of a blacked-out patrol car. “You are the one who started all of this, old man, but I’m the one whose ending it.” Percy glances at me and then Pike. “With some help, of course.”
“Noooo! This can’t be happening. This won’t happen. I won’t let it. I won’t let—” Darius cries are muted by the slam of the door.
Percy watches the patrol car as it disappears down the road. “Bye, Dad,” he whispers, then spits on the ground, kicking dirt onto it with his boot. The rest of the agents shove random resisters into their various vehicles, and without a word, one by one, they take off into the night, leaving us standing there in the center of the courtyard, untouched and alone.
Percy turns around to face us. He looks to Pike. “We all good now?”
Pike nods. “That last part was a surprise. Never took you for a rat.”
Percy shrugs, “Rats spread disease. That was Darius. All I spread was the truth. And a death sentence? That’s what the old man would have done. I’m trying to be different, better.” He holds out his hand. “So, again, I’ll ask: we good now?”
“A deal is a deal,” Pike says with a curt nod. He takes his hand and surprises me when the two do that bro thing half hug back tap thing that guys are so good at.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask, jerking my head between Pike and Percy. “You two really know how to piss a girl off by keeping her in the dark. Out with it. Now!”
“Your man and I made an agreement. He held up his end, and now, it’s time for me to hold up mine. I’ll be out of town by sun up.” Percy looks at me. “I’m sorry, Mickey. For everything. For…all of it.”
The sincerity in his voice reaches me loud and clear. “You righted a wrong. Something I’ve been trying to do myself,” I say. “I forgive you.”
“Thank you,” he says, with glistening eyes. He takes a rag from his back pocket and wipes at the temporary ink covering his face and neck, revealing a less hateful-looking man underneath. He walks past us into the warehouse and grabs a duffel bag hidden behind a gasoline can. He drapes it over his shoulder and heads for his truck. As he passes Pike, he stops and looks us both over one last time. “Pike, take care of her. I meant what I said before. Don’t you fucking hurt her.”
Pike nods and tucks my hand into his in a reassuring gesture. “That you don’t gotta fucking worry about. Ever.”
My chest tightens along with my fingers around Pike’s.
“What are you going to do now?” I call after Percy who tosses his duffel bag into the back of his truck. He opens the door and stands on the step. He takes a deep breath and smiles as if smelling the salty-pine air for the very first time. “I’m gonna go get my girl.”
Percy drives off, and I think it’s just me and Pike until Rage saunters over from the field. “Guess I won’t be needing this,” she says, tossing Pike a small remote. She tosses her own duffle bag over her shoulder and saunters over to a baby blue Vespa, her blonde ponytail swaying along the way. She takes off, the humming of her scooter fading as she disappears down the dirt path in the center of the field.
Pike takes my hand, and we begin to walk away, but I stop, removing my hand from his.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
I turn around and take one last look at the compound. I can still hear the hateful chants that were repeated here. Ghostly words whispering all around me. “Is there anyone left inside?” I ask.
Pike shakes his head. “No, the FEDS cleared it.”
I smile. “Good.” I reach over and pluck the remote from his hands.
“What are you—”
I press the button, and the building explodes in a fiery ball of flames and smoke. The wind blows back my hair, and my face heats under the intensity.
“We have to go,” Pike orders, pulling me through the field to his truck.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, still basking in the glow of the explosion as we get inside.
“Nothing is wrong. I just have to get you home. Now.” He throws the truck in reverse and speeds through the tall grass to the back road. His gaze meets mine as he spins the wheel, turning us around.
“Why?”
He reaches over and takes my hand pressing