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The fury that Connor feels against his own parents burns like the ever-burning fire pit in the great room, but unlike Roland’s, Connor’s fury is as random as leaping flames in search of purchase. His fire isn’t fueled by their choice to unwind him, but by the unanswered questions surrounding that choice.
Why did they do it?
How did they make the decision?
And most important: What would they say to him now if they knew he was alive . . . and what would he say back?
He’s rushing to Ohio to find Sonia, but in the back of his mind, Connor knows that it also brings him painfully close to home. He wonders if, beneath everything, that’s the real reason he’s making this trip.
So he furiously tosses and turns in a luxurious bed, in a Spartan room, emotionally unwinding himself with his own ambivalence.
26 • Lev
Lev knows staying on the rez ticks off Connor—but hasn’t he earned the right to be selfish just this once?
“You can stay as long as you want to,” Elina had told him.
Pivane, on the other hand, was a little more practical. “You can stay as long as you need.” So the question is—how much of Lev’s desire to stay is need, and how much is want?
His side is still badly bruised, and without speed-healing agents—which the Arápache don’t use—his ribs and bruised organs will take time to heal. He can make an argument that he needs to stay that entire time, but he knows Connor won’t hear of it—and his frustration would be justified. They have a mission and can’t be sidetracked by the lures of comfort. What Lev needs is a mission of equal magnitude.
Then, toward the end of their second week on the rez, the entire situation takes a sharp turn that leaves everyone more than a little shell-shocked.
It’s dinnertime. A small gathering tonight—just the three guests, joined at the table by Elina, Kele, and Chal, Elina’s husband, who is finally back from his court case. From the moment he arrives, he treats Lev with lawyerly reserve and courtesy, as if he’s afraid to commit to any specific action or emotion with regards to Lev. “Elina told me everything. I’m glad you’re here,” Chal says when he greets Lev—but whether he means it or is just being obliging is something Lev can’t read in his voice. The man’s response to Connor and Grace is also reserved and measured.
Pivane arrives late for dinner today, wearing a look of concern that diffuses Elina’s irritation. “You need to see this,” he says. First to Elina and Chal, but then he turns to Lev and Connor. “All of you need to see this.”
As everyone rises from the dinner table, Pivane turns on the TV across the great room. He flips through channels until finding a news station.
If there was any question as to what kind of evening this will be, all doubts are chased away by what they see:
Connor’s face is on a screen behind the news anchorman.
“ . . . and the Juvenile Authority, putting an end to rumors and wild speculation, has confirmed that Connor Lassiter, presumed dead for over a year, is actually alive. Lassiter, also known as the ‘Akron AWOL’ was a key figure in the Happy Jack Harvest Camp revolt that resulted in nineteen deaths and the escape of hundreds of Unwinds.”
Connor and Lev can only stare in disbelief. The anchorman continues.
“It is believed that he may be traveling with Lev Calder and Risa Ward, both of whom played prominently in the revolt.”
Risa and Lev’s pictures appear on the screen as well. Not Lev as he is now, but as he was in the old days. Clean-cut, innocent, and ignorant.
“Is this bad?” Grace asks, then answers her own question. “Yeah, this is bad.”
The news cuts to an interview with a pompous representative of the Juvenile Authority, holding a picture of Connor with a grungy-looking guy, who Lev assumes is Grace’s brother. The Juvey rep appears irritated that he must divulge this information, yet needy for the public’s help.
“Our analysts have determined that this picture is authentic and taken a little over two weeks ago. The young man in this picture, Argent Skinner, and his sister, Grace Skinner, are now missing, and we believe Lassiter either kidnapped them or killed them.”
“What!” It comes out of Connor like a quack.
“Anyone who has any information on this fugitive should contact the authorities immediately. Do not try to approach him as he is considered armed and dangerous.”
Lev turns his attention from the TV to Connor, who is quickly slipping into fury mode. To anyone who doesn’t know him, he would look pretty dangerous at this moment.
“Take it easy, Connor,” Lev says. “They want you to be angry. The angrier you are, the more mistakes you’ll make and the easier you’ll be to catch. The fact that they felt a need to go public with it means they have no clue where you’ve gone, which means you’re still safe.”
But right now, it seems Connor won’t hear anything but the turmoil in his own head. “Damn them! If they could pin the whole goddamn Heartland War on me, they would. Sure, I wasn’t even born then, but they’d find a way to blame me for it!” Connor punches the wall with his grafted arm and grimaces from the pain of it.
“A lie,” Elina says calmly, “is a powerful weapon that the Juvenile Authority certainly knows how to wield.”
