“I don’t know if your bar for shitty political maneuverings is set too low or too high,” Patrick said as he buttoned up the front of his suit jacket, having turned his back on the raised dais of seats the senators were leaving.
“Perhaps a mix of both.”
Patrick’s head hurt, as it always did after going through one of these hearings. He felt more flayed open than usual, if only because the entire four-hour hearing had revolved around the information about his past now recently come to light.
It made him want to find the nearest bar so he could order an entire bottle of whiskey and see how long it took him to reach the bottom.
It was a fleeting thought that Patrick let go after a few seconds of wishful dreaming. Jono wasn’t there to tell him no, but Sage was, and he’d gotten better over the months about not using alcohol as a crutch for his emotional state. Blunting his emotions didn’t mean they went away. His VA-assigned therapist had ultimately been right about that. It didn’t mean he couldn’t wish to forget the last few hours.
“Let’s get out of here,” Patrick said, jerking his head in the direction of the door.
Gerard peeled away from the cluster of military brass who’d opted to sit in on the hearing. He wasn’t in uniform, but he was in a suit. It helped him blend in with everyone on Capitol Hill, despite being a god.
“I’m surprised you didn’t murder anyone. Some of those questions were close to being out of line,” Gerard said. Patrick glared at him, and Gerard laughed. “Too soon?”
Patrick elbowed him sharply in the side. “Yes.”
The US Attorney’s Office was scheduled to file the dismissal of his case today. Danai would notify him the second they did. Patrick wouldn’t feel in the clear even after the case was closed. His reputation had taken a hit he couldn’t ever fully recover from.
“I’ll get the paperwork pushed through regarding your reappointment to your former position,” Setsuna said as they headed for the door.
He wondered about the optics of the swiftness she was pushing, but Patrick wasn’t going to complain about getting back his badge and gun. Now, if only the US Attorney’s Office would return his cell phone, work laptop, and everything else the FBI had taken from his apartment and handed over to them.
Mostly, he wanted his phone back. Considering Preston hadn’t sent Danai a demand for his passcode, Patrick wondered if they were able to break the encryption and access everything on it.
Gerard lengthened his stride to open the door for them and froze for a split second. It was long enough for Patrick to reach for his dagger sheathed against the small of his back. Guests weren’t allowed weapons in the heart of their nation’s government, but his gods-given dagger had gone undetected at security.
“Cousin,” Gerard said in a cool voice as he exited the hearing room.
Patrick looked over Gerard’s shoulder and found Sage facing off against the same goddess who had allowed him to walk out of jail the other week when she masqueraded as a federal judge. The political aides and other observers waiting outside seemed oblivious to the standoff, passing by them without a single glance.
Maat, dressed in a vivid emerald-green pantsuit, looked away from Sage, and Patrick forgot how to breathe. The weight of her gaze was nothing like before, stripped of whatever play at humanity she’d acted out on the bench.
“How does freedom taste?” Maat asked, her voice rich in a way it hadn’t been in the courtroom. There was power in law, and she embodied the wealth of it right then.
“Uh, good?” Patrick managed to get out.
Gerard stepped between them, and it felt less like his entire life was being judged in an instant. Patrick let out a heavy breath and stepped into the hallway after Setsuna.
“This is not your homeland,” Gerard said.
“The refugees who call this country’s cities home believe otherwise,” Maat said. “I am not here for you, but for the one who owes us.”
Patrick let his hand drop away from the hilt of his dagger as he stepped around Gerard to face the Egyptian goddess. “This isn’t really the place to chat.”
The senators on the subcommittee were seconds from leaving the hearing room, more political aides were coming to meet them, and as soon as the reporters figured out the hearing was over, they’d be clamoring for statements. Patrick was surprised they hadn’t arrived already, but he figured Maat probably had something to do with that.
The goddess turned on her high heels, the dangling gold ostrich feather earrings she wore flashing beneath the lights. “Then you and I will take a walk.”
Sage looked as if she wanted to argue, but Patrick shook his head at her. She snapped her mouth shut before crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m supposed to keep an eye on you.”
“We’re still doing that,” Gerard said, nodding at Patrick. “Go. We’ll be right behind you.”
Patrick looked at Setsuna, who merely tapped her cane on the floor.
“I need to speak with General Reed. Call me when you’re finished,” Setsuna said.
Patrick nodded and hurried after Maat, who hadn’t bothered to wait while they figured out if it was safe to follow a goddess. He caught up to her at the end of the corridor, not paying much attention to the people crossing their path. Most were focused on their phones or whatever senator they were following since they were in the Senate’s wing of the Capitol Building.
