No one replies.
“You’re dismissed, then.”
There’s a flurry of movement as everyone eagerly heads to the door, no doubt desperate for breakfast. I wish I could go with them or leave to see Ollie, but I have a feeling Rhys will want to discuss more things with me and Anthony.
“I’m taking your girlfriend for breakfast,” Rachel says as she walks past me.
“You’ll have to fight Alex for that privilege.”
“With how good you guys are at sharing? Doubt I’ll need to.” She waves her fingers at me before disappearing out of the room.
Surprisingly, Simon and Andy don’t follow and wait beside me as Rhys and Anthony walk over to us.
“Good to see you two here,” Rhys says as he greets the other two men.
“Wouldn’t miss it, considering I want on the security team,” Simon says.
“Same, although I mostly came here to offer my help and experience.” Andy claps Rhys’s shoulder.
“What kind of experience do you have?” Rhys asks him with a cocked brow.
“Spent fifteen years in the British navy, ten of those as an officer.”
“Impressive. What rank?”
Andy smirks. “Commander. Until I decided I couldn’t handle the paperwork and bullshit and retired to become a goat farmer.”
“Well shit. Were you in charge of a boat?” I ask.
His eyes narrow. “Ship, not a boat, and yes, I did. It’s not as fun as you think it is.”
Rhys snorts. “Now you sound like my old man.” There’s a flash of pain on his face, but it’s gone as quickly as it appeared.
Both his parents are dead now, with his dad dying of cancer just after he got into the military and his mum dying not long after from an undiagnosed heart attack. It was a rough time for him, but unlike me, he had the structure of the military keeping him from going off the rails. The same couldn’t be said for Harriet, who was an absolute menace to society until Matt came along.
I reach out and squeeze his shoulder in silent support.
Rhys clears his throat. “Consider yourself hired, Andy.” He holds his hand out and the two men shake on it. “Let’s talk more in Anthony’s office,” he says as he drops his arm and inclines his head towards the door.
Our small group files out of the conference room and into the empty corridor. Unfortunately, things have gone too well, and karma is about to come and bite us in the ass in the form of a fuming Charles.
“What is the meaning of this?” he demands as he strides towards us, his face already red.
Rhys sighs and steps towards the man. “I just held a meeting to right all the wrongs you and the other councillors have done since I left Haven.”
“What?” Charles stares at the other man with a mixture of shock and confusion. “What are you on about, Rhys?”
Rhys’s back tenses, and I can tell that he’s having to stop himself from ripping Charles a new one. “I’m talking about the changes that have been made that make Haven vulnerable to attack. The crippled security team, the lack of training for both securityandresidents, the inexperience of supply teams… And that’s just what I’ve found as of this morning.” The more he talks, the sharper his tone becomes.
Charles’s jaw clenches and his eyes tighten. “While I’m sure those are cause for concern, you can’t go behind the Council’s back and implement your own changes willy-nilly. There’s aprocess.”
“You misunderstand me, Charles.” Rhys’s voice is deceptively calm as he gets in his face and looks him in the eye. “I’m not enacting changes; I’m simply reverting the onesyoumade. And if you want Haven safe from the Scourge and their allies, I suggest you let me do my job.” He shoves his way past the older man and strides down the corridor.
It’s times like this that I wish the world hadn’t ended so I could give him a mic to drop. Unfortunately, he’ll have to settle for the shocked, indignant look on Charles’s face as the rest of our group hustles after him.
Pyromaniac's Wet Dream
Alex
