by Ryan Tang
The Governor thought Scott was ready for this meeting, but he'd clearly misjudged him. He still needed a lot more seasoning.
For Scott to succeed as a politician, he had to know when to be more respectful!
Now was not the time for hesitation.
It was the time for obedience!
____
Governor Waters started sweating very badly. He could feel the dampness of his suit, and he didn't know how to make it stop.
He was thinking as hard as he could.
"Don't sweat. Don't sweat. Don't sweat."
Sarah would notice if he sweated too much. He had to stay cool. That was the key to winning any negotiation.
After he'd kicked Scott out of the meeting, Sarah hadn't said a word. He needed to get her talking. He needed to talk her down from her position.
But the room was silent.
The only voices were the ones coming from outside.
"Get out! Get out!"
"We need help! We need help!"
The sweat started pouring even faster.
The crazies outside weren't like the Carters.
If they weren't reassured soon, they might get it into their little heads to do something worse.
They might even steal his Paragons!
"Look. Maybe we can get a statement from the Director? Something telling people to calm down? Something telling them to go home?"
Governor Waters alone wasn't enough. They needed to hear from the colony's second most respected man as well.
"As soon as they know we're working together, they'll calm down!"
Inspiration struck him like lightning. Governor Waters let out a relieved laugh as he realized just what the colony needed.
"Director Stock should just tell them that if they don't go home, they'll get fired!"
That would work!
That would send them scurrying away at once!
Sarah gave him yet another apologetic smile.
"He's more than happy to. But he's going to need full jurisdiction first. That's going to be our baseline. Without full jurisdiction, we don't feel comfortable offering any assistance."
No assistance?
No assistance without taking his home?
How could that be?
The Governor gulped.
To stall for time, the Governor reached over and picked again at the copy of the damage report. He scanned through it, not really reading it. It was so dull. It was just a bunch of numbers. Everyone who mattered was still safe.
He set it aside again.
"Could Devan and I have a moment?"
Sarah nodded and walked out the door, pulling out her tablet to dictating a message.
"Make sure to collect every single body off the streets. Bring them back to HQ."
As soon as the door closed behind her, the Governor grabbed Devan by the shoulder.
"What are we going to do?"
His old friend smiled bravely.
"We won't accept that deal. I won't let them take your home away from you."
The Governor let out a shaky sigh of relief. He knew that he always had Devan's support. Neither of them had known what to do when Scott started yelling like a maniac, but with Sarah gone, Devan was right back to form.
"We don't need to take their deal. We just need to find someone else to blame. Like what we did with those workers Senior didn't like. Maybe criminals have been digging away at the colony. Maybe someone messed with the colony's balancing systems. We just need to come up with something believable and make sure we aren't holding the bag on this."
A hard look entered his old friend's eyes.
"And after we're done, we need to let Junior know that we're a team. He's been going off on his own just a little too much recently."
Yes. Yes. Yes, he had been. Stock Sr. had understood the balance between Southern Robotics and the Governor's office. He would never have done something ludicrous like ask for Governor Waters's home! The Governor was just about to command Devan to tell Sarah that the deal was off when the window to the conference room shattered to pieces.
Devan squealed and dove to the ground.
The Governor stared out the broken window, completely aghast.
A block of metal flew into the room, leaving scratches all over his custom-made table. Another chunk soon followed. There was a loud crack as the case behind him shattered. A priceless artifact broke on the floor.
Governor Waters winced at the crack.
The shouting outside took on a very different tone.
"Help us! You have Paragons here! Why aren't you helping us?"
"It's just one guy doing everything!"
"I'll fly the Paragon for you if you're scared! We need to take people to the hospital!"
"My mom died because you wouldn't help!"
"Why wasn't the Governor's home damaged! My house blew up! There's hardly a scratch on this place!"
Why were they doing this to him?
The Carters would never act this way!
Devan grabbed his tablet and screamed into it, his normally steady voice a high-pitched squeal.
"Scott! Get out there now! Deal with this! Do whatever you have to do to deal with this!"
CHAPTER 11: DISASTER MANAGER
"Get down! Get down!"
Governor Waters stared at the table. It'd been a gift from the Governor of Generosity, who'd custom made it just for Mr. Waters. And now there were scratches all over it!
The cries kept coming.
There must have been a thousand voices, all merged into a single organized chant.
"Let us in! Let us in! Let us in!"
"Give us your Paragons!"
"Do something! Do something! Do something!"
How could this be happening?
This couldn't be happening!
"Get down!"
A glint of metal whirled through the window. Devan cried out and yanked his Governor onto the ground. Governor Waters felt his knees crumple. Then he crashed onto the floor. The sharp chunk of metal was buried deep into the far wall. The Governor trembled. If Devan hadn't dragged him down, whoever tossed that shard would have committed a gubernatorial murder!
Governor Waters joined Devan under the desk.
"Where's Scott? Scott's got to be there soon, right?"
Scott might have talked out of turn back in the meeting, but he was still a handsome and well-spoken man. He'd be able to rally the guards. He'd know how to clear out the murderers outside his home. That's what they were. Murderers! They wanted to kill him!
Devan let out a breathy whimper.
The Governor had never seen his old friend so scared before. Devan was a very hard man. The Governor had seen Devan disappear prisoners then lie about it without a moment's hesitation. But he was powerless before the crowd's swelling rage.
They were like wild animals.
These weren't civilized humans. They were beasts and monsters from Old Earth.
When Scott's bold voice finally boomed through the window, he and Devan let out identical squeals of relief. The two men looked at each other and then glanced away, establishing a silent gentleman's agreement to never speak of that moment again.
Scott's voice was so loud it sounded like he was still standing in the boardroom. He spoke confidently, without a hint of fear.
"Get back! Get back! Please! Get back now!"
Scott was a smart kid. Even in the middle of the protest, he knew how to stay polite and respectful. He remembered to say please.
And he was damn good looking too. Scott had taken the time to change into his full dress uniform, complete with a flowing red cape. He was so handsome he could give even Governor Waters a run for his money with the ladies.
The Governor felt truly safe for the first time all night.
Yes, things would turn out just fine.
Scott was just the man to appeal to the murderous mob's better nature, no matter how deeply it was buried inside them. Surely he could restore normalcy. Careful to stay s
ecurely under the table, the Governor pulled up the external camera security feed on his tablet.
Scott stood proudly at the gates, surrounded by a fierce squadron. A dozen security officers stood to either side of him, all carrying long rifles and protected with their signature finned white helmets. He must have dragged them all out of their beds.
It was a good thing he did. Governor Waters felt much safer with the line of armed guards between him and the murderous mob.
The stiff and well-pressed Security Force uniforms should have reminded the crowd that they weren't just attacking a random house. They were sowing discord right outside the Governor's personal residence! But instead of breaking up, the crowd looked fiercer and angrier than ever before. It even seemed like their numbers had grown. The ingrates must have called their ingrate friends!
"What are you doing!"
"Why are you guarding the house? We need help!"
"Come outside and help! You're supposed to protect us!"
"My house burnt down! My parents are injured! Help!"
"Security Force? Aren't you guys supposed to keep us safe? What are you doing?"
Some of the more foolish officers almost climbed down before Scott yanked them back.
Scott shouted as loud as he could, addressing both the crowd and his less competent men.
"No! Back off! Stay where you are! Stay where you are!"
His men obeyed.
But the crowd continued inching closer and closer towards the gate.
They were now pressed against it.
"You need to help us!"
"Give us the Paragons!"
"Everything is burning!"
Before long, some of them were even trying to scale it.
"No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No."
Tears dripped down Devan's stark white face.
Governor Waters's heart was beating so fast it seemed like it was about to pop right out of his chest. The thump-thump echoed endlessly in his ears.
He whispered through clenched teeth.
"Come on, Scott. Come on, Scott."
He could do it. If anyone on Plenty could stop the mob, it was Scott.
His protégé tried desperately to wave them off. His voice had dissolved into a cowardly screech. He was speaking right into the bull-horn.
Governor Waters clutched the tablet so hard that the glass began to burn his fingers. Somehow, the pain felt very distant, just like the aching of his ears from the bull-horn's feedback.
"Get back! Get back or my men will shoot!"
Scott fumbled with the pants of his dress uniform as he tried yanking out his sidearm. He dropped the gun between his feet and had to lean over to pick it up again. The handsome youth stumbled and nearly tripped over the cloth of his cape before he grabbed it.
The Governor stopped breathing until Scott finally recovered his footing.
He didn't want to know what would happen if Scott fell into that ravenous mob.
"Get back or I'll shoot!"
The crowd continued ignoring him!
He had a gun, but the crowd was still ignoring him!"
"What is Waters doing? Is he still here? Did he leave the colony because of the quake?"
"What is Waters hiding! Was this a Southern Robotics experiment? He's always helping them out!"
"Give us his Paragons! We need them!"
"Why are you guarding his house? Why aren't you helping us? You're supposed to keep us safe!"
"My house burned down! Why does he get to live in a mansion?"
Bright square-shaped lights flared from the back of the crowd. People were pulling out their tablets to broadcast the slander against him!
For the first time in his long political career, Waters began to panic.
This was so unfair!
Who could have possibly predicted an earthquake happening?
Why were they blaming him?
His job was just to protect and curate Southern Robotics!
He was supposed to deal with corporate spies, not murderers!
Scott's voice quavered. He raised the bull horn again.
"It's Governor Waters to you! And you better fall back before I have you arrested! You! You! You –"
One of the protestors managed to get to the very top of the gate.
Governor Waters saw his face and screamed.
Devan screamed too.
Their screams blended together as they beheld the horrifying face on the screen.
It was the face of pure savagery.
It was the face of a man who hadn't been raised to know his place.
It was the face of a man with nothing to lose.
It was the face of a man who could do anything.
Scott waved the gun back and forth. His men slowly inched forward, careful not to knock their boss off the ledge and even more careful not to fall over themselves.
"No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No."
Devan was still sobbing and whimpering.
There was a tremendous bang.
The Governor squealed in terror, fearing the worst, but it was only the would-be murderer.
He was lying flat on the ground. There was no trace of his insane expression anymore.
Scott got him good. The perfect headshot had vaporized all of his features. What remained of his face was spraying blood into the air.
Governor Waters let out a long sigh of relief. He didn't want to see such a deranged face ever again.
He made a mental note to give Scott a raise.
What a shot!
The mob screamed, and for a moment, Waters hoped they would break.
Then he heard what they were saying.
"Murderer! Murderer! Waters is a murderer!"
Him?
A murderer?
But why?
It was Scott who shot him!
And Scott was only defending himself!
That man was crazy!
The dead man was the real murderer!
But logic just wasn't the mob's strong point.
Their screaming only grew louder.
"Murderer! Murderer! Murderer!"
Before his eyes, every single face in the crowd was infected with the same demented expression. It was like the demon had left the dead man's body to inhabit every single one of them. They all transformed into beasts. Then they charged forwards, storming his gate all at once.
The Governor was aghast.
Who was dumb enough to charge at an armed compound?
Who was dumb enough to charge even after someone had already been killed for doing the same thing?
Why was this happening to him?
Scott's shot emboldened his men. They raised their rifles and fired into the crowd. The mob of murderers let out a feral howl. The officers raised their weapons and fired again. A handful tried falling back, but the stupid ones continued trying to run forwards.
Bodies tangled and twisted in a messy scrum. All the while, the Security Force continued to fire.
The murderers screamed and bled and died.
Governor Waters peeked out from under the table and glanced at the window. To his satisfaction, no more blocks of metal were flying through it.
But the mob still didn't know their place.
The crowd was still struggling forward. His men fired and fired again, but there were just too many of them.
Blood spewed high into the air as the wall of bodies grew and grew.
Governor Waters suddenly realized this might be a bad look for his administration.
____
It wasn't his fault.
He couldn't be left holding the bag for this.
Anyone standing in the room with him would have seen the truth.
The rock had flown inches from his head! He was just lucky it hadn't scraped off any skin. It was a gubernatorial murder attempt!
Scott was only defending himself! The man who climbed the gate was a murderer!
But he already knew what they'd say on their stupid little messaging board
s. They weren't anything like the well-behaved Carters.
He opened up his tablet and prepared to send Scott a message. He needed to tell the guards to stop shooting. The Governor's fingers were slick with sweat. He fumbled at the screen until a terrifying thought struck him dead in the brain.
He hastily backspaced, but his fingers were still slipping all over the place. He turned off the tablet instead.
If he told the guards to stop shooting, there was a chance the mob might get into the compound. And what would happen if they found him? They were calling him a murderer!
At the very least, they'd try and steal his Paragon collection.
His best bet was to stay quiet.
In the back of his mind, the Governor privately bid farewell to Scott.
"Devan. Devan. We're going to need to keep ourselves out of this."
The Governor looked around for Devan, but all he saw was the swinging door. His friend must have left when he wasn't paying attention. It still bothered the Governor how scared Devan had gotten. He thought Devan was a tough guy, someone who liked taking a hit just as much as he liked giving one. But he’d been useless.
Governor Waters wiped the thick sweat from his brow. The sleeve of his suit was instantly drenched. He couldn't get rid of Devan yet. They had to find a new angel. They had to cast Scott as a rogue employee.
The Governor's mind gradually settled into focus. He started putting a narrative together.
Governor Waters was hoping to invite the guests in. But, spooked by their rudeness, Scott had ordered them shot instead.
That was good.
He still had his keen political mind.
He'd be absolved of all the blame. All of it would go to Scott. And if he got the tone just right, he just might shame the mob into thinking about their rudeness.
He was just about to check in with the Carters to see what they thought when an alarm screamed through the building. The robotic voice blared out warning after warning.
"Alert! Alert! The front gate has been breached! Alert!"
The Governor's heart froze in his chest. He stared senselessly at the security feed on his tablet.
The scene was straight from a horror movie.
Scott was lying face down on the floor. His head was bloody mush. His beautiful cape was torn to pieces and stained with blood.
Two of the other guards had broken necks. A third was stirring feebly at the base of the gate.