Page 20

Marvin took a seat at a round lunch table at the back of the convention center while the men pulled chairs up, blocking him into the table. The women sat at the table next to him, and he just glared at them.

“Now, Marvin,” smiled Cam. “You keep looking at my friends that way, and I’m going to have to take it as an offense.”

“What do you want?”

“I want to know where you got the medal,” said Luke.

“Why the fuck is this a problem for you guys? Are you anti-religion or something?”

“Don’t screw with me,” said Eric, gripping his knee beneath the table. “I can debilitate you in about two seconds. Where the fuck did you get the medal?”

“A girl, okay! I got it from a girl.”

“What girl? Where?” asked Pax.

“In Mexico. We delivered a couple of boats down there, and she was getting on one of them.”

“Getting on one of them?” repeated Hex.

“Yes, boarding it. She handed me the medal and said she didn’t need it anymore.” The men all stared at one another and back at him. “What? It’s the truth. We delivered the boats, there were some people that were getting ready to take a ride, and she was one of them. She was good-looking, pretty, and young. I helped her onboard, and she handed me the medal. That’s all. I swear.”

“Why did you have to help her onboard?” asked Luke.

“She was struggling with the steps and the boat moving. Like her legs weren’t working right or something. I’d guess she was never on a boat before.”

“And the fact that the boat sank with illegal immigrants chained to it, killing everyone on board, has nothing to do with you, right?” said Luke.

“What? Listen, I dropped the boat off. That’s it.”

“That’s it? How did you get back?” asked Eric.

“I stayed a few days, partied with the guys. Then we took a rental car back. That’s it.” He stared at the doubting faces around him and shook his head. “I don’t know what you want from me. Why does this matter? It’s just a bunch of illegals who were only going to drain our system anyway.”

Brax moved so quickly no one could stop him. He gripped Marvin’s throat, shoving him to the ground. Others near them turned and stared as his face turned purple.

“Listen to me, you piece of pond scum. There were children, elderly people who needed help getting on and off that boat, and dozens of others, which, by the way, were too many to be on that vessel. There were no life jackets, no lifeboats, nothing! I’ll bet this convention center would like to know about that.”

“Brax, let him go, son,” said Benji. He released his hold as Marvin coughed, trying to sit up. Eric gripped him beneath his arms, lifting him like a child and setting him back in his chair.

“It’s okay, folks. He was just choking on something. Weren’t you, Marvin?” He nodded, waving at everyone.

“I’ve told you what I know. Can I please get back to work now?”

“Yeah. Sure. You go back to work, but if you think for one minute I won’t be watching every move you make, you’re wrong,” said Pax. “You had something to do with all of this, and I’m going to prove it.”

He quickly rose from his seat and made his way to the men’s room, where he most likely needed to check his underwear.

“Do you really think he’s part of this?” asked Alice. “I don’t think he knows any more than he said.”

“I don’t think he does either,” said Bogey, “but we need to figure out if that’s the truth or not. Scaring the hell out of him is one way to do that.”

“I still feel like we’re missing something major here,” said Saint. “Even if this is being done from inside our own country, there are better ways to fight for or against the illegals problem. Why kill boatloads? I mean, we saw this happening during other crises in the U.S., Cuba, Vietnam, but it didn’t cause us to create more laws to keep them out or to allow them in. It only created more dilemmas around welcoming immigrants.”

“Then what’s the final game here?” asked Pax. “What is it they’re trying to do?”

“I’m not sure,” said Luke, shaking his head at the others. “But I think we need to go back down to Mexico and see if we can’t find someone to really speak with us. I also think it’s time for Alice, Annie, and Deanna to head home.”

“I knew you were going to say that,” said Annie with a smirk.

“Sorry, but we can’t risk someone taking any of you. Our friend Marvin has had a good look at all of us, including you three. Let’s not push our luck on this.”

“Does that mean I go back to Belle Fleur without you?” asked Deanna, staring at Pax.

“Just for a little while,” he said, hugging her. “You and Mom can start to redecorate the cottage. Anything you want, do it. When I return, we get married and start our life together.”

“That seems like a fair trade,” she grinned. “You’ll be safe?”

“I’m right here, you know,” smirked Brax. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to my twin.”

“Fine,” she laughed. “Should we say anything to Stephanie or Marilisa?”

“Say anything?” blushed Saint. “Like what?” Alice just shook her head, Annie doing the same as Deanna smiled at him.

“You poor fools. You really are clueless, aren’t you?”