All These Warriors Read online

  “Happy?” Maddie asked Patrick.

  “You can’t keep pulling the trainers for assignments,” Patrick said. “At least talk to Noah about it first so he can send someone else.”

  “It’s fine. We figure it out. See?” She gestured to where Naomi was working with the recruits. Patrick turned away, rolling his eyes.

  “Guys!” I heard Noah call, his voice urgent. I turned to see him standing in front of the television mounted on the wall. He turned around, eyes wide. “Julian’s parents are dead.”

  “What?” Priya said. Everyone rushed to the television.

  The TV was tuned to a news channel, and someone increased the volume as I approached. Two familiar faces filled the screen. It was a picture of Richard and Faye Montgomery, Julian’s parents. They were dressed in fancy clothes—most likely a picture from some rich people event—smiling for the camera.

  “. . . suffered extensive injuries. Again, if you’re just joining us, Richard Montgomery, founder and chairman of Montgomery Properties, and his wife, Faye Montgomery, died today in London following a scrab attack outside their hotel. Their son, Julian Montgomery, was reportedly not with them. We’ve been told that he’s safely in New York, where he’s been since leaving the St. John fight squads earlier this year.”

  “Why were those assholes in London?” Maddie said quietly, almost to herself.

  “Same thing they were doing in Brussels last month,” Noah said. “Picking up scrabs.”

  “I’m surprised they came back here, though,” Maddie said. “I figured they were in Belgium because we’re not allowed to go there.”

  “Wait, we’re not allowed into Belgium?” Dorsey asked.

  “Not while you’re a part of the teams. They have antimercenary laws, which they are enforcing very strictly these days.”

  “Do you think they would still be trying to ship scrabs out of the country?” Edan asked. “With the security these days? The police here have really cracked down.”

  “They can’t possibly search every shipping container that comes into and out of the UK,” Maddie said. “And I wouldn’t put it past the Montgomerys to bribe the police into looking the other way. I’m almost certain they were doing it before.” A few recruits looked at each other, clearly alarmed. I winced. We probably shouldn’t have been having this conversation in front of them.

  “Maybe this is way too optimistic, but do you think it’s possible that Julian will step back from MDG now?” Patrick asked.

  Maddie frowned. “Why would he?”

  “To grieve. And to . . . I don’t know. Go to college? He’s only twenty years old. I felt like he was just doing all the MDG stuff to make his parents happy.” He looked at me. “You said that he mostly seemed motivated to keep his dad happy.”

  “He did,” I said. “Maybe . . . ?” I looked at Maddie, unsure.

  “I really don’t know. He could, I guess. He’ll have a lot on his plate, since he was their only child.” She looked down at her phone, and then turned away, pressing it to her ear. “Hey, Mom.” She walked toward the exit.

  I really wanted to believe Patrick’s optimism. Was it naïve to hope that Julian would find a tiny shred of humanity and just walk away from it all? He’d just inherited an enormous amount of wealth, and the Montgomerys were deeply invested in MDG. Maybe he’d decide to abandon his father’s stupid, dangerous ideas and pull his funding. Maybe MDG would go under without it.

  Maybe.

  * * *

  That evening, after our assignment, I walked into the lounge to see Maddie sitting at the large round table in the center of the room, laptop in front of her. The room was empty except for three recruits talking quietly on the couch on the back wall.

  “Got it,” Maddie said to the screen, and then typed something into her phone. She looked up and smiled at me. “Hey, Clara.”

  “Hi, Clara!” came a voice from the laptop.

  I walked around the table and smiled at the dark-haired girl on the screen. “Hey, Hannah.”

  Hannah was a freelance writer and journalism student at NYU. She’d contacted me after my video went up, and became so engrossed in the mystery of the MDG Dust Storm facility that Maddie had ended up hiring her to do research.

  Beside her was Victor, one of Grayson’s friends and the guy I’d talked to when I signed up for the squads. He ran various aspects of the operation from New York—uniform and weapons orders, meal planning, and general assistant work. He still did all that, but these days he mostly researched MDG with Hannah. We didn’t have much time to devote to MDG when we were out fighting scrabs and training new recruits every day.

  “Clara!” Victor exclaimed, waving at me. Victor greeted everyone like he’d never been so excited to see them in his life.

  “Hey, guys,” I said, sliding into the chair beside Maddie.

  “Tell me about Arizona,” Maddie said to her.

  “Right.” Hannah riffled through her notes. “Arizona . . . Arizona . . .”

  “Is it that one?” Victor asked, pointing to a corner of the room off screen. “I’ll get it.” He pushed away from the table. Victor used a wheelchair, and he rolled behind Hannah, disappearing for a moment before reappearing with a notebook in his lap.

  “Thanks,” Hannah said, pushing her hair back with a sigh. “I’m scattered today.”

  Maddie pressed her lips together like she was trying not to smile. Hannah was always scattered. She was super smart—she’d graduated from high school a year early and was already a senior in college at the age of twenty. But she seemed like one of those smart people who couldn’t handle everyday life. Like she had so much information stuffed into her brain that she couldn’t remember things like eating meals or where she put her notebook.

  “I thought I was on to something in Arizona, but it was a dead end,” she said. “Oh! Right. This is where they found a nest of dead scrabs. But they’d been dead a long time. Years. I’ll send you the pictures. It’s super gross, though.”

  “OK,” Maddie said with a disappointed sigh.

  “I’m trying to find some people to check out a tip in New Mexico,” Hannah said. “But it’s been a struggle to find someone trustworthy. The former recruits I had investigating in Arizona won’t go.”

  “Offer to pay them double,” Maddie said.

  “I did. They said they’re done. But!” she said, perking up. “I did get a tip from one of my Reddit bro friends.”

  “Your Reddit bro friends?” I repeated.

  “Yeah, the guys on the scrab conspiracy threads are very familiar with me. They think I’m a dude named Hank, but they love me.” She waved her hand. “Anyway, they haven’t announced it yet, but the Scrab Defense League is having a big get-together in early January. Their first annual conference. They’ve reserved a hotel for it.”

  “Where?” Maddie asked.

  “Dallas.”

  I groaned. “Why Dallas?”

  “Aren’t you from Dallas?” Hannah looked confused.

  “Yep. I sure am.”

  She squinted at me, obviously expecting more. “Huh. OK. Anyway, it’s apparently going to be a big thing. Facebook has exploded with various chapters of the league in the last couple months, and the Texas branches are especially active. I imagine that’s why they chose Dallas.”

  “Any idea what they’re going to do?” Maddie asked.

  “Sit around and talk about how much they like guns and trained scrabs?” Victor guessed.

  “That is literally our best guess right now,” Hannah said. “But it’ll be announced publicly soon. The chapters are all aware and pumped up.”

  “Great,” Maddie muttered, running her hands through her hair.

  “Is there anything you need me to do with this news about the Montgomerys?” Hannah asked.

  “Yeah, can you find out which hotel they were staying at and if they were using a car service? I might be able to bribe someone into telling me where they went while they were here.”

  “You got it. Oh! H
old on.” Hannah jumped up, disappearing from the screen.

  “Sorry, our Chinese food is here,” Victor said.

  Edan walked in, changed from his uniform into jeans and a gray T-shirt, a sweatshirt slung over his shoulder. He strolled over to us and leaned down to see the screen. “Hey, Victor.”

  “Edan! A pleasure to see you, as always.”

  Hannah zoomed back into the frame, almost knocking into Victor as she sat down. “Hey, Edan,” she said breathlessly.

  “Hey,” Edan said, and Hannah beamed. She so obviously had a crush on him. And maybe the feeling was mutual. Hannah was really cute, with her wide, dark eyes and pale skin and sleek hair cut into a bob. Plus, she was smart and quirky and only two years older than him. I wouldn’t have blamed him for returning the feelings.

  He’d taken the job of compiling all of Hannah’s research and tips into a spreadsheet and then a report for Maddie, which required him to talk to Hannah at least once a week. It made me wonder if maybe he also liked her. Or enjoyed that she liked him, at the very least.

  I tried not to obsess over it. It wasn’t like I was dating Edan. He was free to do what he wanted.

  I’d thought about the possibility of dating Edan, of course. Back when we first became friends, Maddie had said she thought he liked me, and maybe he had. But then Grayson and several of our team members had died and everything was different. Dating hadn’t seemed like a priority.

  Not to mention that I still wasn’t sure I could be trusted with romantic decisions. When left to my own devices, my dumb ass had gone straight for the first rage-filled overprotective jerk I could find. I’d been away from home two days when I started swooning over Julian. I wouldn’t date again until I was sure I could be trusted to make smart decisions.

  Which would maybe be never.

  Edan glanced back at me, tossing a piece of dark hair out of his eyes with a smile. I quickly looked away.

  I was, maybe, just a tiny bit pleased that Hannah was thousands of miles away, though.

  “OK, I’ll let you pass along the rest to Edan,” Maddie said, getting to her feet. I stood as well, and Edan took my chair, putting his laptop on the table.

  I followed Maddie down the hall and to our room. She flopped down on her bed with a sigh, and I perched on the edge of mine.

  “Is it too early to go to bed?” she asked. “I feel like I need to sleep for at least twenty-four hours.”

  “You know that you could take the day off tomorrow, if you wanted. I’m sure we can manage without you.”

  “No, I can’t. I want to set a good example.”

  I didn’t think that running herself ragged was a good example. I slowly sat down on my bed, considering my next words carefully.

  “Have you thought about what you want to do with the teams long term?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you have any . . . changes in mind? This was Grayson’s initial vision for the teams, but maybe . . .” I didn’t want to say maybe he was wrong. It seemed ridiculous for me, noted idiot, to question Grayson’s plan. He’d been a genius. Literally. Whatever the official requirements were for being labeled a genius, Grayson had them.

  But I also couldn’t help but wonder if he’d thought everything through. How long had he expected mercenary teams to last?

  She was staring at me, waiting for me to finish.

  “We’re just spread pretty thin right now,” I said. “I feel like we should be devoting more time to figuring out what’s going on with MDG and Julian and the Scrab Defense League. We’ll have an easier time recruiting for the teams once they’re gone. But we also have new recruits, and we’re out on assignments every day . . .”

  “I mean, we can’t lighten up on assignments. MDG or no, there are still scrabs out there.”

  “I know, but it just seems like the league is getting bigger every week. And I’m not even sure I trust the police or the FBI to do anything about it, because I think half of them are on their side. It’s frustrating.”

  “It is. But we’ve got Hannah and Victor on it, and I’ve given up sleep for the next five or so years, so we’ll be fine.”

  I raised a judgmental eyebrow. “You’re sleeping tonight, even if I have to drag you into bed.”

  “We’ll see,” she said, waving a hand dismissively.

  “Maybe we can look at pulling back on some of the assignments?” I asked cautiously.

  “Clara, we’re fine. There’s only so much we can do from here anyway.”

  “Yeah. I guess you’re right.” I wanted to push further, but Maddie never listened when I suggested slowing down. It was not her strong suit, and it certainly hadn’t been Grayson’s. Part of me was annoyed that she didn’t seem interested in my opinion, but the other part of me wasn’t sure my opinion was worth anything. Maybe Maddie was right, and pushing ahead was the best strategy. Changing things up would take time and money, and she was right that the scrab threat was still there.

  “We’ll get someone to go to that conference in Dallas and report back,” she said. “And we’ll look for more people to help search for Dust Storm. Don’t worry. We’ve got this.”

  I forced a smile. I genuinely hoped that she was right.

  4

  I stuck my head out of the weapons closet and looked left and then right. Laila was standing a few feet away, organizing her weapons pack.

  “I think that’s it,” she said, standing and slinging her pack over her shoulder. I noticed a flash of color on her dark skin—a colorful bird inked onto her right forearm.

  “Did you get a new tattoo?” I asked, cocking my head to look at it.

  “No,” she said, looking down at the bird with a laugh. “That would be a bit much for me. Saira was just messing around. It’ll wash off.”

  “I didn’t know she was an artist too. It’s beautiful.”

  “I’ll tell her you said so,” she said, smiling at me before heading for the stairwell.

  I retreated back into the closet and closed the machete trunk. I’d been one of the recruits in charge of weapons security since a few weeks after Grayson’s death. At first, Maddie let everyone have unlimited access to weapons, but that had led to a lot of them disappearing as recruits dropped out. Then there was the time a recruit nearly cut off another recruit’s fingers during a drunken brawl. Now everyone had to check most of their weapons in and out. And we’d gotten rid of guns completely. Most of our remaining recruits weren’t cleared to use them anyway.

  I stepped out of the closet, locking the door behind me, and headed up to my room. I pushed open the door.

  I stopped abruptly.

  Noah quickly finished pulling up his pants. Maddie tugged her shirt over her head.

  “Sorry.” I whirled around.

  “No, it’s my fault,” Maddie said. “I thought I locked the door.”

  “I’ll just, uh—” I took a step out of the room.

  “It’s fine, I was just about to head downstairs,” Noah said, walking past me with pink cheeks and a sheepish expression.

  I pushed the door closed behind him and turned to Maddie. “I’m still amused by this pairing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You and Noah.”

  She sat on her bed to put her shoes on. “We’re not together or anything. We’re just messing around.”

  “You’ve said. I’m still kind of confused.”

  “Why do you say it like that? What’s wrong with Noah?”

  “Nothing! He’s just . . . not your type, I guess?”

  “I don’t have a type. I’m an equal opportunity slut.”

  “Is slut the word we want to use here?”

  “Yes. I enjoy reclaiming the word slut.”

  “Fair enough. But this has been going on for what, five, six months? It’s really not a relationship?”

  She tied her shoe. “Yes. I mean, we’re friends. I like him. But I’m not interested in anything more.”

  “Is he?”

  “N
ot that he’s said. He seems perfectly happy with the arrangement.”

  “You are super hot, so who can blame him?”

  “Why, thank you.”

  “And it’s still a secret?” I asked.

  “Yeah. It’s just less awkward that way.”

  “You should probably remember to lock the door next time if you’re going for secrecy. Also, I’d rather not see Noah in his underwear again.”

  “You should see him naked, though.” She grinned at me.

  “I did not need that image in my brain.”

  * * *

  Maddie and I met the rest of the team downstairs, and we walked to the tube, several other teams trailing behind us. Noah glanced at me as we boarded the train and turned red when I gave him an amused look.

  “You sure you’re all right?” I heard Dorsey say quietly as I took a seat.

  I looked up to see that he was talking to Edan, who was rubbing a hand across his eyes. He had dark circles, which wasn’t unusual for him, but they did seem worse today.

  “I’m fine, just a little tired.” He leaned against the rail.

  “You can sit this one out if you want,” Maddie said to him.

  “I don’t need to.”

  Dorsey looked like he was going to say something, but Edan smiled at him and bumped shoulders with him.

  “I’m fine, Andrew. Lay off.”

  Dorsey rolled his eyes, but his lips turned up in a smile. He and Edan exchanged a look I couldn’t quite read. They’d become good friends since they started rooming together, surprisingly. Dorsey’s main activities seemed to be drinking and partying, neither of which interested Edan. And Dorsey had been Gage’s friend, which gave me pause.

  But Edan liked him, and for some reason called him by his first name, instead of his last, like everyone else did. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe Edan just did it to annoy him. Guys loved giving each other shit, which had always baffled me.

  Dorsey caught me watching him and smiled. I returned it and then quickly lowered my gaze, pretending to look at something on my phone. I never knew what to say to Dorsey. Compared to the rest of the team, I barely knew him. I wasn’t really sure I wanted to know him, if I was being honest. He seemed like the sort of friend you called when you needed someone to party with, and I didn’t really need that kind of friend in my life.