He looked up from his work as the two men approached. “Hey, Massimo, Kelvin! What brings you here today?”
“We just came to see if Andrew was here,” Kelvin said.
“He hasn’t been in today.” Graham glanced around as if double-checking that Andrew wasn’t there. “It’s been nice not having him watching over my shoulder all the damn time, telling me I’m doing something wrong.”
“Is he normally here?” Massimo asked.
“Always. He likes to be here before me so he can give me grief for being late, even though I’m on time.”
“Is he sick?” Kelvin asked.
Graham shrugged his shoulders. “He wasn’t yesterday, but he was acting a bit odd.”
“In what way?” Massimo asked.
“He was acting like Kelvin did that one time he ate those mushrooms he found in the woods,” Graham said.
Kelvin’s eyes widened as he remembered the trippy experience he’d had. Then, he grinned. “They were some good ‘shrooms.”
“Does he still live there?” Massimo asked, pointing to a house on a hill that was isolated from the other homes.
“Yeah.” Graham nodded. “Why are you after him?”
I need to watch Graham’s reaction closely now. “You know Scott. Annie’s husband? He was found dead today.”
Graham’s eyes widened. “Shit. I liked Scott. That’s a real shame.” Graham paused, and his eyes lit with understanding. “Wait. You think Andrew killed him? Andrew’s a jerk, but I don’t think he’d murder Scott.”
“We didn’t think he did,” Massimo said. “We’re just here for Annie’s wedding ring. She said Andrew was working on it. Why would you think that we’d think he murdered him? Was it because he was having an affair with Annie?”
Massimo paused and waited for Graham to take the bait.
“Yeah,” Graham said.
I knew it! thought Massimo. He mentally patted himself on the back, impressed with his own investigatory skills. Law and Order: Pinewood Unit. Detective Massimo on the case.
Graham’s crestfallen face pulled him from his pleasant daydream. The blacksmith’s apprentice didn’t look nearly as happy as Massimo felt. “Fuck, that was supposed to be a secret. Please, Massimo. Kelvin. Don’t tell Andrew I let it slip.”
“We won’t,” Massimo said. “Thanks for your help. Come on, Kelvin. Let’s go pay Andrew a visit.”
General Murray wasn’t the nervous type, but he couldn’t stop himself from fidgeting with his uniform as he followed Jerkins up to Level One.
Level One was where Afana lived, and it was also where the science advisors worked. Murray had never met Afana in person. He’d only seen him from afar, like the other generals, on the days Afana chose to peer down through the bunker from the top level—or drinking blood from a traitor’s neck.
Like everyone else in the bunker, when Afana was watching, Murray made damn sure he wasn’t doing anything wrong, and he reprimanded any of his men who weren’t following orders to the letter. They all tried to stay the hell out of Afana’s view. Afana never did anything but watch, but he was the terrifying monster that lurked in the shadows—a monster the general didn’t care to see.
Murray just wanted to drop off the damn head and get back to Level Three, where he was comfortable. He should be entitled to a reward for bringing in the head, but so far, Jerkins hadn’t said anything about that yet.
The generals didn’t get the same rewards as the guards or hunters. They got upgrades, like things for their sleeping quarters or good liquor. General Murray wanted a bigger office, and there was one up for grabs since General Cole had been killed in the last cattle-herding trip. That was what the advisors called it when they sent the generals and their men to round up more people from nearby settlements to live in the bunker.
The advisors told them to find kids because they were easier to train. Adults had more likely to fight back, less likely to submit to Afana’s will. They resented being slaves. Go figure. Although he’d never admit it since it would cost him his own child, Murray hated the fact that they abducted kids, but it wasn’t like he had much choice in the matter. He was just a cog in this infernal machine.
Either he did his job—or the other gears would grind him down to nothing.
General Murray felt lucky to be in his position at all. He’d been born into it, thanks to his father, and he had been over the moon when he had begotten a son. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if he had a daughter. He refused to even think about that for too long.
Murray had been a general for a good portion of his life, and he’d been ordered to do some awful things along the way. He always followed the advisors’ orders because it meant his son Martin stayed safe in the bunker. Martin never had to go out in the field or put himself in real danger, as long as his father toed the line. If he disobeyed or went AWOL, Afana had his son. There was no way he was going to risk his child’s life for some futile, rebellious gesture.
Murray and Jerkins made it to the top floor, and as usual, Murray was struck by how different it looked from his own level. It looked like something from the technologically advanced past. The walls were lined with monitors displaying various views of the bunker. A glass wall behind the monitors divided the space from where scientists looked at scientist stuff. General Murray assumed it was Afana’s lab.
Murray didn’t ever want to meet Afana. Working for him was bad enough. The time for listening to orders from his advisors had passed for today, though, so now he had to speak to Afana himself. He had to admit he was terrified.
To General Murray’s relief, Afana was nowhere to be seen. The feeling quickly faded as Jerkins led him through the
