Chapter 11: 3 of Rings - Teamwork

“We’re on the same team, right?”

“Where is she?” The Boss roared, punching walls as he stormed down the hallways. Minions scurried out of the way, dodging his swinging fists. “Get out here and take some accountability, young lady!”

Eri waited, hand on her hip, rolling her eyes in a calculated display. 

“What do you have to say for yourself? This is all your fault. ”

Everything was his idea until something went wrong. Then it was her fault. Accountability, his ass. 

“What now?”

After an uneven moment, he pointed to a side room. Closing the door behind them, he turned to find her glaring, arms crossed over her chest. “Sit. Down.”

She didn’t. She gave orders, she would not be caught obeying them.

“Our guys went for their weapons cache last night and got annihilated.”

“A band gone rogue.” She flicked her wrist dismissively. “Our people don’t lose.”

As a leader, he had taught her, subordinates should always think twice about bringing bad news. Ideally, they should think about it more than twice and fix the problem. If and when it landed in the lap of leadership, the easiest way to keep the inadequacies of your inferiors from reflecting on you was to disown both the failure and the people responsible.  

“That’s not the point. The Antis have magic.” They were the only two in the room, but he lowered his voice to a whisper. “And they’re good at using it.”

She stared back at him blankly. “Did you not expect that?”

“You never mentioned it.”

“We’re giving them just enough rope to hang themselves. Once they’re dependent on fighting with unlimited magic, we close the gates again. They’ll be in a weaker position than they were before.”

“What about the people we lost today?”

“Get new people.” 

“Speaking of, have you heard from your brother?”

“I’ll talk to him, but first, I have a date.” She fought a laugh at the steam crawling up his face. “Oh, don’t look at me like that.”

“Who is it?”

“Randy.” When the Boss’s expression didn’t change, she added, “From Main.” 

Realization dawned, slowly. So very slowly. “You’re going to get weapons?”

“If I’m late, I won’t get much of anything.”

He stared at her for a long time but finally gestured to the door. She pretended not to feel his eyes boring holes into her back as she crossed the room. 

What a waste of time. There was no reason to obsess over bad news the way the Boss liked to do. He claimed it was about not repeating mistakes, but Eri was convinced he just enjoyed making her feel bad about things going wrong. 

Like a chaser after a nasty shot, Randy lit up when he saw her: “I was starting to worry that you weren’t going to show up.” 

She smiled coyly, offering no explanation. 

“You guys take a beating today, too?”

She raised an eyebrow: nice try. 

“Hey,” he held up soft hands in surrender. “We’re on the same team, right?”

“Did you have anything special planned for today?” It was a rhetorical question. On one hand, men didn’t plan. On the other, there was nothing to do. Bowling alleys and theaters hadn’t survived the end of the world. Bars had: more sorrows to drink away meant better business for them. 

Randy grinned: “We could get out of here.”

This suggestion at least had the advantage of surprising her. “And go where?” 

“Wherever you’d like, or nowhere in particular,” he shrugged. 

Once they were on the road, Randy steered the conversation to his favorite topic: himself and his successful investments. This left Eri free to focus on navigation. Behind the wheel, Randy was in his element. He gave no thought to how long they’d been driving or what turns he was making until they were barreling down the main street of a town he’d never been to before. 

He looked around in confusion. “How’d we get here?”

Eri feigned surprise. “I think this is the town my brother’s staying in.” She beamed at her escort. “I’ve been meaning to visit: thank you!”

Before he could ask the question burning across his face, her eyes narrowed. 

“That’s different.” 

“Are you sure this is the right town?” At her withering glare, he asked, “What’s different then?”

“There used to only be two black churches.” Now there were four. She squinted at one of the newly converted structures: sure enough the inscription “Matthew 25: 35-40” glowed faintly under the black paint. She pointed to the other freshly painted building, “Monte was staying there.”

Eri swept up to the door. The lock was gone. She pushed the door open.

Inside, the pews had been torn out, the office emptied. Climbing the steps, she found the loft also deserted, save for one, single amethyst placed in the exact middle of the floor. The one she had left the night of the last full moon. 

She picked it up and watched what was left of the memory: the soldiers emerging empty handed, driving down the road to the other farmhouse. The exchange of words with the golden haired beauty on the front steps, followed by a storm of bullets as the kidnappers pushed their way into the house. And then static. 

Eri inspected the corrupted stone before hurling it across the room. It smashed into the wall, split down the middle, and fell to the floor.  

Randy was eying the other buildings when Eri emerged, jaw clenched, no brother in tow. Trying to sound casual, he suggested, “We could try the others.”

“My brother was staying there.” She stabbed a finger at the building she’d just exited.

“But maybe some of the others know where he is.” 

They tried the next door; it didn’t budge. The door marked with the Bible verse opened easily. It wasn’t under renovations, but was eerily empty. After a cursory glance around, the intruders backed out. 

As they approached the final option, Eri saw a gleam in Randy’s eyes. She watched suspiciously as he knocked. The door swung open at his touch.

Stepping inside was like entering another world. Eri was overwhelmed by the smell of orange blossoms, sweet cherry, a note of vanilla. Their eyes scanned the luxurious silk, lounge chairs, velvet love seats. Lush curtains fell to the floor. Gentle music and soft murmurs filled the air. 

Eri’s rage vined around her clenched fists: they weren’t supposed to be enjoying this kind of luxury. 

A sharp eyed woman looked them over. “Paying customers only.”

“We’ve got money,” Randy assured her. 

The woman raised an eyebrow at him, so Eri spoke up. 

“We’re looking for my brother. Have you seen him?”

The woman shook her head, flicking a dismissive wrist at them. 

“His name is Ammon.” Someone here knew her brother, Eri was sure of it.

“Sweetheart, even if I knew him personally, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“You’re full of yourself, aren’t you?” Eri sneered. 

“With good reason.” 

“I can pay,” Randy offered. “For the information.” 

The woman’s laugh misted the air between them. “No, you can’t.”

These two were not used to hearing the word “no” and did not respond well to it now. Randy slammed a fist onto the counter and Eri hissed, “Excuse you.”

“You think I’m going to trade all this for the couple of pennies you’re offering for information I don’t have? My reputation is worth more than you can pay. Pay for the goods and services that are for sale, or move along.”

Stepping outside, Eri hissed, “They know something. I just know it.”

“I believe you,” her companion agreed, hungry eyes still on the building.

“This is Monte we’re talking about. He knows at least one person there, biblically.” She considered the building. “We could wait and question people when they come out.”

“The only people coming and going are customers, mostly from out of town.”

“How do you know?”

“Their cars were almost as nice as mine,” he admitted. “No one who lives here is driving anything that new.” 

“They must be moving serious money: how have they flown under the radar for so long?”

Randy bit his lip. “You’ve never heard of them?”

“Have you?”

“That’s what this town is known for,” he laughed a little. “I was surprised when you said you knew the place. They operate openly, under the protection of the locals, so they’re a famously safe place to go for that sort of entertainment.”

How had she not known?

“Probably no one wanted to tell you because you’re a classy lady.” 

She scoffed. Why hadn’t Monte told her about this place? He should know better than to hide something like this from her.

“What if we purchased…services,” he suggested slowly. “They have someone for everyone: men, women, whatever you’re into. Once we’ve got them alone, we could question them for whatever they might know.”