Power Play (Book 2)

Chapter 21: Waking Up

Recap: Brandon woke up at home, running a little late for work. Nothing seemed to work right, including his car not starting, but Nicole helped him get off to the bus. On the bus he stopped a man from attacking his girlfriend, and nearly got tased by the attacker. At the library he found all the books being burned under the orders of a county supervisor. Brandon hated seeing the books burned, but after his boss told him that Nicole had called the library looking for him, Brandon decided...

Winning Choice: If I go home the books will burn, and as horrible as that is, it's the decision people made. I'm not in charge here, and getting myself in trouble to fix it is a stupid idea. Plus, with the way this day is going, whatever happened to Nicole could be serious. I need to worry about my own problems.

I turn away from the books and the flames, the heat pushing at me even from across the parking lot. Doug watches me go. He gives a small sigh, his shoulders sagging, before turning back to watch the fire.

The supervisor taps away at his tablet, watching me out of the corner of his eye.

Walking for the bus stop, I feel like there is something more I could have done. Some way to have put a stop to the ridiculous waste of all those wonderful books.

When I was a kid I never understood why burning books was such a bad thing. I figured you could always print more, or just buy the book somewhere else. It was when I was in prison and I had so much of what I could do taken away from me that I finally understood. Books are freedom. Their ideas are opportunities. When others take them from you they limit what you can do, or what you can be.

Still, the further I get from the library the more my thoughts drift to Nicole. My walk to the bus turns into a jog, then into a run. The headache continues to push against the back of my eyes.

The ride home seems far longer than the one to the library, and my thoughts slide between the burning books and what could be wrong at home. I idly play with the Taser in my pocket, but nobody looks as though they are going to cause trouble this time around. In fact, the bus is nearly empty.

I sprint up to our house, but the door is open and the place is dark. Maybe whatever caused the problems with the TV and coffee maker earlier blew all the power out. I suppose that could have upset Nicole enough to call. I step inside.

"Hello? Nicole?" I call out. There's no answer. Nothing looks disturbed, but nothing has power. I flip the light switch and nothing happens.

Two sirens howl from the street out front, and I turn around to see what's going on. If Nicole called the police, things must have been bad. Two police cars screech to a halt right front of our house, their lights flashing. Four police officers scramble out, and one face that throws me for a loop: the supervisor.

The supervisor points at me. "There he is, officers," he says.

I retreat back inside the house. "Nicole!" I yell. "Are you here? What's going on?"

The police enter behind me. "Sir, you need to come with us," one of them says.

"I'm trying to find my wife," I tell them. "Something's wrong."

"He disrupted a lawful activity at the library," says the supervisor, coming in behind the police.

"I didn't disrupt anything," I tell them, wishing they would just go away. Or help. "I just came home and the house is dark."

"Your wife isn't here," says one of the officers. "We need to speak with you at the station. Please come with us."

"Brandon..." It's a muffled call from upstairs. I can barely hear it but it's Nicole. I know it. I spring up the stairs.