Chapter Twenty Six

resentment

What Tremont called training actually consisted of beating me up an outside training ring in the middle of town. Sometimes, if I moved to block, the shackles activated so I could not.  Immediately followed by snickers from the onlookers.

The pain, the beatings, they did not bother me. The fact that I still had no contact with anyone from Charlestown after all that time troubled me. Did they all forget about me? What happened to Fran and the kids without me there? Once again, I was alone in the world. I should have been used to it. My parents threw me out. Rose disbanded the Thorns and left me with nowhere to go. I had thought it would be different once I met Ari.

I appreciated what Doc did for me, but I had to escape. Tremont locked me up in the room every night. Someone with a remote to the shackles shadowed me everywhere. I understood the distrust and hate they had towards Peacekeepers but I could not make them understand; I was not one of the people they hated.

Usually, I ate my meals with Doc because Tremont spent most of his time with Dorothy. But one night he showed up drunk. My blood pressure elevated when I saw him enter the kitchen.

"Are you here for dinner? I didn't make enough food for you," Doc said.

"That's OK. I already ate," Tremont said as he sat across from me.

Doc ate a large bite of potato and washed it down with water. "What's going on?"

"Dorothy is in a bad mood. I think it is that time of the month so I need somewhere to crash tonight."

"How is that different from any other day?" I asked.

Doc chuckled.

Tremont pointed a finger in my face. "Watch your mouth. Just keep pissing her off."

"Everyone knows she's a first-class b***h."

"Be quiet," he said through clenched teeth.

"And you. You are her favorite..."

He slammed the shackle remote on the table. "Knock it off or I'll, I'll..."

"Come on, spit it out. You'll what? Make my life a living hell?" I challenged.

Redness climbed up from his neck and stretched up his face. "Just shut up, will you?"

"Please, both of you stop," Doc pleaded.

I crossed my arms and leaned back in the chair. My body temperature increased considerably. I stared at the remote on the table. I was not fast enough yet to steal it from him.

Tremont reached across the table and picked a piece of bread off my plate. "That does smell good."

Tension built in my neck and shoulders. I shoved the plate across the table. "Then you eat it. I lost my appetite."

"Come on, now. You'll need your strength."

"For what? A late night training session?"

A goofy grin formed across his face. "Nope. Our source says they work on the drug in the University. The second floor is a network of labs where the main research team works. This is our best chance to nab it."

Doc huffed. "What good will that do you?"

Tremont raised his eyebrows. "I can't talk about that here."

"There is a woman on the north side of town who can help you," I explained. "She..."

"Yeah, right. Next, you're going to tell me you need to go to Charlestown."

"Obviously not by myself, I..."

Tremont slapped a hand on the table. The plates hoped up and rattled back down. My adrenaline spiked. "Gimme a break. You think we're stupid? It is dangerous, even using the underground tunnels which lead to the abandoned building outside the Peacekeeper neighborhood."

I remembered the neighborhood. No one would ever suspect a tunnel into one of those buildings. I definitely never did. Tremont was loose-lipped when he drank. I wondered how much more information I could squeeze out of him. He got to his feet and took a beer out of the refrigerator.

"What has been going on in Charlestown?" I asked.

He plopped back down on the chair. "I don't know. I'm not there."

"Why do you want to change a place you know nothing about? What about when you went to Philadelphia?"

"Stop asking questions," he said with a mouth full of food.

"Why don't you listen to what she has to say?" Doc snapped.

He swallowed. "She will jeopardize everything we've been working for."

"Which is?" I inquired.

"I can't tell you that either." He snatched up the remote, threatening to use it.

"Knock it off," Doc demanded. His chair tipped over as he jumped to his feet and yanked Tremont up by the collar. "It's bad enough those things are embedded into her skin. Besides, I'm tired of watching you torture the poor girl."

"OK, OK, just let me go."

Doc released Tremont, who crashed to the floor. For an older man, he had some spunk.

I felt a smirk form. Tremont fumed and jerked me up by the arm. I recovered some strength, but not enough to challenge him yet. I allowed him to drag me to the room and lock me in for the night. I started to look forward to the isolation, in order to exercise and rebuild my muscle. I had enough room to do push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges, and so on. I even had a makeshift pull-up bar I hid under the bed. The remote was still a problem. I had yet to learn who possessed the second one.

They did not let me out in the morning. Doc brought me some food and apologized. I did not blame him. I blamed the rest of them. One day I would free. Then they would be sorry.

***

They did not look happy when they returned. I had never seen Tremont so worked up. He practically dragged me down the stairs and into the street.

"What's wrong? Failed again?" I quipped.

"You are always running your mouth. I do not need your commentary. Let's go," Tremont instructed. He pushed my back so hard I almost lost my balance.

"Go where?"

"To the training ring, of course. Where else would you go?"

"So you can take out your frustration out on me? I volunteered to help, but you never listen."

"Shut up."

"I bet Dorothy is really disappointed with you now. Two unsuccessful attempts. It must be hard to..."

"Keep it up, wise a*s. You'll be sorry." He dug his fingers into my arm.

I scowled. "Why do you think that fazes me?"

"You think you're so smart, but we have hostages now who will be genuinely useful."

He shoved me all the way to the ring. Jefferson, the man on the train with the green hunting gear, waited for me. They let me protect myself at first. A punch came toward my face. Tingling propagated through my limbs. The punch landed squarely on my chin. White spots danced in front my eyes. I fell to the ground, face up. I was woozy. 

A commotion developed in the distance. Dorothy yelled some indistinct phrases. Then someone else climbed up into the ring.

"Why don't you fight someone who fights back?"

That voice. Ari? My heartbeat raced as I struggled to sit up.

"I don't know who you think you are, but this is my time in the ring. Get out of here," Jefferson said.

Tremont clambered in hastily. "Jefferson, this is Dorothy's son. Seems he is acquainted with our prisoner, sorry, our training partner."

The throbbing in my jaw told me I was not dreaming. Was Ari one of the hostages? How was that possible? Why was he at the University?

Ari bent down and offered his hand to help me stand. "Lily. You are alive. What are these things on your wrists?" He looked like he had seen a ghost.

I took his hand and got my feet under me. My legs were still a little shaky. Excruciating pain spread through my face. Alive? Of course, I was alive, but I was at a loss for words.

Tremont strolled over and wrapped his arm around my neck. I tried to slide away from him, but the shock came again. I winced. It did not stop. My cyber-implants intensified the electricity.

"She volunteered for this. Go check on your girlfriend or something. Jefferson, enough for today. I'll take her to Doc," Tremont said. Then he grabbed my arm and dragged me with him.

Girlfriend? What did that mean? I did not want to go. I looked back and Ari was having some choice words with Jefferson and Dorothy. I wanted to tell him everything that happened. Only God knew what Dorothy told him.