Page 5 of Freedom Fighters
She shucked off her backpack and put it on theground next to her sleeping bag.
Sleeping on hard ground was another thing she never thought she would do. Now, though, her measure of a cozy bed was a sleeping bag for warmth when she needed it, a mosquito net and something to keep off the rain. She didn’t have the net yet, although sleeping close to the fire kept most of the mosquitos away. Bliss was relative.
It wasn’t home, just like everywhereshe had lived for ten years wasn’t home. Even the apartment in Boston she had rented for over five years while completing her degree hadn’t been home. The air had been too cool and crisp, the sun too weak and the accents she heard all day too foreign. TooEnglish.
For now, though, this patch of concrete, marked out by her sleeping back, was her space.
She pulled off her jacket with some troubleand hung it over a brick projecting out of the wall above her gear. She untucked her shirt from her jeans and flapped it to get it to unstick from her body.
The fire beckoned.
Before she could reach the flames, Garrett intercepted her. He’d removed the hat, which made his gray eyes stand out and the anger in them more evident.
“A word,” he said and headed for the far corner of the ruins. Daylightwas running out fast and the corners were full of shadows. No one lingered there when the fire was available for all.
Carmen sighed and followed him to the private corner. “What have I done now?”
He pulled her into the corner, his fingers over her wrist. “Keep your voice down.”
He’d removed the poncho. It would have been as sodden as her jacket. The shirt he wore beneath was a button-throughcotton garment that stuck to his body as much as hers did.
The open collar showed the start of more scars on his chest. Carmen always wondered how far the scars descended, when she saw them. There was no way she would ever ask, though. Garrett didn’t welcome personal questions.
“Did you check that the electronics survived the downpour?” he demanded.
She lifted her chin to look him in the eye.Garrett was taller than her, which made him very tall. “Of course. They’re fine. The backpack is water proof.”
“Waterresistant,” he corrected. “That doesn’t mean moisture can’t leak in.” He tried to push his hair away from his face, only it was soaked and didn’t cooperate. He dropped his hand with an impatient gesture. “We risked exposing ourselves in town because you insisted we set up an Internetconnection. I hope you think it was worth it.”
“It will be,” she said. “We can’t go on shooting random Insurrectos and hijacking trains. It’s not getting us anywhere. We need a strategy, one that will align with whatever the Loyalists have planned. For that, we need to talk to them.”
Garrett shook his head. “The Internet is the most insecure network in the world. Anyone can use it. IP addressescan be figured out by a three-year-old.”
“It’s not perfect,” Carmen said. “But it works and there’s no other alternative.” She raised her brow. “Unless you’ve got a secure, untraceable satellite phone stashed somewhere you haven’t told me.”
From closer to the fire, loud metallic banging sounded. Angelo and Efraín and the others crouched around the metal box. Ledo had a chisel and hammer andwas working at the locks.
Garrett ignored Carmen’s question. “We wasted a whole day on this computer business. Just make sure it all works. Check with Abbot Sergio to see if they will let you charge the battery with their current. And another thing…” He glanced around to see who was listening. “Tell your boyfriend to stop feeling you up when we’re working.”
Carmen’s mouth dropped open in surprise.Then fury wiped away the surprise. “Are you implying that either of us was unprofessional?”
“Not you. You’re the cold-hearted princess. I saw Angelo’s hand on your shoulder. I won’t have it, Carmen. Not on my unit.”
“Oh, a hand on my shoulder,” she said. “That threatens the security of the nation.”
“It’s a weakness,” Garrett said. “While he’s thinking about you, he’s not thinking about securityand neither are you.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Garrett stepped close to her and Carmen drew in a breath, surprised. He looked down at her. “He was this close.” His voice was soft. “Look me in the eye and tell me what you see in your peripheral vision.”
She glared, pissed as hell. She couldn’t believe Garrett was micro-managing her like this.
“No, lock gazes with me,” Garrett demanded. “I’m tryingto demonstrate something, so stop steaming andlook.”
Carmen looked. She kept her gaze on his gray eyes, defiant. “I can see movement from my right. The fire flickering.” The fire she wanted to be standing next to.
“What’s behind me?” Garrett demanded.
