Awakening (35 page)

Garrett’s voice reverberated throughout the room. “Although you do not see me fit for this Tribunal, I shall prove you wrong and show that I truly am. I will restore my family’s name eventually, but I accept and respect your decision in the meantime. I thank you Tribunal and consider it an honor to be in your presence.”

“An Honor,” came the reply from the Tribunal in unison.

Councilman McPherson spoke up. “I speak for the Tribunal when I say that we look forward to the day when we can welcome you back to your family chair and can embrace you like the brother we know you to be.”

The rest of the Tribunal did not appear pleased with that last remark, but Garrett gave a small smile, grateful for the Councilman’s generosity of his words.

With that last thought, Caitlyn was then consciously brought back to the training room, her mind attempting to process everything it just witnessed.

M
onroe sat in his chair, fingering the worn binding of his favorite book. He usually found comfort from the words etched in between the covers, but not today. All of the confirmations that he had received today that everything was business as usual was wrong. He just knew it.

Monroe could not shake the feeling that something major was brewing. The Cine Tofa had been unusually quiet as of late, and his contacts with the Trust were virtually impossible to reach, which was not par for the course. Something was happening alright, he just needed to figure out what it was and he hoped that it was soon.

The minutes passed as he found himself re-reading the same passage for the fifth time, not really absorbing the words. His head shot up as he heard the doorbell ring, his butler answering the door. Monroe was not expecting any company. He sat up straighter as he recognized the voice that was invited in.

Declan McPherson was shown into the room as Monroe shut his book with a resounding snap, rising to greet his unexpected guest. Declan motioned for him to stay where he was.

Monroe cleared his throat. As much as he tried, he could not keep the surprise out of his voice. “Declan.”

“Monroe, I am sorry for intruding.” For what it was worth, the young McPherson genuinely appeared guilty for interrupting him.

The elder gentleman stood up anyways, placing his novel back on the bookshelf before turning back to the young man. He did a quick assessment of the unexpected guest in front of him. Declan had heavy bags around his eyes, but that was not what concerned Monroe as those were par for the course with Declan at times. Instead it was the finality that shone in them that really bothered him. The Descendant carried a heavy burden of that much Monroe was certain. This was no casual visit, not that it ever was when there was a McPherson involved it seems. “No need to apologize.”

“Thank you. But it is not every day that someone just pops into your home.”

“It’s not the first time, Declan, and I am sure it will not be the last. What brings you here on this Sunday evening?” He decided to get right to the point.

“Business. Like always.”

A sigh escaped his lips. “Well, I figured. It was too much to hope that you were just stopping in because you were in the area. Let me start by advising that I’ve heard about the security breach.”

“You and the rest of our kind it seems. Not a very well-kept secret.”

“No, I guess it was not. How is Garrett Livingston doing?”

Declan’s eyes narrowed. “You know about that?”

Monroe smirked. Both sides always thought he knew less than what he truly did. In truth, that made his job much easier a lot of times, but it was rather insulting at others. He liked to remind them now and again that he should not be underestimated. “You know it is my business to know everything about everything. On both sides. But yes, I’ve known for years his true identity. When you find out that Nathaniel Livingston’s son just mysteriously vanishes one day, you investigate. No matter how much both parties tried to cover it up.”

“Why did you keep that secret?”

Monroe told him the truth. “It was not my secret to tell.”

“I don’t like it, but I can respect it.”

The middle-aged man shrugged. “Thank you. You know I’m neutral. Will always be neutral. Even though I may have opinions of what is right and wrong, if there is not someone who can be objective, then what chance do we have as a people?”

“Someday you will need to choose, Monroe. You cannot stay neutral forever.”

With that, the room took on a more somber tone. Monroe sensed the change in the atmosphere. They were finally getting down to business. All jovialness in Monroe’s voice disappeared. “So what brings you here?”

Declan looked him straight in the eye. “I’ve come to deliver a message. And as you are a neutral party, you are the appropriate person to convey it to the other side.”

Monroe could feel his shoulders tensing. This was not going to be good. “And what exactly is this message?”

“As of this moment, the treaty is null and void.”

Monroe paused. He knew that the recent events revolving the security breech would have a negative impact, but could have never had imaged this. With one sentence, all the work that he had put in over the years, trying to maintain peace between their people, would unravel. If it would unravel tomorrow, this month, or next year, he didn’t know yet. But he knew it would. He was careful with his next words. “Declan, this will have dire consequences.”

“I know.”

Exasperated, he responded. “I know? I know? Is that all? You cannot simply throw away twenty-five years of diplomacy!”

“Monroe, trust me when I say that there is nothing simple about this.”

He paced around the room, thinking if there would be anyway to salvage the tattered remains. He knew the answer, but asked it anyway. “What about all the neutral territories?”

“The neutral territories are still just that.”

“There is nothing that is going to enforce that now.”

Declan’s silence was just further confirmation that he was right. He finally replied. “The Tribunal will do what it can.”

“The Tribunal are the ones that are causing this, so please forgive me if I do not find that a comforting thought at this time. Unbelievable.” Monroe had always had the utmost respect for the Tribunal, but this was plain foolish on their part.

Declan bristled. “Monroe. You know as well as I that it was only a matter of time till this happened.”

“So obviously, the international negotiations are off.”

“Yes.”

The negotiator in him groaned internally. All the hours he had wasted setting it up was for naught. “This is a dangerous move.”

“Yes.”

“Why?” It was a simple question, with a not so simple answer.

“Because this chapter of our story has ended and the Tribunal, the Council, and even I finally recognize that. Our people cannot hide forever. We also cannot continue to live under the false belief that the treaties were keeping peace between our people; they weren’t. You of all people know that.”

“Declan, I have tremendous respect for the Trust. But I do not agree with it. Now is not the right time.”

“If we wait, they get stronger. If we do this now, well, it will set them on edge, hopefully make them pause and think. It will buy us some time.”

“It could do the opposite. Nathaniel Livingston is not exactly known for thinking things out.”

“It’s a chance we have to take.”

Monroe looked down. “I will need time to put this into the proper channels.”

Declan reached into his jacket, pulling out a thick document. When Monroe did not reach for it right away, Declan placed it down on the table next to him. “They are out of time. This is the declaration we drafted up, confirming that everything is voided as of this moment. There is also an offer of immunity and protection to anyone who wishes to switch sides and provide information.”

Monroe rubbed at his temples. “You mean, once you confirm that they are not spies for the Cine Tofa.”

“Well, yes. Not that they would be given any kind of security clearance that would grant them access to anything important.”

“And here I was thinking that this was just a regular Sunday evening.”

“It’s never just a regular Sunday evening. And with how quickly everything is spiraling, I am not sure you will ever have another one either.”

Monroe pinched the bridge of his nose. “That is the understatement of the year.”

“Agreed.”

Monroe began to feel a headache coming on. “I need a drink and from the looks of it, you could use one too. Care to join me?”

Declan smiled. “More than you know. Please.”

It was easy for Monroe to forget that Declan was not his age sometimes. The fact that the Tribunal had always given him so much responsibility had to weigh heavily on him and gave Declan this air of maturity that his peers would not achieve for years to come. Monroe had known Declan very well for almost ten years now. While he was frustrated at the situation that was now laid out before him, he could not find it in himself to be angry at Declan. Instead, he sympathized with the situation that the Tribunal and Council placed him in time and again.

Monroe leaned out the door. He knew his wife was nearby. “April, can you bring us two scotches please?”

Monroe sat back down in the seat he was in, letting the gravity of everything that was occurring hit him. His beautiful wife of twenty years, April, walked in bearing two crystal glasses. She handed on to each of them. Monroe gave her a small kiss. She was his sanity. “Thank you.”

“Anytime. Everything okay?” She gave him a look that she knew something major was occurring.

“Business as usual, I’m afraid. April, I don’t believe you have had the pleasure of meeting Declan McPherson yet.”

“Not yet.” She had met Declan’s father on several occasions, but never his son. She reached out her hand to shake his. “A pleasure, Declan. Monroe has told me a lot about you over these past few years.”

“Good things, I hope.”

“Always. Anyway, I will let both of you get back to business. Just holler if you need anything.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

Declan quickly downed his scotch and set it on the table next to him. “Thank you. Your wife seems lovely.”

“She is. Best thing that ever happened to me. If it wasn’t for her, this job would have eaten me alive years ago. Remember that, Declan. A good woman will keep you going, even when you don’t think you can go anymore. It’s not always about the job.” He wasn’t sure that Declan fully comprehended that.

Declan paused, a far off look in his eyes, as if he was contemplating something serious. He finally just gave a curt nod in response.

Monroe picked up the document that sat next to him. Although it could only have been fifty pages or so, the weight that it bore on Monroe was heavy. “Let’s go over some of the finer points of this document.”

Tomorrow was going to be a very long day.

“T
he Trust got approval for the permit in Wyoming to build.”

“The new firewalls installed in the Georgia network will be up and running by nine am Eastern Standard Time.”

“Gavin Beiber would like to meet with you in person. He is asking that you fly to Germany this round. Shall I confirm and set up a time?”

“I’ve been thinking it over and I believe that Teresa Notting would be a better choice to head the mentoring center than Ilene Cavanaugh. We should move Teresa to the top of the candidates.”

“Dad, get some sleep.”

Jonathan rubbed his temples wearily. People had been going non-stop for three weeks straight in his head. He was lucky if he was managing three hours of sleep a night; he was finally beginning to believe his son when he insisted that Jonathan couldn’t keep up this pace anymore.

He closed off his mind; enjoying the instant silence that action afforded him. He now listened only to the steady ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner of his home office. Jonathan sadly noted that the clock confirmed that it was one thirty in the morning; he had hoped to be in bed by midnight.

Jonathan looked at the laptop in front of him, catching up on the few items that he had not already talked about this evening. The policing unit that the Trust was establishing was almost completed. The final candidates list was posted in front of him. Jonathan already knew that he wanted to entrust Kent DiMartino to the job; others had concerns about the appointment, citing his recent stay with the Cine Tofa. Jonathan actually thought that it was an asset. His internal experience with them gave him a special insight to how they worked. His time with the Inquisitors, while rough, did not impact him the way it did some of the others that had been subjected to them. He is sure that this list is what Gavin wanted to discuss with him. He found it frustrating that the Head of Household refused to communicate telepathically.

Three new mentoring centers were already starting construction, a move that pleased him greatly. He was not sure how the general Actual population would take to the change. The mentor/student relationship had been in place for decades, with an emphasis on one on one teaching. Soon there would be more new Actuals than seasoned ones, and the dynamic would fall apart. Setting up mentoring schools would allow one Actual to teach twenty or thirty at a time, acting as a Mentor to all. He did not think it ideal by any means, but certainly necessary. Hopefully, with Declan’s new teaching methods incorporated, the Trust would be better off.

Reports from across the globe sat in front of him, regarding different changes that were to occur. To say he was surprised when the Heads of Household came to a unanimous agreement that there would need to be unprecedented change for the Trust to survive was an understatement. Sometimes it had seemed as of late that Jonah Pasquino and himself were on one side as the Americans, and the European faction were on another altogether.

But now, they were all adopting identical models. Jonathan couldn’t help but wonder what the future of the Trust would be.

He wrote some additional notes on his computer before closing his laptop shut. If he went to bed now, he may actually be able to get four hours of sleep tonight. He stood up, and began to walk out the door to head upstairs, when he heard the buzzing of his cell phone.