CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

"The premiere of the movie happens on Friday," said Luke, standing at the front of the auditorium. "We've received permission from LAPD to come in and act as security. We're going to wait until he's on stage accepting his applause, and then we'll move in. Clark and the other Marines get first shot."

"Wait," said Alistair too quickly.

"No," said Luke. "They have the right to do this. We'll be there to make sure nothing happens, but all he'll have is his usual security team. Nothing special."

Alistair looked at Clark, and she smiled at him, squeezing his hand. The Marines were all sitting in the front row, the first time actually seeing all the others. They were whispering back and forth and then looking behind them.

"You boys okay?" asked Hex.

"Oh, yes, sir. It's just, well, we've never seen you all in person. I mean, Rory and Trak and all the others. It's surreal." Hex laughed, nodding his head.

"Yeah, I guess it is. But we're real, son. All of us. Do your thing with the Marines and come see us in a few years." You would have thought he'd given them their favorite toy for Christmas, the way their faces lit up.

"We need for him to admit what he did," said Eric. "That won't be easy, especially in front of an audience of his peers. The good news is, we got his brother's conversations with you on record and what the other men said, as well as Dove."

"How is she doing?" asked Garr.

"So far, so good. Apparently, this shit isn't the easiest to kick, but she's already gained four pounds, and that's something. Her brother has really stuck by her side, and her father is involved now as well. We think she's going to be okay, and she's more than willing to testify against him."

"That's great news," said Alistair. "What made her change her mind?"

"Hearing the news of what the drug has done to her body," said Suzette, standing to speak to the group. "Riley, Erin, and I have spent a lot of time evaluating the drug, its components, and the finished product. The pills were not uniform. They weren't mixing this with any consistency at all."

"What does that mean?" asked Garr.

"It means that sometimes they were getting double what they needed, and other times they were getting half of what they needed. This is part of what caused them to crave more, need more. But that's not the worst of it. She's got irreparable liver damage, her kidneys aren't functioning correctly, and she has intestinal bleeding, which they've been able to get under control.

"Her hair is practically non-existent at this point. Her nails are brittle and falling off. If that weren't enough, her blood sugars are so low it's causing her to have seizures. The rehab center has never seen anything react in this way. She may not fully recover from this."

"Jesus. He's killing these people, and he doesn't give a damn," said Alistair.

"He may not, but we do," said Eric. "We're going to make sure that he's stopped. Dad? Uncle Alec? Are you guys going to be okay? I know you'd grown close to Miss Iris."

Eric smiled at his son, touched by his worry for them.

"We'll be fine," he said. "She was a special lady, but she's where she should be now. I'm sure she's happy to be with her family."

"Alright, everyone, I think we deserve…" Luke's voice trailed off as she stared out the windows, his jaw wide open. Slowly, heads started to turn, and they all looked at the incredible sight. Gaspar stood and was the first to yell.

"Mama!"

"Mama," said Gaspar as calmly as he could manage. "Mama, I think you'd agree that I have been more than understanding about the animals. I wasn't at first. I admit that. I was disturbed by it all. I mean, an alligator, a gorilla, giraffes, elephants, we've got a damn menagerie here. But this?"

Irene rubbed the head of the massive beast beside her. Two thousand pounds of big, hairy, horned beast chuffed, rubbing against the tiny woman. Behind him were three females casually eating the grass.

"Don't mess with my gardens," she scolded the beasts. They looked up with a shamed expression and nodded at her. They actually nodded at her.

"Bison, Mama? Bison?"

"Gaspar, we go through this every time, son. They needed a place to go. They were on a farm, and the farm was sold, and the new owners were going to slaughter them. We couldn't let that happen. We might be able to help repopulate them."

"That would be welcome," smiled Eagle Feather. "It has been millennia since I've seen them up close. This is wonderful."

"You keep quiet," said Gaspar. "Ghosts don't get to say what animals can be here."

"Neither do you, apparently," smirked Luke. His father glared at him, and he just held up his hands, laughing.

Gaspar stared at the others, all amazed by the size and utter beauty of the beasts. He slowly stepped forward and held out a hand, settling it between his eyes and those massive, deadly horns. The big male seemed to nod at him, and he just shook his head, rubbing him more aggressively.

"Sniff? Lucy? Are they dangerous?" he asked calmly.

"Only when they think you're trying to harm them or touch their young. They defend themselves like any other animal," said Lucy.

"And will they be okay on the island?" he asked.

"Yes," nodded Sniff with a smile. "It's big enough that they'll be fine."

"Okay, Mama. The bison stay," he said calmly. He walked forward, kissing his mother's cheeks, and then just laughed, shaking his head.

All the others smiled, not sure why he handled this one so well. As he walked toward the cafeteria, they could hear him laughing.

"Bison. We have fucking bison on the property. What next?"