Page 13 of Silver Elite

I swallow my cry of distress when the officer uses his free hand to grab Uncle Jim by a hunk of his fair shoulder-length hair. He shoves Jim’s head backward and spits out some words, sneering. There’s familiarity in the officer’s cold eyes. His face, his body language…it all screams,I know who you are.

My hands shake as I link with Jim again.

“Do they know you’re Julian Ash?”

“Yes.”

That’s the last thing he says before they throw him into the back of a vehicle and drive away.

Chapter 3

“Tana! They took Jim.”

For the first time all morning, she answers.

“Who?”She sounds horrified.

“Command. Why didn’t you warn us?”

Tana is the first line of defense between us and the Command, since no one can get to the ranch without first passing through Hamlett, where every unit must stop to check in with our controller. That’s how we’ve been able to keep Jim under the radar all these years. A projector, Tana has saved my uncle’s hide more than once. Whenever soldiers arrive in the village, she projects their faces for us, and if Jim has even a trace of recognition, he rides into the mountains while I ruefully inform the inspecting soldiers that my uncle is out with the herd and won’t be back till morning. The system’s worked well for us. Until now.

“I was asleep. Never been so hungover in my life. And anyway, it didn’t even occur to me there might be an inspection on a weekend.”

Because it wasn’t an inspection. They came to the ranch for the sole purpose of watching me shoot. Because I was stupid enough to fire my rifle in front of a soldier.

This is all my fault.

“They’re gone now, but they left one guy behind. Waiting for me, I guess.”

“You can’t go back there.”

“No shit. I’m going to make my way to you. I’ll use the tunnel.”

“I’ll tell my father.”

I cut the link and hop back in the saddle. My brisk ride to the lean-to in the northern pass is fueled by sheer panic. Luckily, I have no need to return to the house. Uncle Jim and I are drowning in contingency plans.

At the back of the wooden lean-to is a trapdoor, which I crank open to reveal the metal ramp below. I crouch and slide my way down the ramp toward the dusty corner where we stashed the bike. The crawl space isn’t much taller than the motorcycle, so I’m stuck in that crouched position as I roll it up the ramp, along with a canvas go-bag. I check the bike’s solar battery to ensure it has a charge. My bag contains extras in case I need them.

Outside, I warily study the approaching clouds, thick and gray. Hopefully not an omen of things to come. I tear my gaze off the darkening sky and run my hand over Kelley’s coarse mane.

“Go home, girl.”

I smack her on the rump, and off she goes. She knows her way back. I just pray the soldier stationed down there isn’t trigger-happy. If he kills my beloved mare, I’m going to hunt him down, put a bullet in his skull, and then hunt his ghost down, too.

I take the back roads to the village, stashing the bike in a metal shed behind a small brick home whose owners died a couple of years back. The house hasn’t been assigned to anyone else yet, so it’s stood abandoned ever since. The shed is a network drop location, conveniently located less than fifty yards from the edge of the forest.

I’m about to exit the shed when I hear it. A low, mechanical buzz, like the vibration of a hummingbird’s wings, if those wings were metal.

Surveillance drone.

Heart pounding, I duck inside and plaster myself against the wall. The surveillance cameras in the wards are omnipresent, their unblinking gaze a reminder of the Company’s ever-watchful eye. Fromthe corner of my own eye, I catch the shadowy movements of the drone as it hovers near the dirty window at the back of the shed. It’s rare to see a drone this close to Hamlett. We’re a small, inconsequential village. Hardly worthy of attention.

Until now, I suppose. Until the infamous Julian Ash was discovered to be hiding out in this small, inconsequential village.

Thanks to me.

I ignore the wild hammering of my pulse and wait until I can no longer hear the drone. Then I take a tentative step, peering out the door. When I glimpse the gray blur in the sky, buzzing away in the opposite direction, I nearly keel over with relief.

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