Any plans Miles had to sneak out of the house were wrecked the moment he tried to leave - the exact same moment Nora was trying to leave. They both stopped in their tracks, standing awkwardly as they waited for the other to explain. She glanced around the open space of the foyer and he frowned slightly.
"What?"
"Just wondering where Alex is."
"He's on the couch, trying to read a book."
"Oh. Charlie and Jason left already, didn't they?"
"They did."
"Where are you going?"
"Where are you going?"
"I asked you first."
"Have some errands to run."
"Errands."
"Yeah. Errands. Your turn."
"Going to Sandy's to help set up for tomorrow." - tomorrow being Thanksgiving. "I thought you were supposed to spend the day with him doing man things."
"Not today."
"I really didn't want to bring him to Sandy's. We have a lot to do."
"You won't even notice he's there."
"If you're just running errands, why can't you bring him?"
"He'll get in the way."
"You won't even notice he's there." she mocked. "Seriously, what are you doing?"
"I told you. Errands." he leaned in, cupped the back of her head, and pulled her into a slow kiss.
"You think that works but it doesn't."
"It does. I'll see you later. He'll be annoyed if he found out you went over without him."
"When he and Jake ruin Thanksgiving, I will not be held responsible."
"They're like two nerds in a pod. What are they going to do?"
"He's not a nerd."
"He's your son. He's definitely a nerd."
"Let's not forget who is actually taking him through the past century of film and television."
"The finer things in life. See you later."
"Just an FYI - if you bring me something back, I'll be more likely to overlook any suspicious behavior you're displaying."
"Done."
She scowled at his back as he disappeared from the house, then turned to call over her shoulder to Alex.
"Just do me a favor,"
"Charlie, I've been giving you a lot of leniency with this. Do you really want to make more demands of me?" Miles pinned her with a look but she stood her ground.
"You're not in charge anymore. You came to me for help. I know that's freaking you out but these people don't take kindly to newcomers and last time I remember heading into something like this with you, your cover got blown. So, you're going to let me handle it."
"When did you become such a hard ass?"
"I learned from the best. Come on, it's just up here."
He shook his head but followed obediently. Jason had left earlier in the day and once Miles managed to get out of the house, Charlie had been waiting near the beginning of the neighborhood. They all agreed that leaving together would have been too suspicious and it had been Miles's decision to keep this away from Nora.
"So if these people don't like newcomers, how did you manage to get their love and devotion?"
"Like I said, I learned from the best."
"Definitely didn't learn that from me."
She smiled faintly as they rounded a corner. Up ahead was a seemingly abandoned shopping center, with the main focus being what looked to be an old Costco or a similar store.
"What is it with all these groups and using these places as their headquarters?"
"Space."
"You didn't answer my question."
"It was a few weeks after we got here. I kind of got into some trouble."
"What kind of trouble?"
"Bounty hunter."
"What? Why didn't you say something?"
"I handled it."
"How?"
She glanced at him sideways and he groaned in exasperation.
"What happened to keeping a low profile?"
"Since then, I've had no problems. Besides it wasn't in town. No one would have heard anything."
"Goody. What the hell happened?"
"Jason and I got into a fight. He stormed off and I went to the bar. Bounty hunter was in there. Followed me out. He knew who we were. I had to kill him. Anyway, Mac must have over heard us fighting and came to see if someone needed help. I guess I made a good impression."
"Does he know who you are?"
"No. He didn't hear that part."
"Still should have told me."
"What does it matter? I took care of it."
"Because what if there were more? I need to know these things Charlie."
"Not like you would have done anything. Anyway, when Mac saw what happened, he figured he could use someone like me on his team. Jason and I have been involved ever since. You'll have to prove yourself. They don't like wasting time on people who aren't going to be worth it or just going to get themselves killed."
They were quiet until they reached the warehouse and were granted access by a young woman who couldn't have been older than Charlie. Miles eyed her for a moment before coming to the decision she would have made the perfect punk pre-Blackout. Tattoos, a pierced nose and eyebrow, crappy streaks in her blonde hair.
"Emily. Who's the old guy?"
Charlie let out a snort but responded, "Tori, meet my Uncle Rick."
Tori gave Miles her own once-over and didn't seem impressed. She muttered, "Mac won't be pleased."
"I think he will. Where is he?"
"With the new kids. Go ahead Gandalf, show your stuff."
"You don't strike me as the literate type." Miles shot back. "If you were, I think you'd remember what a badass he was."
"Didn't get that far. It had about a million pages." Tori glared and turned on her heel, knives clinking at her hip. She joined a group several feet away made up of people her own age.
"Gandalf… he was in a book right?" Charlie was biting her lip.
"What is this High School Musical with Knives? These are kids. What the hell do you think they are going to be able to accomplish?"
"Not all of them. A lot of them are older, like yours and Nora's ages. Some of them have military experience. The younger ones are scrappy and Mac took them under his wing. They know their stuff. I swear."
He gave her a look, as though he decided this was going to be a waste of his time. She tilted her head at him, her own warning to keep his mouth shut and it would work.
"Emily,"
Miles turned and saw an older man, close to his own age, walking towards them. He was tall, built, and a severe frown seemed permanently etched into his face.
"Hey Mac."
"Saw Nate come through without you. Was wondering where you were."
"Looking for this guy. This is my uncle, Rick. Rick, this is Will Mackenzie."
The men acknowledged each other with a stiff nod. Mac stared Miles down but the former general remained relaxed and stared coolly back.
"Emily, I told you not to keep doing this."
"We need extra hands. He'll do fine."
"The last set of extra hands you brought in got slaughtered on the last raid up north."
"I didn't bring her in. She followed. You let her stay. He has experience."
"What kind?" Mac looked back at Miles for his response.
"Marines."
"Well, I bet you're just over the moon that your boys are back in town. I don't need anyone wasting my time and wind up kissing these bastards' boots and turning us all in. Get out." he turned and started to walk back towards a group that seemed to be training on a set of mats.
Part of Miles wanted to agree. If this guy was going to be a total dick, it wasn't worth it. He waited a moment, watching as he barked orders at the kids. Although skilled, they fumbled under his yelling and attitude.
Don't get involved. Don't get involved.
They were a ragtag group and with some true training, they would do well in a fight. As much as Miles hated being the leader, he was itching to prove Mac wrong. It probably had to do with his pride, that this asshole felt he wasn't worthy enough to be one of his bitches. He would probably piss himself if he realized his was standing in front of the Butcher of Baltimore. But mostly, he was doing this because of his family and if he didn't get the proper resources, he wouldn't be able to hold off the Patriots on his own.
"Son of a bitch," he muttered. Charlie glanced at him, watched as he pulled a knife - the only thing he could slip by his wife - out of his boot and whipped it towards the other man. It zoomed close by his face, nearly cutting his nose, and embedded in the tarnished mat he was leaning against. The room went silent as Mac stared at the knife, then fixed a vicious glare on Miles, who looked bored with the whole ordeal.
After organizing dishes, decorations, and who would be bringing what, Nora was relieved when Sandy announced they deserved a break. She decided, after glancing over her other friends, that they felt the same. She wasn't quite sure why Sandy had asked for help - she had plowed through the rest of them and dictated most of what would be happening. It would have saved plenty of time to have had her assign them tasks for tomorrow and keep them out of planning.
She felt it was more likely that she had wanted a 'girls' day and figured it would kill two birds with one stone. So they sat around the table, eating sandwiches, drinking iced tea, and discussing a random assortment of topics. It was then that the discussion turned to the Patriots - specifically Patrick.
"He's been so nice and helpful." Sandy cooed with a dreamy smile that made Nora's stomach churn. "The kids absolutely love him."
"I haven't had much interaction with him but he's always friendly when I see him in town." Gina agreed.
"All the officials have made a fantastic impression on the town." Angie stated. "It's refreshing to have people who are idealistic and truly want to make a difference. After all the people we've seen throughout the years, they're the best thing that's happened."
"It's true!" Sandy nodded as she stood up to get another pitcher of iced tea. "Some of them have been through awful things just like the rest of us. Like Patrick. He was just telling me and Evie the other day about his children. Two girls and he did everything he could for them and the first chance the older one gets, she runs off with a gang, essentially. Didn't that just break your heart?"
Nora realized, after a long pause, that Sandy was waiting for her to respond.
"Well, I mean, sure, it's sad but how do we really know what happened?" she gave a small shrug, trying to sound casual. Maybe this was her chance to covertly wedge her own opinions in and show the cracks in the Patriot facade.
"Are you saying he made it up?"
"I'm saying you don't really know who you're dealing with all the time. People can twist things to make themselves look better."
"That's a risk we take in life." Angie commented. "You never know who you're talking to. You have to trust them."
"I find it hard to believe that Patrick would do something like that. He's too genuine. You could tell it still upset him after all these years."
"Isn't it just a little… odd," Kate spoke quietly, gaining a sharp look from Angie, "they just showed up? Why did it take so long?"
"You heard what they said. The country collapsed and with people like Monroe and Foster rising up, what chance did they stand?"
"But couldn't that have been avoided? Why was there nothing in place for a situation like that? I remember when my brother finally found us. He had come from his army base in Virginia. He said they just sat and waited and no one gave them any answers or orders. No one tried to get some order in the cities. I know the chain of command was broken but couldn't someone do something?"
"Rick said the same thing about when he was in the Marines at the time." Nora added.
"Are we really going to go into conspiracy theories?" Sandy chuckled, though she sounded a bit nervous. The women lapsed into silence, each contemplating the thought. It was only Jake and Alex's escalating arguing that changed the topic.
"No you can't!"
"Yes I can!"
"He's not a good guy! You're supposed to be a good guy!"
"Yes he is!" Alex shouted, clearly angered by whatever argument they were having. Four pairs of eyes zeroed in on Nora, who reddened slightly and turned her head in the direction of the living room.
"Hey Alex?"
"What?"
"Come here a second."
Both boys trudged into the kitchen and Alex scowled while Jake ran instantly to Sandy and began to complain that they couldn't play their game if Alex wouldn't follow the rules.
"What's going on?" Nora reached a hand out, pulling her son in close. He simply crossed his arms and glared at his friend.
"We're supposed to play good and evil and I'm the evil one this time and he keeps wanting to be Miles Matheson."
The room went silent and Nora felt her insides curl uncomfortably. She glanced at Alex, who was still glaring.
"He's not a good guy." Jake finished. "I had to be the good guys last time and I was the Patriots."
"Why don't you play a different game?" Sandy quickly suggested.
"No! We've got our swords and guns and we're supposed to battle."
"I don't think I like you playing games like that. I know there are plenty of board games upstairs."
"You ruin everything!" Jake exclaimed, thrusting his hands accusingly at Alex. "You're stupid! You didn't listen to what Mr. Pat said."
"He's not bad! He saved people and fought Monroe! You're stupid!"
"Hey, hey, stop." Nora tugged on Alex's shirt gently. "I agree with Sandy. Play something else."
"No!"
"Either play something else or we'll go home. Do we need to repeat the other day?" she lifted her eyebrow expectantly. He stared back, then sighed deeply, and shook his head reluctantly. "Okay. Go on."
They left the room, still snapping childish insults at each other, and everyone stared at Nora. She gave a weak chuckle and shrugged, "Boys."
"Interesting mind frame he has." Angie commented. "Most kids are terrified of those two."
"He didn't really hear much about them growing up." Nora said quickly. "By the time any stories made it around to us and he understood, Matheson apparently was joining the rebels and fighting for them."
"Well that's a load of bullshit." the other woman scoffed. Nora stared at her as she felt the urge to defend her husband. She understood exactly where Alex was coming from.
"I don't know. People can change." she muttered, trying to get some kind of good word in.
"Not people like that."
Nora was surprised at the animosity in Angie's tone. She shouldn't have been - she knew plenty with a healthy hatred of Miles - but it was surprising to find someone this far from the Republic.
"See, you might have been hidden away in the woods somewhere, not subjected to the wonderful politics of Matheson and Monroe, they were tyrants to the rest of us."
"You were from the Republic." she stated quietly.
"Philadelphia to be exact. I got a front row seat to all of it. Got to see them drag my brother away into their camps." Angie had a cold gaze on her face. She stared Nora, who shifted in her seat. She had the unnerving sense that the other woman knew perfectly damn well who they were.
"You can't act like that." Nora immediately began to scold Alex as soon as they were in the safety of their own home.
"But he's wrong!"
"Alex,"
"He is!"
"Honey, listen to me. Remember how we said we need to be careful and how we really have to keep our story straight? You saying those things are going to draw attention."
"I hate when people say stuff about Dad." he slumped onto a chair at the kitchen table as she let Stitch into the backyard. "They're all wrong. They're wrong right?"
She couldn't lie to him but this was also not a conversation she was having without Miles there. He stared up at her sadly and she sighed, stroking his hair gently.
"I promise we'll explain things but I'd rather Dad be here for that talk. We'll talk when he gets home okay? Please just don't say things like that again."
"Why do we keep having to lie? Are we bad?"
"You've seen how people act when they hear our name or people talk about the Republic. We don't want to cause trouble and we want to keep you safe. I know this is hard for you but I need you to try and be a little more patient. Baby, I know you want to defend Dad and that's okay. I completely agree with you. I don't like when people talk about him either. You're going to hear a lot of things and the best thing to do is remember you know him. None of these other people do and things can get twisted."
"Dad said that too."
"Yeah. We'll talk more about this later, okay? Why don't you grab that packet Miss Broderick gave you? We can work on that for a little bit so it's not waiting all weekend."
It was late when Miles finally returned home. He winced as he made his way through the door and was surprised to find no one around. He knew Charlie and Jason stayed out but he had been expecting Alex and Nora. It wasn't an outrageous hour. He didn't think they would be in bed already.
He moved quietly upstairs, growing even more confused when he saw Alex's room empty. Then he saw the light on in his bedroom and walked down the hall. He pushed the door open slowly and grinned slightly upon finding them.
"Hi."
"Hey," Nora flashed a quick smile. He could tell she was slightly irritated with him, probably wondering what he had been doing all day.
"I got you flowers. Took me all day to find them." he joked, holding up the wrapped bouquet in his hand. "Handpicked."
"I bet." she rolled her eyes at him as he set the roses on the dresser and walked towards her. "I guess I have to assume that you were up to no good."
"Always." he leaned down and kissed her gently. As he pulled away, he brushed a hand over Alex, who had fallen asleep some time before. "Do you want me to put him in bed?"
"No, he's okay. Unless you don't want him in here."
"He can stay. Soon he won't even want to be in the same house as us. It's one night."
"Okay." she watched him carefully as he grabbed a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom. He shut the door behind him, though she noticed he didn't lock it. Once inside, he peeled his jacket off with a grimace and examined the blood soaked shirt beneath. He bit back a groan as he pulled the shirt over his head. His right side was mottled with bruises and a gash that was hastily bandaged. He rummaged through the cabinets for the items he needed and sat on the edge of the tub.
Outside the bathroom, Nora listened carefully and when she heard him mumbling incoherently, she quietly climbed off their bed and pushed the door open.
"Nora-"
"Oh my God! What the hell happened!"
"Shh, you'll wake Alex up."
"Miles!"
"It's not as bad as it looks. I swear. Just, fuck," he grimaced as he poured antiseptic over the cut. "Since you found me, help me out, okay?"
"Where. Were. You."
"Close the door. I'll explain. I promise."
She glared at him as she yanked the bottle out of his hands and poured it- quite excessively- herself. He yelled out, biting on his fist.
"Don't be spiteful." he hissed.
"Shut up." she worked quickly to bandage the wound and then felt along his ribs to see if any were broken. "You lied to me."
"I didn't lie. I just neglected to inform you."
"How is that any better? God, every week, it's like you have another secret. What is it with you?"
"I didn't want you involved yet."
"Yet? Or at all?"
"You've got to think about the kids."
"Oh. Is that all I'm good for now? I can only be a mother? How about I go out and get into a brawl and you be the stay at home parent?"
"I didn't mean it like that."
"Yes you did. Jackass." she pushed his shoulders roughly and he gripped the side of the tub to stop from falling backwards.
"Come on, just hear me out. This is what you wanted, wasn't it?"
"Letting me know would have been appreciated! What if you died out there? What if someone stuffed you in a ditch and we never found you?"
"That is highly unlikely."
"You know what I mean." she scowled at him and he sighed, reaching for her. "No! Do not touch me. You bastard. I am so pissed at you right now! I mean, I knew you weren't running errands. Christ, you wouldn't know a mop from a broom. But I didn't think you were doing… whatever it was you were doing!"
"Charlie joined a group of rebels. That's where they've been most of the time. I asked her to take me over. The leader- and I use that word loosely - is a sadistic dick who makes any newcomer go through the most fucked up initiation of all time. I swear I fought every person in that goddamn group and then Mac n Cheese decided he would fight me himself. That's how this happened."
"Did you win?"
"Of course I won. I think I broke his fucking hand. I was going to tell you when I got back."
"Right."
"I was. I just didn't want you knowing about them in case I decided not to go through with it. I needed to though. These people, they've been watching the Patriots. It's worse than we expected. They've essentially made a barrier around us and the next five surrounding towns. Outside there, it's chaos. Looting, riots, you name it. No one knows why they've surrounded this area. But they're acting like everything is fine. They're just biding their time for something. I think if they can keep control over one area, then they can start to expand outward. Why they picked here, I don't know." he sighed and rubbed a hand over the top of his head, then smirked at her. "How was your day honey?"
"Well, Alex has decided that he's tired of hearing everyone bad mouth you and wants to preach the good word of Matheson through the streets. Also, surprising revelation for the day, Angie was originally from Philadelphia."
"What and what?"
"Alex and Jake were playing some good versus evil came and they've apparently been using real life names to pretend they are. Jake wanted Alex to be a good guy and he wanted to be you. Jake tried to explain you were bad and I got to be stared down by everyone like I taught him satanic rituals. Angie kind of had a fit when Alex tried to explain himself and went on a rant how people like you don't change and she knows from experience."
"Nothing was said about us was it?"
"No but I don't think that matters." she gave a soft sigh and sat next to him. "I think she knows who we are."
"No."
"She would have seen us at some point."
"The chances of that - "
"When have our odds ever been good? We've run into plenty of people who recognize us. We know groups of people were fleeing the Republic. As far as happening to settle in the same town, this place is ideal for post-Blackout conditions. The climate is doable for all the seasons, the water is a good source for food and irrigation and those sorts of things. It's away from the cities. California's big but it's not that big. There are only so many places that would be viable for a family. Her son just turned twenty-one I think. She had to still have lived there while we were there. He was just a kid back then. They would have definitely thought about what would benefit him first."
"You've been dwelling on this all day."
"Stranger things have happened." she muttered. He shrugged and stared down at the floor. "We have to talk to Alex. We're putting too much pressure on him. This is too complicated for him. He's struggling to reconcile you with the guy he keeps hearing about."
"No. We're not opening him up to that."
"I'm not saying get into the gritty details but at least give him a generic explanation. Miles, he can't go around yelling that General Matheson is the good guy. You didn't see him in there. He was getting so frustrated and what if next time, he snaps and says the truth? He wants to know why he has to keep lying. I don't want this for him. I don't want him or the baby growing up thinking they need to hide who they are or their family is something to be ashamed of. But right now, I don't think we have another option."