Revolution (Collide, #4)(42)

"Aren't linebackers the fat ones?" I asked as I let him help me stand.

"Nah. That's the lineman. Linebackers are lean and mean."

I sneered at him, "I can see that."

"Hey, you didn't have to run," he argued with a smirk.

"Hey, you didn't have to tackle me!" I shouted and checked to make sure I still had my necklace. "Why didn't you just shoot me anyway?"

"I'm not in the habit of shooting beautiful women."

"You can keep your pretty lines for someone who eats that crap up. It's not me." He seemed amused by my rant. "And I'm not going with you to the enforcement facility. I won't go back, so if that's your plan, you may as well shoot me now."

His suddenly serious face worried me. "Won't go back? You've been to a facility before?"

"Yeah. Nice tile floors," I sneered.

"Listen," he said and held his hands up, "I don't mean you any harm. I stopped you so you didn't get stuck out here at night."

"Oh, really?" I poked his chest in my anger at the situation, but he was telling the truth. That didn't stop me, however, from saying, "Why did you radio in for back-up then?"

"I sent them to another location," he answered calmly and smiled. "My last radioed in location was the Need Warehouse on Turner Street."

"You're lying," I said, but I could tell that he wasn't. Why would he do that?

"All truth, scout's honor," he said and flashed the Boy Scout's hand signal. "I got called to the warehouse and figured I'd trail the roads to see if I found anything suspicious. A Jeep full of boxes heading away from the scene is pretty suspicious."

"I didn't do it," I found myself stammering. "I didn't…kill those people."

"I figured that when you got out of the car. I just radioed in to get them off my track, so they wouldn't come out this way. They'll be busy with the warehouse for a while."

I could stand it no longer. "Why are you helping me?"

"No offense, ma'am," he took my arm in his and ran his fingers over the bones in my hand that were prominently more defined over the past few weeks, "but you look like you could use a little help."

I jerked my hand back, embarrassed. It wasn't my fault that my family was practically starving. It was the Lighter's and the Taker's and Piper's. He seemed to understand the look on my face.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Listen…this is going to sound like a serious line…but you need to stay with me tonight." I rolled my eyes at him to let him know that, yes, that was a total line. "I know," he held his hands up, "but it's almost dark and they're on a massive manhunt right now for rebels. They do most of their searching at night because they figure that's when they'll be moving the most." He waited, but I didn't say anything. He went on. "You can come and stay at my house tonight, and in the morning, you can be on your way. I'll even give you an escort to…wherever it is you're staying."

He wasn't lying…again. "Why are you helping me?" I repeated.

"I used to be a cop," he said and crossed his arms over his chest. He stared at the dirt as he spoke. "When all this started happening, I was on board, all the way. I was one of the first ones to join the Enforcers back when. I was under their compulsion pretty bad." I jolted and looked at him. "But I had an accident. A head injury when my old partner and I were on a call for a suspicious vehicle. When I woke up in the hospital, I could remember everything that had happened. I remembered the words they said to get us to follow them, I remembered what had actually happened and what they had made me to believe had happened. I remembered…all the horrible things I'd done." He shook his head. "From then on, I understood everything. And the first time I saw one of those things…the dark guys, I knew something wasn't right and we were no longer alone on our planet."

"So why are you still working for them?"

"Situations such as these." He smiled, showing two rows of perfect teeth. "They never noticed anything was different with me. As long as I don't look at any of them, they don't pay me any attention. And I have others who I've told. Others who know the truth now. We try to help out rebels when we can." He nodded his chin at me with a grin in place. "But you wouldn't know anything about rebels, now would you Miss Poppins?"

"It's Sherry," I muttered.

"Thanks."

"So, what now?"

"Why don't you follow me to my humble dwellings?"

I thought hard. It was almost dark. And we had told Merrick and the rest that we might have to spend the night out. They weren't expecting us until morning. That reminded me. "Hey, you didn't see a van, did you? A white van with a few men inside?"

"Not today, but believe it or not, white vans have become pretty popular lately. All the rebels drive them." I grimaced. "Why?"

"My friend was with me," I whispered. I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I hoped he was all right. "The men who…shot everyone. They took him."

"Why?"

"I don't know. He was trying to stop them, I guess."