Human Nature (Book 4): Human Nature IV by Borthwick, Finlay (book recommendations website .TXT) 📗

How the hell did you—Oh, never mind.” Mac cut himself off as he quickly realised the more answers he got, the more questions he would in turn have. “So, did you get any supplies whatsoever?”

Kieran shrugged and grimaced at him, “On the next one, buddy, on the next one.” He patted him on the shoulder patronisingly.

There were lots of murmurs and gasps on the streets of the safe zone as the astounded residents all watched Valorie escort this new and rather menacing woman along.

“Do you want me to get Gwen and Annabelle?” Marianne directed her question towards Nikola and Rubin, who were hanging behind Kieran and Valorie, as she felt more comfortable talking to people that she had already lived with before.

“No!” Kieran was the one who answered regardless, shouting this refusal at her. “They’ll just get in the way. Not to mention, they’ll probably kill her too.” He nodded to the apprehended Donna.

“Uh, and rightfully so, no?” Marianne contested, not seeing what the problem with killing one of the enemies was.

“Just—Just don’t tell them yet, okay?” Kieran firmly reasoned with her.

“Mari’,” Nikola mumbled lowly to her, “It’s okay.” She supported Kieran’s stance, “We’ll handle this, don’t worry.”

Feeling a little more reassurance from her old allies, Marianne nodded and remained where she stood, even if it did go against her better judgement…

Chapter 17: Sitting Ducks

Kieran, Valorie, Nikola, Rubin, Mac, and Dawn had taken Donna to one of the semi-detached houses at the farther away end of the safe zone, so as to minimise the chance of any interruptions.

The bandit was currently tied up to a chair in the basement underneath the house, her six captors all anxiously glaring down at her in a huddle, as though they were a tactical support unit.

“How many of you are there?” Kieran asked, his arms sternly folded as he did so.

Donna smirked and avoided the question, “Nolan’s next in line to lead us,” she revealed, “He’ll be coming for this place soon enough.” Then, she glared over at Valorie, “Thanks for letting him escape.”

“As long as it means I’m better than you,” Valorie retorted, not shaken by her foe’s taunting in the slightest, “Then you’re welcome.”

“How many of you are there?” Kieran repeated his question, ignoring the exchange between Donna and Valorie.

“Why would I tell you when you’ll find out for yourselves in the near future?” Donna groaned at him, suggesting the possibility of an upcoming attack.

Nikola and Rubin looked over at each other uneasily, and then over at Valorie; they were having doubts about the security of her ethical judgement.

“How about where are you all hiding?” Dawn called out from the back of the pack.

Donna rolled her eyes to pass Dawn’s question off.

“Okay, can we please just kill her now?” Mac burst out aggressively.

“No, Mac.” Kieran turned to face him and then mumbled, “She’s just trying to get inside your head, okay? Don’t let her win.”

Taking a deep breath, Mac nodded and understood.

“You’re all just sitting ducks!” Donna proclaimed jovially and laughed, not backing down from her gloating nature.

“And you’ll be a dead bitch if you keep this attitude up.” Valorie forewarned her, hovering her hand over her pistol to verify her threat as legitimate.

Although on the outside he appeared to be stern and in control, on the inside, Kieran was starting to become unnerved by how easily his allies could be swayed and riled up by Donna’s words.

Kieran, Valorie, Nikola, Mac, and Dawn had headed to the upstairs floor of the house in order to discuss their next move, leaving Rubin down in the basement to watch over their hostage. In order to avoid Donna from eavesdropping in on them, they had agreed to leave a story’s worth of space between her and them.

“We have to call it in,” Nikola proposed, “If she’s telling the truth, then we need to arm ourselves up for the incoming attack.”

“If the attack was real,” Kieran countered, “Then why would she tell us about it? She’s just trying to incite fear and divide us, don’t let her get to you!” He was absolutely certain that Donna was playing a mind game.

“Maybe she’s just a gloating idiot,” Valorie proposed, “Either way, it would be a safe bet to arm ourselves.”

“But the armoury is locked at all times and Cora is the one who has the key!” Kieran reminded her.

“Then we tell Cora about our hostage, simple.” Valorie followed up.

“Okay, and then she tells Erica, who tells Tina, who tells somebody else, and then eventually, we’ve got a whole city full of panicked people!” Kieran was thinking ahead of time, “Disarray is a more powerful weapon than anything that The Bandits possess!” With time, he would actually realise this was not entirely true.

“At the very least,” Dawn gave her opinion, “We should tell Gwen and Annabelle. It’s no secret that this is personal for them. It should be their choice.”

Mac nodded in agreement, “Dawn’s right, this is not our fight and therefore it’s not our call. We should pass this over to someone else.”

“No, no! Gwen and Annabelle are the worst people to tell for that exact reason!” Kieran tried to yell reason into his allies. “The moment they find out one of their enemies is captive and within reach, do you really think they won’t just come and kill her? That is her plan! She wants us to kill her in order to get a war started between us and the crazies outside!”

Although Kieran’s theory was reasonable, the expressions on his comrades’ faces suggested they were still thinking otherwise.

“Alright, let’s take a vote,” Kieran suggested, “All who are in favour of calling it in, raise your hand.”

Unanimously, Valorie, Nikola, Mac, and Dawn had all put their hands up.

Kieran sighed and shook his head, “You’re playing with fire