Chương 59

They had almost reached the south loggia on their way back from their walk when an officer stepped down from the shaded side entrance. He looked at Louis, then at Angelique.

"Mr. Collins. Miss Bourbon," he said.

"General Vance requests your presence for secure family communication. At once." Louis stopped. He looked at the officer. The man's face did not change. Gladice let out a short breath through her nose.

"How touching," she said.

"They remembered the word family." The officer did not react. Angelique stared at him. Her eyes narrowed. Louis said, "And Miss Simington?" The officer's eyes shifted once to Gladice and then back to Louis.

"The request concerns only Mr. Collins and Miss Bourbon."

"Of course it does," Gladice said.

"I always knew I was adopted." Angelique turned her head slightly toward her.

"Wait for us." Gladice gave the smallest nod. She stepped back toward the two soldiers who had escorted them and folded her arms.

"I'll be right here then. Try not to adopt any new siblings while you're gone." The officer said, "Miss Simington may return to her assigned quarters." Gladice glared at him.

"How gracious." Angelique moved a step closer to her.

"We'll come back." Gladice's mouth tightened.

"I know," she said.

"And if I find out either of you cried on the line, I'll never let you forget it." Louis said, "We won't." Gladice looked at him once. Then she uncrossed her arms and flicked one hand toward the house.

"Go. Say hello to Constantine for me." Louis looked at Angelique. She nodded once. The officer gestured toward the side entrance. Louis and Angelique followed. Behind them, he heard Gladice say to one of the escorting soldiers, "Don't stand so close. You're blocking my sun." Inside, the air turned cooler. The officer led them through the east corridor and down a narrow service stair. The walls changed from paneling to painted brick. Pipes ran low along the ceiling.

At the end of the passage stood two soldiers outside a reinforced metal door. The officer stopped and turned.

"Mr. Collins first. Miss Bourbon will be taken next." Angelique looked at Louis. Her lips pressed together. He nodded.

"Wait for me."

"Alright." She sat down as the officer gestured toward a folding chair by the door. The room beyond had been turned into a communications post. A soldier sat at one side with a headset over one ear and a pencil tucked behind the other. Another man stood beside the equipment racks. General Vance stood beside a terminal. He nodded as Louis stepped inside.

"Mr. Collins." The door shut behind Louis. Vance watched him.

"This communication is authorized for identity confirmation and proof of condition. It is not unrestricted. You will identify yourself on camera. You may state that you are alive, ambulatory, and under military supervision. You may confirm the status of Miss Bourbon and Miss Simington as alive. But you will not discuss your location or internal divisions, and you will not use coded signaling or attempt to extend the allotted time. If you are unclear on any of that, say so now." Louis said, "How long?"

"Five minutes." He nodded and looked at the headset hanging from the terminal. Beside it was a small camera.

"Who is on the other end?" he asked. Vance's eyes rested on him.

"Sit down and find out." Louis said nothing. His pulse beat hard under his jaw. He moved to the chair. A soldier adjusted something on the other terminal. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Once connected, sir, wait for the other party to identify. Then proceed." Louis sat carefully, keeping his bad knee forward. The room settled around the hum of the equipment. He put on the headset. The room noise dulled.

"Connection in progress," a voice said in the headset. The screen stayed black for a few seconds. His mouth went dry. Then the image came through. Constantine Collins sat in a narrow room Louis did not recognize. Behind him was a blank wall and a strip of hard overhead light. His father looked directly at the camera. His eyes were tired but alert.

"Louis." His father's voice came through low and controlled. Louis looked at his blue eyes and put one hand flat on the edge of the table to steady himself.

"It's me," he said. Constantine looked at him. His eyes moved over Louis's face and his shoulders. Then he drew one sharp breath.

"My son." Louis shut his eyes. For days he had imagined his father's voice. None of it had prepared him for hearing it now.

"I'm here," he said.

"Are you injured?"

"Knee. Not badly." On the screen, Constantine clenched his teeth. His eyes stayed on Louis.

"Are you under direct coercion?" Louis's eyes flicked up toward Vance. The general had not moved. He wore a poker face. Louis looked back at his father.

"I am speaking under military supervision."

"That is enough," Constantine said at once.

"Is Miss Bourbon with you?"

"She is on the premises. Safe. And Miss Simington too." Constantine's eyes sharpened.

"I need you to stay strong, Louis. Take care of her. I will get you out. Do you understand?" Louis nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"I am proud of you, son," his father said. The words came with effort.

"And I love you." Louis felt his throat close.

"I love you too." Constantine looked off-screen. Then he stood and moved out of the chair. Judith Collins entered the frame and sat down. She leaned close to the camera. Her blonde hair was pinned back, though a few strands had come loose near her temples. The skin beneath her eyes looked pale and tired.

"Louis?" Louis swallowed once. He had imagined her for days, but not like this, seated under hard light and looking at him through enemy equipment.

"Hi, Mom." He heard her exhale. Her eyes were fixed on him.

"You are hurt," she said.

"Nothing permanent."

"Your father will make them pay for that," she said. Her voice cut sharp through the headset, and her eyes burned on the screen. Louis nodded.

"I know." She spoke more slowly now.

"We will bring you home."

"I know that too. How's everyone doing?"

"Serana is in the next room. Victoria has decided to be angry at everyone until you come back. Your father has not slept for two days. No one sensible has eaten much. And I have been speaking to people in far too many time zones." She paused.

"But we are still here, Louis. And you are coming home to us." Louis leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes. Then he looked at her.

"Tell Serana I love her. Tell Vicky I will bring her a horse. Tell Dad—" He paused.

"Tell him I will come home." Tears ran down Judith's face. She did not wipe them away.

"I will."

"I love you, Mom." Louis cleared his throat. Judith leaned closer to the camera.

"I love you, Louis. More than anything." The screen went black. Louis took off the headset and set it beside the terminal. His head rang, and for a few seconds the hum of the equipment seemed to come from inside his skull. He stood and caught himself on the table edge, forcing his face still. Vance said, "Miss Bourbon is next." Louis walked toward the door without looking at him. The door opened. Angelique stood there with the officer behind her. She looked at Louis.

"They're there," he said. She nodded.

"I know." She came into the room. He moved aside with the cane. As they passed one another, her hand brushed the back of his wrist. The touch was gone at once. Then he was outside in the corridor. The officer turned to Louis.

"You will return to your assigned quarters."

"No." Louis did not move.

"I'm waiting here." The two soldiers by the wall looked at him. The officer's face barely changed.

"Mr. Collins." Vance looked out from inside the room.

"Let him wait."

"Yes, sir." The officer stepped back and gestured toward the folding chair.

"You may sit." Louis sat. It was still warm from Angelique's body. The door closed. He let the cane lean against his leg and stared at the door. He could not hear what Angelique said inside. The old walls held the sound well. Once, he thought he caught her voice rising, and then there was nothing again. He looked to the concrete floor instead. Fine cracks ran through it under the industrial light. His eyes followed them. One line bent around a stain, broke near the chair, and continued toward the wall.

Another vanished under the door. After a while they began to look like roads. Montgomery was somewhere in them. His mind moved from one point to another without finishing any of it. Places they might take him. Places he would not know until General Vance gave the order. He stared until his eyes watered. When he blinked, the map was gone, and the floor was only concrete. The door opened at last. Angelique came out. Her mouth was held flat, and the skin around her eyes was red. She looked at Louis and nodded.

The officer said, "You'll return to your room now." They walked back the way they had come. No one spoke until they entered the secure suite. The door closed behind them. Gladice was sitting in one of the armchairs with a book open upside down in her lap. She looked up the second they entered.

"Finally," she said.

"How did it go?" She stood, left the book where it was, and crossed to Angelique first.

"Angel." Angelique looked at her. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Then her face broke, and she stepped into Gladice's arms. Angelique pressed her face into Gladice's shoulder. A breath shook out of her, then another. Her fingers tightened at the back of Gladice's neck. Gladice held her close, one hand moving once over her back before settling there. Louis stood beside them, cane in hand, and said nothing. After a while Angelique lifted her head. Her eyes were wet and red.

"It's alright, Angel." Gladice reached up to wipe one cheek with her thumb. Her voice was very soft.

"It's alright." Angelique nodded once and pulled back enough to look at Gladice. Then she reached for Louis without looking away. He took her hand. She turned toward him and rested her forehead against his chest. Louis shifted his bad leg back and put one arm around her. His cheek touched her hair briefly. Her breathing still shook. He said quietly, "We are still here." She nodded against him. Gladice stepped closer, and Angelique reached for her without lifting her head. Louis put one arm around both of them.

The three of them stood together in the middle of the room, Angelique held between them, breathing hard into his shirt. Home knew they were alive now. Home had spoken to them. And they had answered. It changed everything. It changed nothing.