“Makara, wait!” I said.
But my words went unheeded. Makara took off for the doors.
“Anna, go with them,” Char said. “I will join you soon.”
Anna turned to me, drawing her sword. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 5
Anna and I ran into the courtyard, chasing after Makara. We rushed out the compound gates. The Bounty wasn’t far — maybe half a mile down the winding dirt road.
A few minutes later, we were there. The crooked frame of the building looked as it were barely holding together. White paint peeled from years of the relentless wind. The front door was wide open in front of us, revealing several upturned barstools and glittering broken glass. No sound came from within. It might as well have been abandoned.
Makara pushed her way through a small crowd that had gathered outside the Bounty. She stopped before the front door.
We caught up to her.
“Makara…” I said.
“Look out!”
Someone had yelled from behind. A man appeared in the top window, aiming a rifle down at Makara. But instantly every Raider in the area aimed his gun at the man and shot, the gunfire shocking my senses. The man screamed, slumped from the window, and crashed into the dirt below.
“Well, there’s one less now,” Makara said. “We can’t hope any of the others are that dumb.”
“What do they even want?” I asked.
“I don’t know the whole situation,” Anna said, “but somehow Lisa found out that these guys are traitors working with Rex. She raised the alarm, so they ended up taking her hostage. They want out of the town in exchange for her life.”
“Char won’t let that happen,” Makara said. “He doesn’t want a single one returning to Colossus to tell the Empire.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Anna said.
As if mentioning Char were a summons, I spotted him walking down the road from the direction of the compound, surrounded by a contingent of Raiders. He appeared calm, in control — Makara and I were anything but.
Char approached us. “What’s the situation?”
“They’re still holed up in there,” Anna said. “Two, maybe a few more, are on the top floor. They want out of Bluff in exchange for Lisa’s life.”
Char faced upward. “Alright,” he yelled, “I’m here. What do you want?”
Everyone quieted. Only the wind blew through the dust-strewn street. The people in front of the Bounty began to murmur.
A full minute passed with no response from the bar.
“I demand an answer!” Char bellowed.
“Let us out of here,” a voice said. “You know what happens if you don’t.”
“You kill her, then what?” Char asked. “You die.”
“We’ll do it if you leave us no choice.”
“There is no need for that,” Char said. “I am glad to let you scum out of my town if it means saving Lisa.”
It was quiet. I could imagine the men in that upstairs bedroom, debating quietly what they should do.
“How can you guarantee our safety?” the same one said.
“I promise, none of my men will lay a finger on you. I’ll have them set down their guns when you come out. We can escort you by Recon on your way out, which should protect you if anyone decides to go commando on your sorry asses.”
“I never agreed to that,” Makara said.
Char held a hand up, silencing her. “Work with me, Makara.”
The men on the second floor were quiet.
Then: “Have everyone drop their weapons,” the man said. “We agree.”
Char scowled, and waited a long moment. I didn’t see why he hesitated — this seemed like the best deal he could get. Finally, he answered.
“Alright. In another minute, everyone outside will have dropped their weapons. All of them.”
“How can we be guaranteed of that?” the man asked.
“I guess you’re just going to have to trust me on that one, aren’t you?”
Char waved for everyone to set their guns down. Grumbling, the men did as they were told. Makara seemed least happy of all to do it.
Nothing happened for a long while. It was hard to tell whether they had accepted or not.
“Are the weapons on the ground?” the man asked.
Char grunted. “Yeah.”
The shutters of the window upstairs slammed open. Inside was a man with a rifle, aiming right for Char.
“Get down!” Makara yelled.
But no shot came. Instead, the man screamed. Inside the window stood Anna, her blade slicing toward the man’s neck. It cut through, severing the man’s head from his body. The head flew out the window, landing at Char’s feet.
Anna turned quickly, slashing her sword. Another man cried out. She raised the blade above her head, and stabbed downward.
Anna sighed, wiped off her blade, and sheathed it. She came to the window and looked down. “They’re all dead.”
Makara stood silent. It was hard to tell if she was relieved, or angry. Maybe she was both.
“I didn’t even see her leave!” I said.
“That was the point,” Char said. “Neither did those scumbags up there.”
Makara went into the building. I followed her in. The wooden interior was dark, and crowded with round circular tables. The room was narrow, but long. The bar itself sat on the right-hand side.
Two pairs of feet pounded down the steps. Anna was the first to appear. She passed us and walked outside. The second was Lisa. She was tall, slender, and had long wavy brown hair and blue eyes. Her skin was tan and slightly freckled.
Makara ran forward and embraced her. “Lisa, it’s so good to see you.”
Lisa smiled. “Why did it take a hostage situation for you to come down and visit me?”
Makara pulled back. “I’m sorry. It’s been so busy, with my brother’s condition. I guess you’ve heard about that.”
Lisa nodded. “Yeah. Bad luck. But it’s good you found him.” Lisa’s eyes turned on me. “Who’s this?”
“This is Alex,” Makara said. “He’s from Bunker 108, out San Bernardino way.”
“Long way,” Lisa said. “You’ve been taking care of Makara?”
“More the opposite.”
Lisa eyed me up and down. “I believe it.”
“Hey,” Makara said. “He’s come a long way in the week he’s been out. Holding up better than I expected him to.”
Lisa didn’t say anything: instead she stepped behind the bar. She picked up a dirty mug and began to wipe it clean.
“Lisa, stop working,” Makara said. “You were just now being held hostage.”
“This place isn’t going to clean itself. You can talk while I put this place back together.”
Makara turned to me. “I want to catch up with Lisa. Go check on Samuel?”
I knew I was getting kicked out, but I nodded. “Sure. He’ll want to know what happened here, anyway.”
I walked out of the Bounty. I found Anna standing outside.
“Heading back?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all. That was pretty cool, what you did. How did you sneak in there?”
Anna shrugged. “I have my ways.”
“Are you a ninja?”
“Are you just asking that because I have a katana?”
“Pretty much.”
“If there is a way to describe me, it’s ‘adaptable and fluid.’ It’s how I’ve survived this long. It’s how I’ll continue to survive.”
We were approaching the compound gates.
“So, where did you learn how to handle a sword like that?” I asked.
“It’s a long story, so I’ll keep it short. My mom taught me to read. And there are still real-life books out there, if you can find them. Wherever we holed up, my mother would read to me. When she came across a book she liked, she stored it in her pack for later. One day, when I was a kid, my mom came across a book about a samurai named Hideyoshi. He was a real person who lived in Japan, born to peasants, who was not strong but was able to outsmart and outmaneuver his opponents with only his mind. He became one of the best samurai in history, not only on the field, but in politics.