The desk in Gordon’s office crashed to its side, toppling piles of papers and office supplies, and his computer smashed to the floor. Gordon rammed the tip of his foot into the underbelly of the desk repeatedly, splintering the wood underneath, spouting as many curses as he could come up with.
Once the rage had exhausted him, Gordon stopped. The tip of his foot throbbed as he sat back down in his chair. What was left of Alex’s seed bank and food storage was blown to smithereens, along with a portion of his men. The brutes that made up the muscle of the Soil Coalition were only good at one thing: breaking things.
It was an attribute that Gordon had exploited many times to his benefit. The goons could break bones, doors, walls, windows, and from time to time, the defiance that some of the community members exhibited, but that same brute force and less-than-delicate touch also caused quite a bit of collateral damage. However, this was the first time they’d ruined something this important.
The door slammed against the wall when Gordon made his way out of the office. The two sentries guarding Alex’s cell stepped aside and let him enter.
“Bad news. My guys found your stash, and a majority of them are dead and crispy. Smart rig with the explosion. But then again, it doesn’t take much to fool these guys,” Gordon said.
Alex didn’t say anything. He continued to cradle the side of his swollen face and pushed himself from lying on his side to a sitting position.
“So the deal’s off the table,” Gordon said. “You’ll be taken to a farm camp immediately. And I’ll make sure it’s one where your friends won’t be.”
Gordon turned to leave, but before he made it out of the cell, Alex pulled his hand away and mumbled through his swollen cheek and lower lip, “What makes you think that was all of it?”
“Bullshit.”
Alex flashed something that Gordon thought resembled a grin. Gordon tapped his foot. The throbbing had lessened and was replaced by a slight tingling. “Where?”
Alex shook his head. “No. This time I go. I don’t need your guys blowing up any more of my stuff.”
“Fine. But we leave now. Guards!”
It was a four-hour drive to Alex’s community from Topeka, and that was if the weather conditions remained favorable.
Gordon chose to ride with Alex and sat right next to him. It was a three-row seat SUV, with two sentries up front and two in the back. “They’re from the seed silo, aren’t they? Is that why you joined that detail when all of this shit went down?”
The vibration of tires on potholed asphalt was the only response, along with the slight clink of metal when the sentries adjusted their rifles. Another dip in the road jerked their bodies from side to side. The car’s shocks squeaked under the strain of its full load. Gordon leaned a little closer, looking at Alex’s reflection in the window as he looked away.
“You ever miss it? The power?”
The lumps on Alex’s face made it hard to read, but Gordon could swear he saw Alex’s jaw tighten in the window’s reflection.
“No?” Gordon asked. “Well, more for me then.”