Woman of the Past

Chapter 15

He didn’t wait for her reply, “They are entering those dangerous years. With all of those boys to look after, their health is waning. It would be tragic if one of them say, had a heart attack, a stroke, or maybe a horrible fall.”

Peyton was shaking with rage and fear as he spoke but that was the last straw, “If you harm my family I’ll-”

“You’ll what? You have no power to threaten me girl. I have your loved ones. I decide whether or not they live. You,” He smiled and looked her up and down, “you get to have babies and fall in line. You will be happy, pleasant, and polite. You will gain the trust of the women. Convince them that life is good here and that you where wrong. I have set up a cover story. You were not taken by the military. You were kidnapped by a rogue group trying to frame the government. We rescued you from your captors and you love us now. You will behave as if this Safe Zone is the greatest place on earth. If I don’t think you’re convincing enough, I’ll relieve you of a family member.”

“I’m bad at acting.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say. He was right; she had no power in this place. He held all the cards and no matter what she did, she’d lose.

“The world knows just how convincing you can be Peyton. I trust you’ll pull it off somehow. You have an hour to prepare yourself. I plan to let you join the other women for breakfast.” General Bouffant stood and made his way to the doors. He stopped and turned back to face her. Peyton tried to keep her body still, but she must have done a poor job because he smiled, “Try to smile when you see me around. After all, I did rescue you.” With that he left. Jupiter and the brown haired man came in as soon as he disappeared behind the cold metal door.

Jupiter took one look at her, “Darling do you think you can stand?”

Peyton couldn’t bring herself to shake her head, let alone move to stand. Jupiter noticed. He swept her into his arms, “Let’s get you into another shower. There is nothing like a shower in the morning to get the blood flowing.” His voice was ultra cheerful as he walked down the hall with her. The other man was by a wall panel. Peyton saw him touch the wall right before it opened to reveal clothes he began to rifle through.

He carried her down the hallway and they entered the same room from the night before. Jupiter went to the podium and managed to hit the buttons to start the shower while holding her. The sound of the water falling against the tiles echoed in the large room and reminded her of the locker rooms in high school. He set her down in front of the one he’d turned on, “Do you need help again?”

Peyton shook her head no and he leaned close under the guise of opening the door, “M and C are free.” He whispered in her ear. Peyton kept her eyes lowered and stepped into the shower. The door shut and she took off her night shirt and underwear, throwing it over the door. Her hands came down and she felt the first tears of relief fall as she stepped into the spray. At least the man she loved and her brothers were safe or as safe as outlaws could be.

* * *

“Wow… that really sucks. So they have this Peyton chick and you men need my help to get her out?” Sparrow asked as she sat back on the ratty couch in their headquarters.

“No, you’re a thief. We need your help steeling documents from General Bouffant, documents with his signature and the signatures of other high ranking officials. We need to take these people down. They cannot be allowed to control the Safe Zones.” Jaxon explained in a strained voice.

Sparrow’s smile resembled a cat well fed on cream than the bird she took her name after, “Trust me, you five are a big bunch of goody-two-shoes. You won’t last very much longer the way you’re going.” She looked at Wolfram, “And you don’t have to be a genius to realize that. You just need to be a little more observant. You’ve started a revolution. You’re the upstarts.”

Jaxon’s reply died on his lips as Mason cut in, “She’s right. They have the manpower, the guns, the women, and the ability to broadcast their version of the truth to the world. We have to be smarter and faster than them.” He looked to Sparrow, “What do you suggest?”

“We need to outsmart them. If they throw a campaign against us, we change it to our favor. If they try to find us, we need to be one step ahead of them and out the door. When they try to use the women against us, we throw out our wild card.” Sparrow sat back and looked at the men before her, daring them to ask.

Law didn’t miss the fact that she said “We” not “You.” He took the bait first, “What wild card?”

Sparrow smiled at him and he half expected her to say, “Good boy,” and pat him on the head. Instead she said, “Peyton and me. You have the ability to bring women from the past and into this future. Yeah it’s a shitty future and I don’t know what sane woman would ask for this, but that’s your trump and you have to hold on to it. Getting the Voyager Project to a safe place few people know has to be your top priority. It should not be in your base camp and Wolf here, needs to go with it.”

“So you’ve decided to help us?” Carter asked, “Just to be clear.”

Sparrow shrugged as her gaze moved from Carter to Law, “What can I say? I love a good cause. Just call me Robin Hood.”

Mason stood up and stormed out. Carter tried to stop him but he shoved his way past him. Carter shook his head. He felt bad for Mason.

“What’s wrong with him?” Sparrow asked.

Logan was the one to answer. His voice was low and the others quieted to hear him, “I got news from Jupiter about Peyton. I told him right before our meeting this morning.” He took a slow breath as his hands clenched and unclenched, “Peyton is five months pregnant with their daughter. Tabitha, Alicia, and Peyton are all three five months along.”

Carter didn’t show anything as the others cursed, his face remained blank. He’d known Tabitha was pregnant since they’d announced it. The prison had allowed the vid feed believing it calmed the inmates. They hadn’t announced the gender yet.

Sparrow’s voice rose to be heard over the din, “Boys! I need a layout of the area. I have a plan but I need to know my way around first.”

Mason’s strained voice came from the doorway, “This way. I’ve secured Live Vid from the Pearl District Safe Zone, and I just saw Peyton enter the cafeteria.”