The Marradith Ryder Series, Part 54
Rafael sat down behind his desk and crossed his arms.
“ Justin. Do you know that my superior is here tonight?” he asked.
“Connor?”
“Yes.”
Now that did surprise me. Connor was one of the very oldest Immortals, and so far up the chain of command that some people worked their entire lives for him and never saw him. He was not an ordinary guy that just came out to have a drink and wish you well.
“This was some stunt you pulled,” Rafael continued.
“Stunt?”
“When I told you to take care of things with Marradith, I meant for you to end it. Now you’ve married her and we’re stuck with these people.”
“Weren’t we anyway?” I asked. “The plan hasn’t changed that much. You were going to shelter the family somewhere else and have Marradith trained at the Compound. So now everything will be done in one place.”
“Don’t play stupid with me.”
“Sir, I cannot be held responsible for your assumptions. When I told you that I was going to handle it, you did not ask me how. I followed The Ways to the letter. Now that I am married to her, we’re a Pack. We’re living in the ancestral home of Marradith’s wolf forbear. Her parents are living with us. There are no other requirements. According to law, you cannot break apart the Pack.”
“Don’t quote The Ways to me!” he growled.
“I am explaining my actions.”
“All of these people are here tonight. Connor is here tonight, because the Sojourners have never done this before. We separate the charges from their families and we train them. That’s the way it’s always been done. Marradith is meant to be a hunter. You’re seeing to it that she’s being coddled like a child.”
“Coddled? Really? She’s made her first kill, something that would not be expected until she’s had a year of training. And I’ve seen many highly trained men fail to kill Leighton.
“You know, Sir, if I didn’t know better, I would think something really sinister was going on here. I mean, I knew that you intended to seize Ryder House . That’s par for the course. But one might think that you wanted to get rid of Marradith’s family. Permanently. I know that’s what happens sometimes with human families. But then, the Ryders aren’t entirely human. And that means they are protected by our laws.”
Rafael’s hand curled into a fist, but he didn’t reply.
“I can’t be right about such a thing,” I said with a grin. “ Because I know you’re all about what is accurate and appropriate under The Ways.”
Rafael was beet red.
“I could have you marched out in front of the Council for insubordination of a commanding officer.”
I smiled at him. “Yeah, I thought about that ahead of time. Problem is you could do that, but you’ve already taken credit for my idea. Well, I sent out a message to Connor just giving my boss praise for his sense of innovation. This could revolutionize the way Sojourners do business. And when it does, you’ll want to get all the credit for it. That’s what you do anyway, isn’t it?”
“Don’t push me…”
“Or what? You get something out of the bargain. You and your wife get to live here in this lovely home. But you know Boss, I prefer to keep this whole conversation between the two of us . I could tell Paul Ryder. He doesn’t like me. But I know he hates you .”
“I am not going anywhere. Justin, this had better work.”
“Of course it will,” I said, and then smiled at him. “Your reputation depends upon it.”
©2009 Lori Titus
Green Water Lullaby, Lori’s collection of short stories, is available for pre-order: http://www.sonar4publications.com/green.html
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June 16th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Oh Justin must have wanted to get back at Rafael for a long time.