The team didn’t argue, now that the decision had been made. They all got up and went to make ready to leave. Gamble stood up and turned her back to Cass as she watched her team exit, but she lingered until the others were gone.
“Thank you, Gamble,” Cass said. “Sorry if I came across too harshly.”
“You were right, you’re the authority,” Gamble said, at first without looking at Cass. But she took a quick breath and turned around, and Cass saw the glint in her eyes. “But in the future, I’d prefer you address your concerns to me directly, and not put that on my boys. It wasn’t my intention to overstep my bounds, but we speak freely as a team. That’s how we operate. If that’s not your way, that’s fine, but as you said, this is our element. It’d be best if you don’t get our wires crossed out here. When it comes down to it, I can’t have any one of my boys questioning whose order they’re supposed to follow.”
Looking into Gamble’s eyes, Cass wasn’t intimidated. A dark thought flitted through her mind about how easily she could take Gamble apart — if Cass wanted to. Gamble didn’t know who she was talking to. Not really.
“I’ll go let Lil know your decision,” Gamble said.
“Sounds good,” Cass answered. They continued to stare at each other for a second longer, and then Gamble turned and walked away. As soon as her back was to Cass, Cass felt as if a spell had broken and she was ashamed of the thought she’d had. Where had that hostility come from? Gamble had never been anything but a trusted friend and ally. Cass closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had to be careful not to let paranoia get to her.
“It might not be safe, Mama,” Wren said, his voice interrupting her thoughts. She opened her eyes and looked at him sitting next to her, small and pale, with his shining green eyes. Too beautiful and fragile a thing for such a world. She reached out and stroked his hair and the side of his face.
“I know, but it’s the right thing to do,” Cass answered.
Wren shook his head. “No, I mean it might not be safe for them.”
“I thought you’d want to go with them. With Lil, especially.”
“I do,” he said, looking back down at his hands in his lap. “I just worry. I don’t want to bring any more trouble on them.”
Cass leaned over and kissed the top of his head. “The world’s full of trouble, son, whether we bring it or not. But we should do what good’s in our power, however little it may seem.”
Wren said, “I wish Chapel was here.”
“Me too. I would’ve liked to have met him.”
“I’m going to guh, to guh, go for a walk,” Painter said, standing.
Cass looked at him, unsure if he was joking or not. “We’re going on a pretty long walk here in just a few minutes, Painter. You can’t wait?”
He shook his head. “Just need to be alone for a ffff-few minutes. Clear my head.” He started off towards the courtyard.
“Don’t go far,” Cass said.
“I won’t.”
She watched as Painter descended the stairs and stopped at the base for a moment, looking left and right. Then he turned left and disappeared from view. He’d been awfully quiet since they left Morningside. Not that he’d ever been much of a talker. But he seemed acutely anxious. Maybe once they got somewhere safe, he’d settle down and be able to relax. It wasn’t easy for any of them, but Painter probably least of all. He’d been a Morningsider his whole life, even if most of it had been outside the wall.
Wren leaned forward on the table, and rested his head on his crossed arms. Cass rubbed his back in a slow, even motion, as she used to do when he had trouble sleeping. They sat together in silence for a time, each lost in their own thoughts. Outside the simple building, the sky was growing darker, with the afternoon sun hidden behind a blanket of heavy grey clouds, and a steady breeze that carried with it the scent of coming rain. After several minutes, Mouse climbed the few steps and stood at the entrance.
“We’re about ready,” he said.
“OK, we’ll be right there,” Cass answered.
“Where’s Painter?”
“Should be around nearby. Said he needed a little alone time to clear his head.”
Mouse frowned a little at that. “Alright. I’ll find him.” He started back down the stairs.
“He went off to the left.”
“Check.”
Wren had apparently dozed off. His mouth was open and the sleeve of his coat had a dark spot where it was wet with drool. Cass gently woke him. He sat up slowly and smacked his lips, and then wiped his mouth with his hand. It seemed to take him a moment to remember where he was.
“Time to go?” Wren said.
“Yeah.”
He nodded and got to his feet. “I hope they have a place for us to sleep.”
“Me too, baby.”
They gathered their things and went to join the others, hand in hand. A cluster of people had formed in the courtyard, off in the direction of the small crop field, a mix of the two teams. Several of Lil’s people had bulky bags on their backs, filled no doubt with whatever still-useful things they could collect from their former home. Most of Gamble’s team were there already, though Wick, Mouse, and Painter weren’t there yet.
“Have you seen Mouse?” Gamble asked as Cass and Wren approached.
“Yeah, he went to get Painter.”
Gamble furrowed her brow. “Where’d Painter go?”
“Just around the courtyard, I think,” Cass said. “I told him not to go far.”
Gamble sucked her teeth and made a little clicking noise. The wind gusted and a few small drops of rain spattered down. The last of Lil’s people walked up to join the group.
“Are we almost ready?” Lil asked.
“Almost,” Gamble said. “Missing a couple of mine.”
“We’ll need to leave very soon,” Lil said. She glanced up at the ever-darkening sky. “The Weir may be out earlier tonight.”
“Understood.”
They all waited in impatient silence for another minute or two. Some of Lil’s group shifted their packs and exchanged glances. The message was obvious.
“Did he say where he was going?” Gamble asked Cass.
“No,” Cass said. “I just assumed he’d stay in the courtyard. I told him not to wander off.”
“I should’ve left someone with you,” Gamble said to herself. And then she started to message, “Mouse, Gamble…” but Mouse appeared from around behind a building, and she called out, “Any luck?”
Mouse shook his head, obviously frustrated. Raindrops started falling; it was light but steady. Gamble mumbled a curse.
“Why don’t you go ahead and get started?” Gamble said to Lil. “No reason for you to get caught out in the open on our account.”
“We’ll help you look,” Lil answered, but Gamble waved her off.
“No, ma’am,” she said. “If we all get scattered, we’ll lose even more time trying to get everybody back together. Get underway. We’ll catch up.”
“But you don’t know the way,” said Lil.
“I’ll stay with them,” Elan said. Lil gave him a concerned look, but he just nodded. “Go ahead. We’ll be fine.”
“I hate to leave you,” Lil said. She was looking at Elan when she said it, but then she scanned Cass and Wren and the rest of them, too.
“We’ll just be a few minutes behind,” Cass said. The rain started to pick up enough that those with hoods started pulling them up. Lil wavered a moment more, and then nodded.
“Elan can pim me if you need us to come back.”
“Thanks,” Gamble said. “See you in a few.”
Lil nodded and then motioned to her people, who started off towards the west from where they’d first appeared. Gamble immediately rattled off orders: “Swoop, Able, Sky, start searching. I’ll help in a second.” The three men dropped their packs at their feet and fanned out in different directions. “Finn, see if you can sniff out a signal, let me know if you get any hits.”