"That's it," Theo said.

  "What's it?" asked Bill. Then his eyes widened as the answer hit him. "Oh man, the bank! Makes perfect sense."

  "Why didn't we think of that?" asked Ryan. "It's exactly right. No random person on the island has the equipment or capabilities to get into the safe. The place is abandoned so people wouldn't think to look there. Where better to store something important? That's got to be the weapon stash."

  Theo nodded. "Yeah, that's it. Tiberius is doing something to the town. There's some kind of plan in motion here to suppress the people but his plans got crossed up. He can't demolish the bank. And that, my friends, is the break we were looking for."

  Chapter 23

  "Okay," Theo said. "Not to make too big a deal here but this is going to be one of those moments that's going to determine our futures. Everything hinges on our ability to pull off this one raid. What?" He stopped and stared at Bill who was grinning widely.

  "Oh, nothing, it's just… dude. A bank heist! This is the coolest thing that could ever happen to me!"

  Theo laughed. He looked around the living room of the house that now was home and refuge to dozens of people. With the addition of so many new, willing volunteers, Theo had to decide when to close ranks to his inner circle. This was one of those times.

  It had been only a few hours since Brian had returned with his report, unintentionally revealing the answer Theo had been seeking. Ryan and Bill agreed that time was of the essence. This raid had to be carried out quickly, under the cover of night, and without too many people knowing or having opportunity to accidentally slip and reveal the plan.

  "I wouldn't really call this a heist," said Theo. "I don't anticipate a tremendous amount of security, though to think the Force won't be there at all would be a mistake. In fact, I'm counting on it. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to get in to the vault. We also have to account for the potential of night crews working on the demolition of the nearby buildings."

  "You think people will be working this late?" asked Kylee.

  "I do. But that can be a good thing too. The noise they make will help us stay undetected, if we're careful. Now the first thing is deciding who is going to go on this mission. We don't really know what we are facing, and there's a chance this could get messy. I don't want you to think there's not a risk in what I'm asking."

  "I'm in, Theo," said Andrew. "Can't have all you young folk having all the fun!"

  Joseph turned to him. They seemed to lock eyes for a second, and then he turned to face Theo. "I am in as well. I know the risk but this has to happen."

  "Okay. Who else?" Theo was shocked as all the hands went up. "Listen, guys, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but we can't have everybody rushing off. We can't chance losing all of you, and we'd be better off with a smaller group. Kylee, I need you to stay behind."

  "What?" she was angry. "Why me? You don't think I'm capable?"

  "No, no, that's not what I'm saying! You're the leader of all the women here…all our fighters. I need them organized for what's to come. For that reason it's too much of a risk having you out there right now. Do you understand, babe?"

  She thought about his point, her face contorting along with her emotions. Finally she relented. "I'll stay," she said, "but just this once. If there comes a time we send people to fight I'm going with them."

  Theo grimaced. "Yeah. I know. I hope we can avoid that, for a while at least."

  "So who is going to go?" asked Ryan.

  "Andrew and Joseph can go. Jamie, Bill, and you, Ry. You're my team with me on the ground. Brian and Liz, I've got another mission I'd like you to run, if that's okay with you."

  Everyone seemed satisfied with his or her assignment. Theo started to fall into the groove of leadership and planning as he spoke. "So, as far as the plan… It's not much in terms of specific steps. We have to be prepared to react to the situation as we encounter it. There are a few guidelines. If there is a guard in place at the vault, that means the vault is either going to be open, so the guard can access the weapons, or closed but the guard will have the key. In the first case we can try to get around the guard, but it's likely that in either situation we are going to have to take him out of commission as quickly as possible. Kylee has trained you all in some simple techniques to disable your opponent. Just remember that this opponent is likely armed and has similar training.

  "I will call the shots as to who confronts the guard…or guards, though I have my doubts about there being more than one person assigned. Once we get access to the vault, we're going to start a rotation to get the weapons back to the safe house. It's going to be dangerous, unpredictable, and I just don't have as much information as I'd like. Still, I don't have to tell you all how important this is. If we can shift this one stash of weapons to our side, we start to have something resembling a fighting chance."

  He looked around. Every time he was placed in a position of authority, Theo fully expected everyone around him to balk. Again, he was surprised. The serious faces in the room were hanging on his words. "Okay. It's time we take some action. Let's do this."

  An hour later Theo and his team were watching from the shadows as a lone Security Force agent paced outside the front doors of the seemingly abandoned bank. Large spotlights were trained on the buildings across the street and just as Theo had suspected the demolition continued into the night.

  "Damn lot of guys all over the place," whispered Bill. "Just like Brian said."

  "Doesn't matter," said Ryan. "Those spotlights are going to make us pretty much invisible to anybody ripping the buildings apart over there. The issue is the guard."

  "Do you want me to distract him?" asked Jamie.

  "Thanks, but no," said Theo. "You're more valuable to us than that, and for all we know that guard could shoot you on site. We have to be more careful than that."

  "What do you want us to do?" asked Andrew.

  Theo explained his strategy. His team disbursed into the darkness. He felt funny sending them off like this, but the reality was he wasn't taking the easy way out for himself. If the plan went off properly he would walk right in to the bank vault, but if something went wrong he would be the one to have to save the day. Theo realized he wasn't so worried anymore about risking his life. There were bigger things at stake.

  Theo watched and waited. It was hard to see anything in the darkness around the bank. He was positioned diagonally down the street, beyond the perimeter of the spotlights. He squinted, trying to see a sign of Bill. Bill was told to only get into position once the others were all set. Suddenly, he saw a glimpse of his friend on the roof of the bank, perched like a ninja. Theo had to give Bill credit. Bill had been convinced he could make it onto the roof from the rear of the building but Theo hadn't been so sure. Now he knew Bill was right. That filled him with confidence. Bill's appearance on the roof meant it was now up to Theo to tell his team when to act.

  He watched carefully as the guard relaxed against the building's façade. The man had his long, platinum blonde hair pinned back on each side of his head. He looked incredibly bored by the task he had been assigned. Buddy, your night is about to get a ton more interesting, Theo thought.

  Theo waited, forcing himself to remain calm and still while the guard relaxed. Finally, the young man rolled his head in a circle, stretching out his neck. He pressed off the wall with the foot that had been propped up behind him. He took a few steps away from the building. Now!

  Theo let out a shrill whistle. This led the guard out another few feet to investigate the sound. At that, Bill came flying off the roof and on to the helpless agent of the Security Force. Bill bounced up to his feet and was met by the others, rushing around the building. The guard was trying to fight his way free. Bill reached behind him with a chokehold that Theo knew Kylee had taught him. The small mass of rebels surrounded the action and backed into the darkness of the bank's interior. A minute later, the door opened and Ryan's head poked back out. He planted something large against the door, propping it open. That was the "all-clear" sign for Theo to make his grand entrance.

  He kept his body low to the ground as he maneuvered through the still-damp earth toward the bank. No reason to risk being spotted. The clanging and banging of the demolition crews continued unabated. He approached the stairs and ducked quickly past what turned out to be some kind of umbrella holder. He made it through the doorway and stopped to let his eyes adjust. Visibility was going to be tricky with only the narrow sliver of the distant spotlights entering through the open door.

  "Where are you guys?" he called out.

  "Back by the vault, oh fearless leader." Bill's voice, solid and reassuring. All was well here, so far. Theo walked in the direction of the voice, his hands held out in front to ward off any unseen obstacles. The interior of the bank's main room was not very large, and he made it to the wall containing the huge vault with ease. As he walked, his eyes adjusted to the limited light. He could see the guard, unconscious on the floor. The rebels stood around the entrance.

  "Did you see me fly onto this poor dumbass?" asked Bill, beaming with pride.

  Theo laughed. "Not gonna lie, it was awesome."

  "Yeah, that's my guy!" said Jamie. "I got in one kick though!"

  "You were all great," Theo said. "Have we had any luck at finding a way into the vault?"

  "Would you believe it's unlocked?" asked Ryan. "Tiberius might not be a 'hide in plain sight' guy, be he was a little overconfident."

  "That, or our friend and host, Mr. Guard, got a little curious about what he was guarding and forgot to lock up after," said Joseph.

  "You're probably right, Joseph," said Theo. "Have you guys looked inside yet?"

  "We wanted you to do the honors," said Bill.

  "I appreciate that," said Theo. "Okay, people, this is the moment that we've been waiting for." He stepped forward. Up close, he could see that the heavy vault door was open a few inches. He reached in with both hands and pulled, guiding the slow sweep of the door's opening.

  Inside the vault, some kind of dim, battery-powered lighting filled the room with a haunting blue glow. The vault had been carefully retrofitted from its previous life as storage for money and valuables. Very little of that had any purpose in Atlantic Island. What had replaced the money, however, would serve Theo's purposes just fine.

  "My God," said Andrew. "No wonder there isn't any crime on the island. They must have taken every weapon."

  The walls of the vault were filled with guns of all shapes and sizes. Tables erected down the middle of the room held more guns and boxes upon boxes of ammo. These were not the officially issued weapons of any police department that had existed here before the Event. This was a motley collection of arms taken from the people.

  Theo was amazed by the varied weaponry the people of Atlantic Island had possessed, not to mention those who had not survived the Event. He saw handguns, knives, machine guns, rifles, a giant thing he had to assume was a bazooka, even a bow with a quiver full of arrows.

  "Wow, a box of grenades!" said Bill in awe. "This is so cool!" Jamie elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! Okay, cool, but also very important and serious. Happy?"

  Theo turned to his band of rebels. "This is exactly what we needed. Okay, Jamie, this is the part I promised you could play. Run back to the safe house and tell Kylee to mobilize the team she and I discussed. We need some more people or it could take us a week to clear this place out. We need this done tonight, quickly and quietly."

  She gave Bill a kiss and sprinted to the exit. "What about the rest of us?" Bill asked. "Can I take the bazooka?"

  "Joseph and Andrew, you guys grab what you can from here and take it back to the safe house. Listen, I understand if you don't want to be running yourselves ragged through the night. You don't have to come back."

  "Please, we aren't so very old!" said Joseph. "We can almost keep pace with those ladies Jamie is going to bring back. You'll see us later, do not worry!"

  Theo smiled. "Okay, okay. Bill, Ry, you guys need to deal with the guard. No reason to beat him up any more but I think a trip to the beach would do him well, if you get me."

  "Gotcha, boss!" laughed Bill. Theo knew that Bill couldn't be happier to be taking action after having been mistreated left and right since the Event. Truth be told, he felt the same way. He knew Tiberius was going to be furious when he heard about the raid, and that gave him a tremendous amount of pleasure.

  Theo watched all his friends leave. He was going to need to remain to guard the vault. It was eerie being by himself in the pale, cold blue of the room. It might be wise to get a gun. He was looking around for which ammunition matched which type of weapon when he heard Bill's voice.

  "Hey, Theo, thought you might want this. Mr. Guard doesn't need it anymore. Later, man." The black semi-automatic, a staple of the Security Force, was on the floor by the front of the vault. Theo went over to the gun. He kneeled down next to it and touched it with a sense of caution and respect. His experience with guns did not go much beyond shooting BB's from rifles at summer camp. Would a day come where he would have to fire this gun or one like it? He thought it very likely. He sighed, and sat on the floor, pulling the gun across his lap. What the hell kind of a world had this become? What kind of a twisted fantasy saw Theo Essex as the leader of a growing army of disenfranchised, angry rebels? Could he lead an uprising? How could he be expected to do all this and not crack to pieces under the pressure?

  He allowed his thoughts to turn to Kylee. Beautiful, strong, capable. She believed in him and he believed in her. In all his friends, really. Together they could do anything. He thought of Sam Lucas. A good man who had seen so much potential in him. A man who had tried to do the best he could in unimaginable circumstances for which there was no guidebook. Theo promised himself he would do the same. He calmed then, and was still sitting calmly, practically meditating, when the first of Kylee's women arrived to collect the weapons.

  Chapter 24

  Under the cover of a moonless night, the rebels removed every piece of equipment from the bank vault. Every weapon and bit of ammo, from the largest, most elaborate guns to the quiver of arrows, was transported silently in an assembly line stretching from the bank to the safe house.

  Theo was thrilled with the efficiency of the operation. Every step, from Bill's drop onto the guard to the very last handgun being liberated from the bank had gone exactly as he had hoped. They now had more than enough weapons to arm every man and woman in the safe house with more to spare for new recruits, should they be so fortunate as to acquire them.

  Of course, a little sacrifice had to be made. Having so much firepower in the house with children around was a disaster waiting to happen. Theo hated having to move people out of one of the upstairs bedrooms, as it meant more crowding in the others, but it had to be done. He set up a volunteer rotation to stand outside the door of the new rebel armory. He laughed every time he thought how they were storing that many weapons in a room with seashell wallpaper.

  There wouldn't be much time to rest on the laurels of their great accomplishment. Theo knew the rebels would be looking to him for the next plan. Tiberius was proceeding with his changes to the very fabric of Atlantic Island. Between the ongoing demolitions in the heart of Ventnor to the fights to the death that were reportedly still happening, there was a great deal of ugly corrupting the heart of the island.

  He wasn't sure what the next move should be. He had spent a good amount of time dwelling on the subject of the weapons stash. Now that they had cleaned out the one, he spent the next few days deciding how to proceed. Some of his "advisors" wanted to seek out the other stashes. True, there was a value in taking away Tiberius's weapons, even if the rebels couldn't possibly use that many guns. Still, there was far too much risk involved. Tiberius probably already knew about the raid. He would be increasing security at the other locations, which were likely far from the safe house. Theo just couldn't see a scenario where he didn't risk his people for relatively little gain.

  Two days following the raid, Theo sat down with Kylee. "You wanted to talk to me?" he said.

  "Well, I thought you should talk to someone. You don't have to go through all this alone."

  "I do talk to people. I met with Brian and Liz this morning to go over some ideas about how to better gather intelligence on the other side and—"

  "That's not what I mean," she said. "I know you talk about plans and strategies, and that's important. But when you start looking to the people closest to you as allies, subordinates, advisors, whatever, you lose out on what you need most. Friends."

  He smiled. "You're a little more than just a friend to me, you know."

  "Really? I had no idea. Seriously though, that's why I'm the one who needs to talk to you. I don't want you putting so much pressure on yourself."

  "Kylee, last year I was struggling with my grades in school. Now I'm the head of a rebellion with my girlfriend as general of my army. How can I not feel pressured?"

  "I get it. I had a normal life too, you know. Friends, family. There are many people I miss, and I'm a girl who had a few months of training now trying to lead a team of mostly women to do I don't know what. It's stressful. But somehow these are the jobs we ended up with, whether we wanted them or not. We have an obligation to our people, and to all the people of this island. Tiberius has to go, Theo. And it's up to us to remove him. "

  Theo thought in silence. Finally he looked up at her. "You're right, babe. You always are. And you've given me an idea."

  "Well thank you. What's your idea?"

  "You said you're dealing with an army of mostly women. Well, that's because their husbands are locked up. That's the rest of our army right there. The 'political prisoners' Tiberius took away because they didn't agree with him."

  Kylee brushed back her hair. "You want to stage a prison break? Do we even know where the men are being kept?"