Page 30 of Rescued By the Operative

He shakes off whatever dark thought is shadowing his face and gives me a bright smile. “It’s nothing. Sorry. I just can’t wait until I never have to look at that stupid compound again.”

I study my brother for a moment. “I get it. But the buildings will still be there once we get everybody out who wants to get out. Some of them might decide to stay, you know how these things go.”

He shakes his head. “Hopefully, things can go back to the way they were before these creeps ever came to Darling Creek.”

“Who knows,” I say. “You sure that’s all that’s troubling you?”

Ennis talks fast. “Yeah, yeah. I have a lot on my mind, that’s all. Have a few things I have to take care of first, before we carry out this plan.”

“You mean, we have things to take care of. Not just you,” I remind him.

“Right.”

Leaning against the truck and taking a swig from my water bottle, I ask, “Does Wylie have a plan for how to get everyone out without all the elders and people in charge—aka the folks with weapons—figuring it out?”

“Yep. Yessireebob.”

Something feels off about Ennis.

“Has he let you in on it?”

He shrugs. “What we usually do. We create a diversion, then sneak out the women and children. Only on a much bigger scale and all in one day, while the elders are distracted.”

“Right,” I say, putting the tailgate back up with a hard slam. “But what exactly is the distraction?”

“Huh,” he says. “Not sure. Maybe we should have a meeting about that.”

It’s been three days since I heard from Blondie, and it’s got me thinking. Not just about our romantic situation but also about whether she should be in on the plan.

“You know,” I say. “We could use someone on the inside.”

Ennis blinks at me. “Like who?”

I have to be careful here. “Well,” I say. “I might have run into someone while I was finishing the escape tunnel.”

I expect my brother to give me the third degree.

Instead, he says, “Funny you should mention that. So did I.”

“Excuse me?” I exclaim. “When were you planning on telling me that?”

Ennis laughs. “Bro, I can say the same thing to you!”

Fair enough. “You go first,” I say.

Ennis goes on to describe his encounter with a woman, including her height, build, eye color, and then describes the vehicle she left in.

Blondie. He’s talking about my Blondie, I’m sure of it.

I must have some kind of look on my face because Ennis stops mid-sentence. “What is it?”

Pushing off the truck, I step toward my brother, grabbing the front of his shirt. “What did she say to you? Did she tell you her name?”

“No, she wouldn’t tell me her name! What’s gotten into you?”

“What did she say! What were her exact words?”

Ennis pushes me away. “I don’t remember exactly, bro, she sounded like any one of them cult ladies. She seemed like she wanted to put as much distance between me and her as possible.”