Free Web NovelChapter 334: Chapter 334 I’ll Hate It But I’ll Still Help
Allison
"I’m not asking you to stay for me," Daniel adds. "I’m telling you that me staying honest is easier if you don’t run. You make this place tell the truth by existing in it, that helps more people than you think."
"Your father will cut you for it," I say. "If not now, later."
He nods. "He will try but he won’t win. I have a Luna who knows where her spine is, and Alpha’s who will find who they are in the end. No mic, no camera, no corners. They will all be honest at some point, Allison. Elijah and I are just first to reach the right verdict."
I rub my thumb over a corner of the badge until the pad goes warm. "I don’t want to be a symbol," I say.
"You’re a person," he says. "The work you do turns into a symbol for people who need one. You don’t have to carry the symbol, just do the work."
We finish the soup and he rinses the bowls because he’s incapable of leaving dishes if his hands still work. I flip the notebook back around and draw a box under Stay.
Travel to Silver Mist, teach when asked. Sit as "guest." Keep my rules. Tea after.
"Seat?" he asks, practical again.
"In my row," I say. "Aisle if there’s a window, no middle."
"Copy," he says. "I put you in SUV-3, row two, passenger side. I’ll sit behind and Fallon’s left. If you need a bail-out at any point, the phrase is inventory check. I’ll call. If you need wheels, I’ll have the car moving before you hang up."
"Routes?"
"Pinned to your phone as maps," he says. "Library side door to staff lot, service corridor to loading bay and diner alley to the main road. I’ll have a ward battery in the trunk in case the Crown’s sweep wants to flex."
"Sigil watch?" I ask.
"Block rule live," he says. "Anything cream goes to Audit closed. If you see the knot in the wild, photograph, no touch. We bag it."
I check my phone. Ops: Convoy final check, Monday 8pm. Wardroom: Sweep, Tuesday 6am. PR; Notice scheduled. Training; FRAME/PIVOT/TRIP deck updated. Panic-breath box live.
Elijah texts a milk carton photo and a calendar emoji. I send back Copy and nothing else.
"Ready to say the decision out loud?" Daniel asks. He knows I am but he still lets me pick when.
"I’ll travel," I say. "I’ll not run, I’ll teach and I’ll sit as a guest. I’ll take tea with the Luna when we return and after that, we decide our next moves."
He nods like he expected that answer and was still waiting to hear it. "Good," he says. "I’ll update the travel packet with your medical allergy, none, and your food preference, ’whatever keeps me moving.’"
I smirk. "Accurate."
He moves to the door and stops with his hand on the knob. "One more thing," he says. "If you decide to leave later, I’ll help you go. I’ll hate it but I’ll still help. You’re not stuck because we care."
I press my lips together. "Thank you." He taps the frame twice and heads back to Admin.
I photograph the page and save it in Notes, Edges. Then I open three threads.
Me to Ethan; Decision made. I’ll travel as a Visitor/Ops. Notebook and drills will be in the bag. If you want a specific clip cut for the Crown’s deck, tell me tonight.
The reply lands fast. Good.
Ethan; Bring what you said, no speeches. I’ll handle the air.
Me to Ezra; Add first-years to the 31a posture module. The kids will ask anyway, might as well answer with a video that won’t hurt them.
Ezra; On it, he sends. I owe you a better room next time. I’ll bring it.
Me to Elijah; Traveling. Row two. If I call a window, take the aisle.
Dots.
Elijah; Copy. I read the rules again and I like the part where I stop when you say stop. We’ll rehearse bail-outs after Daniel’s rehearsal.
Me; Good, and tea Wednesday stays.
Elijah; Stays, he sends back.
I pack the bag I’ll carry in the car with my notebook, tape, a spare marker, two extra hair ties, the whiteboard folded into its sleeve, and a granola bar because I refuse to argue with my body halfway through a session I led. I set the badge on top.
’You’re still allowed to be angry,’ Ruby says. ’Angry and stubborn and smart at the same time. We don’t have to trade one for the other.’
’I’m all three,’ I say. ’Plus prepared.’
I lock the cottage and walk to Admin to check Locker 3A. It slides open and everything’s where Daniel listed it. I close it and memorize the feel of the dial even though the combination is in my head.
On the way back I cut by the gym. The whiteboard still has SAFETY FIRST, SPEED SECOND in big letters because Ezra refuses to erase that line. Tamsin is on mat three running the exit with a rookie. She sees me and doesn’t flinch or perform. "Shoulder lower," I call. She fixes it and gets the exit. She grins because bodies don’t lie when they learn something and I grin back. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
At home, I put the badge by the door with my keys. I check the Ops app one more time; No incidents. The forum is quiet because Daniel capped comments after 7pm. Good. No one needs to practice their opinion tonight.
Before I turn out the light, I text one more person.
Me to Luna Ella; Thank you for co-signing Policy. After the trip, I’ll bring tea to the greenhouse if you still want it. No promises asked. Just a room.
Her reply is a single dot. Her shorthand for good.
I put the notebook on the nightstand in reach. The column under Stay stands taller than Leave now, not because I made it longer, but because the lines got heavier when I read them twice.
’We’re not leaving tonight,’ Ruby says, satisfied. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
"No," I say. "We’re leaving Tuesday. With them."
I set my alarm and sleep because the math is done and there’s work in the morning.
