Grandfather

  Everybody was asking us questions about Cornelius and the city the next day. It was just as annoying as everybody wanting to take pictures of us at Mr. Harrison’s fundraiser. We couldn’t get away from them.

  Well, there was one place we could go, and that’s exactly where we went.

  “I’ll never see it the same way again,” Marley said as we gazed out at the city from the ledge.

  The Presidential Tower looked so different from the hill. It was hard to believe that just a day ago, we were at the very top. It was weird looking at the tower knowing that Cornelius was probably somewhere inside. He had probably already kicked every piece of furniture possible. Man, I was loving it.

  “What do you think he’s planning?” Ashton asked.

  That was a great question. He was a smart man, so we knew he was planning some sort of excuse. At least I assumed he would try to find a way out of blame. Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps Cornelius would embrace the fact that he was the Grand Imperial. I mean, what could people do? I guessed they could’ve rise up against him, but that would take some time. It didn’t matter, because something told me Cornelius wasn’t going to embrace any of it. He had been trying very hard to keep anybody from knowing that he’s the leader. He wouldn’t give up that easy.

  “I don’t know what he’s planning,” I said. “But it’ll be something good.”

  “You think he’ll get out of this?” Marley asked in surprise. “Are you serious? There’s no way he’ll get out of this one.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “But I think he’s smart enough to do so.”

  Ashton agreed. “But I still think that now the idea has been planted there will always be a lot of people who don’t trust him. That’s good enough for me. I mean, it’s not going to be easy for Cornelius anymore.”

  “But it’ll be easier for us if others don’t trust Cornelius,” I said.

  Ashton and Marley agreed. As Belladonna had said, it was like a civil war within the wall. The rich people were going to be split. And that was going to put more stress on Cornelius. Sure, it would be great if Cornelius couldn’t find an escape route. But if he did, at least things weren’t going to be as before.

  I saw that Edgar was waiting beside my door when we returned. He looked at us with an eyebrow raised, his face covered with curiosity. “Where did you guys come from?” he asked.

  “Oh,” I said. “Um . . .”

  “We just been walking around,” Ashton answered.

  “Yeah,” Marley said, a little too quickly.

  I guess we weren’t prepared to be asked that question. But Edgar didn’t seem to care. He shrugged it off. “Been waiting for a while,” he said. “We want to talk to you three.”

  We didn’t know what they wanted out of us, but we went with Edgar to the meeting room where Belladonna was already waiting for us. She seemed impatient and relieved when we finally walked in. Beside her was Mae. She no longer had bags under her eyes, which made sense now that she knew her daughter was safe.

  “That took a while,” Belladonna said slowly, no longer looking angry. Perhaps she’d slept it off.

  We all took a seat at the sofas. “I hope you slept well,” Belladonna told us.

  “I did,” I told her, meaning it. Ashton and Marley assured her they did too.

  “Good,” Mae said. “Much safer here than there.”

  “Hell of a lot safer,” Edgar added, grunting loudly.

  “Anyways,” Belladonna started. “Last night was so hectic that we didn’t get much time to talk about everything that happened.”

  We should have known that’s what they wanted. So much was going on the previous night.

  “What we really want to know,” Edgar started, taking a seat on the couch across from me, “is if Cornelius said anything that might help us out.”

  Belladonna agreed apprehensively. “With all that is going on, everything is about to come crumbling down. We’ll be making our move very soon.” It seemed as if they were always talking about how we’d be making a move soon. I really hoped it was true this time. I didn’t see why not. Grandfather would be vulnerable.

  “Sent Robert out to gather others,” Edgar said. “While you were gone, he overheard that there was a group of rebels who don’t like these new laws of Grandfather. Gonna try to get them here.”

  “We’re going to need numbers,” Mae added. “An army.”

  “And from what Robert has learned,” Belladonna said, “They have a good number of supporters…and weapons apparently.

  Edgar was about to go on, but Ashton interrupted him first. “What do you mean more people?” he asked. “How do we know we can trust them?”

  “We need help,” Edgar said.

  “I agree that we need help,” Ashton argued. “But we still have to protect ourselves.”

  I agreed with Ashton. Was it worth trusting people we didn’t know just so that we could have an army? I guess it was worth it if they actually were on our side.

  “They don’t like Cornelius and what he’s doing,” Edgar said. “Robert has heard from a reliable source that they know Cornelius is the Grand Imperial too.”

  “That means we can trust them,” Belladonna confirmed. “I trust Robert. He’s positive. He’s not been wrong yet.”

  I guess it made sense that we could trust them if they didn’t like Cornelius. And besides, we were going to need more people if we wanted to make our move soon. I didn’t know what Edgar and Belladonna had in mind, but I knew that whatever we did, it was going to probably require a large number of people. Basically, we had to take the risk. Ashton must have understood this too because he didn’t argue again.

  “Did Cornelius say anything while you were with him?” Edgar asked. “Anything other than a bombing soon?”

  “Anything other than a bombing?” I asked, getting a little angry. Edgar made it sound as if the news of a future bombing wasn’t big news. “What more do you want?”

  Nobody said anything.

  “They plan on bombing something soon, and you want more?” I asked.

  “Didn’t mean it like that,” Edgar said. “We’re just trying to learn all we can about them.”

  “Well, they’re about to kill a lot of people,” I snapped. “Could be today, could be next week.”

  “No, not today,” Belladonna said. “Not even tomorrow or the next day.”

  “But how do you know?” Marley asked.

  “They wouldn’t do that with everything going on,” Belladonna answered.

  “They’re probably trying to figure out how they’re going to get out of all this,” Mae said.

  That made a little sense.

  “Well,” Ashton said. “Whether it’s today or in a month, we need to do something.”

  “And we will,” Belladonna said, sliding a ring up and down her index finger. “That’s why Robert is gone.”

  “How about you guys tell us everything that happened when you went inside the wall,” Mae said. “Maybe there’s something you missed.

  I was sure we would’ve caught everything, but in order to make them all happy, Marley, Ashton, and I spent nearly an hour taking turns telling them everything from me meeting Cornelius to us escaping. We told them about what we thought of the city and the people at the Fundraiser, especially Mr. Harrison and Olivia. Belladonna seemed especially interested in Mr. Harrison.

  As I was telling them about the interview, Edgar intervened, telling me that they listened to the whole thing on the radio. “Some good stuff,” he told me, referring to how I mentioned the separation. “Dangerous, but good. That’s probably where it all started.”

  They were very interested in the safe Cornelius mentioned. None of us had any idea what was in it or how my eyes were able to open it. Edgar was angry that there was something out there worse than Sub X. But Belladonna and Mae assured him that it would be okay since Cornelius would need me, and he obviously couldn’t get to me. At first, they were surprised he didn’t
cut my eyes out, which was a really painful thought. I explained to them that I didn’t know anything about the technology he was talking about, but my pupils had to dilate to open the thing.

  Mae asked me if Cornelius ever told me the truth about my parents. I had been hoping none of them asked me that, but I guess that was stupid. Of course they were going to ask me. I hated telling her no since that was the whole reason why we went into the city. That curiosity got us into the trouble.

  Stupid curiosity.

  Belladonna apologized that I wasn’t able to find out more about my parents, but assured me that there would be a better way to find out in the future. “You have to be patient,” she told me.

  Man, I really hated being told that. But unfortunately, it was true.

  Because Belladonna was mostly interested in Mr. Harrison, she returned to him, asking more about him.

  “He knew Cornelius was lying,” I said, remembering how Mr. Harrison said several times that he could always detect a lie.

  “We think he’s got something planned,” Ashton said.

  “Yeah,” Marley chimed in. “He said that he knew something was about to happen and that he had some operations going on that would help prepare him.”

  Belladonna played with her fingers, thinking.

  “Unfortunately, we didn’t really have time to ask more questions,” I said.

  “I’d say not,” Mae said. “You were ready to get out of there.”

  “Yeah,” Marley said. “But I wish we knew. He’s very rich, you know. And everybody seems to love him.”

  Edgar nodded. “Could be useful,” he said.

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Marley said.

  Everybody was silent. Belladonna looked at the ceiling in deep thought. Finally, she snapped out of her trance and stood up. “He could be some help. Do you remember where he lives?”

  Of course I didn’t. I didn’t pay attention to where we were going. And I definitely wasn’t paying attention when we were escaping. Even if I had, I wouldn’t have been able to remember. The city was too large. But I remembered how popular and rich Mr. Harrison was. Marley must’ve been thinking similar to me.

  “It wouldn’t be hard to find,” Marley said. “Everybody knows him.”

  Everyone was silent again at first. Edgar watched Belladonna who, again, was staring blankly at the ceiling, contemplating on something.

  “You know what we really need?” She eventually asked.

  We waited for her to continue.

  “We really need a way to identify every member of Grandfather. And perhaps this Mr. Harrison knows a bit more about them.”

  “He didn’t say he for sure believed in Grandfather,” Marley said. “He just said he knew something was going on.”

  “That may be, but things have changed since then,” Belladonna said. “With the recent proof, perhaps he knows more. He seems to be pretending to be friends with Cornelius. Perhaps he has a way to find out more.”

  “Wait a minute,” Edgar said, confused. “Now, I agree we’d have an advantage if we knew everybody affiliated Grandfather. But what do you plan on doing, Belladonna?”

  We waited for Belladonna to reply. She walked toward the table, making a ticking noise with her mouth. “Knowing every single one of their supporters would be helpful when the end of them comes,” she said. “But it’s difficult not knowing which of these councilmen and councilwomen are involved or not. For all we know, the whole government could be Grandfather by now.”

  “You and I both know that’s not true,” Edgar said. “If so, things would be a lot worse. They’d have a lot more power.”

  Belladonna agreed. “Which is why we need to find a way.”

  Everyone was silent, I kept my eyes closed, thinking about these past few days. I remembered Cornelius’s bald head, his nostrils flaring when angry. He was good at faking his position. Nobody would have believed Cornelius was the Grand Imperial by the way he talked and treated me at the interview. Especially when he gave me the necklace.

  “We need something that would identify them,” Belladonna said, thinking out loud.

  What Belladonna wanted seemed pretty impossible. It would be way too difficult for her to get a list of every Grandfather member. Yeah, it would be helpful, but pretty impossible.

  “Too bad we don’t know another Grandfather member,” I said, which hit Ashton like a brick wall.

  “Why would you want to?” Ashton asked, appalled that I’d even want something like that.

  “I mean somebody who is pretending to be a part of Grandfather,” I amended.

  Belladonna’s sparkling eyes were on me.

  “I can’t believe it,” she whispered, more to herself.

  All eyes went to her as she gazed back at the ceiling.

  “What?” Edgar asked. ”

  “I guess with everything going on, I overlooked it.”

  “What?” Edgar asked again, growing impatient

  Belladonna started pacing the floor behind the sofa.

  “You think it’s possible?” Mae asked, confused.

  “Seriously,” Marley said without much faith.

  “Before Robert left, he mentioned that a boy was forced to join Grandfather by his dad. Do you remember?”

  I could tell that Edgar was trying hard to remember. Then, it must have clicked because he nodded his head. “Yeah,” he said. “I remember.” It sounded like he was just saying that.

  “And now he’s with the rebels that Robert is out to get,” Belladonna said, her smile growing even larger. “It won’t take them long to get back.”

  “How do you know they will agree to come?” Mae said. “Perhaps we shouldn’t get our hopes up.”

  “Oh, they will come,” Belladonna excitedly assured, clapping her hands loudly. “They’ll definitely come, I’m sure of it.”

  I was actually surprised that I said something helpful. It was kind of funny how things worked out. Apparently it’s sometimes the seemingly impossible ideas that are actually possible. At least to Belladonna it was.

  “He can give us a list of names,” Edgar said, joining Belladonna in her excitement. “Brilliant.”

  “When will Robert be back?” Marley asked.

  “I’d say any day now,” Edgar said. “Hard to say for sure.”

  “Later today,” Belladonna said rather confident.

  “Hope so,” Edgar said.

  “He will,” she answered quickly, still smiling. “Trust me.”

  “Okay,” Edgar said “So in the meantime, we wait.”

  “In the meantime, we go and see this Mr. Harrison,” Belladonna said. “Let’s not forget about him.”

  Now that caught me off guard. I knew Belladonna was interested in him, but for them to actually go into the city to see him? Maybe I was a little bit bias after my experience in the city. I guess it would be easier for them to go.

  Edgar seemed to like the idea too. “I think it could be worth it.”

  Everyone agreed.

  “Why exactly do you need him?” I asked. “You mentioned that he could get us a list of every member. But we already have somebody now.”

  “You said he has some operations set up,” Belladonna said. “He’s prepared.”

  “Maybe his operation would be beneficial to us,” Mae added simply.

  Yeah, that made sense. “You guys should go then.”

  Both Belladonna and Edgar looked at me, confused. “You’ll be coming with us, of course,” Belladonna said.

  I almost stood up, walked out, and locked myself in my room forever. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. I had just gotten back, not to mention how we were lucky to get away from Cornelius. I had no intention on going back, and they were being absolutely ridiculous in thinking that I’d go back. Seriously?

  “No,” I said. “No, no, no, no, no.”

  “You have to,” Edgar said.

  “No I don’t,” I argued
back, standing up. “I’m staying here.” I walked toward the door, ready to leave.

  Belladonna threw herself in front of me.

  The desperate look on her face stopped me.

  “Carsyn,” she said. “I know that after what happened, going back is the furthest thing from your mind.”

  “I never want to go back,” I said.

  “But Mr. Harrison knows you,” she said. “He’s not going to trust us.”

  “She’s right,” Edgar said. “With just us, Mr. Harrison won’t trust us. But if you’re there . . . well . . . we have a better chance.”

  I said nothing. My head had started to pound. It seemed as if my life had turned into a complete headache lately. Things were more hectic than they were at the orphanage. Since when did I get so involved with these people and Grandfather? Funny how quickly one’s life can change.

  “I really don’t want to,” I said again. “And besides, people will recognize me and turn me in. I’m missing . . . remember?”

  “You’ll be alright,” Belladonna said. “Only be around the Harrisons and our driver.”

  They were set on me going. Ashton and Marley didn’t seem too happy about the idea either. Of course they weren’t. They had just gone through the same thing.

  “When?” I asked.

  “Today,” Belladonna said.

  “Today!” I yelled. “But I just got back!”

  “It doesn’t have to be today, does it?” Edgar asked, also surprised.

  “You can wait a couple of days,” Mae said. “They just got back!”

  “Before you guys came in, it was announced that Cornelius will be speaking at the arena later,” Belladonna said. “He’s going to confront the letter and recording. I plan on attending.”

  “What if he has something planned?” Marley asks.

  “He does have something planned,” Belladonna said. “His plan isn’t to harm anybody. At least not yet.”

  “He’s more concerned about people trusting him again,” Edgar said.

  “Exactly,” Belladonna said. “I’m interested in listening. We could see Mr. Harrison and then go to the arena.”

  I didn’t think things could get much worse. They wanted me to go back into the city when I just got back. What was worse was that they wanted me to be in the same area with Cornelius. What if he somehow recognized me in the arena? I informed Belladonna, but she assured that there would be too many people to tell. I didn’t know since I had never been to or seen pictures of an arena. I just knew that they were supposed to be big.

  “I really don’t want to go,” I said, knowing that it really didn’t matter what I said. I guess I could’ve refused. They couldn’t really force me to do anything. What would they do? Ground me? No. And besides, if it would help our cause, then it was kind of my duty to help. I definitely wouldn’t have said that a few weeks earlier.

  “This is a wonderful opportunity,” Belladonna said. “We really need you.”

  Belladonna, who was recently angry at me for going into the city, was now asking me to go back. I guess it was a little different since we weren’t going to meet with Cornelius. I didn’t like it. She and Edgar looked desperate. I took a deep breath and forced a nod.

  “I’m going too,” Ashton said immediately.

  “You two will be staying,” Edgar said. “The less that goes, the better.”

  “Then I’m not going,” I said.

  “Sonuvabitch,” Edgar muttered, turning around as he threw a hand up in the air. “Always complicated.”

  “Carsyn,” Belladonna said. “It just needs to be us three.”

  Marley didn’t look too happy either. I bet anything she wanted to go too, just so that we were all together. But she wouldn’t do that to her mom again. I didn’t blame her.

  “I want to go,” Ashton said. “I want to see what Cornelius is going to tell the people too.”

  “You’ll hear it on the radio for crying out loud,” Edgar snapped.

  “I want to see it in person,” Ashton argued. “I’m going.”

  “If I’m going, Ashton is coming with me,” I told them, folding my arms together. They were quiet at first.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, her soothing tone returning. “I’ve forgotten what you guys have gone through together. You are good friends now.”

  We both nodded.

  “You’ve been through a lot these past few days,” Belladonna said. “You aren’t ordinary kids.”

  I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or what.

  She placed a hand on my shoulder then looked at Edgar. “We can’t force Carsyn to go. We’ll be safe.

  “Yes!” Ashton yelled in joy while Edgar stomped around the room, grumbling.

  “Guys, just be careful,” Marley said.

  My only problem was that somebody might recognize me at the arena. Honestly, Belladonna was crazy for coming up with such a ridiculous idea. But I trusted her. If she thought everything would be fine, then I believed her. I could keep my head down the entire time or something. And besides, everybody would be too focused on Cornelius, not looking for me.

  Belladonna and Edgar didn’t give us a lot of time. Because I had lost my black suit at the Presidential Tower, Edgar had to find me another one. I definitely couldn’t wear the white one I wore to the fundraiser. That would have drawn way too much attention. And thankfully, Dr. Mac had an extra. This one was gray and didn’t look nearly as nice as my previous ones. But we had to use what we had.

  I had such an uncomfortable feeling about the trip, but I just couldn’t say no. Belladonna and Edgar were desperate, I didn’t blame them if Mr. Harrison was going to be able to help us.

  But I was still thinking about the arena, so again, I told Belladonna my concerns, and again, she seemed to understand. I was kind of hoping we could all just leave the city once we talked to Mr. Harrison. I don’t know why, but she really had her mind set on listening to Cornelius. “It’s just that this is a huge game changer,” she told me. “What he says at that arena will determine how and when we make our move.

  I was still worried.

  “We know Mr. Harrison is a friend,” Belladonna said. “To you, at least.” She pointed at me.

  I nodded. “I guess. I don’t really know him, but he let us go. He has to be.”

  “Exactly,” Belladonna said. “Here’s the plan. We talk to Mr. Harrison. When it’s time for Cornelius’s address, Edgar and I will leave for the arena. You and Ashton can stay with Mr. Harrison and we’ll come get you after it’s all over with.”

  Edgar also seemed to think she was going out of her way to listen to Cornelius. “I understand that we’ve waited a helluva long time for this to happen,” he told her. “I get it. You want to see for yourself. This is a huge turning point. But I don’t think we’ll be able to make it to the arena.”

  I could tell by the stern look on Belladonna’s face that she didn’t agree with Edgar. But she didn’t argue. “Let’s just get to Mr. Harrison,” she said. “We’ll figure it out there.”

  It was good enough for Edgar. It kind of had to be because we were running out of time. Belladonna said that Cornelius was to give his speech at 7:00. It was noon. It would probably be about 1:30 or 2 before we actually reached Mr. Harrison’s place. Who knew how long we’d be talking to him.

  We all ate our lunch very quickly. Marley and Mae were there to see us off. “Sorry you have to go back,” Marley told me and Ashton, who was in the black suit Cornelius had given him. I knew he absolutely hated it.

  “It’s cool,” I said. “I’ll get to see Mr. Harrison again. And I won’t go to the arena.”

  Marley seemed satisfied. Mae had to give us all a hug. She treated it as if we were about to embark on some huge journey. I almost expected her to cry. “Now you guys hurry up,” she said. “And Edgar, you keep everybody safe.”

  “Ah, Mae,” he said, holding her shoulder. “I don’t think these three need my prot
ection.”

  I think Edgar was right about Ashton and Belladonna at least. Especially Belladonna. I bet anything that she could just break bad if needed. But me . . . well, I wasn’t so confident in myself. I was with Mae. He probably needed to keep me safe.

  We left through the same entrance as before. “Should have gone the other way,” Belladonna said as she began to climb the ladder. I assumed she hated ladders. I was kind of with her. I mean, why didn’t we go the other way? It was apparently easier. I didn’t ask any questions, because I remembered how much Edgar hated them.

  The walk to the road was all too familiar. Like before, the white vehicle was already waiting for us. Belladonna took the front seat, and Ashton was stuck between Edgar and I.

  “Robert told you where to go, correct?” Belladonna asked.

  The man, dressed in the same green suit, nodded and drove us to the city.

  Once in the city, I noticed a huge change. For one thing, there weren’t as many people as usual walking on the streets. And those who were out didn’t look as happy as before. They had gloomy eyes and frowns. Occasionally, we would pass up several people gathered together, watching a TV screen on the side of a building.

  The news of Grandfather had everybody scared, and I couldn’t help but grin. Things were working out perfectly.

  I do have to say that as I laid my eyes on some of the frightened faces, I kind of felt sorry for them. I know that’s weird, especially since they were the rich people who didn’t care about anyone but themselves. They were the very people who supported the walls around our cities. But they just looked so pitiful. It was as if they had lost everything. I don’t know. I guess I felt that way because I believed they had the potential to change their ways. Maybe I was just being ridiculous.

  We arrived at Mr. Harrison’s mansion. I had a flashback as I saw the familiar entrance full of flower gardens, large bushes, and fountains. Just as before, the water spewing out of them were different colors. It was hard to believe that it had just been a day since me, Marley, and Ashton were there, surrounded by people. At least this time there weren’t reporters and cameras everywhere.

  The vehicle came to a gentle stop, and we jumped out, Belladonna telling the driver we wouldn’t be gone long.

  We walked up to the gate. “How we going to get in?” I asked. It was much easier the day before when all we had to do was follow Cornelius in.

  Edgar walked to the side where there was a brick wall. He pushed a button I hadn’t noticed. A minute later, there was a man’s voice, but it wasn’t Mr. Harrison’s.

  “Mr. Harrison is out right now,” he said. “You’ll have to come back later.”

  Edgar and Belladonna looked disappointed.

  Great. Just my luck.

  “And when will that be?” Belladonna asked.

  “I don’t know,” the man said in boredom. “Come back later,”

  Then, I heard a woman’s familiar voice in the background. “Is somebody here?” she asked, sounding very surprised, as if they didn’t get many visitors. “Who is that?” There was a pause. “Well, I do believe I know the young man,” she said. “Both of them, actually.”

  She could actually see us? That meant there was probably a camera nearby. I looked for it, but didn’t see anything. It was probably well hidden.

  “Ma’am, it may not be safe,” the man said. “I was told to not let anybody in after everything that’s happen.”

  “Now, if you think you’re going to tell me who I can and cannot let into my own house, you got another thing coming, John. You let them in this instance,” the woman demanded.

  I heard a click, and their voices went away. A few seconds of silence passed. I began to think they had changed their mind when the gate opened smoothly, not making a single sound.

  We followed the curving driveway until we reached the front door. Edgar beckoned for me to ring the doorbell, probably because I had been there before. I went to do so, but before I could even touch the button, the door swung open, revealing a woman dressed in an beautiful purple dress, looking as if she was about to attend yet another party. It was Mrs. Harrison, of course.

  “My dears,” she said, approaching Ashton and I and kissing us on the cheek. “There’s a story to be told, a story to be told.” She waved her hand for us to go inside. Ashton and I went in first, followed by Edgar and Belladonna, who hesitated.

  I didn’t blame them because it just hit me . . . was Mrs. Harrison on Mr. Harrison’s side? She kind of acted like everybody else.

  We had to hope.

  I recognized the room. It was, of course, where the fundraiser was held. The tables and empty chairs were still there.

  “With all this ruckus going on, we’ve not had time to have our men clean up the place,” Mrs. Harrison said. “We’ll go into the other room.” She led us through a door to our right, leading to a large living room with several sofas and graceful furniture, almost as nice as that from the Presidential Tower. The TV was on a news station, talking about Grandfather and whether or not Cornelius was involved. “We’ll have to hear what he has to say this evening,” the lady reporter was saying.

  “Quite a scene out there,” Mrs. Harrison said. “I just don’t know what I’d do if I had to be out there. People are going crazy and arguing and . . . ugh, it’s such a disaster.”

  She took a seat on one of the sofas and picked up a glass half full of wine that had been sitting on the end table. Mrs. Harrison motioned for us all to take a seat. Belladonna did so beside her. Mrs. Harrison seemed to not mind, even though she had no idea who Belladonna was. Edgar chose a comfy-looking chair across from them, and Ashton and I sat on the couch next to him.

  “This is just such a surprise. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. Of course, my husband thought you’d be making an appearance in the future. Now, what are you doing back out?” Mrs. Harrison asked. “Aren’t you worried you’ll be seen?”

  “We wanted to risk it,” I answered.

  “Well, now, you have to tell me what for.” Mrs. Harrison sat her glass down.

  “I was hoping to see Mr. Harrison,” I told her.

  “My husband,” she said. “Now that’s a wish I can’t grant you, dear.”

  We said nothing. That was unfortunate. Mrs. Harrison gave Belladonna and Edgar suspicious looks. She looked back at me. “Who have you brought with you?” she asked.

  “Mrs. Harrison,” I said. “You know that your husband saved me?”

  Mrs. Harrison laughed. “Do I know? Oh dear, of course I know! I helped plan it beforehand, and it was rather risky if I must say so myself. But it was well worth it. I trust that you agree.”

  I nodded.

  “We thank you for that,” Belladonna said. “We were worried something had happened to him.”

  “And the other two?” Mrs. Harrison asked. “Weren’t you worried about them as well?”

  “Of course we were worried about them,” Belladonna added quickly.

  Mrs. Harrison looked at me and then at Ashton. “Where is the girl?” she asked. “She was so beautiful. In fact, she reminded me of myself in my younger days. What was her name?”

  “Marley,” Ashton answered.

  “That’s right,” Mrs. Harrison said, taking another sip of wine.

  “She stayed behind with her mother,” Belladonna replied.

  “So sweet,” Mrs. Harrison said. She examined Belladonna from head to toe. “You know, green looks so good on you. I have a dress that would probably suit you perfectly.”

  “Oh,” Belladonna said, taken aback. “Oh, no thank you. I have dresses of my own.”

  Mrs. Harrison didn’t pursue any further. She faced me again. “Now, what is it you want with my husband? He’s quite a busy man. Busy, busy, busy! And you never told me who you’re with.”

  “I’m Belladonna.”

  “And I’m Edgar.”

  Mrs. Harrison nodded. “So,” she said simply. “Names are import
ant, yes, but they don’t tell us who a person really is.”

  Belladonna frowned, looking a bit annoyed. She took a deep breath.

  “They’ve been keeping me safe from Cornelius,” I told her, trying to make things easier. “We can trust them. If it wasn’t for them, I’d be with Cornelius right now.”

  “The rebellion group?” Mrs. Harrison asked. “My husband did mention it.”

  “We’re that group, Mrs. Harrison,” Belladonna said.

  “Tryin’ to do everything we can do expose Grandfather,” Edgar added.

  Mrs. Harrison chuckled. “Well, I do believe that has already happened, wouldn’t you say?”

  “It has,” Belladonna answered. “Thanks to Ashton, here.”

  “And why is that?” Mrs. Harrison asked.

  Ashton explained to her how he had snuck to Cornelius’s office and found the letter and recording.

  “We gave it to the press,” I told her.

  “Well, then,” she said. “I suppose you guys have succeeded in letting those know Grandfather is out there somewhere. I do applaud you.” Mrs. Harrison slid her bracelet off of her right wrist and put it back on. She repeated this several times.

  “Do you believe?” Ashton asked. “Believe that Cornelius is their leader? The Grand Imperial?”

  Mrs. Harrison pondered as she continued playing with the bracelet. Finally, she said, “My husband and I do not trust Cornelius,” she said. “I do not know if he is actually a part of Grandfather or not. But, alas, I do consider every possibility. My husband, you see, says that Cornelius is involved.”

  “He’s right,” Belladonna said.

  “Richie predicted something big was about to happen,” Mrs. Harrison said.

  I remembered Mr. Harrison telling us the same thing.

  “I suppose he was right.”

  “Damn straight he was,” Edgar blurted out, accidently letting out a burp at the end of his sentence. Mrs. Harrison gave him a look of disgust.

  “My other question,” Mrs. Harrison said. “As I said before, my husband is quite the busy man. If he wasn’t, we’d probably never have the privilege of having all of this. What is it you want from him? Do you want him to join you?” She glanced at each of us, clasping her hands together.

  “Yesterday, Mr. Harrison told me that he had an operation going on that would keep him safe or prepare him for what was about to happen,” I told her. “We were hoping to talk to him about it and –”

  “Perhaps we could combine our resources,” Belladonna interrupted.

  “Now what resources might you have to offer him?” Mrs. Harrison asked.

  Belladonna looked at Edgar. He grunted. “Mrs. Harrison,” he said. “I’m a wealthy man. I used to live within this wall before.”

  “I don’t think my husband needs more bitcoin,” Mrs. Harrison said.

  “But we have information we can offer him,” Belladonna said. “We have information on Grandfather: Proof that they knew about the president’s assassination beforehand.”

  “And we have people ready to take any action to destroy their power,” Edgar added.

  “We have people coming soon, too,” Ashton said, referring to the men Robert were out to get.

  “More importantly,” Belladonna said. “We will have a way to identify every member of Grandfather.”

  Mrs. Harrison actually looked impressed. But she didn’t say anything.

  Belladonna continued. “I don’t know what kind of operation your husband has, but if it can help us, and we can help him . . . we should combine those resources.”

  “Perhaps,” she said. “But it is up to my husband, and he’s not here at the moment. I’ll definitely be telling him that you stopped by. He’ll be just as surprised as I.”

  We were all kind of disappointed. When were we going to have the chance to talk to Mr. Harrison again? I sure hoped that Belladonna didn’t plan on taking me to the city every day until we actually caught him.

  “When will he be back?” Belladonna asked quickly.

  “Hard to say, dear,” she answered. “He was gone all night. I may not see him until tomorrow.”

  On TV, some young man was interviewing a random older woman on the streets. “I don’t think Cornelius could ever be a part of Grandfather,” she told the reporter. “He’s such a lovely man.”

  Another middle-aged man appeared on the screen, talking to a different reporter. “I just don’t know who to trust anymore,” he was saying. “I can’t even trust our president right now.”

  “It seems as if we’re all fighting each other,” Mrs. Harrison said sadly. She had also been watching the TV. “I hope everything is worked out quickly. I don’t want to spend my older age living in chaos.”

  “Remember,” Edgar said. “for something to get better, it’s gonna get pretty damn ugly first.”

  “Ah, yes . . . what did you say your name was?”

  “Edgar.”

  “Well, Edgar. Unfortunately, you’re probably right. Oh well. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. No need in trying to prevent it.”

  Belladonna stood up slowly and thanked Mrs. Harrison. “We appreciate your time.”

  Me, Ashton, and Edgar stood up and thanked Mrs. Harrison as well. “Don’t you worry, darlings,” Mrs. Harrison said. “I’ll tell my husband that you stopped by. Perhaps there’s a way you can be reached?”

  “Yup,” Edgar said. Mrs. Harrison handed him her phone. He used it as if it was his own. “Have him call me.”

  Okay, that was new. I had no idea that Edgar had a phone. I hadn’t even seen it lying around. Did he just never use it? Ashton, too, appeared shocked. I assumed Belladonna knew because she didn’t seemed phased in any way. Heck, maybe she even had one. Edgar handed Mrs. Harrison her phone, and we walked to the door.

  “Now, you be sure to stay hidden,” Mrs. Harrison told me.

  “Hopefully,” I told her.

  Mrs. Harrison waved at us as she shut the door behind her. We walked back toward the gate. “I didn’t know you had a phone,” I told Edgar.

  “A lot you don’t know about me.”

  “Maybe I would if you would tell me,” I argued back.

  “True,” he said. “But I ain’t too much on doing that.”

  Oh well. All that mattered to me was that Mr. Harrison had a way of contacting Edgar. That meant I wouldn’t be dragged into the city every day.

  Chapter Fifteen