“You saved ten of us that night. Why did you end up taking me under your wing?”
I sighed. “I saw a lot of me in you: young, ambitious, no family, ready to stab anyone who dared to tell us what to do, and desperately in need of someone to prevent us from doing exactly that. You were alone, and I knew how that felt: a Black Tag lost in the world before passing through the Prism.” I chuckled. “And now you’re stealing my job.”
Her face shifted back to a devious smile. “El Capitan better watch out.”
I laughed.
We drove in silence for a bit. As I turned onto the bridge, Delaware broke the silence again. “So, you got to ask me about my relationship…” Please don’t go there. “Anything happening between you and your princess?” She went there.
“My princess? Ha. She’s about to be in an arranged marriage, Del. And besides, I’m a Red, she’s a White. Not exactly possible.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That’s all fine, but you didn’t answer my question.”
“Alright, Detective Delaware.” I sighed and looked out into the night for an answer to that question. “No… maybe… I don’t know.”
She laughed. “Solid.”
“I mean, there’s definitely something between us, but there are a million barriers in the way of that even being a possibility. I don’t even have a last name…”
She grinned. “So, you like her.”
“Stop.”
“I’ve known you too long, Coyote, and you set me up with Snapback, so you owe me this much.”
I laughed. She’s right you know. “Fine. I do. Happy?” It felt weird to admit that to her, and myself.
She giggled. “Very. This is sounding like the start of some fairytale.”
“A frustrating one.”
“Maybe you’re just overthinking it?”
“What?”
“Do you think she feels the same way?”
“I… I don’t know. Maybe? She said I was one of the only people she could trust, but does that mean she is interested? She keeps acting all weird whenever we make any type of physical contact, making sure no one is around. She’s also uncomfortable with the whole Coyote thing.”
“Well, she’s probably worried about perception. She is a princess after all, and she’ll come around on you being Coyote. Still, maybe you should tell her how you feel? What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I could lose my job, get kicked out of the palace, never see her again, and never have the opportunity to convince the King to help us.”
“Shit.”
“Yup. Besides, I think she has enough on her mind with Isaac.”
She shrugged. “But maybe she needs something to give her hope that it’ll work out okay?”
“Dang, it’s like you’re a girl or something. I’ll have to think about it. It’s all too much at once.”
Chapter 27
The reaction to our mission was immediate on social media, even with the government censoring as much as they could. We needed the Yellows and Oranges behind us if we were going to further fracture the Prism, and they did not appreciate being spied on. Heck, even some Greens were outraged. Most were quiet about their frustrations, though, as the worst thing possible was being knocked down a color or more post-Prism. There was no way back up. The average person just cared about keeping themselves and their family alive. We needed to give them a big enough reason to stand up against the UPF.
My op-ed in response to the journal’s release had been published in the St. Paul Free Press. The media was plastering Coyote everywhere as the terrorist who broke into Secretary Heller’s house and created fraudulent evidence of the spying program. It was a pretty weak response, but I was quickly becoming the UPF’s favorite Militia poster boy. Everything I’d done was annoying the hell out of them, and I loved it.
Anti-spying posters were also scattered throughout St. Paul the next day, calling for reforms. The UPF responded in force and arrests were made among those who were the perceived heads of the movement while protestors were beaten down or shot in the streets, . We had gotten their attention, and the propaganda machine was in full force to try to quell the outrage.
I was waiting outside Julia’s room, thinking about how I wanted to handle her discomfort with Coyote. She’d been quiet that morning, and I could tell last night’s mission had brought back her concerns. We needed to talk, and I wasn’t looking forward to the potential confrontation, but anything would be better than the tense silence.
Eventually she opened the door and smiled to her handmaidens before silently leading the way to the garage. We were heading towards her visit to one of the Minneapolis elementary schools, where she would be reading to a class of students. I knew it was a PR stunt planned by her dad, but for her it was more genuine than that. She actually cared about seeing and talking to the kids.
We didn’t speak for most of the car ride there until I decided to cut through the silence. “I was wondering if you wanted to see the Enclave sometime. We could disguise you and go at night, if you’re interested.”
She shook her head and looked out the window, sounding dismissive. “Why?”
“I don’t know… just… I’ve seen your world. I thought you might want to see mine. It might help me explain why I’ve done the things I’ve done.”
She bit her cheek, thinking.
“It’s okay if you don’t…”
“No, I… I’d like that.” Her eyes studied me as if trying to figure out some type of puzzle. “I’ve got time tonight, but we can’t be gone too long.”
I smiled softly. “Great. I’ll… um… I’ll grab some spare clothes for you, so you don’t stick out like a sore thumb.”
She half-smiled in response as her eyes gazed out the window, lost in thought.
We pulled into the school and I opened her door before following her into the building. I knew she was still uncomfortable with Coyote, but I hoped that visiting the Enclave could put things perspective and give her a chance to talk. Why is nothing easy?
At least my actual job was easy that day. The little kids posed no threat to her, unless their star struck eyes could summon lasers. They were a sea of Black Tags gawking at her as we passed through the halls, guided by a secretary who showed us to the classroom. Along the way, I took in the atmosphere. The walls were coated in propaganda flyers thinly guised as educational encouragement. So, this is what a real school looks like… If the child of a Red received any education at all, it was from their parents or a mentor in the Militia; keeping us uneducated was part of the UPF’s plan.
Julia thanked the secretary as we reached the classroom, and I smiled, standing in the back, as she charismatically met the teacher and hugged the kids. She was in pure princess mode and the kids adored her. She talked to each one of them, genuinely listening to every child.
As she began to read to them in the front of the classroom, the Yellow teacher approached and stood beside me, looking towards the kids. “So, are they letting just anybody become bodyguards nowadays?”
I continued standing formally, facing forward. “No, ma’am, they do not.”
“Hmph. Well, I hope you do your job well. She’s one of the good ones.”
“Yes, ma’am, I believe she is.” I noticed one of the textbooks on a nearby desk, open to a page about the Prism. I hesitated before gesturing towards the book. “If you don’t mind me asking, do you really agree with everything they make you teach?”
She furrowed her brow and whispered harshly, “Do you want to get me fired?” She shook her head before storming off towards her desk. Guess she minds.
Eventually, the bell rang, and we met up before heading towards the offices so that Julia could shake hands with the administrators. I smiled at her. “You’re a natural.”
She smiled softly back. “Thanks. This is the part of being a princess that I love.”
We started walking. “You know, they’re going to remember this for the rest of their lives.”
She
looked down before back returning her gaze to me. “If I can do something for them, it’s worth it.”
“Any of them say anything interesting?”
Her face became more solemn. “One little boy said his older sister was about to go through the Prism. His family is Yellow, but he is worried about her because she ‘doesn’t believe the textbooks.’”
“Well, at least there’s one independent thinker. What’d you tell him?”
She smiled softly. “I pointed to you while you were talking to the teacher and told him, ‘My bodyguard is a Red, but he went out of his way to save my life. You sister sounds brave, like him. She can be a hero too, no matter what color the Prism gives her.’”
I bit my cheek, not knowing how to respond. “I… I don’t know what to say.”
He eyes met mine. “You don’t have to say anything. I meant it, Ivan. You were a hero that night.”
We reached the office and the principal plus a few other administrators were waiting for her. I stood to the side and planned our trip to the Enclave while she schmoozed with them.
Chapter 28
Julia looked adorable in an old black hoodie and a baggy pair of ripped jeans. Luckily, she was only slightly shorter than me, so my spare clothes could loosely fit her and work well enough as a disguise. I was happy to get her to laugh while trying the clothes on, totally out of her comfort zone but willing to come anyway.
We parked the car in St. Paul and walked towards the Enclave. She was tense as we approached the bridge. I didn’t know what she imagined the Enclave to be like, but either the idea of it or our impending conversation scared her. The latter scared me, too.
The cool fall air howled under the bridge as we began to cross it, and I couldn’t help but smile. “The old High Bridge. Hello old friend.” Julia didn’t respond but looked in awe to the east, towards the lights of downtown St. Paul. I stood next to her. “Isn’t it amazing?”
She smiled softly and looked off back towards the west and the forest. “It’s beautiful.”
I held out my arms and gestured to the sky. “We may be the poorest part of town, but the best view is all ours. Welcome to my favorite place in the world.” I gestured for her to follow me as I moved towards the western side and sat along the bridge’s edge where it had lost its railing.
She stayed back, reluctant. “I’d rather not fall to my death.”
I bent over forward, looking into the water below and bracing my left arm on the railing next to me. I looked back at her and smiled jokingly. “Oh, it’s only fifty meters. That can’t kill you, right? C’mon, I promise you won’t fall. It’s my job to protect you.”
She giggled, “Fine,” and sat next to me, gripping tightly onto the railing to her right. We sat for a while, looking over the water. It was so peaceful, and I was happy to be able to share it with her. I smiled at her as the moonlight reflected off the little hair not covered by her hood. She raised an eyebrow. “What?” Caught.
Looking forward, I responded, “Thank you for coming. I wasn’t sure you’d be willing to with Coyote and everything.”
“I… I’m not okay with it all, but I want to see your world.” She looked at the view and smiled. “I’m glad to see there’s at least one beautiful thing in it.”
I smiled softly. There’s two now. Standing up, I looked towards the Enclave. “If you think this is beautiful, you should see El Capitan’s beard. C’mon, I’ll show you my house.” I reached down and helped her up from the ledge. She stumbled for a second, falling into me with a yelp. Our eyes met for a second and she smiled for a moment before backing up and brushing herself off as I laughed.
We continued across the bridge. As the first buildings came into view through the darkness, she covered her mouth with her hands in shock. From across the bridge, it was hard to see the damage that had been done from the bombings, but now Julia could see it up close. Through the years, I’d become numb to it, but for her, it was the same shock that I had when I saw the palace.
Her voice was shaky as she searched for words. “Oh my… People live here?”
I kicked some of the dirt along the path. “Now you’re starting to see why nobody comes to the Enclave unless they’re a Red.”
We were silent for a while. Julia’s tear-filled eyes scanned the wreckages of the buildings and the poorly dressed Reds scuttling around the side trails as we slowly walked down the street. “It’s worse than I imagined. Everything you said… it’s all true. They’re lying to us, and we were too blind to bother looking across the river to see the suffering we created.”
I could only nod. What she saw meant more than anything I could say.
We reached a dark, deserted intersection, and I signaled for Julia to stay back as voices came from around the corner. Three Reds wearing leather jackets were walking down the next street. One of them called out when he noticed me, “Hey! What you doing walking around alone this late? Don’t you know better?” As he approached, he noticed Julia and winked. “Oh, not alone I see.” Back off, asshole.
With only the dim moonlight, I couldn’t tell if there were any gang markings on their leather jackets. While the Militia tried to maintain a bit of order in the Enclave, there were a few gangs that would catch people out at night. “Heading home. My friend is in a bad spot and needs a place to stay for the night.”
The leader approached, his unshaven rugged face appearing in the moonlight once he was close enough. I finally got a closer look at his jacket. Shit. Timberwolves. “How about you and your ‘friend’ spare some rations, or maybe she could stay with us for the night? What color she even?” He walked slowly towards her.
I grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks and looked him dead in the eye. “She’s a Red, just like you and me, man. We don’t have any extra rations. Besides, I don’t think your boss would appreciate you messing with a Militia lieutenant. What’s your name? I’m sure El Capitan would love to hear it.”
Realization crossed over his face. “Shit. Wait. Which lieutenant?”
I cocked my head and showed the knife up my sleeve. “That’s none of your business.”
The leader looked at his two goons before turning back towards me and spitting at my feet. “Fine, but you Militia bastards better watch your backs.” He motioned to them. “Let’s go.” Thank God.
As he turned, he reached into his jacket and everything after that turned into a blur. I realized what he was doing and dove towards him while he pulled his gun. Please be the only one with a gun. Knocking the gun from his hands before he could shoot, I swept his legs, throwing him to the ground. The smaller one of the goons charged Julia with a knife and the bigger approached me, unarmed.
I quickly kicked the leader’s head, knocking him out before running to intercept the first goon, hoping that the bigger guy couldn’t keep up. The smaller one slid around my tackle attempt and knocked me to the ground as I charged in recklessly. I smacked into the dirt painfully and rolled to see him standing over me with the second goon straight behind him. Looking around, I was desperate for options that didn’t involve butchering another person in front of Julia.
Julia backed away slowly and screamed as the second goon moved towards her. Don’t you dare! I rolled to my right and threw myself at the legs of the goon in front of me, knocking him off balance as I pulled my knife and stabbed his thigh. Not lethal, but necessary. He yelled and fell as I scrambled to my feet and kicked him for the knockout. My heart sunk as Julia turned to flee from the goon, who was in hot pursuit. He’s going to catch her.
Running faster than I felt I ever had before, I chased after him. Please be slow, please be slow… He wasn’t, and he tackled her before I could close in. She struggled against him as I reached them, and her hood fell, revealing her tag-less ear. Confusion washed over his face and he hesitated long enough for her to break away as I grabbed him, threw him to the ground, and started punching his face repeatedly in anger.
Fueled by rage, I couldn’t stop the punches as Julia struggled to h
er feet and pleaded with me. “Ivan! Stop! He’s done!” Finish him…
She broke the spell, and I paused, looking down at his unconscious body and bloodied face before releasing him. I struggled to my feet. “Are you okay?”
Her eyes were wild as she looked around at the three men in fear. “What? How?”
I moved slowly towards her and spoke intently, “We need to get out of here. My house is nearby, come on.”
She followed reluctantly as her mind tried to grasp the situation. We reached my house and I sat on the edge of my old bed as she paced around, panicked and oblivious to her surroundings. “I thought you said the Militia controls the Enclave?”
Stressfully, I ran my hands through my hair. “We do, but there are still the gangs that run around at night. We’re not the police. We can’t control everything, especially when everyone is so desperate.” I sighed. “I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have come so late at night.”
She was not happy. “Did you know this would happen? How often do you get attacked?”
I stood quickly and tried to calm her down, but she moved away from me. “They must be getting desperate if they’re willing to attack a lieutenant. I didn’t know they would be out. Attacks are pretty rare, but this isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with them over the years.” I sighed and looked down before back at her. “First time I had to protect someone else, though.”
She scowled at me.
Emotionally, I paced and spoke forcefully, “Ugh! I didn’t mean it like that, Julia. I’m just glad you’re alright. Now you see, though, the shi… crap we have to deal with every day. If it’s not some goons, it’s the UPF or everyday people spitting at us because of our earrings. We live on nothing, we have nothing. Look at this damn place!” I gestured angrily at the single room that was my home for so many years, and tears started flooding my eyes. “The Militia, fighting for something. That’s all I had for most of my life. There’s so much I regret, and I’m sorry you had to get a taste of it. It was unfair to you.”
The Fractured Prism (The Prism Files Book 1) Page 13