Chapter 62

Rogue Rider Mansion, Beverly Hills, California, United States

Sitting in their familiar perch on the roof of the Rogue Rider Mansion, Gen and Emperor looked out at the grounds and up to the starry skies of Beverly Hills. She was glad to see Jack and Sully safe and sitting around the fire below on the lawn. The two men were enjoying beers and laughing about their night. Their dragons lounged in the distance, feasting on legs of lamb.

Gen thought that it was best if she kept her distance from the other two riders, not wanting to give Dwayne any more reasons to be suspicious. He couldn't link her to the intervention at the Federal Reserve, nor could he really pin anything on Jack and Sully. Those guys had simply been following up on one of their criminals. It went to reason that if a bigger villain was strong-arming Tesla, that they'd have to intervene. Their job was to keep the small criminals in check in order to take down the big lawbreakers.

According to what Gen had overheard, Captain Neal and his crew of terminated police officers were getting full credit for taking down the corrupt Chief of Police. It was believed that they alone figured out what was happening and stopped the bank heist. Captain Neal's contact at the FBI gave them access to the Federal Reserve Bank, but refused to get involved.

Special Agent Sabrina Justin only stepped onto the scene of the crime with her own team when Captain Neal could deliver her proof of the robbery and have the mastermind in custody. Not until Barry Fer was in the bank could Captain Neal call in the FBI as back up—that was why it was so crucial that Gen lure him there.

Gen would have loved to see Barry Fer's face when he stepped into the bank vault, thinking that he'd succeeded only to find out he'd been caught. The evidence against him and his corrupt officers was solid and there would be a major overhaul of the police force.

Unfortunately, it would be under the supervision of the Commissioner, who hadn't been caught, having a solid alibi and no ties to the bank robbery. Barry Fer had one hundred percent taken the full fall for the crime, but Gen and Emperor firmly believed they knew who the true mastermind was.

There was something really wrong about Charlie Sloane. So many of the corrupt events in the City of Los Angeles could be linked to when he took office. Gen didn't know how, but she was going to find out the truth about that man—and she firmly believed that would include a vault full of treachery.

"Will we ever rid the world of the biggest bad guys like Charlie Sloane?" Gen asked, looking up at Emperor, his gold eyes like beacons of light in the darkness.

"Absolutely not," Emperor stated, issuing a bit of steam from his nostrils. "And as Rogue Riders, we should find merit in how the bad give us purpose."

"Explain," she encouraged, still struggling with this good versus evil premise.

"Without a bad guy, we have no one to fight," he began, his belly rising and falling, making her move with it since she was leaning against him. "And although humans believe they just want a world full of love and peace, a utopia would surely send this planet into disarray. It would die due to the lack of passion and determination. Fighting evil gives us purpose. It teaches us who we are. It creates growth. Without that we become stagnant and lose the drive to evolve our own understanding of love and devotion to others."

Gen shook her head in surprise. "Wow, so the bad guys keep us going?"

"The bad guys remind us that we're human," Emperor stated. "Do you want to live in a world where everyone is perfect and there's nothing left to fight for?"

She sighed, understanding. "That sounds boring."

He nodded. "It is, because humans have flaws and that means they have room to grow. Nothing is more beautiful than a bud before it blossoms. But what happens to a flower after it has reached the pinnacle of its growth stage?"

"It dies," Gen stated. "Because when we have nothing left to achieve then we perish, having completed our evolution."

"That's right."

Gen looked out over the city, amazed by the complexity of this world and how her understanding had continued to grow so much. "I guess I should hope that there are more bad guys out there who will push us to new levels then," she said with a laugh.

He nodded. "You don't have to hope. Charlie Sloane is one of the worst specimens of mankind that I've ever known. I can't read his thoughts much, but I sense an evilness in him that's utterly disgusting."

"Then we're going to bring him down and make Los Angeles better for it," Gen said with determination. "We're going to fix this city and then go on to stop other bad men and women."

"Well, there will never be a shortage of those," he stated. "That's because the waters, no matter how often we clean them, will always be polluted by the runoff of human greed and selfishness. But you needn't worry because each villain we take down creates a new story of love and devotion in our hearts and for those around us."

Gen smiled, nuzzling back into her dragon, feeling a warmth spread over her heart. "I love this life I've been given."

"I'm glad you do, because it was expertly tailored for us. We were meant to come through the ages and protect this modern and fragile world. Some might think you're out of place, but I know the truth, Gen Beaufont."

She glanced up at him quizzically. "And that is?"

"There was simply not enough evil in the medieval world to keep you busy," he answered matter-of-factly. "That's why you were sent here, into an age desperately tearing itself apart. It needs a warrior who is relentless to help it. This world needs the ruler of dragons to create balance over good and evil. It has shifted recently and it is essential that we help."

"But what then?" she asked. "When we've created balance in the world, then what happens? You said there would always be a villain to fight."

"You don't just create balance," he explained. "We create it and then we maintain it. That will forever be our job, which will never be done because the world is always changing, creating new problems. But you know what comes with fixing them?"

"What?" she asked.

"Love," he answered. "New experiences full of happiness, meaning and enlightenment."

Gen sighed, grateful that she would always have a purpose. That might feel like an overwhelming destiny to some, but for Gen Beaufont, that felt like she was issued a never-ending fate of joy. She looked forward to waking up every morning and knowing that the world needed her—knowing that she was meant to make it a better place. How could there ever be a greater feeling?

Her and Emperor's purpose wasn't to save the world—it was to maintain the balance over good and evil—for all of time.