0174

"Come on, guys," Sol said. "I was bluffing, I wasn't going to kill you. Ask for a favor for an old friend, maybe. But not kill you."

"Yeah, well, I'm glad you got his permission just the same," one guard said.

Sol walked into the house, which was now full of Elizabeth's furniture. She was sitting in a large chair in the living room wearing a lush robe. "I like what you've done with the place," Sol said to her from the entryway.

"No you don't," she replied.

"You're right, I think it's too much, but it wouldn't be you if it were anything less."

"Did Thomas allow you to visit me or did you bribe your way in?"

"Thomas."

"Did you reconcile with his highness?"

"No, I'm actually still angry about what happened. He seems to think it was no big deal, but I don't appreciate being used."

"Neither do I, but I owe him so much. Are you going to stand in the doorway all night, or are you going to sit down in here with me?"

"I'm not sure yet," he answered.

"What’s stopping you?"

"I know I played the part of the fool in all of this, but what part did you play?" Sol asked.

"I, too, was a fool, Sol. I, too, was a fool. Perhaps even a bigger fool than you.

"Thomas didn't bring me here to run the Tribunal, he brought me here because he believed I would destroy it with my ineptitude.

"It's wonderful to find that your sire has such faith in you. But, hey, according to Thomas, it impressed him that I didn't fail miserably. Like he hoped I would."

"How much did you know?" Sol asked.

"I knew nothing. Absolutely nothing. Do you think I would have set Sabastian up like that?" asked Elizabeth rhetorically.

"A week ago I would have said “no,” but now I'm just confused. Sabastian is the only one I trust,” Sol answered, knowing that Elizabeth wasn’t looking for an answer.

"I may not be important to him,” Sol continued, “but I know where I stand with him. Everyone else, I just don't know."

"I'm hurt," Elizabeth said, "but I understand. Trust is a fragile thing. I hope to have the opportunity to gain back your faith.

"You're making me nervous, sit already," she said, with a smile and a beckoning arm gesture.

"Yes Madam President," Sol said smiling back.

"Please don't call me that, I can't believe how hard I worked, we worked, to have it all be one big scheme. And now... It's like my whole world is falling apart.

"You made the right decision to follow Sabastian, I wish I had the fortitude to do the same thing."

"It wasn't my choice, it was Susan's decision," Sol said in reply.

"Susan? You mean the little girl? She seemed very nice. You know, she does look very much like Sabastian's own child."

"I knew he had a child, but I wasn't aware of the similarities."

"You've spent time with them, why is she so important to Sabastian?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't really know, but I can sense there is something very special about her. She seems to know things. Things she couldn't possibly know about. And she has an understanding that is beyond her years. It can be weird, disturbing even."

"Interesting. I would like to meet her some day, but for now I'm trapped here."

"So you are. I have gathered that it has something to do with your attack on the Church and the Zionists."

"No, it has everything to do with it."


[Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005, 2006. All rights reserved.]
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