Take Back the Skies (25 page)

As the morning dragged on into afternoon, Fox began obsessively checking his pocket watch, waiting for the clock to tick over to one o'clock when lunch break began and the guard would be minimal. Finally, he deemed it safe for them to leave, and led the way back to the outer door they'd entered through the day before, then paused.

‘There could be security guards on the other side,' he said, shaking his head. ‘Not a risk I'm willing to take. Come on.'

He grabbed her hand, practically dragging her down the right-hand corridor, pulling her into an alcove with a small window just above Fox's head height.

‘Keep an eye out and hit me if someone comes our way.'

Without waiting for a response, Fox reached up to grab the window sill, spreading his legs far apart, jamming the toes of his boots in the grooves between the wood panels on either side of the alcove. Cat alternated between observing the corridor and watching Fox as he awkwardly walked his way up the wall, holding on to the window sill until he
was high enough to sit on it. He flicked the latch on the window, pushing it open. There barely looked enough room for her to fit through, let alone Fox.

‘Are you sure that's going to work?' she hissed, and he flashed her a roguish grin, stretching right down to hold out his hand.

‘Trust me, girlie. Now, let me pull you up.'

Eyeing him apprehensively, she gripped his hand tightly in hers, jumping as he pulled. There was a brief moment of panic as Fox nearly overbalanced, but he leaned back into the open window, bracing himself against the frame as Cat gripped the sill, hoisting herself up ungracefully to sit beside him. It was a tight fit, and Cat found herself pressed against him, their faces about half a foot apart.

He winked at her.

‘Told you it would work. You go first.'

He let a hand rest securely on her shoulder as she twisted to lower herself out of the window. Forcing her thoughts away from the warmth she could feel through her coat – now
really
wasn't the time – she gripped the window sill tightly, not wanting to drop suddenly and make a lot of noise. She felt her toes brush the ground, and let go, landing on the damp concrete with a muffled thump. Looking up at Fox, she beckoned him, moving aside so he could lower himself down. When his feet touched the ground, he quickly darted round the corner to hide by the protrusion of building stretching towards the back of East Gate, followed by Cat.

‘You all right?' he checked, and she nodded, taking a few moments to slow her breathing.

There was a gallery running along the wall, thick stone columns supporting decorated arches in the self-important government fashion. But the heavily shadowed walkway would be just as useful to them as the alcoves inside the building had been – it made perfect cover. Fox seemed to fade into the shadows as he slunk across to the other side, ready to dart out and pick the lock of the exposed East Gate.

Cat stepped out of her hiding place to join him, only to scurry back at the sound of footsteps. Her eyes widened as she caught Fox's alarmed expression, and suddenly she felt a hand grabbing the back of her collar, lifting her clean off her feet. ‘What in storms do you think you're doing here, brat?' a voice hissed in her ear, the guard's breath hot on her neck. All she could do was let out a whimper, feeling herself tremble as she was forcibly turned around. She didn't recognise the man holding her, but his rumpled uniform had just one stud on the collar, and the putrid scent of alcohol was dizzying. ‘Where did you come from, then?'

‘Let – let go of me,' Cat mumbled, struggling feebly. She could see Fox hiding in the walkway, watching her, aghast.

‘What would I do that for?' the guard said, chuckling darkly. He was swaying on his feet as he held her, and Cat stretched down to stand on solid ground once more. ‘Bet you've escaped from one of them holding cells inside, hmm? Boss'll be awfully mad if a brat gets away. Don't know what they need them for, anyway.' The man's tone turned scathing as he muttered to himself, but his grip stayed tight. Cat struck a solid blow between his legs, making him howl in pain. His grip loosened just enough for Cat to squirm free and run off, but as she turned to see if he was following, a
tall form blocked her vision and a sharp crack filled the air, followed by the heavy thump of a body falling to the floor. She swallowed her scream, frantic eyes landing on Fox, who had emerged from the shadows and held one of his heavy steel-toed boots in his hand. There was a smudge of dark blood staining the leather, and her gaze flicked to the crumpled form of the guard, who was unconscious and bleeding from a cut on his forehead.

‘Is he … dead?' she asked, still trembling.

‘No, just unconscious. But we need to get going before he wakes up,' Fox replied quietly.

She looked up at him warily. ‘We can't just leave him here! He'll tell someone he saw me!'

Fox snorted, rolling his eyes. ‘Cat, he smells like he took a bath in a distillery. No one will believe anything he says,' he said, tugging her away.

He didn't speak again until they were a good distance away from the unconscious man, hiding deep in the shadows of the empty walkway. Cat clasped her hands together, willing her fingers to stop shaking. ‘You're OK,' Fox murmured, leaning his head against hers for the briefest moment. ‘You're safe, you're fine. That was a good shot, actually. Good luck to him if he ever wants kids.' There was a grin on his face, and Cat giggled.

‘I'm sorry,' she said softly, earning a raised eyebrow. ‘That could've blown everything.'

‘It wasn't your fault, it could've just as easily been me,' he said quietly. ‘And you dealt with it well.' Cat bit her lip, but didn't argue. Her fault or not, it had been far too close for comfort.

Fox got the gate open with ease, and Cat was surprised to see it unguarded on the other side.

‘Psst! Cat! Fox!' Her head snapped up, and she couldn't stop grinning when she saw Ben lurking in the shadows nearby. Racing towards him, she let him envelop her in a tight hug as he pulled her back into his hiding place, Fox following close behind. ‘Oh, thank the gods you're both OK. We were so worried,' he breathed, dropping a kiss to her head before releasing her, bringing Fox into a brief hug as well.

‘Where's the guard?' the redhead asked, and Ben smirked.

‘Mattie's taking care of it. We're getting rather good at drawing guards away for twenty minutes or so, just in case you turn up. Oh, Alice is going to be ecstatic, she's hardly slept.' They all froze at the sound of footsteps, but relaxed when it turned out to be Matt, a faint purple bruise on his cheek and his hair mussed.

‘Storms, you're back!' he exclaimed in a whisper. ‘Are you OK?'

‘We're fine,' Fox assured quickly. ‘We've got so much to tell you, but we need to get back to the ship.'

‘Of course,' Matt agreed, already setting off towards the shipyard. Cat followed, feeling safe for the first time since she'd stepped into the government compound. Storms, she just wanted it all to be over.

‘So what did you find out, then?' Matt asked Fox and Cat once they were all settled around the table in the galley, Alice brewing tea for each of them. Cat grimaced, sharing a look with Fox, who looked equally sombre.

‘It's bad,' he started, taking out their video and audio recorders and setting them on the table. ‘What they're doing to those children … it's despicable.'

‘You – you actually saw some of them?' Ben asked tentatively, his face pale. Cat's heart went out to him, and she braced herself for what she was about to tell him, aware his mind was on his sister; she would've been nineteen now, but there was no way she was still alive. Cat wished he could've stayed oblivious.

‘They're creating an army,' she said quietly. ‘That much is true, at least. But it's not any kind of army you've seen before. They're
mutilating
the children, giving them mechanical limbs with guns on them, trying to create a half-human, half-mecha soldier. It … it doesn't seem to be going very well. There are more failures than successes from what we can see.'

The entire crew had gone chalk-white at her words, and
Ben looked like he was about to pass out. Matt's arm was around him, squeezing his shoulders tightly.

‘We gather Collected kids are being stored out in the country,' Fox continued, and Cat jumped as his hand slid over hers on the bench, entwining her fingers and holding her with a vice-like grip. ‘Fed to put some weight on, then groups are brought back by train to undergo experiments. We don't know what happens to the successful cases.' He paused. ‘There is some good news in all of this, though. Queen Mary Latham and her son are alive.'

You could have heard a pin drop in the galley.

‘They're being held captive in a room right at the bottom of the government compound. Have been there since they disappeared. The king was killed, but his wife and son live,' Cat explained.

‘Bless my soul,' Harry murmured, running a hand over his beard. ‘I suppose that solves the problem of who will run the country once the government is gone. If they're up to the task.'

‘Do you really think they'll be given a choice?' Alice pointed out. ‘After all the government has done, people will want the monarchy back in place, whether the monarchs themselves like it or not.'

‘We need to act quickly,' Fox said, sipping at his tea. ‘The longer we're in there, the more likely we are to get caught. We need to find out who's in charge, film some conclusive evidence, then evacuate the children and the royals before we bring the place to the ground.'

‘We're ready for that when you are,' Matt assured him, his arm still around Ben. The blond man seemed to be
shell-shocked by the news of what had probably happened to his sister. Cat didn't blame him; she would have been sobbing if it had been her.

‘I'll go back in tonight, and evacuate everyone who needs to get out. We're quite sure we know where all the kids are, but I'll look around for more when I'm planting canisters,' Fox declared. Cat froze, abruptly tearing her hand from his.

‘What do you mean,
you're
going back in tonight? You talk as if you're going in alone.'

He nodded.

‘That's because I am,' he replied slowly.

She glared.

‘You most definitely are not! You're mad if you think I'm letting you go in without me! You need someone to watch your back!'

She couldn't believe they were having the same argument twice. Had she not managed to get it into his thick head the first time?

‘It's too dangerous for you,' Fox insisted vehemently. ‘We won't be able to keep sticking to the shadows.' Cat rolled her eyes.

‘Like it's any less dangerous for you?' she snapped.

‘Now, kids, calm down,' Alice attempted quietly, and both teens whipped around to face her.

‘You agree with me, though, don't you, Alice?' Fox demanded. ‘It's far too dangerous for Cat to go in. I can handle it on my own.'

‘Don't get like that, lad,' Harry said with a scowl. ‘I don't want you going in on your own. I might not like the idea of
Cat going in either, but it's better than you flying solo in a place like that. Even if you won't be there for long. It'll be easier to get the kids out with two of you, anyway.' His eyes were stern, and it was clear he didn't expect to be argued with.

Fox growled under his breath, tugging at his hair in a way that looked painful.

‘Fine. But don't expect me to do all the work. I expect you to pull your weight,' he muttered reluctantly.

Cat raised an eyebrow sharply at him.

‘Did I not pull my weight enough today, then?' she asked acidly.

Fox winced.

‘That's not what I meant,' he backtracked hastily, and Cat snorted.

‘Of course it's not.' She stood up. ‘If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go before the urge to punch this idiot in the face becomes too overwhelming.'

Even Ben sniggered as Cat stormed towards the door. She knew Fox was following her – his steel-toed boots were loud on the floorboards – but she ignored him all the way back to her bedroom.

‘I didn't mean what I said the way it sounded like I meant it,' he blurted out.

She paused for a moment to decipher his words.

‘Your meaning was quite clear to me, I assure you,' she replied curtly, turning round to face him. ‘Earlier you told me what happened with the guard wasn't my fault.'

‘It wasn't!' he insisted. ‘I wanted you out of things before that happened.' She folded her arms over her chest, wishing she were taller.

‘Make your mind up, Fox. Either it was my fault, or it wasn't. But regardless, I'm not letting you go in alone tomorrow.'

He sighed in frustration, pulling at his fringe.

‘It wasn't your fault. Storms, I say all the wrong things around you, Cat,' he told her earnestly.

She didn't budge, just carried on glaring.

‘You say enough to prove that you're never going to trust me. I don't know why I bother any more. I'm just as capable as you, girl or not,' she said, looking him in the eye.

He held her gaze for several heartbeats, before looking away.

‘I … I told you about my parents. I told you that I spent three years with no one. I learned to rely on myself … relying on others gets you killed. You might have hated your father, but at least you had him. You never went cold, or hungry, or wondered if you'd still be alive by morning. You don't understand. Trusting people is … difficult for me,' he said awkwardly. ‘And you might like to think you're capable, but until you reach a situation where you truly need to
be
capable, you won't realise just how much you need help.'

None of this stopped Cat from wanting to clobber him.