Page 37 of Expecting The Unexpected
CHAPTER 11
“Have you lost your mind? There is no way in hell—”
“Groth, let the little man speak.” Hron ordered.
Growth, however, wasn’t having it. “There is nothing for him to say. He isn’t going to put himself in danger like that, Hron. I won’t allow it.”
Throg watched as Nug and Jory looked at Groth like he had two heads, and then turned to see Hron sitting there with a raised brow. “Is that right, Groth. If I’m not mistaken, I’m the Caliph here, not you. Now if you wish to challenge my position...”
Shaking his head Throg said, “No, Caliph. Excuse my disrespect. It’s just that I gave my word... I vowed to both Jory and Nug that I would be there to protect them, and I can’t do that if he’s off alone at another clutch. It’s too dangerous.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” Hron said, then asked, “Nug, how is it you can get into the clutch house without attracting attention?”
Sighing heavily, Nug answered, “My brother moved there to be closer to a Nakaka he had the hots for. Before the attack on our clutch, I used to go and visit there at least once a month, and he’d come here one time a month. We were just talking about me going there to visit.”
“And he told you not to. Nub told you that things were really strange over there, and he didn’t think it was safe.” Jory hissed.
“Strange? How so?” Hron asked.
Nug shook his head, “He didn’t—”
“Yes, he did,” Jory snapped, then looked at Hron. “Nub said that he’s heard whispers about another clutch attack, but this time on his. He said that he doesn’t know all the Nakaka in on it, but he’s heard talking and... well... he doesn’t know what to do.”
“He doesn’t know who to trust, is more like it. I told him, on our last conversation to come here, but he’s scared. He doesn’t want to bring attention to himself by leaving,” Nug softly said. “I could go there, and no one would think twice about it.”
“What does your brother do at Brais?” Krerr asked.
Nug answered, “He’s a messenger for the Caliph.”
“A messenger? I don’t understand,” Spencer said in confusion.
“The clutch house is really big, and has about a hundred more Nakaka living on the mountain than the one we have here, and not everyone lives in the main house. When the Caliph needs to get a private message to one of his people, he sends Nub with the message and vice versa,” Nug answered.
“Isn’t that what phones are for?” Spencer said, with a laugh.
Shaking his head, Nug was serious, when he said, “Caliph Redmen doesn’t trust easily. He watches human television a lot, and says that phones can be tapped. He prefers person-to-person delivery.”
“You’re not going,” Groth practically growled.
“But, I canhelp,” Nug said anxiously. “You guys keep saying how important these flash drive thingy things are, and I can help get you one. It won’t be all that hard... at least I don’t think it will. I can...”
“No!” Groth snapped.
Stok’s voice loudly interrupted the two Nakaka, “I do know something that can work, and Groth, it will mean you can be there.”
Everyone looked at Hron’s seed father, and the man continued, “You’ve been Caliph here for quite some time. In the old days, when a new Caliph was brought in, he would make his rounds to the other clutch houses, so that each Caliph could meet and talk clutch affairs with each other. Hron, you can say that Nug wanted to come and see his brother, and with all the strife you felt it would allow you to accompany him and introduce yourself as well as your second and new Viata.”
“Yes. That’s a wonderful idea,” Krerr said, with an excited nod. “You wanted to show each clutch house that the rumors are true, and Viatas are once again possible. You found it to be an opportunity to bring hope into every Nakaka’s eyes.”
“This will allow you to bring Groth, Throg, and whoever else you wish to bring, and no one will think twice about it,” Stok stated.
Hron sat there looking at his mate longingly, “I don’t want to place you in danger, little one.”
“You’ll be there, Hron. I can’t think of a safer place for me to be, but by your side. Besides, if it will help us get what we are after, I’m all for it,” Petree said, then softened his voice even more as he laid his hand on the top of Hron’s, “It’ll be okay. We talked about doing this anyway.”
“Yes, but when things calmed down. If there’s talk about another uprising... I can’t allow for you to be in harm’s way.” Hron insisted.
Sighing, Petree said, “Love, listen to me. I am already in danger. We areallin danger. Until these people are stopped, no one is safe. We need those drives and I don’t know about you, but I’d kind of like a face to a name. Maybe get a feeling about the people we’re supposed to call allies.”