Chapter 330

Blythe stares down at his chest for a moment, appalled, before he whips his handsome face back up to mine. “What the fuck, Ari!?” he shouts, his teeth lengthening to dangerous points. I take a step back, leveling the gun at his face, knowing a paintball placed there will cause enough pain to give me a head start if I need to run.

“I told you I didn’t want to work with you,” I say, my voice cold. “You should listen to soldiers who tell you, several times, that they’re not on your side.”

“You’ve completely fucked me over here!” he shouts, advancing a step and forcing me back another. “This affects my command record! This is going to –“

“Yeah, well, you fucked me over too,” I snarl, showing my own teeth and tensing my hand on the gun, letting him see me do it – that I am ready to shoot and I’m close enough to snap his long, pretty nose or give him a black eye. “But you’re in good company – so don’t take it too personally. And now if you don’t mind, I have to go fuck over everyone else who’s pissing me off today.”

Blythe growls, his teeth still bared, but he stands straighter, clearly not continuing his advance. I drop the gun, just an inch.

“I wasn’t trying to piss you off,” he says, looking me dead in the eyes. “I wanted…I wanted to fucking get to know you, Clark.”

“You could have just come to our breakfast table, Blythe,” I say quietly, cold. “We’re there every day.”

He scoffs. “Yeah, just waltz up to Rafe and Jesse Sinclair’s table and ask to sit down?”

“Luca Grant did it,” I say, perfectly quiet. “So did McClintock.” I don’t bother to mention that I invited him that first time. “Didn’t have to pull a power move and yank me away from my team just to get my attention.”

I sigh and drop my gun completely, starting to turn to survey the landscape, knowing I have to get started.

“It’s not that simple,” Blythe snaps. “Rafe and Jesse have already written me off – McClintock is a closed book – Juniper said that –“

“Juniper,” I snap, turning back to him with a frown. “What the fuck does Juniper have to do with this?”

He goes a bit still, staring at me, and I realize that he didn’t say her name on purpose. His mouth falls open as he struggles for an explanation that doesn’t come.

“Stay the fuck away from Juniper Sinclair,” I snarl, storming back to him and shoving the gun right in his face. “Do you hear me!?”

“Ari!” he gasps, shoving the gun away. But I’ve already got the another one in my left hand snapping that up into his face next, my finger on the trigger.

“Away. From. Her.” I snarl. But then I drop my gun, seeing his face go pale, that he realized he fucked up. “And don’t think that I’m not telling Rafe that you had her name in your mouth. This is not the end of this. Now get the fuck out of here – you’re dead, the game’s over, these are my supplies now.”

Blythe groans but turns away from me, storming back beyond our base to the check point there where he can receive further instructions for how to reach a helicopter and return to school. But as he walks away I quietly add him to my mental shit list and then move on from it, knowing that I have much, much more to do.

And that there are people probably moving for me right now.

HEY JACKS! I shout in my head, as loud and hard as I can, even as I start gathering up the fancy equipment Blythe left behind – a heat senser, an assault rifle, and even a little hand-held drone that could be used to scope out the landscape ahead. I attach the sensor and the drone to my belt and then spread the map out on the ground before me.

Jackson’s response takes a moment but when it comes into my mind, faint and echoing, I can tell he’s freaked. Ari! Where are you!? I’m coming now – what’s wrong –

No, no, I respond, easier now. Sorry – I only shouted because I wanted you to hear me.

The response is at first only a frustrated snarl. You’re all right?

Yup! I respond, cheerful but clipped. Hey, which of these little X’s on the map is you?

I can almost feel him sigh as he replies. I’m not supposed to tell you that. You’re the enemy.

Oh shut up and spill, I say, grinning, adoring him even from afar and letting him feel every bit of it.

Jackson sighs again and then tells me where he is. I grin when I see that it’s not the furthest X from me; indeed, that it’s only a mile or two away.

Thanks, puppy, you’re the best, I say mentally to my mate, sending the impression of a quick kiss down the bond too.

And then I get to my feet, heft the big assault gun into my hands, and start jogging into the woods.

About thirty minutes later, panting slightly and begrudgingly grateful for Rafe and Jesse dragging me out for a run every morning for the past few months, I come within sight of Jackson’s camp.

I call the little drone back to me with the handheld base, grinning as it lands in my hand like a bird and reattaching it to my belt. “Thank you!” I murmur to it. “I’m asking for one of you for my birthday.”

It really was incredibly useful to be able to send the little drone out ahead of me to scope – it’s small and quiet enough to go mostly unnoticed and it allowed me to see a whole pack of what I assume were Wright’s soldiers running straight for my base, probably intent on overwhelming Blythe and I from the start.

But, since I knew their path and where they were heading, I just headed slightly west and stayed out of their way, keeping an eye on them with the little drone and continuing my trek north while they headed towards my empty camp.

I take a deep breath and start up the slight hill towards Jackson’s camp, doing nothing to hide the sounds of my approach or otherwise disguise myself. Instead, I pull a little white napkin out of my pocket – one I stole from our breakfast tray this morning – and start waving it over my head.

I see the flurry of activity that breaks out in Jackson’s camp as soon as I’m spotted and can’t keep the little smirk from my mouth as I approach.

“Halt!” comes a voice from above, and I turn my gaze on a couple of Cadets peering over the edge of a hill at me. “Stay there!”

“I’m not going to shoot!” I call out, still waving the little flag. It’s a lie, but…well. If they fall for it, that’s their problem.

“Just stay there!”

I do as I’m told, dropping my arm and waiting, grateful that they didn’t shoot me on sight.

But if I know my mate, they’re under distinct orders not to.

Jackson appears a moment later, his huge form cresting the hill and standing on top of it, glaring down at me like he’s already worried that what I’m going to say and do next is going to ruin all of his plans.

Which it is.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he calls.

“I come bearing gifts!” I say, holding out the gigantic assault rifle.

Jackson’s eyebrows go up, liking that one. “Where’s Blythe?”

“He died,” I say, heaving a big dramatic sigh and twisting my lips like I’m sorry about it.

Jackson sighs again but orders his troops not to shoot and waves me forward.

I grin, setting forward at a jog and heading directly into the camp.

Unable to hide their curiosity, the soldiers in Jackson’s camp peer at me from their assigned locations. Jesse gasps, immediately striding forward, and I hear Tony give a whoop as he likewise rushes over.

“Hey!” Tony says, dashing in and wrapping me in a hug just as Jacks opens his mouth – probably to scold me.

“Hi, I brought you a present!” I say, hugging him and then detaching the little drone from my belt and pressing it into his hands. “It’s super cool, it –“

“Ari,” Jesse growls, “You can’t just –“

“And this is for you!” I push the assault rifle at my cousin, making his mouth form into a little stunned “o” of delight as he takes it and begins his inspection.

“You can’t just abandon your team and join ours, Clark,” Jackson says, his voice dark. “You can’t just give us your supplies.”

“Well, then say you captured them or something,” I say, giving a shrug and starting to unsling my paintball rifle and drop the guns from my hips and thighs. Jesse’s eyes go wide when he sees just how much firepower I’m currently carrying.

“Ari,” Jackson sighs, dragging a hand down his face, “you can’t just break all the rules because you’re –“

“Yes, Jacks,” I say, deliberately interrupting him and looking him hard in the eyes. “I can.”

Everyone goes a bit still as I palm my last handgun – the same one I used to kill Blythe – and raise it to point at Jackson’s chest next.

“What do you say?” I ask, starting to grin, a bit wicked. Jackson’s face goes slack as Tony’s bursts into a smile. Jesse just looks between us, shocked and confused. “Want to blow off this stupid game with me? Go get some sun?”

Tony bursts into laughter as Jackson stares at me for a long moment.

Then my mate’s face breaks into a wide smile. “Passing command to you, Sinclair,” Jackson murmurs, keeping his eyes on me and taking his earpiece off, holding it out to Jesse.

“W-what!?” Jesse gasps, staring at him, still not getting it.

But the sound of my gun breaks the stillness of the fort. Jackson doesn’t even take a step back, just looks down at the pink splotch on his front before looking up at me, proud and pleased and a little bit vicious. “Come on, kid,” he murmurs, holding out a hand to me. “Let’s bail.”