The Gender Fall (The Gender Game #5)(12)

Her arm shot out, her hand hitting the wall with a thump, blocking my path. I took a step back and arched an eyebrow.

“You need to let us go to the Liberators,” she said, crossing her arms.

I sighed—mostly out of exhaustion—and shook my head. “We’ve been over this. It’s too risky.” Which was true. Amber had been bothering me about this since she’d picked us up from the rendezvous point, and I’d thought it was a bad idea the whole time. Not only did the Liberators believe Violet and I were spies for our respective governments, but Desmond had likely informed them that Amber, Owen, Henrik, Quinn, and Thomas were all defectors, betraying their cause for ours. Granted, the Liberators had no idea Desmond was a treacherous snake who had been recruiting them for years, playing off most of their desires to rescue their lost sons, or, in the case of those like Amber, their desire to see meaningful change in the prescribed gender roles that separated the two countries. I doubted the group would look kindly on an unexpected visit from us. And they would probably show their displeasure by trying to kill anyone we sent up there.

“Too risky?” Amber retorted, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “As opposed to trying to get Violet into the city and to a hospital, without her being seen?”

I swallowed hard, trying to calm myself. Amber meant well. She was just as worried as the rest of us. Not just for Violet, but also for Quinn and Henrik, her two injured team members. I glanced at the room next to Violet’s, where the two men were sleeping on twin beds, and then back at her.

“What makes you think it will work?” I asked, leaning a shoulder against the wall.

Amber’s eyes lit up and she smiled eagerly. “Well, for one thing, we have the video.” I cringed as she mentioned it, my stomach roiling in disgust at what I had seen there. Namely, Violet, running for her life, bravely talking to Tabitha, getting her to reveal herself for what she truly was and confirming aspects of Elena’s plan.

Not that the Patrians needed confirmation. Before they could even get to the stage of confirmation, they needed to be informed. In the eyes of the Patrians, Queen Elena had ridden in on a white horse to save her neighbors in spite of their ideological differences. She had sent in soldiers to help put out fires, doctors with medicine, and aid workers with food, water, and blankets. No one knew she was behind the fires that had ravaged a third of the city. Or that she was quietly having sixty percent of the male population exterminated.

“There’s no guarantee the video will sway them,” I replied. “And, if Desmond is there, you’d be walking into a trap.”

Amber waved her hand as if chasing away the thought. “Desmond’s not there,” she retorted. “I got new information from Thomas when we touched down. He’s been listening in on as many Matrian communications as possible, and he got some news of the Liberators.” Her gaze tightened angrily, but she continued her logical expression of the new information. “Can’t be sure, but he thinks the Matrians raided their facility in The Green. Desmond must have set them up somehow—I think the Matrians have taken control of the facility. And… and the boys.”

“How is that good news?” I asked, a hollowness swelling in the pit of my stomach. The Matrians had full control of the boys again. It made me want to punch a hole in the wall.

Amber blew out a hard breath. “One,” she said, “because it means Desmond is probably not with them. She wouldn’t risk being caught between the two sides. Besides, she’s probably too busy trying to help Elena clean up this mess.

“And two, if the Liberators had to evacuate, then I know exactly where they all are. And it’ll be much safer to travel there than the Facility.”

I stared at her and reluctantly took the bait. “Where would that be?”

“Home base,” Amber said, a gleam in her eye. “It’s the original base, also in The Green’s region—the one where Desmond brought us all before she found… well, before she let us in on the Facility with the boys.”

“Great,” I said, weariness making me snappy. “That sounds safe and easy.”

“They have a doctor, Viggo. A good one… one who is well trained in mobile surgical care.”

She was referring to Dr. Elizabeth Tierney, the Liberator doctor who had performed surgery on me, helping to repair my heart after I had damaged it in a fight to the death with the twin princesses of Matrus. Dr. Tierney had always struck me as a reasonable woman, but I still doubted she would help us.

“What about the heloship? It—”

“Is more than capable of getting to our home base, even on limited fuel,” Amber cut me off. “It’s fast, and it’s large enough to transport any troops we might take, or any equipment Dr. Tierney might need to help Violet.”

“I was going to say it’s our biggest advantage right now,” I replied, “and it’s a bad idea to risk it—not to mention, we have no idea how heavily protected the border is.”

Amber gave me a droll look, her lips quirking up in a smile. “Viggo, the Liberator home base is on the Patrian side of the river. We don’t even need to cross a border. Besides, the point of the heloship is that it can fly. I could fly due east, until we were over the mountains, and then head north, avoiding most of civilization altogether. Circle back around.”

I considered this new information, but still found myself shaking my head, fighting back the weariness creeping up the corners of my eyes. “Just as easy to go to a hospital and steal the equipment we need.”