If these people here didn’t mess up the whole thing.
The sticking point was Bellassa. Since the death of Roan Lands and the arrest of Amie Antin, Wil had grown silent. Trever had smuggled out information that the Empire was building a toxic weapons delivery system on Ussa, and the info had been sent out to the city. It had been highlighted on the underground holo-print news, and the news had spread from citizen to citizen. Ussans had been outraged and there had been sporadic protests. Two days ago they had all stayed in their homes, refusing to work, and the city had shut down. The streets and air lanes had been eerily empty.
It had been a lesson for Flame. It was amazing what resistance could do.
The Imperial governor had retaliated by rounding up the children of the Bluestone Lake district and bringing them into the garrison jail. He threatened to send them off-planet to an Imperial prison, then move on to the next district, and the next, until the citizens went to work again.
Every Ussan had gone back to work the next day. The children had been released, but now every Ussan knew to what lengths the Empire would go. The Empire had set up more checkpoints on the streets. If an Ussan was caught without ID docs, he or she was immediately taken to the garrison prison.
Flame paused in her pacing, hearing the murmur of voices. She couldn’t make out the words. Something was brewing, but she didn’t know what, because Wil wasn’t talking. Dona had arrived, and they had been in that room for over an hour now.
When would the Eleven let her into their confidence? They had allowed her to stay in the safe house, but discussions were held behind thick security doors, with her on the other side. This was the main problem in making Moonstrike work - trust. Of course, she understood that the members of any resistance group would be wary. They had to be. She had overcome that distrust before by funding the movements or taking the same risks, becoming involved in their covert operations. Group after group had come to trust her. But the Eleven was harder to crack.
Flame saw the alarm light go on, which meant someone was approaching the safe house. She went to the one-way window and looked out. She knew that Wil would be doing the same in the other room. It was Ferns Olin, walking down the ramp toward the front entrance.
Flame studied him for a moment. Unlike Wil, who was paler than ever since Amie had been captured, Ferus didn’t show his grief on the outside. He looked the same. Yet she’d heard from Dona how destroyed he’d been by Roan’s death.
She wasn’t sure. Ferus was supposed to be a double agent, working for the Empire but keeping his ties to the resistance. Yet he appeared to be in the Emperor’s good graces. She didn’t know why the resistance leaders trusted him the way they did. No one was incorruptible.
Wil emerged from the inner room to open the door for Ferus. He walked in and nodded at Flame before placing a hand on Wil’s shoulder. The two men looked at each other for a moment.
“I have news of Amie,” Ferus said.
Wil went gray.
Ferus squeezed his shoulder. “No, she’s alive. She’s being transferred.”
Wil swayed for a moment, relief on his drawn features. “Come inside. We’ll talk. Dona is here.”
“No,” Flame said. “Wait.”
They turned, impatient to be gone. But she wouldn’t let this moment pass. It had to be now.
“I’m wasting my time here,” she said. “I need Bellassa for Moonstrike. But if you don’t trust me, I can’t stay. There are other planets, other systems I need to contact.”
She saw the hesitancy on Ferus and Wil’s faces. She wasn’t sure if she should push it. She had to be careful.
She didn’t want to lose Bellassa. She wasn’t willing to lose it. But they had to think she was.
“I can help you. You know I can. You know that without me your resistance will wither and die. Now is the moment to make your decision. Because if not, I’m gone. I don’t have any more time to give you.”
She watched their faces carefully. She saw doubt on Wil’s, but Ferus was better at concealing his feelings. It was Ferus who had the most to lose, she knew. She could turn him in to the Empire at any time. Ferus was the one she had to win over. They didn’t trust each other, but they had to find common ground, or Moonstrike would fall apart.
“Don’t go,” he said. “Let Wil and me talk for a moment. Then we’ll call you in.”
She knew then that they would accept her. They just didn’t know it yet.
She inclined her head. Relief flooded her, but she didn’t let them see it.
As soon as the door hissed shut behind them, Wil turned to Ferus. “How is Amie?” he asked.