It was Corey who broke the silence.“So you’re telling me that Eric Johnson,thehunter, is behind all of this?”he asked.
“I’m sure he had help because there’s no way one person can do all of this on their own, but yes.That’s what I’m saying,” Archie confirmed.
Corey slowly nodded.“I can’t say I expected that, but maybe I should have.No one becomes as powerful as he is without doing shady stuff, right?”
Jasper snorted.“This isn’t shady stuff.This is putting people in danger to get rich off their backs.It’s getting people killed for that.”
“But he doesn’t consider monsters as people,” Corey pointed out.
“Does that matter?You and I know that they’re as worthy as any human.The way they look doesn’t matter.He might have been able to use what he thinks of monsters as an excuse, but I don’t care about that.As far as I’m concerned,Johnsonis the monster here.”
Jasper was glad when Archie leaned closer to him and pressed their shoulders together.He felt like he was about to explode, and it wouldn’t be pretty.It would also be useless.Everyone here agreed with him.
“Which is why we’re going to stop him,” Kerry said softly.“I don’t know how yet, but we will.”
She seemed to be taking this harder than Jasper and Corey were.Jasper knew why.Before they’d left the hunters, before they’d been open about how they felt about the way the hunters treated monsters, Johnson had taken her under his wing.He’d found her impressive, and while Jasper had always suspected there was more to it than what Johnson had said, he’d wanted his best friend to have the recognition she deserved for her work because shewasimpressive.He’d never thought that something might have happened, but seeing Kerry now, he couldn’t help but wonder.
He couldn’t help but wonder about many things, including whether or not Leroy was part of this.Jasper doubted that his mother was.She’d never been interested in what the hunters did, not beyond being the wife of a hunter.She would probably be interested in getting rich, though.She wouldn’t investigate how they got that money, but she’d definitely enjoy it.
They’d never lived like rich people, though.Everyone knew that while hunters were being paid well, they also had to be careful with their money.It would be too easy for them to get hurt on the job and have to rely on it.It wasn’t like most hunters grew old enough to retire.Usually, they got killed on the job, and their families had to go on without them.
Did Leroy know something?Would he talk to Jasper if Jasper tried?Was he part of the problem?
He definitely was, even if he didn’t know anything about this particular mess.It made Jasper angry.As his father for so many years, Leroy was supposed to protect him.Hell, as a hunter, Leroy was supposed to protect people in general.Instead, he’d obeyed orders, like all hunters did.He hadn’t questioned any of it because it wasn’t worth it to him.Not questioning it meant he got to keep all the perks that came with being a hunter.He could convince himself he was in the right.
But not anymore.Jasper and his friends would make sure of that.Whatever was going on, they would stop it, and they’d take down everyone working with Johnson.
Even if that included the man Jasper had thought was his father for most of his life.
* * * *
“WE’LL STOP ALL OF THEM,” Jasper declared.
Archie wasn’t surprised to hear his boyfriend say that.He hadn’t expected anything different from Jasper, but he knew how much it might cost him.As bad a father as Leroy had been, he was the only father Jasper knew.It couldn’t be easy for Jasper to do this knowing that Leroy might have been involved.
Archie didn’t know if Leroy was, but if he had to guess, he’d say that the man at least knew something was going on.Leroy wasn’t one of the top hunters, but from what Jasper had told Archie, he still liked to believe he had friends in high places.Whether or not those people really were his friends didn’t matter.Leroy would support them in a way he’d never supported his son.
Corey cleared his throat.“So what now?”he asked, looking around the room.
Archie wasn’t sure how to answer that question.It didn’t feel like it was his place.He was involved in this mess, but not the way Jasper and his best friends were.The people they were talking about were their families, people they’d grown up with, and while Archie wanted to say that every single person involved had to pay for what they’d done, he knew it would be complicated and hard.
Jasper cleared his throat.“We can’t take the hunters head-on, especially not Johnson,” he said.“The man is powerful and knows how to play this game.If we do anything to confront him, he’s going to use that against us.I think that what we need to do is expose the corruption within the hunters’ organization, like Braith suggested the other day.It’s risky, but we can’t fight the organization physically, and even if we could, I’m sure some people would manage to get out of it.No, we need to find proof of everyone who’s involved and make it public.That way, they won’t be able to keep doing what they’re doing or find excuses.Everyone will know the kind of people they really are.”
And, hopefully, it would be enough for these hunters to stop.Archie didn’t know if they’d ever get arrested or anything like that, but Jasper was right.They couldn’t physically fight all these people.It wouldn’t end well for them or for anyone but the hunters, really.
Archie leaned back against the couch as everyone started talking about their next step.He’d found some information, but he was sure there was more out there, which meant that Jasper’s plan was probably the best they could do.Even if it wasn’t, people deserved to know what the hunters were up to behind their façade of helping people.Some of them, like Martinez, were actually protecting people, but a lot more were corrupt, and it was good to see that the time had finally come to expose them.
Since Archie didn’t have anything to add to the conversation for now, he got to his feet to go get a drink.Something told him that this meeting was going to last for a while longer, and he wanted to be comfortable.Maybe he’d grab something for Jasper, too.
When Archie turned to ask Jasper what he wanted, he found Jasper deep in conversation with Kerry.He doubted his boyfriend would even notice he was gone, so he decided not to interrupt.He’d get him a soda or something.
He could hear voices inside the kitchen when he got there, so he paused and peeked inside, not wanting to bother anyone.He was glad he hadn’t barged in when he saw that Cullen and Braith were together.Braith was leaning against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest, while Cullen was putting a tray of food and drinks together.Cullen was chatting while Braith was watching him.Braith’s arm brushed against Cullen’s every time Cullen moved, probably because Cullen kept leaning into Braith as if he couldn’t help himself.
Archie smiled.He still hadn’t found the time to talk to his best friend about Cullen, but he was curious.Initially, he would’ve thought that Cullen was too young for Braith, and maybe he was, but Cullen was an adult.He could decide what he wanted and who he wanted, and considering the family he’d had to deal with since he was a child, it would be good for him to have some happiness.Of course, it would also put Braith in danger.There was no way to know how Kester would react if his son got a boyfriend.Archie didn’t even know what Kester wanted from Cullen.Was he still after him, or had he given up on him now that he was more focused on Jasper?
Kester wasn’t the only danger they were dealing with.Archie was used to his job being uncomfortable sometimes, but this was reaching levels he wasn’t sure how to deal with.Usually, he and Braith stayed as far away from the hunters as they could.They didn’t get involved in the hunters’ business, and they didn’t take down fighting rings and organized crime.It was new for them, and a little scary.
Archie was still sure he wanted to be involved, no matter what happened.Kids like Finn didn’t deserve to be taken from their parents and thrown into a makeshift ring.They didn’t deserve to have to fight for their lives and to be terrified.
