Red couldnโt hold Oliverโs eyes for longer than two seconds. He won. She dropped her gaze.โ
โWhat?โ Simon said, voice escaping before heโd even formed the end of the word.
โDonโt be ridiculous, Oliver,โ Reyna said. โNo one here is working with the shooter.โ
โWhy is it ridiculous?โ he snapped, puppet strings back, spinning his head. โThe sniper knows things he couldnโt possibly know. What weโre saying in here, what our plans are, that fucking note. And letโs not forget how we ended up here in the ๏ฌrst place.โ He paused, eyes ๏ฌashing under the overhead lights as he cracked the bones in his neck. โThis road wasnโt on our route. We got lost. So either the sniper somehow predicted exactly which wrong turns weโd take, or he was listening through a bug heโd planted and following us, orโโhe swallowedโโsomeone in this RV led us right to him.โ
He looked pointedly at Simon, Arthur and Red, one hand balling into a ๏ฌst at his side. He stretched it out, ๏ฌngers ropy and long, as he studied the three of them. Something tightened in Redโs gut, twisting uncomfortably as she watched Oliverโs hand bend and ๏ฌex.
โNot this again,โ Simon sighed. โWe were lost. No signal. None of us directed the RV down this road on purpose.โ
โIโm not sure thatโs true anymore,โ Oliver said. โIt was you three, you three giving the directions at the end. I lost the map on Reynaโs phone, so we know it wasnโt me. Maddy didnโt say anything.โ
โBut Reyna was driving,โ Simon said. โSo by your logic, she could be a mole too, right? Because sheโs the one who physically brought us down here. Or is it just us three that are under suspicion?โ
โShe only took the turns you were telling her to,โ Oliver retorted, pointing a ๏ฌnger toward Simonโs chest. โAnd if I remember right, Simon, you were the one who was most insistent.โ
โI was trying to be helpful,โ Simon shouted back. โI was drunk!โ
โHm,โ Oliver said, with a wicked smile. โYou seem to only be drunk when it suits you, though, huh? Slipping in and out of it. I thought you were supposed to be the actor here.โ
โFuck o๏ฌ, Oliver,โ Simon spat. โI donโt have anything to do with this.โ โYouโre a crook like your fucking uncle.โ
โStop, please!โ Arthur shouted, stepping forward to place his body between Oliver and Simon, turning his head to look at both of them. โThis is fucking stupid. We canโt turn on each other.โ
โAnd what about you?โ Oliver directed his voice at Arthur now. โYou were the one giving those last directions, they came from your phone.โ
Red shook her head. That wasnโt fair, Arthur was just the one who happened to lose signal last, on a di๏ฌerent network from the others. She should say something. She should stand up for him.
โAnd I got it wrong, Iโm sorry.โ Arthur held up his hands. โI was just trying to follow the map.โ
โRed.โ Oliverโs eyes landed on her now. โI remember you were the one who told us to keep going. I wanted Reyna to turn around and you told her to keep going.โ
She had, he wasnโt wrong. Her fault.
โRed didnโt do anything,โ Arthur said, and that was how it feltโwas it?โ to have someone on your side, on your team. To stand up for you whether it
was right or wrong. Red breathed out, gripping the walkie-talkie too hard, like it was Arthurโs hand and they were back there standing in the doorway, about to watch two people die. Two people were dead, remember. Right outside. And that red dot was still out there, waiting.
โShe was just trying to ๏ฌnd the way to the campsite,โ Arthur continued. โLike the rest of us.โ
โAnd in doing so, one of you led us into this ambush, to a man waiting with a fucking ri๏ฌe! That was no accident!โ
Maddy wasnโt saying anything. Did that mean she agreed with Oliver, was she taking his side? How many sides were there? Us versus them. Simon, Arthur and Red against Oliver, Maddy and Reyna, splitting the RV in half, and half of thirty-one feet was ๏ฌfteen point ๏ฌve.
โOliver, stop!โ Reyna grabbed his arm, pulled him back. No, not us versus them, Reyna wasnโt taking sides. Lavoy-adjacent, but not a Lavoy, and didnโt they both know it. Red certainly did now, gaze creeping to Maddy.
โIt doesnโt mean one of us is involved,โ Reyna continued. โIf thereโs no listening device, maybe he planted a GPS tracker somewhere outside the RV and thatโs why we havenโt found it. Maybe thatโs how he followed us to this road.โ
โOccamโs razor, Reyna,โ Oliver said, shaking his head. โThe simplest solution is usually the correct one.โ
โThis isnโt helping,โ Maddy spoke up. And what did that mean? What side did that come down on? โPlease, we have to work together.โ
The knot in Redโs gut loosened a little. She hadnโt lost Maddy to the other side. Because they were best friends, almost sisters. Knew each other inside and out. It was in the blood, even, because their moms were best friends before them. College roommates to working side by side as prosecutor and police captain. Would Red and Maddy ever have jobs that went side by side? Probably not; Maddy was going to UPenn and Red was going nowhere. Red couldnโt stay Lavoy-adjacent forever, she wasnโt sure Maddy would even want her to. But, for now, it counted.
โLift up your shirt, Red,โ Oliver said, gesturing, an upward motion with his ๏ฌngers. โYou too, Arthur.โ
โWhat are you talking about?โ Maddy asked, shrinking back as Oliver returned her gaze.
โI need to check neither of them is wearing a wire,โ he said.
โOh, come on,โ Simon interjected. โThis is turning intoย Lord of the Fucking Flies.ย Weโre going to end up killing each other, forget about the sniper.โ
โIโm not wearing a wire,โ Red said, tucking her arms over each other to protect her chest, walkie-talkie purring in her armpit.
โGreat, prove it.โ โOliver!โ Reyna hissed.
โShe and Arthur came over when Maddy and I were talking about the note. You and Simon were by the door. So if thereโs a listening device we still havenโt found, itโs on one of those two.โ
โOr Maddy,โ Simon said, hysterical to the point of almost smiling. โOr you. Does it not count if youโre a Lavoy?โ He slapped his arms down to the side of his legs. Simon got it.
โYouโre taking this too far,โ Arthur said, shaking his head, taking a step in front of Red, almost like he was blocking her from Oliver. A barricade. โWe all need to step back and take a breather. Everyone wants to get out of here, so letโs think about what the sniper has actually asked us to do.โ
โWhy wonโt you do it, then?โ Oliver glared. โIf you have nothing to hide.โ โOkay, ๏ฌne, see.โ Arthur grabbed the hem of his baseball shirt and pulled
it up over his chest, the muscles in his bare back heaving and bunching as he did. โSee, nothing. This is getting out of hand.โ He dropped his shirt.
โNow Red.โ
โNo.โ There was a growl to Arthurโs voice now. โShe does not have to.โ โIโll do it too. Look.โ Oliver stepped forward, ๏ฌngers moving quickly
down the buttons of his shirt. He reached the bottom and pulled it open, covering his arms like wings. There was nothing on his chest, nothing but the sharp lines of his abdomen. โSee. I donโt have any secrets. Iโm clean.โ He dipped his head at Red, redoing his buttons. โYour turn.โ
She didnโt want to. Of course she didnโt want to. But she also didnโt want the others to think she was hiding anything. That would be worse.
โFine.โ She gritted her teeth. Her shirt was loose enough that she didnโt have to undo it. She gripped the ends, walkie-talkie still in hand, and pulled her shirt up over her bra, ๏ฌashing the pale skin of her chest and stomach to the rest of the group. She didnโt have any secrets either, not on her skin at least. Arthur didnโt look; Red saw that. He must not like her like that after all.
Red dropped her shirt, tucking the front tails into her jeans. โAre we done now?โ
โIโm sorry, Red,โ Reyna said quietly, like it was somehow her fault.
โNo wires,โ Simon said, a jagged edge to his voice as he smoothed down his own shirt. โNo listening devices. Can we move on, now?โ
โNot yet.โ Oliver shook his head. โJust because thereโs no wire, doesnโt mean someone here isnโt somehow communicating with him outside.โ
โOliver, come on,โ Maddy pleaded. โNo one here is working with the sniper. He would kill any of us. He killed that innocent couple.โ
Oliverโs eyes were busy, working on some thought alone. Red dreaded to know what it was.
โPhones out,โ Oliver said, striding to the kitchen and pulling out the bottom drawer, too hard, juddering against its hinges. He selected the biggest saucepan, with a matching glass lid, pulling it out as the other pans shifted and clattered around it. โCome on, I said phones out, everyone. Weโre going to seal them all in here.โ He raised the pan.
โThereโs no signal,โ Simon said. His phone was out, but his hand tightened around it, like he didnโt want to let it go. โHow could any of us be communicating with the shooter without a signal?โ
โI donโt know,โ Oliver said, brandishing the pan. โMaybe thereโs still a way to communicate, some kind of app. Or maybe one of them has been hacked and is listening to us. Either way, if you want me to trust any of you againโโhis eyes ๏ฌickered and it was obvious which half of the RV he was talking aboutโโwe are shutting our phones away. All of us. Itโs not a request.โ
To prove the point, Oliver pulled his phone out of his back pocket and dropped it inside the saucepan with a dull thud.
โReyna?โ He held the pan out to her. She nodded, not returning his gaze, but she pulled out her phone and placed it inside the pan, on top of his.
Maddy stepped up, dropping hers inside next. โSimon.โ
Not a request.
โThis is fucking stupid,โ Simon said, taking two angry steps toward Oliver, letting go of his phone, the device sliding against the others to ๏ฌnd its own space.
Oliver didnโt need to tell Arthur; he was already leaning forward, phone in hand, placing it vertically in a gap inside the pan, standing guard over the others.
โRed.โ Oliver held the pan out, everyoneโs eyes turning to her. She could feel them, every single one of them, like heat on her skin, too long and she might burn. Were they looking at her harder than anyone else? That wasnโt good. She reached behind her, hand dipping into the loose back pocket of her jeans, ๏ฌngers alighting around the cool edges of her phone. She pulled it out and held it in front of her eyes, phone in one hand, walkie-talkie in the other. The home screen lit up. No service. 38% battery now. 3:13 a.m. Strange, how she didnโt feel tired at all.
โRed.โ Oliver prompted again. Not a request, remember? He was the leader and he was leading. Where to, Red didnโt want to think about. She hesitated and then slid her phone in on top of the pile.
โNo one has a secret second phone, do they?โ Everyone shook their heads and Oliver nodded his.
The phones slid and shifted as he carried them away, putting the pan down on the dining table and then slotting the glass lid over the pan. But that wasnโt enough, was it? Next he grabbed the half-used roll of duct tape and pulled a long strip free, cutting it into smaller sections with Maddyโs hair scissors. He pressed the pieces of duct tape down from lid to pan, sealing their phones inside.
Then the pan was up in his hands again and he was walking toward the kitchen, opening the oven and sliding the pan inside. He closed the oven door with a slam that ricocheted around the RV.
He turned back and Red sti๏ฌened, catching his eyes for a second before she could blink them away. A shiver passed through her, hiding there just beneath the surface of her skin, even though it was warm in here. Too warm. Was she scared of Oliver, or just scared? Scared of this night and the man outside with a gun. It must be the second thing. Sheโd known Oliver all her life. A leader had to make hard decisions. He was just trying to make sure they survived. That was all, right?
โNow what?โ Simon straightened up, clutching his bony hands in front of his chest, like he was protecting the parts inside. โAre you going to make us strip o๏ฌ our clothes, bend over and cough?โ
โSimon, Iโve almost had it with you!โ Oliver exploded. โIโm the only one being smart here. I am trying to make sure we survive. Thatโs all.โ
โReally?โ Simon bit back, tightening his hands. โBecause it seems to me you keep avoiding the one thing that we know will get us out of here alive. The reason weโre here at all. The secret that the sniper wants.โ
โNot all of us,โ Maddy said, shifting uncomfortably, a shadow across her eyes. โNot all of us will get out of here alive. He said that if we give him the secret, he will let the rest of us live. Which meansโฆโ
She didnโt need to ๏ฌnish. Red understood. That secret, the one the sniper wanted, was a death sentence. That was what this was. But it wasnโt Redโs, it couldnโt be, that was the whole point. So, whose was it?
โWell, why donโt we concentrate on giving him what he wants, and deal with the consequences after,โ Simon said, looking at Maddy, because Oliver had started to pace behind them. โHe might be blu๏ฌng about that part.โ
โNo,โ Oliver said darkly. โWeโre not doing that, not playing his game. Iโm not letting him kill one of us. Any of us.โ
The two sides of the RV whole again. Or Oliver didnโt want to give up his secret, the one that Reyna knew too. How bad could it be?
Red watched Reyna, her eyes playing across the ๏ฌoor, mouth ๏ฌickering at one edge, cracking her face. Reynaโs hand was ๏ฌddling with her top, pulling it into a tight knot at her chest. Tighter, tighter. She took a breath and released her hand, the bunched material staying in place like her heart had burst free
of her ribs, trapped there inside the shirt. She shook her head and pressed her lips together, looking up.
โOliver, we have toโโ she began.
โNo, Reyna, you keep your mouth shut,โ he barked, stopping dead still.
There was a warning in his eyes. Blink and ๏ฌash.
โOliver, we have to,โ Reyna replied, hardening her voice, a warning in there too. โWe have to. This could be about us. About what we did.โ
