Page 19 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 2

While I can’t say I was super excited to eat a power bar, I’d learned quickly you don’t pass on food when it’s offered. Sorin sat beside Petru and me on the couch while Lucian settled into the armchair.

“I’ll admit my plan isn’t the best I’ve come up with, but there hasn’t been much time to plan,” Lucian prefaced. “Before you caught up, Dani and I were going back to Northern territory, where we’d be heading for the mountains. That is where all those who’ve run from the army hide out. They are known to be violent and ruthless, killing anyone who supports the General. In my mind, I figured what better army to have than one who hates him as much as I do?”

“Once you have this army, then what? You just plan to storm the city and take him out in an all-out attack?” Sorin asked, his tone betraying how stupid he thought this idea was.

Lucian snorted. “Do you really think I’m that big of an idiot? I didn’t manage to blow up one of your power plants, rushing into the situation and hoping for the best. Once I had the help I needed, I was going to devise a plan with them. If I plan to make changes in our country, I’m going to need their help to know I have people on my side. The citizens might be ready for a change, but those in power aren’t going to like it at all. It isn’t just the General that needs to be removed from his position, there are many others.”

“At least you’re aware of that,” Petru said. “Many who have been trapped only have their eyes set on the captor, the one thing that will set them free. Their mistake is forgetting that most don’t act alone and are caught by those hiding in the shadows.”

“I’ve been watching the shadows my whole life,” Lucian muttered. “We will need to take out my father. However, it won’t be like cutting off the head of a snake; the body won’t die. Ever since Savo’s betrayal, my father’s failing body, and my inability to produce an heir, he’s put others in place to take over if needed. I might be heir to the country to my people and in name, but that’s about it. There’s one more layer to all this, though.”

Sorin held up a hand, pausing Lucian. “Victor, Cris, I want you to hear this.”

The main space of the cabin was fully open. Only the bunk room was sectioned off. So the two men pulling together a meal had been listening to all this, but I assume Sorin wanted them to give their full attention. They set aside what they were doing and joined us, Victor looming in the space with his arms crossed.

“You were saying?” Sorin said, gesturing for him to continue.

Lucian leaned forward, rubbing his face with his hands. “I don’t know much, but the dying words of a woman who’s been part of the army longer than any of us have been alive and then some. She believed the attacks on our border outposts somehow were calculated assaults working with someone in the south to make it happen. Furthermore, my father uses these attacks to motivate the people to continue this war. The hotter the Northern people’s anger grows, the harder they will fight to defend it.”

“What proof did this woman have to give?” Victor challenged. “She must know something if she’s willing to waste her dying breath to tell you. Unless she was just that senile.”

“Babaka was a decorated soldier put in charge of running all the breeding houses on our bases and outposts. Trust me when I say that woman didn’t make false accusations, certainly not against my father,” Lucian shot back. “There was another attack on a border outpost, one she fought in and survived. She said that killing a few would save many when creating a common enemy for our people. My assumption is that it was the first one he tried, and when it worked so well, he did it again. The North is dying. My people are starving and wasting away under the rule of a man who wants power more than anything else. I don’t doubt for a second that he would devise a plan like this.”

“Who was the one to give you guys the order to attack the outpost?” I questioned.

“The same person who always gives us our marching orders,” Sorin said. “We don’t know who specifically decided on which missions to assign us. The higher-ups get their order, which trickles down to us pulling off the mission. If I had to guess, something of this level would have been brought to the Major General’s notice and possibly even the Commandant’s. Either way, intel of this importance would be known to almost everyone in the military.”

That had me tapping my chin trying to figure out how the hell the two sides were working together without even knowing it. I honestly didn’t think the Commandant or those leading the military would be the ones to sell out their own people. There had to be a middle person, someone who could be trusted to give information but not be involved with the actions taken.

“Where do you get this kind of intel? Toma said you don’t have spies in the North, so how would anyone know that Lucian’s outpost would be vulnerable? I’m assuming you all attacked because the fence was being worked on, and the landmines needed to be removed for the job,” I reasoned, then turned to Lucian. “What had you leaving with so many as suddenly as you did? You’d told me before that you wouldn’t be departing for a little while, then a week later you’re off for who knows how long.”

Lucian pulled his hair out of his ponytail and raked his fingers through it, a sure sign that he had a headache. I knew he got them fairly regularly, but I also knew he always took less of the rations and made sure I got more along with the vitamins and mineral supplements they gave us to counteract the poor diet.

Slipping off Petru’s lap, I walked over to him, tugged his hands away, and started to massage his head and neck as he let his head rest on my stomach. “There was a runner who came to us from another camp further north along the border. He and a few others spotted a known elite task force that had been making their lives hell disappear from the fight. Without them, it gave the team a chance to get the upper hand and sent the Southerners running. What they were concerned about was the fact the whole attack had been odd, like they were testing the encampment and didn’t truly intend to destroy them. There was one more outpost between them and us that was smaller, more of a training ground for newer recruits before being sent to resupply our two bases. They would need backup if the South sought a weak border point to attack.”

“So you left without giving the word to anyone else what you were doing,” I added, knowing he’d acted on his own.

Lucian nodded, rubbing his head against my stomach. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he hugged me tight. “They weren’t testing the bases, they were looking for me,” Lucian divulged. “Everyone was slaughtered because I wasn’t there.”

This was an emotion I understood well. So many times I felt like I’d failed Tori and Violet watching them survive the fate we’d all been dealt. If I’d been stronger, smarter, or figured out a way to free them, then I wouldn’t feel this gnawing guilt. Even if I couldn’t go with them knowing they were safe and free was all that mattered.

“Do you honestly think that would have changed anything?” I asked, tilting his face to look up at me. “Their orders were to wipe out the base and ensure you were dead. The attack happened so fast. By the time it was discovered we were under attack, it was too late.”

“She’s right,” Victor interjected. “If you’d been there, nothing would have changed. Our number one mission was to hunt you down while the base was vulnerable. Once we realized we had the wrong outpost, we pulled back and headed to the second location indicated.”

Lucian maneuvered me so I was standing between his legs so he could still hold onto me but see the others. “You were given two locations?” The guys all nodded. “That doesn’t make any sense. I’ve been at the same outpost for roughly five years. It’s not a secret that I’m there, either. The General thought it was best to show his people he was willing to put his own son on the front lines so they should do the same.”

“Could it be that they did that to throw off the scent of knowing too much?” Petru questions. “It would be suspicious for whoever brought this to our attention to know too much. This way, we hit two different camps, added to the tale that we’re the boogie man, and hid the betrayal all in one swoop.”

“I don’t even know how to find out who the informant was,” Sorin muttered, rubbing his chin. “If I asked questions about it, I know it would draw attention this long after the fact.”

Toma cleared his throat and walked over to the table where his laptop sat. “There might be a way I can get to it, but I need to know if it’s that crucial because I could tip our hand if they discover what I’m doing.”

“That’s good to know there’s a chance, but I think we have plenty to deal with right now. We don’t need to head down that path just yet,” Sorin reasoned. “What we need to map out in explicit detail is how we’re going to approach these people, get them on our side, and attack the main city. After that, we’ll move into the actual attack and how that is best to be managed. Do you have any idea how many people are hiding out there?”

Lucian took a moment to consider the question. “People have been running from the war for at least the past fifty years my father’s been in charge. I remember growing up hearing rumors about them and the rebellion they tried to lead against the country during my grandfather’s time. Of course, they lost, and I’m assuming that took out a large chunk of their people. Each training we do, fifteen to twenty people make a run for the mountains, about five to ten survive those who hunt down traitors.”

“All right, so let's say about a thousand people living in the mountains. Half would be able-bodied, maybe slightly less, depending on how they fair surviving isolated,” Sorin rambled as he clearly was making mental notes for himself. “Toma, do we have any footage of those mountains?”

“I don’t think so, but let me look,” he answered, opening his computer. “They are closer to Oscad than they are to us, but you never know. It’s possible that I might be able to see if I can get into the Oscad database. Would your friend be able to help us with that?”

Sorin’s whole body went stiff as his gaze flicked over to Lucian so quickly I almost didn’t notice. “Possibly, but I’m not sure I want to bring more people into this.”

“Yeah, but what if we have Oscad’s help on this?” Petru reasoned. “They have a military of their own, although it’s rarely used. Ending the war between us is of value to them as well. Think of all the trade dynamics that would change if the South could work with them without having the North in the way.”

“Plus, you can’t tell me that Savo, of all people, wouldn’t support this,” Victor pointed out.

“What did you just say?” Lucian snapped, shooting to his feet as he plopped me in the chair. “The connection you have in Oscad is my brother?”

Ah, hell, that wasn’t going to go over well.