The Gender Plan (The Gender Game #6)

“Smart,” she said as she and Alejandro donned them. “Carmen! I want you, Pete, and Stacy to get these over to Drew. He’s waiting in what remains of the quartermaster’s office. You know where that is?”


The short, dark-skinned woman with a downturned mouth listened carefully as Mags continued her explanation. I paid attention with half an ear as I began directing people over the radio about what needed to get done. I could see Gregory had already gotten a jump on it, so I avoided giving orders regarding anything he was working on—namely, removing the bodies. But the harvester needed to be moved and barricades righted, if only so the gate team could have defensible cover, in case trouble came knocking.

Once Mags was finished, the woman repeated the instructions correctly, and then turned to get ready to go. Mags watched her go for a minute, and then gave me a thoughtful look.

“So, I was actually eight and a half,” she announced softly. “Before my father and Alejandro had that fight.” I frowned, remembering how broken up Alejandro had been about that argument. Not because of what had happened between him and his brother, but because by ostracizing that part of the family, he had lost his chance to see Mags. And since he and Jenny had never had kids, it had been a blow to him.

“But that is in the past,” Mags added with a smile. “Congratulations on your engagement. Did you actually propose on a sinking boat?”

I gave Alejandro a look. “You told her that?”

Alejandro’s smile was unapologetic. “My boy, I told everyone that story. The romance, the excitement… the drama. It was one of my better tales about you two.” He winked.

I shook my head at him, unsurprised by his response, and looked at Mags. “Let me warn you, his stories are mostly secondhand, and grossly exaggerated.”

The radio in my ear beeped, and I switched over to the next channel. “Objective B captured,” Ms. Dale announced, her breath coming out in a sharp pant. “That was a doozy, but the good news is, the barricades here are mostly intact, so you can send in the guard team.”

“Excellent,” came Henrik’s voice. “Viggo, status update.”

I did a quick scan to check everyone’s progress and pressed my fingers together, prepared to transmit, but the comm beeped as Cruz came on the line, interrupting me. I clenched my jaw, reminding myself to pull him aside to have a little conversation about teamwork and the radio—and why he was failing at both.

“We had one casualty, and have taken one prisoner. But even now, we are working together to clear the road and repair the defenses.”

“Unless Viggo is injured or dead, get off the main channel, Cruz,” grated Henrik. “You’re mucking up the system otherwise.”

Cruz made a quick Cruz-like apology, but the man’s excuse that I seemed busy debriefing Mags and Alejandro, while technically true, didn’t mean I wasn’t capable of multi-tasking. Or just doing my job.

“Cruz is right,” I said once he was done, unapologetic that we’d kicked him off regardless. My people were still busy, but it was a vast improvement over minutes earlier. Several of the bodies had been moved to the side, while the harvester had been moved back slightly, blocking less of the street. The engine had never stopped running, even after its impact with the wall, and someone must have managed to back it up a few feet. I doubted they could get it back any farther than that, recalling the mangled wreckage of the barricades it had left in its wake, but it did provide additional cover, should any patrols swing by. I noticed the hole it had broken in the barricades was wide enough to get the truck through, and felt confident that our guard team could at least hold this position should trouble come knocking. “We’re progressing a little bit ahead of schedule.”

My eyes paused over Margot, her stillness drawing my attention amid the rush of people. Her eyes and face were vacant, staring at a fixed point on the road in front of her. She still held her gun in her right hand.

I quickly switched channels. “Violet, tell Amber’s team to move up with the guard team.” I quickly excused myself from Mags and Alejandro.

“They’re on their way now,” Violet replied as I weaved through the bustle of refugees and rebels toward Margot. As soon as I was close enough, I gently reached out and took her by her arm, leading her off to the side. She gave me a confused look, and then seemed to realize she was standing in the middle of everything, her gait increasing until we were out of the way.

“Are you okay?” I asked, looking deep into her eyes.

Her lips twitched, and she hesitated. “Not really. You?”

I thought about it. The adrenaline surge that I had gotten during the battle had departed, and now I felt shaky and raw. A lot of things had happened during that fight—things my mind hadn’t had time to process in the moment, things that were suddenly pressing in, trying to flood my mind with a horror I hadn’t registered earlier. I pushed it back slowly, and then shook my head. “Me neither,” I admitted, and she smiled.

It wasn’t a big smile, but it counted. It counted because, just for a moment, it had chased some of the haunted look from her expression, leaving her looking just a little bit more innocent than she currently felt. Still, it faded, and I was left with an uncertain feeling as to what I should do about Margot’s emotional state.

I frowned, the image of Margot’s two children flashing in my head. I couldn’t even contemplate how she was feeling right then and there. What could I ever tell my children about what I had seen? What I had done? The enormity of it all hit me as I stared at the lost look that had returned to Margot’s face.

“Do you want to stop here?” I asked her, needing to give her an out. “It would be okay. No one would judge you.”

She thought about it. Her mouth opened, and I could anticipate the ‘yes’ that was already forming. But then she hesitated and looked away. I followed her gaze, and saw Cad helping to right one of the less damaged barriers that had been in the path of the harvester.

“No,” she said softly, dragging my attention back to her. “No, thank you. I have family in the city, and… I just can’t let him do this alone.” Her tone was pleading, raw and naked, and I saw that she expected me to be disappointed in her for some reason. I couldn’t fathom that, couldn’t even relate.

“Margot, don’t be silly,” I chided her, and she gave a surprised laugh. “I totally get it. If it were Violet, I absolutely would not let her go in alone.”

And she would’ve come to support me, too, if she weren’t injured, I thought to myself, smiling. Margot stepped in and threw her arms around my waist, giving me a quick hug. “Thank you, Viggo.”

“Oooooohhhh, I am telling Violet and Cad about this. They are going to be heartbroken.” I rolled my eyes at Amber’s childish taunt, and turned to see her standing behind us, her arms crossed, one auburn eyebrow arched in challenge.