World War IV: A Broken Union Read Online Free PDF Page B

you can talk.” But before any more words were exchanged, another Brazilian rushed inside and whispered something in the guard’s ear. Before Jason knew what was happening, they lifted him by his arms and rushed him through the rebel camp.
    Men sharpened swords, and women and children gathered food and melted whatever iron and metal they could find into bullets for their muskets and rifles. The faces he passed where worn and tired, their hands performing their duties mindlessly.
    The two guards thrust Jason inside a tent, where he caught himself on his hands and knees in the soft mud, which had somehow found a way to every inch of his body over the past few days during his stay.
    “So, this is one of the famous Mars brothers.” The clothes had changed for the woman in blue, but her voice had remained the same. She sat upon a pile of crates, rifles on either side of her, peeling an orange with her fingernails. “You are a far cry from home, Governor.”
    “I am.” Jason pushed himself up from the mud, doing his best to scrape the clumps that had gathered on the front of his shirt. While the woman had exchanged the blue dress for heavy cargo pants and a dirty blouse, she still had the same striking features he remembered from their night together in his cabin. “I need to know how my friend is doing. I’ve heard nothing about him since you brought me here.”
    The woman popped a chunk of the fruit in her mouth. “So my guards have told me.” She chewed loudly, continuing to pull the orange apart. “Your friend lives.” And that was all she would give him.
    Jason looked around the room, noticing the guards had not followed him inside. “I never got your name from the other night. You took off so quickly.” And now I know why. The moment President Ruiz’s men had arrived at his ship at the docks, she had disappeared, only to return hours later after Ruiz tried to capture him.
    “Gabriela.” The word left her mouth still stuffed with orange as she devoured the last slice. She wiped the juices from her fingers onto her pant leg and stood, her wavy black hair swinging from its pony tail. “Walk with me.” She brushed past him quickly and was outside the tent before he had a chance to turn around.
    While Jason had a good six inches in height on Gabriela, he had to walk briskly to keep up with her pace. Every person she passed looked up to her as she walked by. “All of these people follow you?”
    “Did you take a good look at the streets of Rio when you arrived, Governor Mars?” Gabriela marched past a group of women loading ammo into crates. “Brazil is the wealthiest nation in the world. Our ports and our resources that remained untouched during the Great War have made us the envy of the rest of the globe, and yet poverty has run rampant in our streets. Why do you think that is?”
    “Most likely because someone wants to keep it that way.” Jason trotted in front of her, forcing her to stop. “I can understand your quarrel with Ruiz. It’s something we have in common. But I need to see the man that was brought here with me.”
    Gabriela took an aggressive step forward, and while she had to look up to Jason because of his height, she offered a look of defiance. “You and your family have been quite cozy with Ruiz over the past year. Why should I listen to anything you say?”
    Jason tilted his head to the side. “Well, he did try and kill me a few days ago. But I have you to thank for saving me. I would say that gives us a common enemy.”
    Gabriela pushed Jason aside with a quick jab of her elbow to his ribs. “There is no ‘we.’”
    Jason spun around and grabbed her arm, and it wasn’t half a second from the moment he touched her skin that there were at least a dozen rifles aimed at his head. He gently uncurled his fingers from her arm and put his hands in the air. “There could be a ‘we.’”
    Gabriela waved the guns down. “Depends on what you can offer.”
    “You get word to my brother