Chapter Fourteen Noah

"Where do you think you're going?"

Noah stopped short. Ahead of him, leaning against the side of the tunnel which led to the raider training cave, was Harden.

"I heard…" Noah paused, puzzled at the expression on Harden's face. He looked almost… guilty. "Someone mentioned they'd seen Ruth coming in. Said she was heading for the canteen, but she isn't there, so…"

"What makes y'think she's here?"

Noah leaned to one side, peering at the darkened tunnel ahead. ""The weird way you're acting, for a start. Something's not right."

Harden took a step towards him. "Everything's fine, Madden. Go back the way you came."

Noah took a breath. He had no wish to tangle with Harden again. Not after their previous altercation. But something was going on.

Ever since his conversation with Flynn the previous day, he'd been anxiously awaiting his friend's return. The more he thought about his drudge idea, the more excited he was to see if it could work. Ruth's news from the Resistance headquarters would give him a better idea of how he might pull it off.

He'd been on his way home from a foraging shift when he'd heard she was back. He'd set off right away to find her.

Several people had directed him to the canteen, but there had been no sign of her when he'd arrived. Cora had shooed him out, shaking her head and muttering about the ridiculous number of people expecting food early today.

When he'd pressed her on the subject, Cora had rolled her eyes and told him Sarah had already been in to collect enough food for four or five people. Before dinner was actually ready, she'd complained. And when rations were so tight. Curious, Noah had headed for the council meeting cave. On the way, he'd run into Mick, who mentioned seeing Jacob heading for the training caves. Following his instincts, he'd done an abrupt about turn.

Harden's caginess was the last straw. Ruth was here, and, if he was right, Jacob had hurried her away so he could grill her about her time in the city before anyone else. Frustrated, he went to step past Harden, but was stopped as a hand squarely hit the middle of his chest.

"Are you seriously on guard?" Noah gestured up the tunnel behind him. "Stopping anyone from getting through until Jacob's finished torturing her?"

"He's not torturing her, he just wanted to question her without–" Harden snapped his mouth shut.

"So she is down there." Noah should have been triumphant, but all he felt was a growing sense of concern. "She was supposed to talk to the entire council when she got back. That was the agreement. Not just Jacob and your ma. That is who's down there with her, right?"

Harden raised an eyebrow but refused to be drawn in any further.

Don't touch me. Ever.Harden's words rang in Noah's ears. But Ruth was in trouble.

Taking a deep breath, Noah tried to push past, but this time he found himself crashing into Harden's very solid chest. He was as strong as ever. A fierce shove and Noah found himself staggering backwards.

Fire flared within him. Recovering his balance, he tried to dodge around him the other way, but only made it a few steps before Harden was on his heels.

"You are not getting past me," the older boy hissed, grasping Noah by the hood of his sweatshirt. It choked him as he was hauled backwards.

There was a ferocity in Harden's manner which put Noah on edge. He sounded desperate, as though he were spoiling for a fight. Noah struggled for a moment longer, but the grip was vice-like. Noah remembered the time he'd made the mistake of punching Paulo. He'd lived to regret that. And Harden wasn't his brother. Harden would never go easy on him.

Eventually, he stilled, allowing his body to relax. "Alright, alright."

Harden let go of him abruptly and he staggered backwards again. "Didn't think so."

Noah felt a small surge of satisfaction as his enemy recovered himself. His struggle had forced Harden to get out of breath, at least. And as the other boy folded his arms across his chest, he seemed a little rattled.

Noah was about to turn and leave, but something stopped him. Instead, he wandered to the side of the tunnel and leaned against the wall, keeping his gaze on Harden.

The other boy frowned. "You planning on staying there?"

"Maybe. I mean, you won't let me pass, and I know my best friend's down there with people I don't trust, so…"

Harden shifted, clearly uncomfortable. "You'll be there a long time, Madden."

Noah shrugged. "That's fine." The other boy looked away and fell silent. "I thought you said you admired her."

Harden's gaze jumped to Noah's. "What?"

"The other day when we spoke. You said Ruth was brave."

"She is. So?"

"So you admire her, but you're prepared to do this?"

"Just following orders." Harden shrugged.

"Do you always follow orders without question?" Noah thought back to the last job Harden had done for Jacob. "Even if you think they're dangerous?"

"She's not in any danger." But there was a flash of guilt in Harden's eyes.

"Do you know that for sure? I mean… did you see her?" Harden gave a terse nod, and Noah couldn't resist continuing. "Was she okay?"

He glared but answered. "Looked fine to me."

Noah hesitated, wondering how many more questions Harden would tolerate before turning violent again. "You get the impression things went well in the city?"

"No idea."

"Did she mention Madeleine?" Harden remained silent, but his expression told Noah she had. "She found the Resistance, then?"

"Like I said, I don't know." Harden's face darkened "Shut up. Unless you want a punch in the face?"

Knowing he'd pushed his luck, Noah fell silent. He was debating what to do next when he heard the sound of raised voices coming from the direction of the training cave. Pushing off the tunnel side, he took a few steps forward, straining to hear what was being said. Harden had also tensed, one hand going automatically to the knife in his belt. Noah wondered who he was anticipating using it on.

Frustratingly, though the voices were loud, none of the words themselves could be made out. But there was definitely one male and one female voice. Noah's heart lurched in his chest.

"Still think she's not in any danger?" He snarled at Harden.

"She's fine." But the glances his enemy kept shooting back over his shoulder told a different story.

Noah drew in a deep breath. Ruth was alone, with Jacob and Sarah. There was an argument going on. He owed it to his friend to at least attempt a rescue. But Harden had just proved he wouldn't be an easy target. He was racking his brain for the best way to outwit him when he heard footsteps behind him.

Harden's face fell. Noah turned to see Flynn and Paulo approaching, with several other council members in tow. Relieved, he stepped towards them.

Flynn's face was filled with concern. "Is Ruth–?" He jerked a hand down the tunnel.

"Yes. She's been here around an hour, I think. Jacob and Sarah are–"

Flynn waved him away impatiently. "Suspected as much." He turned to Harden, who looked far less sure of himself now that he was facing a larger opposition. "What's going on back there?"

For a moment, Noah was sure that Harden was going to attempt to argue with the older man, but after a second's pause, he scowled.

"Jacob and my ma are speaking to Ruth, that's all."

"That's all?" Paulo stepped closer to Harden, his voice icy. "Why does he have her alone? How does that show his trust in the council as a collective?"

"This isn't what was agreed." Flynn gestured behind Harden. "It doesn't encourage trust. It's just Jacob going behind our backs. Again."

Harden flushed. "He's only talking to her. Asking her how things went in the city."

"Why didn't he wait for us though?" Flynn fumed. Shooting another look down the tunnel behind Harden, he glanced at Paulo. "We have to get down there."

Nodding, Paulo grasped hold of Harden's shoulder, pressing him back against the tunnel wall. Harden yelped as his back hit the rock.

"What's Jacob's aim?" Paulo's gaze was piercing. He leaned closer, pushing Harden further into the wall. "What's he trying to achieve?"

Harden's face was purple as he twisted uselessly. He was no match for Paulo.

"He only wants to know what Ruth found out about Danforth's guard." He was breathing hard. "He… he has plans for the city if… if the guard is as depleted as he thinks they are."

"Plans?" Paulo's voice was cold. "Then we'd better get down there and discuss them with him, hadn't we? I'm sure he doesn't want the council to miss out on his plans. Especially when we specifically agreed he wouldn't keep things from us anymore."

With a final shove, he released Harden. Sweeping him out of the way with his arm, Paulo and Flynn charged down the tunnel. Harden recovered quickly and trailed after the two men, closely followed by the other council members. Left alone, Noah glanced in both directions. On the one hand, this was private council business. But no one had told him he couldn't be there. Flynn and Paulo might need his support.

Pushing any concerns aside, he hurried along the tunnel to the training cave. Inside, Flynn and Paulo faced Jacob, whose face was a mask of fury. Ruth stood to one side, a grim smile on her face now that she was no longer alone. And in the far corner, Harden had moved to stand beside his ma, whose body was rigid with tension.

Noah slipped inside without notice. The only eyes which were drawn to him were Ruth's. Her smile widened for a second, and then her focus snapped back to the men in the centre of the space. Noah's gaze followed hers, attempting to gauge the mood.

"We agreed." Flynn's face was stone. "You said we would make the next decisions together, openly, without any of this subterfuge."

Jacob had regained some semblance of control. "Of course. I merely spotted Ruth returning and was curious to discover what she had learned in the city."

"Nice try." Paulo was almost spitting. "But that's not what this looks like."

"You just keep on disappointing us." Flynn glared at Jacob. "We only heard by accident that Ruth was back."

"I assure you," Jacob's voice was tight, "we were about to send for–"

Noah had taken a step forward before he knew what was happening. "That's not true." Every eye in the room jumped to him, and he took a breath to prevent his voice from trembling. "When I got here, Harden was on guard. He wouldn't let me past. He'd been put on guard to keep people away."

"Interesting." Flynn's tone was cold. "Sounds like you're trying to feed us lies again." His eyes flicked from Jacob, to Sarah. "How can we trust you, if you keep doing this?"

Jacob stepped forward, his eyes flashing. "How can you be so na?ve?" There was venom in his voice. "You continue to believe we can beat Danforth without playing dirty. It's almost amusing how dense you are. At least it would be, if it didn't make Eremus so weak."

"What?" Flynn recoiled from the verbal attack. "I don't think–"

"You think too much, that's your problem. And you don't act." Flynn began to protest, but Jacob pressed on, counting off the issues on his fingers. "You refuse to consider my ideas to defeat the chancellor. You insist on waiting, taking our time, making sure we limit the loss of life when we attack." He sneered. "It's ridiculous. I take out a huge proportion of Danforth's guard and you don't want to take immediate action? You want to delay, when we have our best chance in years to get at her? Seems to me you're scared." He took a step back, gesturing to the other council members in the cave. "All of you."

"We have always attempted to limit the loss of life." Flynn was tightlipped, and Noah knew he was fighting to keep control. "Of both Eremus citizens and those in Bellator. They are not all responsible for our situation. Most of them know nothing about who we really are."

"You're right they're not responsible. But who is?" As he jabbed a finger in Flynn's face, it crossed Noah's mind that he might be crazy. "Danforth. And it's Danforth we have to stop. Now. While her defences are down. We need to get in there, now, all guns blazing, destroy vital buildings, show the city we're–"

"Show the city we're what?" Paulo burst out, so loudly that Noah jumped. "I can't believe I used to think so much of you. If we do what you're suggesting, we cement the Bellator citizens's belief that we're violent, murdering bastards. It plays right into Danforth's hands! How would we go about living alongside them after that?"

Jacob gave a twisted smile. "And to think I had such high hopes for you as my lieutenant. Danforth controls the city. Danforth tells her citizens the lies about us. Danforth has treated men like dirt for years. We destroy Danforth, we have control. We can change the narrative. Danforth's the key."

"Danforth's who you're obsessed with, more like." Flynn spoke, his voice quiet and menacing. "And what you're suggesting is not what's in the best interests of Eremus. Not at all." He turned to the council members around him. "Are we agreed?"

Noah watched as the others in the cave nodded slowly. Jacob's gaze narrowed, and he took an uncertain step back. Whatever was being agreed on, he wasn't privy to it.

Flynn turned back to him, his face calm and determined. "We'd like you to leave while we speak to Ruth."

"What?" Jacob laughed. "Not likely."

"Yes." Flynn continued, his voice even. "We gave you the chance to show us that we could trust you. You failed. Spectacularly. You do not deserve to hear what she has to say. We fear you'll use any information about Bellator to your advantage and we will no longer allow you to have that power. You are hereby dismissed from the council."

"I don't think so." Jacob spluttered. "Do you really think, after all my hard work, I'll just walk away from this position?"

"We're hoping that you will, yes." Flynn took a step towards the leader. "And that we don't have to take any further, harsher action against you."

Several things happened at once. Jacob leapt forward, his fist flying towards Flynn's face. Paulo knocked Flynn sideways, out of harm's way. And Sarah was suddenly at Jacob's side, her face twisted. She hauled him backwards and hissed something in his ear.

Whatever she said, it had some impact. Jacob dropped his hands, but his body remained tense. Breathing heavily, he placed his hands on his knees. Noah glanced at Flynn, whose face was impassive. He waited, calmly, for Jacob's next action, anticipating anything, saying nothing.

Eventually, Jacob stood up. "If that's how you feel, I'll go." He sucked in a long breath. "For now. We'll talk again later, when things are calmer."

"We'll see." Flynn gave a tight nod. "If you demonstrate calm and sensible behaviour over the coming days."

Jacob glowered but returned the nod. "Fine."

Jerking his head at the door, he swept past the remaining council members. Sarah stalked after him, her head high. At the door, she paused and glanced back at her son. Harden was frozen in place.

"Harden?" she hissed.

As though emerging from a trance, his gaze snapped to hers. "Coming." He ducked his head and trailed after her.

Silence fell. For a few moments, the remaining citizens in the cave listened to the retreating footsteps. When the sound had gone, Flynn turned to the group.

"Well, we suspected that might happen." He rolled his shoulders tiredly. "I guess it could have been worse."

Ruth crossed the cave to him, her face earnest. "Thank you."

"No problem."

"When I got back it was almost like he'd been waiting for me." She chewed on her lip. "Carl was scouting in the forest, on Jacob's orders, I guess. Must've seen me coming. The minute I stepped inside the tunnels, Harden was there. Said the council was waiting. Hurried me here like we were running from an enemy."

Noah stepped forward. "They didn't want people to see you."

Ruth shuddered. "I can see that now. Once I got here and it was just Jacob and Sarah, I knew something was up. I tried to leave, but he assured me you were all on your way. Started to ask me what happened. I told him a little about my journey, but then I got suspicious and said I'd rather wait." She winced. "That's when he started threatening me."

Paulo's face turned red. "Threatening you?"

"Yeah. Told me Ella would suffer if I didn't tell him exactly what I'd learned, and before the rest of you arrived."

"Really?" Flynn turned to the others. "He's out of control, if he's threatening members of our own community. Do we agree this was the right thing to do?"

"You had a plan in place for this?" Noah asked.

Flynn glanced at the door of the cave. "We did. We've been working on the assumption that he isn't trustworthy for a while now. Decided we'd give him the chance to prove himself. But he's done quite the opposite."

"It's vital that we keep information from him now." Paulo said. "The more he knows, the more dangerous he is."

"I agree." Flynn's face was creased with concern. "But being shut out isn't going to go down well either. We need to watch him. And carefully." He turned to Ruth. "I'm sorry he put you through that. But I don't want him roaming the caves unchecked for long. Think you can give us a brief rundown of what you discovered in the city?"

Nodding, Ruth went to her backpack. "Of course." She opened the top and pulled out some items. "I was able to make contact with Madeleine. She gave me some basic resources to tide us over. And she said the Resistance was happy to help us with a supply raid in the near future." She turned to Flynn. "You should contact her to arrange it soon. I'm sure they want to make sure we're not going hungry."

There was a sigh of relief as she held up packs of batteries and some medicines. When she had displayed her wares, she sat back on her heels. "They're open to talking about us working together to change the situation with Danforth. She wants you to use the walkie talkies to contact her for more information now that we have batteries. She was a little cagey about it – said we'd have to prove our allegiance before they were willing to share confidential information. I'm not sure what she was after. But I guess you can discuss that with her yourself."

"Did you manage to infiltrate the guards at all?" Paulo cocked his head to one side. "I mean… it was Jacob's request, but if you did get some information, it might be useful."

"I did speak to a few of the guards, yes." She flushed. "Wasn't too hard to convince them I was just another newbie, since there are so many at the moment."

"Danforth's trying to fill the gap left by the guards we killed in the forest?" Flynn asked.

"Yes. But the older guards aren't happy. The new ones aren't properly trained, and the rest believe their lack of experience puts them all in more danger than if they weren't there at all."

A noise at the cave entrance made them all jump. But when Noah turned to see who was there, he was relieved to see his ma.

"Sorry – took me a while to find you all." She walked to the centre of the room. "I have the rest of the council waiting in the canteen." She cocked an eyebrow at Flynn. "How'd it go with Jacob?"

Flynn grimaced. "As expected."

"I'm sorry." Anna frowned. "Where is he now?"

"Unsure. He left of his own accord in the end, but he wasn't happy."

"Better keep a close eye on him, don't you think?"

"Of course." Flynn turned back to Ruth, who had started to pack the supplies away. "Was there anything else we needed to know?"

"One thing." Ruth zipped up her pack. "When I was at the Resistance headquarters, I saw Faith and Diane."

Noah's heart leapt. "Was she–" he caught Paulo's stern gaze and modified his tone. "I mean, were they…?"

"Both safe. They reached the library around a day and a half after leaving here." Ruth paused. "There's a lot more to fill you in on, but the main information Faith wanted me to pass on was something she herself discovered quite recently."

"Go on," Anna encouraged.

The cave was silent now, every person in the room hanging on her every word.

"She was in the library searching through some old papers when she found a record of births which showed the parentage of each Bellator citizen." She turned to Noah. "Bet you were in there, with a huge question mark over your whereabouts." She grinned, but catching Flynn's frustrated look, refocused quickly. "Anyway, she found an entry which indicated that Danforth has a child."

"What?" Noah's ma's face had gone white. "She's never made that public."

"Apparently not." Ruth chewed on her lip. "But it's not the fact that she has a daughter that's the most shocking. It's who the daughter is."

"Faith knew her?"

"We all know her." Ruth dropped her voice low. "In fact, she's here in Eremus. It's Avery."

A ripple of shock ran round the room. Flynn was the first to recover. "So you're saying we have Danforth's daughter here, with us. Our prisoner?"

"I am." Ruth turned to face him. "Faith and Diane didn't seem to think Avery knows… unless she's very good at hiding things. And since Danforth has never claimed Avery publicly, it seems likely she isn't that important to her, but… it's a revelation."

"It certainly is." Flynn scratched his head. "Alright. That information definitely doesn't leave this space, okay?"

There was a round of nods.

"Let's get out of here, then." Flynn waved a hand. "Speak to the rest of the council, start making plans. I'll contact Madeleine and see what assurances she wants, and we can start setting up a raid as soon as possible." He turned to Ruth. "Thank you."

She shrugged awkwardly. "It's fine."

Anna moved forward, pulling her into a hug. "You don't know how much you've done for us. Well done." Letting her go, she stood back. "Guess you deserve a break." She turned to a tray of untouched food which lay on the ground nearby. Noah remembered Cora's complaint about Sarah's earlier visit to the canteen. "We can't let that go to waste. How about you two eat it and take a break… I'm sure you'd like to catch up. Bring the leftovers to Cora when you're done."

The council members who had accompanied Flynn to confront Jacob had already begun to leave. Anna hurried after them. As their footsteps retreated down the tunnel, Noah settled down next to Ruth against the wall on the opposite side of the space. Leaning their heads back against the wall, they sat in companionable silence for several minutes. Noah had questions, so many questions. But they could wait.

Reaching a hand out, he squeezed Ruth's and smiled. "I'm glad you're–" he began in a whisper, but her grip tightened on his.

They both froze. From the cave behind the one they sat in, there was a sound. A shuffling, followed by a single set of footsteps moving across the space. Noah met Ruth's gaze with a look of alarm. The cave next door contained weapons supplies stored in boxes stacked on top of one another. It provided an excellent place to hide. And also, they knew from experience, was a good place from which to hear the conversations which were going on in the raiders' cave.

Holding a finger to his lips, Noah slipped off his trainers and pushed silently to his feet. Tiptoeing across the cave, he halted at the entrance and peered out. Further along, a figure darted out into the tunnel and hurried in the direction the rest of the council had just gone. It was dark, the space shadowy, but the figure's bulk was unmistakable.

Noah's heart sank. When Jacob had been sent away, he had left behind a spy to listen to Ruth's information. A spy who would no doubt now report straight back to him. A spy who had sneaked into the adjoining cave while Jacob and Sarah had retreated.

Harden.