28
A Courageous and Rebellious Leader:
One
The remainder of the night was drunken mumblings, fidgeting, and soft lips to a furrowed forehead to calm him again. Dean was difficult to wrestle back under the covers – he didn't want to relax when they were under so much threat, so close to our bewitching hour. But I managed to convince him that he'd be a better leader if he got some more sleep.
I slid under the covers and wrapped my arms around him to banish his unease. The galvanized mind only barely dulled by drink attached itself to me in return, using me as a barrier between him and his fears, his face resting in the crevice of my shoulder. Strong hands clutched at me. Heavy shoulders shifted and sighed before settling down. I shut my eyes. Our shared warmth lull him back to sleep.
In order to keep an eye on him I refused another cycle of my own. The hours until daylight were spent documenting everything Dean grumbled in his sleep and coaxing him away from his worries every time one arose to disturb him. My fingers carded through his hair, and I tried to remember what music he liked. The teenagers liked some new age things but there was something specific Dean liked. I tried to recall the names of the records on his shelf. When my memory provided titles, I booted up my connection to the information I'd gathered and located a band or two. A resounding noise in my chest thundered gently as Dean huffed into my shoulder, another dream pushing at his comfort. I tried to concentrate. The hum took on a distinct flow, musical notes stringing together, and took on the melody of a Metallica song. Each verse flowed in my head so easily. I grasped for the lyrics, wanting to know what it was about, and they drifted through the fog; each word slid through my fingers and soaked into my head permanently. I marveled at their meaning. No wonder Dean liked this band. He lived his life by some of these lines.
The effect of my hum on Dean was apparent - he eased muscle by muscle until he was finally still, soothed by the deep melody. I smiled, burning flames of affection licking at my heart, and scorching it with love as I lay protecting him from the weight of reality. My guard over him was a promise.
A Courageous and Rebellious Leader:
The Other
The morning came and went, as did the day. Kas stood close by Dean's side as he checked off sections of the facility that were entirely finished being packed up. Sam was directing the teenagers on how to load the truck – with his infinite patience and intimidation, he made the perfect drill sergeant. Garth was working out how to organize the family groups into vehicles. Benny was in charge of separating the sections Dean had created; he put up lists all over the facility for people to check and prepare to depart with their group, answering any and all questions he was attacked with.
Dean's hand slid down the page. Ever shelf stood empty. Every being had gathered their belongings. Even Kas had rolled his clothing into a duffel bag and specially made sure his socks and underwear were all neatly folded. Dean glanced at the Android. They exchanged a heavy look before lifting to observe the crowded garage. Both of them shared the same thought; this was their last time safe and peaceful in the only place they had known as a real home. After they left tonight, everything was going to change. One last meal was being prepared in the kitchen. The rest of the food was packed up. Even the bar was shut down. A few bottles of alcohol made it into each truck, but not much, Sam made sure of that. It was so… final.
They gathered in the cafeteria. Everyone sat, but no one touched their food - not yet. All eyes went to the doors as they swung open and the leader and his right and left hand man walked in. Dean got up on a table, hands in his pockets, glancing around casually at all the solemn faces. Kas and Sam stood by watching as well; encouragement and expectation weighed equally in their eyes.
The rebel leader chuckled. "Wow," he said quietly, and it echoed. "Look at all of you." His eyes slid over each face, each fearful look, each determined set of their jaws. A grin broke his somber gait. "You've all come so far; we all have. Hell, ten years ago if you'd told me I'd be standing here, head of this whole operation, I would've probably replied with something incredibly obscene." Laughter rippled through the crowd. "I'm serious - I wasn't a leader then. And you weren't soldiers.
"When I met the lot of you, you were just broken folks, struggling to make your suffering seem like it was worth something. You were looking everywhere to find revenge for the lives you lost, the love you'll never see again. Me, I was relying on my brother to keep my hot head under control, while we broke every rule you can imagine trying to get back at the people who took our family from us." He paused a moment, watching the soldiers' faces soften with old pain. "But it ain't like that now, is it? All of you, you've changed - we have banded together to make something useful out of our pain, and here we are: appointing me to lead you into battle against big wigs and fat cats thinking that collateral damage has just a few paperwork strings attached; shutting down operations to usurp the blue collar; saving people from the jaws of mass servitude, which they walk into so hopelessly, believing in their hearts that it's for the better of their families, and their country." He lifted his chin and his hands. "You used to be just soft, hard-working folks. What are you now?" Fingers curled into fists. "Soldiers. Freedom fighters! I've seen some of you load a gun so fast my head spun for a week! I've tried to quick draw to clip a guy fifty yards out and seen some of you drop him like a sack of flower before I could click off the safety." Proud chuckles and nudges broke the stillness of the crowd. "And you know why? Because you're solid. You're incredible, reliable folks, with so much power in your hands.
"I guess I'm just lucky you wanted to put that power to good use under my supervision." He swung around, looking at everybody at once. "Well we've shown them, haven't we? There is more to bullying the masses than paperwork. We are living proof of that. You are living proof of that. We've battered them and kneecapped those sons of bitches and burned their plans and crapped all over their parades, because if they think for one second that they're getting away with it anymore - they are dead wrong." Dean pumped his fist in the air. "We are the ones who will persevere!" He shouted. "We are the ones who will change the world!" Cheers erupted. The noise was deafening in the long room. Dean jumped off the table and landed solid on the concrete, waving to his troops. "Now let's eat!" He boomed.
A Courageous and Rebellious Leader:
One
They ate their dinner and loaded up the trucks and about seven checks were run personally by Dean before he settled into the back of the very cargo truck we'd first made contact in. I sat with my bag between my legs on one of the makeshift seats, Sam and I leaving a space between us for him. He hopped into the back talking to everyone as he went, shaking hands and shoulders with all the men accompanying our section. Then he slid into his designated seat and dropped his bag at his feet, leaning back. "Ready, boys?" He asked, and received a resounding reply. This seemed to satisfy him. The truck roared to life with the clogging smell of gasoline, and Dean reached up behind his head and opened the thick plastic barrier between the driver's seat and the cargo back. "You know where you're going, hoss?"
"Yessir," the driver replied, and Dean nodded and slid the window shut once more.
I glanced around at the faces looking back at me. Men I'd come to know, women I'd become fond of, all packed in their gear and cradling what little belongings they'd opted to take with them. Some of them reminded me of Benny, and Jo, and Ellen. I felt a throb in my chest. I'd hugged Jo and Ellen goodbye earlier – Dean had assigned them to Garth's troop, apparently to be in that part of the plan – and had almost felt actual tears. I would miss them dearly. Garth seemed to be confident we'd meet again, so shaking hands with him was much more comforting, and of course Benny and Adam and Kevin were all shrugging off the idea of anything being permanent, let alone never meeting again. In my heart I knew we'd all be together again. I hoped so, anyway.
Dean grabbed me and Sam, breaking my trance, and knocked our heads together. "You're both blood to me," he grunted as Sam flailed. "One because he has no choice and Kas because I damn well say so." Letting us go, Sam laughed and shoved at him, and I rubbed my cranium. "So let's do this, huh?" Dean grinned. "Let's kick some ass!"
A Courageous and Rebellious Leader:
The Other
The trip was long and arduous. Hours and hours of night driving required a frequent change of drivers. Every half hour, Dean would mark their place on a map he produced from his pocket, recording how far they were traveling and how long it would take them to reach the first base camp. Every three hours they stopped to stretch, dug deep into cover somewhere. It gave Kas all sorts of new experiences. He emerged from the truck into a new world each time and studied every tree, and questioned every mark of graffiti under the bridges he saw, driving them all crazy with his incredible ability of ignorance. Once they even parked under a highway; Dean had never seen him quiet in the two other stops they'd taken, but Kas had stood by the river and just stared at the cars flying by, their tail and headlights flashing by like bolts of lightning. The sunset lit them from the horizon and cast everything in an orange glow. Everyone else was too tired to notice him wander off.
"They're like ants," he whispered, when Dean stood by his side. "It's a never ending streaming search for meaning and survival." His lover put a hand on his shoulder and they soaked it up as long as they could before they had to climb back into the truck and get moving again.
The rebel leader knew that their other sections would be in danger as well. He had ordered a cut off of all communication for every branch, not just theirs, and even though he couldn't stop their separate missions he did discourage anything too risky until the main plan was completed. So staying at their bases was out of the question. Instead, he'd chosen national parks and abandoned towns in a maze of travel that would both hinder their trackers and dissuade any outside interference.
They made camp three hours later in the trees thirty feet from a field. Across the railroad tracks beyond the field was a small town, buried in the middle of nowhere. Dean didn't expect they'd be bothered. The pitched their tents around the truck, bedding down in thick foliage. The troops were all out like lights once their heads hit the pillow, even despite the blaring sunlight overhead. But it was safer to travel at night. Besides, now Kas could sit outside all day while they slept, keeping guard and soaking up solar charge – by that I mean staring at the trees and counting the blades of grass in the dirt outside Dean's tent.
