“Listen to me,” growled Rory, gripping his shirt and pulling him to his feet. “Listen carefully, you stupid little fuckup. We are not working for Snow. We are going to destroy him. What the hell does he want?”
“I-I’m not sure. I mean, he wants the Square torn down and destroyed. All of it.”
“Why?” asked Zeke with frustration.
“I don’t know!”
“Here’s what you’re going to do, little man. You’re going to resign your seat on the council, or I’m going to send the entire city the photos of you and your little trick. Plus, I happened to notice a nice white powder in the bathroom. I’m guessing it’s not baby powder.”
“Wait! No, you can’t do that! I’m still on probation.”
“I will do it. Resign. Today. Or you’ll be in jail by tomorrow,” said Zeke. “And if you find out anything else about Snow, you’re going to find us and tell us all of it. Clear?”
“Clear,” he mumbled.
“I didn’t hear you,” growled Rory.
“Clear!Geez, okay.Clear.”
“Good boy. Today. Or we’ll be back.”
They left Thoms sitting in his sex-stained sheets, sipping the hot coffee. They knew the moment they walked out the door,he’d sniff whatever was in the bathroom and forget everything. It wouldn’t matter. He’d be done.
The surprise was, on the evening news, it was announced that he was resigning and would be taking a sabbatical from public life. No other information was given.
“What do you know?” laughed Zeke. “It worked, and we didn’t have to kill him.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1792
“Boy, you’ll learn one day to keep your mouth shut,” muttered the old woman washing the shreds of skin and blood left on his back.
“We’re not animals,” he whispered through the pain.
“We are to them. Ain’t nothin’ for us to do about it. I was born here as a slave, I ‘spect I’ll die here as a slave.”
Grover hissed in pain as she hit a particularly raw spot on his back. This was the third time in as many months that he’d received lashes for his ‘backtalking.’
“Don’t you want to fight?” he asked. “Don’t you want something more for yourself and for your children?”
“Course I do,” she laughed. “Don’t mean I’m gonna get it. All you gotta do is keep your mouth shut, do your job, and you’ll get food and a decent shelter.”
“Decent? These shacks aren’t fit for dogs. In fact, the dogs get better shelter than we do. This isn’t for human beings.”
“Boy, you sure know how to rile someone. You might be book smart, but you ain’t got the common-sense God gave you,” she chuckled.
“Common sense? It’s about decency and rights. That devil,” he started.
“You best shush, boy,” she said, shoving his shoulder down. “He got ears everywhere. All these others ain’t as mad as you. They get favors from him. Some of them girls, they give him what he wants when he wants it, and they get warm clothes, extra treats, all sortsa favors. Even some of the men. They get to do the easy jobs. Watch your mouth.”
“I just want to go home,” he sniffed.
“I know, I know you do, boy,” she said, comforting him. “I’m almost done here. Let me put summa my healin’ salve on this, and I’ll wrap you up. Boss is gonna ‘spect you to be in the fields on Monday.”
“I know,” he said, stifling the tears.
“It’s alrigh’, baby. Everything is gonna be alrigh’. I come from a long line of women with healin’ powers. And others.”