Episode 14
Damian wasn’t done. “When you stood at the front of that sanctuary, you preached about Christ, you said you spoke for God, that we were his flock and he was our shepherd, that you and those like you were shepherds. I was one of your sheep. I was a child. You were okay with what he did. He hit an infant so hard she and her high chair hit the ground and you stood up and testified for him against me because I protected her. That’s why I won’t call you pastor.
You weren’t a shepherd. When the bear came, you protected the bear. ”
Doyle opened and closed his mouth.
Damian shook his head and turned away.
“Wait.”
Damian looked back over his shoulder.
“So that’s it. You’re just taking over, kicking an old man out?”
Damian tilted his head, looked away, looked back. He wasn’t going to shy away from what he was doing, wasn’t going to pretend. “I’m not giving you back the church.”
“Not even a piece of it?”
Damian shook his head. “We fundamentally disagree, and not in ways where we can agree to disagree.”
“So I guess you are kicking an old man out.”
“I’m being a shepherd.”
Damian walked away. émeric was waiting, watching from a dozen strides back.
He put an arm around Damian as he approached. The weight felt good.
So many times he’d imagined yelling the truth at Doyle. And he hadn’t, because he’d known just how empty he’d feel. Like he did now.
No amount of truth changed what was done.
He leaned into émeric.
Jun
Jun faced Mi Hi across the kitchen table at the Parsonage. Around them, the rest of 5N leaned in. Jun sat sideways on his chair so that the sleeping Habibi on his back wouldn’t be disturbed. Armada was napping in her room, something she needed after Habibi’s teething had kept her up all night.
“This is it.” Mi Hi had two pink spots on her cheeks. “We hit this button and it’s official: date, time, party, it all goes out, your first official, independent comeback.”
“Argh! I can’t take it.” Su-jin pressed a hand against his chest.
Yohei grabbed him and dragged him close.
Jaewoong crossed his arms. “Just do it.”
Jun glanced at Geun and Yohei. The two older members were stoically silent, their faces tight with excitement and nerves. They both nodded, meeting his eyes.
Jun locked eyes with Mi Hi, hands hovering above his own keyboard. “Do it.”
Mi Hi pressed her lips together. She pressed the send button with her finger, then squealed. She jumped up and danced right there in the middle of the kitchen.
Jaewoong pressed a hand towards her mouth. “Baby!”
She gulped, eyes wide, looking at Habibi.
Jaewoong lowered his hand. “Why’d you do that?”
Mi Hi grinned at him. “I never, ever thought I’d be publishing the announcement for a comeback for one of my favorite idol groups!”
Jun grinned. Geun shook his head, eyes crinkling up fondly. Yohei hugged her on his other side, still not letting go of Su-jin. He said something in her ear that made her hug him back. Jun’s heart expanded in his chest as he watched, full and warm and afraid.
“Email. Invitations.” Mi Hi calmed herself down, focus in her eyes. They were all written, just waiting to be sent. Jun turned his attention to his computer.
Jaewoong had his phone open, watching their social media as Mi Hi and Jun worked.
Because of the short notice, Mi Hi was running “Raw”, the new release, as a teaser for the full album that would be dropping that summer.
It made it more acceptable to be handing out such short notice invitations, an overall more casual event.
Showcasing the Church complex as they brought it back to life was an excellent secondary reason for their quickness.
The invitation list included investors recommended by émeric.
“The fans are eating up these teaser images,” Jaewoong reported.
“It’s been five minutes.” Geun sauntered to Jaewoong and looked over his shoulder. “Well, fuck.”
“Geun said fuck,” Su-jin gasped. He crowded over.
“It’s blowing up,” Jaewoong held his phone up to Mi Hi and Jun. “Like really blowing up.”
Mi Hi nodded. “We’ve been promising this for weeks.”
Jaewoong’s eyes were wide. “Yeah, but, we didn’t have numbers like this so fast before, did we?”
“You’ve had way more press since you hired me.” Mi Hi smiled beatifically. “And you have a really interesting story. Also, abs.” She patted Jaewoong through his oversized hoodie.
He stumbled back, “Woman, you mean, if we’d just found you a few years ago, we could have been pulling numbers like this before?”
“Who knows?” She smirked. “But you have me now.” She went back to her computer.
Jaewoong leaned across the table to Jun. “Do not let her get away, ever.”
“I’ll talk to Gigi about that,” Jun grinned.
Mi Hi’s cheeks flamed, even though she pretended to ignore them, fingers flying over her keys. There were very, very light rope marks around her wrists. She was going nowhere and she liked it. Jun would bet money on that.
A less pleasant thought ran through him. Mi Hi was going nowhere, but what about him? Would he still be there, the day the comeback dropped?
Jun kept the smile on his face. That wasn’t yet a burden to share.
Damian
Damian stood, nodding to the nine people around the conference room table. It was heading into evening in Mexico city outside the windows of the modern high rise. “Thank you, everyone. That’s a wrap. You have yourselves a contract. Congratulations.”
Additional exclamations went up. Men and women pushed back from the table, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries in several languages.
U.S. importers and local factories cheered each other for the mutually beneficial deal well struck.
Damian checked his watch. He had an hour to get across the city to his next meeting, the one that wasn’t on his calendar.
“Dinner on me.” A large midwestern man with pronounced Germanic heritage clapped Damian on the back. “I knew I could count on a hometown boy to pull through for us.”
Damian grinned at his client. “Myers, I’d love to, but I’ve just had an emergency crop up with another client. They’ve tied themselves into a knot.”
Myers pulled a sad face. “That’s too bad, I was looking forward to your stories. You always order the best food.”
Damian grabbed one of the notepads and scribbled down the name of a local restaurant and a quick dinner order for twenty. He passed it to Myers. “Here. And tell the owner that Sathers sent you. They’ll take care of you.”
“You’re too good to us, Sathers, truly.”
Damian grinned. Myers was a solid client.
He hated to run out on him like this, but the other meeting he was fitting in was more important than Myers’ entire account.
Each step he and Richard and émeric were taking in concert with Sevastyan and Ellisandre was a step towards Jun’s freedom. And Rei’s.
“Drinks on me next time,” Damian said, gripping Myers’ arm. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“Oh, I think I’m the one who has to make it up to you,” Myers grinned, holding the note paper like a prize.
Outside in the car, Damian called the dining establishment he’d directed Myers to and let them know to prepare for him. He prepaid for several bottles of wine and was assured that a private room would be open. By the time he’d finished, they’d arrived back at his hotel.
Mexico City was starting to light up in the early dusk.
Damian left his security in his room and slipped out a service entrance wearing a different suit than when he’d entered, a wide brimmed western hat pulled down over his head.
He waved down a taxi, taking it to a nondescript building near the government center.
A man he’d never met before approached him just inside the doors.
He checked his watch and turned without speaking, leading Damian into an office, then left.
A few moments later, a woman appeared in a blue suit, long hair up in a severe bun. “Mr. Sathers.”
Damian nodded. “I don’t have the honor of knowing your name.”
“Not important. I’m merely the emissary.
You asked for discretion. Anyone watching will assume you and I are meeting.
” She took him through her office, down a staircase, through an underground passage, up into a different building, and then to an elevator.
“I don’t know who you are meeting. The elevator will take you to the right floor. ”
Damian nodded. Thanking her didn’t seem right. She turned on her heel and left, posture perfect. He girded himself and summoned the elevator. It opened at once.
The floor was empty when he stepped out. He scanned up and down and moved towards the one open door.
A short woman behind a large desk looked up as he looked around the door.
“Mr. Sathers.” She stood, waving him in, then stepped past him, looking both ways, and shut the door. The blinds were already down inside the office.
“The space is secure. That was your request, yes? You can speak freely.”
Damian forced his shoulders to relax. “You had the place swept for bugs?”
“Three times, the last time thirty minutes ago. My staff thinks I’ve lost my mind.” She grimaced. “I’m assuming this is serious. You went through some trouble to reach out.”
Damian opened his bag and pulled out a laptop. “We had to bypass the officials who’ve been bought off. We're hoping you are willing to cooperate, once I’ve shown you our evidence.”
He clicked play on the video Sevastyan had shared. While it played he looked away. He didn’t need to see it again.
“Enough.” The woman hit the spacebar herself. “Who are you working with?”
Thirty minutes later, Damian was in the elevator again.
He changed his suit jacket, this time pulling on a sloppy pullover, stuffed the hat in his bag and put a baseball cap on instead, added loud sunglasses and ambled out into the street, looking left and right.
He recognized nothing, having not entered this building from the outside.
Now to find a taxi to the airport where his security would meet up with him again with his luggage.