by Jana Janeway
“Bitchy,” he muttered, taunting her; he quickly climbed over the seats to sit next to Josiah before she could smack him. Her hand met air, causing her to tweak an eye open, but she closed it again as she settled back in. Using the now empty space to her full advantage, she sprawled out across the length of the seat.
“Guess that’s her way of telling you not to come back?” Josiah quipped, amused.
Jeramey shrugged in answer, looking not at all perturbed by the idea. “So, Craddock,” he started the new conversation without the slightest hint of concern, “Jess is pretty upset, huh? Does that change anything?”
“It probably should,” he answered, “but no, it doesn’t.”
“Awesome! Let’s talk battle strategies!” Jeramey was far more excited than what would be considered normal… for anyone else. His enthusiasm was usually oddly placed. “Is she…?”
Craddock knew who he was talking about, and what he was asking; he followed Jeramey’s line of sight to his sleeping wife. “Yeah, she’s asleep. We can talk freely.”
“Cool. Marcy will blow a fuse if I upset her.”
Groaning with irritation, Marcy called out, quietly, “Just keep it simple, okay? Don’t overwhelm him.”
Jeramey rolled his eyes. “Yes, dear.”
When he grew serious, his expression changing, Craddock sat a little taller. Just to be certain, he focused on Jessica’s thoughts for a moment. She was still fast asleep, as was apparent by the dream she was having. Satisfied that she wouldn’t wake up and overhear them, he gestured for Jeramey to begin.
“Becket is the fucktardiest of all fucktards,” he said, seemingly pleased to share what he knew. “Skimming organization money off the top, the forced Chimie thing, false imprisonments… he even has ties to the Purists! He’s covered his tracks well, but there is a trail. The bread crumbs were hard to find, but once we found them, they led us all the way to his illegally bought vacation home!”
He laughed at his own joke before continuing. “Pardaze Ahme has been collecting evidence and proof for a couple years now, but when a few of us signed on, we helped fill in the rest of what they needed. Your guys’ story alone is worth gold in this fight! Not to minimize the crap you all went through,” he added, a twinge of remorse in his tone.
“Okay, so the plan is to unseat him,” Craddock mentioned, “but how? I’m assuming you’re not talking about kidnapping him off the streets.”
“Um, no,” Jeramey answered. “That would not be a good thing. We’d be seen as radicals. Terrorists. The best way to unseat him is to expose him. Show who and what he really is.”
“To who?” Josiah asked, involving himself in the conversation.
Annoyed, Marcy sat up in her seat. “As the president, Becket technically answers to no one, but there are twelve chairpersons directly below him who, if they feel it necessary, will demand his resignation. If he refuses to step down, they will unseat him. Then a new president gets voted in.”
“There’s no vice president?” Josiah asked.
“No. The twelve serve as that, in a way. They can challenge the president’s decisions, but most often do not. It’s more like a dictatorship, really. The former president and the twelve in chairs decided a long time ago that the voting methods didn’t work. The president would try to pass rules and new legislations, but there would either be a hung vote, or fights and arguments would erupt. They eventually did away with it.”
“Giving one man that much power doesn’t seem like a very smart thing to do,” Craddock mentioned.
“In hindsight, no, you’re right,” Wade interjected from his spot behind the wheel, “but at the time, it was seen as progress. No more bickering. No more important policies being tossed in the garbage because people couldn’t agree on simple aspects.”
Josiah raised his hand, like he was a student in class. “So what do the twelve chairpersons do exactly? What is their purpose?”
“They’re each responsible for a region,” Marcy explained patiently. “They report back to the president with ideas and concerns from their regions, and then the president decides what to do from there. They can also unseat the president if they feel he is not upholding his sworn duties.”
“Problem is,” Wade added, “proving he isn’t takes effort, and requires a majority vote from the chairpersons. That’s why showing his connection to the Purists isn’t enough.”
“That’s why we document everything, and keep defecting agents in service as long as possible,” Marcy continued. “To gather as much information as we can. If we jump the gun and present a weak case, the twelve won’t take us seriously and will likely not hear us again later. We have one shot at this, and we have to make it the best shot we can.”
“But we can’t dillydally anymore,” Jeramey countered. “His ties to the Purists are… becoming dangerous.”
“In what way?” Craddock asked.
“What if the two organizations merge?” Marcy asked rhetorically. “There will be no safe place for LCs to go anymore. As it is, the Registry seems to have developed an unusually strong interest in them.”
“What if there’s a surge in underground conversion?” Wade asked, also rhetorically. “The Registry is worried about that. They claim it’s for the protection of the LCs, that it’s dangerous to do the BTR without a certified cleric, because of the risk of a muddy conversion.”
“But we don’t believe that,” Craddock assumed.
“No, we don’t,” Marcy replied. “The BTR is a very simple procedure, and as long as the blood is at least ninety-seven percent pure, there is no risk.”
“But what if you can’t be sure of the blood purity?” Josiah asked.
“That’s not so much of a problem anymore. Decades ago, they would have to trace family lineages very carefully, to ensure the donors were as pure as possible. But with advances in technology, it’s a simple test. A test performed on every baby two weeks after the BTR, to determine their status.”
“Can a newborn who was formerly Human get a status other than Minure?”
Everyone froze with her question, but no one was more shocked than Craddock. He’d been so engrossed in the conversation, he hadn’t realized that Jessica was awake, and was listening in.
Marcy glared at him for dropping his guard before answering. “Yes, because they haven’t lived their lives as a Human. Only LCs are listed as Minures by default, regardless of their blood purity levels.”
“What if the newborn’s mom is an LC?” Jessica asked. “Does he still get a shot at being listed as something other than a Minure?”
“No.” Marcy was honest, even though she didn’t particularly want to be. “If either parent is an LC, the child would be listed as a Minure by default.”
‘Our child won’t even have a shot, thanks to me!’
‘Baby, please, don’t worry about that. The whole status thing isn’t what it used to be. Now, more than anything, it’s just something the Purists use for bragging rights. It doesn’t matter, okay?’
‘What if it does matter? What if the Registry is planning on bringing back the whole class status thing?’
Craddock considered that for a moment. “Do you think this is all leading to them making the class statuses relevant again?”
“That’s one of the theories, yes,” Wade answered, “but the least of our fears.”
“The worst being?” Craddock asked.
“Segregation, isolation, and eventually, eradication.”
“Why would they kill their own kind?” Jessica asked, panicked.
“The Purists don’t see LCs as ‘their kind’,” Wade explained. “They see them as freaks. Abominations. If the two groups merge, the results could very well be disastrous.”
“That’s enough for now,” Marcy stated firmly. She wasn’t angry, but she knew the subject was upsetting Jessica, which would ultimately cause Craddock to become upset as well. Then the whole car would be tense again, and she simply didn’t want that to happen. “Those who aren’t
driving should sleep.” It was phrased like a suggestion, but really it was more a command.
Jeramey laughed, climbing over the seat to rejoin his wife, who promptly smacked him for doing so. “Woman!” he complained jokingly, “I’m getting bruises! Abuse!”
When she tried to hit him again, he grabbed her wrists and overpowered her, kissing her as a form of retaliation.
Josiah glanced at Craddock, smirking as he shrugged. He then disappeared from sight, settling in and closing his eyes.
‘I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.’ Jessica fell into a comfortable position when Craddock joined her.
Tucking his arm under her, he brought her close to his body. ‘I know. I’m not mad.’
‘Marcy is.’
‘I don’t think mad is the right word. She’s just looking out for you.’
‘Why is everyone so sure I need looking out for?’
‘Because you do. Hell, Jess, you were a vegetable for hours! We just don’t want a repeat of that.’
‘Is that why you won’t tell me the plan? Because you think I’ll turn into a vegetable again?’
‘How much of the conversation did you hear?’ When she thought back, he had his answer. She heard nothing before the topic of blood purity levels had come up. ‘That’s part of the reason, yeah. You scared the shit out of me, Jess.’
‘So you’re planning on blocking me for how long?’
‘Until after, most likely. And I’m not blocking you completely. Just selectively.’
‘Like that makes it better. How do you do that, anyway?’
‘I don’t honestly know. It’s like… a room full of boxes. I can put stuff in one and close the lid, but leave the rest of them open.’
‘Maybe I should learn how to do that. Then I can keep stuff from you.’
‘You’re not going to goad me into telling you, Jess. Go to sleep now.’
‘I’m not tired.’
‘Yeah, you are. You’re just being stubborn. You’re pregnant, and still recovering from a gunshot wound. You need sleep, and now is the best time to get some.’
She huffed, turning away from him, but he only chuckled in response. Waiting for her to get settled first, he then slipped up behind her and spooned her. Surprisingly, she didn’t push him away, or throw his arm off of her.
‘I love you.’
She thawed slightly. ‘I love you, too.’
‘I know you do. That’s why I’m not worried about this hissy fit you’re throwing.’
Annoyed, she tried to turn to face him, but he held her steady so she couldn’t maneuver to do so.
‘Knock it off. You know you are. I get why, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are. Go to sleep.’
Reluctantly, she relaxed her body. She could always resume the fight later, after they had slept. That was her last coherent thought as she drifted off.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The trip was finally almost over. Soon, they would be in Idyllwild, where they could stretch properly and eat decently. There was a little buzz in the air because of that.
Eventually, Jessica had stopped badgering Craddock about his decision to join Pardaze Ahme, though she was still as tense as ever. She knew it wouldn’t do any good, anyway, so she focused instead on the time she felt they had left. Time she didn’t think there would be much of.
Whenever her mind would drift to that thought, Craddock would hold her a little tighter, showing affection in small ways, like kissing her hair, or stroking her fingers while they sat intertwined with his. It wasn’t out of guilt, though. He was absolutely certain he was choosing the right path for them – not just them, but all of Mengliad kind. Everyone would benefit if they could unseat Liam Becket.
Jeramey took the wheel again, relieving Wade for the third shift and final stretch of the journey. Wade had then fallen asleep, as had Bibi, since she had stayed up to keep him company as he drove.
Josiah drifted in and out of consciousness, claiming boredom as the reason for why he was so sleepy. When he wasn’t sleeping, he contributed little to the sparse conversations happening around him.
Everyone felt censored, because of Marcy’s and Craddock’s concern for Jessica. If a subject came up that spiked her tension, either or both of them would redirect the conversation to something inane. That usually caused the van to fall silent again.
So the cycle continued, until they had merged onto the ninety-one freeway and entered Riverside County. That’s when the buzz began, three hours or so away from their destination.
“God,” Jeramey whined, “I’m so bored! This has been the most boring trip in the history of forever!”
Marcy simply glanced at him – a glare, really – and then she rolled her eyes.
“I mean, this is us we’re talking about!” he continued. “Shouldn’t we have run off the road or something by now?”
“You’re an oblivious moron,” she chided. “The first leg of this trip was anything but uneventful.”
Catching on, Jeramey’s expression turned sheepish. “But then it got boring,” he insisted.
‘Hard to believe they love each other.’
‘They’ve always been like this. Even when I worked at the restaurant with Marcy, and he’d come in to see her. I can’t believe they’re married.’
That was the only part of the conversation he had shared with her, after he had locked the rest of it up in a box in his mind. It gave them something else to talk about. A diversion.
‘Newlyweds, though they bicker like they’ve been married for a century.’
Jessica shrugged, leaning her head against the back of the seat, turning it to watch the scenery out the window. Her mental awareness was intact, but she almost wished it wasn’t. It was peaceful when she was lost, something she longed for just then. If she could have forced herself into that vegetative state, she would have, just for the chance to escape the pain.
‘You have no faith in me?’ He sighed when she gave him no answer. Her thoughts were firmly set on the ridiculous, like the smoggy color of the sky, and the lack of foliage alongside the road. It was her only way of blocking him, he realized. ‘You don’t have to hide your thoughts from me. In fact, I wish you wouldn’t.’
‘Right back atcha.’
Scooting up behind her, he snaked an arm around her waist, his hand coming to rest on her abdomen. ‘We should be able to hear Junior’s heartbeat soon, with that gizmo. About a week, give or take. You excited?’
Tensing, fighting against tears, she closed her eyes. ‘Little hard to be, when I know I’ll have to raise him alone.’
‘Don’t do this, Jess.’
‘You can’t force me to think happy thoughts, Craddock. Not when my world is crumbling.’
‘Try to think positively. Imagine how wonderful our lives will be, once we’re no longer being hunted.’
‘Stop trying to get my hopes up. It’ll just make things that much harder when it all goes to hell.’
‘You’re that sure, are you?’
‘Call it a feeling.’
‘You’re not psychic, Jess. Your feelings are based on fear.’
‘Bibi’s psychic. Maybe I should ask her to predict the outcome of this.’
‘She’s not psychic, Jess. She’s been wrong more times than she’s been right.’
‘But she has been right before.’
‘With fifty-fifty chance type scenarios. She coulda flipped a coin and been just as lucky.’
‘Isn’t that what this is? You succeed or you fail?’
‘You want to gamble our lives on the flip of a coin? Fine. I’ll tell ya what. We’ll flip for it right now. Heads, I bow out. No animosity whatsoever. I won’t bring it up again. But if it’s tails, I join, and you stop this. You stop the moping and pouting. You stop looking at me like I’m on my deathbed. Do we have a deal?’
She turned to face him, her eyes wide. ‘Are you serious?’
He nodded. ‘Fifty-fifty chance. Neither of us has any sort of advantage over the other. Deal
?’
Reluctantly, she nodded in answer. As Craddock reached into his pocket to find a quarter, she considered the ramifications. It was a fair way to decide, but it could so easily go against her. Her entire existence rested on a coin toss.
‘Just to make it fair, we’ll ask Joe to flip it, and we won’t tell him the stakes. Complete impartiality.’ Locating the quarter, he held it up for her to see, staring back at her, awaiting her response.
She nodded again, her heart racing.
“Joe?” Craddock turned in his seat. “Need a favor.”
Josiah startled awake, looking confused. “‘Kay. S’up?”
“I need you to flip a coin for me.” Everyone was watching them then, even Jeramey, through the rearview mirror, though he continued to keep one eye on the road. “Just flip it, and tell us if it’s heads or tails, ‘kay?”
Josiah took the coin Craddock passed him, his scowl growing. “Sure, but why?”
“Can’t tell you that,” he answered. “Total impartiality.”
Josiah cocked an eyebrow, but then shrugged. “Okay, then.”
Making a loose fist, he settled the quarter on his thumb, then popped it. He caught it in mid air, like how one might make a grab at an annoying fly buzzing about, then slapped it onto his arm. Jessica held her breath as she awaited the verdict.
“Tails.”
Jessica’s entire body, facial expression and all, fell. Slumping, she pushed against the side of the van, as far from Craddock as she could physically be, returning to watching the scenery. Craddock allowed her that space, not attempting to comfort her.
As Josiah handed the coin back, Jeramey asked, “Guess she lost, huh?”
There was amusement in his tone, which caused Craddock to shake his head at him. It wasn’t an answer, it was a warning.
Jeramey’s smile tightened until it disappeared, his focus back on driving.
‘Do you need a minute, or can I hold you?’
Abruptly, desperately, she threw herself into his arms, almost sitting on his lap as she clung to him.
‘I can’t just turn it off like a faucet. The worry and fear.’
‘I know. I’m not asking you to. I just need you to try. Try to understand. Try to think positively. I know it’s not going to happen with the snap of your fingers, but dwelling in the negative isn’t healthy.’