Chapter 97
TOM OWENS FOLLOWED Ellis Warrenton out of the house.
But not nearly as dramatically. He noted that Ellis took every opportunity to slam a door or stomp on the hardwood floor.
The only thing Tom paused to do was throw on his heavy coat.
The winds had calmed down, but the temperature was still chilly.
Owens wasn’t exactly sure why he’d even suggested that they go outside to talk.
Probably because he didn’t want to be humiliated in front of Kimmy.
But in truth, Owens really didn’t have anything more to say to the loudmouth.
Ellis had been a disappointment to him almost from the beginning.
His big talk about changing the world was nothing more than a cover.
Ellis’s only real goals, Owens determined, were to make money and boss people around.
Owens followed as Ellis cut across the brown, brittle grass on his way to where Pry’s pickup truck was parked in the street. Ellis held the satchel containing the bomb under one arm and the remote in his other hand, then stopped short in the middle of the yard.
Owens halted a few feet behind. He shivered but wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or from fear.
Ellis spun in the grass until he was facing Owens.
Owens may not have been incredibly accurate reading people’s emotions, but he recognized the look and coloring on Ellis’s face indicated anger.
Maybe “rage” would’ve been a better word.
“I really thought you could help us. Instead, you’re ruining everything. ”
“How?”
“By contradicting me every opportunity you have. I was fighting this fight when we just called ourselves anarchists! Do you know how hard it is to get people to listen to hard truths?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”
“So what’d you do about it? Write a few articles?
Withdraw from society? If you hadn’t joined us, you’d still be wasting time up at that nasty cabin near Millwood.
Tell me how that changes anything. How does that get people’s attention?
Action is what people respect. Action is what captures people’s attention. ”
Owens snapped right back. “So what do you want to do now? Rob a bank? That really makes a statement for people.”
Ellis dropped the satchel and remote in the dead grass.
Owens flinched, even though he knew just dropping the satchel wouldn’t do anything.
Kimmy stepped out onto the porch. Seeing her blond hair blowing in the cold, light breeze was enough to catch Owens’s attention. To distract him.
Then, without another word, Ellis Warrenton punched him right in the face.
Owens tumbled off his feet and landed on his butt.
He shook his head, mainly out of shock and surprise, then reached up and ran his hand under his nose to see if it was bleeding.
It was, but only a trickle. He hadn’t been hit in the face since he was in middle school and told Toby Hench the actual circumference of the Earth, contradicting the unintelligent lump who had claimed it was only five thousand miles around.
He looked up at Ellis, who appeared to be trembling with anger. Both of his hands were still clenched in fists. Owens decided it was safer to stay on the ground.
Just then a blue Chevy Impala pulled up behind Pry’s pickup truck in the street. That caught everyone’s attention.