Dark Allegiance

Chapter 7

SEVEN

Jackson scratched his head as he looked at Justice. ‘A supply run?’

‘You said sitting around doing nothing is driving you crazy, and we need supplies. Carstairs said there are still more supplies at the Harlington Ward storage shed. Even with Isaac and his mercenaries gone, we are still stretched to the limit. Ward rations may not taste the best, but they are better than going hungry while we wait for Barrett and Trev’s garden to produce enough to feed all of us. If we could get some more livestock, that would help too, to keep everyone fed while we go to the monastery.’

‘You win,’ he said, smiling as he came forward and wrapped an arm around her. ‘As long as you come with me.’

She’d been spending so much time with those dusty old books, and it would do her good to get out and about. Maybe it would distract her from the notion she had failed in some way when she’d dispensed Gaea’s justice. As much as he would like to journey with her to the place where she was raised, he knew High Command was where he could make the most difference. It was the only way for the wardens to move forward. He would have to go back, plead his case, and hope the colonels were smart enough to listen. But he couldn’t leave until Hanson and the others returned from Brimfield, their mission a success.

Hanson was right: as the only currently available source of antibodies needed for the cure, he was too valuable to risk on a trip to Brimfield, much as it would please him to go against Councillor Dillon one more time.

Though a supply run wouldn’t be as exciting, they did need more food.

‘All right. Let’s get going.’

Within minutes, Justice was beside him in the cab of a truck, while Barrett and Trev made themselves comfortable in the back. As the two of them showed an aptitude for cooking, they had become the compound’s official chefs. Though Jackson didn’t anticipate trouble, he had a stun gun strapped in his holster, while Justice and the half-breeds were also armed.

Not that he hoped for them to have to use their weapons. Especially Justice.

She hadn’t said much since shooting General Butcher to save Jackson’s life, but he knew it weighed on her. Her nights were restless, and she’d been hesitant to take the gun from him when he handed it to her. But as much as he wished she never needed to fire a weapon again, he knew the odds were she would have to defend herself at some point in the future. Especially if he couldn’t talk her out of going to the monastery until after he had sorted out the mess at High Command.

Pushing thoughts of the future out of his head for the moment, he drove out the gate, the tyres squelching in the red mud. The storm had passed as quickly as it had arrived, though heavy skies remained overhead. This time of year was notorious for bad weather, making it hard for the solar panels to gather energy throughout each day. While many industries had recovered in the centuries after the devastation caused when the freak virus first surfaced, solar was still the only viable source of energy. With luck, they would be able to stock up on batteries, fuel for the generators, and oil for the lanterns while at the Harlington storage depot to get them through the coming weeks.

He pushed thoughts of all the things he needed to take care of from his mind, determined to enjoy the reprieve from command. He’d left Lieutenant Jensen in charge of the compound, though he knew the warden would have much preferred to be on the mission to Brimfield with Hanson and Carstairs. Jackson needed someone he could count on to hold down the fort while he was gone, and Jensen had matured a lot since his time as patrol leader in Brimfield. In particular, everything he had done to help Lieutenant Anderson and the others escape from Harlington and to rescue Jackson in High Command showed he had the potential to be a good leader.

A pang went through him at the thought of Geoff Anderson. His old friend should be there with them, fighting to ensure a future free of freaks. Instead, he’d become a victim of General Butcher’s determination to stop the Wards from becoming redundant.

Jackson feared that was also the reason High Command was licking its wounds and hunkering down behind their desks. The colonels had spent their entire careers fighting freaks. It was what they were bred for, what they expected to die for. If there were no freaks to fight, they would lose a major part of their identity. But even knowing his time as a warden was coming to an end, Jackson knew he was doing the right thing in pushing for a future not tainted by fear of infection.

Justice was silent beside him as she gazed out the window, and he knew it wasn’t the view that occupied her thoughts. There was not much to see beyond the occasional rusted car wreck, sparse trees, and sun baked earth alongside the rutted road. She smiled when he reached over and took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

‘Not long now,’ he said, not sure if he meant their arrival at the storage depot or for the future where they no longer had a responsibility to others guiding their actions.

When they reached the depot hidden away in a valley created between two low mountain ranges, Jackson got out of the truck and opened the rear to let Trev and Barrett out.

‘You keep watch,’ he said to Justice.

She gave him a solemn nod and then scanned their surroundings while he and the others headed for the roller door at the front of the depot, using the combination Carstairs had given him to unlock it.

Within an hour, they had loaded the truck with the last of the supplies. Jackson hoped it would be enough to see his people through the storm season. If Murphy couldn’t convince Acting-General Stratton and the colonels that he and his wardens were not traitors, it could be a long time before they were welcome in any of the Wards to trade for more goods. Even then, it could be difficult with the Over-Council out to get them as well.

Once they had the cure ready to go, maybe the humans would accept that they were not the enemy Councillor Dillon was making them out to be. It all hinged on getting more blood for the cure and the airship so they could safely deliver it. He only hoped that when they returned to the compound, Hanson or Carstairs had checked in and had been successful in their mission.