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She frowned. “As far as I know. Why?”

“Because,” I said, “the last time I saw him, he was burning alive.”

Ayanna’s mouth opened to form a wide O. “When was this?”

“Like a month ago,” Kimmy said, exchanging a look with me. “You’ve seen him since then?”

Ayanna bit her lip. “Yeah. The Order hack into the media system of the Delta sometimes to interrupt broadcasts with propaganda. He’s been in their live broadcast since then, but…he looked fine.”

She’d confirmed my fear: that barbecuing that fucker hadn’t done a damn thing, and far worse, that he might actually be unkillable. As fucking impossible as that seemed, there was no other explanation.

“He’s immortal,” I said. “Can’t be killed, and heals from any injury.”

There was a pause before Gizzi laughed, and Ayanna looked to Kimmy, as though expecting her to offer a less insane explanation. When she instead shrugged, Ayanna looked back to me somewhat suspiciously.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s fucking crazy, I know,” I replied wearily. “I wouldn’t believe it either if I hadn’t seen it myself. Claire and I thought it was a trick at first, but…I shot him several times, and the guy popped back up like a daisy. I pinned him to the floor and set the building on fire and saw him burning alive…and apparently, even that wasn’t enough.”

Ayanna stared at me like she was trying to solve a puzzle. “Why would you tell me something like that? I don’t know what you saw, but it had to be some kind of—”

This was going nowhere fast. “Look, you don’t have to believe me, but consider yourself warned. The Order is a very big problem. Everything they touch turns to rubble. If the Cave wasn’t proof enough, they also attacked a ‘Wastelander’—” I made scare quotes, “—settlement about a month ago. Thankfully, they held them off, but only just.”

Ayanna considered that for a moment, but ultimately shook her head. “Whatever the deal is with Jim J, we only have the resources to tackle one thing at a time. Once we make more progress with taking down the Sire, we’ll handle the Order.”

I wanted to argue some more, but the truth was that as much as I hated the Order and what they’d done, they weren’t my first concern, either. My first concern was Claire, and if the Order was inside the Delta, it only put her in more danger. Getting her out had to be my only priority. The rest of them could fight it out amongst each other.

“Anyway,” Ayanna continued, “the Sire’s the one who’d know where your wife is.”

“And I’m guessing he’s not just gonna tell us,” I said, folding my arms. “So, what do we do?”

Ayanna sat back in her chair and shrugged. “I don’t think we’ll have to do anything except wait—for now, anyway. If what you said is true, and your wife is alive, they’ll parade her around themselves. They didn’t capture her to keep her a secret. They did it to try to prove they haven’t been lying to everyone for the last year, even though they have.”

I mulled that over for a minute. “You said they’ve been showing actual video of Claire. How can they do that?”

“Technology,” Ayanna said with a sigh. “They can generate whatever images or video they want, virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. It’s why their propaganda has been so effective in the past. You literally can’t believe your eyes and ears…and most people either don’t know they’re fake, or they choose not to care because their lives are easy enough to ignore it.”

Kimmy gave a short, unhappy laugh. “That’s bleak as shit.”

I had to agree, but Ayanna merely shrugged again and said, “It is. I told you: this won’t be easy. We can try to extract Claire, but we won’t have the support of a significant section of the public. They worship her, and they won’t want to let her go.”

“But they don’t worship her,” I cut in, disgusted. “She hasn’t even been around this whole time. It’s all fake—you said so yourself.”

“It doesn’t matter. She’s not a person to them. She’s a character, and a symbol of hope against the Order, who half of us fear and the other half love. They’re converting more and more to their cause. People are suspicious of their family, friends, and neighbours. Bloodshed in the streets is becoming their new normal. They need something to hold on to, and the Sire is happy to placate them.”

I sighed, pressing my fingers to my eyes. “So, what do you want us to do about it? A couple of Wastelanders who aren’t even supposed to be allowed in?”

“Help us bring it all down,” Ayanna replied, her voice steely. “You both have skills that we need in this fight. Kimmy, you said you have medical experience—they’ve been deliberately trying to block us from obtaining medical aid. Specifically, they’re enforcing the death penalty for any medical professionals caught helping us. So, you’ll be useful in treating the injured.”

Kimmy hesitated, but then nodded. “I’ll do what I can.”

Ayanna actually smiled at her, something she hadn’t done since we got there. “We appreciate your help. We’ll get you whatever supplies we can, though it might be difficult at times.” She turned to me, and her expression was serious again. “John, you’ve shown yourself to be a better shot than my best soldiers. We need you on the front line…and when the time is right, you’ll have a special mission to complete.”

Kimmy made a sound of objection. “He’s not one of your soldiers—”

“It’s the only way to accomplish our goal and your goal,” Ayanna cut across her. “Quid pro quo. You do something for us; we do something for you.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, thinking, but I knew my answer. “So, you’ll help me get Claire out?”