Chapter 312 Chapter 312
“The clans will have to abandon all electronic forms of communication for now,” Illias was now speaking, “a new number has been set up, the same way as this one for them to use to get in touch with anyone connected to the Alliance, including the King himself.”
Deacon rubbed his hand over his beard and then turned to grab the cups. His movement was tense, no doubt from what he was hearing.
“All of you are going to have to adjust your routes to stop and get this number to the clans, they’ve been sitting there in the dark since our last communication.” Devin’s tone was low and uneven.
“With that in mind,” Jesse was now speaking, making Gia wonder if some of them were all together somewhere, “we’re going to have to keep unnecessary communication to a minimum until the tech team finds a secure way to handle a larger volume of calls.”
“We’re working with god-like speed.” Illias told him, “Even the all-mighty took seven days, we’ve only had a few so far.”
Deacon came over and held out a cup to her, he was smirking.
“Pen and paper ready, boys and girls? I’m going to be listing this off fast,” Illias warned them. Gia set the cup down and sat down. Taking his notebook, she sat ready to write anything necessary.
“Adjust your routes however you like to reach all of these along the way.” Jesse said, “we have the rest of the co-ord team and some others out there right now filling in the gaps.”
Gia kept her head down, her eyes on the notebook in front of her.
“First up, Deacon and Gia, you need to pick up Konner at...”
Gia wrote the numbers down quickly and then looked up at Deacon. He nodded, so he knew what they meant.
“The clans you’re popping in to see are Roberson Clan, Harmon Clan, and Marin Clan. The number they are to use will be sent to you, in the same manner this one was.”
Gia dropped the pen and looked at what she’d written. They were going to have to go see her father. She couldn’t focus on what Illias was saying now, she’d stopped listening as soon as he said York’s name.
Getting up, she looked up at Deacon and then back down to the notebook. He had the same shell-shocked look on his face as she felt.
By the time the call ended, Gia had done at least twenty laps around the inside of the room.
She watched Deacon hang up the phone and then tuck it into his pocket.
“So, they’re sending the map coordinates for our destination?” She hadn’t been able to focus on the rest of the instructions.
He nodded. “Rather than say locations over the phone.” He crossed his arms over his chest and braced his legs wider. “Illias’ team is good, but if they’re this cautious, something really serious has happened.”
Gia looked at the notepad. “I know two of those clans, obviously.” She rolled her eyes, still trying to accept that they were sending her to her own clan. “I guess they aren’t aware how rocky things are with my family.” She said more to herself than to him.
“The list would have been made going off everyone’s location.”
Sighing, she looked at the ceiling. She hadn’t considered that. “I am not looking forward to it.” She looked back over at him, he hadn’t moved a muscle.
He started to say something when his phone rang. Pulling it out, he tapped the screen and then leaned down and started writing numbers down.
When he finished, she moved over and looked at it. “Why so many numbers?”
He tapped the first line, “clan locations, and I’m going to say the last one is where we’re swapping vehicles.”
“That makes sense. I don’t think I need a map to find my father though.”
Deacon gave her a gentle look, “I’ll go get my map.”
She spun around and looked at him, “Deacon?”
He paused, holding the door open.
“Should we head out tonight or first thing tomorrow?”
Letting the door close, he looked at her for a moment and then around the cabin. Gia noticed his gaze hesitated when he looked at his bed. “That’s your call.” He pointed to the water tank. “I just have to drain the lines and lock up the windows before we go.”
Gia nodded, then slowly turned and looked right at the bed. He wouldn’t be joining her in it tonight, she already knew that as a fact. “We can take turns driving and rest in the van.”
“All right. Just let me get the map and we’ll sketch out a route.” His tone was quiet, almost contemplative.
When he was gone, she looked around more slowly. She wanted to come here when the team took a break. Zeroing in on the dishes, she sighed and went over to turn the water heater on to wash them. “Run until you can’t run anymore,” she whispered as she stacked the dishes in the small basin, “I’ll be right here when you stop.”