We slide into a booth, placing the rifles we took from the High Hope guards next to us. I order thestraight-to-your-hips pancakesand thefishy-looking scrambled eggs.
“Is this a toy?” an old man asks from a nearby booth, pointing at Timothy.
“No,” River says. “He’s my oldest friend.”
The man frowns. “Well, you can be friends with a toy, I suppose.”
“He’s not a toy. He was my nanny.”
The man turns back to his food. “Now you’re just yanking my chain.”
When we get our orders, I try not to eat too fast, but everything tastes delicious. River doesn’t eat much, but at least he has more appetite than he had in days. When I finish eating,we walk outside to where Hank is selling his products next to a wooden shed. It’s still early, so he’s only now setting up his racks of clothes. He’s as big as I remembered, his beard reaching below his broad chest. He could be forty or sixty—it’s hard to tell.
He nods as we approach, and when he sees Timothy, his eyes grow wide. “What do we have here?”
Timothy introduces himself, and Hank leans down to shake one of his hands. “I have many questions for you, sir.”
“And I’ll be delighted to answer, but first, we need to speak with Unity. Can you help us?”
“You guys know the frequency?”
“Yes,” I say, though I don’t say it out loud since it’s classified.
Hank nods. “Follow me.”
Once we’re inside the crammed shed, Hank asks River, “You okay? Seems like you’re missing someone.”
“The Raiders took my Josh, but I’m taking him back.”
Hank sighs and shakes his head. “Fucking Raiders. You heard about their leader and those games in his arena? Damn insanity.”
“I’m going to kill him,” River says, sounding as though the matter is settled.
“That’s good to hear.” Hank places a dusty radio transceiver on the table. It seems like old military equipment. He connects it to a power source, and the device comes to life. I wait for Hank to give us privacy, then I sit on a creaking chair and turn the dial until I find the Hive’s frequency.
“This is Finn from Unity,” I say. “The line is secured. Is anyone there?”
We get static before we hear, “This is Unity. Where are you calling from, Finn?”
I think I recognize the one speaking, but I don’t remember his name. “I’m not sure about my location, but I’m no longer in High Hope. I need to speak with Dino urgently. Can you ask him to come up to the station?”
“It will take him some time to get here.”
“I’ll wait.”
It takes almost twenty minutes until we hear, “Finn?”
I immediately feel lighter hearing Dino’s voice. “I’m here, sir.”
“Are you alone?”
“I’m with River and Timothy.”
“Why aren’t Josh and Caden with you?”
I stall, an overwhelming sense of failure washing over me. My voice breaks when I try to speak, which is unprofessional, but I can’t help it.
“Josh and Caden were kidnapped by Raiders,” River says.
