Rance lifted his arms enough to give her the option to be held, or not. And she leaned into him without hesitation, sobbing as he moved from the chair to the side of her bed. He didn’t shush her, or promise her it would be okay. He just held her, smoothing his hands over her hair, and holding her safely against his body as she cried for as long as she wanted to.
Quite a while later after she had quieted, she finally spoke, her voice just a whisper. “Is there more?”
“Yes,” he answered quietly. “According to Steve not everyone knew about the safe room beneath the play yard. But it had been breached as well. No one was in it, but it had been burned out as well — thankfully it was empty when it was burned.”
“I don’t understand how it was burned if no one knew about it,” she said. She had been leaning against Rance, but sat back and looked up at him, as the truth hit her. “Someone told them where it was.”
Rance nodded.
“But who? Did those who attacked us kill them, too?”
“Possibly, some of them. We don’t really know yet. But it’s being investigated and hopefully we’ll find out more before it’s all finished.”
Gwen nodded and leaned against Rance again, seeming to settle in before she sat up quickly and looked him directly in the eye. “Some of them?” she asked. “Who’s still alive?”
“There was no one on the property still alive. But, several of us, even Steve and Dean think that it’s possible the other three that arrived with you were complicit.”
“Surely not. Grail told Steve to gather several others to make sure we got here safely. He grabbed the first few that he saw. Dean was with him when the attack started, the other three just happened to be nearby.”
“Fighting?” Rance asked.
“I don’t know.”
“I won’t tell you that they are definitely guilty, but I’ll tell you that those of us who noticed their lack of contribution to helping us identify and locate the dead wasn’t the only thing we noticed. There was no emotion at all on their parts. None. They weren’t sad, they weren’t angry. They may have just as well been on a wildlife walk through the woods. No response at all to being there. Until we located the three Variant males across the highway from your property. Then they got very jittery. Very nervous, one almost gave us away from trying to convince us that they didn’t need to be there because Steve could identify anybody else we might happen to find.”
“And?”
“There was no indication of recognition, on the part of the Variant males, or on the other three from your Pride. The Variant took the three of their kind back to their home base for questioning. It’s my understanding that they gave coordinates to where more Variant males were being held captive and would be tortured or killed if they didn’t return to where they were all held together by dawn the next morning. The Variant teams raided the location and freed sixteen more Variant males. They are all in Alliance now, being debriefed, receiving medical attention, and taking their first breath of freedom. It’s important to understand that if they are still captive, if they do not follow orders, they will be killed. It’s kill or be killed. They most likelydidn’t have a choice in the attack on your people. I’m sure it doesn’t make it any easier, but it’s part of the truth.”
“Where are the three you think might have been involved?” she asked.
“Have you heard the expression ‘give them enough rope to hang themselves’?” Rance asked.
“Yes. They’re still here, then.”
“Yes, they are. Steve and Dean are watching them closely, while pretending they are not suspicious. But Frenzy has some electronics in their possession that are able to pick up any conversations. So, hopefully, they do something to incriminate themselves. Don’t worry, though. They can’t hurt you, or anyone else here.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t try to keep us from reaching here.”
“I think that the only reason they didn’t is because they had no phones to contact anybody with, otherwise they might have.”
“So, they were working with the Falwells?” Gwen asked.
“So far it’s all just supposition, but yes. We think so. And the Variant, and whoever had access to the Variant to gain their assistance in the attack.”
“It’s a lot,” she finally said.
“Yes, it is.”
Gwen sat near Rance, leaning her upper body against him as she tried to deal with everything she was feeling. She wrapped her hand in his shirt and inched closer to him. “Stay with me for a little while?”
“Always,” he said, as he gently lifted her from the bed and sat her on his lap. “I got you.”
Gwen curled herself against his body and started to cry again.
“I’ve always got you,” he whispered, holding her to him.
~~~
