by Angela White
“What would Kenn and Tonya be? The ass cheeks?” Marc joked, forcing himself to give it a chance for this one moment in time.
“Nice.” Adrian chuckled. “Guess that makes Kyle a middle finger.”
Marc snickered. “He’d like that.”
“So would Jennifer,” Adrian stated. “She’s the matching finger on the other hand.”
“You think?” Marc inquired. “I’ve been guiding someone else into that slot.”
“Where do you have Jennifer?”
“I don’t. She’s above me, according to Chauncey.”
“No one is above the alpha,” Adrian insisted firmly. He loosened his top jacket buttons as the heat in the corridor increased.
“Then I don’t know,” Marc confessed, choosing to be honest. “Tell me.”
“She’s Kyle’s match in every way right now,” Adrian told him, making sure his tones were neutral. Marc needed to know these things. “In time, she might become Angela’s match.”
Marc hadn’t considered what would happen as descendant powers continued to grow. “And Billy?”
Adrian tensed. “He has work in the west.”
“What kind of work?”
“The hard kind that might lead to miracles,” Adrian answered vaguely. “I don’t know what happens exactly. The flashes are only strong when I’m…”
Adrian sat up and got a drink of water from his canteen.
“When you’re with Angie,” Marc finished.
Sorry the tension had returned so soon, Adrian shrugged. “It’s more like when I’m in her thoughts. When she won’t let me in, I can’t pick up much.”
“She won’t talk to you?”
“No,” Adrian replied. “I’ve only tried once or twice. Didn’t want to start new problems or push her too hard. She’s in a lot of pain.”
“What does she need?”
“A lot of things,” Adrian answered. “Mostly, your forgiveness.”
“What if I can’t give it to her?”
“Then let her go and I’ll do the best I can to keep her alive,” Adrian replied. “But I don’t think she’ll be okay if you walk and neither do you or you’d already be gone.”
“I wouldn’t leave her in this condition,” Marc denied.
“Would you leave her if she showed signs of recovering? Have you brought down that wall yet? Will you give her to me now?”
“Not on your life!” Marc growled.
Adrian smirked. “Good.”
“What?” Marc stared in confusion.
Adrian’s grin widened. “Things have changed on you again. I’m done making deals and plotting against fate. I’m going to be one of the good guys…for real this time.”
Marc’s stomach flipped. Adrian being evil was the only advantage that he had over the man.
“See, that right there is what I don’t want to put her through anymore,” Adrian pointed out. “I refuse to be the cause of more pain.”
Marc wasn’t certain if he believed that, but there was no doubting the genuine tone and concerns. “So how does it work? We follow Neil and Jeremy’s example?”
Adrian shrugged. “If that would succeed, I’d agree. You already know that.”
“It won’t,” Marc declared sternly.
“We know.”
“What would?” Marc asked. He could sense Adrian’s reluctance to discuss that part of it. “What gives us all peace from the garden mistakes?”
“Nothing.” Adrian’s eyes had become dead pools of certainty. “We can’t call again. I won’t ever do it and neither will she. Stop.”
“But if we did, what would we have to have ready? What does He want to be able to forgive us?”
“A society without any of the commandments being broken,” Adrian told Marc reluctantly. “If we call again without that, the world will end. All life will be removed.”
“Just one or all societies at that time?” Marc asked casually, leaning forward to poke at the fire with Adrian’s stick. “And what constitutes a society?”
The silence said Adrian wasn’t going to give him that information willingly.
“It’s not that I’m unwilling,” Adrian explained. “It’s just that I can’t trust you to do what’s right for her anymore. Our roles have been reversed, except you still get to be with her. You’re only hurting yourself, by the way. She doesn’t miss you when you avoid her. She misses her babies.”
Marc winced, then pushed on. “At least tell me why you won’t tell me.”
Adrian took a small pouch from his pocket and rolled a thin joint. “I found this while scavenging. If I don’t die, you can try it.”
Marc snickered. “Maybe that’s how we can get along. I’ll use you to taste my food first.”
“At least I’d be useful then,” Adrian stated pointedly.
“You want to do quiet labor for me like the other men?” Marc asked in surprise.
“You’re the alpha,” Adrian stated quietly. “Of course, I do. Then there’s the fact that I’ve been up front for so long that I don’t fit into the rear now.”
“You’ll have the classes,” Marc stated.
“Yes, and I’m grateful, but it’s not the same. I could help you personally,” Adrian offered. “Not with her, but with leadership.”
Marc had already decided to do that, but it was gratifying to hear Adrian’s almost begging tone. “I’ll think about it.”
Adrian immediately brightened. “Cool. Thanks.”
Not without charm, Adrian’s happiness hit Marc while he wasn’t braced for it. The brief time he’d been in awe of the man flooded back as he stared. “You had it all and gave it up for Angie.”
“No. For a one-in-a-million chance that I might have a short time with Angie,” Adrian corrected, still not making eye contact. “You can’t imagine my level of devotion.”
“Really?” Marc drawled dangerously.
“Really,” Adrian repeated. “I’ve observed your history from her point of view. You never sacrificed anything for her. You still haven’t. She’s been destroyed. You’re the same as when you arrived.”
“I’m a lot angrier,” Marc warned.
“That’s another reason why I won’t give you whatever plan you’re subtly asking me for,” Adrian argued. “I’ve corrupted you in ways. So has she. We’ve agreed not to do that to you again. If you want the information, you have to ask her.”
Marc had expected that. “If you don’t have the knowledge I want, you’d better get it. No information for me means no FND from me and no acceptance from the camp.”
“You can’t buy me on this,” Adrian refuted immediately. “I’m not going to let you try using a loophole during a forbidden call to the Creator.”
Now that it had been spoken aloud, Marc could hear how crazy it was.
“Does that change your mind?” Adrian hoped.
“Not one bit,” Marc admitted. “I’m relentless when I believe something will succeed.”
“You can’t fool the Maker.”
“It’s not fooling or lying. It’s using the exact terms to satisfy the requirements.”
“But it’s meant to apply to a society that is actually living by the commandments, not just obeying them,” Adrian denied.
“The difference wasn’t specified, though, was it?” Marc pushed.
Adrian’s brow puckered. “Not that I know of, but all we’ve ever had is tattered remains of books or scientific papers that we were able to steal from government labs. There is absolutely no proof that it would earn us forgiveness. That is purely speculation.”
“And it came before the call you two made,” Marc added. “What did that change?”
“I’m not sure,” Adrian answered honestly. “So far, I haven’t found anything, but the connection was short and without compassion for our remorse. I don’t believe your society can have any killers in it, Marc. Think about that for a minute. No killers, of any kind, for any reason. It’s not possible.”
“Is it no killers or no murde
rers?”
“No one knows for sure. Another reason the call was, and remains, too big a risk to take.”
“Where can we get accurate information?” Marc asked.
Despite his objections, Adrian did want to secure their future that way if it was possible. “You’ve been scroll dipping?”
“Yes, but I can’t go much further,” Marc admitted. “I don’t have enough breath left to explore by the time I get down there.”
Adrian was surprised that Marc had already explored his demon that far. “I can help with lessons to strengthen your mental lungs.”
“Do I have that information down there somewhere?” Marc needed to know. “Because it feels endless. I’ll never be able to sort through it all to find what I need.”
Adrian realized Marc had been gifted with a full knowledge bank, but he didn’t say so. Instead, he told Marc, “Take the witch next time, instead of your demon. She’s ancient. You’re new. She might have an instinct for it.”
“How can I be new?”
“You’ve locked your power away in every lifetime, except for this one. You’re new in many ways.”
Marc gestured toward the abandoned joint. “You gonna light that or what?”
Adrian chuckled, getting his lighter. “Yes, Boss.”
“It’s nice when you do that,” Marc praised, sending out a wave of obedience.
Adrian sighed. “So is that, but I’m not going to tell you what you want to know. I’m not going to give you a plan.”
Marc smiled cruelly, finally admitting, “I already had the plan. I needed you to confirm it.”
“Confirm what?”
“That it’s even possible.”
Realizing he’d been tricked, Adrian tossed the joint at Marc. “Test your own shit.”
Marc laughed as he caught it. “Thanks. I will.”
Silence fell for a moment as Marc smoked and Adrian contemplated.
“Are you gonna try it anyway?” Adrian broke the quiet.
“No,” Marc blew out smoke in a steady stream. “I will keep digging for all the information, though. Maybe in the future, we’ll have the right set of circumstances.”
“And until then?” Adrian asked nervously.
“We build it. Maybe He’ll come on His own and we won’t be in trouble.”
Adrian let out the breath he’d been holding. “Good. That’s good.”
“It’s Angie’s plan,” Marc explained. “The one she was working on right after we returned from killing Donner.”
“How far did she get?”
“She has two big notebooks, but it only covers the top issues. She didn’t even want to try the coveting commandment. Wanting what someone else has is natural, up to a point. It’s what drove mankind to create a world that can do heart transplants and walk on the moon.”
“It’s also what caused our downfall,” Adrian stated.
“Yeah.”
Both of them internally deliberated their own roles in that and fell silent for another long moment where scenes replayed repeatedly as they dug for meanings and solutions.
“This is what she wanted from us spending time together,” Marc said finally. “Both of us laboring on her goals.”
“Yes.”
Marc met his eye. “Cynthia is having trouble.”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“I’ve been forbidden from interfering,” Adrian stated bitterly. “And I won’t.”
Marc knew an order like that could only have come from one person. “So Cynthia’s right?”
Adrian lifted a brow. “About what?”
She didn’t trust him with it, Marc realized in elation. She doesn’t trust him.
“Get moved into one to the living areas. David too.” Marc passed the thin joint and stood up. “Then I want you to spend time with Angela. Make sure she doesn’t have the trouble that Cynthia is.”
He ignored all of the expected responses that came from Adrian, holding up a hand. “That’s an order, and I’d better hear about it soon or I’m sending you out by yourself to kill Mikel and all of his men. Do your job carefully, but do it. No one slacks off in my camp.”
Adrian stared in suspicion as Marc left. “What are you up to?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tough Love
October 14th
1
“Where do you think they want us?” David asked sarcastically as the two guards in the singles’ area both motioned at cots next to the security booth.
Adrian grunted, trying not to react to all the hostility. No one wanted him in here. Adrian could imagine the fight Marc had gotten on this one. He also imagined that the boy scout had soothed them with the idea that he could be hit more often if he were bunking with them.
Adrian dropped his kit on the cot and strode to the security booth, holding out a sheet of paper. “Make sure the boss gets that.”
Green read the note. “I’ll handle it.”
Adrian didn’t know the guard and the guard didn’t know him. There was no reason for animosity. There wasn’t any until the other sentry read the note.
“We are not wasting Marc’s time with suggestions like this.” Zack crumbled the paper and tossed it into the trashcan. “You can’t earn your way back in with us. We won’t allow it.”
Adrian didn’t reply. Tempers were too hot right now, but he had faith that Green would still deliver the message. Having mice in the cave wasn’t a good thing. In time, it could be downright dangerous.
Sort of like sleeping in here, Adrian contemplated. Instead of bringing up his shield or trying to converse his way out of future beatings, Adrian sent a wave of his magic over the room, coating them all in his good mood. He smiled as the mutters became confused murmurs. “I’m glad to be back. Thanks.”
Citizens glared and scowled, but with his light smothering their negativity, there was no choice but to accept that Adrian was still a powerful force to be reckoned with.
“We’ll handle something important first,” Adrian told David. “It’s gonna be a long day. Might as well start it out right.”
2
“I have updates for you, Boss.”
Marc waved Morgan into the brig.
“We put people on the other possible threats that Missy identified. We’ll let you know as soon as anything breaks there.”
Marc made a note on it as Morgan continued.
“We passed the word about no magic. Most descendants have been told by now, but we can’t stop the kids from using it.”
“I know,” Marc answered. “The kids aren’t the problem.”
“Ray is asking for a few minutes of your time, alone.”
Marc wrote it down. “I’ll find him later. Next?”
“Candy resigned from the Eagles.”
Marc wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t been spending any time with Theo’s team. “Next?”
“Billy got into it with Jax over the punishment you assigned.”
Marc looked up at that. “Why isn’t someone in the brig here with me?”
“Because Billy said he slipped and Jax let him.”
Marc sighed. Quinn was slowly accepting it, but Jax was a hothead who still believed he was perfect.
“Put him with Adrian on the next schedules,” Marc ordered. “Don’t tell Mr. Perfect what’s going on. Let’s see if he can still work that old magic and bring Jax around.”
Morgan made a note, smirking. If Adrian couldn’t do it, that would prove he was useless to the herd and he could be removed. Marc was clever.
“We haven’t had any attempts at contact from Tommy’s group or Seth, but the Mexicans are still calling and so are refugees. Samantha noted that another big group of them came in last night. They were given shelter.”
“With Mikel’s army?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that can’t be good,” Marc commented dryly. “Keep me posted.”
“I will. Last thing is health. The doctor is reporting an i
ncrease in colds.”
“Colds?”
“Said it might be a Yellowstone effect.” Morgan shrugged. “He’s pretty nasty most days. I didn’t ask for details.”
“I’ll handle it. Next?”
“We’re passing the word now about the monthly celebrations for birthdays and holidays. Are we ready to do it on the 14th?”
“Sounds fine. Angie had things gathered for this. She knows people need to have a good time when they’re under this type of living conditions.”
“Cool. That’s it from me for now.”
“Okay.” Marc noted Morgan was wearing the full Eagle uniform, the one that Adrian had always required men to wear while on duty. He didn’t protest. Morgan had the right to forgive Adrian, like everyone else.
“You’re off tonight?”
Morgan grinned. “Yep.” He scanned their prisoner, not liking his baby face or his long blond hair. The stocky man was trouble from his alligator boots to his uni-brow.
“Gonna watch the lessons later?”
Morgan’s grin widened. Yep.”
Marc chuckled. “Have fun.”
Morgan closed the door, motioning the sentry to stay alert. Not only was he going to watch Adrian get his ass beat, Morgan planned to participate.
Marc glanced over at the exhausted prisoner who had pretended to be sleeping while the guard was giving him updates. “You can go to sleep soon. You’ve been found guilty of treason, murder, and other crimes. Do you deny them?”
Mickey, alive because his time to walk the mile had been scheduled for the day after war, didn’t answer. He was now waiting for his chance to escape this future as he had that one.
Marc tried to dig into the man, but the shield over Mickey’s mind was too thick. Marc shrugged. “I could have the enforcer come talk to you.”
Mickey jerked up right, voice cracking. “You have an enforcer?”
Marc smiled, putting his hands behind his neck. “And she doesn’t like you. You’re in our brig. That’s really all she’ll need to know.”
Mickey talked. He didn’t stop until Marc told him to.
An hour later, Kenn and Neil came into the brig with duct tape and bags.
Neither of them spoke. They didn’t need to. Both men had been expecting the chore.