Turncoat: Turncoat Trilogy Book 1

Chapter 22.3

I motioned the girl over to me and she walked over. "What's your name?" I asked.

She remained silent as I lifted her hands to look at the chains and turned them over. THe shackles weren't bound together with a lock but screws.

"Why couldn't you guys cut the chains off?" I asked trying to look at the manacle.

"We didn't want to risk burning her," Vince said. "You're the mechanic, you're good at this stuff."

I shook my head and looked at them. "I'll need two pairs of spark gloves, my goggles and a plasma cutting pen with an mircoextension tube," I said.

Addison looked at Vince and then back to me. "Are you sure?" she asked. "That stuff isn't easy to come by."

"I guess we could just let her starve until she can pull her hands out of the shackles," I said. "Of course, who knows she might be dead by then."

"Alright, alright," Addison said. "We still have people scouring the woods for your gear. They have to do it covertly, so it might take a little while, but we'll find it. As to the other stuff, I'll see what I can find."

Addison stood up and left the room, while I motioned for the girl to sit next to me. She did almost mechanically. "What's your name?" I asked.

She remain tight lipped with her eyes downcast.

I repeated my question in Tzi and she remained placid.

I looked up at Vicki and Nick. "Nick, you know some of the Alliance languages, right?"

"Already tried," he said. "She won't respond to anyone."

I sighed and looked around. "Where's my father?" I asked.

"Finishing up some business," Vince said. "He'll be down soon, though he won't like the news about Kai. He practically raised Kai."

"What about Kai?" my father's voice came from the stairs.

"We can discuss Kai later, sir," Vince said. "You should really be with your daughter."

I looked over to him. His gaze softened and he looked away for a moment. "You really should be in bed," he said.

"I couldn't just lay there doing nothing without knowing what happened to Vicki and Nick," I said.

"We'll give you some space, sir," Vince said. Everyone stood up and Vicki held her hand out to the girl. She stood without taking Vicki's hand and they all left. My father walked over and offered his hand down to me.

"Come on, you look like you want to see the sun," he said, "And despite my misgivings about this place, it has a rather nice garden."

I took his hand and he helped me too my feet. I took a deep breath as pain rocketed through my back and he wrapped his arm around my waist. I took small steps, clutching his hand for support. We left the room behind, stepping out onto a stone pathway in a beautiful garden. The flowers and bushes were amazing. I'd never been to a garden like this. Sunlight shone down on us. I saw two women in long black robes and white hoods walking through the garden as well. They passed us with a gentle smile and a nod.

"Father, where are we?" I asked.

"It's a convent that considers itself a safe haven for victims of war the government doesn't bother it much," my father said. "We pay the father and sisters for discretion if and when we need to make use of a few bedrooms. I don't care for it too much, anyone is welcome and not everyone knows how to keep their mouth shut." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry I never tried to contact you or the Jamesons. I should have, I really should have."

"You would have gotten in a lot of trouble," I said. "Not just from the resistance but the government could have found you and you wouldn't be here now."

"I could have gotten you across the front lines early in the war. Into Alliance territory and far, far away from here. You would have your legs, your real legs. You wouldn't have to worry about this and you wouldn't be a fugitive."

I shook my head. "It was early in the war, the Alliance could barely protect itself, here was actually the safest place for me. The capital was never bombed or assaulted." I could see the guilt on his face. I wish people would stop blaming themselves for what happened to me. I added: "There's nothing you could have done."

"I could have brought you to the camp," he said. "I wouldn't have lost your childhood. I was a horrible father."

"You were a perfect father for the time you were there," I said. "and your sister visited every month. I kept in touch with your family before they had themselves smuggled out."

"They accepted you?"

"Not very much, but your sister did," I said. "Aunt Linda was really nice. She would do my hair and we would always make a day out of when she visited. The Jamesons even let me skip school that day."

"I should have done something," he muttered. "Just to let you know I was alive."

The pain in my back was becoming unbearable. "Can we sit down?" I asked through gritted teeth.

My father led me over a bench among some rose bushes and we sat down. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small pouch. "I've actually been meaning to give you something. We found this when we raided a storage cache, it belonged to your mother."

I opened the pouch and spilled the contents onto my bandaged palm. A ring tumbled out, a cracked green gem glittering in the sunlight on discolored silver.

"It's your mother's engagement ring," my father said. "I figured you should have it."

Tears welled up as I turned the ring over in my fingers. It hadn't been melted down for parts or traded for money. The only piece of my mother I would ever get back was a tarnished silver ring with a cracked emerald. I closed my fingers around it and wrapped my arms around my father. "Thank you," I whispered.

His arms engulfed me, pulling me closer and squeezing gently. The pain was nearly unbearable as my wounds screamed from strain but I ignored it. I had some of my family back, my real family, if only for the moment.