The Ranger Brigade: Family Secrets

He and Starfall walked away, leaving Walt and Hannah standing alone on the edge of the camp. Hannah moved closer and he put his arm around her. “What do we do now?” she asked.

“Let’s go talk to the Prophet.”

“Where is he?” she asked.

“What’s your best guess?” he asked.

She surveyed the camp, taking in the motley collection of dwellings, from a camper shell on the back of a pickup truck with one flat tire to a luxurious motor home with an array of solar panels on the roof. “My guess is the big RV,” she said.

“You get an A.” He took his arm from around her. “Come on. Let’s see if the Prophet will grant us an interview.”

No one said anything as they headed toward the motor home, but Walt could feel dozens of eyes on them. No one was rushing to welcome the new converts with open arms, that was for sure. Was it because they were waiting to take their cue from Metwater? Or had the Prophet instilled suspicion of all outsiders in his followers?

They mounted the steps to the RV and Walt rapped hard on the door. After a moment it opened and Andi Matheson answered. Andi—or Asteria, as she called herself now—had had more contact with the Rangers than anyone else in camp, but she showed no sign of recognition as she stared at Walt. “Yes?”

“We’d like to see the Prophet,” he said. “We—my wife and I—” he indicated Hannah “—are big admirers of his and would like to join the group.”

She nodded, as if this made perfect sense, and held the door open wider. “Come in.”

The interior of the RV was dim and cool, the living room filled with a leather sofa and several upholstered chairs. Andi indicated they should sit, then disappeared through an archway into the back of the vehicle.

Walt sat on the sofa and Hannah settled next to him. She was breathing shallowly, and he could almost feel the nervousness rolling off her in waves. He gripped her hand and squeezed. “It’s going to be okay,” he said.

She nodded, and didn’t pull away.

“The woman who let us in is Andi Matheson,” Walt said, keeping his voice low.

Hannah nodded. “I read about her online. She’s the daughter of someone famous, right?”

“Her father is Senator Pete Matheson—though right now he’s serving time for murdering an FBI agent.”

“She’s obviously pregnant,” Hannah said. “Is Metwater the father?”

“No,” Walt said. “That would be the man the senator killed.”

Hannah’s face softened with sympathy. “How terrible for her.”

“She seems to have settled in nicely with Metwater,” Walt said.

There wasn’t a clock in the room, so he had no idea how long they waited, though he thought it might have been as long as ten minutes. “What’s taking so long?” Hannah whispered.

Just then, Andi reappeared from the back of the RV. “The Prophet will see you,” she said.

Walt and Hannah stood and started toward Andi. She held up a hand. “He doesn’t want to see you together,” she said. She turned to Hannah. “He wants to interview you first. Alone.”

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