Sydney
“I’m going to go to Miami to talk with Robert,” I announce to the rest of the council. Mulberry and I are in a hotel room, still a day’s drive away from Miami. The council members are up on my computer screen.
Dan sits alone in his office on the island. Anita is mid-flight, en route to Miami for damage control. Lenox sits in the sun somewhere on the Mediterranean. Merl is in his office off the dojo.
“You think he’s lying that he doesn’t know anything about the ship?” Dan says. I nod. Dan shrugs. “I never trust him.”
“Do you think he is in some way involved with this shooting?” Anita asks.
“I don’t think he’s behind it, but he probably knows something about it. He knows everything.”
“The man’s not omnipresent,” Mulberry grumbles.
I ignore him. “Face to face, I can tell when he’s lying.”
Lenox cocks his head. “Do you think he will confess the truth to you?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll know if he is trying to kill me.”
“Because he will actually try to kill you.” Anger sharpens Mulberry’s tone. “I think I should go with her,” he says, turning to the computer.
“I’m sitting right here,” I snap.
He purses his lips. “Sorry.”
“Robert isn’t going to talk to me if you’re there. You two will probably just end up trying to beat each other up, again.”
Mulberry’s neck flushes red. I put a hand on his thigh, under the small desk so the rest of the council can’t see. I want to reassure him that I care about him. Even if I don’t always listen to his advice.
“Obviously, someone is trying to set us up,” I say. “This is designed to turn public opinion against Joyful Justice and the Her prophet—and to put even more pressure on the government to destroy us.”
Dan nods in agreement. “The Incels are talking about ramping up the war. ” He shakes his head. “They are all riled up online. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more violence from their side soon.”
Anita chews on her lip for a moment. “I’m going to do my best to get out in front of this, but obviously a lot of damage has been done.”
“Isn’t it dangerous for you to come stateside?” I ask.
Dan makes a hand gesture that implies Anita and he already had this argument.
“I need to find the person who duped that poor woman into thinking they represented Joyful Justice.”
“I doubt they are just sitting around waiting for you in Miami,” Dan says.
Anita narrows her eyes. “Trust me, will you? I’m also going to speak with reporters off the record. I still have a lot of contacts.”
Chastised, Dan slumps in his chair and gives a small nod.
“Sydney,” Anita says. “Your mother is headed to Miami as well.”
“What? Why?”
“To speak. She wants to make the public case that this slaughter does not represent the Her prophet. She does not preach violence against the innocent.”
“Great.”
Mulberry puts his hand over mine on his thigh, offering his support. “I’ll go to Miami with you,” he says. “You can see Robert alone, but I’ll be there if you need me.”
“Thanks.” I look over at him and he smiles, lifting his chin, urging me to tell the council about my pregnancy. We discussed it on our drive to the hotel, after I told him about what happened with the van full of Incel would-be assassins. Mulberry didn’t push for me to tell the council, but he urged me…they are our friends.
I turn back to the council. “There is something I should tell you. Well, Dan and Merl already know.”
“What?” Anita asks, frowning.
“I’m pregnant.”
She looks stunned—her face frozen, mouth slightly open, eyes wide. Lenox nods slowly. “Congratulations,” he says.
“Thank you,” Mulberry answers, making it clear he is the father.
Anita clears her throat and smiles. “Yes,” she says. “Congratulations.”
“This doesn’t change anything right now,” I say. Mulberry doesn’t argue. “Let’s deal with this crisis, and then we can talk about it more.”
Lenox nods again, his movements regal. “Of course,” he says.
“Any news on Ian?” I ask desperate to change the topic.
“We’ve isolated him,” Lenox says. “Petra has brought most of his establishments under our umbrella, and we are in the process of talking with each sex worker to make sure they are happy in their position.”
“What do you do with the ones who aren’t?” I ask.
“They are free to leave with a small severance or a ticket home.”
“That’s not much of a choice.”
Lenox frowns, there are new deeper grooves around his mouth—this is taking a toll on him. “I agree. But all we can offer them is their freedom. We cannot change their history. Many of them were sold by their families; those that were kidnapped want to go home. The ones sold…they are—” He shakes his head. “Most of them cannot imagine any other kind of life. That is something I’d like to change. But I don’t know how.”
Silence descends on all of us. We can fight with our fists, with weapons, but we can’t climb inside the minds of traumatized victims and convince them that their lives are worth living.
“What about offering them training?” Merl asks. “Here. What if we could turn them into fighters?”
Lenox sits forward. “That’s interesting.”
“They could become instructors or operatives.” Merl goes on. “If nothing else, we could instill some confidence in them.”
“I’m not sure it’s so simple,” Anita says. “They need therapy. What they’ve been through isn’t something you can just get over. Not without help.”
“Fighting helps,” I say.
Anita gives a small smile. “If we want to do this, we need to bring in some professional mental health help.”
“Agreed,” Merl says.
Dan turns to another monitor on his desk and starts typing. “Let me see who I can find in our membership.”
“Very good,” Lenox says, his voice hopeful.
Our meeting done, Mulberry and I get into our separate queen-sized beds. Frank jumps up on his, and Blue on mine. Nila sleeps with her back against the door.
Despite my exhaustion, I can’t sleep. Lying awake, I stare at the ceiling, my brain a mouse on a wheel.
Can we really help those women by training them?
Will Robert tell me the truth?
Is he behind this shooting?
Will he help me?
Does he still want me?
Or will he try to kill me?
I slip into dreams of shadows and mist—I’m being hunted but can’t see the beast on my heels. I run, my heart hammering, feet sucking into mud. I fall forward, and the monster jumps on my back, pushing me into the ground, sinking me deep into the earth…I can’t breathe.
“Sydney!” Mulberry is shaking my shoulders. I gasp for air. His eyes are glittering in the dark hotel room. “It’s just a dream,” he says, his voice quieter.
A sob escapes, and his arms come around me, hard and strong. “You’re safe,” he promises. “You’re safe.”
But I’m not. And I never will be.
We can’t win this war. It will never end. Justice is always under assault. Evil is a many-headed beast, and when you cut off one, another grows in its place. All we can do is keep fighting.
I wrap my arms around Mulberry and bury my face against his neck.
Death is inevitable.
But so is new life.