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Gage presses on. “You said he was no longer with you. So I take that to mean he’s dead?”
“He went off the rails.” It’s Dawn who answers, her voice so tight it shakes. “He started hurting the community, hurting hisfriends—” She cuts off with an audible swallow, turns to the bar and pours a shot. She downs it before continuing, “I had to put him down.” She then slumps against the wall with her eyes downcast.
Her words are like a sucker punch to his gut.What was I created from?
Matt grasps her shoulder and looks at Gage. “Maverick was my friend. He helped us build this community and helped make this place what it is. But what those sick fucks did to him in the facility… They tortured him even more than the rest of us, pushed him past his breaking point. It took a part of him, and he never really recovered. He tried to kill my mate.” He runs a rough hand over his jaw. “I think we’re still trying to grapple with what happened. Seeing you, well…”
“It was a shock, to say the least,” Jax adds dryly.
"Listen, Gage," Matt says, his voice a little shaky. "I don't know how to feel about you being here. It's hard for me to see you and not think of Maverick, but I need your help, and for that, I'm grateful that you're here."
Gage softens his gaze. "I know this is hard for you, but I'm here to help. This Maverick was my template, but I'm my own person, and right now," he gestures around him, “we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Dawn crosses her arms. Her blue eyes meet Gage’s and hold for a long moment. She nods, then pushes off the wall and turns to Lennon. “C’mon, let’s get to work.”
Chapter five
Gagestretchesinhischair as he sits beside Brook, monitoring the radio for any news about the missing women. Coffee cups and papers are strewn about the large table that holds the Ham radio equipment. Matt stands, pouring over lists laid out before them, detailing supplies they have on hand and what they may need for a rescue mission. He gets up to pour himself another cup of coffee when a static voice comes over the network.
“Gage, this is Jack. We discovered that the women are being held at Vance’s house in the basement. The coordinates are 51° 38′ 34″ N, 121° 17′ 44″ W.”
Gage lets out a relieved breath. As usual, Lennon made good on his contacts. Jack has always been dead on with his information. The man had people strategically placed in almost every colony from coast to coast. He dealt in information—that was his trade. Gage’s eyes meet Matt’s, and he gives him a thumbs up. “Intel’s solid.”
Matt springs into action, barking orders into his walkie-talkie. “Finn, I need you here now. April and Lilly are being held at Vance’s own house. You know that place better than anyone. We need a plan to get the girls out of that basement.”
Finn responds quickly. “On my way. I have a good idea of the layout.”
As they wait for Finn to arrive, Matt turns to Gage. “We need to move fast. We don’t know how much time they have left.”
Brook nods and pushes her glasses up on her pinched face. “We have to get them out of there.”
“We need the maps.” Matt says through clenched teeth. He then clears the table of the lists, stacking them in a half-hazard pile on a chair.
Jumping out of her chair, Brook runs to the cupboard on the far wall and gathers a handful of carefully preserved papers, handing them quickly to her leader.
Gage leans forward as Matt pulls out a satellite map of Temple out of the pile, spreading it over the table. He sucks in a breath. He’s heard of satellite imagery before, but never seen it in person. “Where the hell did you getthat?”
“Brook traded handsomely for it,” Matt tells him. “I knew it would come in handy someday.”
He circles the coordinates on the map as he directs his question at Gage. “What do you know about Vance Donahue?”
Gage raises one shoulder and purses his lips. “Not much. He and his men arrived in Crescent a few years back looking for trade. Charming son of a bitch, that one. Almost had a few folks convinced he was offering top-notch goods – lightweight, solar-powered generators. They were lucky that Lennon demanded a demonstration. Sometimes, something can be shiny on the outside but have rotten parts inside.”
“What happened?” Brook pipes in from her seat at the radio.
Gage smirks. “We drove the bastards out of the harbour by gunpoint and told him and his crew if he ever stepped foot in our village again, we’d make them chum for the fish.”
Brook’s eyes widen, and her mouth forms an ‘O’. “And he just left?”
“Yeah,” Gage chuckles. “Back then, Vance had a small crew. We easily outnumbered them ten to one.” He sobers and stands straighter. “From what I’ve heard over the years, he gained some numbers, but really grew when he landed in Temple. Rumour has it he killed the leader and took over the town.”
Matt glances out the window as a vehicle pulls up to the house. Finn rushes into the room, and his heavy boots echo off the hardwood floors. Brook jumps to her feet, and his thick arms swallow her in a bear hug. He sets her aside and leans down to kiss her as she musses his dark brown hair in an affectionate manner.
Finn goes to the table where Matt laid out the Temple map. He pats his pockets, then smiles at Brook as she hands him a pencil with a roll of her eyes.
He studies the map for a minute before he draws a few lines near the marked coordinates. “There. That’s the usual perimeter check that they run,” he says, straightening to his full height.
Matt looks up from the table as another vehicle approaches. A few minutes later, Lennon and Dawn walk into the room, their arms full of pastries and fresh coffee from the diner. They quickly set down their food and turn to the four people who are now standing around the table.
