Page 26 of Sawyer’s Mistake

Saoirse blanched further. “I’ll just stay here and run some more tests on the box,” she said.

“Actually, you too, Saoirse, if that’s okay,” Meir said in a voice very much unlike his usual gruff voice. “We should all be there.”

#

Saoirse

She didn’t know much about broken bones, but Sawyer looked okay. He certainly hadn’t lost the limb, which had been her biggest fear over the last days—that and the fact that every time she closed her eyes she found herself with the Remur again. In her dream, sometimes she was alone. Other times Sawyer was with her, and she got to watch him be tortured. Those were the worst ones. She’d pretty much given up on sleep. She had so much to do, anyway. When they got to Brussels, they’d be asked how the translation box worked, and so far she and Meir had little to show for the time they’d spent with it.

Is that what this meeting is about? Is Storme upset that we haven’t been able to crack the box?

Of course, she realized the box was only half the story now. She was a freak. She could speak Remur. She’d purposefully chosen not to think about that over the last two days, as doing so inevitably made her relive her time in the cell. But one could only keep one’s head in the sand for so long.

When they got to the old factory hallway, where they’d set up their living quarters, the rest of the team was there already. Even Alix, who’d stayed with them because she clearly had nowhere else to go.

“Sawyer. Good to see you back among the living, man. How are you feeling?” Storme said, clasping Jake’s hand.

“Better, thanks. Looks like I’ll get to keep the hand,” Jake joked, grinning. His arm was held loosely in a sling. He chose a seat far away from Saoirse and sat down.

Eva looked her way quickly, but Saoirse didn’t hold her gaze. She didn’t want to see the pity in her friend’s eyes.

Storme moved to the front of the room and placed his hands on the back of a plastic chair. As usual, he commanded the attention of everybody in the room.

“We have some important decisions to make now,” Storme began, “and we should be making them together now that we’re all here.”

Alix made as if to stand up and leave. “Stay, Alix, please. If you choose to stay with us, you’ll have to cast your vote as well.”

“You’ll let me stay?” Alix asked. She tucked a thin strand of hair behind her ear, looking bewildered. Saoirse reached over to her and held her hand.

“You’ll always be welcome with us,” Storme said. “We can’t promise you safety, but we take care of each other. We all bring different talents to the group. Things we used to do before the invasion, or things we’ve learned to do since the invasion.”

Everybody nodded. Alix’s chin came up defiantly.

“I was a prostitute,” she said. “Just thought you should all know.” The men opened and closed their mouth a few times, but no sound came out.

Saoirse laughed, defusing the tension. “First time I’ve seen the GEOX team speechless,” she said.

Eva laughed out loud. “You don’t need to share more than you’d like to. As Storme said, you’re welcome here,” she added.

“Right.” Storme paused for a second, as if looking for the right words. “We lost a stealth vehicle in Cambrai the other day. It’s a big loss. We now need to vote on whether we go back for it.”

“What do you think the chances are that it’s been discovered, Jake?” Meir asked, his mind as logical as ever.

Sawyer considered for a moment before replying. “We hid it well, long before anybody saw us. It’s likely still in the same place.”

Saoirse’s mouth went dry. She couldn’t go back to Cambrai. No matter what.

“It’s a good vehicle,” Prado said. “We should go back for it.”

Storme looked at Sawyer again. “What do you think?”

Sawyer stood up, absentmindedly rubbing his wrist through the sling. His gaze connected with Saoirse’s, and she knew what he was going to say even before he said it. “We should go back for the vehicle. But more than that, I need to pay Paul, Miranda, and Amélie a visit.”

Alix shot out of her seat. The plastic chair clanged loudly on the floor. She was shaking with emotion.

“You know Paul?”

“They left us there for the Remur,” Saoirse asked. “You can’t imagine—”