Chapter Thirty-Six Noah

Spotting Evelyn sitting alone at a table in the hub, Noah made his way over. Since their return from the mission he'd abandoned, he had barely seen her. For the past few days, she had been busy sourcing the placebo pills from a local medcentre, and working out how they could be delivered to Arden at the academy without attracting attention.

It was proving tricky, and her exhausted expression was evidence of how hard she'd been working to manage the crisis.

"Evelyn?" He approached with caution, knowing he was interrupting a meal. "How are you?"

She glanced up at him, her face unreadable. "I'm tired."

"May I?" He gestured at the bench across from her. When she didn't object, he sat down. "I wanted to apologise. And to thank you." He took a breath. "I did have a good reason for leaving the other day."

"Really?" Evelyn eyed him as she broke off a piece of bread and popped it into her mouth. "What could possibly have been important enough for you to totally abandon your mission?"

"I saw someone… from my old life." Noah ploughed on. "A woman from Eremus. She was one of the people who went with Jacob when he left."

Evelyn's expression altered, the ridicule disappearing. "In the city?"

"Yeah. I… I followed her because I wanted to see if she'd lead me back to Jacob."

"And did she?"

"No." Noah hung his head. "She caught me following her and threatened to alert the guards." He held up a hand at her stricken expression. "Don't worry – I ran. Managed to get back here without being seen."

"Thank heavens for small mercies." Abandoning her meal, Evelyn stood up. "Come on then. We need to tell Madeleine you saw Sarah. Eremus deserves that information too."

She made her way towards the office, clearly expecting him to follow. As Noah trailed behind her, he hoped the information didn't go against him.

Inside, Madeleine and Robyn were pouring over some maps. They glanced up at Evelyn's entrance.

"We're not quite ready for you yet–" Madeleine began.

"This can't wait." Gesturing to Noah, she took a seat. "It seems Noah spotted one of Jacob's associates in the city the other day."

Madeleine tensed. "He must be planning something. And with everything we have going on, we could do without any unknowns." She turned to Robyn. "We should speak to Flynn and Anna. They might know something more." She glanced at Noah, a begrudging respect in her eyes. "Thanks for letting us know. There are a lot of plans in the offing at the moment. Since Kemp's torture and the news about the academy student testing, Danforth's gone mad. Laura's death was the last straw."

"It really was." Evelyn let out a heavy sigh. "We have to take more definitive action now."

"Laura risked everything for the Resistance." Robyn muttered. "She gave her life rather than betray us. She deserved better."

"She did. And we won't let her death be for nothing." Madeleine's face had taken on a steely determination. "That's what this new mission is about. We can't allow Danforth to carry on like this. But we don't need Jacob throwing a spanner in the works."

Robyn turned to Evelyn. "Did we manage to contact Arden?"

"Not yet." Evelyn scowled. "The usual methods just aren't working. I have someone watching the academy, waiting for him to come outside so we can get a message to him, but so far… no luck."

"The placebos are ready to go, though?"

"They are. But until we can get them into the building, make the switch, we can only assume that some of the students are already on the metraxilone."

"Keep trying." Robyn gave a nod. "But go and get some rest, first. You look exhausted."

Nodding her thanks, Evelyn left the room. Once she'd gone, the leaders turned back to Noah.

"Okay. As well as protecting the academy students and looking at hacking into Danforth's feed for the speech so that Faith can talk to the citizens, we also want to get Sophia out. Danforth wants to present her fertility miracle to the city at the Liberation Day ceremony. We can't allow her to do so."

"You think they'll try to bring Sophia to the square where the speech is taking place?" Noah was horrified.

"She's too sick for that. It won't look good." Madeleine swiped a hand across her datadev. "Blake witnessed them taking some photographs and video of Sophia earlier today." She spun the device to face them, showing screenshots of Sophia propped up on multiple pillows. "They made her face up so she had some colour and had her smiling and posing. We think she plans to show that footage to the crowd."

"So we're planning to use the distraction of Faith's speech to get Sophia out. But we need your help." Robyn smiled. "I know you had a shaky start with the drudge stuff, but Evelyn told us you did very well the other day. And now we find ourselves with an ideal solo mission for you."

"Great." His heart beat a little faster. This was what he had come here for. "What does it involve?"

Madeleine took over with a brisk nod. "Our plan for Sophia relies very much on us having someone on the inside." She raised an eyebrow.

"In the hospital?" Noah was surprised. "We don't already have someone there?"

Madeleine shut off the datadev. "We used to. Danforth's paranoia has led to her increasing security checks significantly in recent weeks. We had to remove our original contact for fear of her being discovered. And we can't see a way of getting anyone new in quickly, unless…"

Again, her eyes moved to Noah.

"We feel…" She rephrased, "We think Danforth will be keeping a close eye on things at the hospital. She knows the Resistance exists. She knows we're trying to take her down. She'll be very careful about allowing new female technicians or medics in the wards."

"But she doesn't know we have an alliance with Eremus." Robyn's voice was low and serious. "She won't suspect that we have a male spy."

"We don't think she'll check the drudges." Madeleine's eyes were fixed on Noah's, hawk-like. "We intend to replace one of them with you."

"You're going to kidnap a drudge?"

"Yes. One who's a similar height and hair colour as you." Madeleine's tone was calm as always. "Once he's here, he'll be treated with the utmost care and respect. We will expect him to confide in us. Tell us details about his job, his role and duties, so he can be replaced quickly."

"By me?" Noah felt a shiver run down his spine.

"We'll get you in place as soon as possible." She tapped a finger on the desk as she spoke. "Definitely, by Liberation Day. When Faith gives her speech, you'll be in situ to let the Resistance members into the hospital."

"Does Faith know?"

Robyn shook her head. "She's been busy with her speech. We figured it was one less thing for her to worry about."

"But–"

Robyn held up her hand. "I know, you'll want to tell her. But first, we want her to finish the speech. Could you hold off telling her til she's done?"

"I don't–" He spotted the look on Madeleine's face. "I suppose."

"In the meantime," Robyn added, "I'll head to one of our safehouses. Make contact with Eremus. I wanted to fill them in on our plans anyway, but with the news about Sarah, we definitely need to speak." She glanced at Noah. "Come with me, if you like."

Once Noah had changed into his drudge uniform, he hurried back down along the hallway, surprised when he ran into Faith in the doorway of the hub.

"Hey," she smiled. "How are you?"

"Fine." He attempted to return her smile. "You?"

"I'm good, actually. I'm so happy they've finally agreed to rescue Sophia." A sadness crossed her face. "I mean I'm sad about Laura, obviously, but…"

As she trailed off, he pulled her back out into the hallway, letting the door to the hub close behind her. "No one thinks you didn't care about Laura. It's alright for you to be pleased that they're going to save Sophia. You care about her."

"But I…"

"She's the reason you came back here." Noah smiled, gently. "And I know you. You're the kind of person who's totally devoted to the people they love. You'd do anything for them."

"I would." She gazed up at him, her eyes misty. "And that includes you. I don't know what I'd do if you were in danger too."

Guilt sliced through him at her words. He would tell her later, he promised himself. He had promised he'd keep the news to himself for now. Instead, he tried to return the weight of feeling.

"I would too." His voice was a whisper. "I'd do anything for the people I care about. And that includes you."

The goodbye kiss she gave him stayed in his mind all the way to the safe house. He barely noticed the people they passed, finding it easier than ever to remain in the drudge posture as long as his focus was on Faith. When they arrived at their destination, Noah was surprised at how quickly the hour-long journey had passed.

Glancing both ways, Robyn slipped down a side street and into an alleyway behind the houses. At the third house along, she unlatched the gate and led him into a small yard. She pulled a key out of her pocket and unlocked the door.

She was smiling as she closed the door behind them. "Well, I haven't seen you in action in public until now, but if the last hour is anything to go by, you'll convince even the most suspicious of Bellator citizens."

By the time Noah had time to react to the compliment, Robyn was unloading things from her pack. "Hopefully, we won't be here for long. I could do with getting back to HQ by the time the team brings the drudge back. But sometimes," she fiddled with the walkie talkie, "it takes a while to get a response from Eremus." She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Noah had to bite his lip. "It's not like we have time to sit around waiting for the Resistance to get in touch. We're pretty busy trying to keep the community safe, warm, and fed."

Robyn flushed. "Sorry. I forget that things in Eremus are so difficult sometimes."

Noah took a seat at one of the chairs which surrounded the table. "It's fine."

Twisting the knob at the top of the walkie talkie, Robyn sat down opposite him. "Let's hope someone's around today with a good signal."

She brought the walkie talkie to her lips. "Eremus, this is Resistance One. Do you read me? Come in, Eremus."

"Reading you Resistance One. This is Eremus. Over."

"Paulo!" Noah sat bolt upright.

Robyn's lips curved upwards in amusement. "You know who it is?"

"My brother."

Leaning in, she clicked the button again. "Hey, Eremus. How are things?"

There was a short pause before the walkie talkie crackled again. "Good thanks. The recent raid has made a real difference."

Noah had never thought he'd miss his bossy older brother, but the familiar voice sent a surge of warmth through his body.

"No problem." Robyn replied. "Wanted to let you know that Sarah Porter was recently sighted in the city. Presume there's been no sign of Jacob on your end?"

"No." Paulo sounded alarmed. "And if Sarah's in the city…"

"Jacob is too." Robyn bit her lip at the confirmation. "How are the Danforth students doing?"

"They're fine. How are Noah and Ella?"

"Also, fine." Robyn's tone was reassuring. "Ella started a placement in the city a couple of days ago. And Noah is also preparing for his own assignment." She paused. "I brought him here to speak to you."

For a second, there was silence. And then, Paulo's voice came again. "You there, little brother?"

Robyn passed the walkie talkie across the table.

"Noah?" A loud crackle made him jump.

He raised the device to his lips and took a breath. "How's it going?"

"Good. It's… good to hear your voice." There was a pause so long that Noah thought they'd lost contact. Tactfully, Robyn moved to the kitchen, rattling mugs and filling the kettle with water. Eventually, the walkie talkie crackled again. "Sorry. I was just sending someone to get Anna."

Noah tried not to get his hopes up at the mention of his ma. If she was a long distance away, she wouldn't make it to Paulo before he and Robyn had to leave. "Thanks," he managed.

"Where's this placement then?"

Noah glanced at Robyn, but she nodded encouragement. "At the hospital."

Paulo took a while to reply. "Really? Be careful there."

"I will." Noah breathed, relieved to have escaped a lecture. "I've been practising hard… ever since I got here."

This time when Paulo spoke, it sounded like he was chuckling. "I'm sure you have."

Not knowing how to respond to his brother's compliment, Noah pushed on. "It's Liberation Day next week. The Resistance has a lot planned. I'm part of a much bigger mission."

Robyn appeared beside him, taking the walkie talkie from his hand. "Danforth always makes a big speech. We're planning to disrupt it."

"How?"

Robyn held the button down and gestured to Noah. Understanding that she wanted him to take the lead, he leaned forward.

"We're planning to replace Danforth's words with Faith's." Noah felt a sense of pride well within him. "She's going to expose all of Danforth's lies, talk about the experiments, the school, and her time in Eremus."

"Interesting." There was a brief dip in the sound before Paulo continued. "…had an idea which we wanted to discuss with you. We want to prove that the people of Eremus aren't monsters."

"How do you intend to do that?" Robyn interjected.

"Send back one of the hostages. Show that they've been treated well." Paulo paused, as though he expected them to reply. When they didn't, he went on. "We were going to speak to you about when might be an appropriate time to do it, but it sounds like this ceremony might be the perfect opportunity. We could make a show of bringing the student back to Bellator, while Faith is speaking. Demonstrate that the people of Eremus aren't monsters. That we can be trusted. Undermine everything Danforth has preached about our community."

Robyn frowned. "We couldn't guarantee the safety of the person returning the hostage."

"We know that… we're willing to take the risk." There was another pause. "We're worried… if we wait much longer, Jacob will take action. Especially after what you just told me. If Sarah's in Bellator, Jacob's planning something. Something that could be devastating to both our communities."

Leaning over, Noah pulled the walkie talkie from Robyn's grasp. "But you're not with Jacob. Eremus doesn't have anything to do with him anymore."

"The women of the city don't know that. They'll believe what they see. If the first male they are exposed to is Jacob, he could ruin it for everyone. But if it's Flynn… doing something decent, honourable, then…"

At the mention of the man who was like a father to him marching into Bellator in broad daylight, Noah froze. Recognising his discomfort, Robyn leaned forward, easing the walkie talkie out of his hand. "I'll take your suggestion back to Madeleine. Let you know what she says. Personally, I think it would go a long way towards showing the Bellator women what Eremus is really like."

"…please say you'll consider it." Paulo's reply was clipped.

"We will."

There was another lengthy pause. Robyn leaned closer to Noah. "It'll be dangerous for whoever does it, but it might turn the tide of opinion. Lord knows we need as much help as we can get."

Noah nodded, sensing the conversation was almost over. It was staring him in the face now: Robyn had brought him here to give him a chance to say goodbye to his home, his family. In case he didn't come back from his mission.

Robyn shot him a questioning glance. "Are you al–"

But the walkie talkie crackled again before she could finish asking the question.

"Noah?" This time the voice was female. "Noah? Are you there?"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Noah felt tears in his eyes. Robyn passed the device back to him and rose, taking her coffee with her into the next room. Appreciating her sensitivity, Noah settled back in his chair. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the button.

"Hey, Ma. How are you?"