Fragments

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Marcus and the soldiers flew as far as they could in the stolen Rotor, but the rioting Partial army was hot on their trail. A lucky shot clipped their left wing somewhere over New Rochelle, and Woolf managed to coax another few miles out of the flier before an antiaircraft emplacement on the coast forced them into an emergency landing in Pelham Bay. Vinci wanted to head southwest, crossing the Throgs Neck Bridge to Long Island, but Woolf said it was too dangerous—the bridges were covered with traps and explosives, and there was no way they could cross them safely. Instead they found a motorboat on City Island, filled it with as much good gas as they could find, and made the crossing that way; Partial pursuers fired at them from shore as they raced across the water, but nothing hit. They landed in Queens near the ruins of the Defense Grid base.

It was a blackened husk, bombed to oblivion and burned to the ground.

“Welcome to the last human refuge,” said Woolf. “As you can see, we’re not really equipped for visitors.”

“Great,” said Galen. “We got away from one Partial army just to end up behind the lines of another.”

“But at least we got away,” said Marcus. “What’s the next move?”

“It seems like a fair guess to say that the pro-Morgan faction won the civil war back there,” said Vinci. “With Trimble gone, Morgan’s cemented herself as the single greatest power in the region, but there are other factions, and they might be sympathetic—even if they didn’t take a side before, Morgan’s actions may have tipped them in our favor.”

“Enough to mount a resistance?” asked Woolf.

“Maybe, maybe not,” said Vinci. “It depends on how quickly we could unite all the remaining factions—and if any of them have already joined Morgan outright. I’m afraid I don’t have any reliable intelligence on that.”

“Then we need to get back there,” said Marcus. “We need to find them all, and we need to recruit them.”

“If they still oppose Morgan,” said Woolf. He looked Vinci. “Twelve years ago your people nearly exterminated our race in a rebellion. Do you really think they’d ally with humans now? Against their own people?”

Vinci paused a moment before speaking. “I have recently learned to make my allies along ideological, rather than racial lines. That was a lesson you taught me. I do not agree with Dr. Morgan, and I don’t know if I’ll agree with whoever wins the civil war in White Plains, but I agree with you. You said you wanted to work together and cure us—our expiration date and your disease. Is that still correct?”

Woolf didn’t answer, but Marcus nodded firmly. “Absolutely. We’ll do everything we can.”

“Then I’m with you for now,” said Vinci. He looked at Woolf. “We started a war but never intended to end the world—the virus did not come from us. We’ve been struggling with the guilt of what happened for twelve years. There are many Partials left who might just be looking for a reason to trust humans again, or at least a reason to live in peace. The hell we just escaped from should be proof enough of that.” He held out his hand. “I can’t speak for every Partial, but if you’re ready to trust me, I’m ready to trust you.”

Woolf hesitated, staring at the Partial’s hand. Marcus watched the old soldier’s eyes, guessing at the battle of memories and hatreds and hopes that must be going on behind them. Finally Woolf reached out and grasped Vinci’s hand. “I never thought I’d see the day.” He looked in the Partial’s eyes. “As commander of the Defense Grid and a senator of the last human nation, consider this an official treaty.”

“You have my support,” said Vinci, “and the support of any other Partials we can recruit.”

“I want to kiss you both,” said Marcus, “but this touching moment doesn’t mean anything until we get some more people behind it. Where to next?”

Woolf looked around at the devastated ruin. “Before we try to raise a Partial army, we should at least check in with the human forces—we’ve been gone long enough we don’t even know what’s going on here. Even if we could find a radio, though, I don’t know how much we can share. Morgan’s forces are monitoring all frequencies, and the last thing we want is to let Dr. Morgan know we’re raising a combined army of Partials and humans.”

“Where to, then?” asked Vinci. “Do you still have a base of operations Morgan hasn’t conquered?”

“I honestly don’t know,” said Woolf. “The Senate fled to an old outlaw hideout, but if I had to guess, I’d say Morgan’s already taken it. Our best bet is a guerrilla named Delarosa.”

“You’re sure about that?” asked Marcus. “She might not take kindly to a Partial in the ranks.”

Vinci looked at Woolf. “You want to ally with a racist?”

“More of an extremist,” said Woolf. “After the invasion, her extreme methods made her one of our most effective forces in the field. She knows the island better than the invaders do, and if anyone’s managed to stay free, it’s her.”

“And you’re sure you can trust her? That she won’t just shoot me on sight?”

“She’s a pragmatist,” said Woolf. “She’ll use the weapons she has, and she’ll use them as effectively as possible.” He slapped Vinci on the back. “What better weapon could she want than a Partial?”