Роберт Уилсон - Days Since... - Jenny - Day 986

“Well, out with it!” the man yelled.

As Jenny brought forth the lie, the scarred man fell silent—the rest of the crowd did the same, all of them listening intently. She hit on all her points, but in the back of her mind, she apologized to Danny for disrespecting the truth, hiding what really happened. In this way, no one would know Griffin, the monster. No one would know what he’d planned for the Depot—for Grant, Matt, for Jenny. The fact that Danny had saved her would never be known. He gave his life for her. The lie was a disservice to him. A disservice to the truth that everyone deserved to know but couldn’t. The S.A. had to be the enemy. It was Jenny’s only way to fight back.

Danny, I’m sorry… but it won’t be for nothing, I promise. River’s Edge is worth it. Taking the S.A. out is worth it. If we don’t, they’ll keep coming for me, Grant, Matt. They’ll keep tearing everyone else down.

The joy which had swept over the crowd earlier had quickly evaporated with Jenny’s explanation. Most struggled to keep their chins up and their eyes toward her while she finished. “…and if you think this is bad, this is only the beginning. The Second Alliance will be back. They won’t quit.”

“We believe you, but how—how do we stand up to them?” Lars asked. “If what you’re saying is true—”

“We don’t know it is!” the scarred man said. “The Second Alliance could all be bullshit. How the hell do we know how big this group is? It’s probably just some bullshit operation. You think people are that organized already? Like some big-ass army?”

“It is possible! Why the hell not?” a woman interjected. “We’re going on three years since Almawt.”

“Seems crazy to me is all…” he let his defeated voice fade.

“Is there any other proof? Anything at all?” the woman asked Jenny.

“I do, but… you have to understand, when I bring him out, he’s not one of them. Yes, he has their uniform on, but he’s—”

“A prisoner?!”

“We took a prisoner?”

“No! He’s not a prisoner!” Jenny shouted out to quell the notion before it got out of hand. “He’s the one they hung from the scaffolding at River’s Edge. Well, the one we thought was hung, but the truth is, the S.A. didn’t kill him. They faked his death. It’s—it’s complicated.”

“And we’re supposed to trust that? Come on!”

Grant stepped forward and cut into the fray, “Shut it! Now!” He shifted his attention to where Matt stood post—the second set of doors toward the back which led inside the Depot. “Matt! Go ahead and bring him out.”

Worried, Jenny watched Matt bring Xavier outside. I’m not sure they’re ready for him yet. Not sure he’s ready either. He must have felt it too, his head shaking, his feet shuffling toward her, shoulders slumped, noticeably ashamed to be dressed in the enemy’s garb. “I don’t think right now’s a good idea,” Jenny said to Grant.

“As good as any. They need to hear it from him. Need to ask him what they want, unrehearsed or whatever you wanna call it.” Grant turned back to the crowd. “Listen! The kid’s comin’ out here to let you in on the truth. The whole story. This ain’t no joke. This ain’t some scare tactic. I’m tellin’ you, there ain’t no way around it. What Jenny says gonna happen, will happen.”

While Grant spoke, Xavier made it to Jenny’s side, closer than she would’ve normally liked, but understandable considering the circumstances.

“She told you how our old town fell to the Second Alliance,” Grant said, “and how some of us fought back. But… we failed, and we felt it. They made sure of that. We lost some people—some good people ‘cause of them. But this young man here”—he gestured to Xavier—“was thought to be the first one killed. But the Second Alliance, they playin’ games with everybody. They acted like they hung him to make a point. That no one can cross them. But instead of killing him , they killed someone else.”

“He turned on you guys!” the scarred man shouted. “That kid’s an insider. Sold you guys downriver.”

“That’s not true!” Grant shut the man down.

Jenny watched Xavier cringe, uncomfortable with the accusation. Wanting to offer his vindication, Jenny felt the words form within her mouth, but thought better of speaking them—Grant was doing well enough.

“Then what?” the scarred man continued. “Why’s he in that damn uniform if he’s one of the good guys?”

Grant sighed. “You know I wouldn’t lie to you. All you know me, worked with me. Hell, Me and Jenny, Matt, all of us have given our sweat, our blood to fix this place just like any of the rest of you. Some of your stares are uncalled for. We love this place. Don’t want to see it fall.”

Most in the crowd nodded with understanding.

“This here.” Grant pulled the unopened Second Alliance letter—the wax seal still intact—from his coat pocket. “This letter was part of the plan, but Griffin never gotta chance to read it. If you want, I can read the damn thing or any of you can, don’t care. I already know what it says without openin’ it. It’s short and sweet. The truth is, they ain’t got it much better than we have. Sure, they got fancy uniforms and big promises, but shit, you can put a dress on a pig, but it’s still a pig.”

Very few chuckled through the tense air.

“The whole point is they’re comin’ for us. They gonna take us whether we want it or not.” He held up a second letter—the one Xavier found in Simon’s boot months ago. “This one shows what they willin’ to do to get what they want. Fake attacks. Murder. Kidnappin’. Both these letters I got are two very different things but come from the same monster.

“The S.A. came here with a peace plan, but they saw me and Matt. Two people that got away from River’s Edge with the truth of what was goin’ on there. When they saw us here, they took us. The only blessin’ was Jenny wasn’t there at the time, or we’d all be gone. You’d be sittin’ here without any answers. Sittin’ here with two dead bodies and three people missin’.

“But thank the Heavens, she wasn’t there. She’s the hero. Saved us. Came and got us with Sherman just like Danny would’ve wanted. I’ll say we got some revenge today, but not enough for what they took when they killed Danny and Griffin. Think of all those two did for you. How they took you in. They deserve better than just lettin’ this whole thing go.”

“We can’t sit back and let them come for us,” Jenny cut into Grant’s message. “They’ll have the advantage if we do. I know maybe I haven’t always been so outgoing, maybe rude or whatever at times, but I’ve been scared. I’ve been scared that they would find us, because I knew what would happen. And it did. But I’m not scared anymore. All of us together, we can do this. We’ve spilled their blood. They’ll be back. It’s a guarantee. But…” She took a second to catch her breath. “We can’t let that happen. They won’t expect us to take the fight to them. We’ll catch them off guard.”

“So, is there a plan?” the scarred man asked. “The kid in black know what’s going on?”

Everyone looked to him.

Xavier exhaled, then started.

Jenny sat at the desk in Danny’s room, alone, creaking back in his chair, trying to imagine him sitting there, not gone. Against her better judgment, she started through his framed photographs—his life. A wife. Kids. Friends. With each smiling face next to his, she couldn’t keep herself from letting a few tears go. She brought one of the lit candles closer to her, to the next picture she held within her hand—a bar scene filled with what she assumed were other cops.