The Isles of Elysium (Purge of Babylon, Book 6) (18 page)

*

“Jesus, your face
looks like shit,” Jordan said. She was whispering and looked concerned as she dabbed his face with a wet…something. “That throbbing pain? That’s your forehead. It was bleeding so much even Pita thought you were going to bleed out. Lucky for you, it stopped.”

Yeah. Lucky. That’s me.

He grimaced and fought the urge to reach up to touch his forehead, where the strong odor of antibiotic ointment was coming from. Someone had been very generous with it. He guessed too much was better than not enough when you were dealing with possible infection.

His entire face hurt. At least both Tobias and Reese had aimed straight for the noggin and spared his nose. Having it broken once was enough, especially now that it had all but healed. Well, mostly, anyway.

He was lying on a cold, hard floor and staring up at a patch of moonlight spilling in through a high ceiling window. Something soft, probably cotton, was rolled up underneath his head, allowing him to turn it with minimal effort and take in his new surroundings.

He and Jordan were inside some kind of classroom, and they weren’t alone. One of the women he had seen in the cafeteria was sitting against the opposite wall next to one of the wounded men; her eyes were closed and she was stroking his forehead while he snored. Pita and her teen assistant leaned against each other in another corner; they were both asleep. Unused school desks were scattered around them, some lying on their sides.

Nightfall.

There was barely any noise inside the room except for their breathing and the light snoring around them, as if everyone just knew not to be too noisy. Maybe a survival instinct kicking in unconsciously after a year of living in a post-Purge world.

What was that Lara liked to say?
“Adapt or perish.”

These people had clearly adapted. You didn’t survive this long without understanding the rules. Making a sound in the middle of the night
(What time is it?)
was one of those things to be avoided at all costs.

It was impossibly quiet outside. Even the birds were afraid to make any noise. He was relieved to discover that the window in the back of the room was closed tight. He and Jordan, along with everyone in the room, were sitting along the sides, with Pita and the girl underneath the window. Even if one of the ghouls had crawled up there, they wouldn’t be able to see them.

Hopefully.

Next to him, Jordan put down the balled T-shirt she had been using on his face and leaned tiredly back against the wall. It wasn’t just the day’s events pressing down on her—the ambush, the losing friends—but his arrival probably hadn’t contributed to her peace of mind. What should have been a happy reunion for both of them had instead kicked off a bloody and challenging day for her.

Mom always did say my timing sucks.

“You okay?” he asked.

She gave him a wry look. “You’re the one with the big cut on your forehead. Did you always look this ugly?”

“Kick a man while he’s down, why doncha.”

“Sorry.”

“You look tired.”

“I am tired.” She sighed and looked at the window. “They’re out there, you know.”

“I know…”

She glanced back at him. “So, are you ever going to tell me what happened to your face? I mean, before this afternoon. That scar looks pretty nasty.”

“The guy I told you about?”

“Pollard?”

“Yeah. He tried to carve my face with a knife.”

“Damn.”

“That was after he stabbed me.”

“Jesus, Keo.”

“No, just Keo.”

She tried to stop it, but the smile came through anyway. He returned it, because he couldn’t help it, either. Jordan had always been a pretty girl, even with the short hair that made her look less “girly” than he remembered. The dirt on her face that she hadn’t bothered to clean since the road, the worry lines on her forehead, and the dry skin—none of those things took away from her.

He must have been staring, because she wrinkled her nose at him and said, “What?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re staring. Again.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay, but at least buy me dinner first, for God’s sake.”

He chuckled, and they went back to looking at the room and the window. He expected to see them out there at any moment crawling around like spiders, but there was just the bright moonlight. Instead of being relieved, it just made him paranoid. After so many peaceful nights on the
Trident
, being back on land left him overly anxious.

“You didn’t know Tobias was going to do that?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I didn’t.” She sighed, then, “He’s going to kill you tomorrow.”

“He said that?”

“Not in so many words, but I’ve been around him long enough to know what he’s thinking. He doesn’t trust you, and he’s already lost too much today. We all have. He’s not going to risk it.”

“Why didn’t he put me out of my misery after he knocked me out?”

“Because I wouldn’t let him. He wanted to, but I made it pretty goddamn clear that if he didn’t at least give you a chance to explain, then I was done, too. I’ve been loyal to him, and Tobias is a man who values loyalty.”

“So I have until morning.”

She nodded.

“What time is it?” he asked.

“Around ten. You’ve been unconscious for half the day.” She looked down at him and narrowed her eyes. “Why are you here, Keo? I can’t help you if you won’t tell me the truth.”

“The guy in charge of T18 gave me a job. I wasn’t exactly in a position to say no.”

“Steve?”

“Yeah.”

“What was the job?”

“He wanted me to kill Tobias.”

Jordan didn’t say anything, and he couldn’t be sure if that was surprise or disappointment on her face. Maybe a lot of both.

“I’m doing this for Gillian,” he said.

“What’s she got to do with it?”

“In return for taking out Tobias, I get Gillian.”

“‘Get’ her?”

“He wouldn’t let me see her, or even talk to her, until I do this for him.”

“Does she know you’re here?”

“She was at the riverbanks when Miller was bringing me in. She definitely saw me.”
I hope,
he thought about adding, but decided he wanted to believe it, too, so he didn’t.

“And she looked okay?” Jordan asked.

“From what I saw, yes.”

She nodded. “We need to get you out of here.” She glanced across the room at the door. “There’s a guard outside. He has orders to shoot you if you try to escape. That’s why no one in here has a weapon, including me.”

It hadn’t occurred to him that Jordan was unarmed, but he saw it now. Her holster was empty, and she didn’t have the M4 he’d seen her carrying all day. Even her sheath was missing its knife.

“Tobias wouldn’t let me stay with you if I didn’t give up my guns,” she said.

“I thought he trusted you.”

“Not after I’ve been vouching for you all day.” She pursed her lips. “We had a pretty loud, knock-down, drag-out screaming match after he…love-tapped you.”

“What did he say?”

“It doesn’t matter what he said.” Her face hardened, turning serious. “He’ll give you a chance to explain yourself tomorrow, but the truth is, it won’t matter. He’s already decided to kill you.”

Keo believed her, even if she was talking about a guy who looked like Captain America.

“Keo,” Jordan said, her brown eyes still focused on his bruised face. “You need to get out of here before morning, or you’re going to die.”

“I can’t go out there.”

“You have to. In the morning—”

“I’ll talk to him,” Keo said.

“There’s no point. I told you, he’s already made up his mind.”

“Then I’ll just have to make him change it.”

“How?”

He smiled and hoped it was at least partially convincing. “I got a plan. Trust me.”

She frowned.

He guessed he wasn’t all that convincing after all.

The one that
tried to take his head off yesterday, Reese, was a stout man with a bad goatee. He entered the classroom with another man around eight in the morning to collect Keo. Pita and the girl had woken up before Keo opened his eyes, leaving just him, Jordan, and the couple across from the room.

“Rise and shine,” Reese said. Then, in what sounded like an Australian accent, “It’s judgment day.”

“That’s an Australian accent, you idiot,” Jordan said.

“Huh?”

“Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays the Terminator in
T2: Judgment Day,
is Austrian.”

“Whatever, close enough,” Reese said, annoyed. “Now get your asses up.”

Keo hadn’t gotten very much sleep last night, most of it spent trying to figure out how he was going to survive the following morning. Jordan had dozed off around midnight and woken up a few minutes before Reese showed up. Morning sun blazed in through the high window and washed over half of the room, making it easy to notice that both Reese and the other man, who kept a safe distance just in case Keo tried anything, were very well armed and alert. He wondered if they had coffee in the cafeteria.

“Where’s Tobias?” Keo asked, rubbing his eyes.

“He’s waiting outside,” Reese said.

“I need to talk to him.”

“Oh, you’re going to get the chance to talk to him, all right. Get up.” Reese put his hand on the butt of his holstered sidearm for effect. “Time to pay the piper.”

Not nearly ominous enough, pal.

Keo stood up, surprised he wasn’t more wobbly on his feet. Being knocked unconscious had, ironically, done him a lot of good and Keo felt refreshed, as if he had been sleeping for days. Jordan had more trouble, the day’s events showing on her face as she tried to fight through the muscle aches and sores.

He gave her a hand. “When was the last time you had a full night’s sleep?”

“Can’t remember,” she said, and gave him a brief smile.

He returned it.

“I must look like you did last night,” she said, running her hands over her face, her palms coming away dirty. “Ugh.”

“You look fine. Better than fine.”

She smirked. “You’re full of crap, but thanks anyway.”

“Let’s go,” Reese said before turning and leaving the room.

Keo and Jordan followed him out into the hallway. Reese walked in front while the second man trailed behind them, still keeping a safe distance. Keo heard voices and activity even before he stepped back into the cafeteria.

The rest of Tobias’s people were packing up their things, everyone moving with purpose. There was an efficiency to the way supplies were being bundled up, despite the fact that they were now working with fewer men. These people had been doing this for a while now, and even still clearly dazed and shell-shocked by yesterday, it didn’t stop them from doing their jobs. Tobias had trained them well.

The man himself stood over a table, looking down at a map. He was talking to a couple of men when he glanced over. Unlike last time, Keo didn’t see Captain America in those eyes—instead, he saw his would-be executioner.

Damn, this better work.

“You come up with a story yet?” Jordan asked, keeping her voice just low enough that only he could hear.

“Yes,” Keo said.

“You better, because I’m not going to be able to get you out of this.”

“Any advice?”

“Just pretend Tobias is one of those women you pick up in bars. If you can get him to drop his pants, you’re home free.”

Keo grinned.

By the time they reached him, Tobias had folded the map and slipped it into his back pocket. He nodded at Reese, then said to Keo, “Let’s talk outside.”

He led them to the same back hallway that Keo and Jordan had come through yesterday, limping noticeably on his wounded leg. There was another guard at the back door, and Tobias pushed the door open for them. They stepped out into the thick backyard jungle, the bright and warm sun hitting them in the face.

Keo breathed in the cool, crisp morning air. He hadn’t realized how thick and musky the interior of the YMCA was until now. Out here, he could almost believe he had a decent chance of surviving the next few minutes.

“Jordan,” Tobias said. He had stopped and turned around. “Step aside.”

Jordan didn’t move. “No.”

“He has a lot to pay for.”

“He didn’t know Miller was using him to draw us out.”

“Bullshit,” Reese said. He stood slightly to the right of Tobias, his hand still resting on the butt of his holstered sidearm, finger tapping anxiously against the walnut grip.

Keo heard the sentries moving around on the rooftop above and behind him and wondered if they were paying attention to what was about to happen down here.

“Ron shot at Keo first,” Jordan said. “Then he called the others in to finish the job. Ron did what you put him up there to do, Tobias.”

“I didn’t know anything about an ambush,” Keo said.

“But you came from T18,” Tobias said. His voice was calm and measured. Compared to Reese, who had a tendency to raise his voice, Tobias could have passed for the Dalai Lama…with an assault rifle.

“Yes, I did.”

“What were you doing there?”

“The same reason everyone else ended up at T18. I was captured at Santa Marie Island.”