Chapter 115 - Advisor

Blake followed behind Jennifer as she navigated the now busy streets of his faction town. In the distance, he heard the clang of blacksmith’s hammers, the whinny of horses, and kids screaming as they played.

Hard to believe I did all this.

He of course had plenty of help along the way, but without his hard work and knowledge, the people around him would have been in danger for months, if not already dead. In his last life, he was not sure when the ‘Dealer’s Choice’ faction appeared within Show Low, but he was certain it did not appear until at least two months in. The faction leader chose to continue the town’s poker naming scheme, despite the closest casino being thirty minutes away on the Apache reservation. 

And, there’s two more towns just like this.

With a level four faction hall, Blake could create up to four expansion towns. So far, he had only expanded to Payson, two hours west of Pinetop, and Eager, an hour east. Both towns held a sizable populace, but were not so large that their population density would become an issue. Large cities not only had more monsters portaled into them, but were more likely to have criminal gangs form within them. 

Payson and Eager were also at higher elevations, something that was important in the hot Arizona summer. He could only imagine the hell people experienced in Phoenix or Tucson without access to air conditioners. His faction members in Payson were worried about heat exhaustion when it was only around one hundred degrees. In Phoenix, it regularly reached one hundred and twenty-five.

The White Mountains cooled Pinetop and Eagar to the high eighties in the summer, but winter was a bit chillier.

After multiple turns, Jennifer led him away from the main road and entered one of the eight-story bunkhouses. As a level three building, it was not only cooled by enchantments, but contained an elevator as well. They entered the vertical shaft, and ascended until the car reached the sixth floor. 

Blake followed silently behind Jennifer until she stopped before the last door on the left. He watched in concern as she hesitated and took a deep, calming breath. 

Is her relationship with her parents that bad?

Rather than broach the sore subject, he asked, “Did you let your parents know I’m coming?”

She nodded and then knocked at the door.

A moment later, a thin woman with long hair, in her upper forties, opened the door. When the mother saw Jennifer at the door, a smile lit up her face, and she embraced her daughter. “Jen! It’s so good of you to come by.”

A moment later, she released her hold on Jennifer and turned to address Blake. “And, you must be Blake. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Amy. Come inside, and I’ll introduce you to my husband as well.” She then faced the inside of the small room and reprimanded her partner, “Evidently, Corwin couldn’t be bothered to greet a guest.”

“Maybe if you brought them all the way inside, I could,” a gruff voice within the room complained.

They filed into the unit and Jennifer’s father was finally revealed. Corwin looked to be in his upper fifties, a full ten years older than his wife. He was clean-shaven, and was dressed in a button down shirt and slacks. Unlike Amy, he was overweight, but not obese. His short hair was mostly gray, and rose at his temples in a widow’s peak.

Corwin greeted his daughter, then stepped forward and extended his hand toward Blake. His grasp was firm, but at no point did he try to squeeze Blake’s hand. “Blake,” the father nodded in greeting. “Or, should I call you Baron Summers?”

He smiled politely. “Just Blake is fine.”

Corwin shook his head and let go of his hand. “Wrong answer.” After that statement, he turned away. A moment later, he sat within a wooden chair, the only seat within the small room.

Okay…

“Corwin,” Amy shook her head. “It’s rude to force a guest to stand.”

The older man grunted. “If he wanted to sit, then he should’ve invited us to a conference room, not met us in our tiny apartment.”

“If you prefer, we can head to the faction hall,” Blake offered. “There’s a few empty offices there where we can talk.”

Corwin grunted.

Is that a yes or a no?

Blake decided to remain within the room. Amy remained by the door and conversed quietly with her daughter. Meanwhile, Corwin stared patiently at Blake and remained silent. 

Okay, right to business then.

“So, Jennifer tells me you used to work for the Department of Defense,” he began. When Corwin did not respond, he asked, “What did you do there?”

“That’s classified.”
 Blake snorted. “I’m sure it was, but the government doesn’t exactly exist anymore.”

“Tell that to President Warner,” Corwin replied. “See what he thinks about that.”

“Next time I talk to him, I will,” Blake replied sarcastically, certain the conversation would never happen. “So, if you’re still loyal to Warner, why are you here? You have to know he’s not my biggest fan.”

This time, Corwin took a moment before he responded. “I’m here because my daughter is.”

Blake nodded. He completely understood loyalty to family over anything else. However, if Corwin was to be his advisor, he needed to ensure the man held no loyalties toward Warner. 

“Yes!” Jennifer suddenly shouted, and pumped her first into the air. She grinned and told Blake, “President Warner agreed to an interview! When I get you two in a room together, my subscribers are going to skyrocket!”

Okay, I guess I actually will be having a chat with Warner soon.

“Congratulations,” Blake replied without much enthusiasm. Amy was ecstatic, and embraced her daughter excitedly. He turned to see how Corwin reacted to the news, but saw no change in her father’s expression.

Okay, being polite obviously isn’t working.

“Mister Taylor, I think we need to talk privately,” Blake stated.

“Do we?” he asked, emotionless.

“Yes,” Blake replied firmly. “Follow me to that conference room you mentioned earlier.”

“About time,” Corwin mumbled.

When Jennifer noticed that her father now stood, she frowned and turned to Blake. “What’s going on?”

“I’m going to talk to your dad privately. Go ahead and get the details for your interview planned while we chat, okay?”

She nodded in concern, but stayed behind as Blake escorted her father out of the small apartment. Once they were far enough away from their room, Corwin suddenly asked, “Are you dating my daughter?”

Blake was so shocked by the question, he froze. At no point did he expect to have a conversation about relationships with the man. Jennifer was his public relations advisor, nothing more.

He frowned and turned to face Corwin. “No, I’m not, and I have no plans to. She is helping me fix my image, that’s it.”

Corwin nodded. “Good, keep it that way.”
 Blake rolled his eyes, then proceeded down the hallway. There was no conversation between the two as Blake led his guest back to the faction hall, however, he was stopped twice on the way by two separate faction members. Blake quickly answered their questions, excused himself, and continued his short trip to the faction hall.

When they finally entered the conference room, Blake closed the door behind them and gestured for Corwin to sit.

After a moment, Blake said, “Mister Taylor, I’m looking for someone to advise me on alliances, planning, and anything else I’m not an expert on. Jennifer hinted you may know something about that, so I decided to introduce myself. But, I’ll be honest with you, right now, it looks like that’s not going to happen.”

“Good, you aren’t timid. With how you were pussy-footing around earlier, I was afraid you were some kind of Nancy.”

Blake rolled his eyes. “I was trying to be polite. Obviously, that was the wrong tactic.”

“Son, I respect someone who tells me things straight. I don’t like beating around the bush, and I don’t appreciate being coddled. Now, what do you want to know?”

Blake leaned forward. “Why should I bother with you? You’re antagonistic, aren’t willing to share what kind of experience you have, and at this point, I’m not even sure you aren’t a spy for Warner.”

“You assume I even want this advisor position of yours?” Corwin pointed out.

“You do,” Blake replied confidently as he leaned back into the chair and waited.

A full minute later, Corwin was still silent. Blake was about to leave the room, and was about to stand, when the older man said, “You’re right. I would like the position. If nothing else, it’ll help me gauge how much you’ve screwed up, and whether I need to take my family and leave before things go tits up.”

Blake crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay, then tell me why I should let you advise me. Why should I listen to your advice over anyone else's?”

“I spent twenty years in the army as an officer. I retired as a lieutenant colonel, and then worked for the DoD for another twenty before I retired.” Corwin leaned forward. “The real question you should ask yourself is, who else do you have that’s more qualified?”

Blake snorted and shook his head. “I don’t know, that’s the problem. You still haven’t told me what you did. For all I know, you were a janitor.”

“That’d be a high ranking janitor,” Corwin replied dryly.

Blake shrugged.

After a moment, Corwin narrowed his eyes. “Fine. I was G-2 for the First Armored division, Fort Bliss, El Paso. That’s intelligence, if you aren’t aware.”

Blake nodded in acceptance of the information.

“I was responsible for strategic planning and policy assessment. When I moved to DC and worked for the DoD, I did much the same. I have forty years of strategic intelligence beneath my belt.” He sneered. “I’m pretty sure I can advise some teenager.”
 “I’m twenty-eight,” Blake corrected. “I spent ten years fighting monsters, and I probably have more combat experience than anyone else alive right now.”

“So you say.” Corwin shrugged. “Even if that’s true, it sounds like you were a grunt.”

“That’s why I’m looking for an advisor,” Blake replied blandly. “It sounds like you may know what you’re talking about, but how can I be sure you’ll be working for me and not Warner?”

Corwin ignored the question and asked one of his own. “Do you have a problem with veterans?”

Blake shook his head. “Not at all. They were some of the best people I worked with. My only issue with veterans, is they seem to give their loyalty a bit too easily for my tastes. Most had no problem pledging to some despot who didn’t give a shit about their lives, or those of their faction. All they cared about was their personal power.”

“It’s funny you mention that. I have similar concerns about you,” Corwin replied. “Now, before I answer, I need to know some things of my own.”

“That’s fair.”

“What is your goal here?” Corwin asked.

Blake frowned. “What do you mean? Isn’t it obvious? This is the apocalypse. All I want is for humanity to survive.”

Corwin shook his head. “You wrote that guide of yours already. If that’s all you cared about, mission accomplished. That knowledge will give humans the best chance they have to survive what’s coming. No, what I want to know is, what’s your goal with this faction? If you publicly submitted to President Warner, he’d be tickled pink to have you. He’d forgive past transgressions and open his arms wide to accept you.”

“I doubt that,” Blake replied derisively.

“Oh, he’d still hate your guts, but Warner’s a politician through and through. He’d gladly parade you around and shake your hand if it benefited him.”

“Yeah, well I’ve seen what happens when power hungry people are in charge. They have zero issues eliminating anyone who stands in their way.”

Corwin nodded in agreement. “That still doesn’t tell me why you won’t submit.”

“I’m not trusting the lives of my family to someone like that,” Blake said adamantly. “He’ll use them as hostages and force me to dance like a puppet.”

“That’s a valid reason not to turn yourself in, but not to stand in opposition to him. You could easily take your family and run. Why not take supplies, abandon The Dome, and build a new town in secret? As long as you picked an area remote enough, you could remain hidden for the rest of your lives.”

“You think hiding for the rest of our lives is an option?” Blake asked in disbelief.

“It could be,” Corwin shrugged. “But, that depends on what you aim to achieve. If survival is all you’re after, you could accomplish that by running just as easily as turning yourself in.”

“I want more than just survival,” Blake said fervently. “I want to lead a faction that treats its members well. I want to destroy the Koza when they come, and I want to have the strongest force in the world behind me when that happens.”

Corwin nodded. “Good, because if you plan to pit yourself against the United States government, you’ll have to do precisely that.”

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