A Waken 11.K

"I don't care what the rumors are," Kati said. "You know better than to ask."

"I'm not asking," Kinue said on the other side of the phone. "I'm warning. I'm not an idiot Kati. Putting any name out right now, regardless of if it's true, is life and death. But not everyone is going to be as scrupulous as I am. Some just want the big story. They don't care if people get hurt."

Kati wondered if Taylor understood that.

The girl was smart, and clever. Maybe too much for her own good. She always seemed to assume her enemies - real and perceived - were as smart and clever as her. Some people just wanted to strike a blow. Sometimes they didn't even know why.

She couldn't help but think of Lustrum that way sometimes.

Did she ever really know what she wanted? Women's liberation was a noble ideal, but what did it look like? How did you achieve it? Well, not by castrating college boys. Kati hoped once upon a time that would be obvious.

That disappointment stung.

"Who is it?" Kati asked.

"Kirkman," Kinue said.

"That hack?" Kati asked, tasting the bile on her lips.

"Yeah. He's going to air it tonight. One of those banal 'just asking questions' sort of deals."

"I'd rather talk with the Inquirer. At least they know what they are." A rag.

"I doubt you can talk him out of it."

"No, I probably can't. Thank you for the warning."

Kati ended the call and sighed.

If she'd known being Annette's friend would involve so many headaches she might have reconsidered. Bit late now of course. Someone had to look out for the girl, and Danny - bless him - simply didn't know how. The PRT woman seemed to be trying at least, but she'd always be at some degree of odds with Taylor.

The things we do for the dead, Kati wondered.

She continued down the empty halls and followed the smell of spices.

Such curious company Taylor kept.

"I'm pretty sure the tacos are for the room," a woman said.

"Or it's a trap," a boy replied. "Like that one time I went to Fugly Bob's."

"Get over it," a gruff voice said. "I told you not to go to Fugly Bob's in the middle of the day. You didn't listen."

"How was I supposed to know the Wards were going to show up?""

"Because I warned you."

The voice belonged to a big man with a hunched back and transparent skin. He wore a big coat over his body, and glanced just once as Kati stepped through the doorway.

The orange boy beside him said, "I tell you, someone is always trying to keep the orange man down."

Beside him, a slender figure in a body suit and vintage gas mask pointed. "Look. See? A robot is handing you a taco."

"Yeah," the orange boy sitting between them said. "An orange robot."

"Just take the taco already," the woman in the Welder's mask said.

"Fine. But only because I'm hungry!"

The orange boy took the taco from Orange and Kati turned her attention to the rest of the room.

Several long tables were pushed together to make one big long table. Platters of tacos ran along the center line.

Faultline and her crew sat on one side, and five old men in white coats on the other.

Older, maybe. Kati recognized most of them by description. Doctor J with the prosthetic eyes and arm, G with his big hair and big nose, S with a prosthetic nose on his face, and O and H simply became obvious by process of elimination. O seemed far younger than the other four, but Kati had heard all five members of the Foundation were well into their 50s, with J and S both being over 60.

Beside them, three boys sat, watching the room.

The wharf rats Taylor picked up. Orga Itsuka would be the tall one. Kati didn't know the names of the shorter boy or the rounder boy on either side of him.

Everyone was eating tacos.

"Is there any hot sauce?" G asked.

Green rolled toward him and popped a hand out.

"Thank you."

"What's that?" The short boy asked.

G stared at him. "What is hot sauce?"

"Is it sweet?" The boy asked.

Kati turned away before that became a disaster.

Taylor stood off to the side, talking to Lafter and Dinah.

"I don't know," she said. "She just said sorry, that she'd be back, and then she left."

She left. Kati glanced back, noting the absence of any unmasked women her age. Where was the PRT lieutenant?

"It'll be fine," Dinah said.

"Or will it?" Lafter asked.

"Will it?" Taylor asked.

"It will be fine," Dinah repeated, then looked at Lafter and said, "stop teasing."

"Teasing is what I do," the girl replied. "Besides. Taylor needs to stop worrying so much."

Kati came forward and tapped Taylor's shoulder.

She turned, and Kati thought again for the thousandth time, she looks just like her mother. Not entirely. She certainly had some of Danny's features but with the hair and lines of her jaw she bore much more resemblance to one parent than the other. It came as a sort of amusement. Kati was friends with Annette purely by the happenstance of their appearances.

History does enjoy repeating itself.

"The report is going to air tonight," Kati said in a lower tone. "Kinue sent me the warning."

Taylor nodded, without a moment's hesitation.

If anyone ever accused a cape of outing themselves, Kati would call it moronic. It would be insane. Many capes weren't in their right minds but they wouldn't do something that stupid. It would be as dumb as working in public relations with the same name as a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine.

Then along came Taylor Hebert.

"Let's get started," the girl said. She turned toward the table. "Time is no longer a luxury."

Dinah and Lafter followed behind her. She paused, glancing over the table and then to the doorway. She frowned for a moment and then continued on to her seat.

Kati would accuse the woman of making a power play if she was any less dangerous.

She waited till Taylor sat down to wander in.

Every head in the room turned.

"Bakuda," Faultline said aloud.

"Nice to meet you too," the bomb tinker replied.

Faultline turned to Taylor.

"Interesting company," she said.

"Technically speaking," Taylor replied, "you're not one to talk."

"The two of you took down Lung together?" Gregor asked.

"He was an asshole," Bakuda answered. "Fuck'um."

She pulled the last empty seat out and sat herself down.

She glanced at Taylor.

"Going sans mask now Votoms?"

"Unwritten rules are bullshit anyway," Taylor stated.

"Good luck with that."

Bakuda raised a hand and pulled her own mask away. Kati raised her brow as the item settled on the table. The tinker reached over and grabbed a taco, then leaned back in her seat and started eating.

Most of the room was staring.

"What?" She asked. "I live on the street now. I'm hungry."

Kati took a position near the door. Taylor had already told her everything, and she didn't need to be present. She found herself compelled though. To witness, she supposed.

"Such a charming get together," Professor G said. The four men on either side of him watched Bakuda. "A regular S-Class truce."

"Perhaps it's a bit uncouth," Instructor H said, "but don't you have more important matters to worry about?" He glanced at Taylor. "Seems an odd time for a taco party."

"I have no idea who you are," Faultline said, looking at the old men.

"No one important," Instructor H said.

"Just a few old men quietly enjoying the thrills of age," Doctor S added. "Pursuing passion projects and such."

"They're the Foundation," Taylor said. "They're the ones who screwed Heartbreaker over."

"Now that was a passion project," Doctor J said between bites of taco.

"And they are?" Faultline asked, glancing toward Orga Itsuka and his compatriots.

"Convenience," Orga said.

An interesting choice of words. Did he mean his presence was based on convenience, or his entire association with Taylor? The meeting itself maybe. Kati didn't know exactly what Taylor told anyone to get them here.

Taylor jumped in, saying, "As for why I'm doing this now, it's because time is short."

"Before your name and face are all over the news?" Bakuda asked.

"Does she look particularly worried?" Dinah asked, eating her taco.

The room went silent. Kati noted that both the Foundation and Faultline reacted, but they clearly didn't know what Dinah meant.

Did they even know she was Forecast? The Foundation never appeared in public. Kati imagined they rarely went anywhere. What did Taylor say to get them to Brockton Bay. What did she say to Faultline for that matter? And where did the PRT lieutenant go?

Taylor sat and waited, the image of calm.

"I don't get it," Newter said.

"I'm not worried because I knew it was going to happen before anyone else did."

"I didn't do it," Dinah said before any heads could turn to her.

Bakuda sat up slightly straight, watching Taylor. Then she choked. And then she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" The short boy asked.

"She fucking outed herself!" Bakuda continued laughing while the rest of the room stared. "I knew you were crazy," she said between breaths, "but fuck, why? This has gotta be worth it!"

"If I didn't do it, Teacher would."

More stares from the audience. Faultline and Doctor J both looked surprised. That wasn't what they were expecting to hear. What were they expecting to hear?

Veda broke the silence from Green.

"We prepared slides."

The lights dimmed all at once, and one of the walls lit up. Kati stared, not entirely sure what she was looking at. Apparently Taylor didn't know either. She turned in her seat to glare at the Haros. The robots stood in a line, one with glasses atop his ball and another holding a small 'CB' flag and waving it back and forth.

"Is it supposed to start with a bunch of cat photos collaged together in the shape of a bigger cat?" Spitfire asked.

"Starting to think we need to supervise the little guys a bit more," Lafter mumbled.

"Roll with it," Dinah said, pulling a bag of popcorn from a backpack by her seat.

Green lifted up a remote and pressed the button at the top. The image clicked and popped, individual images of cats vanishing from the collage to reveal a new slide showing a Haro with big muscular arms and the words 'Plan to Save the World'.

Bakuda started laughing again.

"Definitely need to supervise the little guys more," Lafter said.

"They do this a lot?" Newter asked.

"They were stealing spare change from Tattletale," Dinah said. "They're in a prank war now."

Faultline heaved.

"And that's another problem for later," Taylor grumbled. "Right now, I'm going to say up front what this is not."

The room waited, while Taylor checked to see if everyone was paying attention.

"This is not a demand that any of you do anything," she said. "What you do or don't do is up to you. If this only serves as a warning, then that's all it need be."

"Warning of what?" Orga Itsuka asked.

"That I'm going to war against Teacher, and Teacher is going to retaliate. When he does, he won't do it directly. Anyone around me could become a target."

Around the room, other reactions were more tame than Bakuda's continuing laughter. Faultline glanced to Gregor, and Gregor looked to Newter and Spitfire. The Foundation mostly looked to J and H. The ex-ABB boys all looked at Orga.

"Suppose I'll ask why," Faultline said.

"Because Deputy Director Thomas Calvert is a pet," Taylor said. "Teacher already knows who I am, and I've seen how he uses people. He'd out me in a heartbeat."

"So you did it yourself," G mumbled. He huffed. "The recklessness of youth."

Taylor didn't bite, though Kati found herself not entirely disagreeing. Taylor did have a tendency to 'go big or go home'. She didn't do half measures, even when a half measure might serve her better.

"What makes you so sure?" Doctor J said. "A PRT Deputy Director?"

"I can't see pets," Dinah said calmly. "They're completely blank, like Endbringers."

Taylor said nothing.

The slide clicked, switching to an array of pictures. Kati knew most of them even if she didn't know their names. Sam Stansfield's driver and the Empire gunman. The woman who leaked the PRT's files on independent capes. Calvert.

They all had flopped dog ears drawn on their heads and arrows pointing at them.

"Bad dogs, bad dogs," Green chirped.

Newter started cracking up.

"The PRT would notice that," Doctor S said. "They have plenty of thinkers."

"They do," Taylor said.

The room went silent for a moment.

"You're saying this Teacher has taken over the PRT?" Orga asked.

"No," Taylor answered. "But Teacher has penetrated the PRT and the Protectorate deeply."

"And how do you know any of this?" Faultline asked, apparently unsatisfied with that explanation. Kati didn't blame her. It was rather like a conspiracy theory.

"Timelines and insider knowledge," Taylor said.

The slide shifted, showing a long line. Dates appeared, along with pictures.

"Cranial?" Doctor J asked.

"And Glace," Taylor answered. Another picture appeared beside Grace Hicks'. A woman in a blue and white costume with cat ears drawn over her head.

Taylor ignored that, saying, "The basic point is, there are far too many connections and coincidences for happenstance to explain."

And she started. The audience at least seemed to be listening, though Bakuda feigned disinterest.

She explained how Cranial arrived in the city as early as March, long before the leaks that would produce the capes she needed. Labyrinth was not a nationally known cape and Aisha Laborn had not triggered at that time. Yet, Cranial was already in the city seemingly with the aid of Coil.

As Taylor talked the slides advanced. She covered the entire timeline, from Cranial's covert arrival in Brockton Bay to the Stansfield shooting, the Protectorate operation against Coil, Cranial's children, and then Calvert.

"Coil was Thomas Calvert," Taylor said. "And another man. Francis Krouse. He's the one we caught a few weeks ago. They were working together."

"We are unclear exactly what level of control Teacher has over his pets," Veda answered. "We've tracked phone records and actions within the city, and it seems that Coil was pursuing long term goals within Brockton Bay. We are not sure if that was a personal goal, or part of a broader plot."

"In any case, I can't ignore the obvious anymore. Teacher is operating globally. He's penetrated the PRT and the Protectorate, Blue Cosmos, probably Toybox and at that point I might as well assume he's planted pets all over."

"How is Blue Cosmos fitting into this?" Doctor S asked.

The slides rolled back to a picture of Sam Stansfield.

Kati met him once. She held no respect for what Blue Cosmos had become, but Sam Stansfield. She saw his speech, delivered overlooking the ruins of Manhatten in 2000. The speech that gave Blue Cosmos its name.

This cannot be allowed to happen again, he said, death like this, cannot be accepted on this pure blue world.

How twisted those words became. From a cry for outrage at the madness engulfing the world, to a bitter and spiteful phrase of who was human and who wasn't.

"Teacher subverted Sam Stansfield's driver," Taylor said. "She had this."

The slide 'popped' and then 'zoomed' and a picture of a syringe swept over the display.

"The solution would freeze blood while allowing continued flow of oxygen. Not completely, but enough that a few gunshot wounds to the back could become very survivable."

"We believe the real target was Dean Stansfield," Veda said. "Doctors diagnosed Sam Stansfield with terminal cancer. He had less than a year to live."

"Far too short a time to make any real stink in Blue Cosmos over their direction," Taylor said.

"Unless his grandson followed in his shadow," Kati said quickly. People turned to her as she leaned against the wall across the room. "Dean Stansfield is charismatic and young. He probably can't change Blue Cosmos, but he can make a scene. Undoing years of work they've put into perpetuating the image that they are a growing movement."

"Teacher wanted a tragedy," Taylor said. "Sam Stansfield comes out against fear and hate, and is then shot by a member of the Empire. He'd survive but his grandson would be dead."

"He'd look like a tired old man with a broken heart," Kati said, "and his grandson's death would galvanize Blue Cosmos rather than divide it."

"Glace and Cranial connect Teacher to Blue Cosmos, Coil, and Toybox," Taylor said. "I've got all the details if you want proof. I stumbled into this without really looking, but now that I know I can't ignore it."

The slides sped forward, stopping on the face of Thomas Calvert.

"Calvert connects him to the PRT. He keeps getting away with hiding his pets and the only explanation is that he's compromised them so far they can no longer be relied on to stop him."

She frowned but kept her chin high.

"I'm going to war against Teacher," she said. "You should all decide how close to me you want to be, in light of that."

"You haven't said why Cranial would need Labyrinth."

No one looked at Faultline. They all looked at Taylor, but she'd obviously danced around that entire issue while explaining it.

Taylor waited a moment. Hesitant? No. She didn't hesitate that much. Pause for dramatic effect. She learned quickly.

"Because Cranial wanted the truth about powers. Labyrinth, Aisha, and Vista were how she thought she could get there. When she died, the children finished her work.""

Skepticism, of course. Faultline started to speak, but Taylor cut her off.

"And before you ask me what that means, understand." Taylor went quiet for a moment, then said, "Right after the incident with Cranial's kids, Hero 'bumped' into me. He started poking. He knows the truth. I think the entire Triumvirate does, and I think they've co-opted the PRT and are fighting Teacher in secret."

"Thought they already ran the PRT," the short boy with Orga said.

"The PRT is supposed to be civilian run," Faultline explained. "And not by capes. That's the entire point. The Triumvirate taking over the PRT is tantamount to a coup."

"You don't sound like you doubt they could do it," Doctor J said with Master O's agreeing nods.

"You don't sound like it's a shocking idea," Faultline replied.

"There's a reason we don't work for the Protectorate," Instructor H said, "and why we prefer the Guild."

"But that's a long story," Professor G said. He turned his head to Taylor. "You're saying you won't tell us then? Not until we've decided how far we want to go?"

"I won't," Taylor said. "And you should say nothing of this to Labyrinth," - she pointedly looked at Faultline - "unless you want to put her life at risk. So long as she keeps her mouth shut and doesn't seem to know anything, it doesn't look like anyone wants to hurt her."

"Elle knows?" Spitfire asked.

"No," Taylor said. "And that's how it has to stay. I was there when Cranial died. The moment Dragon got through to her, the moment it looked like she might talk, Eidolon blew her apart."

"Didn't she get a kill order?" Newter asked.

"Guess it's all okay as long as you have a paper saying it's okay," Dinah said curtly.

"She was killed to keep her quiet, but noone tried to kill the kids. Whatever else is going on, whoever the Cape Illuminati are they still have something of a conscience. That'll keep Labyrinth alive so long as she stays quiet."

"You say that like you expect it to be good enough for me," Faultline said angrily. "Like I'll walk away and hope."

"That's your decision," Taylor said.

"If you want to know the rest," Veda said, "we will tell you, but not here."

"I know at least someone won't want to be dragged in."

Taylor looked to Orga Itsuka.

The young man was frowning but Kati had yet to see him smile. Not that she'd seen much of him. He held a remarkably strong poker face. Mouth set in a permanent downturn, one eye closed, shoulders slack but arms tense. His general demeanor was obviously uneasy, but Kati found that remarkably uninformative in the moment.

"I won't ask you to get involved," she said.

"We've already been involved," he said. "You said nothing of this before."

"I'm not going to drag you into it. Teacher will. You need to be on guard."

"Or you could just go do that hero shit and leave the rest of us out of it," Bakuda grumbled. Unlike Orga, she was easy to read.

Defensive.

"Even if I did that, Teacher won't," Taylor said. "People are nothing but tools to him. Things to be used. Besides." Her voice took on an edge. "Beating Teacher isn't the end game. If something doesn't change, the world dies in twenty-five years."

And there it was.

Kati watched, ignoring the sudden appearance of a new slide on the wall. That was the spark. The thing that made Taylor different.

Faultline's head turned, Bakuda sat forward, and the scientists all smiled grimly. Orga sat a little straighter, his frown becoming a full scowl.

"You've done the math too?" Instructor H asked.

"Yes," Veda said. "The damage done by the Endbringers will collapse global trade within fifteen years."

The slide on the wall was absent anything more than gaudy colors chosen for the various charts and graphs. Red and white dots, Hawaiian flower patterns, and other tacky choices. At least they didn't replace any of the numbers or labels with any jokes so the data was clear, if ugly.

Then the numbers began appearing, spinning onto the slide with 'bangs' and 'pows' while Lafter mumbled something.

Kati found the numbers optimistic.

No doubt, Taylor based them on publically available data. Officials and political circles kept close to the chest knowledge that some economic sectors were much harder hit than anyone wanted to admit. Kati didn't know by how much. Background chats and vented frustrations can que a PR rep into many things most people don't know.

"We'll all end up like South America and Africa," Taylor said. "The Middle East and Eastern Europe are already coming apart. The global refugee crisis will worsen. Industry probably won't survive. Starvation will become the norm."

"Civilization as it currently exists will end," Veda continued.

"And the Endbringers will still be running around," Taylor finished. "Picking the survivors off bit by bit, and once the government collapses you can say goodbye to the Protectorate. That's the real problem." She glanced back to Orga. "No one can hide from it. Green."

The little robot clicked the clicker again, and this time the wall lit up with several projections.

Professor G's seat slid back and the man rose to his feet. One slide started with an overwrought transition of crumpling images that squeezed together and then smoothed back out into a picture of the Earth. The image pulled back until a line drew from the edge. The line expanded into a structure and the structure into a ring. Numbers appeared. Math Kati couldn't remotely comprehend with symbols she didn't recognize.

It obviously meant something to G.

"The Simurgh," he said.

"Dies," Taylor said. "Teacher is just a pimple to pop along the way. The PRT needs fixing. The Endbringers need to die. The world needs a future."

She rose from her seat and turned to another wall.

"That's where I'm going. If you want out, now is the time."

She pulled up her phone and tapped it, walking over to the corner and whispering something.

Taylor could be so obtuse.

Did she realize what she was doing? Even after weeks of working with her, Kati couldn't tell how conscious Taylor was of her own charisma. Sometimes she seemed fully confident of her ability to convince people. Other times she doubted herself. At the moment, it could be either way.

Did Taylor want those present to take up a challenge presented to them, so she presented the direness of the situation and made it seem foolish to do nothing? Or did she doubt her ability, and simply hoped they'd realize how bad things were on their own?

Dangling the 'truth' about powers in front of them like that, withholding what she knew about Teacher and his opponent. It probably wouldn't save any of them. If Teacher wanted to undo her, he'd simply go through the lot. He didn't strike Kati as particularly discriminating.

Around the room, people started moving. The Foundation gathered with G, looking at the image on the wall. The Earth and its ring now included floating towers arranged in seven groups, with the moon on the left side. The five men talked in hushed whispers, pointing at formulas or symbols Kati still didn't understand.

Orga Itsuka watched Taylor, waiting for her to lower her phone. He rose quickly and approached her, followed by his compatriots. The pudgy boy glanced back at Bakuda. The cape was staring at a piece of paper while Dinah walked away from her and approached Faultline. She said something, and the woman followed the girl to the counter most of the Haros sat on.

Kati watched it all closely. Read the room.

The Foundation didn't disagree with Taylor's assessment, and her 'future' captured their full attention. She didn't know them, but she didn't get the sense they'd walk. They'd follow simply to pursue their 'passion projects' if nothing else.

Faultline and her team only cared about Labyrinth. Whatever Dinah was saying seemed to be effecting Newter and Spitfire the most. Faultline was good. She stood herself still and firm, showing no sign of wavering.

Taylor wanted her. Faultline was a villain, but she was a villain who could be bought. An easy addition to her firewall plan for Brockton Bay.

Bakuda… Kati couldn't tell.

The woman read the note Dinah left her and sat perfectly still.

Taylor pulled her phone away from her ear and turned to Orga. He'd wasted no time in rising from the table and following her to the corner of the room. His compatriots followed him. The pudgy boy looked shaken. The short boy seemed disinterested and kept eating a taco with hot sauce.

Lafter stood beside the boys, watching them. She was wary of them. Odd. She always seemed so unconcerned with anything.

Kati drifted that way. Curiosity, drove her mostly.

Orga was the one who wanted to leave. Taylor knew that. What would she say?

"You're bushwhacking us," he said in a hushed tone.

"I'm giving you the option to walk," she said.

"You could have said you were going after a cape like this before," the pudgy boy said. "We're not capes. This isn't-"

"You can't hide from the world," Taylor said. "But I think you already know that." She looked up at Orga, the only person in the room besides Gregor taller than her now that Kati looked. "Even if you walk, the world still dies. Maybe you'll survive, but is that really what you want? To simply survive."

Orga closed one eye. Such a strange tic. He looked down at her with the other and said, "No."

"Then has anything really changed?" She asked. "You want to build a place where you belong. I want the future. It's two different ways of saying the same thing."

She glanced at her phone again.

"I'm not going to ask you to do anything more than you're willing to do," she said.

The pudgy boy looked to his leader, saying, "Orga-"

"When push comes to shove," he said, "what matters more?" Taylor met his eyes. "Your future, or our lives?"

Taylor raised her brow.

Kati narrowed her gaze.

"You or the future isn't a choice," she said. "If the future isn't for us, it's just a lofty fiction. No use to anyone."

Kati shifted her attention to Orga.

"I can't promise you noone will get hurt," Taylor said. "But people are not pieces on a board. I'm not Teacher."

He grunted and turned away. When his closed eye opened, Kati saw on his face that he wasn't going to leave. He wasn't happy, but he wouldn't leave.

"Orga?" The pudgy boy asked.

"We have our own affairs to attend to," the young man said.

He turned to leave. The other boys followed, the short one only after grabbing some more Tacos. The pudgy boy glanced at Bakuda for a moment. The woman paid him no mind, staring at the wall but not really looking at it.

"Did that go well?" Lafter asked.

"About as well as it could," Taylor said.

"So, it's fine?"

"It will be," Kati said. "He needs you.

Taylor frowned. No, she wouldn't revel in that even if it benefited her. As much as she hated bystanders and complacency, she didn't want to force anyone to do anything.

She wanted them to do it for themselves.

"Newtype," Doctor J called. "Could you explain some of these numbers?"

Taylor went toward him, and Lafter again followed.

Kati watched, noting the oddness of it. The way Lafter walked after her. When did she start shadowing Taylor's every move?

When did Kati start shadowing her every move?

She felt more than a little silly. Up until a few weeks ago, Taylor Hebert was just a vague memory. A baby girl cradled in her mother's arms. Kati couldn't help but wonder if she'd really become so disillusioned. What would Annette say if she could speak?

Would she want someone to try and stop Taylor?

Kati didn't think she - or anyone else for that matter - could.

What did that leave her? Following someone a second time, hoping that they wouldn't leave her disillusioned too? She never thought herself quite that bitter over Lustrum.

Plenty of people did foolish things in youth. Put faith in the wrong places. Expected too much to come too quickly. Ironic to think about, as she followed Taylor across the room.

It was like gravity, in a way. Taylor was young but she had it. That natural pull leaders possessed.

Kati had seen many different kinds of leaders. Humble men and women who set small goals. Ambitious politicians with aspirations of high office. Noble reformers. Radical revolutionaries. Unassuming persons thrust into positions they didn't ask for.

She found it hard to pin down exactly what made them leaders, other than the obvious. People followed them. There were different reasons. Idealism. Determination. Capitulation.

Taylor was the strangest sort.

She reminded Kati of some warlord one of her old professors talked about. A Japanese man who found himself facing overwhelming odds and an army that didn't want to fight.

He told them the truth.

Fate is cruel. We will probably die. Come with me if you want.

Something like that.

It stuck with Kati over the years, that long dead man and his army. He didn't threaten them. He didn't inspire them. He didn't even give some pithy comment about glory or infamy. No, he admitted they all might die.

He admitted the truth, announced his intent, started walking, and dared the rest to follow.