25. Ezekiel
25
EZEKIEL
I should have had a notification by now.
Jericho is talking but I m looking at my phone. I try Dex again, but again, the call goes right to voice mail as does Blue s.
Holy shit, Jericho says, standing up from his desk, eyes glued on whatever he sees on his laptop.
I can t get hold of them, I say, trying again.
I think I may know why.
I look to my brother. What?
He turns his laptop around and I see the email. Jericho is blind copied and a glance at the email app on my phone shows me I ve received the same one.
What the hell is it?
It s a video. He hits play and we re redirected to YouTube. Antoine Girard appears standing on a dais wearing a long black robe.
Hear ye, hear ye, he says in a put-on old-world accent. This public service announcement is brought to you by a concerned citizen, this part he says in the quick way they read disclaimers on advertisements for medications. Have you seen this man? He holds up a photo of Councilor Augustus standing alongside Councilors Montrose and Hildebrand. The camera zooms in on Augustus s face which has been circled with what looks to be a cartoon noose and modified with horns growing out of his head.
He walks among you like a king, holding a position of tremendous power over each and every one of you. How many of you have fallen victim to his unchecked power? How many of your family members? And how many of you have tipped the scales of justice in your favor with the gold coins of Judas?
What the fuck? He s fucking lost his mind, I say.
I bring to you a scroll of wrong doings. He dramatically lets a scroll unfurl. It s so long it rolls off the screen. I assume it s a stage prop. A list of names. Some victims, others criminals themselves. Will our great Tribunal be able to withstand such scandal? He then switches again to that medication ad voice. Just click the link below and if you re enjoying this message, hit the thumbs up. He holds his thumb up and smiles like a fucking clown.
Christ. The man is insane. Jericho hits pause and goes to click the attachment. Wait. It could be a virus.
I don t think so. He opens it and we both recognize the file. It s Councilor Augustus s ledger. All the names right there in black and white going back three generations.
Fuck.
Jericho hits play again. Fear not, Antoine continues. Justice shall be served. The thief has been tried and the sentence called for shall be carried out as per the dictates of our great Tribunal.
There s a pause here and a photo fills the screen.
Jericho peers close. Isn t that the block they have on display at the London Tower?
Could be the replica housed at the Boston compound, I fill in, my heart pounding because I understand fully Girard s intention. His plan all along. I care nothing for the Councilor. Hell, Girard is owed his due and I shouldn t be surprised at his method, but the barbarian nature of it still turns my stomach.
The video cuts back to Antoine. I urge you, citizens of our once-great Society, to bring those other criminals to justice. Avenge your loved ones as I shall avenge us all. One exception will be made to the rules of The Tribunal. Councilor Augustus s sentence shall be carried out on a live stream. Do we not all deserve to see this criminal punished, after all? Stay tuned to witness the toppling of the usurper king.
The video ends and Jericho shuts the lid of the laptop.
This explains why the Councilor took the laptop. It must have been one of Girard s soldiers who infiltrated the Councilor s guard and found the drive at the house, I say.
My phone rings. It s a number I don t recognize. I answer and am surprised to hear Dex.
Ezekiel? They re gone.
Dex? Is that you? I put the call on speaker so Jericho can hear.
They took my phone. Knocked me out with my own fucking gun. Crew was knocked out too. Some sort of sedative. I see a discarded syringe.
What the hell are you talking about?
We were on the runway, minutes from taking off when Girard and his men blocked the plane. He was tipped off. Blue tipped them off.
What?
You heard me. It was Blue.
Where is she?
She handed him the flash drive, Ezekiel. She had it all along.
I think about this, remembering how antsy she was on the drive to the airport. Had she hidden it somewhere and Augustus s men never found it? Did she take it and call Girard when I told her I was putting her on a plane out of town?
Where did he take her? I ask sounding somehow calm.
I don t know. My car s here. I ll head to Jericho s, Dex says, disconnecting the call.
They re at Augustus s house. At least, that s where the block is. Do you remember it from Robbie s photos? Jericho asks me.
I look closer and it makes sense.
I m pretty sure I know what he s planning, he says.
And he has Blue. Why the hell would she give him the flash drive? He s as dangerous as Augustus, Jericho asks.
To save me. Save us, I say, shaking my head. I m going to get her.
I ll get the keys, Jericho says and grabs his jacket off a hanger on the back of the door.
No, Jericho. I ll finish this. I brought this trouble to your doorstep. I won t have you hurt on my account.
Jericho puts a hand on my shoulder. I sometimes don t know if you hear a word I say. You re my brother. I m not leaving you on your own again, not when you need me. Hear that for fuck s sake.
We study one another and finally, I nod. I ll drive.
Just a minute, Jericho says and before we go, he opens the closet door and unlocks a safe. From inside, he retrieves a Glock. He checks the magazine. Do you need one?
I have one in the SUV.
For the second time that day, I drive to Augustus s house.