“Depends on what you mean by more.” I move to the bar and pour a glass of water for myself. I lift it to her, making sure she hasn’t changed her mind. She shakes her head.
“No doubt you’ve heard about Gwen Allison’s escape…”
I nod.
“We hadn’t expected her to be quite so…” she pauses.
“Resourceful?” I offer.
“Resourceful,” she repeats, smiling.
“So what do you need from me?”
“The Red Region has launched a manhunt for Gwen and the women who escaped with her. Most of the women who left with Gwen were behind bars for petty crimes. Crimes they wouldn’t have committed if they weren’t starving.”
“The lower end is given no choice but to fight to survive,” I agree.
“We give them no choice,” she says. “And then we punish them.”
We are both quiet for a moment, the truth of her statement weighing between us.
“We’re hiding them,” she says suddenly.
I sit up straighter. “Gwen?”
“Yes. We have her. But we need to move her. Somewhere safer—closer to the border.”
My heart is beating erratically in my chest. Gwen Allison is here, in the Blue.
“We’re trying to spread out the prisoners who have escaped—buy time until we can figure out a way to get them over the border. They escaped before we’d worked that out yet, so now we’re scrambling, playing catch-up.”
I want to ask about Gwen, but I hold back. “What would you need me to do?”
“Word is you have more room than this elsewhere...Upstate?”
It’s disconcerting how much she knows about me, but I shouldn’t be surprised. The Revolution is making strides because of their ability to get information and to connect the right people together. I’m more honored than anything. It feels good to be part of something, something that’s not dancing.
“You want me to hide them?” I’m thinking of the numbers. A hundred fugitives would be near impossible to hide.
“Just a few,” she says. “We need more time before we can get them out. As soon as they got involved with Gwen, their crimes went from things like theft and arson to treason. If they’re caught, there’s no doubt they’ll spend the rest of their lives in prison. The Society is looking to make an example of them.”
I think about the way Folsom’s son, Laticus, had been shot while trying to escape and set my glass down.
“I know it’s asking a lot,” she says, like she can read my thoughts.
“It’s dangerous. Will I have protection?” I ask.
She sits down in the chair across from me and leans forward.
“We’re growing, but our resources are limited. This would be a risk you’d need to be willing to take.”
Indeed. I stare down at my hands and suddenly I picture Jackal, the image of him with all of those women. He hadn’t looked like he needed saving tonight. But there was Folsom, who Jackal had called the best of them, and Gwen who had sacrificed herself to save the man she loved, and her sister, and Rebel who would never know his parents because he was taken unfairly from his mother.
“Yes. I’ll help,” I say quickly. “I’m due for a risk.”
Jewel nods. “Good. Because we need to move fast. Preferably tonight.”
I balk.