The Q, page 25
His hand was still on her arm, and she barely had to reach out to touch his chest.
“Maisie,” he said quietly.
“Yeah?” She could barely see the outline of him from the light filtering in around the sides of the door.
“I didn’t consider how bad it would be if I didn’t make it to the gate.”
“Are you losing faith? I know we’re cutting it close, but it’s just on the other side of the compound. It should only take a few minutes to get there once we’re inside.”
“No, I’m not, it’s just…” He pushed open the closet door a crack and looked around. “I think we’re in the clear.”
She dropped her hand from his chest and stepped out. She walked over to the computer, but the screens were blank now. Ethan must have hidden the images when his mom walked in.
“It’s just, when I insisted that we make that video, I wasn’t thinking about you guys in here,” Lennon said.
“I’m aware, Lennon.”
His face fell. “You are?”
She gestured at the computers. “It seemed voice-activated, right? Hopefully it’s not programmed only for Ethan’s voice.” She leaned a little closer. “Cameras two and seven.” They appeared onscreen. She called up the rest of them, and then glanced at Lennon. “You were sort of thinking of us. It’s true that they needed reassurance out there that you were okay.”
“Yeah, but I could have just said I was fine. I should have said I’d be fine no matter what. I shouldn’t have promised I’d make it there in time.”
She paused, checking the cameras. “No, probably not.”
“I’m sorry.”
She reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze. “It’s okay, Lennon. I admire your sense of self-preservation, honestly. You’re damn good at getting what you want.”
“Thank you?”
“It was meant to be a compliment.”
He leaned one shoulder against the wall, watching the screen with cameras three and four. “Do you think we could find a way to communicate, once I’m out there?”
“I hope so.” She edged closer to him. “I’ll try, okay? I don’t know what things are going to be like in the south after all this, but since Lopez is gone…” A lump formed in her throat. She hadn’t fully processed that. She couldn’t picture the south without Lopez.
“I just don’t want today to be the last time I talk to you,” Lennon said quietly.
She smiled. “Hopefully it won’t be. But I can’t make any promises.”
“I know.” He looked from the screen to her, and their eyes met. There was an intensity to his gaze that made her stomach flip. She wanted to tell him that she was more upset than she was letting on about the (strong) possibility that she’d never see him again once he disappeared through that gate. She wanted to tell him that she’d been working out reasons he should stay, and just didn’t have the courage to say them.
His hand brushed against hers, and she caught it and laced their fingers together. He took a step closer to her.
She should have been watching the cameras. Or listening for footsteps. Instead, all she could focus on was the little lift on either side of his lips.
It was too hard to resist touching him. She let go of his hand and brushed her fingers across his jaw, lightly tracing the hint of stubble there. He took in a sharp breath, like he didn’t mind.
She felt his hand on her waist. Her eyes went back to his lips. She couldn’t help it.
His palms pressed to her back, warm and strong, as he pulled her closer to him. He leaned toward her, until their foreheads were almost touching.
“I can make a promise,” he said softly.
“What’s that?”
“I promise that I’m going to think about you every day after I get out of here.”
She still had her fingers on his jaw, and he caught her hand in his, tucking it into his chest. It took a moment for her to speak, and when she did, the words shook, just slightly. “I’ll think about you every day too.”
His forehead brushed against hers as he held her a little tighter. “What do you do on dates here? What would we have done, if I’d had the chance to ask you out?”
She laughed softly. “I don’t think I’ve ever been out on an official date. We all already know each other here, so we just…hang out.”
“That’s boring. I would take you on a real date.”
“What do you usually do on a real date?”
He considered for a moment. “Back home, I’d probably find something interesting for us to do, like go to a local festival or show or something. Because I’d want to impress you.”
“I’m already impressed,” she said quietly.
He smiled, tilting his head down closer to hers. “Here, I don’t know. A picnic, maybe. Or I’d ask you to take me to your favorite spot in the south, since you know the area better.”
“The rooftop of a building a few streets down from mine,” she said immediately.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s a medical research building, so no one ever goes up there at night. It’s quiet, and you can see practically the whole city.”
“Sounds perfect.”
He leaned in closer, until she could feel his breath against her lips. She squeezed the hand he still had tucked against his chest.
His head snapped to the screen suddenly, breaking the spell. “Did you see that? There’s someone coming out of that building.”
LENNON
LENNON WATCHED AS two men ran out the back door of a building on camera four.
“Do you recognize them?” he asked.
Maisie grimaced. “Yes.”
He glanced at her. Her cheeks were a little pink, and he cursed himself for stopping before he’d kissed her. He should have ignored the movement on the screen.
He wanted to ignore everything. Forget the whole plan and kiss her until it was too late to go to the gate.
Quick footsteps sounded in the hallway suddenly, and they both froze. Maisie put a hand on her gun.
Ethan appeared at the door. “Hey, sorry—”
“They’re already inside,” Maisie said in a rush, cutting him off. She pointed at the screen. “Declan’s men.”
Ethan bolted across the room, frantically glancing between screens. “How? How did they get in? How did they—” He stopped abruptly, pulling his phone from his pocket. He pressed it to his ear, and then turned and took off running. “Come on!” he yelled over his shoulder.
Lennon followed behind Maisie as they raced out of the building and down the street. Ethan lowered his phone from his ear, cursing. He pressed a button and held it up again.
The compound loomed to their right, and Ethan led them across the street. They came to a stop in front of a tall metal-and-wood gate at the front of the compound.
“No one is answering!” Ethan lowered his phone again, and then typed frantically on the keypad. The gate slid open. “The one time I actually want them to talk to me! The one time!” He returned his attention to his phone, fingers flying at impressive speed. “I’m just mass-texting these jerks until someone realizes I’m trying to save their lives here.”
They ran through the gate as Lennon was still processing Ethan calling his family these jerks.
Lennon glanced around as they headed down a street. The compound was made up of homes, almost certainly pre-zone. They were large two-story structures with garages and huge lawns, with wide streets built back when everyone drove a gas-powered car.
There were spots where he could tell the old homes had been torn down to make way for something new post-zone. He could see the rooftop of a large warehouse not far away, and it looked like a large swath of homes had been cleared to make way for a dirt parking lot, where several old cars sat.
Ethan skidded to a stop suddenly. He was out of breath, clearly not used to running. “You two need to go.” He pointed toward the rear of the compound. “Straight back. Just climb the wall once you get back there; it’s not hard.”
“Are you sure?” Maisie asked. “We—”
An explosion rocked the earth, making them all jump. Lennon instinctively reached for Maisie’s hand, but she was already pulling out her gun. Smoke rose from a building a street over. He could hear yelling nearby.
“Yes, go,” Ethan said. “It’s too late for you to help. Just get him out of here.”
Maisie took a step back with a nod. Lennon pulled out his gun.
“Don’t—” Ethan winced. “Try not to shoot anyone, okay? Or shoot them in the leg or something.”
“Of course,” Lennon said.
Another explosion. Ethan whirled around, and then took off. “Straight back!” he yelled, pointing.
“Thank you!” Lennon yelled after him. “For everything.”
“Don’t thank me yet, my dad might still kill you!” he called over his shoulder.
“Damn, he could have just said ‘You’re welcome.’ ”
“Come on. We’re getting you to that gate,” Maisie said.
Another explosion, this one on the other side of the compound. Lennon’s chest squeezed, and not just because of the imminent danger.
He was leaving Maisie in this. He was about to waltz through that gate back to his life, and he’d have no idea what was going on inside the walls. She was headed straight back into battle. He was headed to a nice room at CDC quarantine.
“Lennon,” Maisie said, clearly not for the first time. She was several steps in front of him.
“Sorry.” He broke into a run.
They turned a corner, and Maisie came to a sudden stop. Lennon bumped into her, putting a hand on her waist to keep from toppling them both. She pushed him back, so they were partially hidden behind a tree.
“I think that’s…” She trailed off, nodding at something ahead.
It was Ethan, standing next to an older man almost as tall as him. Lennon recognized the man’s angular, bearded face from photographs. Jonathan Spencer.
“It is,” Lennon whispered.
Jonathan said something to Ethan, and then roughly grabbed him by the arm. They walked across the street, into the warehouse.
“What the hell?”
Lennon slowly turned at the sound of the familiar voice.
Declan stood in front of them, his gun pointed at their faces.
MAISIE
MAISIE LAUNCHED HERSELF at Declan before he could shoot Lennon. She’d seen the moment he decided, when he started to turn the gun toward him.
Given that Lennon hadn’t raised his gun, he had missed it.
Declan yelled, and they both toppled to the ground.
“What the fuck? How did you—” Declan rolled away from Maisie, cutting himself off. He sprang to his feet. “How did you get here?”
“It’s a long story, and we already know that the ending is basically that you’re an asshole, so let’s skip it.”
“Dammit, Maisie, I—” He stopped himself again. He grabbed his gun from the ground.
And pointed it at Lennon.
Lennon darted away just as Declan fired, the shot ringing in her ears. Thank god he was fast.
Maisie tackled Declan again, grabbing a fistful of hair and yanking it hard.
“Ow! Maisie, I swear to god, I will shoot you, too!” He swung an arm out, knocking her away. He got to his knees.
A foot connected with his chest suddenly and he wheezed, toppling to the ground again. Lennon lowered his foot and stepped back.
Maisie scrambled to her feet.
“Drop it!” someone yelled. “Now!”
Maisie whirled around to see Jonathan Spencer and several others headed right for them. She heard running footsteps. Declan disappeared around the corner.
“Go after him!” Jonathan yelled. Two men peeled off from the group and sprinted past them.
Jonathan lifted his gun, meeting her gaze. “I said drop it!” The men behind him also had their guns pointed at them. She took a quick glance around for Ethan, but she didn’t see him.
Maisie slowly knelt down, dropping her gun. Lennon did the same. “Jonathan—”
“Shut up,” Jonathan snapped. He lowered his gun and turned to walk back toward the warehouse. “Bring them!” he yelled over his shoulder.
Jonathan’s men scooped up their weapons, then grabbed Maisie and Lennon by the arms and hauled them to the warehouse. Maisie glanced over her shoulder at Lennon. They only had about thirty minutes left to get him to the gate.
There were several more men in the warehouse, and piles of boxes and other shipping supplies. It must have been used to get shipments out to the rest of the Q.
She looked up. Stairs led to a walkway on the second level, and Ethan stood against the railing, his eyes wide as he watched Maisie and Lennon being marched in.
“Boss, I recognize them from the video,” the man holding Maisie’s arm said. He let it go, stepping back to point his gun at her. “Maisie Rojas.” He jerked his gun at Lennon. “Lennon Pierce.”
Jonathan turned, his gaze skipping between them. He paused for a moment.
“Kill her. We’ll keep him.”
“No, wait, I just want to talk—” Maisie started, but Jonathan had already turned around again. The men around them were lifting their guns.
“Actually, I think you should keep them alive,” Ethan said in a rush, flying down the stairs. “It would be better if—”
“Ethan, shut up and go home.”
“Dad, I—”
Jonathan grabbed his son roughly by the collar. Ethan’s words cut off suddenly, only a squeak coming out as the fabric tightened around his neck.
Jonathan released him, and Ethan let out a breath, taking several quick steps back. He cast an apologetic look at Maisie.
She felt Lennon’s shoulder brush against hers. The world seemed to tilt slightly as her brain refused to acknowledge that she was about to die. Lennon was saying something to the men, but all she could hear was the buzzing in her ears.
She wished she’d radioed Hadley one more time. She wished she’d told Beto that she thought Lopez was totally wrong to cut them off from the world. Maybe he would think of it on his own.
She was surprised to discover that she was actually really disappointed she wasn’t going to get to lead the south. That possibility hadn’t ever seemed real, but now that she was facing down a gun, she had to admit that she’d been excited about it.
And she would have been good at it. Declan and her dad caused chaos and called it leadership. She could have been different. Better.
A giant crash sounded from above their heads. The men all flinched at once, whirling around to find the source.
Something tumbled from the sky. She didn’t care what it was. She took off, Lennon close behind.
She heard yelling from behind her, and then gunfire, but she didn’t turn.
They ran for the door. The sun was rising high in the sky, casting a soft glow through the windows near the roof of the warehouse.
“Declan,” Lennon panted suddenly.
She glanced over her shoulder. Declan and three of his men were in the warehouse. Ethan had his gun out, but he was rooted in one spot, wide-eyed.
She didn’t care anymore. Let them all kill each other. She was just going to get Lennon to the gate and get the shipment south. She’d deal with whoever was still alive after.
They hit the door. She pressed both hands to it.
Tick-tick-tick-tick.
She stopped. She knew that warning tick.
She turned to find the source of the ticking.
“Is that—”
She didn’t hear the rest of Lennon’s words. She raced for the bomb Declan had just thrown at Ethan’s feet. He looked down at it.
“Ethan, run!” she yelled.
His head snapped up, her panic reflected in his eyes. He stumbled back, tripping over a body on the ground behind him. His butt hit the floor.
Tick-ticktickticktick.
She needed to run the other way. She needed to not be running straight toward a bomb that was about to explode, but here she was, like an idiot.
She grabbed the bomb and launched it at the window. The glass shattered.
The bomb exploded.
The Spencer guys all shrank back at once. Jonathan, standing next to a terrified Ethan, gaped at her.
Maisie sprinted to Lennon, who had a look on his face that was somewhere between bewilderment and fear.
Someone grabbed her shirt suddenly, pulling her away. She yelped as they dragged her away from the door.
Lennon lunged at them, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw her attacker raise a gun.
“No,” Jonathan said. “Wait a minute.” He strode closer to them, his expression full of suspicion. “How do you know my son?”
LENNON
LENNON TRIED TO grab Maisie’s hand, but one of Jonathan’s men grabbed him, holding him by the arm.
Ethan stood several yards behind his dad. He looked like he might puke.
“I don’t,” Maisie said.
“You called him Ethan.”
“You called him Ethan,” she retorted. Lennon was impressed by how smoothly she was lying. “ ‘Ethan, shut up and go home,’ ” she said, lowering her voice in an impression of him.
Jonathan regarded her suspiciously. “Why did you just do that?”
“What? Save his life? You’re welcome, by the way.”
“Thank you!” Ethan called.
Jonathan closed his eyes briefly, his jaw twitching like he was trying to control his temper.
“I didn’t save just his life. I probably saved yours, too, and all these other dudes.” She gestured at the men around them. “We’re not with Declan. I’m not trying to blow anyone up. I tried to get here earlier to stop this, but I didn’t make it. I’m sorry. It’s been a really busy few days.”
