Take Back the Skies (27 page)

Fox froze, staring in shock at the nameplate.

‘Hunter,' he breathed, eyes wide. ‘Your …'

‘Father,' Cat finished, her voice small and scared. ‘Gods … I had no idea he …' She shook her head; she should have
known
. Deep down, part of her had suspected as soon as she'd learned the truth, but there had been plenty to suggest he wasn't involved. Collection and war strategy weren't anything to do with him, and while she hated her father she hadn't believed him capable of such cruelty. In retrospect, it all added up; the frequency of men in the compound she'd recognised as working for him, his comment about the war coming to an end. Still, she wouldn't believe it just yet. There had to be more solid proof.

‘You won't be able to get the door open,' she told Fox. ‘He got an inside lock after I tried to eavesdrop one too many times.'

She couldn't help wincing as she remembered the punishment she'd been given on that particular occasion. Things like breathing and swallowing had been hard for a few days.

‘Two minutes,' Fox said quietly, lifting his video recorder
up to the window, recording the discussion going on inside the office. Cat didn't move, not until Fox lowered the recorder and walked back to her. He didn't speak until they had returned to the stairwell they'd used to enter the public offices, sat under the stairs at the bottom.

‘Did you know?'

Cat's eyes widened.

‘
What?
' she gasped incredulously, staring at him in shock.

He stared back intently. ‘
Did you know?
' he repeated slowly.

‘Of course I didn't know! How could I have known? But there has to be some other explanation! He couldn't be behind something like this … he couldn't!' she told him desperately, trying to believe her own words.

Fox snorted in disbelief.

‘You're defending him? All that talk about him hating you and you wishing you'd never been born to him, and you're defending him?'

‘He's my father!' she hissed. ‘I hate him, but he's still my father! You wouldn't understand that, would you?'

Fox recoiled as if he'd been punched, and guilt welled in her chest.

‘I'm sorry. I didn't mean that,' she said immediately.

‘Yeah, you did,' Fox replied, his voice oddly low. Cat wished she'd kept her big mouth shut. ‘We need to get moving. We're running out of time.' Fox didn't look at her when he said this, getting to his feet and leaving Cat with no choice but to do the same.

‘He wouldn't do something like this. He works the home front, not Collections. And he's cruel, but not
this
cruel,' Cat
continued. How could she have known her father for fifteen years, and not had an inkling that he was behind the mass mutilation and murder of
children
?

‘From what you've told me, he's
exactly
this cruel,' Fox said sharply. ‘Why do you care, anyway? I thought you'd disowned him, renounced your government connections. I thought you were one of us.'

‘I
am
!' she said desperately. ‘But excuse me for wanting to believe that the man who sired and raised me has at least a
shred
of kindness in his stone cold heart!' Not wanting to hear Fox's retort, she pushed past him and fled from the room.

Later, she would be amazed at how reckless she'd been, and how she'd managed not to run into a single worker as she sprinted down random corridors and staircases. She didn't know how long she kept running, just that when she stopped she had no idea where she was. Dropping to the floor in an alcove, she buried her face in her hands, choking back a sob. Why didn't Fox believe her when she said her father wouldn't do something like this? Yes, he was a bastard, she admitted that freely. And yes, he was probably supportive of what was going on – she wasn't naive enough to think that he had no idea; he knew everything that went on in government – but he wasn't unfeeling enough to be in charge of the whole thing, was he? There
had
to be some other explanation.

Wiping her wet cheeks angrily, she stood up, determined to get some work done and prove to Fox that not only was he wrong, but that she could do plenty without his help or protection. Emerging from her alcove, she walked up to the
nearest door and peered through the window, feeling the now familiar tightening in her gut. A boy lay on a table, his midriff covered by a sheet that stopped high enough for her to see that both his legs were mechanical. She didn't dare think about how long he'd been lying there.

The door swung open easily, and carefully she tiptoed up to the table, breathing through her mouth in an attempt to ignore the smell of blood and burned flesh. At first, she thought it was another dead child, and she felt a pang of sorrow. Then she looked closer and almost jumped out of her skin when she noticed the gentle, barely there rise and fall of his chest.

Cat started as a low, rasping groan echoed around the room. The boy was attempting to open his eyes. She stared at him, flicking on her audio and video recorders as she did so.

‘Hello? Can you hear me?' she murmured, stroking his sweat-matted brown hair. It was close-cropped, like a military cut. ‘I'm not one of them, I'm safe, I promise,' she breathed, willing him to wake up. Slowly, unfocused blue-green eyes blinked open, eyeing her in dazed confusion.

‘I … who?' he croaked, chest heaving with the effort.

Cat hushed him, still stroking his hair.

‘My name is Cat,' she told him. ‘I'm here to help. My friends and I are working to save you. We'll call in the foreign authorities, and we'll shut the government down, and we'll stop them taking children.'

She sounded far more confident than she felt inside, but didn't let her fear show. ‘M'name's … Andrew,' he breathed. ‘Andrew … Hale.'

‘Hello, Andrew Hale,' she replied with a smile. ‘How … how long have you been here?'

He gave the barest twitch of his shoulders. ‘Two … years.'

Cat gasped, eyes wide. He'd been there for two years? She couldn't imagine spending two
days
in that kind of torture!

‘Gods … I'm so sorry,' she murmured.

‘Not … your fault, lass,' he told her with a huffing breath that she thought was meant to be a laugh. Her eyebrows rose in surprise that he'd recognised her as a girl, despite her hair and clothing.

‘I wish there was more I could do for you,' she said. ‘Even if I knew how to get those awful contraptions off you, I couldn't give you back your legs.'

He met her eyes, his breathing becoming a little more ragged.

‘You're … stopping them?' he asked. ‘You're … telling the … world what they've … done?' Cat nodded frantically, and his half-smile grew. ‘Then you're … doing plenty. It's too … late for me … but not for … others.'

Cat felt a tear trickle down the side of her nose.

‘You're incredible,' she told him. ‘Most people would hate me for not being able to save them.'

Andrew smiled wryly, giving another twitch-shrug.

‘Knew I … would die … here,' he breathed. ‘Least now I … know there's … hope for … the rest.'

‘I won't let this happen to any other kids,' she vowed. ‘We'll stop them before the next Collection, I promise. They won't get away with what they've done to you.'

He smiled at her, sweat beading on his forehead with the
effort of talking and staying conscious. Cat imagined he must be in excruciating pain, and her respect for him rose even higher.

‘You're … sweet,' he told her with a choked chuckle. ‘When it's … over, tell … my mum I'm … sorry. Nancy Hale … Friar's Way.'

Cat nodded, glad her audio recorder was on.

‘I will, I'll find her. I'll tell her how brave her son is,' she assured him tearfully.

‘Thank you,' he rasped. His eyes moved to look at something over her shoulder, and he frowned. ‘You need to … go. They'll … be back … soon. Apparently I need … a new arm.' He smiled weakly, but Cat could see the fear in his gaze. He wasn't sure he'd survive a third ‘enhancement'.

‘I won't forget you,' she promised. ‘I'll find your mother, and I'll tell her. Just … stay strong, OK?'

He gritted his teeth and gave her a fraction of a nod. She leaned in, pressing her lips to his cheek. His skin was cold and clammy, and when she pulled back, he was grinning.

‘Kiss goodbye from … a pretty girl. What … else do I … need to … stay strong?' he said, making Cat laugh.

‘You charmer,' she retorted. ‘Good luck, Andrew Hale.'

‘You too … Cat. See you … around.'

‘See you around,' she replied softly, fleeing the room before more hot tears escaped from her eyes. She ran, this time with a destination, retracing her way to the queen's prison.

Taking a small screwdriver from her bag, she started working the gears, thanking the gods that she'd paid attention when Fox was unlocking the door. It took three times
as long as it would have taken him, but eventually she heard a satisfying click and pushed the door open.

‘Cat,' Mary said in surprise. ‘Where's Fox?'

‘You mean he's not back yet?' Cat asked, shocked.

‘No, we were getting worried. The guards have brought dinner already,' Mary told her, gesturing to the tray on the coffee table. ‘We saved some, but it's probably cold by now.'

‘Thanks,' Cat murmured, not feeling at all hungry.

‘So where's Fox? Is he OK? I thought you two refused to split up?' Mary queried insistently.

Remembering what Fox had said about her father, Cat scowled, crossing her arms over her chest.

‘I don't care if he's OK,' she replied stubbornly. Both Mary and James looked at her with raised eyebrows.

‘That doesn't sound good. What happened?' James questioned.

Cat bit her lip, not sure if she wanted to tell them. But she needed answers, once and for all. ‘We followed a man – Harold Woods – after he said he had a meeting with the boss, and … he went into my father's office. Fox immediately took that to mean that my father is in charge of this whole disgusting operation! I hate my father, but I can't see him doing something like this!'

Mary's expression faltered, and dread settled in Cat's stomach.

‘I always feared my suspicions would be true. Cat, I … I'm sorry,' she began, and Cat shook her head.

‘No, no, it can't be true,' she protested.

Mary took a step closer, resting a hand on her arm.

‘I'm so, so sorry, darling. Nathaniel … he's a very troubled
man. When we were first kidnapped, he came down here and gloated about how we'd never be free, and he'd have control of government, and that his daughter would never marry my brat of a son. You won't tell me what is going on but whatever it is Nathaniel is involved, and it wouldn't surprise me to learn it was his idea. After all, our kidnapping was.' She scowled at those words, and James let out an indignant noise.

‘You're … you're telling the truth, aren't you?' Cat asked in resignation, not wanting to face the evidence she could see building up all around her. Mary nodded, squeezing her forearm.

‘You have to understand, Cat, your father was never in his right mind. He only cares about what he can get out of things. He married your mother to get to the Ingate fortune, he had you to have an heir and loathed it because you were a girl, and he gained control of the country for what
he
would gain from it. He doesn't care how his actions affect others because he simply doesn't understand that he's hurting people.'

Cat felt her knees buckle, but an arm slid around her waist before she could hit the floor. She vaguely realised James was helping her over to the nearest sofa, but couldn't have cared less, collapsing into the brown leather.

‘How … how could he do
this
, though?' she asked mournfully. ‘I don't understand. I knew he was a bastard, but I thought even
he
had some sort of moral code.'

Tears welling in her eyes, Cat ducked her head, not struggling when James's arm came around her, pulling her into his chest somewhat awkwardly. It wasn't as reassuring or
safe as being in Fox's arms, but she was glad for the comfort all the same.

‘I don't know why some people do the things they do,' he murmured into her hair as she leaned into him. ‘But whatever your father has done, you can't blame yourself. He makes his own decisions. You're doing something good – you're trying to stop him.'

Cat managed a weak smile, which vanished when the door swung open and an all too familiar flash of red hair showed that Fox had returned. She wiped her eyes, and swallowed uneasily as she saw him looking angrily at her and James.

‘You're back, then,' he noted. ‘Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you? You irresponsible moron, I thought you'd got yourself caught! I nearly got
myself
caught! I've been looking everywhere for you, and you've been here the whole bloody time! I'd have thought you'd know not to wander off in such a dangerous place, or don't you care any more now that you know getting caught will just take you to Daddy dearest?'

Cat wrenched herself from James's embrace, jumping to her feet and glaring at Fox.

‘Wandering off? I can look after myself, thank you very much! And I wouldn't have had to “
wander off
” if you weren't being such a pillock! For the last time, I don't want to go back to my father! I had just enough faith in him still to not instantly assume things about him! I now know I was wrong, but … I didn't want to believe it. Even
you
should be able to understand that.'

Fox rolled his eyes in exasperation.

‘Cat, I really don't give a crap about your father. To me, he's just another government bastard trying to kill us all. I
thought
you were of the same opinion,' he snapped.