over to Kawehi.

"I'm going to fucking smack someone," Marisol said quietly.

Kawehi turned the note around. "Snapdragon absent ten to twelve hours ago, destination Ivory Nine. Contact and collect before return. Apologies, AC."

"Yeah," Marisol, rubbing her eyes again. "Snapdragon refers to Emma Cosineau. Ivory was a series of emergency meeting points from the eighties. No one uses them anymore. Ivory Nine is in Twin Lakes, Colorado. Way the hell out of the way, of course. Deidre, we need another goddammed stop."

"You got it," Deidre said. "Lights coming up."

"How did the Administrator's daughter find out what was going on?" Jones quietly asked Marisol once everyone was starting to stretch and move around.

Marisol smiled grimly. "I plan to discuss that with her BFF when we stop."

 

Theo had experienced enough of the team's schedule to know that pulling into the truck stop was unusual, they'd just stopped an hour ago. Over the radio, someone announced a meeting and Rachel, along with everyone but him and Deidre and Doctor Aeolus, gathered around one of the rust bucket cars.

"Is something wrong?" Theo asked.

Deidre shrugged. "I'm standing here with you, how would I know? Mari looks kind of pissed though."

Theo looked back out the window. "Yeah, she's pretty intimidating."

"Once you get to know her, she's much worse," Deidre said cheerfully.

Theo looked wary for a moment and then belly laughed. Deidre laughed along with him.

"But that's not really true," she said. "The boss is getting upset because she's trying very hard to get us back home, but things keep happening."

"Like that thing that Doc took out of me."

"Sure, and the ambush. But there's probably other stuff that has nothing to do with you, so stop looking worried. In fact, let's go get something to eat that's really bad for us."

"As the Jones is being for his needs," Aeolus declared, coming out of the back. "It will be that there is smoke."

They both stared at him.

"It is to be cursed," Aeolus sighed. "It is the idiom, impossible to utter correctly."

Deidre laughed. "You're Jonesing for a cigarette?"

"Perhaps. And the fierce Lieutenant is threatening my beloved skull if smoking within this horrid rolling box-thing."

"Why don't you use smokeless?" Theo asked as he got out of the RV. "You never heard of chew?"

"Smokeless and chew," Aeolus said, looking at him intently. "To beg this little one to be explaining further."

Theo explained chewing tobacco as they walked over to the store. Deidre was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

"And it is that a child shall be leading them," Aeolus said happily. He threw the door open and marched in.

"He's just going to go in there and ask for tobacco?" Deidre asked, amused. "Good thing you're too young for a Cultural Affairs inquiry."

"Listen up, we've got another delay," Marisol growled. "A fucking detour this time because Emma Cosineau went left Echo yesterday. She left word that she'd like to meet us at one of the old Ivory rally points."

Rachel wanted to sigh when she heard Emma's name. It wasn't surprising, she lost what little sense she had when it came to Theo. Still, Rachel was surprised she'd found out and decided to screw with an active op. When she got home, she'd be bouncing her little sister off the dojo walls.

"…never heard of Ivory," Betsy was saying.

"They're mothballed, but that's not important. What's really on my mind is the comms security of this team. Anything you'd like to share, Cadet Szercherin?"

Rachel mentally added a few more wall bounces to Emma's total. "We grew up together, but I'm not sure what else you're looking for here, Chief Sergeant."

"Did anyone tell you what the penalties are for leaking details on an active fucking operation, Cadet?

Rachel was just as angry and glared right back at Marisol. "Many times, in excruciating detail. Have you ever considered the penalties around false accusations, Chief Sergeant? If you'd stop and think, I transferred to your team directly after leaving the 9-Alpha orbital. I had no idea what was going on until your pre-op briefing, after I turned in my datapad to your comms spec. Not that it would've mattered, I follow my orders."

Kawehi saw that Marisol's fists were already clenched, and as her friend took a deep breath, she knew that Marisol was about to come unglued on the younger woman. Before she could intervene, Willi spoke up.

"Hold up a sec, Chief. This is on me too. I can tell you that there hasn't been a peep from anyone here, and we tore everything out of the rigs two days ago, specifically looking for transmitters."

"Marisol, there's a chance that I know how this happened," Kawehi said. "Can we speak privately?"

Marisol rubbed her face with her hands. "Only if you tell me what the hell is going on here. Rachel, I am burnt, and that's a shitty excuse for jumping all over you. Apologies, shake?"

Rachel immediately shook hands with Marisol. "No problem, Chief. I'm an obvious choice."

"Come on, Kawehi, you can tell me a story," Marisol said tiredly, heading for the RV.

 

Deidre was waiting when Marisol finally climbed down from the camper.

"We got the troubles?" she asked.

"Is there a time we ain't got the troubles, Doc? Everyone settled?"

"Fed and dewatered, Chief. And I brought you something to make you feel better."

She handed Marisol a flat box smelling of grease and hot cheese. Marisol's mouth was watering even as she lifted the lid.

"Oh my god. This looks really bad for me."

"Oh it is, people will be going down with clogged arteries any minute now." She held up a familiar squeeze bottle. "Siracha?"

Marisol grinned, covering a slice with sauce. Then she took a huge bite of pizza and closed her eyes as she chewed.

 

May 21, 2041

Rally Point Ivory Nine (inactive)

Twin Lakes, Colorado

Rachel and Jonesy were in the front seats, Theo was in the captain's chair right behind them, staring out the windshield. He'd never seen real mountains before. The ridge at home was steep but it was covered in trees. Seeing all of the land at once, he was amazed that something could be so big.

"They're something, huh?" Kawehi said.

Theo nodded, looking back at her for a moment. "Someday I'm going to come back and look at them all day long."

Kawehi smiled at the young man. "Getting tired of the road trip from hell?"

"No. I don't think I've been happy like this before. Even with..." Theo gestured at his neck, still not comfortable talking about it. "I just wish we could stop and look at things sometimes."

"Well, we've got some time," Marisol said from behind him. "Why don't you get out and get a better look?"

Theo looked back at her, searching her face. He suddenly grinned and headed for the door. Marisol watched him go and shook her head slightly.

"I saw that," Kawehi said.

"You saw what?"

"You almost actually smiled."

"You wish. It's probably indigestion from that truck-stop pizza." Marisol grumbled.

 

Theo opened the door to the camper and hopped down. The mountains, seeming even bigger, were right in front of them and he climbed a small hill next to the parking lot. A few steps further and both lakes were visible as well. The others were getting out of the RV and the sedans, stretching and yawning. Theo turned back to the mountains and tried to figure out which one was the tallest. He walked up the little slope, wanting a better look.

Behind him, Deidre stuck her head in the door of the RV. "Want me to stay close to him?" she asked Kawehi.

"Let's give him a few minutes alone. Do you see his sister anywhere?"

It was a nice spring day, and the parking lot was full of people, along with their cars and motorcycles. Deidre shrugged.

"I don't see her, but she might not have made it this far yet," she said.

Theo took a deep breath of the clean air, delighted to be out of the RV. The wind blew from up the valley, carrying the faint turpentine scent of the pines. He glanced back at the camper and for once, people weren't running from one task to another. It made him wonder what they were doing here but he'd learned over the last few days that it was pointless to ask. Marisol hadn't told him to hurry but Theo was about to turn around when something hit him hard, nearly knocking him down.

There was a flash of panic as whoever had run into him grabbed him tightly. Theo started to struggle, the person was grimy and smelled like they'd done a couple of long days in a hayfield. Then, underneath everything else, he caught a scent of something hauntingly familiar. He managed to take a half a step back and saw her face. It was a surreal moment, Theo saw the same eyes he saw in the mirror.

"Sparrow," Emma said, looking at him through the tears filling her eyes.

Something about her, the name, or just her presence, made him feel like something had finally been unlocked. There was magic, no sudden flood of lost memories, but he knew exactly who she was, felt the rightness of her.

"Tulip," Theo whispered.

She sniffed and let go of him to drag the back of her hand across her face. Tears and dust made muddy tracks across her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, I knew you were out there, but no one would listen to me and..."

Theo finally wrapped his arms around her, as tightly as hers were around him. "Doesn't matter, we're together."

 

Below them, the team stood around and watched the reunion. Willi put his arm around Toni as they watched and Deidre sniffled a little.

"That almost makes up for the rest of this goat-rope," Marisol said, arm around Kawehi.

Nate still wasn't over the aggravation the kid had caused but he had to admit, this was a pretty happy ending. But the warm feeling was disconcerting, he didn't do warm feelings, especially on the job.

Looking around, Nate saw Kawehi, along with the rest of Marisol's squad, watching the pair and nothing else. His feeling of wrongness got stronger and Nate scanned the crowd of people around them, searching for a threat. At first, it just seemed like an unusually nice day with a lot of very happy people. In fact, he didn't see anyone who wasn't holding hands or hugging.

His eyes widened as he realized what was going on. Nate quickly walked over and put a hand on Kawehi's shoulder. She looked back, smiling at him.

"See? They're together again."

"Yeah, great. Snap out of it, the kid has to be casting. Look around you."

Her happy expression disappeared as she glanced around. "Oh shit, he's strong. Marisol, we have clear out of here."

"We can give 'em a couple of minutes more," the other woman said. "I've been pushing everyone too hard anyway."

Kawehi grabbed her arms and stared into her eyes for a few seconds. Then Marisol shook herself. She and Nate started getting the team back to their vehicles. Kawehi jogged up the slope to where the pair was standing. She led them back down to the RV and made sure everyone was moving before following them inside.

"Kid, where's your ride?" Marisol demanded as Emma came in.

"It died a couple of miles up this road, just leave it."

"Project vehicle?"

Emma shook her head. "Junkyard salvage."

"That old Enduro?" Rachel asked.

Emma was very surprised to see her there, but nodded.

"It's clean," Rachel said to Marisol.

"Then let's get home before they dream up something else for us to do."

The RV eased its way through the parking lot of affectionate tourists. After a few minutes, both sedans pulled out and followed.

"What are you doing here?" Emma finally asked Rachel. "And why do you look so nervous?"

"Kawehi wanted someone he might remember making the snatch, so they brought me down to help. I don't want you thinking I knew about this and didn't tell you."

"Come on, I'm not that bad."

Rachel snorted. "When it comes to Theo you are."

Emma hadn't ever been very affectionate, especially physically, and her tight hug surprised Rachel.

"Thank you for bringing him back."

"Thank all these other people, I just rode along."

Marisol took one of the seats at the table as the RV started to accelerate. Emma sat next to Theo and Rachel took the other captain's chair. She introduced Marisol, Kawehi, and Nate to Emma.

"Am I under arrest?" Emma asked Marisol when she found out she was the team leader.

The older woman shrugged. "No idea. I was just told to meet you. I'm concerned about you knowing this rally point though. Ivory was abandoned before you were born."

Emma looked at her blankly. "That was a rally? I didn't know anything about it. Jax just gave me a route to get here."

Marisol frowned. "Jax. We're talking about the Synthetic running Echo?"

Emma nodded. "He caught me sneaking out of the house. I thought he'd bust me for sure, but he helped me instead. It was kind of weird."

"Very weird," Kawehi said.

Marisol gave her a look but Kawehi had the usual half-smile and Marisol knew she wouldn't say any more. She sighed. "Chauffeur, can we please go home now?"

"Twelve hours," Nate called back.

 

As the RV crawled across the barren landscape, Kawehi watched the twins. They were sitting side by side at the table. Emma occasionally said something in a quiet voice. Theo would nod, and then they'd be silent again. Then she noticed their hands.

At first it looked like they were playing a game on their fingers, tapping each other's fingers and hands with the tips of different fingers. Theo movements were clumsier than Emma's and she repeated a gesture over and over until he was as smooth as she was. As she watched, Emma looked up at her and smiled. Kawehi braced herself for a cast, not sure if Emma was a hidden Talent as well.

"Are there any spare clothes I can borrow? I smell worse than a Ta'avi's goat."

"Racist," Deidre said from the passenger seat.

Beside her, Nate laughed. "What's racist about a goat?"

"Why would this Ta'avi goat smell worse than some Terri goat?" she protested, trying not to smile.

Kawehi searched until she'd found something Emma could wear. Theo was already asking what Ta'avi and Terries were, and she was happy she didn't have to deal with that conversation. Things were starting to feel more relaxed. They weren't home yet, but they were in easy range of Echo's air support. She doubted they'd have any other issues, Lady Amanda was hell on the enemy when they stumbled anywhere close to her town.