"No doubt," Carlos said, and leaned back against the furniture to keep the porch from spinning.
"Next thing you know, after our late-running convo last night, Shabazz was saying, 'Mar, can I talk to you for a minute?' You know how smooth he rolls - made it seem like they needed to convene about the situation at hand, and those two were out the back door. Not sure if Marlene zapped them into another dimension or what, but they ain't home."
Carlos didn't say a word and just stared at Rider and then closed his eyes again.
"Berkfields broke camp, too. Dude stood up, got a gun and his keys, and said, 'Marj, let's go.' Didn't think the man had it in him." Rider laughed.
"She went, just like that?" Carlos was incredulous, and it made him open his eyes to squint at Rider.
"You missed it," Rider said chuckling. "Her face got all flushed, and she hovered around the children, giving them instructions on what to do, her cell phone number, and then looked at me with these puppy dog eyes, and I knew I was the babysitter. So, I holstered up and told her I'd slow down on the Jack and things would be fine." Rider sighed. "But not before I laid a hand on J.L.'s shoulder. That's when Berkfield nodded and walked out the door." He smiled at Carlos. "Some things don't need to be said. They just boil down to a man-to-man understanding."
Carlos knew exactly what Rider meant. "Listen, the thing last night with my boy..."
"I understand," Rider said. He looked down at the vomit. "No blood in it, so I reckon you're fine."
"No, man, that's not what I'm talking about."
"You staggered your ass up these steps with my help, starting at twenty-five feet out in the front yard, and fell down so hard on the swing that somebody shoulda yelled timber. I've been there. Gets cold outside at night in the desert, so I threw a blanket over you. Every now and then I'd put my eye on ya, only because you were tossing and turning so much, like a man with a lot on his mind梐nd I didn't get concerned until I saw a little fang crest... but, hey, it's daylight so I didn't dust you in your sleep. The fact that you actually did go to sleep at night helped me put things into perspective."
Rider pulled out another cigarette and allowed it to dangle from his lips as he searched for his matches again. "Me, Dan, J.L., and the kids had a great night of poker."
Carlos didn't respond for a moment. Several things were competing for dominance in his cloudy mind. He noticed, too, that Rider hadn't mentioned Juanita or Jose's whereabouts. The one thing he knew for sure was that what was said openly was as important as what wasn't said at all. He also hadn't mentioned Damali. Big, obvious oversight. Major.
"You need to stop smoking, man. Not like I can tell you what to do, but that's like slow suicide, and I don't wanna see you go out like that."
"Appreciate the sentiment," Rider said, allowing a slow release of smoke to filter out of his nose. "Guess we're all prone to relapse." He stared at the end of the cigarette. "Haven't done this in almost thirty years, but a lot of things are working my nerves."
Carlos let his breath out hard and shut his eyes again. "I hear you."
"Do you?" Rider said coolly.
"Yeah, I do."
"Let me explain something very slowly, then," Rider said, easing off the porch rail and stretching his back. He glanced at the rifle that was leaning against a post. "Me and the old guard have approximately one more month to finish training you, right about when your house will be finished, and then you'll be a full-fledged Neteru. What you do with this second chance is your business. I'm a very simple man, with very simple requirements to live. I understand vices and make no judgments about what other folks do. I've accepted my fate. I don't ask for a lot; I'm very philosophical in that way. At my age, I avoid unnecessary stress; I don't battle over bullshit. But every man has his limit."
Carlos stood with effort and went to find a mop. Nothing more needed to be said to Rider, except maybe thank you.
Rider looked at him hard when he returned to the porch. "Did you or did you not hear me say we had a powwow, once? A meeting, twice?"
Carlos just stared at Rider for a moment. "Everything's fuzzy, man."
"Then, you need to clear up your head, pronto. Damali was here, after a demon attack."
Carlos dropped the mop.
"Father Patrick said call on a seer-lock. Airwaves are compromised."
Carlos sat down slowly.
"Your homeboy, Yonnie, watched the front yard, while Tara stayed on the porch to protect you... in case whatever tried to smoke Damali came for you - but let me add that the Neteru apex you're beginning to trail sent a little red through her eyes. So, I sat out here with both of them," Rider said, his voice tightening and escalating with every word, "to keep you from being turned into a Third, and then subsequently getting your heart ripped out by your best man, if she couldn't help herself!"
Carlos squinted as much from the volume of Rider's voice as from the scenario he painted. What Rider had endured was too insane. "Man, I'm so - "
"Don't f**king say it!" Rider shouted, pointing at Carlos. "Damali was in there locking with Mar to see about the fate of the world. I'm out here babysitting you while watching my woman, who has already gone off with another vamp bastard, try to sip air and be cool in both his and my presence! We got kids in the house, and some crazy bullshit on our asses. Maybe a compromised werehuman out in the woods nearby, a Zen master that knows this and is ready to turn the house out if Marlene breathes wrong - while my ace, Big Mike, who can body slam anything, is out in Houston eating barbecue and getting laid!"
"Rider, man, lower your voice. I hear you," Carlos said, holding his head.
"Lower my voice? Lower my voice!" Rider hollered, walking in a circle with his arms opened wide. "What the f**k is going on, I ask somebody! Our primo sensor, smooth operator, the one who knows all this demon realm shit like the back of his hand, is dead damned drunk - and so pitifully so - that a master vampire can give Damali a nod with full fangs in his mouth and ask her if she wants a lift home?"