Don’t you dare you leave her alone.
The man who had murdered Mr. Howe left his hands where they were for a moment longer. Then he shoved Athena in the same direction as he had Mom, and she was sitting on the concrete floor painted to look like cave stone, smooth and cool, but not cool enough to keep her cheeks from feeling like they were on fire, or to keep the tears from pushing up in her eyes. Mom put her arms around her.
But Athena didn’t look away, and she saw that when he searched Dana and took her phone away, he was even more cruel than before. He put a hand behind her head, and lifted her hair, and he kept one hand on her breast when he put his other between her legs. Dana didn’t speak that Athena could see, but her jaw was clenched so tightly that the muscles in it trembled.
He did the same to Gail and Lynne, too, and when it was done and all of them were seated on the floor in a line, Athena could feel the anger and the shame. All the worse because the men, the boys, they wouldn’t even look at them, not even Joel.
Then the men with guns, all of them, moved away, to the other side of the room. Heads inclining just enough, and Athena knew they were speaking, and then the one who murdered Mr. Howe said something, gestured, and all of them were taking off their masks. Mom was holding her hand then.
She thought he would look evil, or ugly, or mean, but the man who had murdered Mr. Howe didn’t look that way at all. Younger than Athena had thought he would be, maybe in his midtwenties, but that’s only guessing, she really didn’t know. But his face was smooth and almost handsome. One of the other men saw her looking at him, and he said something, and she missed most of it, but she thought she caught his name.
Vladimir.
Whatever else he said, Athena didn’t know, but it made Vladimir look her way. Then he smiled.
Mom’s grip on her hand got even tighter.
The men take off their white suits and open their duffel bags. They have guns of different kinds and radios. They don’t talk to each other very much at all now, and when they do, Athena can’t see their words.
Once, Mom turns her head to say something to Dana, and Vladimir with the smile points his gun at her. He doesn’t seem angry and he doesn’t seem to shout, and he’s even smiling.
No talking.
Mom takes a deep breath, leans back against the wall, pulling Athena in closer. Vladimir lowers the gun in his hand, then turns his head sharply, and Athena is watching very closely as he picks up a radio and seems to listen to whatever is being said. Watching his mouth with every ounce of her focus, to see what he says in answer, but it doesn’t help, because all she is sure he says is one word.
Understood.
Then he sets the radio down and points to two of the others, and they begin zipping their bags closed again, hoisting them up. Vladimir turns to look at them, all fourteen of them in a line against the wall. He smiles the not-kind smile again, points to Mom and Dana, and then to Joel, Lynne, Miguel, and the dad and one of his kids, a toddler. Last, he points at the woman dressed as Xi-Xi.
Up, Vladimir says. Go with them.
Mom and Dana start talking at the same time, each of them signing as they do.
Wait what are you doing? Mom is signing and saying.
Deaf, Dana is almost shouting. They need an interpreter you can’t break them up!
Vladimir considers.
I only need one.
He grins. He points at Mom.
Up go with them.
Dana starts to get up. I go.
The grin gets bigger. Sit down. He looks at Mom again, motions with the gun in his hand for her to get to her feet. Up now.
Mom looks at Dana, at Athena, and her expression is nothing Athena can recognize, so beyond anything she has ever experienced from her mother that it takes her a moment before she can name it. Fear, yes, but that has faded in the face of this, and it is the look of someone who is helpless, who doesn’t know what else she can do.
She lets go of Athena’s hand, starts to rise.
“No!” Athena feels herself say, pulling on her mom’s arm, trying to draw her back down, trying to get up with her. “No no no!”
Vladimir starts to come forward, and Mom shouts something to him, and he stops. She’s on her feet, Athena standing with her, still holding onto her arm. She can feel the tears again trying to push their way free, and she shakes her head, repeating herself over and over again until Mom is facing her, bringing her hands in close to her chest.
Dad comes, Mom signs. Dad comes soon.
Athena silences herself, feels her lips trembling. Feels an ache in her breast and the pressure behind her eyes. She signs quickly.
Mom please mom no go please.
All okay Dad comes soon all okay.
Vladimir puts his hand on Mom’s shoulder.
Love you.
Vladimir pulls Mom away, then pushes her to where the two men are gathering the other half of the group. Mom and the family and Xi-Xi together. Vladimir motions to them, says something that Athena can’t see. One of the other men goes to the door, pushes it open slowly, peering out. Then they’re all moving, being shepherded out the door, and Mom is looking back. From the way her mouth is moving, Athena knows that she’s mouthing the words instead of speaking them.
It’ll be all right baby, she mouths. It’ll be all right Daddy is coming Daddy is coming.
Then she’s gone, and Vladimir turns back to Athena.
And he smiles.
Chapter Seventeen
Chain cracks the service door on the east exterior wall of Valiant Keep while Bell covers their rear, his weapon in both hands, constant scan of overwatch. But there’s been nothing, no movement, no contacts since the four hostiles they burned on the bridge. Bell’s counted the cameras as they’ve made their way, thought about dumping a round into every one he saw, but two things speak against that tactic.
First, as of this moment, ammunition is precious.
Second, he wants his command post back, and there’s no point in reclaiming it only to be blind.
“Clear,” Chain says, and slips through the doorway, pivots, gun raised, covering Bell as the larger man ducks past, into the deep shadows of the still-under-construction keep. Chain shuts the door, moves past him, motioning to be followed.
They shadow the outer wall of the keep for twenty feet, then down a short flight of faux-stonework stairs to a large “oak” door that is neither oak nor large, the actual access being concealed in its face. Again Bell covers their backs as Chain checks, motions them through.
Bell backs in, still weapon-ready, feels the sudden temperature drop that comes from moving from above ground to beneath it. He’s starting to turn when he hears the movement, feels Chain snap his weapon up, catches the glimpse of movement.
“Friendly,” Nuri says. “Buzzsaw, friendly, friendly.”
He turns to see the woman emerging from one of the side tunnels, clinging to shadow, gun in hand.
“Took you fucking long enough,” she says.