Chapter 74
At the end of the platform, White waited for the troops aboard the boat to welcome them aboard. “Mother White?” a short woman with blonde hair pulled back into a severe bun on the back of her head asked. She was wearing the same mix of brown and green clothing as White had noted in those amongst the trees. By the looks of her, she wasn’t much older than the fugitives.
“Yes, and this is Mother Scorpion and Mother Jaguar.” She had to assume the other two were standing there without taking the time to turn around.
“Come aboard, please.”
A man offered his hand. White looked at it and scoffed, leaping across the distance and grabbing hold of the outer wall of the boat before swinging her legs over. The Oklasawians had their fingers ready on their triggers, stepping back, as if they thought she might attack them. She moved aside so that Jaguar and Scorpion could board. Jaguar managed the same way she had but then turned to help Scorpion who was less athletic. The hell any of them were taking the hand of a man.
Witnessing the exchange in glances between the two enemy soldiers, White said nothing. She didn’t feel the need to explain her position.
“Representative Douglas is waiting for you in the cabin,” the woman said, gesturing with her rifle and then walking toward what appeared to be a small room behind the steering column of the vehicle.
White followed, pretending the swaying of the boat was nothing unusual to her. Jaguar and Scorpion followed. The rest of their party stayed on the end of the bridge, at the ready. White wasn’t sure who she would be meeting with, but when the woman opened the door to reveal an older man with dark hair, graying at the temples, wearing a similar outfit as the others on the boat, a contemplative smirk on his face, she narrowed her eyes. Of course, they would expect her to meet with a man. No doubt the prime minister, also a man, was trying to make a point.
“Representative Douglas,” the woman said, “this is Mother White, head of the Michaelanburg Military.”
“Thank you, lieutenant,” the man said. The two exchanged some sort of a salute, lifting one hand to their foreheads, and then the woman soldier left, leaving only the representative with the three Mothers.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” Douglas said. “Please, have a seat.”
There were only two seats in the small space, and while standing seemed awkward, and slightly dangerous for someone like White who had no sea legs, she wasn’t about to sit amicably across from this man. “No, thank you,” she said, “I prefer to stand.”
He cleared his throat. “Very well. I understand you are attempting to track some young people you believe crossed into our territory a few days ago. A couple of women? Maybe two men as well?”
White nodded. “We will be tracking them, hunting them down, and taking them back to Michaelanburg where they will stand trial for crimes against the state.” Not that it was his business. She wouldn’t bother to tell him two of the escapees would be shot on sight. Again, not his concern.
Douglas, who had chosen not to sit when she had declined and clearly had better balance than she did as it didn’t seem as if he were fighting the current at all, folded his hands and looked down. “What you are asking, Mother White, is for us to stand back and allow you to bring your military vehicles, weaponry, even overland surveillance devices into our land. Surely, you can understand why we would find that impermissible.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Our issue is not with you or any of your citizens, assuming that no one else attempts to assist the rebels. We are even willing to overlook the misstep of whichever of your citizens it was who carried them across the river under cover of night. But we will have our citizens back.”
Douglas ran a hand through his hair. “Mother White, we understand you want your citizens returned to you. The problem is, we don’t know where they are. And we aren’t about to have you and thousands of your troops tearing through our farmland, threatening the safety and security of our citizens while you look for them.”
“That won’t be a problem,” she assured him, attempting to smile. It was difficult. Even looking him in the eye, when it was clear he thought he was so much better than her simply because he had a penis, was a struggle. “One of them has tripped a tracking device. It will take us only a matter of hours to find her once we cross the river. We assume the others will be with her.”
A dismissive shake of his head had her biting back the urge to pull her weapon and end him. “We cannot allow that either, I’m afraid. Why don’t you allow us to make the search? If we find anything, we will notify you.”
“That will not happen, Representative Douglas. I’m not here to ask your permission to cross the River Red. You wanted to speak to me, so I’m telling you, we’re coming. You can either move aside and let us find the rebels, or you and your people can soak your land in the same color that names the river that forms your border.” Her voice was even, but her tone was clear. This was not a negotiation.
He met her gaze for a few seconds. Mother White didn’t blink. He looked away first. “Very well, then. I will take your message to the prime minister. While we do not condone the way you treat your citizens, any of your citizens, but most especially the male population of Michaelanburg, you should understand we do take threats to our own borders quite seriously. You should also understand that you will not find the state of the military of Oklasaw in the same disarray it was the last time your forces showed up alongside the Red River. We are prepared to fight, and it will not be an easy battle. For you.”
One side of Mother White’s mouth pulled up in a crooked grin she could not hide. “That is music to my ears, Representative Douglas. I welcome the fight.”
He breathed deeply, exhaling in a way that let her know he wasn’t frightened either. If it meant war, then that’s what they would have, but Mother White was determined to find Rain and the others. If she got to take out a few hundred hill people in the process, all the better.
Without awaiting a sendoff from the delegate, she turned on her heel and headed back outside of the cabin, determined to reach shore quickly so they could continue to work on the bridge. She’d give Prime Minister Heath a few hours to make his decision because she had no choice, but once that bridge was completed, the Mothers would be crossing the river.
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