Page 45 of Knot All Is Lost: Part 1

“So you deny ever having helped an Omega hide from the government?” Yoram demanded.

I frowned at the man. “Why would I do that? I am the government.”

“Yes, well I’m glad you realize that,” Yoram said with a grunt. “As for this project you are working on I don’t see the need for it, this plan has been working for forty years. Why fix the wheel that isn’t broken?”

“But is it really working?” I snapped. “If our city and nation that depends on us is dying, then what good does it do? Fewer Omegas are being born, not more, the only thing that’s getting bigger is the city’s treasury that we used to build ridiculous buildings like this.”

The thunderous expression that fell over Yoram’s face at my outburst told me I’d said enough for one day. “You are young, full of ideals, and that is what got you into this office but I would tread carefully if you want to stay in this office. New faces are always exciting but once the novelty wears off who knows where that might leave you.”

His threat was clear as he stood brushing out the nonexistent wrinkles from his clothes as he exited my space. Once the door latched behind him I dropped my head to the desk knowing I’d just made matters so much worse. Now I needed a new plan. There was no way that Yoram was going to fly for the argument I just made. Not after that defiant display of mine, he’d throw it right in the trash next to the housing plan. Glancing at my watch I saw it was still early afternoon but I needed to get out of here and talk to someone I could trust. Shoving back from my desk I hit the speed dial for the valet.

“Valet, Tommy speaking.”

“Hey it’s Marius, I’m heading out for a meeting. Can you bring the car around?” I said as I gathered my research not wanting to leave it out where someone might see it.

“Of course, Official Stone, I’ll have it up by the time you come down,” Tommy promised and hung up.

Checking my desk I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything that was important and headed out the door. It was days like this that I wondered how it was possible that I made it into this position. Yoram had to have hand-picked someone else, my guess was Kenneth, my opponent through most of the race. The elections were intense because once an Official was voted in they didn’t leave unless they committed a crime or the other Officials lodged an investigation of being unfit for the job.

That is what I’d feared they would do to Alton, but he was far too respected and had as many connections as Yoram. The two were well matched in many regards like two boxers in a ring fighting for the role of champion.

“Sarah, I’m running out for a meeting, I should be back later but I’ll call if something comes up,” I said as I passed my secretary.

Sarah was a good egg but she came with the office, I didn’t hire her so I never really trusted to tell her much of anything. “Understood, Official Stone,” she said, not even bothering to look up from the book she was reading.

Guess that explained why Yoram could just walk right into my office; she must not have even seen him arrive. I used the stairs feeling the need to be as careful as I could not to have people tracking my movements. I knew there were cameras everywhere but the ones in the elevators had sound. Alton warned me right away about that, among many other traps one could fall into when they least expected it.

I gave Tommy a wave as I slipped into the car and headed off. Now that I was safe to speak I called Alton’s home and spoke to his wife letting her know I was coming by.

“Bless you, Marius, he’s been in such a foul mood the past few days and the rest of us are about to chuck him into the yard,” Marla said, waving her arms dramatically.

Marla was a Beta and bonded to Alton for over forty years. Their pack came together from the first wave of the program of Care Centers when Omegas could still pick their packs. Phillip, their Omega, was perfect for them, he was calm, collected, and could cool Alton’s and Marla’s tempers. There was another Alpha, Eric, and his bonded Beta but I didn’t see them much since they hated everything our government was doing. They avoided anything to do with politics, preferring to keep to themselves. Since Eric was also bonded to Phillip they would never leave the pack so they divided the house into two halves with joint spaces in the middle for them to spend time together.

Something like that happening to my pack was my biggest fear, but since most of us found each other due to our common interest in fixing what’s wrong with our world, my hope was commonality would always stay the same.

“Alton, you’ll never guess who popped in to see you,” Marla called as she entered the library.

There was a bang as a book missed her and hit the wall. “Why the hell would I want to see anyone, woman?! Let an old man die in peace, Yoram’s finally got what he wanted, no one to stand up to him.”

“Alton!” Marla snapped. “You knock that shit off right now, I’ve tolerated enough of this. You are not dying, stop saying it or you’ll make it happen with wishful thinking.”

If there was a love language for arguing these two would be the poster couple. I don’t think I’ve witnessed two people make an argument out of the simplest things like they do. Most observers would assume they hated each other but they didn’t see the tender moments when they apologized and kissed, and made up. This was why Phillip was so important to the pack he made sure no one went to sleep angry or with misunderstandings.

“Oh, wouldn’t you just love that, to be rid of me so you can leave this city with the others? I know I’m the one holding you all here like a ball and chain,” Alton grumbled.

I peeked my head in and found Marla fretting over Alton making sure his blanket was tucked in around his waist and collected the empty teacup. “Now you two have a nice chat, and I’m gonna make a fresh pot of tea.”

“Ah, so Yoram hasn’t decided to oust you, yet I see,” Alton cackled as I walked over and sat across from him.

“Depends, I might have tied my own noose today,” I shared with a sigh as I leaned back in the overstuffed armchair, crossing my leg over the other. “Tell me, how badly do you want to remove Yoram from the CoF?”

My question caught him off guard but quickly drew him in. “What did it for you? He must have had you cross some line you weren’t willing to for you to come asking me that question.”

“It’s not him, well it is, just not in the way you’re thinking,” I explained, grabbing my briefcase, and pulling out the papers with the information I collected today. “Look at these.”

Slipping on his glasses he turned on a lamp as he looked over my work. He slowly shuffled through the papers pausing at some to go back and double check something. “How can this be? This doesn’t make sense to what other reports have shown us. Did Yoram see these?”

“No he didn’t. I told him what I was working on though because he came to confront me about being in the Omega birth records,” I explained. “There’s another part to this but I need to know that I have your word that what I’m about to tell you will never be spoken of outside these walls.”

Alton pulled off his glasses, looked at me for a moment, held up a finger to his lips, and gestured for me to follow. Slowly he got up from his chair letting the blanket fall to the ground not bothering to pick it up. Once he was upright he started to cough, a deep hacking cough that shook his whole body. I hurried over and grabbed his arm to steady him when he looked like he might fall over. When the fit passed he waved me off and headed for a bookcase on the other side of the room. He flipped open the cover of a book and entered a code, the bookshelf slid to the side showing a room behind it. Alton looked back and motioned with his head for me to follow.

Behind the bookshelf was an office, one with filing cabinets along the wall and a corkboard with papers tacked all over it. Glancing at it I found news reports, laws, memos from the Capitol Building, and other random bits of information. “What is all this?”

“You asked me how far I was willing to go, it’s the one thing I’ve been working on since my third year in office. That bastard has been gaining power year after year. The only win I’ve gotten past him was you,” Alton confided. “Now sit and tell me everything, and I mean every last detail. You never know what could be the nail to hammer it home.”

“I found an Omega, and I’m not giving her up.”

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