The Ring Bearer (10 page)

“We know that Jill lost her license to practice medicine three years ago. She was making a big stink about the disappearance of her patients and a smoke screen was deployed to get her to shut up. She went bankrupt seemingly overnight, and was forced to fall back on her lesser known skills of singing. She never stopped searching for them. She kept in contact with several people inside the government and the military. She must have known that they were taken to our prison, but she didn’t know how to get to us, and I doubt she had any idea what we do here.”

“She didn’t,” Cori said. “She didn’t care either. She only came here to finish what she didn’t have the heart to do six years ago. She came to kill Hirem and herself. I guess she accomplished it.”

“Yes, she did,” Belus said with a wary tone. “The point of all this, is that the board now knows the reason for their incarceration. They are weighing in on what to do about that. As far as the military goes, they are out. They are in breach of contract. Their rental agreement is revoked.”

“So, is Cori free?” Ethan asked grabbing her hand.

“Not, yet,” Belus said. “The military wants the elementals back. They are claiming them as property. We are claiming Cori as our property. Basically they are holding her for collateral at this point.”

“Danato’s going to send the collectors out isn’t he?” Cori asked.

Belus huffed and walked over to the door to check on the guards. They had moved away from the door, per Ethan’s
request,
but they were still walking around the hall outside.

When Belus was satisfied with the level of privacy they had, he returned. “Cori, the collectors were sent out last night twenty minutes after you were dragged off. Danato didn’t tell Clark that, because he needed to find out why you had released them. You may not have trusted him to do the right thing, but he trusted that you had.”

Cori looked down feeling the burden of reality pulling her from her fairy tale world as Efrat not so lovingly referred to it. She may have known Danato well, but Efrat was right that he would put the prison first no matter what request she made to the contrary. She was glad that Danato wasn’t telling Clark about it though. That was something anyway.

“Will the board grant the elementals asylum?” Cori asked looking up from her mope.

“I don’t know. I can guarantee they won’t let them go,” Belus pointed out to clarify that freedom was still not an option.

“I don’t care about that. I’m not interested in their freedom and frankly, neither are they. They already know that’s a long shot at best. All I want to know is if you think with enough sweet talk that you can get them out of Clark’s clutches.”

Belus’s brow furrowed and Ethan turned to her to examine her sudden change in demeanor. “They will be assessed as I said, but if they are going to be contained for any crimes it will be for the deaths of our guards, and that sentence will be carried out by us, not Clark.”

“Can you promise me that?” she asked just to make certain he wasn’t blowing smoke.

Belus arched an eyebrow and glanced at Ethan. “Can you tell me why you’re asking?”

Cori bit back her lips for a moment. “Promise me, they won’t be gunned down by Clark like Jill and Hirem.”

Belus raised his chin resolutely. “I promise.” Cori leaned back feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. Somehow a promise from Belus was as good as a signed, stamped, and delivered pile of paperwork. “Cori?” His voice impressed upon her a question that needed to be answered. She didn’t wait for him to ask it.

She glanced at the door and leaned forward again. Both men instinctively imitated her to get in on the intrigue. “I haven’t been completely honest about the way I helped the elementals escape.” Belus took in a deep breath like he needed to keep his temper in check. Cori glanced at Ethan fearing he might be just as angry, but his eyes were wide waiting for her to speak. “Don’t be mad,” she whispered. Her brow knitted in dreaded anticipation of the impending bombshell.

Belus’s eyelids lowered to slits. “I’m already mad, how much worse can it get?”

13

“She what?” Danato slammed his fists into his desk making the metal creak. Ethan and Belus stood before him reporting the news of Cori’s new betrayal, or perhaps it was an un-betrayal, but either way it was another lie. Ethan looked stunned and distant from the conversation. Belus as usual, was calm, but he looked weary despite the fact that he was the only one who had gotten a decent amount of sleep last night.

“She assumed without the delay of their discovery she wouldn’t have time to convince us they aren’t the danger we thought they were.”

Danato bristled listening to Belus report to him facts that Cori should have delivered directly to him. He hated being the last to know, especially when Belus was the first to know. “Where the hell are they?”

Belus paused and Danato glared at him challenging him to withhold anything Cori had said. “The greenhouse,” Ethan mumbled, “she’s smart, even if the collectors had been released onsite their scent would have been disguised by the plants. Not to mention she’s the only one who goes in there.”

Danato could hear the pride in his voice, but it didn’t show on his face. He was doubly exhausted by this run around. Danato had been concerned from day one that Ethan’s relationship with Cori would put a strain on his duties. He only hoped that the added stress didn’t make him change how he felt about her.

“Yes, Cori is clever,” Danato conceded letting his fists unclench. “Too clever sometimes,” he muttered.

“Cori has implored us not to reveal their location to Clark until we can be sure that we can protect them.” Danato knew he was glaring at Belus, but he couldn’t help it. “She would have told you, but she wanted to make sure that asylum was a probability rather than a possibility.”

“And is this the type of behavior you condone in your successor, Belus?”

Belus paused taking in that comment. “Not at all, but then again I tend to feel that last night was doomed to failure the minute you invited a band to a top secret prison.” Danato’s upper lip twitched. “I don’t suppose anyone’s given any attention to how Dr. Frank was able to just march right upstairs and shoot two guards in pursuit of her murder suicide. If we’re going to start throwing blame for bad behavior, I would start there.”

“Is that so?” Danato maintained an even voice. He was about to formulate a response to that scathing accusation when the door to the office slammed shut. Ethan had walked out. Danato furrowed his brow.

Belus and Danato exchanged glances before they headed out, once again partnered by their duties.

14

Ethan wasn’t about to hang around and listen to Danato and Belus bark about who is the bigger fool. The bottom line was; they were all fools. Ethan had mistakenly assumed that with Cleos out of her life, Cori would confide in him when she was in trouble. Unfortunately, in asking her to not make him choose between his job and her, he had essentially told her to do just the opposite.

As mad as he was for giving her mixed messages, he was furious at Belus and Danato for doing the same. Danato presented himself as his stalwart leader demanding her to be disciplined and forthcoming, but when push came to shove; he was as rebellious and closed mouthed as her. Belus should have been the solution. He should have been the mentor she needed, but he could never be the hero she needed.

The only hero Cori needed was him, and he was about to fill that role in spades.    

15

By the time Danato and Belus had caught up with Ethan, he was already outside heading to the military barracks to find Clark. Danato had considered this route himself, but he wasn’t going to act on it unless he thought Cori’s freedom was truly in danger.

“Ethan,” Danato called after him, but he didn’t slow or turn around. Belus was already lagging behind, not willing to give chase. As it was Danato’s cane wasn’t doing well on the icy path. “Ethan!”

Ethan slowed and finally stopped.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m finishing this. The way it should have been finished the minute Clark burst into our home.” 

Danato wasn’t surprised that Ethan was second guessing him. The night before when everything had gone amiss, he didn’t have a chance to gauge the situation for himself. Now with Cori facing another night in jail and her future on the precipice, he was panicking. He wasn’t looking to Danato for the answers anymore, but he also wasn’t looking at the broader picture.

“What are you doing?”

“I want Cori out of there,” Ethan seethed.

“So do I, but she did...”

“I don’t give a fuck about that!” Belus strolled up beside Danato catching Ethan’s eye. “If you two could stop bickering for a minute, you would see how simple this is.” Danato crossed his arms and waited for Ethan to say it. “Clark wants the elementals in exchange for Cori. Let’s just make the trade.”

“And that will fix everything, will it?” Danato asked.

“It will get her out of there.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Clark isn’t a man known for negotiating.”

“We shouldn’t have to be negotiating to begin with.” Ethan looked away. His frustration was near the tipping point. He would be looking for any excuse to blow. “Why are we cavorting with this guy at all? He has no right to hold Cori. We’ve revoked his rental agreement, let’s kick him out.”

“Belus is working on that,” Danato said evenly.

“Why do we need paperwork to do that? Let’s just do it! Is this really just about her learning a lesson?”

Danato sighed. He hated being the bad guy all the time. Luckily Belus stepped up to bat for him. “Ethan, she assumed the responsibility of letting three prisoners out. She knew what the potential consequences would be.”

“So, it’s okay for Clark to shoot one of his prisoners, without any consequences?”

“Yes, it is.” Belus’s quick response temporarily curtailed Ethan’s dispute. He wasn’t expecting that to be his answer. “The legalities of the outside world don’t apply here. We run by our own code of ethics to match the necessity.”

“I have at times executed prisoners,” Danato added. “You know that.”

“That’s not the same,” Ethan said running his fingers through his hair.

“I suppose you have no bias against our code of ethics,” Danato pointed out, “being as, on paper, you are technically my slave.” Ethan shook his head. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “My point is, we already operate outside of universal edicts. If we didn’t follow any protocols then we’d be in chaos.”

“I understand that. I’m willing to uphold those protocols, but my obedience to them ends the second Clark tries to extradite Cori. I won’t let him take her.”

“Neither will I. Neither will Belus,” Danato added offering Belus a glance which he nodded in agreement to. “We need to fix this through protocol. This isn’t just about Cori anymore. This situation is more than I can write off with a simple report. Losing a major rental income is a lot to ask from people who already contribute healthy donations to keep this place running properly.”

Ethan took another moment to look at the landscape. “If we haven’t found any legal means to free her by tomorrow night, I’m going to take Clark up on his offer.”

“Say again.” Danato wasn’t entirely sure what he was hearing, so he wanted to be sure before he reacted.

Ethan looked back at him. The expression on his face was a little sad, and a little tired, but unyielding. “If Cori isn’t home by supper time tomorrow night, I’m going to give Clark the elementals.”

Danato couldn’t quite muster the strength to yell. He wasn’t as angry as he thought he would be at hearing Ethan outright defy him. It was his first time in doing so, so it took him a moment to calculate what he was feeling. Part of his temper was quelled because he wanted Cori back, but mostly his ferocity was dampened by his disappointment. Cori was once again splitting Ethan’s loyalties, and Danato was losing.

“Give me one good reason that I shouldn’t throw you in a cell right beside her for that threat.”

Ethan moved toward him and Danato naturally puffed his chest and tensed his muscles. When Ethan settled into his military stance before him he relaxed. “I’m not threatening you Danato. I’m making a decision.”

“It’s not your decision to make.”

“Then why am I here? Why did you bring me here?” Ethan looked around the grassy snow patched grounds. “Why did you train me? When did you suppose I should start making command decisions?”

“When I say?” Danato crossed his arms. It was a typical parental response, but the truth was, he didn’t know when. Ethan had long since been given the duties of a warden, but when it came to the major decisions and catastrophes, Danato always took the reins.

“Bottom line is, Danato, I’m not letting my wife sit in that jail cell one more night. I’m not concealing that plan from you, but I’m also not asking permission. You can continue to negotiate as it pleases you, but I have no loyalties to the elementals. If it’s between them and her, it’s going to be them.” Ethan stalked back the way they had come and Danato felt his anger rise. He was grappling for a hold on his vocabulary when Belus spoke up.