Sabotage (Powerless Nation Book 3) (14 page)

“You agree? Promise you won’t attempt to harm me or my men and that you’ll be a good doctor. I want your word.”

Grandpa glanced once at the cupboard where Dee was hiding. “Yes, I’ll do it.”

“Good man,” said Downey, slapping him on the back so heartily Grandpa had to take a step forward to keep his balance.
 

“I’ve got to pack and get my kit ready,” Grandpa said, and Dee wondered how he could sound so calm.

“I can’t wait,” said Downey. “I’ve got other business to handle tonight. We found a redneck family holed up with a bunch of guns outside of town. Gonna clean out some young squatters on Maple too. I’ll send someone to give you a ride to HQ in about an hour. Be ready.”

After the men were gone and Grandpa had locked the front door again, Dee came out from hiding. She was shaking.
 

Grandpa patted her shoulder and guided the gun back into her pocket. “Keep the child off his feet for a few days if you can.”

“What?” Dee asked, confused.

“The boy you were telling me about. The one with the glass in his foot.”

Dee had completely forgotten about Brody.

“I know it’s probably hard for you to understand, but I can do the most good if I go with Downey and see how he runs his operation. Your parents and I can figure out where we go from there.”

“So I’m on my own?”

“You’ll be fine, Maddie-girl. Look at how you dealt with the accident this afternoon. I couldn’t have done a better job myself. Hang in there and we’ll all be together again soon. You’d better get on back to those kids. Where did you say they were? The school?”

“No, the library.”

Grandpa stiffened.

“What’s wrong?” asked Dee.

“Did you hear what Downey said about squatters on Maple? The
library
is on Maple.”

Realization swept over Dee. Downey was on his way to capture Sena and the others.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

D
EE
RACED
BACK
TO
the library while disturbing thoughts swirled through her mind. Grandpa would soon be a virtual slave to Downey, her parents were prisoners, and Downey was on his way to capture Sena and all the children at the library. He’d probably lock them up with Mason and Hyrum at the mill along with the rest of the kids.

She needed to get to the library before Downey did.

Clouds had rolled in while she was gone, and the night seemed darker and more ominous. She passed the skate park and public swimming pool, then paused at the sound of voices. She flattened herself against the wall of a municipal building and peeked around the corner onto Maple Street.

Several army vehicles were parked in front of the library, and men with flashlights swarmed over the grounds. Moving carefully, Dee edged close enough to hear.

“No guns unless I give the signal,” someone said.
Downey’s voice
. “Remember, we’re dealing with untrained civilian kids. I don’t expect any trouble.”

“Don’t underestimate them,” said a woman wearing army fatigues. “We triggered a crude alarm system earlier, and O’Brien sprained an ankle when a log fell on his foot. He said it was some kind of trap.”

“O’Brien’s as stupid as he is clumsy if he thinks I’m buying that,” said Downey. “At least we’ve got ourselves a doctor to look at it.”

Another soldier approached and reported, “Perimeter secure, sir.”

“All right, let’s roll.”

Dee watched helplessly while soldiers filed in through the broken front door of the library. She braced herself for screaming and crying, and prayed there wouldn’t be any gunshots.

Soon, several soldiers emerged from the building leading a small group of children. Dee squinted in the dim light, trying to see how many there were.

“Report,” barked Downey.

“One teenage girl, a wounded boy, and four preschoolers,” said the woman soldier.

“That can’t be everyone.”

“The interior is clear,” she said.

“Check again,” ordered Downey. “By my count, this town is hiding at least fifteen kids, and this isn’t half of them. I want them found.”

Downey flicked his flashlight from face to face. Sena was holding the hands of two preschool age children and a large soldier was carrying Brody, his foot wrapped in a clean white bandage. Dee breathed a sigh of relief that the bleeding had stopped.

Sena was speaking loudly, insisting the children’s parents be contacted immediately so they could come and get their kids.

“Tell me where the rest of them are first,” demanded Downey.

“This
is
all of us,” said Sena, sounding annoyed. “And I’ve had enough babysitting to last a lifetime. I’m ready to join up.”

Downey poked a boy in the chest. “Where are your friends?” he shouted. The boy’s face crumpled and he began to cry. As if on cue, the other children started to cry too. The captain swore and turned on Sena. “Make them shut up.”

“They need their parents,” said Sena. “Get me a driver and let me take them home and off your hands. Then I’ll go with you.”

“I know there were more of you here.”

“It was just me and the little ones,” Sena insisted. “The older kids were kicked out weeks ago for starting a fire in the library. You probably caught most of them your first day here.”

Downey grumbled deep in his throat then turned to bark orders at his troops. Thirty minutes later the search still hadn’t turned up anything. The children were still crying and Sena couldn’t comfort them.
 

“Fine!” Downey roared at Sena. “Take the brats to the church and find their parents. They’re too young to enlist anyway. But
you’re
coming with me. I understand you survived an attack by the Korean terrorists. I’ve got some questions for you.”

Sena helped the kids onto one of the trucks. They’d stopped crying immediately after Downey said they could go home and Dee wondered if they’d been told to cry. “Make sure Brody sees a doctor,” Sena told the driver. He nodded, and slammed the door shut.

Sena fluttered her fingers in Dee’s direction. In the dark, she wondered if she misunderstood the gesture. It looked like Sena was waving at her. How did Sena know she was here? Dee dropped to her belly behind the bushes, feeling the chill of the ground work its way up through her clothing. Had anyone else seen her?

Downey yelled at his men to load up. They were headed to deal with the family that was hoarding guns on the outskirts of town. She stayed down until the last truck pulled out, and then got stiffly to her feet.

A shadow moving past the window of the library caught her attention. Dee watched the library intently. Either there were still children there, or Downey had left someone behind. It could be a trap.

She held her breath and listened for anything that might tell her who was over there, but the wind picked up and all she could hear was the creak of tree branches and the pounding of her own heart. She took a last glance in each direction and stepped out of the bushes to cross the street.

A slight rustling of cloth was the only warning she had before she was grabbed from behind, and a gloved hand covered her mouth, muffling her scream.

Dee struggled to break free, throwing elbows and wild punches into the air. One of her flails connected, and the arms released her with a grunt. Dee took a breath, and before she knew whether she should scream or run, she heard a familiar voice.
 

“Wait!” The desperate whisper stopped Dee in her tracks.

She spun around and found Harvey rubbing his ear where she’d punched him. Jeremy, another fifth grader from her class, was with him, and they motioned her to be quiet and follow them.

Harvey led her to a small, windowless building next to the city pool. He tapped softly on the door and it opened to let them all enter.

Inside, several candles burned and she could make out shelves stacked with plastic containers and bags. Long handled gardening tools and pool furniture were piled in a corner of the metal-sided building. Dee realized they were in the toolshed of the city park and pool.
 

“Is everyone here?” she whispered.

“Just about,” said Harvey. “Sena and Brody are gone though, and the little kids.”

Dee counted eleven pairs of eyes shining at her. “I thought Downey had you for sure. What happened?”

“You know that alarm you tripped when you found us at the library? We had one like that out front too. When we heard it, and then the army trucks, we knew it was the real thing.”

“How did you know what to do?”

“Sena used to make us do drills. We were all out in under three minutes. It was our best time ever.”
 

“Nice job,” Dee said. “That’s amazing.” At her words, several students smiled and high-fived each other. “What about Sena though?” Their smiles faded and someone sniffled.

“Sena stayed with Brody and the little kids to make sure they got home.”

Dee glanced around the shed again. In the flickering light of the candles she saw a pile of folded blankets, several cans of food, and some bottled water. “You had this planned?”

“Sena thought it would be good to have a place to meet in case of trouble,” said Harvey. “We stashed a few supplies here.”

“What do we do now?” asked McKenna. The little girl was standing close to Harvey. When she shivered, Harvey put an arm around her.

Good question,
thought Dee. “The library is out. I think I saw someone inside.”

“There are two guards,” said Harvey.

“How do you know that?”

“Sena signaled it to us before she left.”

Dee realized Sena hadn’t been waving to her after all. Apparently she’d thought of everything. Dee wished the quiet girl was here now. She didn’t have time to run a refugee camp for children. She had to get her parents away from Downey and plan a prison break at the mill. She needed Mason. Dee wondered what he was doing and for a fleeting moment she was jealous of Sena. She would probably see him tonight.

Everyone was looking at her expectantly. There was only one thing she could do. “All right, listen up. I’m taking you back to your parents. You’re going home.”

Their reaction caught her by surprise. Only one girl—Kylie—nodded in agreement. The others exchanged worried glances, and McKenna stuck her jaw out in defiance.

Dee crossed her arms. “I don’t know what’s going on, but home is the best place for you. We barely have any food, and there’s no way to heat this shack. You can’t stay here.”

A heavy silence hung over the group, until it was interrupted by the sound of Dee’s stomach growling loudly. She put a hand to her abdomen, embarrassed.
 

Harvey handed her a piece of jerky. “Can you give us a few minutes to talk?”
 

Dee ate the piece of dried meat while a whispered conversation took place among the students of her former class. Afterward, the eighth grade twins Jamie and Wynona went out to keep watch, while Jeremy and several other fifth graders set up pool furniture and began spreading blankets over the padded loungers.

“I appreciate your resourcefulness,” Dee said, “but it’s time—”
 

“There’s something we want to talk to you about,” Harvey interrupted, showing her a heavy book.

Dee glanced at the title. “Of all the books in the library, you brought a history of World War II? What for? Tinder?” Their eyes met, and Dee recognized the irony of her statement. “On second thought, you better let me have that.”

“I’m not going to burn it,” said Harvey. “I want to show you something.”

“What good is history in a situation like this?”

“Hey, don’t knock history.”

“I’m serious, how is an old book going to help us?”
 

“Haven’t you ever heard that if we don’t learn from the past we’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes?”

“I’ve heard it but I don’t see how it applies here.”

“For one thing,” Harvey said after a moment of thought, “this isn’t the first time citizens have been forced into military service.”

“Not in the United States.”

“Dee, every time there’s a draft, that’s conscription. Do you think everyone ever drafted wanted to be a soldier or go to war?”

Dee realized he was right. She wondered what he wanted to show her. Harvey handed her a flashlight and then opened the book. “It’s right here.”

After reading the title of the chapter Dee asked, “What does the Polish resistance movement have to do with anything?”

Harvey cleared his throat as though about to begin a lecture. “In World War II, the Nazis had to transport their supplies through Poland to get to Russia. The Poles didn’t want them there so they secretly rebelled. In 1941 the Polish Resistance destroyed almost two thousand train engines, blew up three bridges, and burned over two hundred military trucks.”

Dee snapped the book shut. “I’m sure that’s all really interesting, but those were adults. You’re kids. I’m taking you home tonight.”

“We’re not going home, Dee. We’re going to form our own resistance.” Harvey’s voice was firm.

“That’s crazy. What did Sena say when you told her?” Harvey scuffed his foot on the ground, and Dee nodded. “I bet she didn’t like the idea either.”

“She said it was too risky,” Harvey mumbled.

“Exactly. Someone could get caught or hurt.”

“We don’t care about that.”

“Right now you don’t, but what if something goes wrong?”

“Then at least we tried,” Harvey said passionately. “We didn’t go home and hide in our closets, hoping no one in our family was punished or killed for hiding us. We won’t live like that.”

“Your families will protect you,” said Dee, hearing the doubt in her voice.

McKenna had come to stand next to Harvey, and she spoke up. “No, they can’t.”

“What do you mean?” asked Dee.

“Last time someone stood up to Downey, he brought a kid back from his camp and shot him in front of everyone.” Dee gasped, horrified, and he went on. “The adults are too scared to fight back. They do what he tells them. We’ve got to take care of ourselves.”

Dee didn’t want to admit it, but he made sense. Curiosity got the better of her and she glanced at the book again. “What do you have in mind?”