stilted. 'War is brewing here, and I fear that our kind will be drawn into both sides. The Kaiser is already building Active units. I, for one, fear our own governments more than I fear the Japanese.'
'Then you're a fool,' Pershing snapped. There was a collective gasp. 'The Kaiser is a Barnum clown compared to the Chairman. He's no mere politician. He's a force. The Geo-Tel events have been blamed on meteorites, but we all know what they really were.'No one in the American government believed him, but these people should understand. They had to. 'What if it had been your country that was about to be evaporated?'
'Then I would still listen to the knowledge of my elders,' the European looked to the three men at the head of the table for confirmation.
The elders deliberated quietly amongst themselves for a moment, before the one in the middle finally spoke. 'Our strategy remains the same for now. We will contain the Imperium, but we will not risk an open battle. Secrecy is paramount. General Pershing, you will protect the Geo-Tel device in the event that we ever, God help us, grow desperate enough to use it, but I do not ever foresee the need to use a weapon so terrible that its firing would be felt through the very fabric of all worlds. You will report the location only to the Grimnoir elders, in the case that something should befall you.'
'You're all making a terrible mistake.' Pershing stormed from the room in disgust. Mar Pacifica, California
1932
Sullivan pulled his hand away as dozens of memories flooded into his mind all at once. He remembered frustration riding in pursuit of Pancho Villa, confusion at the aftermath of Wounded Knee, the bitter soul-crushing sadness of losing his wife and three young daughters in a terrible fire, everything, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, and finally three years of unbearable suffering, but those were blurry, and had probably come over by accident. Others had been very specifically stamped into him, as harsh as the light of day. 'What are you?'
Pershing appeared even weaker than before, if that were possible. 'I'm a very weak Reader. I barely qualify as an Active, but I've been saving up a lot of Power… I thought it would only be fair to try and answer your questions while I answered my own… Thank you. I finally got to see the Power… It all makes sense now.'
'You read my mind?' Sullivan asked.
'Yes…' he closed his eyes. 'I was right about you. And now I must rest…'
'Why'd you show me all those things?'
Pershing's breathing had grown shallow and erratic. 'Because… someone must know the truth… Only a handful of us knew… about the Geo-Tel… I need you to destroy the final piece… Don't let him get it… Because we have a… traitor in our midst… I can't even trust people who are like my… children… Whoever it is… they're too strong for me to Read… Because…'
Pershing moved slowly, pushing something toward Sullivan. He took it, and found that it was one of the Grimnoir rings.
Because you are the man for the job. Carry on.
Pershing sent that last thought with his Power, then let out his final breath.
'General?'
His chest had quit moving. It was as if he'd found someone to pass the torch to, and had finally moved on. Sullivan sat there for a moment, stunned. Jane arrived a moment later, studied General Pershing's still form and began to cry.
Chapter 14
You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot further with a smile and a gun. A smile, a gun, and a Brute get you the key to the city.
– Al 'Scarface' Capone,
Interview, 1930 Detroit, Michigan The Pale Horse awoke feeling more refreshed than he had in three years. It was as if a great burden had been lifted from his soul.
It is done.
Harkeness had followed Cornelius Stuyvesant to Michigan. His sources had confirmed that the billionaire had completed his assignment, and the proper modifications were being made to the Chairman's personal airship. He could not have asked for better timing. Pershing finally succumbing to his curse on the very same day as the completion of his favor would be seen as a sign of his Power. It was a coincidence, but Stuyvesant would be terrified. Having a man such as that under his thumb could prove valuable in the future.
Pershing had been a strong one. When Harkeness had first touched him, he had expected him to last a few months, perhaps a year at most. He had underestimated the willpower of such a man, not to mention the remarkable and surprising skill of his Healer. That thought made Harkeness swell with pride.
This assignment had been draining, but it would be worth it. He dressed in his finest suit and took the elevator to the lobby. He would send a telegram to Isaiah. The powerful Reader would not know of Pershing's demise until it hit the papers, but he needed to get to work. It was almost time to provide the Chairman with the location of the last piece of the Tesla device.
Their plan was almost complete. Mar Pacifica, California Arrangements had been made to take the General's body into the city for transport to Arlington for burial. By the next day, word would spread over the wires, and the entire nation would mourn the loss of one of their greatest heroes.
And they only knew the half of it, Sullivan thought bitterly. He wasn't sure if it was the recent shock of Pershing's memories that caused him to be so angry at the powers that be and their isolationist blindness, or if it was his own memories. Either way, he had a job to do, and with a rock breaker's dedication, he knew it was going to get done.
The American Grimnoir were taking their leader's loss hard. Command fell to John Moses Browning until the Society's elders appointed someone else. Sullivan could tell that Browning didn't want the responsibility. He was very old, but he'd fulfill his duty. Sullivan could respect that.
They had called a meeting, and the group had gathered around a long rectangular table. Browning stood at the head, exhausted and drained. At his right hand was the stocky Lance Talon, on his left was the bespectacled Dan Garrett. Of the others, he knew Heinrich well, but he only knew the kid, Francis, from when he'd kneecapped him. Delilah had come down and sat directly across from him, but she'd only greeted him with the slightest of nods. Jane was the most distraught by the previous day's events, but had still joined them. She sat next to Dan, who was discreetly holding her hand under the table. The last person to join them was the young girl who had shot him in the back then saved his life.
She was an odd one. Thin, gawky, with hair like wet straw, and the strangest grey eyes he'd ever seen. She held out one little hand to him in greeting. He took it, surprised that she had calluses that would make anyone running a pickax at Rockville proud. 'You look just like your brother, only not evil. Sorry about murdering you.'
'Attempted murder,' he corrected her.
'Oh, no, you were totally dead when I found you under the magic jellyfish,' she smiled. 'Good thing you followed me back. I'm Sally Faye Vierra. You can call me Faye.' She took her seat.
Browning got right down to business. 'I have received a message from the Grimnoir elders. We are to take no action until we receive further orders.'
'We've been sitting on our asses for too long,' Lance complained.
Browning frowned, obviously not liking foul language, but used to working with Lance. 'What would you have us do?'
'We need to get out there, find Bob Southunder, and get the last piece of the Tesla device.'
Sullivan paid careful attention. The General had been certain that one of these people had betrayed them to the Chairman.
'Only nobody, not even the General, knows where Southunder went,' Garrett pointed out. 'We have no idea
