Galilee Rising(99)

I rise from my deckchair and kiss my cousin's cheek. "Hey. Thanks for coming."

"You look terrible," V says with her usual delicacy.

"Didn't sleep much. Had a hard decision to make."

"Make it?"

"I called you, didn't I? Come inside. Dobbs made some ice tea and scones."

"Good," she says, following me inside. "I haven't had any caffeine in two hours. I'm dragging."

We sit on the couch right in front of the hidden camera, and I slip my cell phone into my pocket. Come on, you bastard. Swerve. Dobbs pours us drinks and hands out scones before leaving. As V chugs her ice tea, I take a moment to center myself. I must remain calm with an undercurrent of righteous rage. I cannot cry. I cannot scream. This is the correct thing to do. A necessary evil. I just wish it wasn't my evil to commit. But I can--

A hand waving in my face breaches my center. "Whoa, ground control to Major Tom. Jesus, did you sleep at all last night?"

"An hour or two. I was out on the boat. Alone."

"Yeah, I tried to call you back last night. Your cell was off. Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I don't know. You were hospitalized? A guy blew up in your driveway? And I've heard you've been running all over town taking chunks out of your new best friend Jonathan Ambrose. You're not drinking again, are you?"

"Not…as much." Her face, like mine, falls. "I take a drink here or there. I have it under control this time."

"Fuck, Jo. You were doing so well."

"I can stop whenever I want. Really. I just have to eradicate a problem, and I'll stop completely. Don't tell your parents, okay?"

"'Eradicate a problem?' Is that why you summoned?"

"You're my greatest weapon, V. I just wish that asshole had seen reason so it didn't have to come to using you."

"What asshole? What problem? Will you please stop with the riddles?" She sighs. "You're drunk now, aren't you? It's barely noon, Jo!"

"I am not drunk," I assure her. I wish I was. "I'm sorry, I'm just…this is harder than I thought it'd be," I chuckle. "I mean, I did warn him. It has to be done. It's good for us all if he goes, both of them, I know that. You'll see it too."

V suddenly grabs both my hands, squeezing. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asks, drawing out every word.

I need a few precious seconds to encase my heart in a steel box and weld it shut. I can do this. I can. I'm sorry, Jem. "Get out your tape recorder." As she obeys, I fall back in the couch with a sigh. She clicks it on. "I've been working with the Triumvirate since they arrived in town. Not out in the field or anything, just using the Justice computer to help with investigations. Including the one into Emperor Cain. I know why he's so fixated on them. Why he blew up our bridge. Why he came to this house and attacked me."

"He attacked you? That's why you were rushed to the hospital?"

"Yes. He discovered my involvement, so he came to my house, injected me with a sedative, and demolished my computer."

"Jesus. Was the Darby bombing related?"

"I have no direct knowledge, but I assume so. It might have been done to punish me, by killing one of my friends, I don't know."

"So Brendan Darby wasn't King Tempest?"

"No comment."

"Come on, Jo. Everyone knows he was. Tempest hasn't been seen since the bombing. Liberty became active in Independence right after Alexia moved back there. It's damn suspicious."

"No comment. All I will say is I have nothing but the utmost respect for King Tempest and Lady Liberty. We owe them a debt of gratitude for all they've done, all they've sacrificed. And I know for a fact, despite what some of their dejectors say, they are in no way responsible for unleashing Emperor Cain on Galilee. It falls solely on one man's shoulders. Cain's brother." I pause. "Lord Nightingale."

V's eyes narrow. "Wait, what? Cain and Nightingale are brothers?"

"Twin brothers, actually. Cain has a sick, incestuous relationship with his brother, and I believe vice versa."

"Incest?"

"That's what Cain told me, and it was later confirmed by Nightingale. He also informed me the last time the brothers fought, Nightingale allowed Cain to escape then lied to everyone about his demise, including his team mates. Those two are playing out some twisted love saga and the citizens of Galilee are caught in the middle. So I couldn't, in good conscious, keep silent a moment longer. He has betrayed the trust we all placed in him. He does not have our best interests at heart as I once assumed. I have begged him to leave the city, but he won't. And as long as he is here, as long as he continues to play this game with his brother, we are not safe. Cain followed him from Independence, he'll follow him out of Galilee Falls."