"Everyone, listen up!" Cherie announced in the living room on a warm afternoon. Cassie sat on the sofa, holding a dozing Elijah in her arms. After finishing training with Conny, Cherie had called them together for an important announcement, something no longer rare these days. What that announcement contained, Cassie wasn't so sure. She was more nervous for the meeting she would be attending later that night.
"Out of nowhere, we've gained a very valuable spy," Cherie stated.
"Who?" Wyatt asked curiously.
"Normally we have information on all our spies that work with the Preservers, but this one is completely anonymous. They've already shared a lot of valuable information about where the Preservers are searching for human-borns.
"He, or she, I suppose, goes by 'The Tiger.' The others assembling this revolution were a bit hesitant at first when The Tiger reached out to us, but we've done a quick fact check, and everything aligns."
"They're not asking for anything in return?" Cassie wondered.
Cherie shook her head. "My guess is that this is possibly someone who was born into the Preserver ranks and wants to make a difference. They've agreed to cooperate with us as best as they can. I'm not sure how they're managing to share all this information, but it will come in handy as we continue working to overthrow the Preservers' bases. I'm sure we'll talk with the others more tonight about this, Cassie."
Cassie slowly nodded, feeling nervous just at the mention of the evening's gathering. Cherie had already insisted she give a speech, and Cassie was still at a loss for what to say.
"That's all," Francesco finished. "Just know that the process may be sped up if we continue to keep receiving this highly-detailed information."
...
Cassie smoothed out her red dress and ran a brush through her hair one last time as she gathered her things. Marc was sitting on the bed, reading to himself as Lillian entertained Elijah downstairs. Cassie took one last glance at herself in the mirror and stepped out. Marc glanced up, letting out a low whistle.
"Stop," she muttered, sitting down beside him and leaning against his chest.
"Don't be nervous," he muttered, running his fingers through her hair.
"I hate all this."
Marc chuckled. "Look at all this fame you get though," he teased. He ran a hand up and down her arm, slowly comforting her. She felt his lips gently press against the side of her face.
"You're okay taking care of Elijah the rest of the evening?" she asked.
"You know I am," Marc promised. "I think we've been getting along a little better."
Cassie grinned. "Good. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. Think you can manage until then?"
He nodded.
Cassie turned, giving him a quick kiss before standing up.
"I'll walk you out," Marc offered, grabbing the duffel bag by the bedside.
Cassie followed him down the steps, being careful not to trip in her heels as they clacked against the tile floor with each step she took. She suddenly heard the sound of frantic footsteps of a child's feet.
"Mommy! Mommy! Where you going?" Elijah asked as he ran to the front door. He reached his hands upward, waiting to be held.
Cassie knelt down. "I told you, bud, I won't be back until tomorrow. You behave, okay?" She could already see the crocodile tears threatening to arise.
"B-b-but..."
"Cassie, we need to go," Francesco interrupted.
She pressed a kiss against Elijah's forehead and rustled his hair, ignoring his quiet cries that continued to grow as she stepped out the door. Cassie sighed, wishing she could stay at home, but she knew she'd be away from Elijah for much longer periods of time when things got more serious.
Cassie got into the back of Francesco's car and stared out the window absentmindedly as Cherie and Francesco casually held a conversation in the front. They were heading to Grace Gardner's house for a meeting and dinner party. There would apparently be a handful of supporters there to meet Cassie. That was all the information she had been told.
Cassie sighed and pressed her palm against the window, watching pine trees pass by quickly as Francesco's truck sped by. They arrived to a medium-sized cabin about an hour later, just as the sun was starting to set.
Cassie carefully got out of Francesco's truck, trying not to trip the moment her feet touched the ground.
"I got your bags," Francesco assured her as she turned toward the back. "You just go in there and use your charm," he said, winking.
Cassie weakly smiled and stepped up to the front porch with Cherie. The doorbell had barely rung when the familiar old woman opened the door to welcome then.
"Oh, good, you're here," Grace said, welcoming them forward. "Lovely to see you again, Cassie."
Cassie weakly smiled and entered Grace's home. The décor was much simpler than Francesco's and had that grandmotherly feeling. The others were sitting on the couch, casually chatting with each other.
"We figured we'd conduct our short meeting first. The guests should arrive soon after," Grace said quietly to the both of them.
"Where do I put these bags?" Francisco asked as he stepped inside, lugging both his and Cassie's bag. Cassie reached forward to help him, but he shook his head.
"Down the hall, to the right. That can be your bedroom. I hope you don't mind, but I have you on the couch, Cassie," Grace said.
"Oh, that's fine," Cassie assured her, even if she was already craving the soft mattress of her queen bed.
"Cassie, welcome," she heard Robert call from the couch. He had his cane resting up against the chair's arm while he snacked on some appetizers. There was a single empty chair to the right. Cassie was about to offer it to Cherie, but the woman was already shoving Cassie forward to go sit.
Cassie carefully lowered herself onto the chair and weakly smiled at the others.
"Appetizers?" Matthew asked, holding up a plate of various cheese and crackers.
Cassie shook her head, feeling much too nervous to eat. She relaxed some as Cherie and Francesco pulled up two chairs beside her. Grace grabbed another seat for herself and sat down, calling the meeting into order.
"Has everyone had their share of food for a while?" Grace asked. "Robert, don't eat them all, we need to save them for the guests," she scolded the old man as he shoved three crackers into his mouth.
"I think we're ready," Cherie noted.
"Good, good. First thing's first, we have The Tiger as our new spy. Who this ally is remains a mystery. We've tried implanting tracking software on the messages, but we can only track it to the Preserver headquarters. While the information The Tiger presents is valuable, there is the worry that this is an elaborate scheme of the Preservers," Grace stated.
"They've used all our codes though," Camila argued.
"I would guess they want to remain anonymous to save their own skin. Lynch would most likely kill them for sharing such sensitive information," Cherie added.
Grace slowly folded her hands together. "This situation makes me a little uneasy. We've always had somewhat of a connection with our allies. I have no doubt that the information presented is valuable, but I also worry about the ambiguity of their identity. I want to make a vote on whether or not we should continue contact."
"Absolutely," Francesco piped in. "They've only just begun sharing bits of information. Imagine what other valuable secrets they could share. Perhaps information about the security system or Lynch's residence. We already have the Preservers' headquarters location. Having The Tiger will allow us to take easier control of the headquarters when it comes down to it."
"I'm uncomfortable with it," Namita spoke up.
"Why?" Cherie asked.
"Just as Grace said, there is no known identity, and that's worrisome. Yes, they're making a great sacrifice, but the fact they won't share their name means they don't want to be caught. I wonder if deep down they'd turn us in to save their own skin."
"Good point," Grace mumbled. "Cassie, how about you?"
Cassie glanced up. She realized she'd been so busy practicing her own half-formed speech that she hadn't been paying much attention to the conversation. She blinked, noticing all eyes on her turned towards her.
"If they truly have valuable information to share, then I think we should continue being in contact with them," she quietly mumbled. "It'll make the siege easier. It might show us Lynch's weaknesses."
"Let's take a vote. Majority wins," Grace stated. "All in favor?"
Cassie slowly raised her hand, watching everyone follow her lead, with the exception of Grace and Namita.
Grace let out a sigh. "It's settled then. I hope we haven't made a mistake. In others news, let's go over some logistics."
Cassie began to tune out the conversation as Grace mentioned further sieges of tiny bases and more gatherings of those in hiding. At one point, they were speaking of what code to use when responding to The Tiger. That's when the doorbell rang.
"Oh, is it time already?" Grace realized. "I guess we should end the meeting here."
"Where's the restroom?" Cassie asked.
"Down the hall, first door on the right," Grace answered.
Cassie quietly thanked her and locked herself inside, slowly composing herself as she heard guests begin piling in. She knew she couldn't stay in here long. She was the main entertainment after all. Everyone was waiting to see her and speak to her.
I can do this, she told herself. She shut her eyes and took one more deep breath before stepping outside. The cabin had already begun to fill up with guests. Grace was walking around with appetizers and casually chatting with those who entered.
Cassie awkwardly stepped forward, her heels clacking against the wooden floors. Eyes suddenly began looking her way. It was not hard to tell who she was. She was the youngest one there.
"And this is our own Cassandra—I mean, Cassie Black," Grace announced.
A swarm of people began gravitating toward Cassie. She shook each of their hands and listened to them go on and on about how excited they were to finally meet a live human-spirit. Some thanked her for her sacrifice and others sympathized with her concerns. She was beginning to loosen up and feel more comfortable chatting with everyone when Grace tapped a spoon against her wine glass in front of the fireplace.
"Attention, everyone! Before we have dinner, I'd like to invite Cassie up to make a speech."
Cassie gulped, feeling her limbs begin to shake. She slowly stepped forward, replacing Grace in front of the fire. Cassie tried to ignore the burning eyes on her and attempted to compose herself.
"T-Thank you for coming tonight," she began, already cursing to herself for stammering. "I didn't think I'd be in this position three years ago, but here I am now, the only known live human-spirit working to take down the Preservers. It's...uh..." Her voice trailed off as she tried to recollect what she had been rehearsing. "It hasn't been easy, but we're going to do some great stuff."
The crowd was quiet, awaiting more speech.
"As I was saying, down with the Preservers! No more hiding!"
That did it. Cheers erupted. Cassie grinned weakly and felt Cherie's arm wrap around her and lead her away. Immediately, Cassie's face began to redden with embarrassment.
"That was awful," Cassie complained.
"It could have been better, but we all have to start somewhere. You'll get better with practice. The worst thing you could do was show your support to the Preservers, which you didn't, so I'd say it was generally successful."
"Good job," Grace butted in.
Cassie placed her face in her hands, letting out a groan. Cherie gently patted her shoulder in which she could only guess was an attempt to lessen her embarrassment.
"Lighten up. This is one of your first public outings. People are already enthusiastic about you, and that's good. Now let's get you some dinner. Don't pretend like I don't know you haven't eaten anything all day," Cherie argued.
"Thanks," Cassie said, beginning to feel her stomach growl now that the most stressful part of her evening was over.