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No, don’t start that again, she chided herself. If she had been home she’d be dead now too. Regrets got you nowhere. She climbed the last step and stumbled down the creaky hall in fatigue, trying her best to step on all the spots she knew were quieter. Next to her apartment lived a young woman named Karen with two children, ages two and three. Their father was hardly around and she knew how tough it was on her. The last thing Bridgette needed was to wake them up at three in the morning.

She balanced her many bags awkwardly on her shoulder as she reached into her pocket to find her keys. As soon as she was inside, she decided, she was having a hot shower and sleeping for the next twelve hours straight. Not even a city bombing would be able to rouse her. Quickly entering her place, she turned to lock all four deadbolts on the door.

“Good morning!”

Bridgette screamed, turning around with her hand gripping her chest. She knew the voice, of course, she just hadn’t expected to hear it in her apartment!

“Jesus, McKay! What the heck are you doing here?”

He sat on the arm of her couch, his feet lazily crossed at the ankle. It looked like he had been patiently waiting there all night. Instead of answering, he said, “your apartment is ridiculously easy to get into.”

Her mouth fell open. “So you decided to break in?”

“How else was I supposed to show you how easy it was?” he asked as if it were clearly obvious.

“Uh, I don’t know. How about just letting me know to beef up the locks? Not
break in
at three in the morning and give me God damn heart attack!”

He looked at her like she was crazy. “You would have never believed me if I just said it.”

Bridgette pinched the bridge of her nose, setting her bags down on the counter in her tiny kitchen. “What are you doing here, McKay?” she asked tiredly.

He smiled, knowing full well the argument was over. The two of them had been friends since they were ten, and as hard as she might try, Bridgette could never find it in her to stay mad at him for long. He stood up, walking over to join her in the kitchen. She noticed he had shaved his head again, his dark blonde hair now just a short fuzz on his head. His jaw was clean shaven, and he wore faded jeans with a tight t-shirt that showcased tattoos covering both his arms. She could barely see the colour of his eyes in the dim lighting, but she knew them as if they were her own, a clear green like summer grass. Pete McKay, or just McKay as his friends called him, was probably one of the best looking guys she knew. No, wait, she corrected,
had
been…Roman Adamson was quickly rising to the top of her list. But besides the fact that he made all the girls drool, and was her closest friend, Bridgette had never felt an ounce of romantic feelings toward him.

“How was work?” he asked.

“You don’t want to know,” she replied. “Are you going to tell me why you’re here, so I can go to sleep?”

“I need you to come somewhere with me tomorrow night,” he said, turning serious.

“Oh?” she asked, eyebrows raised. It was never comforting when McKay was vague about things. Normally that meant he was up to no good. “Where would that be, exactly?”

“The Bull’s Eye.”

She laughed incredulously. “You’re kidding right?”

“I know it’s not the nicest place…”

“Not the nicest? McKay, it’s a hole in the wall. Why on earth would I go there?”

“There’s someone I need you to meet.”

Well that sounded ominous. “Does this have to do with the rebels I’ve heard you’re hanging around? Because if it does, I don’t want any part of it.”

He sighed, running his hand over his short hair. “Can you just do this for me please? It’s not like I ask you for much.”

“I’m not going to that dump. And that’s final.”

“It’s not that bad,” he argued. “I mean, you work at the Red Lounge for crying –”

“Stop right there,” she warned. “You do not want to get into this argument with me right now, Pete. I’m tired, and I want to go to sleep.”

“Geez, using my first name. You must be in a bad mood.”

She narrowed her eyes at him in response. He raised his hands defensively. “Okay, okay. I get it.” He glanced around quickly as if someone was listening. Bridgette gave him an annoyed look. “I need you to come, because it has to do with your dad.”

“My dad?”

He nodded.

“What is it with today?” she murmured.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing.” She waved him off. “Fine, I’ll see what this is all about, but I can’t go tomorrow night, I’m working.”

“What about after work?”

“Sure,” she said, giving in. “So long as it’s not at the Bull’s Eye. Meet me here instead.”

“What if you’re followed? It’s too risky.” He shook his head.

She stomped her foot, a terrible habit whenever she was really frustrated. “Why would anyone follow me?” she asked crossly.

“You never know, Bridge,” was his reply.

“Fine. You pick a place – a different place – and I will be there. Got it?”

“Yup!” He smiled, walking over to kiss her lightly on the cheek. “I’ll be in touch tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sure. Great.”

He chuckled, ruffling her hair just the way he knew she hated. “Night, Bridge!”

Then he was gone, just as quickly as he had appeared. Bridgette sighed looking at the doorway to her bathroom longingly. It was way too late now to shower. She shucked off her clothes as fast as she could and climbed into bed. The second her head hit the pillow she was out.

CHAPTER FOUR

The day had gone by slowly, much to her irritation. Dinah walked out of her room doing another mental count of the weapons she had on her. There was no such thing as being overly cautious in this day and age. She headed down the hall wondering what had happened to Ludwig all day. Normally he sent for her at least once, but she’d heard nothing. It was strange, but if anything bad had happened she would have known by now. Roman stepped out of his room as she was making her way toward the stairs. He waited outside his door for her.

“Good evening,” he said.

“Evening,” she replied. She stopped in front of him. “You ready to do this?”

“Are you?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, about two seconds away from punching that mocking smile off his face. “Watch it,” she warned.

“In a bad mood today, Lottey?”

“I will be if you don’t stop calling me that.”

The door at the far end of the hall leading to Ludwig’s quarters opened. They both turned to see a skinny girl with long, blonde hair walk out wearing hardly anything at all. Dinah’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Neither of them said a word as she made her way down the hall, head down. When she finally looked up, she noticed them. A small smile touched her face when she spotted Roman, but it instantly vanished when she noticed her. Dinah could have sworn the girl began to shake as she continued, now a little faster, toward them. They both stepped back, letting her walk past. She didn’t look at either of them again.

Dinah waited until she was out of sight before turning, questioningly, toward Roman. He shrugged. “Don’t ask me,” he said, hands raised.

She snorted, shaking her head. Like he didn’t know what that was about, she thought doubtfully. He fell into step beside her as she made her way to the stairs.

“Weapon X strikes again,” he muttered. She looked over to see him fighting off another smile.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she snapped.

“Didn’t you see her face?” He laughed out loud now. “She was terrified of you.”

Dinah rolled her eyes, descending the stairs quickly. “Sometimes I think you can learn a thing or two from people like her.” His laughter followed her down.

She hated cars. Being locked inside a cage of metal set her on edge. Especially a large one like the SUV they were currently in. There were too many people crammed inside, she could hardly breathe. Dinah looked out the window as they drove through the upper section. It wasn’t often that she got to observe like this. Normally when she went out, if she went out, she was on her bike. Speeding down the streets on a Harley-Davidson Iron 883 didn’t give her much of an opportunity to take in her surroundings. She wished she was on her bike now, not sitting in this death trap.

“Can I ask you something?” Roman said. She turned to look at him on the other side of the bench, waiting. “Do you ever think about your father? Miss him even?”

“I think he’s a selfish prick who left his family to die for his beliefs,” she answered plainly. “So no, Roman, I don’t miss him.” She turned back to look out the window.

“What about your sister? Think she’s alive?”

She looked back. “I’m sorry. Are we having a heart to heart right now?”

The two soldiers sitting up front tried to hide their snickers, but she heard them. Roman’s mouth lifted in a smile, his eyes bright with amusement.

“I was just asking,” he defended.

“I don’t think about her either,” she lied. She thought about her sister all the time, she just didn’t like to admit it. Living with Ludwig had taught her a few things over the years, and one of those was to never show anyone your weakness. Truth be told, she did wonder what happened to Bridgette. At first she had planned to find her, but as the years went by, Dinah had started to lose hope. When she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she wasn’t sure who she was looking at anymore. She had hardened more than she thought possible, and had done things, seen things she wasn’t proud of.

She closed her eyes against the light outside the window and pictured Bridgette as she was the last time she saw her. It had just been that morning before her sister had left for work, leaving like it would be any other day. Dinah was ashamed of who she was now. How could she possibly see her sister again as Weapon X? Would she look at her the same, or just see the monster Dinah had become? It hurt too much to even think about. Still, she always wondered if she was alive out there somewhere. Was she safe? Happy? Did she miss her? But they were pointless questions really. Most of the people in Leigh the day of the attack were killed. Those who got out had hopped on their boats at the docks. She doubted her sister had been one of them. She was always terrified of being out on the open water.

“She’s probably dead anyway,” she added, turning to look at him. “You said it yourself, there weren’t many survivors that day. I highly doubt she would have been one of them.” He nodded his head thoughtfully. “Why do you ask?”

He shrugged. There was more to this conversation than he was letting on, but Dinah kept quiet as she watched him school his features before answering her. If she really wanted to, she could just look in his head and find out, but she really hated doing that to those who were close to her. “Just wondering what you think about when you stare off like that.”

She looked at him pointedly. “Can you guess what I’m thinking now?” she said. “I’ll give you a clue, it rhymes with duck pew.”

His eyebrows shot up in mock horror, his hand clasping his chest. “Lottey!” he admonished jokingly. “Not here! I told you, not in front of the others.”

Dinah pushed him, not that it did any good considering he was the size of a tree. The men up front were laughing freely now, as was Roman. She kept her eyes narrowed at him, before turning to look out the window. It was a good thing she wore her mask all the time, otherwise Roman would be annoyingly aware of how often he made her smile.

“You can’t hide from me,” he whispered. She looked back to find him leaning in close, his face only inches away from hers. “Just because your face is hidden, doesn’t mean I don’t know when you’re smiling.”

“Oh?” she said stubbornly.

“I’ve spent enough years watching those pretty eyes,” he said. “I know how to read them.”

She shook her head, unable to fight the smile spreading across her face.

“Right there,” he pointed. “Got you again.”

“Yeah, well you better watch out or I’ll get you back,” she said. “And trust me, it isn’t nearly as fun.” He laughed, moving back to his side of the vehicle.

They were leaving the upper section and heading east toward the ghetto. The streets grew grimier, the buildings more run down and damaged. Dinah shivered. The place always reminded her of a ghost town. The population of the ghettos surrounding New Berlin were higher than any of the upper sections, and yet any time she drove through them it seemed desolate. She knew, logically, it had to do with the fact that the people recognized the fleet of cars travelling through their area. No one wanted to mess with the New World army. The lower class didn’t get to have cars, along with electronics of any kind.

The problem with killing off most of the world’s population, Ludwig had discovered quite quickly, was that it reduced the manufacturing workforce. It also meant less people working to build communication towers, and many other things the old world had an abundance of. Ludwig kept his eastern contacts happy enough so they were still providing him with fuel and such, but the people over here weren’t seeing it. Aside from the army, of course. And a select few of the upper class. Dinah often wondered what Africa was like now that Ludwig had given it over to his arms dealers. She shuddered to think. Was any part of this world a fraction of what it used to be?

They drove up to the large gates of the eastern ghetto. Two armed guards stepped forward, guns ready. Roman rolled his window down and they immediately stepped back, waving at another man to open the gates. The loud metal creaked in the eerie silence of this section of town. Dinah looked around wondering how the inhabitants managed to hide without her ever catching even a glimpse of them. Did they have their own people watching? Did that mean the ones meeting tonight would know they were coming ahead of time? She hoped not, or Ludwig would be seriously pissed.