I
hardly knew Dice, and I had my reservations about being in the entire state of Florida while he was playing with explosives. Still, it just felt fucking awkward to make him sleep on the couch. It would probably feel weird to have him in bed too, but we were all snuggled into bed while Dice snored on the couch. And the Horseman of War could snore.
He also apparently rose with the sun. I didn’t sleep in this time. I woke up when Leif and Aeron did. Dice was already awake and had sent for food. He still didn’t have a shirt on. He had suspenders on again, and this time, they were Sesame Street. It was weird seeing a hulking angel with a red mohawk wearing suspenders with Oscar the Grouch all over them, but I would say this for Dice—he fucking owned those Oscar the Grouch suspenders.
As soon as we sat down to eat, he shoved a piece of paper at Leif and another at Aeron.
“See if you can get me everything on that list. How much serum will the device contain? I need to plan.”
“Fifty gallons should be enough for several states if you can rig the bomb correctly.”
“Exactly how many bombs do you have anyway, Dice?” I asked.
Weren’t bombs super scarce? Not even my father had bombs anymore, or he’d used them. How did Dice even have spare bombs lying around? Why was I having this conversation?
“Oh, did they not tell you the real reason the war ended? It’s not because Isaiah and his dictator friends got together and declared peace. That’s just what they want people to think.”
“Does it have anything to do with the toy bombs you have lying around Florida?”
Dice threw back his head and laughed.
“Honey, I’ve got spare bombs all over the world. I went around recruiting entire battalions and squads. I caused a damned mutiny in every area of the military until I had armies all over the world. I set a chain of command, then set up communication. It was beautiful. At the same time, all across the world, we organized a raid and stole all their bombs. I even got the ones the government wants to keep secret. They had to end the war because they didn’t have a single bomb left, and all their soldiers were slowly joining me. They didn’t have anyone left to kill for them.”
Remember when people used to collect sane things like Pokémon? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
“Thank you for keeping that brief,” Aeron said. “He likes to tell that story when he’s drunk, but it’s usually a lot more flowery and long-winded.”
“Hey, I ended World War III and stole all the bombs. I think I’ve earned some bragging rights.”
“Leif made serums to end this, and he doesn’t have a fat head.”
“Hey, you all deserve bragging rights. How many times have you defeated the Antichrist now? None of us would be here right now if it weren’t for all of you. I’ll tell Asher the same when I meet him,” I said.
Everyone just started laughing. And I got the feeling they were laughing at me too. Dice slung his leg over the arm of the chair again and started swinging his knee.
“The Horseman of Conquest is scared shitless of that painting you did and probably won’t allow himself to be alone in the same room with you. He wants Aeron to drop you off in California before you even come to Florida because he doesn’t want me to get attached too. It’s the whole three against one thing.”
I felt my eyebrows rise to my hairline. What the fuck? Was Asher scared of me? If he was the same size as Aeron, Leif, and Asher, then he was probably massive. I looked tiny next to them.
“The Horseman of Conquest is scared of a girl?” I scoffed.
“No, he’s scared of intimacy,” Leif said. “He’s close with us, but he never lets anyone else in. He’ll have to get over it. We’ll take you back to California if you want to go, but I’d prefer to have you with us.”
I didn’t even have to think about it. The smarter thing would be to go back to Miss Mabel and wait this out. I just couldn’t. I needed to be in D.C. I could feel it in my bones. Something was going to happen. I wasn’t feeling the urge to draw and grab my charcoal, but something was coming. I needed to be there with them, and it was more than just seeing my father die.
If there was any time for this Harbinger shit to kick in, now was it. Why couldn’t I get something I could control like the Horsemen? That would sure come in handy right now. It was like being constipated. It was precisely like eating peanut butter straight from the jar for dinner, then spending the next two days stopped up and miserable.
I ran my fingers through my hair.
“I need to be there. I just can’t see why.”
“Don’t force it or that vein in your forehead will pop,” Dice said.
See? Even Dice could see it was exactly like constipation. That nasty forehead vein showed up. I changed the subject.
“What are we doing today?”
“I’m coordinating with the other labs to get the serums up and running.”
“I’m killing things.”
“I’m therapizing your ass,” Dice said.
“Why does that sound way kinkier than it needs to?” I said.
All Dice did was wink at me.