Read Abandon The Night for Free Online Page B

other things.”
    It still threw Quent when he heard a man of seventy-seven use the f-word, even though he knew that he’d actually been born
before
Lou and Theo Waxnicki. He guessed he’d be using the word when he was that old himself.
    Rogan had taken another loud sip of coffee, and was nodding. “You don’t have to tell me. And that’s part of why I wanted to talk to you.” He spanned his gaze around the table. “Here’s the deal,” he said, leaning forward, his voice low and rumbling. “I don’t really know where you men came from or what makes you so…different…but I know that Envy needs you.
    “I’ve been mayor here for four years. But the people of Envy have spent the last fifty trying to survive and to build a civilization that resembles, as much as it can, the one that existed before the Change. But there are areas that we’ve neglected. Lou, Theo, and I have talked long and hard about what can be done to protect and grow our race now that we’ve reestablished the—what do you call it?” He looked at Lou.
    “Infrastructure.” Lou removed his glasses and wiped off one of the frames. “We’re doing pretty well here—electricity, food, clothing, shelter—using things we’ve scavenged or grown or made. But beyond the walls of the city, it’s pretty much every man for himself. It’s the fucking Wild West out there sometimes. And we’ve lost a lot of medical and pharmaceutical knowledge, and of course, there’s no communication to speak of. I told Vaughn that you’d probably be willing to help, considering your familiarity with twenty-ten and the years before.”
    Quent slid a look at the older man. Had he really told Rogan everything about them? Obviously the mayor knew of Elliott’s healing powers, for he’d been a recipient of that ability himself.
    Lou gave him a slow, deliberate nod as if to say that the mayor could be trusted to know the truth about them. But Quent wondered if that also included telling Rogan that Fielding was Quent’s father.
    Rogan set his coffee cup down. “It comes down to this. Elliott, we need your medical skills, and Jade tells me you’ve been planning on doing house calls when she goes on her missions to the other settlements. That’s good, but I’m here to ask you if you’ll make Envy your home base and work with us to better develop our infirmary.”
    “Already been planning on it,” Elliott interrupted. “But I didn’t want to step on any toes.”
    “No worries there. Your expertise will be welcomed.”
    Elliott nodded. “I’ve been talking to Flo Gradinski, and she wants to help too. Nursing and other stuff.”
    “When she’s not making up hair dyes and cosmetics,” Jade added with a smile.
    “Flo? That’s good,” Rogan nodded. “She’ll be an asset. And there are others who want to learn what you can teach them.” Then he looked at Simon. “I understand that you have some experience in security and law enforcement?”
    Quent smothered a smile at Simon’s expression—it went dead blank. From what he knew about the guy, his experience wasn’t precisely
in
law enforcement…but quite the opposite. Which would explain his reticence.
    “Not sure where you got that impression,” Simon responded. But then Sage shifted beneath the table and Simon jolted slightly, a pained expression flitting across his face. “But…eh…why do you ask?”
    “We need to organize a more extensive—security, I guess—system here. I understand that there was an incident with Sage recently. She was assaulted and you—er—took care of the attacker.”
    “He won’t be a problem again,” Simon assured him.
    Rogan gave a wry smile. “I got that impression.”
    “He didn’t kill him or anything,” Sage interrupted earnestly.
    “I know,” Rogan said. “But that just indicates how much we need to establish a better way to deal with this sort of thing. For the most part, crime is minimal here in Envy. But outside the city, and even sometimes