Read Online Liberation (I Am Margaret Book 3) by Corinna Turner - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Corinna Turner
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crash out. So far, so good.
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6
SCHOOLBOYS IN A SWEET SHOP
All three White Waters made such good speed that by the time Airmail and ourselves pulled up to the base of the Citadel, Stamp and Letter were coming down the ramp, unloaded already.
“We’re taking these big babies to their kennels.” Stamp spoke on the earpiece, rather than wind down his window and get a cab full of dust. “Envelope and Frank are being unloaded now. If you go and wait halfway up the ramp, you can get in there as soon as they come out. Eduardo thinks we can get it all unloaded now if we don’t waste a second.”
On they drove. Twenty of the closer ruined houses were each now home to a truck, though we’d only needed six of them for this mission.
The engine bellowed as we crawled upwards. We were heavily laden. Only minutes later Envelope and Frank came through the Citadel gates, wheel arches noticeably higher. There must be many willing hands inside.
Folding our mirrors in, we inched carefully through the narrow arch behind Airmail and the willing hands practically swamped us. With eight people to a crate, each was slid quickly down a board laid from tailgate to ground and borne off into the Administrative block. Bane and I could hardly get to help and our driver was told to stay in the cab.
“Clear!” Eduardo banged on the truck side as the tailgate was flipped up and latched. “Get this thing out of here, double quick.”
The satellite was due in about five minutes... The trucks inched back through the arch and tore off down the hill, bouncing jauntily on their unburdened springs. The last crate vanished inside and Eduardo herded everyone after it.
“Clear the square, looks like a carnival out here. Inside, everyone… Team members only to the main conference room.”
Ah yes, time to open the goodies. Bane made to head that way, but... A tired-looking figure sat at the base of the cathedral steps with two sticks resting in the crook of his arm.
“Bane…” I nodded to the steps. “Let’s get Jon.”
“Are you actually planning on getting better any time soon, mate?” demanded Bane, heading that way. “’Cause you look worse every time I see you.”
“Ha ha,” said Jon wearily. “I’ll leave you with those two for a couple of days and see what you look like, shall I?”
“That bad?” I said sympathetically.
“Oh yes. And the worst thing is I have to keep pretending I don’t want an arm, but I really do. Could I have an arm, please?”
We took his arms and heaved him to his feet.
“Ah, thanks.”
“So where are the terrible two?” asked Bane.
“Gone.”
“Already?”
“Yeah, as soon as they heard the mission was a complete success, they looked at the Sat chart and the next safe slot’s not until late tonight, so they were off to the harbour at once to catch this one. Asked me to say, ‘we did it for Luciano so don’t thank us,’ and ‘no, thank you, we don’t want any of the toy guns’. Which I’ve now said. So let’s forget about them.”
A moment of silence and he added abruptly, “Praise the Lord, I’m so glad you’re back safe.” Flung his arms around us each in turn and hugged us, burying his face in my hair for slightly too long. Bane pretended not to notice. Jon looked that washed out.
Jon let go of me at last and, as we headed on across the square, I was struck by a strange realisation... if someone came up to me right now and told me my parents had been killed, I’d be terribly upset, but if something happened to Bane or Jon, I’d be devastated. They’d become my immediate family. My… pack.
“So how was it, Margo?” Jon dragged me from chewing on this guilt-inducing truth. “Were you okay?”
After all the waterworks in the last month... fair enough question.
“Fine, actually. I’m not saying actually getting on the boat wasn’t one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, but… once I was on it… certainly once it
***+***
6
SCHOOLBOYS IN A SWEET SHOP
All three White Waters made such good speed that by the time Airmail and ourselves pulled up to the base of the Citadel, Stamp and Letter were coming down the ramp, unloaded already.
“We’re taking these big babies to their kennels.” Stamp spoke on the earpiece, rather than wind down his window and get a cab full of dust. “Envelope and Frank are being unloaded now. If you go and wait halfway up the ramp, you can get in there as soon as they come out. Eduardo thinks we can get it all unloaded now if we don’t waste a second.”
On they drove. Twenty of the closer ruined houses were each now home to a truck, though we’d only needed six of them for this mission.
The engine bellowed as we crawled upwards. We were heavily laden. Only minutes later Envelope and Frank came through the Citadel gates, wheel arches noticeably higher. There must be many willing hands inside.
Folding our mirrors in, we inched carefully through the narrow arch behind Airmail and the willing hands practically swamped us. With eight people to a crate, each was slid quickly down a board laid from tailgate to ground and borne off into the Administrative block. Bane and I could hardly get to help and our driver was told to stay in the cab.
“Clear!” Eduardo banged on the truck side as the tailgate was flipped up and latched. “Get this thing out of here, double quick.”
The satellite was due in about five minutes... The trucks inched back through the arch and tore off down the hill, bouncing jauntily on their unburdened springs. The last crate vanished inside and Eduardo herded everyone after it.
“Clear the square, looks like a carnival out here. Inside, everyone… Team members only to the main conference room.”
Ah yes, time to open the goodies. Bane made to head that way, but... A tired-looking figure sat at the base of the cathedral steps with two sticks resting in the crook of his arm.
“Bane…” I nodded to the steps. “Let’s get Jon.”
“Are you actually planning on getting better any time soon, mate?” demanded Bane, heading that way. “’Cause you look worse every time I see you.”
“Ha ha,” said Jon wearily. “I’ll leave you with those two for a couple of days and see what you look like, shall I?”
“That bad?” I said sympathetically.
“Oh yes. And the worst thing is I have to keep pretending I don’t want an arm, but I really do. Could I have an arm, please?”
We took his arms and heaved him to his feet.
“Ah, thanks.”
“So where are the terrible two?” asked Bane.
“Gone.”
“Already?”
“Yeah, as soon as they heard the mission was a complete success, they looked at the Sat chart and the next safe slot’s not until late tonight, so they were off to the harbour at once to catch this one. Asked me to say, ‘we did it for Luciano so don’t thank us,’ and ‘no, thank you, we don’t want any of the toy guns’. Which I’ve now said. So let’s forget about them.”
A moment of silence and he added abruptly, “Praise the Lord, I’m so glad you’re back safe.” Flung his arms around us each in turn and hugged us, burying his face in my hair for slightly too long. Bane pretended not to notice. Jon looked that washed out.
Jon let go of me at last and, as we headed on across the square, I was struck by a strange realisation... if someone came up to me right now and told me my parents had been killed, I’d be terribly upset, but if something happened to Bane or Jon, I’d be devastated. They’d become my immediate family. My… pack.
“So how was it, Margo?” Jon dragged me from chewing on this guilt-inducing truth. “Were you okay?”
After all the waterworks in the last month... fair enough question.
“Fine, actually. I’m not saying actually getting on the boat wasn’t one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, but… once I was on it… certainly once it
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