World in Tatters Ch. 24

I find Alice sprawled out face down on the bed like a sleeping bear. And like a sleeping bear, it takes a while to wake her up. She was always a heavy sleeper, with few exceptions, even when we were kids. I have to grab her by the shoulders and shake her hard before she even begins to stir.

“Alice! Get up! We got stuff to do. Let’s go eat.”

“Hmm?” Alice groggily raises her head, barely conscious. Her words slurring, “You say somethin’ about eating?”

“Thought that might get you up.” I reach over to her pack and toss it on top of her. “Now get dressed.”

“Ugh! Fine.” Alice slowly rolls over, kicking her feet off the edge of the bed. As she sits up, the blanket falls away to reveal Alice in her undergarments. I close my eyes and turn around as I feel my face heat up at the sight. “You’re such a child.”

“Why? Because I give you your privacy?”

“No. Because you can’t look at me like this without blushing like a little girl.”

“I wasn’t…”

“Yes, you were. But it’s okay.” I can almost hear her rolling her eyes behind my back.

Glancing over my shoulders, “Well…Sorry that I…find you attractive.”

The silence that follows sends my mind into a fit. I can’t believe I just said that. I mean, I’ve always had feelings for Alice, but I’ve always kept them in check. I just wasn’t thinking. Telling her that I think she’s attractive shouldn’t be that big of a deal, right? We’ve been friends for ages. It’s not weird to find a friend attractive. It’s not like I told her that I’m madly in love with her or anything. Even though it’s true. I think. You know, I’m probably just overthinking this.

“Well, just keep it in your pants, won’t you? We have work to do.” A now fully dressed Alice pushes past me, patting me on the shoulder. She drops her bag back in the corner and heads for the door. “You coming?”

“Uh, yeah. Let’s go.”

Alice and I head downstairs to meet up with the others to eat and talk strategy. After paying for two rooms and stables for two nights and my little drinking spree, we don’t have much coin left over. We use some of it to get ourselves a full breakfast. Just the thing to start the long day we have ahead. We’re even able to get some bread and jerky to save for later.

None of us talk much while we eat. We just sit and enjoy the nice meal basking in the rugged ambience of the tavern. At this hour, the tavern is pretty empty. There’s only one other guest in here, and he’s still passed out from last night.

I finish my food before the others. Pushing my plate away, “Alright. Let’s talk logistics. We have a very long day ahead of us, so we need a plan. But first, I think we need a little more information about the man… about Chris’s father.”

“He’s not my father. Just a sperm donor.”

“Yeah, okay, but I’m not going to call him that. So, I guess, the first thing we need to know is his name.”

“Luther. Jonathan Luther.” The venom in his voice is palpable.

Jason puts a comforting hand on Chris’s shoulder, “Alright. Chris, I know you’re not too keen on talking about him, but we’re going to need you to tell us everything you know.”

“It’s fine. I already told you that Luther is an advisor to the Consul. He’s forty-six years old. He lives not far from here in a mansion just outside the Consul’s compound. He has a wife and twins. A son and a daughter aged 12 now, I think. My half-siblings.” There’s a slight hesitation to his voice. Something about having siblings by the man who attacked his mother has him uncomfortable. Imagine that. After that, he seems to become impatient, like he wants to get far away from this subject. “What else do you need to know?”

“A wife and kids? That could complicate things.” Alice chimes.

“We’ll deal with that later.” I admonish. “Do you know anything about his comings and goings? Places he visits, schedule, anything like that?”

“It was over a year ago. Anything I know would have changed by now.”

“Right…You’re right. Okay. Do you know of any skeletons in his closet? Anything secret that he wants to keep hidden?”

“You mean other than me?”

“Yeah. Other than you. We might be able to use you and your connection, but it would be good to have everything we can in our arsenal.”

“No. I don’t really know anything else. I was hunting him.” Chris’s impatience turns to frustration. The more we ask about his father, the more uncomfortable he gets. However, this frustration has a darker edge to it. “I didn’t care about any of that. I just wanted him dead.”

After a long, uneasy pause, “At least it’s a place to start.” Came the unexpectedly timid response from Rachel.

Jason cracks a little smirk at her comment. I guess seeing her warm up to Chris amuses him. Well, maybe not warm up to him exactly, but at least not dismissing him outright. A few days ago, I would have considered it a miracle. It makes me wonder what changed between them. After what I overheard last night, I wonder if it’s more about sympathy than trust.

“That it is. So…” I return attention back to Chris. “Next, we’re going to need a rough map of the mansion. Anything you remember about it will help us out.”

Rachel reaches into her bag to pull out a piece of her drawing paper and charcoal stick. Chris is reluctant but takes them from her anyway. I look over his shoulder as he begins to draw a crude diagram of the Luther property.

It takes him a while, but when he finishes, there’s a pretty detailed layout of the mansion grounds. Complete with the hedge and several pathways leading to the main house. Frankly, if it’s accurate, it’s just what we’ll need to plan out our surveillance.

“Chris, this is really good.” Alice grabs the paper. I see her eyes flick across the page as she examines the ground plan.

“I didn’t get very close to the house, so I have no idea about what’s inside.”

“That’s alright. We’ll make do.” I peer for a moment more before gesturing for Alice to lay the paper in our midst. “I think we’re going to need everyone on this. We’ll split up into two teams.” Pointing to the southwest corner of the property, “Jason, Chris, and Alice, you three should take positions somewhere around here. Rachel and I will take the north side.”

“Really? You’re actually letting me do something?” Rachel snipes.

“Yeah. But I want you with me. So, I can keep an eye on you.” I smirk, flicking my tongue out at her. “Anyway, it’s still early. If we can get into position soon, one of us might be able to catch Mr. Luther before he leaves home for the day. Whichever team spots him follows him. Keeps tabs on him until tonight. Since Rachel and I will be on the front of the house, it’s likely going to be us.”

“Is that really wise?” Jason interjects. “We’ll have no way to signal each other if something goes wrong. Wouldn’t it be better to just watch the house?”

“I dunno. But we don’t have a lot of information about this guy. I figured following him might get us some insight.”

“Counterpoint.” Rachel exclaims. “What if we just break in?”

“In broad daylight? In unfamiliar territory? More than likely, there’s going to be heavy security even when Luther isn’t there. It’s a huge risk.”

“I agree with Rachel.” Alice chimes in. “I think it’s worth the risk. What better way to get information about Luther and company than to get into his home?”

“You miss the part about heavy security?”

“No, we heard you.” Rachel snips.

“Besides, we can handle a few security guards. I mean, didn’t you and I just help the resistance raid a heavily guarded food warehouse a few days ago? I’m sure we can handle it.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘heavily’ guarded. Fine! Fair point.” I concede, “But…”

“Steven, effective surveillance could take days.” Even Jason agrees with them. “Days we probably don’t have.”

“Okay, so, what’s the plan? Break in, then what?”

A long moment passes before anyone answers. “We wait.” Comes Chris’s quiet response.

“Go on. What’re you thinking?” Alice prompts.

Chris starts out a little timid, but soon finds his voice. “We…We get into the mansion while he’s away. We…um…dig up anything we can while we wait for him to come back. Then we hide. Wait for him to dismiss security from the house for the night. Tie him up, question him.”

“Chris, you said yourself, that he has a family. If we do this, we wouldn’t be able to just stop with him. We’d have to take them hostage too. There’s no way around it. And frankly, as far as we’re aware, they are innocents.” I pause for a moment to let that sink in with the others. “Look, I’m not shooting down the idea. I…I actually think it might be a good idea. Maybe even our best bet. I just want you all to be prepared for that.”

“Wow. Steven, are…are you sick?” Rachel feigns concern, reaching her hand toward my forehead.

Swatting her hand away, “Oh, shut up. Jason was right. My way would have taken time we may not have. It’s kind-of reckless and hinges on several things we have no way to control… but I think if we’re careful, we can pull it off.”

“Wow… You must be sick.”

“I’m fine. I promise.” I look up from our little meeting toward the window facing the street. It’s now about an hour-and-a-half after dawn. Still early, but the streets are starting to fill with travelers. Turning back to Chris’s hand-drawn map, “So, we still need to do some recon before going in. Meet back here at dinner time. We’ll regroup, compare notes over dinner, then head back to be in position before sundown. For now, we’ll split off here at the tavern and go separately to the mansion grounds. We’ll be a little less conspicuous that way. I just…I just need directions.”

I see a little smile crack across everyone’s lips. Chris looks up at me, “Just take the main road east from here. Maybe a mile. You’ll come to a gated suburb. The Luther property is at the far end.”

“Wait a minute. Gated community?” Concern rising in Jason’s voice. “You neglected to mention that before.”

“That’s because it’s not that big of a deal. I got in before without any issues. They don’t close the gates or screen anyone until nightfall.”

“Well, that makes it a little better, but still wish you’d mentioned it.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s alright, Chris.” I hold my hand up to Jason, signaling for him to calm down. “But if the entire area is gated, your team is going to need to find a back way in to get into position.”

Alice answers, “We can deal with that. We won’t know for sure what we’ll need to do until we get there. If we’re going to go separately, you two should go.”

“Aww, trying to get rid of me so soon?”

“We’ve spent the last week with each other. You’re on my nerves.”

“Rude…Fine.” Turning to Rachel. “Let’s go get our gear.”

Rachel holds up her bag, showing me a self-satisfied smirk. “I’m ready to go. Just waiting on you.”

“Fair enough. You feed Rex?”

“Yep.”

“Cool. I’ll be right back.”

I quickly make my way upstairs and into our room. I grab my pack and pull out any non-essentials. I take my combat knife and strap it onto my belt. I throw of the handguns and the rest of the ammunition from the resistance raid into my bag.

Almost as an afterthought, I stick my mother’s journal into the pack. If anything happens, and we can’t come back here to the tavern, I don’t think I could forgive myself for leaving it behind.

After checking to make sure I have everything I’d need to take a family hostage, I sling the bag onto my back and head back to the others.