The Gender Plan (The Gender Game #6)(61)

Margot had pulled out her pistol again, the heavy sniper rifle bouncing on her back as she pressed against the second barricade, just past where the mangled remains of the car had settled. The harvester was rolling slowly to a stop, and I pressed the advantage. “PLUG THE HOLES,” I ordered my team over the radio as I vaulted over the next row of barricades. “They’re boxed in.”

The harvester came to a full stop as the arms impacted on the walls of the buildings on the side of the barricade, but the cab punched a hole through the remaining barricades—they went flying a few feet back. The firing was dying down now, but there was still a big gun and a few of the enemy just beyond, and they were quickly getting ready.

A flash of movement across from me drew my eye to Tim, and I watched as Violet’s brother used the barricade as a step, leaping up and spinning gracefully around, shooting a woman who was kneeling down on the other side. Margot was moving behind me again, and I altered my run so that she was partially hidden behind me, fearing a stray bullet.

“Cad here. We’re approaching the harvester from the right side. Did any backup get to you?”

“No,” I said as I approached the huge bulk of the harvester and slowed, the sound of gunfire disappearing completely. Pressing my back against the wheels of the hulking red behemoth of a vehicle, I slowed to a crawl, caution overriding my need to move into the city street beyond and put a stop to all this insanity. “If you are heavy on that side, I’ll take what I can get.”

“Sending people over now,” he said.

I waited, and two refugees and a Liberator crept around the rear of the harvester. Margot flinched when they appeared, and I pressed a hand on her arm. “Wait here,” I told her, and she nodded, clutching her gun in a tight-knuckled grip. I waved the others forward and began to move.

The corner loomed ever closer, the gap between the front and sides of the harvester and the wall of the building seeming to grow as I moved forward. I caught a glimpse of the tail of the vehicle and came to a stop, collecting myself. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, taking a moment to picture Violet’s face.

My nerves settled down a bit, the tension easing as I tricked my body into a slightly calmer state. I needed to focus. At last count, there had been six wardens left. Five on the ground around the vehicle, and one on the machine gun.

Then I opened my eyes and stepped forward, dropping down into a low crouch as I neared the gap, the enemy vehicle waiting somewhere in the street beyond. I peered down my sights and eased inches forward as the corner, and then the tire of the enemy vehicle, drew into view. Twenty feet back, judging from the narrow view provided. I eased forward a few more inches, knowing that once I could see them, they could see me—and not even my bulletproof vest was going to stop these bullets.

Just as a leg in Matrian uniform was coming into view, rapid gunfire caused me to jerk back, and it took me a minute to realize the gunfire wasn’t at us. It was at them.

“Who is that?” whispered Margot, and I turned to see her pressed behind Cruz and Harry, their faces pensive.

“Viggo, hold your fire—those are Mags’ people.”

I let out a breath at Violet’s news. Then I stepped out and approached the gap more confidently. Three women were already dead, their bodies on the ground next to the truck. I stepped out as a woman broke off, running for the gap, and she faltered. A bullet from behind caught her in the shoulder, and she fell, screaming. I kept my rifle up as I moved forward, dropping another woman as she popped up to fire on the street behind the truck.

The last one’s hands shot up, just above the bed of the vehicle. “I surrender!” she cried, and I lowered the gun.

“I got her,” said Harry, slipping around me and heading over toward the truck. My people began to creep in around the vehicle, and I noticed Tim and Gregory heading over to me.

“Don’t fire!” I shouted down the road, and I watched as men and women began to creep in cautiously from the neighboring buildings and the alleys between them. A short, curvy brunette pushed forward through the crowd, and I recognized Mags from our handheld conversations as she made a beeline toward me.

Turning, I nodded to Gregory. “See what you can do to straighten this up for the guard team,” I ordered quietly, and he gave me a thumbs-up.

I turned back in time to see Mags only a few feet away. I opened my mouth to say something, but then froze when I saw a familiar, slightly bowlegged figure behind her, a cap perched on top of his disheveled gray hair, his mustache turned up in a smile.

“Heya, boyo,” Alejandro greeted me, his blue eyes sparkling. “Long time no see!”





21





Viggo





I pulled Alejandro into a tight embrace, surprised to find tears welling in my eyes. I’d had no idea he was coming, no idea he was there at all… no idea he hadn’t died fighting fires in the weeks of Matrian-dominated chaos.

He hugged me right back, his hand thumping on my shoulder blades. “Oh, my boy, my boy!” he kept repeating. I laughed, and we broke apart, but my hand was still on his shoulder and his on mine.

“What happened to you? Is Jenny with you? Is she okay?” I asked, the questions pouring out of me. I looked around and realized we had a bit of an audience, but I didn’t care. I was elated to see Alejandro again. I had worried endlessly about him since our parting, and now, seeing him here, I just had to know what had happened to him.