Chapter 220: A troublesome drunk.
Her eyes were closed as she slammed the hammer on the floor with a little more force than intended. It gave off sparks as if metal was meeting fire.
The cold air she blew out of her mouth directed the sparks in Justice Marley’s direction and the woman screamed, flinging her hands in different directions.
Not a single person moved to help her. Silence continued to keep their bodies where they were as if they were frozen to the chairs.
Father Nicodemus wanted to say something, but he didn’t dare to do so. Not because he was afraid but because he knew that she was the best person to handle the matter and answer the questions everyone had.
Hades smiled proudly. He swallowed the urge to applaud and shout, "That’s my wife, the hammer queen nobody dares to mess with."
Sunshine looked at the residents and grabbed a microphone. Slowly, she said, "Spreading rumors will cost you your places on this base. You all have forgotten so soon what happened to Helena Drew and the Gadriel’s. If some of you are not careful, you may follow them." Her eyes pinned on Justice Marley. "Like Dwayne said, the base has no security threats except for the marauders, mutant and mutated monsters. That is what you should be worried not some nonexistent criminals.
If you don’t feel safe, pack up and leave. The soldiers can even drive you to the foot of the mountain and you can find your way to another safe place in the city. Or maybe you can move into a cave or the forest. Whatever suits you best, I do not give a shit.
The mass is over.....go in peace."
She strode away, the clack of her heels echoing in the room. Hades followed after her, his face more serious than ever.
"Good job honey." He said as he caught up with her, grabbed her arm and kissed the top of her head.
The other Quinns followed, adults and children, heads held high.
The residents did not dare say another word. After all, who wanted to live in a cave or forest?
Father Nicodemus rested his head in his palms. He had never heard so much swearing or this many curse words used in a church. He wondered if his sermon had truly taught anyone anything.
Residents started to leave slowly. Those that had rallied around Justice kept a distance from her. They would do so until they felt safe and were sure they would not be thrown out.
Outside, Dwayne caught up with Sunshine and Hades as he had something to say. "You need to see this." He showed her the footage of the drones taken by the watcher.
The drone had been dropped in the part of the forest beyond the bubble. It was dropped near what looked like a nest of mutated ants of different kind. There were many of them, enough to form a colony.
"Holy shit!" Hades exclaimed.
"Father Nicodemus does not like that." Dwayne whispered.
Sunshine and Hades wanted to ask him who cared. The ant colony was a problem that needed to be solved before they dug their way through the ground and showed up inside the base.
Like as if they did not have enough to worry about, Cyprus Shaw approached them.
Dwayne quickly closed the tablet. He did not anyone seeing anything they did not need to see. Nobody could be trusted with information anymore. Who knew what kind of rumors the lawyer would spread after seeing the images?
"Good morning." Cyrus greeted them with ease, smiling like he had noticed Dwayne’s actions.
They all responded politely, smiling like people with nothing to hide.
"What is it Shaw?" Hades asked, "Is this about that divorce case you..."
"No..no...no" Cyprus pressed his thumb against the crease between his brows and frowned. "I am concerned about Junior Vance."
Dwayne, who had been half-turned to leave, stopped mid-step. His lips parted in disbelief, then curled into a smirk. "What has that drunkard done now? Did he do something to the wall again because he drunk himself stupid?"
Cyprus shook his head, waving one hand as though brushing dust from the air. "It’s not alcohol related."
The group exchanged quick glances.
The lawyer’s gaze sharpened, his tone grew to become more serious. "Junior Vance has filed twenty-eight lawsuits against a villager called Elgar Ravgard. But each time our investigators looked into the matter, it was either a lie or a case of exaggeration. In the most recent report, he claimed that Elgar tripped him and caused him to fall and injure his arm.
The investigator did his job, the witnesses say that it was Vance who stumbled over Elgar’s leg. There was plenty of space for him to pass but chose to look for Elgar’s leg and trip himself. Then after he expressed his disgust for all the villagers calling them names like hippies, barbarians and threatened that he would make sure that they leave the base."
"Stupid fool." Sunshine pinched her lips together.
Dwayne let out a short bitter chuckle. "This is not the first time it’s happening; there was a time they exchanged words...."
"I heard." Sunshine threw in.
Cyprus’s expression darkened. "No lawyer wants to take his cases because they are a nuisance. The law enforcement team keeps dumping him on us and we don’t want to deal with him.
Water should be handled with care, we understand that. But Vance doesn’t shower for days. The man stinks like a cesspit."
"I have heard that too." Dwayne chimed in.
Cyprus continued, voice slightly raised, "My specialty is divorce. I told him I could not help him. The other lawyers turned him away as well and in reaction, he cursed us and swore to take actions into his own hands. He spat words of hatred and claimed that the villagers were given special treatment and that he despised all of them. Before storming out of the office, he warned us to watch our backs. What do you plan to do with him?"
A silence hung heavy. Sunshine’s face tensed, already calculating the dangers festering in someone that has nothing to lose. "Dwayne warn him and have him banned from the bar. Tell him that the next time he bothers any of the villagers or lawyers, we’ll kick him out."
Dwayne nodded. "What about this Elgar is he completely innocent?"
Cyprus nodded.
"The villagers are people of peace." Sunshine said, inclining her head towards Cyprus. "Thank you for bringing this to us, it will be handled, and we will keep an eye on Vance."
The lawyer gave a brief nod and then moved away.
Dwayne followed him.
Hades and Sunshine lingered at the church compound longer after Dwayne’s departure. This was because more people walked up to them to share problems that they had noticed but did not dare to voice publicly.
Two hours later, Lisha and Hadrian took over that duty, allowing the couple to rest in chairs under one of the tents. Hades’s eyes drifted at the children playing on the church playground.
Among them was Tia. Major Elio was standing there watching over her like a hawk. Sunshine motioned at him to come over.
"Any progress on the interrogation of the prisoner that does not exist?" She asked in a low voice.
Major Elio sighed through his nose, his jaw clenched. "We have tried everything, pulled out nails, teeth, electrocution, new techniques but the man won’t talk. He seems to enjoy the pain. I actually think that he gets off on it."
"Damn it!" Hades cursed.
Father Nicodemus was approaching them. He turned around and walked away.
Elio sighed. "I think we broke the priest, especially Miss Sunny and Mr. Dwayne."
Sunshine laughed. They were living in troubled times; it was hard to get by without cursing a little. The good Father needed to get used to it the same way sister Anna was getting used to wearing cargo pants which she hated.