Metaltown

  Minnick raised the gun in the air and fired. The blast smacked against the walls and Lena slapped her hands to her ears to muffle the ringing. Everything was spiraling out of control. Someone was going to be killed. What had she done, joining them?

  “New plan,” Minnick shouted. “Those of you who want jobs, prove it. Get this scum out of my sight and I’ll even bump your pay.”

  His words hung in the air like the reverberation of the shot he’d fired. Then, the employees turned from Minnick back toward the charter, faces grim. It was obvious some didn’t want to fight—their reluctance showed in their shaking fists as they raised them in defense. Others took hungrily to the challenge, eager to please their new foreman.

  The two opposing waves collided. The employees attacked the Small Parts Charter, and the charter countered every blow, taking Mr. Minnick to the ground. Lena lost Colin, lost the foreman, even lost Ty. A girl screamed—a young girl. Maybe Zeke’s little sister, maybe another of the young children who worked at the factory. The fear swelled inside of Lena, planting her feet in the asphalt, making it impossible to move.

  Someone grabbed her arm and spun her away from the alley. The boy from last night who had come with the Brotherhood. A mess of dirty dark curls were plastered to his broad forehead, and his eyes were too far apart. He bared his teeth, then reached back and yanked her braided hair.

  She screamed.

  In a flash she remembered Colin on the bridge outside Metaltown. Hit me, he’d said. If you can. Concentrating all her strength in her right arm, she balled her fist and struck out. Crack. The pain ricocheted up her arm.

  He released her at once, stumbling back and grabbing his face. The blood that ran through his fingers filled her with a primal thrill. He’d deserved it. He was going to hurt her and she’d hurt him first.

  Men were running at them from up the street. Fifteen. Twenty. Maybe more. She recognized the guy who’d threatened her the previous night—Imon, they had called him. He held a knife in one hand. She remembered the way it had felt pressed against her stomach.

  Fire burst through her blood.

  “Brotherhood!” she shouted as loudly as she could. “Brotherhood! They’re here!”

  She was pushed down and hit the ground hard, scraping her knees and her elbows raw. Half crawling, half stumbling, she pushed to the opposite side of the street, away from the fighting.

  “Brotherhood!” she heard the others yell. As they carried back the message, she felt the twisted validation within her sour. The Small Parts Charter was outnumbered. It was hard to tell what was happening across the street, but it looked like they were pulling back, away from the big men of the Brotherhood, away from her, deeper into the alley. She couldn’t see Minnick; he must have been on the ground somewhere.

  Then the Small Parts Charter began to disappear. It took only a moment to realize they had broken the barrier and were pushing into the factory, behind the brick walls to safety. She knew she had to get to them. She couldn’t stay out here alone.

  Jolting to her feet, she attempted to run across the street, but one of the Brotherhood’s men caught her and whipped her around. She kicked him hard in the knee and ran for the alley.

  “Colin!” Frantically she searched, but she couldn’t see him.

  The Small Parts Charter was almost all inside. The Brotherhood didn’t know who to attack, and had turned on the employees, striking any kid who was still standing. Just as she reached the alley, a man stepped into her path. She registered the yellow stains on his bared teeth and the greasy tail of chestnut hair.

  Jed Schultz.

  “You,” he said, his eyes widening with recognition.

  She glanced down at the short leather club in his hand, stained red with blood. Someone grabbed her from behind and she wriggled away, heart bursting in her chest. Behind Schultz, the Small Parts Charter slammed the employee door shut.

  “No!” Her eyes shot right, to the main entrance of the building. No one guarded it. A fleeting hope passed through her that it was still open.

  She made a run for it, dodging through the bodies toward the double doors where she’d first been introduced to her family’s factory. Ten steps—the breath seared her lungs. Four steps—she dove for the handle.

  It didn’t budge.

  “Come on!” She jiggled it as hard as she could. “Come on come on come on!”

  She banged her fists against the door. She kicked it. Her gaze flicked up and relief punched into her. Someone was coming. She could see their shadow through the dirty windows. But the Brotherhood’s men were coming for her too. They were closing in on the side of her vision. Stalking her.

  “Hurry up!” she shouted. Her pulse hammered in her ears.

  The person inside ran to the door and grabbed the opposite side of the handle. Their eyes locked through the glass.

  Ty.

  And then Colin’s friend straightened, and with a self-righteous smirk, lifted both hands, and stepped back.

  25

  COLIN

  “Zeke!” Colin yelled down to the floor. “Len—… Mary—she with you?”

  The machines were silent, but the voices resounded off the walls. Yelling, cheers. A few of the younger kids crying. The floor was packed with workers, some of them waiting nervously at their posts as if for the machines to start, most of them gathered in groups. Martin, Henry, T.J., and a few others were still upstairs guarding the employee door. Those injured in the fight were up against the walls. He recognized Agnes, who gripped her side, panting. A long smear of red wrapped around her waist.

  “She’s not here!” Zeke called. He’d gathered his sister and some of the smaller kids in the center of the floor.

  Noneck came up the stairs, two at a time, blood still trickling from his nose.

  Colin steered him toward Agnes. “Have you seen Ty or Mary?”

  Noneck shook his head. “Saw Ty outside. Not since.” He kneeled down to Agnes and pulled her hands away to see the damage. Colin felt a cold chill tremble through him. She’d been stuck, right above her hip. The blood that leaked out was almost black.

  I did this to her. Colin forced himself to back away.

  “Mary!” he shouted. He’d claimed safety on Lena, then thrown her to the wolves. If she’d been hurt it was on his hands. Ty never would have done this to him. That’s because Ty was smart. What kind of person brought a greenback to a street fight?

  He’d forgotten who Lena was. Or he’d ignored it, and seen only what he wanted to see.

  He entered Minnick’s office, which had been overturned since they’d taken the factory. Papers were spread across the ground, furniture tossed, but he only considered this a moment before shoving through to the opposite door, which led to the main hallway.

  “Is the front locked?” someone asked behind him. Colin turned, startled, and found Henry on his heels.

  He didn’t know.

  They raced toward the main entrance of the building and burst into the waiting room. Someone was beating on the door; its hinges squeaked with each hit.

  Colin siphoned in a breath. Ty was here. Her bandage had been torn off, revealing the ugly brown welts on her cheek and her light blue iris, but she was still standing. Smiling, of all things.

  And then he looked behind her, to where Lena slapped her hands against the glass windowpane.

  Before he could speak, he’d sprinted to the door, but Ty blocked his way. He pushed her aside, lunging for the door handle. He could see Lena’s terrified expression; her eyes, round with panic, her lips pulled into a thin line. It was just like after he’d found her in the car, and the sight of her like that shredded his insides.

  I’m coming. Hang on.

  “You open that door, everyone will get in,” warned Ty.

  Lena’s muffled scream came through the glass as someone grabbed her around the waist and jerked her back. She held on to the handle, but those stupid gloves she wore wouldn’t hold their grip long.

  “Ready when you are,” sa
id Henry. He pulled a handful of white powder from the factory floor out of his pocket.

  Colin unbolted the lock, planted his feet, and jerked the door inward. Henry threw a handful of dust into the face of Lena’s attacker. The man cried out, and dropped her so that he could cover his eyes. She stumbled into the building, landing in a heap on top of Colin. Henry slammed the door shut and threw his body against it.

  “Lock it!” he shouted at Ty. She flipped the bolt. The man outside kicked the door, but then disappeared from sight, leaving a prickling silence in his wake. The second he was gone, Henry began to barricade the door with furniture from the lobby.

  Colin held Lena tightly against him. If he could only pull her close enough, she’d stop shaking. She’d see he still had her back, that she was safe.

  “I got you,” he said into her messy hair. Her fists knotted in his sweater, her knees curled under her, beside his hip. For one breath, in and out, he forgot the others. Forgot what was happening outside. There was only the firm floor beneath his back and her small body on top of his.

  Then she withdrew, and smoothed down his shirt.

  “Thank you.” The rawness in her voice tugged at him.

  Then she stood, straightened her sweater, and charged Ty.

  His friend was too shocked to defend herself. She crashed into the back wall and huffed out a breath as Lena’s shoulder slammed into her ribs. Lena clawed at her clothes like she might rip them to pieces. Colin jolted to his feet.

  “Whoa, hold up!” Henry grabbed Lena around the waist and trapped her arms down at her sides. “You Uniform Division girls like to play rough, don’t you?”

  “Let go of me!” Lena kicked through the air as Henry dragged her back.

  Ty wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Careful. I’ll put you back outside.”

  “Ty!” snapped Colin. She met his glare, then turned, knocking him hard in the shoulder before striding down the hallway toward the main floor.

  Something dark spilled over inside of him. She could have helped Lena. Could have opened the door, called for backup, something. But she hadn’t. She’d stood inside, behind the safety of locked doors, and smiled. His memories tinged red around the edges until he was so furious he thought he might break something.

  “Stay here,” he told Henry harshly. “Yell if someone tries to get through.”

  Henry nodded.

  “Colin,” he heard Lena say, but he couldn’t face her. He didn’t remember moving, didn’t remember getting back to Minnick’s office, or the platform outside it, but somehow he was there, burning a hole in Ty’s back as she marched down the stairs.

  Noneck grabbed him on the way by. “We got to get Agnes out. They stuck her good, Colin. She’s bleeding bad.”

  “What’s our move?” Martin glanced down at the girl in question, face pale. “We can’t stay here. They’ll break down the doors before long.”

  Colin’s composure broke. His fist slammed against the railing. This was his fault. Agnes. Lena. The whole Small Parts Charter. The weights grew heavier, crushing his chest, grinding him into the floor.

  “Some of the warehouse guys have cleared the back exit by the shipping dock. There’s no Brotherhood back there.” Noneck stayed where he was, awaiting orders.

  He couldn’t make these decisions. He couldn’t hold Agnes’s life in his hands. It wasn’t supposed to go this way. Minnick should have called Hampton, and then they would have had the meeting. There was never supposed to be a fight.

  “Take her,” he said finally. Down on the floor, every dirty, sweat-streaked face was now pointed his way.

  “The back by the shipping docks is clear.” His voice was weak.

  “Louder,” prompted Martin, standing beside him.

  “The back door is clear!” Please be true. “We need to get the people who are hurt out now. Zeke, take the kids with you.” He swallowed. “Ty, you’re going too.”

  She paused, halfway down the stairs, shoulders bunched, then continued in her descent.

  “Ty, I’m talking to you!”

  There was venom in her eyes as she slowly turned to face him.

  “You can’t kick me out.”

  He stomped down the metal steps, feeling dangerous, feeling like he didn’t know her at all. “You turn your back on one of us, you turn your back on all of us.”

  “She is not one of us!” Ty shoved Colin back a step. “And you’re not like her, either! She’s a greenback. A Hampton.”

  Colin followed her gaze behind him, to where Lena stood on the stairs, sun-touched skin taking on a yellow hue. The others were whispering, pointing at her. She straightened her back and lifted her chin, but he knew she had to be melting inside.

  “Mary crossed the line. She pledged,” said Zeke. “I saw her.”

  “She’s with us,” Colin told them.

  Martin’s jaw fell open. “She’s a spy?”

  “I’m not!” Lena said.

  Zeke had lifted his sister up on his hip. “What’s this about, Colin?”

  Colin stared at Ty, remembering when he was thirteen and she’d stuck up for him. Remembering when she’d taught him to throw a punch. Remembering day after day of working beside her, and night after night of searching for food. The day she’d found out Cherish was sick, and spent all her pay to buy her clean water. The time they’d taken on four guys from the Board and Care for stealing her shoes while she’d been sleeping.

  Then those parts within him grew cold, and hard as ice.

  “She’s Lena Hampton. And I’ve called safety on her. Anyone who doesn’t believe she’s with us can take it up with me or hit the road. But that doesn’t change anything. I’m staying here until we get a meeting with the boss.”

  They whispered among themselves, and Colin held perfectly still, unwilling for even his feet to falter.

  “They came after her, too,” said Henry. “I saw it.”

  A few people voiced their agreement. It should have brought relief, but all Colin could feel was frozen.

  “She’s the one that warned us about the Brotherhood,” said Noneck. Colin turned to see him carrying Agnes’s crumpled body down the stairs. They didn’t have time to fight over this; they had bigger problems.

  “In ten minutes I’m sending a message to the Brotherhood. If they break down those doors, we’ll break every machine in this building. They don’t want us to work? Nobody’s going to work. Not until we talk to Hampton.”

  It was bold. Too bold, maybe. But the wheels were already in motion. There was no turning back now.

  He closed the space to Ty, wishing he could take back the last hour, when she’d made her decision to break the code and lock Lena out of the building.

  “You need me,” Ty said in a low voice. “Don’t do this.”

  “You did it to yourself,” he said, feeling something inside him break wide open.

  She looked up at Lena, desperation filling her face. She rubbed her hands on her pants. “All right, I broke the rules. Bust me up me if you have to. First hit’s free. I won’t even fight back.”

  Her words disgusted him. He didn’t want to fight her. He wanted her here, by his side, the way it was supposed to be. But she’d ruined it, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t let that slide. If it had been him locked outside that door, Ty would have torn apart whoever had done it. He owed Lena the same.

  “Get out.”

  He was vaguely aware of the boy pushing at his side, yelling his name. Someone grabbed Chip, and pulled him back.

  “Get. Out.”

  Ty went still, cheeks burning. “I guess Hayden isn’t the only one in the family selling out for a fistful of green.”

  Colin pressed his teeth together so hard he thought they might crumble. She glared over his shoulder to Lena and he wondered how many others thought the same thing—that his loyalty had been compromised by her status. What that had to do with Hayden, he didn’t know.

  Ty turned and walked away, ignoring Chip, who clung to her sid
e. Ignoring Noneck, who struggled with Agnes, and Zeke with the kids, and a line of those who hadn’t bargained for this. Those who wanted no part in the Small Parts press, or the brutality of the charter.

  He sagged back into the stairway railing and wondered what the hell he had done.

  26

  TY

  Sunrise found Ty at Shima’s apartment. She hadn’t planned on coming here. She hadn’t planned on a lot of things happening.

  After she’d been kicked out of the factory, she and Chip had gone with Noneck to Charity House. They’d left Agnes on the front steps, knocked, and then hidden by the Board and Care across the street. It had taken three weak corn-flu victims to lift her, but they’d brought her inside. It wasn’t great, but it was the best they could do for her.

  Then they’d snuck back through the cluttered, sticky alleys to the factory. Even across the street Ty could feel the thick veil of tension surrounding Small Parts. Though no one had broken in, the front of the building was still teeming with Brotherhood thugs. Minnick and a few yellow-bellied workers were there too, but no Schultz. The stray pack of dogs snapped and snarled, waiting for their alpha to return.

  Ty didn’t know where the white knight of Metaltown had disappeared to, but if she had to bet, she’d say he’d run to squeal to Hampton. If Colin hadn’t stabbed her in the back she might have warned him. As it was, Noneck delivered the message when he snuck back in through the shipping docks.

  She could see the longing in Chip’s face as they watched him disappear.

  “If you want to go, just go,” she’d said. “I don’t give a rat’s ass.”

  It had hurt his feelings, but he’d stood his ground. And that pissed her off. She didn’t need a mama, especially not one half her age.

  “I don’t know how else to say it, kid. I’m sick and tired of you hanging around all the time. Go back to St. Mary’s, or get in there with the others, but either way get gone. I’ve got enough to worry about without you hanging on my back.”