Between Gates (The Gate Chronicles Book 1)

Chapter 7: Rebellion

“No, no! Don’t apologize, Nari. It’s not your fault. Something came up, that’s all.”

She gave a grim laugh. “Yeah, I know. It’s been all over the Base that…”

She stopped seeing Indri’s glare. Glancing over at Andrew, she saw the crest-fallen expression on his face.

He must care about his brother a lot. It would probably upset him if I said that it’s been all over the base that the General’s brother is a traitor.

“Sorry…” she muttered.

Her cheeks heated up, and she looked at the floor, scuffing her shoe along it.

“It’s alright. I know what everyone’s probably saying about my brother. Calling him a traitor and worse would be my guess.” Andrew’s voice was heavy.

Nari nodded. Her stomach clenched and she felt sick. If only she’d kept her mouth shut. Indri was always tirading her for just spouting out whatever she thought of. She should have known saying that would hurt Andrew.

***

Andrew sighed, turning to Indri. “Who did he take with him?”

“The only people I know of are Bjorn Fjordell – no surprise there; he’s a devil if I’ve ever seen one – the Lake pair, Kallie Treyson, Vanessa Lykeson, Dean Trelawny, Mink Sphinx, Otto Hanson, Nellie Firth, Ali Freydson, and... Chenn Covalenti.”

“Chenn?” Andrew asked.

Indri nodded. His face and posture were hard, but his eyes were misted over. Andrew knew how much Chenn had meant to Indri. The two had bonded in the last month or two since Chenn joined MBC.

“I’m sorry, Indri. I know he was important to you.”

Indri shrugged. “It’s not that important. I’ll get over it.”

His eyes told a different story, but Andrew didn’t press him. If Indri were going to cry or show any emotions, he’d do it when no one was around. Andrew understood the feeling, and he didn’t want to embarrass his friend.

“Nari, since you’ve already heard about the situation and you’re here anyway, why don’t you come in? We’ll skip your lesson today. But stay here. I'd like your input on this.”

She walked into the room, sitting in her usual spot. “Before you start, may I ask something?”

Andrew nodded his consent.

“Well, the thing is, the only place I can think of for Amory to go is somewhere he has allies. Does he have any contact with East Base? Friends maybe? Could he take it over if he wanted to?”

Andrew grimaced. “Indri and I were just wondering the same thing. Good thinking, by the way. Considering that you didn’t know anything about my brother, your analysis is excellent. I think that East Base is exactly where he’s heading. He does have a few known friends there, and considering the fact that I didn’t even see half his network here, I think it is a valid assumption that he has supporters in East Gate, unfortunately.”

Nari nodded. “That’s what I was worried about.”

Indri smiled. “I see that someone has learned their strategy and observation lessons well.”

Nari flushed. Indri’s compliments were rare things, and all of his students and a good many of the agents on West Base would have done nearly anything to get the compliment Nari was getting.

“Indeed, Indri… She seems to have a natural aptitude for it. I can hardly teach her fast enough.” Andrew answered, giving her a gentle smile.