Page 70 of Citiali: Teach
Prez stands. “I believe in you. You’re not putting someone in the job you’ll have to work harder at. You had a plan and got everything you wanted. You don’t need me to do your job. You just need me to agree with it. I did. Now I’m trusting in my Brothers to carry it out.” He walks away and I laugh. Cort scrambles to follow him.
I laugh more.
Christian hits my side. “Shut the fuck up, Brother. Does he really listen?”
Aiyana stands. “He hears us and will let us work without a replay of every decision we make. He has learned. You, I believe need a nap.”
I’m laughing again but I move fast and go find my girl. It’s got to be dark by now and the Brothers will be in lights at the games. My plan is to stay up here and watch. I hope she agrees tothat one. I smile, she’s already outside the tent on a lounge chair. I like her plan and lift her up then sit.
“I’m shielding you.”
She nods. “The stage is karaoke, the lights feel magical and the energy isn’t bothering me. It’s a nice night.”
I kiss her head but don’t answer. It is now.
Epilogue
Teach Club
Needing time after my classes, I lock my office door and jump. My spot under the tree is empty so I take it.
Thinking about my day, I smile. The kids and Bits were cute today. Shay told Cai of a story White Wave told them to make a point about seeing any kid threat as all kids have a threat. They stick together and always watch out for each other. Cai saw it and agreed saying Fords see threats to Alder and he’ll tell his Brothers about the lesson. The stories are important.
“Brother, are you sleeping?” His voice, while not heard often, brings a peace over me. He’s sane in a world of ability that’s gone crazy.
I smile, opening my eyes. “You have my permission to wake me if I am.” I sit up and turn. “Brothers. Is everyone okay?” I don’t feel anything and haven’t seen a single thing today that would bring Aiyana, Dakota and Christian together like this. I look for Atohi and Yona feeling the connection.
“Relax, Brother, we wanted to talk to you.” Christian looks younger than the last time I saw him. Less stress looks good on him.
I relax and nod. “It’s not much but sit, Brothers.”
They all look a little too serious. “You are correct, it is a serious matter.”
I nod hoping I’m not being charged with hundreds of murders.
Christian laughs. “No one knows what happened. Relax. They couldn’t prove you did anything anyway. You were here and people in New England keeled over. California and Texas are closer but you’re still hundreds of miles away. We havequestions and know you have answers.” He doesn’t have to say it like that.
I’m not going to be charged because I wasn’t close? It seems flimsy to me.
Aiyana shakes her head at me. “Did you ask for death?”
I shake my head no.
“Did you paint each person as a target?”
I shake my head no.Asgina.I didn’t know any of them to read intent.
“The ancestors used you to stop those with deadly intent. The criminal before me fell to his death without my knowledge that he was a criminal. VP informed me after Ops was finished. It was a busy day that I did not have time to read more than intent as we were defending our townspeople.”
I breathe the air in deeply. “Thank you. I don’t know where or even who died.”
“It is not yours to know, Citiali. The ancestors shield you from that knowledge. Prez has spoken of his displeasure in using you and it is agreed, strength, healing and calm, while the three headings do not sound like much, entail a vast number of solutions that will be sent through you.”
I repeat Dakota’s words before I think of strength, healing and calm. He’s right, it could be calm for a Brother unsettled, or calming a crowd of rioters that would need those gentle commands Hemy taught us to throw to groups of people at once. “What if I just need help?”
Christian smiles. “Prez said unless you ask. He said you’d never ask for the death of people you don’t know and have never seen.”
My head is shaking. “No, I wouldn’t. Hundreds died in places I’ve never heard of. I love the laser because it doesn’t kill. Our job shouldn’t be an automatic kill for aggression toward us.Caged animals are first caged, so questions I may not have time for need answers.”
