The q, p.19
The Q, page 19
She blew out a breath. “Maybe.”
“You mean, ‘Yes, Beto, what an excellent point.’ ”
She resisted the urge to punch him. “I’m going for covert here. My plan was to grab the shipment, get Lennon out, and hightail it back south. I’m not trying to take over the entire territory, and I’m certainly not killing any Spencers in the process.”
“Declan doesn’t think you can do it.”
“One, fuck Declan, and two, how exactly do you plan to take control back from him after this? If, by some miracle, he succeeds, what were you going to do?”
“I was going to…murder him?” He scrunched up his face.
“Jesus Christ, Beto, are you asking my permission?”
“No, I just…”
“I don’t think you should murder someone if you have to phrase it like a question. I think you need conviction in this particular situation.”
“Shit, Maisie, I don’t know. I’m sorry if I didn’t have everything perfectly figured out after my father was suddenly killed by his lieutenant.”
She softened, just a little. She’d known Beto her whole life. She’d grown distant from him—and a lot of the Lopezes—since her dad died, but they’d been close once. Beto was three years older, and he often got stuck with the job of babysitting her. She’d spent one terrifying night locked in a closet with him while their dads fought off Reapers. At the time, she’d felt safe with him, but he’d only been nine or ten years old. He must have been scared shitless.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
His eyebrows drew together, like this sentiment confused him.
“About your dad. And I think I punched you earlier. So, I’m sorry about that, too.”
“You did.” He paused. “I’m sorry I held a gun on you a few days ago.”
“It’s fine.” She glanced over at the Vals, and at Lennon, who was making conversation with a few of them. Maisie was momentarily distracted—and impressed—by how Lennon could so easily adapt to any situation. From headbutting to chatting with the women who’d kidnapped him in a snap.
She returned her attention to Beto. “What do you say we try to do this without getting everyone killed?”
LENNON
MAISIE HAD BEEN talking to Beto for a long time. Lennon kept glancing over at them, expecting they’d be done, but they were still talking quietly, heads bent together.
“Wait, so they just dropped you out of the plane?” Jessa, a younger Black teenager with long dreadlocks, was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression. She and Anna had apparently been elected as the Vals tasked with keeping an eye on him.
He nodded, returning his attention to them. “Yeah. Strapped a parachute on me and pushed me out.”
“Damn,” Anna said.
“But what if you’d panicked and didn’t open the parachute?” Jessa said. “Or if you’d, you know…done it wrong? Isn’t it hard to land?”
“I would have died, I guess. And yeah, it is hard to land. But I did all right.” He considered for a moment. “And by that I mean, I didn’t break anything. It wasn’t exactly graceful.”
Jessa laughed. “I would have liked to see that.”
“I’ve been wondering,” he said. “Why is this called ‘Val’s Territory’? When everything else is just east and west and north?”
“Because it used to just be those three,” Anna said. “When Val split off, she took the territory south of Northgate, but north of East and West Spencer. What was she going to call it? Mid-Spencer?”
“Doesn’t have a nice ring to it,” Jessa said.
Anna nodded. “Plus, I think that she just liked naming it after herself. Going against her brothers was a big deal. They were all about ‘traditional family values’ or whatever, which they took to mean that the men were in charge of everything.”
“That’s why she split off and made her own territory?” he asked.
“Yeah. I mean, family values are nice and all, but things started getting really grim for women, especially in the east. They were talking about only letting girls take cooking and homemaking classes at school. They didn’t let women have any positions of power, anywhere. They were using the virus and the Q as an excuse to take women back to the nineteenth century.”
“Gross,” Lennon said.
“So Val was like, ‘Fuck you, have fun by yourselves, boys,’ and took off with, like, three-fourths of the women in East Spencer.” Anna laughed. “I bet they regret their choices now. There are, like, five men to every woman in the east.”
“Men started defecting up here because of it,” Jessa said. “We don’t take them anymore, but back in the early days, we let some in. That’s how Val got so powerful. She didn’t even have to convince people to come to her territory after a while. They were begging to get in.”
His mom was going to love that when he told her. She often joked about forming a girl gang like the ones she’d read about in books when she was a teen. She’d probably secretly be jealous.
Anna glanced at something behind him, and he turned to see Maisie approaching. Beto had gone back to the Vals who were guarding him.
“Making friends, I see,” she said with a smile.
“They were explaining why East Spencer is terrible,” he said.
“And Lennon was telling us about getting dropped in the Q,” Jessa said.
He’d actually told the story twice since Maisie went to talk to Beto. The first time to Val, who had listened quietly and then disappeared.
Maisie’s hand rested lightly on the back of his head, in his hair, and he took in a sharp, quick breath. Her fingers brushed the nape of his neck and then landed on his shoulder.
He really wished they were alone. He might have turned around and kissed her right then.
“How’s your head?” she asked.
“Better. They gave me a painkiller,” he said, gesturing to Anna. “I think it’s starting to kick in.”
“You took pills from your kidnappers?” she asked, amused.
“I took one first,” Anna said, before he could. “And the Vals have never poisoned anyone, thank you very much.” She looked at Jessa. “Have we?”
“I don’t think so. Not Val’s style.”
Val emerged from the back of the building, beckoning at them. “Maisie, Lennon, I need a minute.”
He stood and fell into step beside Maisie. “What was that about, with Beto?” he asked quietly.
“Just making a deal,” she said.
He tried to ignore the twinge of jealousy in his chest. The two clearly had history, and the way they’d looked at each other was sort of…well, they were fond of each other. Lennon wondered just how much.
It wasn’t like it mattered, though. He was still on track to be out of here in less than eighteen hours. It would be years before he saw Maisie again, if ever. He wasn’t sure he’d even be able to communicate with her at all once he got back.
What a depressing thought. He kept his gaze on his feet as he walked.
Val was back at her desk, waiting for them.
“I’m sorry about him,” Maisie said. “Declan. I had no idea what he was planning, but I know you lost some people.”
“We did. It’s safe to say that Declan Myers is on my forever shit list.” She ran a hand down her face. “We need to figure out what to do with you two.”
“I have a proposition,” Maisie said.
“Does it have anything to do with that long conversation you were having with one of the men who killed my girls?” Val asked.
“He swears he didn’t know about Declan getting those explosives. He thought they were just here for me and Lennon.”
Val looked skeptical.
“He’s Beto Lopez, Dr. Lopez’s son.”
Val lifted her eyebrows but said nothing.
“I have a contact in Northgate who’s going to help us get to those shipments,” Maisie said. “If you let us go, and let us cross your northern border, we can get it and I’ll drop Lennon at the exit gate. Then we’ll go back and never bother you again.”
Val squinted at her. “There are so many holes in that plan that I don’t know where to start.”
“I know it’s not perfect, but we’re running out of time and—”
“It’s certainly not perfect,” Val said with a snort. She pointed at Lennon. “And you’re only running out of time because of this guy. You’re really that committed to getting him out of here?”
“I promised,” Maisie said softly.
The words made Lennon’s chest squeeze. He brushed his hand against hers.
“And what’s it going to look like, if we keep him here against his will?” Maisie continued. “If we can’t transport him thirty miles in three days? Three days! The people on the other side of the wall are already talking about killing us all. If he doesn’t show up when the CDC gave us a way to get him out, we’re never going to recover. We might all be dead.”
Val sighed heavily. “You’re not wrong about that. I keep up with the news out there best I can, but it’s scary as hell at times. Sometimes I wish I didn’t know what they were saying. Seems easier not to know.”
“It was definitely easier,” Maisie said, a bit wearily. Lennon felt a stab of guilt. He could have just not told her.
“But it’s better to know,” she continued. “We can’t make things better if we don’t know.”
Val considered this for a moment. “And how does Beto factor into this?”
“He agreed that if I can get the shipment, he’ll help me get it back south, and he thinks he can convince most of the family members who were backing Declan to abandon him. He doesn’t even have enough people for a full-scale assault now; he can’t afford to lose more.”
“You need more than that,” Val said. “You need reassurances that this won’t keep happening. You need a plan for the future.”
Maisie threw her hands up. “I wish I had one, but what I have right now are people who desperately need the medical supplies in that shipment. And a guy on a deadline.” She gestured in Lennon’s direction.
Guilt crawled up his spine. He hadn’t really considered the mountain of problems that he was leaving for Maisie. Was she even going to be able to get back to the south? And even if she did make it back, she was returning to a south in turmoil. Dr. Lopez was dead and everyone was making a play for his spot.
Val leaned back, gesturing at the girl in the doorway. “Go get Beto Lopez for me, will ya? Bring him here.”
The girl nodded and disappeared.
Val scratched her cheek. “He should be here if you two are making big plans together.”
The girl returned a moment later with Beto. She unlocked his handcuffs before walking back to the doorway. He shook out his hands.
“Beto, Maisie has been telling me about your agreement,” Val said. “And I was just about to tell her how friendly Dr. Lopez and I were.”
Beto nodded. “I know.”
Maisie looked at him quickly. “What?”
“We worked together,” Val said. “Made life easier for each other.”
“You did?” Maisie asked.
“I helped ensure those shipments made it down south. I negotiated with Jonathan in Northgate. Part of the reason that the shipments aren’t making it anymore is because they’ve started playing hardball. They’re…well, I don’t know what’s going on up there, but it’s something. They may also be dealing with some mutiny.” She tapped her fingers on her desk. “Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal.”
Maisie perked up. “I’m listening.”
“First off, I will have one condition if I’m going to help you.” Val pointed at Maisie. “I want her in charge of the south.”
MAISIE
MAISIE BLINKED. “YOU want me in charge of the south?”
“Not immediately, but yes. Soon. It’s what your father and Dr. Lopez had planned.” Val walked around to the front of her desk and leaned against it. “A Lopez would take over as head of the family, and Maisie would run the day-to-day, like her father did. That was always the plan, according to what Franco told me.”
Maisie looked over at Beto. “Did he tell you this?”
“No.” Beto frowned.
“You told your father you didn’t want the responsibility of running the south,” Val said.
“Yeah, but that was before…” He trailed off, swallowing.
“Before you realized Declan was going to take it from you? This was never going to be an easy transition, son. Maisie’s a good choice. It won’t ruffle feathers.”
“It won’t?” She was increasingly baffled.
“Well, you’ll never please everyone. But according to Dr. Lopez, you have strong relationships in the community.”
“You just want her because you think you can control her,” Beto said. “You make a deal and basically run the south. Sounds like you’ve already taken West Spencer.”
“I haven’t taken anything, son. And I’m not taking the south. I’m helping the south. The men of the Lopez family could stand to learn the difference.”
Beto sighed, and then looked at Maisie. “Dad did tell me once that he was having you out collecting for the past few years because he wanted you to build strong relationships with people. Everyone knows that he was grooming you for something.”
“For something when I was older, maybe,” she protested. “Everyone said I was too young last year, when Dad died.”
“Maisie, let me give you a tip,” Val said. “You will never be old enough for them. You will always be too young, or too inexperienced, or too much of a woman. You can either let them keep pushing you aside, or you can take this opportunity and tell them all to deal with it.”
She took in a slow breath. Declan had taken it, back when her father died. He’d swooped in and grabbed his spot before the body was cold. He’d acted like he deserved it, and maybe part of her had agreed.
He wasn’t even that much older than her. And now that she thought about it, she’d been old enough to be his girlfriend, but not old enough for his job? Why hadn’t that seemed like a load of crap at the time?
Maybe because she’d heard her father’s voice in the back of her head, telling her that no one would respect her if she didn’t toughen up. Declan was so much like her father—willing to kill and destroy people to get things done. It had seemed like the only way to be a leader, at the time.
“And I’m not saying that you take your father’s place immediately,” Val continued. “But I want Declan gone, and for you to start working with the Lopezes to take that spot. Perhaps they can partner you with someone? I’ll expect an update, if you agree, and assurances that you aren’t being pushed out.”
“Beto has a point,” she said, meeting Val’s gaze. “If you think that putting me in charge means you run the south, you’re wrong. Just so you know that.”
A smile twitched at her lips. “Understood.”
“What do you want in return?” Maisie asked.
“I want to continue to work with the south, just like I did with Dr. Lopez. I’ll expect assistance when we really need it, and you can count on the same from me. Also, Dr. Lopez was very generous in sharing his research and techniques to help us save lives up here, and I want that to continue. We’re not heavy on medical personnel in this territory.”
She nodded. “That sounds fair. I—I can try. To be the one to lead the south.”
“I’ll need more than try.”
“I’ll do it.” She tried to sound confident. She didn’t even think this was something she could promise. There was no guarantee that the family would accept her, even if it had been Dr. Lopez’s plan.
“All right.” Val laced her fingers together. “Tell me, who is this source you have?”
“We don’t know his name. But he’s been feeding some information to one of my friends. He gave me some tips on making it into your territory and into Northgate. And he’s meeting us once we get there.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Really.”
“Yeah.”
“Could be a trap.”
“Could be, though I don’t know for what purpose. We only asked about the shipment, so he may not even know about Lennon. If he does want Lennon…” She winced.
“I’m notoriously easy to kidnap,” he said.
Val gave him an amused look. “If the source has been feeding you information for a long time, then I’m cautiously optimistic. Like I said, a lot of mutiny. I’d definitely like to know who has gone as far as reaching out to the south, though. That’s some high-level betrayal right there.”
She paused, considering for a moment. “Here’s my offer. I’ll send two of my girls with you. They’ll help you procure the shipment. They get to meet the source.”
“I’ll need to have my friend run that by him first.”
Val waved her hand. “Fine. Once you’re back here with the shipment, I can get you safely back south.”
“Seriously?” Maisie said.
“Yes. I control one of the roads in West Spencer. The west is weak; they need my protection. They’ll look the other way.”
“That would be amazing.”
“And I want you to keep your word about calling off this nonsense,” she said to Beto. “I don’t care how you get Declan under control; just do it.”
He nodded.
“If this falls apart, and Declan takes over the south, trust me when I say you will all regret it. I don’t want to partner with Arthur and the east to get the south under control, but I will do it if I have to. And you won’t like it.”
Maisie and Beto exchanged a nervous glance.
“We won’t let that happen,” she said.
“Good.” Val clapped her hands together. “Let’s do this, then.”
