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Five minutes passed before a door behind the bar opened, and the familiar face of Claire’s sister, Holly, appeared. Her golden hair had grown out to chin length since the hack job they’d given her as punishment last year, and she wore a black dress. She wasn’t wearing anything that could be identified as Order-related; she could easily have been another staff member.

Her eyes scanned the crowd before landing on me, and then they widened. She froze for a minute; I was obviously the last person she’d expected to see. Her jaw tightened, and she jerked her head toward the door she’d just come out of, and mimed bringing our drinks.

Steeling myself for the fuckery that was undoubtedly about to go down, I followed her with Kimmy at my heels, the strange cocktail in my hand. Behind the door, a staircase led into a cellar. I worked hard not to fall flat on my face as we went down the dicey-looking stone steps. Whoever dug out this basement had been sloppy. The stairs were uneven, the floor was dirt, and the ceiling was so low that I had to hunch over to avoid hitting my head. There were no electric lights, which was weird inside the compound. Instead, there was a single burning torch.

It was only once we’d reached the concrete floor below that Holly rounded on me.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she hissed at me. “Where’s Claire? And who the hell’s this?” She gestured wildly at Kimmy.

“My sister,” I replied, feeling strangely calm now that we were in the right place. “And Claire sent me. She couldn’t come herself because she’s being watched. You should know that.”

Holly made a noise of disapproval. “How’d you even get inside the Delta?”

“Yeah,” I scoffed. “As if I’d tell you that.”

“It’s not important,” Kimmy added, shooting her a stern look. “The point is, unlike Claire, nobody is looking out for us…and we won’t draw attention to you.”

Holly huffed, obviously unhappy, but didn’t argue.

“So, why are we here?” I asked. “You said in your note that you had some answers. If you give us the message, I’ll tell Claire myself.”

“You can get to her?” Holly said, eyebrow raised. “How?”

“I have my ways,” I replied, and she huffed again. “Sorry, but it’s surveillance city out here, and no offence, you’re not the person I’d confide in anyway. A year ago, you wanted her dead.”

Holly had the gall to look offended. “I’ve never wanted her dead. If I’d wanted that, it would’ve been easy to leave her at the Cave, and then you two never would’ve met.”

“Fair point,” I conceded. “But you’re still with the Order, so…”

“I can’t just leave,” Holly snapped. “I owe my entire life to them. And I can’t abandon my mother. I wouldn’t expect you to understand, Wastelander.”

I exchanged a look with Kimmy, whose eyebrows were raised. “You’re right, we definitely don’t. So, why would you bring Claire here, then? What’s in it for you?”

To my surprise, Holly bit her lip, suddenly looking nervous. “Things have changed in the last little while. We’ve started recruiting people…in a different way. It scares me, and while I may not be able to leave, I can do something. I figured if Claire knew the truth, maybe she could tell people. The public trusts her here.”

I frowned, turning her words over in my head. “Different…how?”

She sighed. “Before we took the Cave, the recruitment strategy was based on taking control of the compounds. Jim J promised to reward us with a greater share of the wealth than was ever offered before. But since the Cave fell, we’ve been told to focus more on Odessa’s gift of immortality for Jim J. Even more recently, we’ve been told…”

She trailed off, and when she didn’t continue, I prompted her. “Told what?”

Holly sighed, looking resigned. “It’s easier to just show you. We’re about to start an initiation rite. That’s why I told you to bring your drinks. I hope you didn’t drink any, though.”

Kimmy and I shook our heads.

“Good,” Holly said, “because they’re spiked with psychedelics. Intended to make the initiates have visions. That won’t be until after the presentation, though.”

The memory of Claire tearfully telling me that they’d tried to initiate her once with a spiked drink came back to me, and I took a deep breath to keep myself in check.

“Presentation?”

She shook her head at me. “You’ll see. Just…only pretend to drink.”

I nodded, and Holly walked over to far wall of the cellar, which was nothing but bare, uneven brick, with random ones sticking out at odd angles. Given how small the basement was, it was a short wall. She fumbled, pressing on different bricks, until finally, one of them depressed under her touch. There was a click, and a segment of the wall swung inward, revealing a hole carved into the dirt. Calling it a passage would’ve been generous; it was just big enough for a person to walk through.

“Come on,” Holly said over her shoulder as she climbed through.

Kimmy shot me a disbelieving look, and I didn’t blame her. Walking through that hole into the darkness beyond was at the top of my list of Things You Shouldn’t Do If You Want to Live. Realistically, though, there was no choice now, and we had to see this through. Claire was counting on us.