Page 56 of Capitol Matters

I rolled my eyes.

“You need to pick up the pace,” he concluded.

Placing his arm on Donovan’s shoulders again, Grimm physically pulled my brother into the conversation. “However, this unfortunate situation has prompted me to consider how we can improve our process.”

Shaking my head, I stepped back. “No need. They aren’t staying here.”

Donovan was still pale and slouched, but hope lit his dark eyes. Did he think I’d changed my mind?

Grimm’s brows drew down. “Excuse me?”

I faced him squarely. “We tried your idea, and it went to shit,” I said. “Everything is in the fucking dumpster, but you’re not doing anything to fix it. I don’t believe you’ll fix this, either.”

The vein in Grimm’s forehead bulged.

“So, Donnie and I are dosing these poor schmucks with forget-me-juice and sending them home.” Tilting my hand toward Grimm’s arm freed Donovan from its weight, and he straightened.

“That would be extremely ill-advised,” Grimm replied. “The consequences for you and your brother could be dire.”

“This wasmyassignment.” I stabbed a finger into my chest. “My risk. My loss if it fails. It should’ve been my plan, too, because I would’ve come up with something a hell of a lot better than this.”

Grimm glowered, his face splotching purple redthrough the thick bristles of his beard. “Petulant child. You would throw your life away over one man’s poor choices? You have a seat at the table, Fitch. I’ve secured you a place in the future, and the future is the Capitol. They must believe you are reliable, responsible, and worthy of trust. But since you are none of those things—”

“Noneof them?” I echoed.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. Unreliable, irresponsible, untrustworthy… He’d called me those things and worse over the years.

A laugh bubbled up my throat. “Well, shit, I guess you’d know. You made me this way.”

I thought that would shut him up or at least sting him a bit, but he didn’t flinch.

“If I can learn from my mistakes,” he met me with a glare, “I expect you to do the same.”

The second half of his one-two punch struck me dumb. He won this round, but he wasn’t done yet.

“Starting with apologizing to Miss Lyle for making her possibly regret the door she opened for you,” he continued. “You may not realize, but she has been your biggest advocate throughout this process. More so than even myself.”

My forehead creased. That didn’t sound like the Holland I knew, but why would he lie?

“And again,” Grimm said, “I understand why you came here, but now it’s time for you to do your job and let your brother do his. Unless, for some reason, you think he’s incapable?”

At his side, Donovan squirmed. I managed to catchhis sheepish gaze. He hadn’t caused this—shoelaces and belts notwithstanding—but he hadn’t done things wholly right, either. If he wanted me to bail him out of the role of storage unit warden, all I needed was a nod. Instead, he turned aside, which served as answer enough.

I sighed. “If I’m going back to the Capitol, I’m gonna need a ride.”

Grimm tweaked a brow. “Where’s your car?”

“Long story,” I replied. “You mind, Donnie?”

It would give him one more chance. We could go to the Bitters’ End, get the potions, come back, and salvage the plan.

Ripley and Maggie emerged from the storage locker. Maggie had a sort of stumble to her gait, and her red eyes drooped with sleepy satisfaction. She daubed the corner of her mouth with a cloth kerchief that Ripley then tucked in the pocket of his gray-wash denims. The zombie girl’s black plaid jumper showed no bloodstains, but the inside of the unit would need a thorough cleaning. No amount of melting snow and ice would wash away the evidence of our sins here today.

“Ah, good.” Grimm extended an arm toward the returning duo. “Maggie’s finished, so Ripley can take you.”

Ripley shrugged at being volunteered for chauffeur duty, then pulled out his cell phone and earbuds and plugged them in. A relief because, if I was going to be stuck in the car with him, I would rather be ignored than forced into small talk.

While Ripley and Maggie walked past, Donovan remained fixed in place. Whatever he saw inside the icygarage had sucked the conviction out of him. That, or he believed Grimm really would come through with quality-of-life improvements for our prisoners. I wouldn’t hold my breath.

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