He almost pressed in a copy of Stefani’s sniper rifle into his hands, but he stopped himself. Carlee would be unforgiving of an execution, no matter the past between them, especially while she was trying to gain the trust of their first coalition community.
Instead, he closed his eyes and let his mind wander to a reality where they had come to Old Unity before Townend. They had been welcomed into the community in this time line, and they were treated like a trade envoy coming home from a mission. He had found Dane, and Stefani had followed after the man and placed a tracking beacon on his back, where it wouldn’t be noticed.
Jeff’s mind felt like it was in a deep sleep, and he forced his eyes open. But no tracking device registered with his hood. The pressing of realities hadn’t been successful, despite the connection he felt. The distance between them had proven to be a greater barrier than he had anticipated.
He didn’t close his eyes this time. Instead, he focused on Dane. He cleared his mind and let himself fill in more details about the reality he was seeking. It had been raining that day, a rarity for this time of the year, but Stefani hadn’t let that stop her. She had snuck up behind Dane and attached the tracker to the back of Dane’s wool shirt. It had lodged itself there. The tracker was small enough that it wasn’t noticeable unless a trained eye was looking for it.
Dane wasn’t a very detail-oriented person, so it had gone undiscovered. From experience, he also knew Dane wasn’t the most hygienic or fashionable, two traits that had always hurt his efforts with the ladies. He’d lied about his backstory, claiming that he had killed several leeches and fought until there was none left.
“Jeff, time to go,” Stefani said. He felt her hand on his side, pulling him in a direction, but he had a hard time breaking his sight away from Dane. “Snap out of it.”
He shook his head and blinked several times while his mind separated from the other reality that he had immersed himself in.
“You’re scaring the good mayor lady,” Stefani said out of the corner of her mouth. Carlee was already fifteen feet away, heading back toward the fortress, where Ross was pacing back and forth nervously on the deck.
“He’s here,” Jeff said. “Dane is here.”
“We can’t get him right now,” Stefani said. “We’ll come back for him tonight.”
“I pressed a tracker on him.”
“From this distance? Impressive. I knew I was smart to save you, but it explains the stupid look on your face. Just about scared Susan and her Mounties away from the deal.”
“Did they take it?”
“We need to work on your skills. You’ll never be any good in a fight if you have to ignore everything around you to press.”
“I couldn’t think of anything but him.”
“I’ll try not to take it personally.”
41 LIMITATIONS
“ONLY ONE COUNTRY, KNOWN AS Russia, didn’t submit to Bud’s guidance, and because of that decision, it fell far, far behind the rest of the world.” Carlee paused, with Ross at rapt attention, and looked up at Stefani and Jeff in their flight armor, curiosity written across her face.
“Sorry to interrupt the lesson,” Stefani said. “But we are going to do some scouting.”
“Wait, we can fly?” Ross asked.
Jeff chuckled at Ross’s reaction—it was hard to believe that his had been the same only a few weeks ago. But his sense of time had been thrown off since he’d joined the vagrants. And this evening had felt like a century as he watched the minutes tick by until dark.
“Sure can with the right accessories,” Stefani said.
“This is too cool!” Ross said. “When do I get to do that?”
“Soon enough,” Carlee said. “Isn’t it a little late for scouting?”
“Best time to scout,” Stefani said.
The two of them shared a look, and a knowing smile slowly spread across Carlee’s face. She looked from Stefani to Jeff, and her presumptuous eyes made him feel like he was Ross’s age. He didn’t want Carlee to get the wrong impression—they hadn’t even discussed matters fully—but he didn’t complain. He feared that if he talked, he would confess what he was about to do. Part of him wanted to tell her, to have her forbid him from going, to force him to leave it in the past. But the stronger part longed for resolution.
“Oh. Yes. Well, good luck with your scouting. Don’t stay out too late. Hopefully, we’ll have more recruits in the morning.”
“We won’t,” Stefani said. She apparently had no qualms with the pretenses of their mission.
He activated his armor and took off while Ross stared at him as if he wasn’t real. Stefani joined him in the air a few seconds later, and together they turned toward Old Unity, where the tracker marked the site of his vengeance. He hated the mayor and the braves for what they had done, but Dane was the one who kept him up at night. Jeff had saved his life, and his former friend had abandoned him even after Jeff assured him they could make it out alive. He had been a generous fool to sacrifice himself for Dane, and he wouldn’t make that mistake again, not for someone who didn’t deserve it.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Stefani asked.
“I have to.”
“You could try forgiveness.”
“Forgiveness died with the old world.” Maybe in a different time line, things might have been different—he might have been different—but this was his path.
“I’ll keep watch, then, but keep it quiet. We did arm them with all sorts of weapons today. Carl wouldn’t be happy if they turned them on us.”
“It won’t be messy.” He’d envisioned how he would do it a thousand times in his head. A punishment to fit the crime. He wouldn’t do anything that Dane hadn’t done to him.
They slowed as they traveled through the clouds directly above where Dane was staying. They dropped out of the cover and floated to the roof of the house. Jeff checked the area and was relieved that no one had noticed, although he wasn’t surprised. Most communities only had enough resources to keep a watch on their borders. No one expected vagrants to rain from the sky.
“All clear, Jeff,” Stefani said. “I’ll wait in the clouds. Call me if you need me.”
“Thanks.”
“And, Jeff . . . don’t lose yourself in there, OK?”
He didn’t respond as he lowered himself to the ground and opened the door to the house. Jeff stepped inside to see Dane whittling a piece of wood with a knife; a small energy cell wired was into the lights of the room. Dane didn’t look up, so Jeff took another step forward, letting his armor thud against the floor.
“Back already?” Dane looked up and tumbled backward in his chair, hitting the wall. “What the . . . who are you?”
Jeff took another step forward, and Dane flipped his knife around, holding it out defensively for a moment, but Dane wasn’t going to fight him; Jeff already knew that. Jeff found the reality he was searching for, and in the blink of an eye, a laser beam appeared to Dane’s left, and the timed charges surrounded the house. He would leave Dane with the same disadvantages and give him the chance to drag himself to safety, just as Dane had done to him. Jeff took another step forward, and his old friend’s face went white with fear.
“Get out of here!” Dane lunged with his knife, and Jeff caught his arm and twisted it, wrenching the knife free and bending his former friend to his will.
Dane screamed as he tried to free himself, and the fear on his friend’s face gave Jeff pause. A lifetime of loyalty and memories overcame his rage, forcing him to face emotions and thoughts he had buried beneath hatred.
“Who are you?” Dane whimpered the question as his eyes kept shifting upward.
His upbringing demanded a penance, a repayment for the offense, but that was before his new life. Carlee and Stefani had shown him that life could be more. He had so much left to learn, and he could feel himself falling for Stefani. With the explosives ticking down, he knew he couldn’t think about this decision any longer. He took a deep breath, and with his free arm, he pulled his helmet free from his armor.