Jay Posey - Morningside Fall

“Where are your people now?” Gamble asked.

“About forty minutes north and a little west,” Lil answered. “There’s a refuge. We’d hoped never to need it.”

“ Closer to the Strand?” Wick asked.

“Slightly.”

“And how many are you?” asked Gamble.

Lil shook her head. “Too few.” For a moment, her eyes lost focus, and her jaw clenched. She lowered her gaze to the table and inhaled deeply, trying to regain her composure.

“Eighteen able bodies,” Elan said. “About thirty old, sick, wounded, or children.”

Lil put a hand to her brow. “The children…” Elan put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Lil gathered herself and continued. “We’ve made a few trips back, to recover what we could. We’ll need to get under way again soon. Our numbers are stretched thin as it is. I assume you’ll return with us?”

Gamble exchanged a quick look with Swoop. “We haven’t made any decisions yet,” she said.

“I see. I’m not sure what your options are, but I imagine they’re few. And we could use the help.”

Gamble gave a non-committal nod. “Understood.”

The two women held each other’s gazes for a moment, and then Lil bowed her head slightly. “We’ll let you discuss your plans. But we leave in twenty minutes.” She stood, and her companions rose with her. They moved to the stairs, but Lil paused at the entrance and said over her shoulder, “I hope you’ll do the right thing.” And with that, they headed out to join the others in the village.

Once Lil and the others had cleared the room, the rest of the team gathered around the table to discuss their options.

“Thoughts?” Gamble said.

“Gotta go our separate ways,” said Swoop. “No question.”

“How you figure that?” Finn said.

“You got fifty frightened, dying, and desperate people holed up in some reinforced area we’ve never seen before. All that gear we’re carrying?” He shook his head. “I don’t care how nice they seem now. That’s not a good set-up for us.”

“We could be a lot of help to them, Swoop,” Mouse said.

“No arguing that,” Finn responded. “Just not sure how good it is for us .”

“Our principals are the priority,” Gamble said. “The only question to answer is if we’re more secure somewhere on our own, or if we need to bunk up with these people for a night.”

In the midst of everyone talking, Cass gradually became aware of a growing sense that she had somehow completely lost all control of her own life. Even knowing that Gamble and her team had the best intentions, it grated on her that they were talking all around her, and no one was talking to her.

How had Cass come to a place where she’d allowed others to sit around and decide her fate without even acknowledging her presence? And the more she reflected, the harder it was for her to remember when she’d ever truly been in control. For so long, it seemed like Cass had just been trying to manage the impact of everyone else’s decisions on her and her son.

“If they’ve got a safe place,” Wick was saying, “I don’t care how many people they’ve got inside. That saves us the hard work of trying to reinforce a position in the ninety minutes we’ve got until sunset.”

Able was standing off to one side, observing, as was his way. Sometimes she wondered how he differently he read these situations in his silent world. He somehow seemed more aware than most, despite his deafness. Maybe because of it. Cass caught his eye, and he dipped his head towards her. Acknowledgment.

“We walk in there, I guarantee we walk out poorer for it,” Swoop said.

“I’m sorry,” Cass said, interrupting. All eyes turned to her. “Can someone please remind me at what point I turned over my authority?”

Wick and Finn exchanged glances. Sky dropped his gaze to the table in front of him. Swoop’s jaw clenched at the admonishment. He didn’t care for it, but he wouldn’t challenge her. Wren sat up, moving his head off of her shoulder, and put his hands in his lap.

Gamble held up a hand. “All due respect, Miss Cass–” she started, but Cass cut her off.

“That sentence never ends with the amount of respect actually due, Gamble.” She let it hang in the air for a moment. “I understand that you’re in your element out here. You’re not used to having us tag along. But I would appreciate it if you would at least show us a little respect … in considering that we’re talking about the safety of my son, and that I might have something to say about it.”

“Of course,” Gamble said, but her words were clipped. “Lady Cass.”

“These people rescued Wren before. They cared for him when I could not. Without them, neither of us would be here now. I owe it to them to do whatever I can.”

“Is it worth your life?” Swoop asked flatly.

Cass chewed the inside of her lip involuntarily for a quick moment. Then she answered, “It’s worth the risk.”

“Then let’s quit wasting time,” Swoop said, and he stood up and headed for the door.

“But you’re under no obligation,” Cass added. “I know there’s danger. None of you should feel forced to go with us.”

“We had this conversation already, Cass. It’s not even a question,” Gamble said. “Where you go, we go.” Then she addressed her team. “Saddle up, boys. We’ll move out when our friends do.”

The team didn’t argue, now that the decision had been made. They all got up and went to make ready to leave. Gamble stood up and turned her back to Cass as she watched her team exit, but she lingered until the others were gone.

“Thank you, Gamble,” Cass said. “Sorry if I came across too harshly.”

“You were right, you’re the authority,” Gamble said, at first without looking at Cass. But she took a quick breath and turned around, and Cass saw the glint in her eyes. “But in the future, I’d prefer you address your concerns to me directly, and not put that on my boys. It wasn’t my intention to overstep my bounds, but we speak freely as a team. That’s how we operate. If that’s not your way, that’s fine, but as you said, this is our element. It’d be best if you don’t get our wires crossed out here. When it comes down to it, I can’t have any one of my boys questioning whose order they’re supposed to follow.”

Looking into Gamble’s eyes, Cass wasn’t intimidated. A dark thought flitted through her mind about how easily she could take Gamble apart — if Cass wanted to. Gamble didn’t know who she was talking to. Not really.

“I’ll go let Lil know your decision,” Gamble said.

“Sounds good,” Cass answered. They continued to stare at each other for a second longer, and then Gamble turned and walked away. As soon as her back was to Cass, Cass felt as if a spell had broken and she was ashamed of the thought she’d had. Where had that hostility come from? Gamble had never been anything but a trusted friend and ally. Cass closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had to be careful not to let paranoia get to her.

“It might not be safe, Mama,” Wren said, his voice interrupting her thoughts. She opened her eyes and looked at him sitting next to her, small and pale, with his shining green eyes. Too beautiful and fragile a thing for such a world. She reached out and stroked his hair and the side of his face.

“I know, but it’s the right thing to do,” Cass answered.

Wren shook his head. “No, I mean it might not be safe for them .”

“I thought you’d want to go with them. With Lil, especially.”

“I do,” he said, looking back down at his hands in his lap. “I just worry. I don’t want to bring any more trouble on them.”