“When Aeneas returns, that’s when we go. A small team can be dropped into Los Angeles. Do the walls cover its entire perimeter?”
Makara nodded. “Raine, when he was alive, made sure of that. There is no way to access the city by ground anymore.”
“We can use parachutes, then,” I said. “Wait until the darkest time of night. Drop into one of the abandoned parts of the city. Then head toward Reaper territory.”
“Who’s going?” Char asked.
The room went silent at that question. Anna sat straighter in her chair, and I could tell from Makara’s face that she wanted to be there as well.
“Remember,” Ashton said. “This is merely locating Black and letting the ships take care of the rest. We won’t risk any lives any more than we have to.”
“I can go,” I said.
“We need you at Ragnarok Crater,” Makara said, shaking her head. “If I’d known how risky Bunker 84 would be, I’d have kept you back from there as well.”
I was about to protest, but Grudge cut me off before I could.
“I’ll go.”
To my surprise, Makara nodded her head. “Yeah, that works. Who else?”
“I don’t mind going,” Michael said. “I know I could be useful in a situation like that.”
Makara smiled. “You have a family to take care of. I’m not going to risk you again or Lauren will give me hell.”
“I said I can go,” Michael said. “We all have people we care about.”
Makara said nothing to that.
“I’ll go, then,” Julian said. “I’d have to be taught to parachute, but I think I can learn that easily enough.”
Makara looked at Julian for a moment. It was hard to read her eyes. Was she going to let him go?
“I can do this,” Julian said, meeting her gaze. “I have no reason why I shouldn’t.”
“Your family…”
“We all have families, and people we love,” Julian said. “I want to do my part.”
She looked from Julian back to Michael. “You both can go, if you wish it. Just…don’t let me explain to either of your families why I let you, alright?”
Julian smiled. “We’ll be fine. We’ve been in much worse spots.”
Michael nodded.
I wasn’t so sure about that. Los Angeles could be more dangerous than even Bunker 84.
“Alright, that’s Grudge, Michael, and Julian,” Makara said. “I’m only willing to send one more. Who will it be?”
“I’ll go.”
Ruth stood in the doorway of the conference room. How long had she been listening outside?
“Ruth,” Makara said, “I’m glad you want to help out, but don’t you think your place is here?”
Ruth stared at her for a moment, as if considering that. Then she shook her head.
“No. It’s not. I can fight. I survived in Bunker 108 when everyone else died. I killed dozens of Howlers in my time there. If there’s anything you can say about me, it’s that I’m a survivor. If you send me down there, I’m not dying. I can guarantee that.” She nodded toward Michael. “Plus, I can make sure he doesn’t kill himself.”
Everyone looked at her with shocked expressions. Even Rey and the Vegas gang lords seemed to be impressed. Makara continued to stare her down. Everyone looked at the leader of the New Angels.
“Fine,” Makara said. “Ruth is our fourth.” She sighed. “We have our team.”
“There was another reason I came,” Ruth said, smiling. “Samuel is up.”
Suddenly, the conference room became a scene of chaos. Makara’s eyes widened as she ran out, weaving her way through people now standing up.
She turned her head quickly. “Meeting adjourned.”
She ran out the door. I heard her boots stomp on the deck toward Aeneas’s medical bay, where Samuel had been transported.
Anna and I shared a look before we both walked out of the conference room and made our way to the medical bay.
Chapter 21
We rushed into Aeneas’s medical bay on the first deck. It was larger than Gilgamesh’s. At least three times the size, it had four beds along with an operating room which was separated from the rest of the bay. Several large cabinets, likely filled with medical supplies, were built into the walls. Despite the fact that the Community had access to this facility, it was clear that it wasn’t used very often, though it was likely they had taken bandages, antibiotics, and medicines when needed.
Samuel sat up in one of the corner beds, slurping down a bowl of soup. I didn’t blame him — it had been almost a week since he’d had a proper meal and not something fed to him intravenously. He looked thin and pale — a far cry from the warrior he had once been. It was amazing what one week in a hospital bed could do to a man. It was almost as bad as the original injury. A bandage still wrapped his forehead, and heavy bruising discolored a good portion of his head above his left eye.
Makara knelt beside the bed, looking at his face. For now, Samuel was just concentrated on trying to get the soup down. Lauren observed from beside him.
“Take it easy,” Makara said. “Not too fast.”
Samuel paused mid-slurp. “I remember how to eat, Makara. For a younger sister, you tend to act like an older.”
“Quiet,” she said, “and eat your soup.”
Makara turned to Lauren. “Is more being brought?”
She nodded. “I had Ruth go get a second bowl.”
Ashton entered the bay, striding over to Samuel’s bed. Samuel slowly turned his head to face him.
“How are you feeling?” Ashton asked.
Samuel drained the rest of his bowl, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Like hell. I’ve really been out for six days?”
“You have,” Ashton said.
“What did I miss?”
I laughed at that. At my laughter, Samuel turned his head ever so slightly to look at me. It hurt me a bit just to see how battered he was. A contusion such as he had taken on the head would take months to fully heal — that is, if it ever fully healed. Being in a coma for six days might have had lasting effects. But so far, Samuel seemed alright.
“I’m being serious,” Samuel said. “I want to know every single thing I missed.” He looked around the medical bay. “Because it seems like a lot.”
“Well, for one,” Anna said, stepping forward to the bed. “We have a new spaceship.”
I followed Anna’s steps to the bed.
“Perseus?” Samuel asked. “Orion?”
Anna shook her head. “No. This is Aeneas, which we found in Bunker 84.”
“Bunker 84?”
“Alright,” Makara said, cutting off my response. “We need to let Samuel recoup for a couple of days before we overload him with information.”
“Really,” Samuel said. “It’s fine.”
“That’s an order,” Makara said. “Let’s give him the space he needs and let Ashton run his diagnostic.”
Even if all I wanted to do was talk to Samuel, and even if that was all he wanted, I could see that Makara made sense.
Anna pulled on my shirtsleeve. “I think we’re getting kicked out.”
“Oh,” I said. “Right.”
We left the medical bay behind. When I reached the corridor, Samuel called out.
“Alex.”
Samuel’s voice was loud, but raspy. He hadn’t used it for almost a week.
“Any word from your friend?”
It took me a moment to realize who he was talking about. I realized he was speaking of the Wanderer.
“Nothing,” I said.
Samuel nodded. He looked at me a moment longer before turning his attention back to Makara.