Page 95 of Benga's Rise
“I’ll make sure they know and get what I can of the M’s medical history. That history will be put on your computer, Cort. I’m glad you said something. The airport will work. Noon tomorrow your time, Brother. I’ll contact you when all four of the pussies are no longer a threat. That may not be as quick as we’d like, but it will happen. If you need anything, let me know. We have a wide range of support ready to help when it’s needed.”
Cort nods. “Again, it’s with appreciation and honor that we acknowledge the shield, support and your help in clearing our Brothers. I’ll be glad when the freedom they deserve isn’t just a dream, but do feel the hand you’re holding out deep, Brother. Thank you.”
The President holds his hand to the side stopping someone from something. “You have been a surprise from the day I met you, Cort. Not because you say the right words, but you feel them. Badass isn’t a Club, but life to you. You’d be surprised how many Brothers see it as a job or pastime. Your beliefs run deep andweare honored to see and feel that from you. You’ve given that belief and support to many. I have no problem giving that back as an equal. Never alone means exactly that to me. I’ll stand by your side anytime you need it because I know if I have a need, you’ll have my back too. With respect and honor, Brother.” He throws chin and the screen goes black.
Holy fuck. Cort sits, Web sits and I lean against the table.
I don’t know how much time goes by, but Cort laughs. “You better get Paul on more rooms and, Raid, tell him about the wall. We can take the As out. The Brothers are going to like that. Web, you’ll need to explain about the group thing. Breathe easy, Brother. It’s not what we hoped, but it’s not a dead-end either.”
“The Ms will have that threat, Pres. I’m happy with the As going out and know they're going to fucking love anything new, but I’ll have more boys that need to be safe. That Brother was right, they’ll always be noticeable and a large group will be remembered. He noticed them in our Ops room. I’m okay if you meant it and we’re all good here. I know I took them and that had to be a surprise to you, but I know what to do and I can help...”
Cort laughs stopping him. “Shut up, Web. Go call Paul for more rooms. You are ours. Whether that’s with nine kids or twenty. The kids make you happy. That makes us happy, we don’t fucking care how many you have. Tell us what you need. We got your back. Always.”
Web smiles. “Yeah. Wait until Anton, Akai and Alder find out they’ll have brothers. They’ve wanted little brothers forever.” He laughs opening the door. “Thanks, Cort, Raid. You’re right, they deserve to be free, but they don’t really understand that, so being here with the love of their Brothers in Brotherhood is the same thing.” He walks out but turns with a big smile on his face. “For me too.” He throws chin and I laugh.
“So, As and Ms. I hope there aren’t a whole alphabet of kids out there.”
Pain is in his eyes. “I think there are. The FBI is collecting them. Maybe they’ll find their own Web. I hope there are enough Webs out there. I am so proud of him taking the Ms. I know I couldn’t do it. I’m glad he can. We need to give him what he needs for that. He just chained himself here forever, Brother.” He looks the other way and I see his throat working. My Brother feels everything deep.
“I’ll send him on vacation with an A or two. It’s not like it’s boring here. You’re fucking crazy and he’s happy.”
“Fucking Brothers,” he says laughing. “I need to call Dan. We need the doctor back here.”
I nod. “You may want to tell him Doc knows. He could help.”
He stands. “Yeah. I’ll let him know that too. There’s a whole fucking alphabet out there, Brother. The shit people do is crazy.”
I nod. “But we’re helping where we can.”
A real smile shows. “Yeah. We could have used a chopper for tomorrow. See, they’d be handy to have around.”
I shake my head. “Call Major. He may let you borrow one.”
There’s the politician smile. “Yeah. I’ll call him first.”
Checking the time, I shake my head. I’ll clear my desk and hopefully he’ll be done too. Ms, I think walking to my office. I bet the As are going to be happy. Brothers are good to have.
~*~
“You did good today, Dad. Mom is proud of you ‘cause you only got one of everything. Can I try a corn dog? I can only have the ones she makes and she doesn’t make them a lot. She cooks them in a pan of oil. It’s not good to eat a lot like that, but yours go in the oven. That’s better than oil.”
I laugh. He’s trying to convince me mine is a better junk food. “I’ll see if I can share one with you. There’s only four in the box.”
His big eyes have me kissing his head. “When do you eat all that food?”
“I didn’t eat all of it. Mostly I have a snack at night, but I never saw food like that. I wanted to try it. A lot of it was garbage like your mom said. I like the tiny pizza bagels and the pretzels. I had the Prospects take the rest. They liked it.”
He nods. “Maybe they don’t have moms. Ours always cooks good. My friend in school says his mom doesn’t know how to cook. She makes him gross stuff or spaghetti. He always has spaghetti at home so he never eats it in school.”
“I didn’t have a mom either. My dad cooked or brought food home. I ate at Cort’s or Brinks’ and Jinx’s a lot too. Sometimes they had weird food, but I ate it. Some of it was good, I wouldn’t know if I didn’t try it.”
“How come you didn’t have a mom?”
“She left when I was little. She didn’t like America so she went back to the island. My dad said she’s Irish, but she lived in Hawaii, I don’t remember her. My dad took good care of me. We grew up in houses near Crow on the reservation. When my dad had to work, the other people took care of me. Like with the Brothers, there’s always someone close so it was good.”
“My old dad didn’t like me. He never talked. He’d sleep and check my room but didn’t talk to me. I’m glad you had a good dad. Did your dad move too?”
Shit. “I’m glad your dad at least checked on you. Not talking to you was a shithead thing to do to a kid, but he did look out for you. My dad didn’t move, he died when I was in college. He had a heart attack. He was older so it was a shock, but I knew it wasn’t good for him. He took better care of me than himself. He didn’t eat right and drank lots of soda. Every day, all day long, he’d drink soda. He was addicted to the stuff.”
