Chapter 20

THE UNWELCOMING COMMITTEE

Rogue Rider Mansion, Beverly Hills, California, United States

“You are fired!” Dwayne Stone roared, pointing an accusatory finger down at Gen.

When Gen was released from jail, and returned to the Rogue Rider Mansion, she expected for her boss to be waiting for her. He was….

Of course he would have gotten word about her arrest. Her family, the House of Fourteen and the Rogue Riders had been alerted and luckily Liv showed up to post the money for her bail. She’d escorted Gen back to the mansion in Beverly Hills where the most ‘unwelcoming committee’ were waiting for her, as Liv had called them, upon their hike up the driveway.

Not only was Dwayne, the leader of the Rogue Riders, standing like a pillar out in front of the house when Gen arrived, but surrounding him were many of the other riders. Gen guessed that they’d all come out, at Dwayne’s insistence to see a show. In the crowd of angry faces, Gen caught sight of Jack and Sully, both wearing confused and worried expressions.

“Sir, I can explain,” Gen began, looking sideways to Liv for support. She was glad that she was beside her. “I didn’t do it.”

“You were caught with the stolen items on you!” Dwayne roared, his face flushing red. “And they say there were over a million dollars’ worth of valuable technology. That’s a felony.”

The crowd around Dwayne, standing on the steps to the mansion and around the driveway, all broke out into excited, conspiratorial chatter. Gen was about to interrupt when mercifully, the next support she so desperately needed came to her rescue.

In a rush of wind and elegance, Emperor landed at Gen and Liv’s back, almost soundlessly. She turned, making brief eye contact with her dragon before refocusing her attention solely on her boss in front of her. The sudden presence of Emperor definitely caught Dwayne by surprise, making him momentarily seem flustered before he regained his composure.

“I realize that your understanding of the words is limited,” Dwayne went on, a smugness in his voice. “But a felony is a serious offense. You’re going to prison—in the House of Fourteen where no one can help you.” His dark eyes glinted at Liv. “Not even your family can save you from that magical confinement.”

“I’ll remind you that Gen hasn’t been sentenced to prison,” Liv countered coldly, her words dripping with vehemence.

“Not yet,” Dwayne countered, smirking slightly.

“She has only been accused of a crime, which she didn’t commit,” Emperor said, making all the murmurs in the crowd silence at once—commanding everyone’s attention.

Dwayne narrowed his already beady eyes at the dragon. “Unfortunately, your testimony on this matter doesn’t count and can’t get Gen off the hook.” He held up his hands, as if suddenly powerless. “There’s no one who can help her, not even me.”

“I’m innocent, sir,” Gen argued. “I was set up. Someone put that silicon in my bag.”

“How?” he asked at once.

All eyes focused on Gen, awaiting her answer to the single question.

She chewed on her lip. Felt the weight of everyone’s gaze on her. Sensed Liv looking at her intently, hoping that she had a good answer.

Finally, Gen was forced to shake her head. “I don’t know. But it was done somehow without my knowledge?—”

The Rogue Riders broke out in a chorus of whispers again, all of their accusatory stares centered on Gen.

She huffed loudly, silencing them. “That place, MystTech Creations, was crazy. There was so much unexplainable and inconceivable technology. It was a whirlwind of chaos the moment I stepped through the door. There’s tons of strange magic at play, so who knows when it happened, but I’m going to prove that I was set up. That I am innocent.”

“I very much doubt that,” Dwayne said, sounding almost giddy.

“And strange that Gen was assigned to this place by…” Liv looked at Gen, giving her a playful expression. “Who was it who assigned you to that internship again?”

Despite the tension and stress, Gen almost laughed in that moment. She nodded to her boss. “It was Dwayne.”

“Oh, right,” Liv pretended to remember. “So how strange that the place you assigned Gen to was where she was so expertly and craftily set up for a felony. That’s very interesting indeed.”

“I pulled a lot of strings to get her that internship,” Dwayne countered, anger flaring on his face now, covering the moment of giddiness. “I was trying to help her to learn about the modern world of technology to fill in her huge gap of knowledge. It’s not my fault that she used this opportunity to try and make herself richer, stealing incredibly advanced resources.”

“She doesn’t even know what to do with them,” Emperor argued. “What would she want with quantum-entangled silicon?”

Dwayne shrugged, returning to his casual and almost happy demeanor. “Beats me. But the fact remains that you’re fired. I can’t have a corrupt criminal working for the Rogue Riders. We manage the unlawful, we don’t become them.”

“Funny, coming from you,” Liv fired, her voice hostile now.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Dwayne spat, the vein in his forehead surfacing.

“It means that I’ve got your number, Dwayne Stone,” Liv replied. “You may think that you’re pulling the wool over the council’s eyes, but they aren’t so easily fooled. You know who killed the previous Commissioner. You say you’re playing a political game. But if we find out that you’re not, then you’re going down hard.”

His nostrils flared. “The Founders put me into this position as leader over the Rogue Riders. Why would they do that if I wasn’t the right person for the job and bound by honor?”

Liv didn’t have an answer for this. That was what was tripping Gen up all along. She didn’t have an answer for why her father, sister and the other Founders had elected Dwayne as the leader of the Rogue Riders when he seemed like such a bad guy. However, Gen had reasoned that just because he was unlikable, it didn’t mean that he was a bad leader.

“Just admit that you’re bitter that Sophia was fired from this position and it was given to me,” Dwayne said, his voice gloating.

Liv shook her head. “Sophia was happy to step down. She wants what is best for the Rogue Riders. I’m just not convinced that it’s you.”

This produced another round of chatter from the riders gathered around.

The vein on Dwayne’s forehead pulsed now. “It doesn’t matter what you think. It doesn’t even matter what the council thinks. It is the Founders who make the assignment and they put me in this role and therefore, I’m firing Gen from the Rogue Riders.”

“The thing is that you can’t,” Liv countered matter-of-factly.

“Of course I can!” Dwayne boomed.

“She hasn’t been convicted,” Emperor stated. “In this country and under the laws of all civil races, the accused is innocent until proven guilty. She can’t be fired for a crime she didn’t commit.”

“A crime that she may or may not have committed,” Dwayne corrected, his eyes flashing with anger. “And that’s fine. You are suspended from your duties as Rogue Rider until you’ve gone to court for this crime, Gen.”

“What duties, sir?” Gen dared to ask. “I have endless training hours and no assigned case in sight.”

“Well, your training is suspended until this matter is resolved,” Dwayne stated. “I can’t have you out there representing the Rogue Riders if you’re a felon.”

“I’m not,” Gen argued. “And that’s fine. I’m already done with classifying the three-thousand magical animals you assigned me.”

Surprised anger flared on his face. “That’s impossible.”

She shook her head. “Apparently, these nano-creatures that Bermuda Laurens introduced me to at MystTech Creations are each their own species, much like the magical birds she showed me. So in one afternoon I observed over fifteen hundred creatures.”

Liv slapped Gen on the back. “Hey, maybe this internship will prove to be a good thing after all.”

“Once we clear your name,” Emperor added.

“If you do,” Dwayne corrected. “And if you are found guilty, well, you’re fired. But that’s obvious since you’ll be serving a prison sentence in the House of Fourteen. It will be ironic that you’ll be confined to the place you brag about founding to govern magic.”

“She doesn’t brag,” Liv said at once. “Gen states the facts. And speaking of the House of Fourteen.” She turned to Gen. “In light of this matter, the council wants to speak to you about these charges and the strangeness of them.”

“They do?” Gen asked, surprised.

“What do you mean by strangeness?” Dwayne questioned.

Liv shrugged, casually. “They simply think that it’s odd that Gen has been accused of such a crime and want her testimony. There are many bizarre things happening in Los Angeles that are getting the council’s attention.”

“I suppose,” Dwayne muttered. “Well, then tomorrow we will attend a council meeting.”

Liv shook her head. “Oh, that’s okay. You stay here and do…well, whatever it is that you supposedly do. The council only wants to meet with Gen. They said, and I quote, ‘We don’t want her to feel inhibited by any authority figure trying to maintain an air of superiority by showing their dominance.’” Liv tapped her chin, pretending to think. “What do you think they mean by that? Or rather, who do you think?”

Dwayne’s eyes looked close to bulging with white-hot anger. “I’m certain that’s not what the council said. But regardless, Gen, report to the House of Fourteen and then you can return to doing nothing until you stand trial.”

“Oh, no, she won’t be doing nothing,” Liv said with an encouraging smile. “Gen is going to be clearing her name. Then she can finish up training and you can assign her a case as a Rogue Rider. Won’t that be great?”

“We will see…” Dwayne turned, stomping into the Rogue Rider Mansion, a threat exuding from his words. Gen simply couldn’t understand why he seemed to want her gone. He had assigned her to that internship. Could he be behind framing her for the crime? If he was, then she would find out, and she’d make him pay—big time.