Page 39 of The Outcast
“Does that mean you have more people sharing the same first and last name?” I asked.
Banni smiled. “Yes and no. You see, our name generator will use up every first name available before going back and reusing one.”
“Okay, but how many first names do you have?”
“I don’t know.”
“How many people are born in France a year?”
“Hmm, I would say between twelve to fourteen thousand children. When a child is the second person that year to receive a certain name, an A is added as a middle letter. For instance, my full name is Benny C. Armel. That tells me that there are at least three others called Benny Armel. One has no middle letter, one has an A, and one has a B. There might be more, but I would have to look that up to be sure.”
“I like Banni better than Benny. There’s something badass about its meaning,” Aubri said.
“You mean the part about me being an outcast?”
“Yes.” Raising her glass, she made a toast. “Let’s drink to the fact that we’re going to make this project a massive success that will forever change the way Explorers are viewed in France.” Aubri raised her chin. “When we send in our troops they’ll be worshiped like heroes.”
“Aubri, did anyone ever tell you that you have a hero complex?” Banni asked with a smile.
She laughed softly. “Not to my face.”
Indiana rubbed her back. “It’s because my wife was born into a family of heroes. There’s a lot of pressure.”
Banni raised his glass and clinked it against ours. “Then we’d better make this project a massive success.”
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CHAPTER 12
Forbidden
Banni
When Aubri and I found Lilly in her room and told her about our decision, she seemed relieved to go home.
Keith, however, got furious with us. It wasn’t that he said much but I sensed a quiet seething of anger under his calm surface.
“We don’t think you would fit well with the French culture,” Aubri told him. “But Keith, have you considered applying for the army or police? You’re born to do that sort of work.”
“I did apply, but they didn’t want me.” Keith, who was sitting on the end of his bed, turned his head away.
Aubri was leaning against the closet in the room. “That sounds strange. Why wouldn’t they want you? We all agreed that you were the best Explorer candidate. It’s just that the French culture is fucked up and the people who we send over there have to live with that. You seem set in the Northlands way of doing things and we don’t blame you. Personally, I think you would do better staying here and using those muscles and intelligence to help your country.”
Keith groaned.
“Keith, why didn’t the military want you?” I asked.
“Because of what happened to my dad.”
I sat in the only chair in the room. “What happened to him?”
“He died.”
Aubri and I exchanged a look and she asked, “How did he die?”
“We fought a lot.”
My heart began racing when I guessed where this story was going. “Did you kill your father, Keith? Is that why the military rejected you?”
