Page 27 of The Misplaced Warrior

When Gen was released from jail, and returned to the Rogue Rider Mansion, she expected for her boss to be waiting for her. He was….

Of course he would have gotten word about her arrest. Her family, the House of Fourteen and the Rogue Riders had been alerted and luckily Liv showed up to post the money for her bail. She’d escorted Gen back to the mansion in Beverly Hills where the most ‘unwelcoming committee’ were waiting for her, as Liv had called them, upon their hike up the driveway.

Not only was Dwayne, the leader of the Rogue Riders, standing like a pillar out in front of the house when Gen arrived, but surrounding him were many of the other riders. Gen guessed that they’d all come out, at Dwayne’s insistence to see a show. In the crowd of angry faces, Gen caught sight of Jack and Sully, both wearing confused and worried expressions.

“Sir, I can explain,” Gen began, looking sideways to Liv for support. She was glad that she was beside her. “I didn’t do it.”

“You were caught with the stolen items on you!” Dwayne roared, his face flushing red. “And they say there were over a million dollars’ worth of valuable technology. That’s a felony.”

The crowd around Dwayne, standing on the steps to the mansion and around the driveway, all broke out into excited, conspiratorial chatter. Gen was about to interrupt when mercifully, the next support she so desperately needed came to her rescue.

In a rush of wind and elegance, Emperor landed at Gen and Liv’s back, almost soundlessly. She turned, making brief eye contact with her dragon before refocusing her attention solely on her boss in front of her. The sudden presence of Emperor definitely caught Dwayne by surprise, making him momentarily seem flustered before he regained his composure.

“I realize that your understanding of the words is limited,” Dwayne went on, a smugness in his voice. “But a felony is a serious offense. You’re going to prison—in the House of Fourteen where no one can help you.” His dark eyes glinted at Liv. “Not even your family can save you from that magical confinement.”

“I’ll remind you that Gen hasn’t been sentenced to prison,” Liv countered coldly, her words dripping with vehemence.

“Not yet,” Dwayne countered, smirking slightly.

“She has only been accused of a crime, which she didn’t commit,” Emperor said, making all the murmurs in the crowd silence at once—commanding everyone’s attention.

Dwayne narrowed his already beady eyes at the dragon. “Unfortunately, your testimony on this matter doesn’t count and can’t get Gen off the hook.” He held up his hands, as if suddenly powerless. “There’s no one who can help her, not even me.”

“I’m innocent, sir,” Gen argued. “I was set up. Someone put that silicon in my bag.”

“How?” he asked at once.

All eyes focused on Gen, awaiting her answer to the single question.

She chewed on her lip. Felt the weight of everyone’s gaze on her. Sensed Liv looking at her intently, hoping that she had a good answer.

Finally, Gen was forced to shake her head. “I don’t know. But it was done somehow without my knowledge?—”

The Rogue Riders broke out in a chorus of whispers again, all of their accusatory stares centered on Gen.

She huffed loudly, silencing them. “That place, MystTech Creations, was crazy. There was so much unexplainable and inconceivable technology. It was a whirlwind of chaos the moment I stepped through the door. There’s tons of strange magic at play, so who knows when it happened, but I’m going to prove that I was set up. That I am innocent.”

“I very much doubt that,” Dwayne said, sounding almost giddy.

“And strange that Gen was assigned to this place by…” Liv looked at Gen, giving her a playful expression. “Who was it who assigned you to that internship again?”

Despite the tension and stress, Gen almost laughed in that moment. She nodded to her boss. “It was Dwayne.”

“Oh, right,” Liv pretended to remember. “So how strange that the place you assigned Gen to was where she was so expertly and craftily set up for a felony. That’s very interesting indeed.”

“I pulled a lot of strings to get her that internship,” Dwayne countered, anger flaring on his face now, covering the moment of giddiness. “I was trying to help her to learn about the modern world of technology to fill in her huge gap of knowledge. It’s not my fault that she used this opportunity to try and make herself richer, stealing incredibly advanced resources.”

“She doesn’t even know what to do with them,” Emperor argued. “What would she want with quantum-entangled silicon?”

Dwayne shrugged, returning to his casual and almost happy demeanor. “Beats me. But the fact remains that you’re fired. I can’t have a corrupt criminal working for the Rogue Riders. We manage the unlawful, we don’t become them.”

“Funny, coming from you,” Liv fired, her voice hostile now.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Dwayne spat, the vein in his forehead surfacing.

“It means that I’ve got your number, Dwayne Stone,” Liv replied. “You may think that you’re pulling the wool over the council’s eyes, but they aren’t so easily fooled. You know who killed the previous Commissioner. You say you’re playing a political game. But if we find out that you’re not, then you’re going down hard.”

His nostrils flared. “The Founders put me into this position as leader over the Rogue Riders. Why would they do that if I wasn’t the right person for the job and bound by honor?”

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