Chapter 410: Ryan Investigating Lucy
After saying goodbye to Sydney and Cindy, I left the top floor with Lucy.
We headed down through the stairwell without talking much at first. My legs weren’t really tired from climbing up and down the Whitesun so many times but more like ghost tiredness and annoyance, but there was no point complaining about it. If Mark really got the elevators working within the next week or two, Christopher would probably be the happiest person in the entire hotel.
As we reached the lower floors, I thought about going over to Margaret’s people for a bit.
Linda had told me nobody actually hated me. According to her, it was mostly Brad, Billy, Kyle, and a few others who were angry because I had hidden Kunta from them. She had made it sound like the rest of the community understood why I did it, or at least had decided not to make a huge issue out of it.
Still, I did not feel comfortable walking into their part of the hotel as if nothing had happened.
I could already picture the way conversations would stop when I arrived. Some people would probably smile and greet me normally. Others would look away. A few might not know what to say at all. It would be awkward for them, but it would be worse for me.
I had taken advantage of their trust.
Even if I had my reasons, even if hiding Kunta had kept her safe and helped us in the end, I had still lied to people who had let me stay with them. The thought kept bothering me whenever I remembered it.
Maybe it would be better to give them a few more days.
Let things calm down.
Let everybody get used to Kunta being here before I started showing up around them again.
"How are things going with the plan?"
Lucy’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
I looked over at her as we continued down the stairs.
"The plan?"
For a second, I was not sure what she meant. Then it clicked.
Tommy.
Brigantine.
Mei, Emily, and Keith.
"It is moving forward," I said. "That is what Tommy told me. We just need to be patient."
Lucy nodded, though her face did not change much. She had always been hard to read, especially when it came to Keith. She could stand in front of a group of armed people without looking nervous, but mentioning her brother always made her go quieter.
"And who will come to get them out of Brigantine?" She asked.
"I was thinking Rachel and I would go first."
Rachel had to be there.
If somebody spotted us while we were getting Mei, Emily, and Keith onto the boat, her barriers could be the difference between escaping and getting cut down before we even reached the water. Callighan’s people had enough guns. I was not going to pretend that we could walk into Brigantine, take three people out, and leave without anybody trying to stop us. I hoped of course but that would be too good.
At the same time, I did not want to bring everybody.
The more people we took, the harder it would be to stay unnoticed. Tommy had said he would use a small boat so it would not draw attention while crossing the inlet. With me, Rachel, Mei, Emily, Tommy, and Keith, that was already six people.
Six was probably the limit.
There was no real reason to bring Christopher or Sydney. Christopher could fight, and Sydney would never back down from something dangerous, but neither of them had a role that made the boat worth overcrowding. Bringing extra people just because I wanted them nearby would put everybody at more risk.
I glanced toward Lucy.
"You could come too," I said.
She looked at me.
"If things go wrong, we may need someone to cover us," I continued. "You are the best shooter I know, and you know Brigantine better than we do. You could lead us if we get separated or have to change the route."
Lucy gave a small nod.
"That was my intention."
Of course it was.
Keith was her brother. She had spent all this time trapped on the other side of the conflict, knowing he was still stuck under Callighan’s control. There was no way she would sit in the Whitesun while we went to get him out.
We reached the next landing and kept descending.
"Anyway," I said, "I do not think I need to tell you this, but Marlon will expect you to be honest."
"I know that."
"The plan is already happening. You are getting your brother back. You do not need to hide anything anymore."
Lucy kept her eyes ahead.
"You should tell Marlon everything you know," I went on. "If you want to live peacefully with Margaret’s community afterward, Callighan and Gaspar need to be out of the picture for good."
Lucy looked at me with a surprised expression.
"What?" She asked. "I get my brother back, and suddenly I am welcome there? There are plenty of people in that community who hate me."
"So what?" I replied. "Do you want to live on the Boardwalk instead? It is worse there."
If she was hated by Margaret’s community, I didn’t want to imagine how she would be by the Boardwalk though I think the hate greatly diminished as everyone saw her fighting along them to take over the hotel she had commanded over just before.
"That is not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
Lucy took a little longer to answer.
"I thought Keith and I would leave once everything is done."
I stopped on the stairs.
Lucy took another step before realizing I had stopped behind her. She turned around and looked at me.
"Leave?" I asked.
She did not answer right away.
"Do you really think you have much of a chance out there alone?" I said. "Maybe you do. You were a Marine. You can shoot, you can fight, and you know how to survive better than most people."
Lucy’s expression stayed guarded.
"But your brother does not need to live like that," I added. "Neither do you. We have a safe place here. We have walls, people, supplies, and a community that can actually look after each other. It would be better for both of you."
Lucy looked down the stairwell.
She did not say anything.
I understood what she was worried about. She had probably assumed her place in the Whitesun was temporary from the beginning. A prisoner at first, then somebody useful enough to keep around while we needed information about Brigantine. Once Keith was safe and Callighan was gone, she probably expected people to tell her to leave.
Maybe she wanted to leave before anybody could reject her.
"Well, we can speak for you," I said. "You helped us take the Golden Nugget. You have been helping with the plan. That matters."
Lucy turned her eyes back toward me.
"Why would you do that?"
I hesitated.
There were plenty of reasons. She had helped us. She had chosen not to betray us even when she had opportunities. She had worked with us despite everyone treating her like an enemy. She had saved Christopher’s life.
But I also knew what she was really asking.
Why would I trust her enough to want her and her brother to stay?
"As I said, you helped us take the hotel," I replied. "And you saved Christopher."
Lucy stayed still.
"And Christopher seems to like you," I added.
Her eyes narrowed immediately.
I could see the glare coming before she even gave it to me.
Lucy walked past me without another word and continued down the stairs, moving faster than before.
"Why are you reacting like I insulted you?" I asked as I caught up with her.
Lucy did not slow down. She kept walking down the stairs, one hand sliding along the dusty metal railing while the other stayed close to her side.
"Because your excuses are stupid," she replied.
"They are not excuses."
She gave me a brief look over her shoulder, clearly not convinced.
I followed her down another few steps before answering.
"Christopher is my best friend. I want him to be happy. He seems to like you, so yeah, I hope he gets what he wants."
Lucy stopped at the landing.
"So my words have no meaning?" she asked. "Are you planning to force me into a relationship because your friend likes me?"
"What?" I frowned. "Where did that even come from?"
"You are speaking as if it is already decided."
"I said Christopher likes you. That is all." I held up my hands, trying to make it clear I was not arguing with her. "If the idea of him liking you disgusts you, just say it. I can tell him not to keep hoping for something that will never happen."
I meant it.
Christopher had already been through enough because of me He had spent a long time trying to move forward while pretending he was fine, even when it was obvious he was not. I did not want him getting attached to Lucy if she truly had no interest in him at all.
Still, I knew I had phrased it that way because I wanted to see Lucy’s reaction.
That made me feel like an asshole.
Lucy stared at me for a few seconds. Her face did not give much away, but she did not immediately tell me to mind my own business either.
"He saved my life," she said at last. "I owe him. That is all."
"Is that really all?"
The question came out before I could stop myself.
Lucy’s eyes narrowed again.
Damn it.
I was starting to sound like Sydney. Poking at people, trying to pull out answers they were not ready to give, acting like I could figure out their feelings better than they could. I had no right to pressure Lucy over something that barely even existed yet.
Maybe Christopher liked her.
Maybe she liked him too.
Maybe she only saw him as the man who had saved her when everything had gone wrong.
That was for them to deal with, not me.
"We should leave," Lucy said.
Her voice made it clear she was done talking about it.
"Yeah," I replied. "Fine."
She turned away and continued down the stairs.
I followed behind her, keeping my mouth shut this time.
Even so, I could not stop thinking about it. I was not some romance expert, but I had seen enough to know that Lucy did not react to Christopher the way she reacted to everyone else. She had let him get closer than most people. She had listened to him. She had stayed in his room helping with his guns longer than she really needed to.
Maybe it meant nothing.
Maybe it meant more than she wanted to admit.
Either way, I wanted to make sure she and Keith could stay here once we got them out of Brigantine. Not as prisoners. Not as temporary guests waiting for people to decide whether they deserved a place in the community.
As people who belonged here.
And if Christopher and Lucy did end up together, that would be good for him too.
Christopher deserved a chance to build a life here instead of following me across the Atlantic on some insane trip toward Russia to find Elena once everything was fine here.