Kay stood alone, rigid with sudden apprehension. Unlike Gunnison, the aide had looked at her. His gaze had been flinty.
She stared over at the small cluster of people. Next to Gunnison stood Hester, the World for Peace official – a statuesque black woman. The others were clearly hanging on her every word. Gunnison said something; Hester looked serious as she replied.
What was going on? Unable to help herself, Kay edged closer. The young astrologer she’d been rescued from stood munching a canapé near them. Kay planted herself at his side and gave him a dazzling smile.
“I was so fascinated about what you were saying earlier,” she said.
He beamed in surprise and started talking again. Kay glanced surreptitiously at the group, straining to hear their conversation. Skinner was there. So was Bernard Chester, with his plump cheeks and wavy brown hair. Only Sandford Cain was absent; he was currently in the Western Seaboard.
Skinner said, “Well, frankly, I was concerned about Vancour from the start.”
Who’s Vancour? thought Kay wildly.
The WfP woman looked strained. “Yes, from what I hear she’s very determined. And knows enough now to make a great deal of trouble.” She turned to Mac. “I understand you’ve met her?”
Mac grimaced. “Briefly. Not long enough to form a useful impression.”
“We already have an impression, unfortunately,” said Hester. “We’re just lucky that Sandford’s already out there and can deal with her.”
Gunnison had been standing grimly silent. At the mention of Sandford Cain he nodded. “Very lucky.” He glanced at an aide. “Has Sandy checked in yet?”
“Not yet,” said the aide.
“Well, I want to know the moment he does. And I’m not happy that we weren’t aware sooner that Vancour could be a danger. No wonder Hendrix got it so wrong. Show me that chart again, Mal. It wasn’t even flagged?”
“I’m afraid not,” said Skinner tautly. “We perhaps put a bit too much trust in Miss Pierce.”
Icy fear swept Kay; she looked quickly over. Skinner held an astrological chart. He and Bernard pointed something out to Gunnison, who nodded. Even from here, Kay could see the square with an “x” through it.
She breathed in sharply. The Grand Cross chart. She’d once wavered over it, but then hadn’t chosen it as a danger.
Gunnison looked up then. His gaze met Kay’s. For a moment they were the only two people in the room. He studied her, briefly, deeply, his look both disappointed and coolly measuring. Kay clutched her glass.
What’s happened? she thought in terror. What had this “Vancour” person done? She started to go over and find out, but Gunnison looked away then, obviously dismissing her, and it felt impossible.
She stood frozen, her thoughts tumbling, not even pretending to listen to the young astrologer.
No one else spoke to her for the rest of the night.
Chapter Thirty
The day after we got back to base, Collie was made a Tier One pilot.
Ordinarily I’d have been jubilant: he’d been a Peacefighter for less than six months. Now the news brought a chill.
We were in the canteen heading towards a table when he told me; I stopped short. “You’re what?”
“Tier One,” repeated Collie. He glanced at the busy room and nudged me. “Come on – let’s sit down.” His face wore the taut lines that it had worn since I’d refused to run away with him.
We found a table in the corner. I leaned close. “Tell me everything.”
Collie added sugar to his coffee and then fiddled with the canister. “Not much to tell. There was a note in my mailbox this morning to see Hendrix. When I went over, he offered me a Tier One promotion.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
“He didn’t mention—” I broke off, glad of the canteen’s buzz.
“No,” said Collie. “And he was alone.”
My voice was barely a whisper. “But why would he offer me bribes, and not you?”
Collie shook his head tensely. “I guess he’s already got his crooked Tier One pilot and doesn’t need another one.”
Since we weren’t team leaders, our jobs still included taking Tier Two fights if needed. The relief that morning when Hendrix hadn’t approached me about anything untoward had been immense.
Suddenly it was as if I were seeing the canteen through a red lens that made everyone’s faces distorted, avaricious. How many Peacefighters took bribes? For the first time, I was glad my father was dead. This would have devastated him…along with everything else that was happening in the Western Seaboard.
Anger was the mood of the country now. It had been just over three months since my failed appeal and the loss of our oil rights. Long editorial screeds filled the newspapers, complaining about President Lopez, the long breadlines, the scanty resources…and lauding Gunnison for being a “shining example of strong leadership”. They stopped just short of saying, He should be our leader, too.
Worse, people were still being taken away. There were stories daily about former Central States citizens who’d been found in hiding and dragged off by the Guns.
I felt hollow. It all seemed to be spinning out of control. I held my coffee mug tight between both hands. “We’ll make everything right again,” I muttered. “We have to.”
Collie’s expression was torn between sympathy and cynicism; our argument in the barn hovered between us. He glanced at his watch and rose from his chair.
“Right, well…I have to meet the administrator and go check out my new quarters.”
I looked up. “You accepted one of the Tier One houses?”
“Yeah, why?”
“No reason,” I said after a pause. I’d told Hendrix that I liked rooming with Vera and that maybe I’d move later. There was no way I wanted a new house from him under the circumstances.
Collie’s face darkened as if I’d said the words out loud. He propped his hands on the table and leaned close.
“You know what?” he said softly. “If it were up to me we’d be long gone by now – someplace safe where Sandford Cain could never find you. So yeah, sweetheart, you better believe I took the bigger house and the higher pay. I’ll take whatever I can before the whole damn thing explodes.”
Once Harlan had asked what a Virgo was. No one would ask that now; astrology was in the very ether. The next night Collie had a Tier Two fight and Vera and I went into the Heat. I saw three more astrologer’s signs there; the flashing red-and-black swirls seemed to taunt me. When a woman passed us wearing a golden crab brooch, it felt like the last straw.
“That’s Cancer the crab,” I said to her.
“That’s right.” She fingered the brooch with a smile. “Pretty, isn’t it?”
“But why are you wearing it? You don’t have to show your sun sign here, not yet.”
She stared at me like I was crazy. “It’s only a brooch.”
My voice rose. “Do you know what they do to people in the Central States who refuse to show their sun signs? No, you probably don’t, because you’d have to read the papers with a magnifying glass to find any mention of it, but—”
The woman took a step back. “It’s only a brooch,” she repeated.
She strode off.
Vera stood gaping. “Amity…”
I pressed my hand over my eyes. “Sorry,” I said. “Sorry.”
Finally I couldn’t stand it any more and called Madeline from a payphone in one of the Heat’s diners. “Who’s calling, please?” asked the WfP switchboard operator.
“Louise,” I said, twisting the phone cord. Would Madeline remember my middle name?
I waited for a long time, listening to the heavy weight of silence through the receiver. The sounds of the diner came muffled through the phone booth’s door: the clinking of silverware, people’s conversations.
“Hello?” Madeline’s voice was cautious.
I jerked upright. “It’s me. What’s happening?”
“Nothing I can say over the phone.”
“Fine, I’ll come to your office—”
“No.”
“But—”
“Listen to me!” Her voice was quick, urgent. “Do not call me again. Do not come here. I’m doing everything I can, but things are at a very tricky stage. You need to just keep doing your job and not raise any suspicions. Can you do that for me?”
My fingernails dug into my palm. “Yes,” I said at last.
“Good girl,” Madeline said softly. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I can. We will beat this thing, I promise.”
The line went dead. In slow motion I hung up the receiver…and tried not to think about the undercurrent of fear in her tone.
Hey Sis,
I hope you’re doing well and winning lots of fights. Remember those astrology charts I showed you? Well, these two men came today and asked to see them. I don’t know how they knew Ma had them but they did. One of them wrote something down and his cufflinks had Gunnison’s symbol on it. When they gave the charts back they wouldn’t explain anything, they just said they’d need to do more checking. I asked what they were checking but they told me to be quiet and left.
Ma’s nervous even though she’s trying to hide it. I’m kind of nervous too. Amity, do you know what’s going on?
Your brother,
Hal
“Don’t panic,” said Collie. “Amity! Calm down.”
“How can I?” I snapped. I paced back and forth, almost wearing a trail in the rug. We were at Collie’s new house. At least they hadn’t given him Russ’s old place; it would have been more than I could bear.
“I really don’t think they’re looking for me,” Collie said again. But he’d been pale ever since he read Hal’s letter…and I knew we were both thinking about the chart in Ma’s house with his name on it.
“Of course they are.” I sank onto the sofa, Hal’s letter crumpled tensely in my hand. “What else could it be? My family aren’t CS residents!”
I’d phoned home as soon as I received it – using a payphone in the Heat again, which I hoped was more anonymous than the base switchboard. Hendrix was clearly Gunnison’s lackey; the less that got back to him, the better.
Ma had assured me everything was fine. “They haven’t come back,” she said, her voice deliberately cheerful. “They were probably just taking some kind of survey.”
I’d gripped the receiver hard. “Ma, if they come again, don’t let them in, do you understand? They don’t have any rights over you!”
“Really?” Ma had sounded doubtful. “Well…they seemed very sure of themselves.”
“Ma! Do not let them in again. Promise me.”
She’d agreed, though I didn’t have high hopes. I knew how she wilted when confronted with authority; she assumed anyone in a uniform knew best.
“They must have found out your link to my family,” I said to Collie. “They could be talking to Ma’s friends this instant; you know she’s told them all that you’re a Peacefighter. Collie—” I broke off and touched his face, stroking the slight roughness of his stubble.
“No,” I said hoarsely. “I won’t let them take you.”
He gripped my hands. “Listen to me! They are not looking for me. I’d bet money on it. I don’t even exist in the Central States any more, remember?”
“How can you be so sure? Because Mac says so?”
“Yes! Amity, you’ve got to tell Rose and Hal to keep safe. Tell them not to let them in again.”
“I already have. Well, I told Ma. Hal was at school.”
Collie knew Ma as well as I did. His grip tightened. “Tell Hal, too. Call him and warn him to be careful. Tell him not to call the base. Promise me!”
“You don’t have to make me promise. Of course I will.” He’s my brother, I almost said, but in all the ways that counted he was Collie’s brother, too. “He’s only fourteen, though,” I added quietly. Hal had had a birthday the month before. “I don’t know how well he could stand up to the Guns, if it came to that.”
Collie winced at the word “Guns”. He turned away and didn’t speak for a moment. “No…it’s not easy to stand up to them,” he said huskily. “But he’s got to try.”
Though he might not want to face it, we both knew Collie was the only reason Gunnison’s men might be interested in my family. I sank onto the sofa again. The house was silent. Very distantly, I could hear a Firedove engine overhead.
“I’m scared,” I admitted after a pause. “When I talked to Madeline, she sounded worried.”
Collie looked quickly at me. “Have you changed your mind?”
“No! We can’t just leave.” I pressed my hands to my throbbing temples. “It could destroy everything she’s trying to do.”
Collie sagged. He closed his eyes. “You know, I’d throw you over my shoulder and take you out of here by brute force if I could,” he said finally.
“And just abandon the whole world to Gunnison? Let the corruption continue? You can’t be serious!”
Collie rubbed his forehead and didn’t answer.
I let out a long ragged breath and slumped against the sofa. I stared at the ceiling. “Besides…being a Peacefighter still means something,” I whispered into the silence. “It’s just got to.”
“You’d better go.” Collie’s voice was dull.
“What? Why?”
He went to the sideboard and poured himself a drink. His shoulders were carved in stone. “Because all I want to do right now is make love to you and never hear the word ‘Peacefighter’ again for as long as I live, that’s why.”
I was close to tears and hated it. I stood up and grabbed my jacket. “Fine. Being a Peacefighter is still an honour, Collie, even now. Maybe you should leave, if I’m the only reason you’re hanging around.”
He stiffened. He turned and regarded me coldly. “Don’t think I’m not tempted.”
“Nichols, Tier Two fight against the European Alliance…Patterson, Tier Three fight against Mexico…”
I sat stiffly on the metal folding chair as Hendrix read the roster. Vera leaned towards me. “Do you want to have lunch together, if your name doesn’t—”
I touched her arm, silencing her. Hendrix had just reached the Rs.
“Ramirez, Tier Two fight against Indasia…Reed, Tier One fight against the Central States…”
Tier One? A murmur went through the hangar.
I turned quickly in my seat. Collie sat with some of the other pilots. Our eyes met. I saw his shock – his apprehension.
I faced forward in a daze. What claim had Gunnison made against our country now? But the Tier One had been given to Collie, so they wanted it fought fairly. Had Madeline already made a difference behind the scenes? No, surely she’d have been in touch.
Vera gazed worriedly at me.
“Sorry,” I murmured, not looking away from the World for Peace flag. “I can’t do lunch today.”
My own name wasn’t called.
When Hendrix dismissed us, I made my way over to Collie. We hadn’t spoken since the night before, but he didn’t seem surprised when I joined him to walk over to the Deciding Room, where he’d find out where and when his fight would take place.
Outside it had just finished raining. Everything had a bright, freshly-washed look – even the trucks passing by. We took a shortcut through the administrative housing. The path was slightly overgrown with weeds.
“What do you suppose it means that there’s another Tier One fight against the Central States so soon after the last one?” I said in an undertone. This was our second Tier One in just over two months. The papers hadn’t even hinted that anything was brewing.
Collie shook his head. “Nothing good.”
A few pilots passed; I kept quiet until they were out of earshot. “At least they want you to fight it and not me,” I said. “Collie, it feels like something must have happened.”
He gave me a sharp look. “With Madeline?”
“What else?”
&nbs
p; “I don’t know, and that scares the hell out of me,” he said curtly. He stopped and rubbed his fist over his mouth. We were in a vacant lot beneath a cluster of palm trees. A soft pattering fell around us: remnants of rain dropping from their jagged leaves.
I hated how much we’d been arguing lately. Our eyes met. I hesitated and put my hand on his chest. I could feel the steadiness of his heartbeat under my fingers.
Collie’s expression didn’t soften. Almost roughly, he took my head in his hands and we kissed. “Amity, please be careful,” he whispered. “If everything explodes, you’re the one they’ll be gunning for.”
I swallowed. “I will be. You, too.”
His jaw was taut. “Have you thought that Madeline might already be dead? You could be staying here for nothing. A sitting duck.”
Fear sharpened my voice. “I have to take that chance. I don’t have a choice.”
“Of course you have a choice!”
“Collie, you of all people should understand—”
He gripped my shoulders hard. “Yes, me of all people! Because I’ve been in the CS – I know! You think anyone can stop Gunnison if he’s determined to take over? Fighting him is pointless! All you can do is survive.”
I started to answer and stopped.
Collie’s voice was low. “I will ask you this one more time. Come away with me before it’s too late.” He cupped my cheek with his hand; his skin was warm, familiar. “I love you, Amity. I always have. Don’t throw it all away. I’m begging you.”
His eyes stayed locked on mine. And in that moment I longed to abandon Madeline, leave Peacefighting to its corruption, and grab the next train to anywhere, as long as it was with Collie.
“No,” I jerked away, almost trembling. “I can’t leave. You know that.” The Deciding Room was just across the street. I nodded stiffly to it. “You’ve got a job to do… or have you forgotten every last part of your Peacefighting vow?”
Collie straightened, his face tight. “Yeah, sorry. Stupid of me to care about your life when you don’t give a damn.”
He turned and walked towards the Deciding Room. As he crossed the street I stood frozen under the palms, watching the set of his shoulders, the way he moved. I wanted to call after him and snatch the words back – but then he was gone and it was too late.