Gentry’s a natural-born leader; he’s always been good at assigning tasks based on our strengths. Malcolm has a background in public relations and Wade’s worked in marketing. They’re the perfect choices for making this video what it needs to be.
The brothers disperse, and Gentry calls me over. “Gabriel, a word.”
“Yes, sir?”
He clasps me on the shoulder. “This will work.”
I nod. “I know.”
“We’ll get her back.” His hand squeezes.
“Should we inform the other regions?” I ask, knowing this could impact more than just the Northwest.
“I’ll call them,” Gentry reassures me. “Let me know once the video is ready and we’ll broadcast it as far as we can.”
We part ways and Malcolm, Wade, and I get to work writing the script for the video. An hour later, I find myself in front of a green screen with hot studio lights shining down on me, a camera and a teleprompter in my face.
“Whenever you’re ready, brother,” the camera operator says. “It’s not live so we can edit whatever we need to later.”
I nod and take a deep breath, hoping my performance is convincing. I stare straight into the camera and read off the scripted words. “My name is Gabriel Sinclair. Two days ago, my wife, Delilah, was stolen from me, ripped away from her family and her home. She was captured by Maverick Stetson, a domestic terrorist and the self-proclaimed leader of an inconsequential group of radicals. If you see him, we ask that you report his presence to your local authorities immediately. Do not attempt to approach him as he is armed and dangerous, and we believe he means my wife and the general public great harm.” I look down briefly and take a deep breath before looking back up into the lens once again. “Delilah, if you see this, know that I will not rest until you’re safe at home, back where you belong.”
“Cut!” someone yells.
My expression relaxes, the devastated look I had pasted on my face melting away since the camera’s no longer rolling. I’m still not ecstatic about this plan, mostly because it makes me appear like a fucking simp. But I trust Gentry, and if he thinks this is the best method to get Delilah back, I’ll do it.
“Let’s try one more take,” Malcolm suggests. “Maybe try to look a little less murderous this time.”
I glare at his silhouette through the blinding lights. “Fuck off.”
Malcolm shakes his head but doesn’t push me.Smart man.Despite my pleading performance, I’m one comment away from walking out of this goddamn studio and finding a new wife who can actually fulfill her duty and produce some children.
It’s not that Delilah isn’t a good wife, she is. She’s quiet and obedient. She lets me fuck her whenever I want, even if her sensuality leaves much to be desired.
It’s just that she clearly can’t do what I need her to do, even after eight years. If she can’t produceme an heir, I’ll have no one to pass on my legacy, no one to inherit the hard work I’ve put into making New Athens what it is today.
Getting her back at this point is more a matter of principle than anything.She’s mine. No one steals what’s mine, especially Maverick fucking Stetson.
That video call is burned into my brain. Everything about her body language had the alarm bells in my head going off. She was comfortable around him, feltsafearound him. And despite all the time we’ve spent apart, I know Maverick. I could tell he cares for her, wants to protect her.
I swear to god if he fucks her I will lose my shit.
Everyone resets as I prepare to read through the script one more time. This is bigger than me, after all. If Gentry’s right and my appeal gains us some popularity with the outside world, it could do wonders for international relations. The trade deals I brokered were a step in the right direction, but without some major developments, our economy will collapse, sooner rather than later.
We’ve also talked about opening our borders, welcoming female foreigners to grow our population even more. We’ve had countless applications frommen across the worldasking to relocate to New Athens, but we don’t need more brothers. We need morebabies, children we can raise in our ways so that they’ll never know any different.
That’s why I’ll suffer through another bullshit recording, why I’ll put on the acting performance of my career. Because the future of the Brotherhood depends on it.
Maverick
Present Day
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”—THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
I hit the quad’s throttle, forcing myself to stay focused. But ignoring Delilah’s death grip on my waist is proving more difficult than I would’ve thought.
Should I have told her that her husband was my closest childhood friend?Probably. But it’s too late to change that now. It’s clear from her interaction with Gabriel that she fully subscribes to the ways of the Brotherhood, at least in his presence. Around her husband, she’s quiet, meek, submissive; nothing like how she is around me. It seems like how she is around me is therealDelilah, and I’m a goddamn bastard for the pride I feel because of it.
I navigate through the brush as best I can with Zeus’s blurred form running beside us, but it’s a tight squeeze through most of the trees. I duck my head to avoid low-hanging branches, hoping my bodyprotects Delilah from getting too cut up. We make it to the Hub in a few minutes, and the camp is a flurry of activity as everyone works to pack up their belongings.
