“I can get used to this.” She took another gulp and spilled some on herself but didn’t seem to notice. “I can definitely get used to this.” Then she looked around the room again. “Where’s Will?”
“He’s still out there.”
“He is?” She looked stunned. “I thought he was the one who brought me to the island. That wasn’t…?”
“That was Roy.”
“Roy?” She shook her head. “I don’t know who that is, but I think I might have called him Will a couple of times on the way over here.”
Lara chuckled. “He mentioned that.”
“You said Will’s still out there? That’s surprising. Every chance he got, he talked about coming back here. To you.”
Lara felt a flush of embarrassment. Or was that pride? “He’s looking for Gaby.”
“The teenager?”
“Yes. She’s still missing. Will’s not coming back until he finds her.”
Zoe nodded and took another sip of water. “He treated her like his little sister. I can see him going back out there for her.”
There was a brief moment of awkward silence, and Lara thought Zoe might be purposefully trying to avoid looking at her for some reason.
What happened out there with her and Will?
She said instead, “You saved Will’s life. Thank you, Zoe.”
Zoe finally looked over and might have actually blushed a bit. “We’re even. I wouldn’t be here without him.”
“Still, he told me what you did for him out there. Thank you for bringing him back to me. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”
“He loves you,” Zoe said, and gave her a smile that seemed a bit too forced. “I’ve seen a guy in love before, but that man of yours…” She shook her head and laughed softly. “I hope he comes back okay.”
“He will,” Lara said with absolute certainty. “As soon as he finds Gaby, he’ll come home.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Zoe said, and looked away again.
The radio clipped to Lara’s hip squawked just in time to spare the two of them from another round of awkward silence.
They heard Maddie’s voice. “Lara. I got Will on the emergency frequency.”
“Speak of the devil,” Lara said.
“Say hi to him for me,” Zoe said.
She nodded and got up to leave. “I don’t have to tell you, right?”
“Hey, I have a comfortable bed and cold drinks,” Zoe said after her. “I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”
“Good news and bad news,” Will said through the radio. “What do you want first?”
“Will, how many times have I ever chosen the bad news first?” Lara asked.
He chuckled. “We found where they’re keeping Gaby.”
“That’s great.” Then, with reluctance, “So what’s the bad news?”
“She escaped before we could bust her out.”
“And that’s bad?”
“Well, we’re tracking her through the woods at the moment. The problem is, the woods over here are big. Massive. Twice as thick as Danny’s head and three times as messy.”
“Hey,” she heard Danny say in the background.
Lara smiled.
She was on the second floor of the Tower with one of the radios. It was slightly smaller and more portable than the two above her on the third floor right now. She sat on the windowsill and looked toward the south side of the island, at the girls on the beach with Roy standing watch on the boat shack.
“Can you find her?” she said into the radio.
“That’s the plan,” Will said. “It’s just going to be a little bit more difficult than we expected, that’s all.”
“Will, you took Danny with you because you thought you might have to fight your way into a town full of collaborators. Now all you have to do is find Gaby in the woods, and this, somehow, is more difficult?”
“I see your point.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“They’re wearing uniforms now.”
“Who?”
“The collaborators.”
“What kind of uniforms?”
“Army camo. Close to real thing, but not quite. With their names and from what I can tell, their state designation.”
“State designation?”
“Louisiana for this lot. A boot-shaped patch. Real craftsmanship, too. They probably have a whole room of sweatshop kids putting them together. Oh, and a white star.”
“What does that represent?”
“I don’t have a clue, babe. Maybe it means they’re all destined for stardom.”
She smiled. “That doesn’t sound likely.”
“No.” He paused for a bit, then, “How’s Zoe?”
“She says hi.”
“Up and about already?”
“Up, but not about just yet. You did a good job stabilizing her after she was shot, Will. Waiting a day before moving her was also smart.”
“It’s been known to happen.”
“Long story short, she’ll be fine with time and a lot of rest. You’re right; it’ll be nice to have a proper doctor on the island for a change.”
“Is that real enthusiasm or self-pity?” he asked. She could almost imagine him smiling on the other end of the radio.
“Don’t be an ass,” she said.
He laughed. “She’ll be good for us, Lara.”
“We can definitely use someone with her skills. Which I guess is good and bad. Having it, and needing it.”
“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.” Then, without skipping a beat, “Tell me about this Beecher guy.”
“He says he’s an Army Colonel, so I guess he outranks you.”
“Only if the United States government is still in operation.”
“He says it is.”
“Anyone can say anything these days. Danny thinks he’s the President of the United States.”
“Hey, I was fairly elected,” Danny said in the background.
“See?” Will said. Then, “Where did this Beecher guy radio from?”
“Someplace called Bayonet Mountain,” Lara said. “Have you ever heard it?”
“Yes,” Will said, but she noticed that he didn’t elaborate.
“You’ve been there before…”
“Once or twice. Did he say how many were there with him?”
“He says over 4,000 people, including civilians. Is that possible? Is that place big enough for that many people?”
“The Bayonet Mountain I knew could easily fit twice as many. Three times, if necessary.”
“So you really have been there. What for?”
“It’s a long story, and right now I need to go hunt down Gaby. When I get back, I’ll talk to Beecher. Try to suss him out.”
“You think he’s lying about something?”
“I don’t know, but we have a civilian authority for a reason.”
“This is coming from a soldier…”
“Exactly,” Will said.
They didn’t say anything for a moment.
Finally, she said, “Will.”
“Yes.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said.
“Barf,” Danny said in the background. “Get a fucking room, you two.”
She ignored Danny and said, “Hurry up and find Gaby and come back home. I like hearing your voice and I’m not quite as pissed off as I was the last time we talked, but I need more than this. You understand? I need to see you in person.”
“I’ll be home soon. Leave a light on for me.”
“How about a big lighthouse?” she smiled.
“That’ll work, too,” Will said.
9
Will
The ATVs would have taken them back to L15 faster, but the roar of engines would have exposed their approach. That meant they were forced to trek back through the woods on foot. They jogged as much as they could with their full gear but spent most of the time walking at a brisk pace before reaching the same clearing from yesterday just beyond the edge of town. They took out binoculars and peered through them.