Kingdom Come

xiv. The river's undertow

Nora leans away from her left arm, grimacing in pain. She swears, squeezes her eyes shut, and tries to reply to Cherry's reassurances. The doctor pads the splints—moving gently and carefully—explaining to her that she would heal "in no time."

Focusing on Nora's pain helps with mine. I had scraped my leg, thigh to shin. Sprained an ankle and bruised my knees. All to protect my head and shoulders from suffering the impact. It was the opposite with Nora.

Julie, who's cleaning my wound, swats my hand away again when I try to touch the gauze.

Among other reasons, I believe Nora is having a worse time because she's been in this house before.

I had spent years of my life watching the ONA as if I was peering out through my window at the sky, trying to make constellations out of stars. Now, here I was, sitting in what clearly appeared to be their main office.

It was a modern mansion, with their office in one wing and their living quarters in another. I knew Martin lived close to the countryside but I never knew his exact address. I'm overwhelmed. The screens with poll data, strategies, and updates are still running. I can hear some of the campaign staff working away in the other wing.

But all of it drains away when Martin walks back into the room, this time with Emir.

"So, I have news," Martin says. We all turn towards him. "That device someone snagged under your hood is way too sophisticated for it to not be..."

"Wayne?" I complete his sentence when he meets my eyes. He nods. I hear Julie mutter something too inappropriate to repeat under her breath.

Cherry walks towards the center of the room where Emir comes to stand. "Where were you? Have you been briefed on the Orion situation?" 

"Yeah, Martin told me. Sorry, I deviated from my schedule for today. An old client of mine had reached out. She was being evicted," He explains.

I pinch my lips together. "Was being"—How nice of him. Doesn't he get tired of keeping this up?

I feel Julie shift, and I quickly thank her for her help as she gets up.

"Should we take this to the public?" I hear Emir say. 

I look at them, making sure to avoid his eyes. A staff member stands nearby, with stiff shoulders and poised thumbs, ready to send out the necessary notification to the rest of the team.

Martin shakes his head. "We don't know how many employees received this memo. We could be shooting ourselves in the foot by attracting a larger audience." 

Cherry lips part in shock, and she grabs Martin's shoulder. Her hand scrunching the grey shirt taut against his lean chest.

"This is a threat. Even if it hasn't physically reached certain employees, I'm sure they feel it coming. Or they're thinking about it," Cherry says, using her free hand to convey the seriousness of the situation. "Everything we've worked for will be reduced to nothing—no one wants to lose their job! We should take the risk."

She rests her case, and her arm drops to her side. Somehow, they're all looking at Martin. I'm guessing that he typically makes the final call. 

He sighs and throws his head back as if calling on a higher power. "Well..." He begins. "It fits our campaign's message. I see how you could spin it—"

"You know I can," Cherry interrupts him. Emir nods, giving her his vote of confidence. 

Martin puts his palms up, asking her to slow down. "Even if we make this public, we have to pick the right time. Timing is everything."