by L. Ann Marie
I walk back to the meeting room looking at Jacob. “I saw some of that with the kids at the school. They feel what’s coming up. Jacob is here right now, he’s not antsy, but does have some unsettling thoughts.”
Jacob pegs me a finger. I smile and sit.
“I am so fuckin’ glad they’re doing this now. You already having that throws relief Brother. I’ll talk to you tomorrow when you get here. Let me know if you need anything. I mean anything at all Christian.”
I’m so fuckin’ relieved. “I will, thanks Ricky.”
I swipe him off and Terry nods at the phone. “He’s worried?”
“The Protectors are antsy and he picked up on it. He’s concerned. We have new tracking coming from Jeremy. Do you know about it?”
Jacob slaps the table. “No. What the fuck? He’s not telling me shit lately.”
“He’s been working at the lab and can’t do the little shit when he’s up there. You’re like a mother hen Jay. It’s not like you don’t know what he’s like.” Terry looks at him thinking he needs to calm his shit down and I smile. He looks at me. “Get out of my head Christian.”
I laugh. “You’re in the wrong place for that Terry. That’s what we do.”
“Fuck. This is gonna nurse.”
Jacob laughs. Only the MC says nurse anymore. I’m hit with a flood of memories and laugh. Jacob gets it, but Terry is just looking at us. “Nurses with fuck doesn’t work, and it’s not something we hear at Princes. It threw a bunch of memories at Jacob that happened before you got to the house. We used to throw in together when someone lost dessert for swearing. Mom was cool about it, but would swear like a Brother when it happened.”
He laughs. “Mase still does it. Jeremy helps when he’s around too. No one here says nurses?”
Jacob shakes his head no.
I get us back on track. While I’m gone tomorrow they’ll get everyone’s bio up on the board and Jacob will pull the information from Ops on what we have so far from the crazy fuckers coming after us. I tell him how I want it set up on different pages and he’s got it. Before they leave I ask, “You’re good with how I want the pages set?”
He didn’t ask a single question about it. “Yeah Brother. It’s how Brantley sets up for Prez. It’s the quickest and easiest way to get the info on the boards for planning. I never did the boards for anything else so this works for me.”
“Good. If you see I’m doing something that you have experience in just say so. All of it is new to me so any advice is welcome.”
He’s surprised, but nods. “While you’re being so democratic am I ever going on Ops?”
What? “You want to be out on Ops?” He’s an Ops lead for control now.
“I wouldn’t mind a break from the Ops room. I’m not saying crazy shit, but there are going to be Ops that are routine. I wouldn’t mind those.”
I nod. “Get me the bios up so I can see if I have another lead. I don’t know all the people we have listed.”
He fist pumps making Terry laugh. “We have three here and VP, Prez, Brantley and Taylor will step in for you if we need it.”
Nice. The show of the support hits me and I nod.
I look at Terry. He puts his hands up. “I’m good on IT. I don’t like Ops where my glasses never shut down.”
I nod again. “I’ll work it out Jay. You’re good on the control Terry?”
Jacob smiles. “He’s awesome on control. VP didn’t want to lose him, but this was too important to stop him from moving here.”
I look at Terry smiling.
“I’m good. It’s easier to see through to a board or monitor than traffic.”
I get it. Darren doesn’t have that issue, but not everyone is Darren. I swear he’s got some type of ability going on. “You let me know if that changes or you need anything.”
He smiles and his thoughts are of being relieved. “I will, thanks Christian. This is going to be awesome. I’m going to start tonight. I’ll meet you tomorrow when you’re back.” He walks out and Jacob is smiling.
I wait. His head is saying it’s about time this is happening and he thinks it will be good too. When he looks at me his thoughts change. “This is going to be bad isn’t it Brother?”
This is the unsettling thoughts Ricky is worried about. “It was going to be brutal. That’s changing.” I don’t say any more. I can’t say any more.
He watches and nods. “I get it. I’ll see you tomorrow Brother.”
“Dinner at Brantley’s tonight.” I remember and remind him. “Tell Terry.”
He waves his hand as he’s walking down the hall. “Yeah. Tonight.” He keeps going.
I’m going to need to do something to get him some peace and confidence. Jump, pops into my head. I sit at my desk and think maybe that will help, but he’s always been in Jeremy’s shadow. Now he’s struggling to live without Jeremy and the silence where he always had Jeremy talking to him is deafening. Jeremy will be moving soon. Well, once Aubrey turns eighteen they’ll be moving into their house with Jacob. I think Geek will kill Jeremy if he tries to move her before that. I smile shaking my head, and focus on the work ahead of me.
When I’m stuck, I look in on Darren for answers. You don’t see him much, but he knows everything that goes on and how it all works. His head is like a maze, but I keep at it until I find what I’m looking for. Getting my answers, I type it all up and print my part to go over tomorrow, the new training schedule, and the information the readers and Protectors need. “Let’s go home Hawk.” He follows me out.
Before I leave I check in with Terry and tell him about dinner. He waves, keeping his eyes on the monitor. It reminds me of Brantley. I take Hawk to the locker room and shut the sensor off letting him go through the door. “Home Brother.”
I flip the sensor on and hit my watch then jog out to the lot. Cade and a Security Brother are waiting. I fly home hoping I beat Hawk and run into the school. I hate to think of him waiting for me to open the door while he’s sitting in the dark stairwell. This is the new section Prez had put in and for some reason the lights switch off after a couple of minutes. Hawk doesn’t register on the sensor at the stairwell so it stays dark. When I open the door Hawk and Delta come through and the light is on. I pet them and hand them each a bone. “Good job Brothers.”
Taylor comes through in shorts and all sweaty, but he’s smiling. “Brothers?”
“They are to me.” I start walking up to the stairs. The dogs are waiting at the top of the landing.
“I do the same thing. Jessie thinks it’s funny. I’m glad I’m not the only one.”
“You need help getting the boys home?” When we walk through the kitchen door Justice and Stella run to me.
“No. I just have Nash. Beth has the baby.”
“Uncle Christian we did it! Stella got it working for us.” I lift him up.
“Let’s go check it out Little Brother.” I bend and lift Stella up. “You did good Stella. Let’s go see.”
She signs, ‘Yes.’
I take them to the classroom and the kids surround us. They look at Aquyà. He points to the steam coming out of the pipe on the model at the table. “She got the filter to work and the steam is clean. There are no toxins in the water. Phoenix thinks we can make clean water with it too.”
Brandon nods. “I think so too, we need to find a way to do the water too. It’s not till next month, but if we do it now we can move on to the engine. Right?”
I love how he picked up Alex’s word. “Yeah Little Brother. Let’s see what you have happening. If we can catch the steam easily and show it’s clean, maybe Jess can get something going with one of the businesses to try it out. Did Holly test the steam?”
Stella starts signing. ‘She did, she doesn’t know about the water, but she said it might work. I asked Mitch, but she didn’t answer yet. The filter works. No toxins. We did it.’ She starts wiggling in my arms so I do a happy dance with her.
When we’re done, I put her down. “Let me call Jess and I�
�ll ask if she has a minute to talk to you.”
Phoenix moves closer. “That would be good. This will keep Stella and Mucimi up forever if they don’t get an answer.”
He throws me oil bubbling out of water. Shit. Another oil leak will throw them. That’s what started all this in the first place. I hit Jess. “Do you have a few minutes to talk to the kids about an experiment they’re running?”
She laughs. “Definitely. Stella asked me about material, but never said what it’s for. She’s had me wondering all day.”
“Are you at home? We can come down.”
“I’m here,” she says from behind me.
The kids start jumping around yelling. When Taylor sticks his head in, Nash lets his hand go and runs to the kids with Mucimi following. I missed the hell out of them and it’s only been a day. “Let’s show Jess what you did and ask the questions you have.”
She laughs. “You can answer them you know.”
I shrug. “They need to learn to ask the right people for the information they need. I could answer from a book point of view, but you have practical answers and experience that they need. They read you as you’re talking and pull what they didn’t ask from your experience.”
She just looks at me. “They learn like Jeremy?”
“Not all of them, but the rest get different things from people. Stella takes everything you say and files it for when she may need it. Aquyà will pull what you learned. Teller and Justice your experience. Brandon your sense of ecological preservation and Mucimi everything. He’s the most like Jeremy.”
“Jesus. Will we ever get a break from freaky?” Taylor asks making me laugh.
“All of us have freaky shit Uncle Taylor,” Teller says making me and Jess laugh more.
Taylor is shocked. “Don’t you lose dessert for swearing?”
Teller looks at me a little nervous. “Not from me Little Brother.”
He relaxes and answers Taylor. “Unless you tell my mom, I’m good.”
Jess cracks up. “I’m not saying shit.”
I shake my head and pull her over to the model. They let Stella explain and Jess is impressed. She calls Jared to ask some questions, then answers the kids. “I can build a prototype. We need permission from Prez to try it out. It has to be a building that’s open and has good ventilation just in case of a problem. Did you do the reproduction on the CO sensor?”
Brandon raises his hand. “We tried it out here and in the tank. It only went off when we opened the tank. I think if we open it now the CO sensor will go off ‘cause the bags stink when you boil them down.”
‘They give off toxins. It’s not good to breathe it. We can’t open the tank until it cools and the steam in the tank settles,’ she signs.
“That’s right Stella. You need to make sure everyone is safe during the experiments. When you explain it, they understand. Good job sweetie,” Jess tells her and gets a smile from all of them. “Tell me about the clean water.”
Justice and Aquyà explain, then look at Holly. She tells Jess about collecting and testing the steam. Then they start talking about how the water can replace the gray water system until it’s proven over time. Taylor sits and watches them with a smile. I sit with him and wait until they’re finished. Mucimi climbs on me and listens to everything being said. I know he’s collecting from Jess and keep quiet until he climbs down. When he stands in front of Jess, Mack sits beside him. “Mucimi has questions Jess.”
She looks down. “I’m ready little man.”
I laugh when he throws her pictures. He’s going too fast. “Mucimi slow. She’s not going to understand if you throw too fast.”
He looks at me for a few seconds and I throw him pictures giving time in between each one. He nods and throws pictures at Jess a little slower. I cover my smile and watch.
“Oil spills are a problem. Yes. With using the plastic you’re helping the environment. We can get the plastic from the recycling center. They’ve helped me out before with the belts and sending clean plastic for the 3D printers. They’ll be happy we can take all plastic for the heating. If this works, we may have to get plastic from other places to keep the buildings heated.” She smiles at him. “We do need a way to clean the oil out of water. The wildlife does suffer, but right now we’re working on a way to help that, right?” Mucimi nods, but has tears in his eyes. “We’ll keep working and maybe find a way to keep the oil contained. They say that’s what they’re doing, but we all know that just isn’t true. It’s up to us to find a way to make that a reality. In the meantime, we have heating and clean water to perfect. While I’m working on a prototype maybe you can work on the oil issues.” She looks from Mucimi to Stella.
Brandon steps forward. “Is this more important than the engine? That’s our next project.”
Every head turns toward Aquyà. “It is. A clean engine has been built. It needs to be made so everyone can get it, but the water is a problem. If the wells and tankers keep spilling oil, there are places that won’t have clean drinking water. The wildlife dies or is changed and can’t be eaten. Food and water is more important than the engine.”
Stella nods. ‘Thanks Brother. It is,’ she signs, and Prez laughs behind us. I didn’t hear him come in and swing around throwing him chin.
Justice tells him what they’ve done. Aquyà asks to put it in the sundries manufacturing building. That’s a good building to try it in. It’s open and a bitch to heat because of the high ceilings and very little insulation. It was a sewing shop before and had heat from the dye tanks that must have been stifling.
“Didn’t the dye make people sick?”
I look at Teller smiling. “They did Teller, but it wasn’t proven until much later.” He shakes his head.
“That’s why we need time to prove the water is safe,” Aquyà says looking at him.
Jess laughs. “That’s right.” She bends to Mucimi. “It’s not all bad little man. We’re making a difference in the important things right now. Feeding people, getting them in homes instead of on the street and getting the military people help to make it in jobs and their own places are very important to Princes.”
Mucimi isn’t giving up and starts throwing pictures at her faster. Prez picks him up and walks to the other side of the room. I watch how the kids react to him being so upset. Stella watches Prez and Mucimi and Jess gets the attention of the other kids. “As soon as Prez says it’s okay I’ll start on this.”
They all happy dance and I stand up. Prez is saying yes to her and they know he will, but she doesn’t. He brings Mucimi to me. “He sees too fuckin’ much.”
I nod holding his head to my shoulder. “He does. He’ll be okay. Stella is already making a list to talk to Mitch.”
He nods and waits until Jess is done talking to Stella. “You’re going to find a way to stop the oil?”
Stella’s forehead wrinkles. ‘They need to stop drilling for it. We have alternatives if they’d stop being greedy long enough to look!’ She signs so fast I turn so she doesn’t see my smile. She’s pissed about greed and drilling and she’s six. I wish every adult could see this. Mucimi and Stella are the two that are the most sensitive, but they’re so fuckin’ smart it takes most people a minute to get that these are real issues that are bothering them.
Prez squats down. “You all need to hear this.” He gives them a couple of seconds to focus on him. “We do what we can to make the world better. That started long before you were born. We will keep working, but it has to be like triage. People come first. We need clothes, food and shelter. Then we need help with jobs, energy that’s affordable and medical care. We keep working on energy and cleaning up the pollution. You’re testing that out, so while that’s being worked through, you look for a way to stop water from being polluted. Aquyà and Mucimi are right, we need to stop water from being contaminated and killing marine and wildlife—not to mention the drinking water issues that brings with it. We are a small group that needs time to get from one solution to the next. I have no doubt
that you will change the world and the way people think, but you have to keep it in perspective. That means you look at the important things in life and put the world problems in their place. We have a roof over our heads, food, water, heat, clothes, our Brothers keeping us safe, and each other. Those are all the most important things we can help our community with. We branch out and do the extra to help our world. If you don’t have food, water, security and shelter you can’t help the world. Always find a way to do that first then work on other problems.”
The kids all nod at him looking so serious and I wish I had recorded it. Mucimi hugs him. “Thanks, Prez.” We all laugh. Mucimi rarely talks.
Prez stands. “Fuckin’ kids.” He puts his hands out and Phoenix and Teller each take one. “You will change our world Little Brothers, but you need to be patient. We’ll get there.” He throws chin and walks out with Alpha and Omega following.
Mucimi comes to me and puts his head on my shoulder. He’s throwing pictures of dead shit in the water. I throw him a barge that cleans the garbage out of the water and he looks at me. “We do what we can and keep pushing for more. If you’re always thinking of the worst, you won’t ever be happy. Do what Prez said. Keep it in perspective and work one problem at a time. We won’t get anything done if we aren’t organized and working together.”
“That’s what Grampa VP says. We take care of our own, then our community, then the world,” Aquyà says touching Mucimi’s back. “That’s Brotherhood. We got this Mucimi.”
Taylor laughs. “I need to get home. They’re unfuckinbelievable.” He lifts Nash up and walks out with Delta following.
Holly sits by us. “You must have a ton of work with your new job. I have happy boy if you need to go.”
“Yeah. What time is dinner?”
“Seven. I think Mucimi needs a pick me up. How about if I let you order happy boy?”
He starts bouncing and the kids laugh. I hold my laugh in, getting the pictures of a Chuck E Cheese pizza party.
I leave them to get my shit done before the big party. I’m shaking my head riding home with Hawk running beside me. Terry is going to love this. We do dinner at Brantley’s once a week. I love when we’re all together and having Terry here is going to make tonight special. With hats, cake and games. I crack up. I can’t wait.