Champion (Legend 3)

I wish Day were with me. He’d know instantly the best way to travel unseen through these streets. For a second I contemplate calling him, but for him to get here in time would be too much of a stretch.

Instead, I follow Commander Jameson. I tail her for a good four blocks, until we enter a strip of Ruby that borders part of Batalla, where two or three pyramid airship bases sit along the street. She makes a turn again. I hurry to turn with her—but by the time I look down the street, she’s gone. Perhaps she knew someone was following her; after all, Commander Jameson is much more experienced in this sort of tracking than I am. I look to the roofs.

Anden’s voice crackles in my earpiece. “We lost her,” he confirms. “I’ve put out a silent alert to the troops there to search for her and report immediately back. She couldn’t have gone far.”

“That’s true,” I agree, but my shoulders sag. She’d disappeared without a trace. Who had she been talking to on her mike? My eyes scan the street, trying to figure out what she must have come here for. Maybe she’s scouting. The thought unnerves me.

“I’m heading back,” I finally whisper into my own mike. “If my suspicions are correct, then we might have—”

A whoosh of air—a blinding spark—something explodes before my eyes. I flinch and throw myself instinctively to the ground behind a nearby trash bin. What was that?

A bullet. I look to the wall where it hit. A small chunk of brick is missing. Someone tried to shoot me. My sudden turn to go back the way I came must have been the only thing that saved my life. I start placing another frantic call to Anden. Blood rushes through my ears like a tidal wave of noise, blocking out logic and allowing the panic in. Another bullet sparks against the metal of the trash bin. There’s no question now that I’m under attack.

I click the call off. Where is Commander Jameson shooting from? Are there others with her? Colonies troops? Republic soldiers turned traitorous? I don’t know. I can’t tell. I can’t hear and I can’t see—

Through my rising panic, Metias’s voice materializes. Stay calm, Junebug. Logic will save you. Focus, think, act.

I close my eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath, and allow myself a second to still my mind, to concentrate on my brother’s voice. This is no time to fall apart. I have never let emotions get the best of me, and I’m not about to start now. Think, June. Don’t be stupid. After over a year of trauma, after months and months of political bargaining, after days of war and death, I am starting to suspect everything and everyone. This is how the Colonies could tear us apart . . . not with their allies or weapons, but with their propaganda. With fear and desperation.

My panic clears. Logic sweeps back in.

First, I yank my own gun out of its holster. Then I make an exaggerated gesture, like I’m about to dart out from behind the trash bin. Instead, I stay put—but my feint is enough to provoke another bullet. Spark! It ricochets off the brick wall that my back is pressed up against. Instantly I glance at the mark it leaves and pinpoint where it might have come from. (Not from the roofs—the angle isn’t wide enough. Four, maybe five floors up. Not the building directly across from me, but the one right next to it.) I look over to the windows lining those floors. Several are open. At first I want to aim right back at those windows—but then I remind myself that I might hit someone unintentionally. Instead, I study the building. It looks like either a broadcast station or a military hall—it’s close enough to the air bases that I wonder whether it’s where the airships are being monitored from.

What is she up to that involves the air bases? Are the Colonies planning a surprise attack here?

I click my mike back on. “Anden,” I whisper after I input his code. “Get me out of here. Use my gun’s tracking.”

But my call has no time to go through. A split second later, another bullet cracks right above my head—this time I flinch and flatten myself underneath the trash bin. When I open my eyes, I find myself staring straight into the cold eyes of Commander Jameson.

She grabs for my wrist.

I bolt out from under the trash bin before she can reach me. I twist around to aim my gun at her, but she’s already darted away. Her own gun’s raised. Right away I can tell that she’s not aiming to kill. Why? The question runs through my mind at lightning speed. Because the Colonies need me alive—because they need me to bargain with.

She fires; I roll on the ground. A bullet misses my leg by inches. I hop onto my feet and aim at her again—this time I fire. I miss her by a hair. She ducks behind the trash bin. At the same time I try to put a call through again. I succeed. “Anden,” I gasp into the mike as I turn tail and run. “Get me out!”

“Already on our way,” Anden replies. I sprint around a corner right as I hear another shot fired behind me. It’s the last one. Right on schedule, a jeep races toward me and screeches to a halt several feet away from me. A pair of soldiers pours out, shielding me while two others run out to the street toward Commander Jameson. I already know it’s too late to catch her, though—she must’ve made a run for it too. It’s all over as quickly as it began. I hop into the jeep with the soldiers’ help, then collapse against the seat as we speed away. Adrenaline washes through me. My entire body trembles uncontrollably.

“Are you all right?” one of the soldiers asks, but his voice sounds far away. All I can think about is what the encounter meant. Commander Jameson had known I would wait at that block for my jeep; she must have lured me out in an attempt to capture me. Her presence at the airship bases was no coincidence. She’s feeding information to the Colonies about our rotations and locations here. There are probably other Colonies soldiers hiding amongst us too—Commander Jameson is a wanted fugitive. She can’t move around this easily without help. And with her experience, she could probably hold off a manhunt for her on these streets long enough for the Colonies to arrive. For the Colonies to arrive. They’ve targeted their next city, and it’s going to be us.