The Underground Part 10

"I'm stunned," Nathaniel managed.

Chester studied Nathaniel for a moment before walking across the room. When he returned, he handed Nathaniel a bag that made Nathaniel's smile even bigger. It was a bag from Chester's Bakery.

"Open it," he said.

Nathaniel slowly opened the bag and took out two m.u.f.fins. This time it was Nathaniel who laughed as he playfully pulled a big hunk of blueberry m.u.f.fin and put it in his mouth.

"Mmm. I can't tell you how much I missed this!"

"There's a banana one too. I would've brought you a coffee too, but didn't think it'd stay hot for the journey," Chester said.

"I'm just...." Nathaniel began, but he couldn't finish. Chester let the silence between them sit while Nathaniel savored the m.u.f.fin that he thought he would never again taste.

"I joined this group fresh out of the C Center and ended up the leader. A long while ago you asked me how I was able to find a peaceful life. Do you remember?"

"Absolutely," Nathaniel said.

"When you asked me that, it showed me the kind of man that you were, and I knew it was the kind of man we needed here in the Underground. Now you have your answer. I am content because I do work that brings me peace," Chester finally said, looking away, as though he saw himself all those years ago in a twist of physical and mental pain and suffering.

He returned his eyes to Nathaniel's. "I took a personal oath to heal my spirit and continue the work of the founder," he said continuing. "I wanted to help men who felt the same pain I did. I wanted to help men who, if given a second chance, would use it wisely...the ones who had hope and desire for happiness and who could help us gain back what we've lost as men, what we deserved and still do," he said smiling.

"Have you been here all this time?"

"I'm almost never here. We are far from Cambridge, and I've got the bakery to run. I've got to make money, too," he joked, shaking his head back and forth.

"What about Brigg?"

"Brigg has been working with us on the outside for a number of years now, but he is seldom able to get away. I saw him this morning and he made me promise to send you a big h.e.l.lo. He misses you a lot."

"Please tell him I miss him, too," Nathaniel said, grinning. The years of friends.h.i.+p flashed through his mind.

Nathaniel hesitated before asking about Janice.

"Janice is Janice. She looks for wisdom in the bottom of a bottle," Chester said with a distant look in his eye.

"Chester, I don't know what to say."

"There is nothing you need to say. You are dear to me, and I trust you. That's why I sent for you. To the other Grounders, I will remain unknown. I hope you understand this."

"Your secret is safe with me."

"Good. Your days as a manual laborer are behind you now. I have spoken with the Master Instructors and they agree that you have been a top student in all manners. We will be releasing you to the Kansas City area, very soon, into the corporate arena. I wanted to wish you luck. I am certain your life will be better now. The job we get you will give you the opportunity to meet a different caliber of women. You will have a new name, identification number, and address. Your training will provide you with all you need to be successful in your new life. I am positive you will thrive in this new environment. When you go back into the world, we trust that you will hold the oath you take when you leave. You can't contact your old friends, family or anyone at all that you have had contact with," Chester said, pausing. "Ever," he said for emphasis, clearly waiting for Nathaniel to respond.

"I understand," Nathaniel said, thinking about his past and his future.

"I may not see you again, but remember that the Underground always tracks your whereabouts. We will always be in touch with you. I have great faith that you will help our cause, as we win back our rights that we all deserve. I know you will help your brothers all around you, even if they don't know it," he said before rising to show Nathaniel it was time to leave.

Chester gave him another hug, and when they let go of their embrace, Nathaniel saw a tear at the edge of his eye.

"Thank you," Nathaniel said before leaving the room, back into the hands of Crosby who waited patiently in the hallway.

Chapter 19.

"I'm sorry I don't have any more information for you," the Queen said to Shayla over dinner. It wasn't exactly true. The Queen wasn't sorry at all. On top of that, while she didn't have an incredibly detailed report on this guy, she didn't need a security report to know this guy wasn't good enough for Shayla.

"Thanks for trying, mother," Shayla said, before turning to look out the Palace window.

"What are you thinking?" the Queen asked, observing her daughter's faraway gaze.

"I was just wondering about Nathaniel, what he's doing, where he is," she said.

"Dear, you're going to have to get over him. He's gone," she said, coldly. Shayla bristled. Quickly realizing her mistake, the Queen purposely softened her tone and said, "It also took me a while to adjust after your father died. We had a nice life together."

"Well, I was trying to have a life with Nathaniel," she said, looking suspiciously at her mother.

"I understand that," she said, rubbing Shayla's shoulder for a moment. It wasn't her natural way, but she knew that Shayla would respond and she was right. Her daughter's face relaxed.

"Thanks, mom," she said, smiling with sadness along with a resignation that the Queen took as the green light to further pursue her agenda.

"I have an idea I wanted to run by you," the Queen said, cutting a piece of filet mignon and taking a delicate bite. "Oh, this is delicious, by the way. Have some," the Queen said, lightening the conversation further.

"I'm not hungry," Shayla said, "What's your idea?"

"I got a call from Lorraine, you know, who runs Steelco? She needs a new CEO here in the Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C. headquarters and asked if I knew of anyone, and I thought of you," she said, taking another bite, observing Shayla.

"I've got a job," Shayla said, but the usual fire in her voice was gone.

"Yes, my dear. I know you do and I don't want you to leave if you don't want to, but just consider talking to her. What do you have to lose, since you're here for a few days anyway? You're so unhappy in Cambridge. Why go back if you don't have to?"

"Maybe you're right," Shayla said. "I don't know."

This definitely wasn't a shoo-in, but waffling was a start, an absolute possibility that wasn't there a month prior. This was good, a crack in the veneer.

"Tell you what, let me just set up a meeting with you and Lorraine. Private, casual, here in the Palace, no commitments, just a conversation. If the position is interesting, you could take this new job and stay on as some sort of advisor to the Cambridge Public Works."

"Maybe," Shayla said, pausing. "But does Lorraine know that my leaders.h.i.+p style isn't exactly traditional?" Shayla said, looking dead into her mother's eyes. The strength on her daughter's face was like looking into a mirror.

"Let's not get the cart before the horse," the Queen said, taking a sip of wine avoiding any confrontation that would sideline the headway she was making. Lorraine owed her a few favors and it was high time to collect.

"Your Majesty, they are carrying big posters that read: Keep your Laws off my Body. Equal Rights and Justice for all Men."

"How many?" the Queen asked, doing her best to squelch the frantic quality in her own voice.

"Around a hundred, but they are very vocal," the Taser in charge told the Queen. The Queen could hear them chanting, and it made her nervous. She wasn't used to that.

"Round them up."

"And then what?"

"Take them to the prisons and hold them there. Confiscate any phones or cameras of anyone close by, understand?" the Queen said. If this got onto the Webavision, it could start a domino effect.

"We'll do our best," the head of the Taser Force in Was.h.i.+ngton D.C. said. The Queen could hear the chanting grow louder.

"As long as your best means you get every single cell phone that might have captured any video footage, that's fine," she said, with fervor.

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Make sure I am notified when it is done," she said before hanging up.

Her security detail had been telling her, for the past year, that the equality movement was gaining steam. This was the first real evidence and now she had to obliterate it, no matter the means to that end.

"Come in," she said, to the knock on her door. It was probably the staff to take the dinner dishes away. She had ended her dinner with Shalya shortly after Shayla's agreement to meet with Lorraine. The Queen couldn't be more pleased.

"Gerald? I thought you'd be off by now. It's late," she said, as he peeked in the door.

"I heard from the head of security that there were protests. I wanted to know if you needed anything from me," he said.

"You are so wonderful, always. Thank you, but not right now. I'll keep you posted if need be," she said, feeling blessed with Gerald and his loyalty. That certainly couldn't be bought, or even bred.

"On a completely different note, there is some good news," she said. "Shayla has agreed to an interview with Steelco. I need to get her back D.C., so this is a start. We can cross our fingers about that," she said, although her mind was on the uprising. The head Taser said it was only about "100 people," but that was 100 people too many for her taste.

Chapter 20.

"How did this happen?" Gerald said thinking about the decades of work and tremendous money spent to keep the Underground's secret and mission intact.

"A few renegade Grounders rallied a group from one of the Parties of Availability. We can't control everything," Simon said.

Gerald couldn't believe he was so glib.

"Do we know who is behind this?" Gerald asked, agitated, sitting in his car in the Palace's garage. Normally, Gerald would never leave the Palace while on duty, especially to call or meet with a fellow Grounder, but the text message used the emergency code.

"I was hoping you could tell me that," Simon said.

"I keep a tight rein on what happens in the Palace. Your job is to do the same outside. The Queen alluded to a protest, but she didn't talk much about it. If she does have those Grounders in custody, they could be interrogated. If they talk, it could literally kill our movement," Gerald said.

"They won't. They're trained."

"Yeah, well, they're not trained very well. They're trained to follow orders not to start a public protest! I should just take her out now before it gets too dangerous and we lose our chance."

"No!" said Simon.

"Why not?" Gerald said, growing more frustrated.

"There's been no breach," Simon said.

"You don't know that. You don't even know who did this."

"And we need you where you are. You are the only one who can convince Shayla to take over before anything happens to the Queen. Once Shayla is in charge, she will need your help. We're getting close. We must have everything in place before we act. I agree the protest wasn't the best timing, but it's not as bad as you think."

"In the memory of our founder, I cannot and will not let his vision be derailed. He is the reason we have come this far. Don't forget that," Gerald said.

"Calm down, we're all on the same page as you and the old man," Simon said, with a condescending air.

"He wasn't just an old man. You never met him. He was a visionary who lived by the principles he believed in and took risks no matter the consequences. I gave him my word... as he lay on his deathbed."

"Regardless, we are in this situation now, and I am the one you report to. You will take my orders, understand?" Simon said.

"Perfectly," Gerald said. He felt angry, but controlled himself.

"Call when you know more," Simon said.

"Yes, sir," Gerald said before hanging up and wondering, for the first time, if he should defy orders because he knew, in his heart of hearts, that n.o.body truly understood what was best for the country better than he. Not even Chester and certainly not Simon.

He pulled the faded black and white photo from his wallet. To anyone else, it just looked like an elderly gentleman, but he was Gerald's savior. He was Edward Smith, the first, Shayla's grandfather and the author of Reminder of Truth.

Dear Mayor Kennedy, It is with great sadness and regret that I resign my post as head of the Cambridge Public Works. I am sorry I stayed only a short time. I wish you well as you secure a new person to run this wonderful organization that I greatly respect.

If I can be of help during this transition, please let me know.

Sincerely, Shayla Smith "What do you think?" Shayla said to her mother, after showing her mother the letter.

"Excellent. It's a fine message," the Queen said.

Working at the Cambridge Public Works had become a constantly painful reminder of Nathaniel's absence, and Shayla had decided it was time to go.

"To celebrate your move back here, I think we should redecorate your suite here. It's high time we did that, long past due really."

"What are you talking about?" Shayla asked, confused.