Alliance

Chapter Nineteen

There are defining moments in a person's life where they had a bad feeling about something and did not act upon it.

There are defining moments in a person's life when they do something totally and utterly stupid.

There are defining moments in a person's life when they do both things. Knowing something is bad and they stupidly do not act upon it.

I woke to the feeling that someone was watching me.

My eyes flicked open to Alec's face smiling down at me.

"Sparrow," he greeted lazily.

I lifted my hands, ready to strike Alec and get away from him, but I found my hands were already tied. Alec lifted a hand threatening, "You try anything funny, I will punch you."

"Glad you live up to the expectations of being a dick."

Alec's smile widened. He grabbed my arm, right below my shoulder and lifted me up to my feet.

Wong was already up with his hands tied behind his back. There was a new bruise near his eye, a sign he tried to fight Alec but failed. Behind him stood Gloria with a smirk on her face. A smirk I very much wanted to smack off.

Everything made sense. There was no other Alliance female cadet. She was working with Alec. Together, she and Alec made a plan to trick Wong into thinking Gloria was in the Alliance.

And I let her trick me. I knew better than that.

"It is amazing," she said, stepping around Wong. "Of how a pretty face can make people believe whatever I want them to believe." She winked at Wong.

"You bitch," he snapped.

Gloria shook her head. "That's rude."

Wong turned to me. His face crestfallen. He was played and played well. But I didn't truly blame him. Gloria had a convincing story. The bad attitude, knowing who Carter was, having knowledge of the city simulation. It was a solid story.

Gloria turned to Alec, who still held my arm. "Let's go. We have a few days' hike to reach the valley."

The valley. We couldn't go down the mountain. We were almost to the top. 

Alec pushed me to get me to fall in line behind Wong.

I needed a plan to get Wong and I both away from Gloria and Alec. Both of us knew how to break zip ties that were around both of our wrists but there were three on Wong, probably because he already broke one off before I woke to Alec looming above me.

Only a week ago Ben taught me how to break a zip-tied. The way Alec zip-tied my wrist, it would be easy to get out of them. But I needed a distraction. A way to throw Gloria and Alec off before I could run. And there was Wong. Somehow I needed to tell Wong about my plan, that is if I came up with one.

I could attack now. But Alec and Gloria would expect it. Alec walked very close to me but no longer gripped my arm. With how close he was, there was no doubt that he was expecting something.

"So," I said as we walked down the mountain, "Ranger?"

It had been weeks since I last saw Alec. And even more weeks since I yelled at him in front of all those officers. I was sure I embarrassed him enough that he would come after me but he never did.

"Not yet. Depending on how well we do in this simulation, it will determine if we become rangers are not."

So there was a lot at stake for him to take me down to the valley. However, I needed to reach the Fire Tower to complete my simulation or I fail. And I refused to fail.