Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
The painting was the sign I needed. It was my parents’ way of telling me to endure. There will be a time for retribution. I just have to hold on until then.
He can do whatever his sick mind thinks up with my body, but Lochlan Murphy will never break me.
32
“My son wants nothing to do with me, but he must be protected. I want him assigned to a leadership position where he’s out of harm’s way. After all I’ve done in support of New America, I expect this request will be granted.” – Electronic message from Aldous Thatcher to New America Present Soren Whitman
Marcus
Island Four is an underground maze. The tunnels here are watertight, some made of concrete and others lava tubes created by a volcano a long time ago.
Cress and Briggs, the man beside her during my questioning, are coleaders here. When the virus came, she was a dance instructor and he was in a motorcycle club. I didn’t press him on how that paid his bills. They insisted I stay the night here so we can talk more.
It’s clear they’re not sharing everything with me. This island is geographically huge, and whatever experiments Whitman had people doing here were done underground. The jungle provides a canopy that makes this island perfect for the ILF to sell as contaminated and uninhabitable. From every visible angle, this place appears deserted.
In reality, it’s a hive of activity. We passed through a room of people using computers with big screens, and it reminded me of an air traffic control center. The mood was serious and tense; everyone focused on their work.
It was clearly surveillance. I suspect that with a satellite, the ILF is monitoring far more than just Blue Arrow Island. Seeing and hearing about this place gives me hope that the ILF is organized and strong enough to bring down New America.
We’re in the camp’s cafeteria for breakfast now, bright white light on the ceiling helping compensate for the lack of windows. This space looks like it was built to hold hundreds of people, and there are more than a hundred in here now.
My plate is stacked with pancakes, eggs, sausage, and toast. I’ve got coffee and orange juice to drink. There’s even syrup, which I haven’t had since before the virus.
“We’ve been trying to find Thatcher’s son for years,” Cress says. “But we were searching the mainland. We never considered he might stash his kid on one of the islands.”
“If you can spare a drone to drop a bomb on him, that would be great,” I say.
“So he’s as much of a dick as his father?” Cress scoffs. “Shocking.”
“What’s Aldous Thatcher up to these days?”
Cress looks at Briggs, who responds. “He’s Whitman’s vice president. Thatcher’s a mastermind, unfortunately.”
“Yeah, his IQ’s like one hundred sixty.”
Briggs grimaces. “He’s smart and shrewd. You wouldn’t think the skills it takes to become a billionaire are also clutch in the apocalypse, but you’d be wrong.”
“So he’s in Carson City? Same as Mae?”
Briggs shakes his head. “Whitman and Thatcher are always on the move. They never stay in the same place two nights in a row.”
“Makes them hard to catch.”
“Watch us do it anyway,” Cress says.
I’m still stunned that Mae is married to Lochlan Murphy. Briggs said she was forced into the marriage shortly after Briar was convicted of taking birth control. Briar will be devastated when she finds out.
“I know a boat’s a lot to ask for,” I say. “But if you’ll let me take one, I’ll owe you. I keep my word.”
Briggs studies me. “It’s a big ask, yeah. Especially since you worked for New America before.”
I nod. “I get that. I’ve been completely honest with you guys. I was a Rising Tide leader for less than two months. I’ve been doing everything in my power to end them since.”
Cress rests her chin on her steepled hands. “We talked it over, and we’re willing to give you a boat. But in return, you have to work for the ILF when you get back to the mainland. Immediately and until the job is done. We’re not talking about thirty days here. It may take years.”
“Done.”
She arches a brow. “I don’t like how quickly you agreed to that. What about your girlfriend?”
“Briar needs to find her sister, and her number one priority will be getting her out of Lochlan’s grip.”
“And you’d help her with that?”
I drop my brows. “I’d stand in front of a firing squad for Briar. Yeah, I’ll help her with it.”
Cress sighs. “Your devotion to her has broken a few hearts around here, you know.”
My jaw unhinges. “What the hell do you mean?”
Briggs smiles wryly. “Some of our women have surveillance crushes. You’re kind of a celebrity around here.”
That’s fucking wild. I don’t think I want to know if the men around here have been creeping on Briar.