“Why can't I know?” I got to my feet.
“In the possibility that you are kidnapped, sir -”
“I have been kidnapped!”
“-we don't want them taking information.”
“Are you suggesting that I would betray you?”
“No, sir.”
“Then what are you worried about? And stop calling me 'sir'!”
“Involuntary provision of information.”
“Torture.” Really? “What about him?” I pointed to Nick. “He could withstand torture?”
“No.”
Nick and Lend were just getting more confused. “Excuse us,” I said, and turned back to Tohlie when they were out of hearing. “So you told him but not me?”
“No.”
“What do they know?”
“That there is a resistance.”
“Everyone knows that! What else?”
“Nothing.”
One problem with Tohlie was that she didn't mind if someone misinterpreted what she said. Even if she was wrongly accused of something, she would wait for someone else to clarify the situation, unless she was specifically asked to do it herself. She didn't seem to realize quite how frustrating that was.
“So you're taking three trusting people -and me -to some place we're not allowed to know about 'til we get there.”
“Yes.”
Sometimes I wish Tohlie would give a little more information than that. Maybe I should start with questions that didn't need complicated answers.
“Why did you drug me?”
“So you wouldn't have to deal with seasickness.”
Maybe I didn't want to know.
“Where am I?”
“England.”
I blinked.
“England? Where?”
“In the southeastern portion.”
“So we're walking north?”
“No.”
“Then where are we going?”
“North.”
“How?”
“Is that really the question you need to ask?” a voice with an English accent said behind me. Lend, Nick, and I all looked up in surprise. Tohlie on glanced up with the raised eyebrow as someone with a ponytail of curly red hair sauntered over.
“Then what question do I need to ask?” I said, less curious than annoyed.
“What are you going to do when you get there?”
“I figured Tohlie would help us with that.”
“How do you know Tohlie knows us?”
“I don't, but she can handle whatever you need.”
The girl -who looked about twenty years old -grinned.
“I know. Tohlie's extremely capable, and it doesn't go to her head. How else can she arrange the kidnapping of the Overlord's head secretary?”
Lend and Nick gaped at me. I shrugged.
“All I did was delegate and give pre-made reports.”
The redhead gave a small smile.
“I think they care more about the fact that you were in the Overlord's employ, and rather high up, at that.”
“He did it so that he could keep an eye on me.”
“Didn't ask. But if you were a troublemaker there, that could be a good thing for us.”
Nick seemed to snap out of a daze.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Lexa Trane. You're Nicholas Tyne. Then Lenden Jacks, Tohlie Ameson, and William Charles Maxwell the Third.”
Nick seemed surprised, but I wanted to move this along.
“So Tohlie told you who we are. Why are you here?”
“I've brought gasoline-powered transportation, unless you want to walk. Really, I've been here for a while. Watching this fellow wake up -” she pointed at me “-was a fairly good show. But really, you've made so much noise altogether, I'm surprised I'm the first to find you. Let's go.”
The car wasn't that far away, on a dirt track. There were six seats -Lexa drove, Tohlie was the passenger, and Nick and Lend rode behind them. I sat in the back with the older man, who fell asleep the moment the car started moving.
“We have a long drive ahead of us,” Lexa said after five minutes of dead silence. “I have music, I could talk all the way, or we could have someone tell a story.”