Page 92 of Jester

I end up wandering over to Papa Bear’s house, where I find his youngest daughter outside with the family’s Hovawart dogs. Katana’s gaze finds me as she brushes the nearest animal. She’s wearing a bouncy skirt and a shirt with that Paris tower on it.

After explaining how her mom and dad went to check on a girl named Hope, she asks, “Are you going to be Road Captain now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does Blunt do a good job?” Katana asks, and her pushiness reminds me of Talon.

“Seems that way. The younger guys know him, not me. Some of those young fucks never even met me until last week.”

“You should quit.” Narrowing my eyes, I look at the little girl for a bit before she glances over her shoulder and smiles at me. “No one wants you to be Road Captain anymore,” she adds, just in case her first words didn’t shove the knife in deep enough.

“You hear people saying that?”

“No, but it’s just how things are. Most of the founders gave up their ranks already.”

“Flagg hasn’t.”

“He has something to prove.”

“How do you figure?”

“His twin brother was evil and went against my dad. People look at Flagg and see Kraken. Everyone knows that.”

“Do they, now?”

“Yeah, but you don’t have anything to prove. No one talks about you being anyone else. You’re just you.”

“That’s true.”

“Then, how come you want to be Road Captain instead of giving power to the next generation?”

I eye the kid, knowing she heard this shit from someone. Talon is always whining about how her niece—the ballbusting brunette one—copies things she hears from other people. I’m wondering if the same thing is true for Katana.

“Giving up my rank feels like I’m saying my time is over.”

“It is. You should do what the other founders do.”

“And what’s that?”

“Other stuff. Tank is always mowing the Sanctuary. Some guys are mentors to the younger guys. Some of the founders just sit around and complain about everyone else. They seem happy.”

“Yeah, but they’re older than I am.”

“You also have Sister Sass. I heard you might put a baby inside her. That’s going to be a lot of work.”

“Your dad raised kids while running the club.”

“I don’t mean the baby will be hard. Taking care of Sister Sass is hard. She isn’t just one person. Sometimes, she’s really wild and confident and bossy. Other times, she’s sad and scared. I don’t really like the second one. But I also don’t like when she’s bossy.”

“So, I should quit being Road Captain and take care of your sister?”

“But you’re not Road Captain,” Katana says, still brushing the dog as if our conversation isn’t something she needs to fully focus on. “Blunt is. If you quit, nothing changes.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“How come?”

“The Road Captain rank was one of the few things I felt proud over. Imagine you’ve been the little sister for a long time, and that’s who everyone thinks of you as. But then, a new baby comes along, and you’re not the little sister anymore. Someone else has your spot now. It feels like you’ve been replaced.”

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