out, I guess.”
“His surrendering bothers you,” Selene said.
I nodded. “Yeah, it really does.”
Roberto ran over to where Selene and I sat. He looked out of breath.
“You okay?” I asked him.
“The president went rogue, and people are freaking out,” Roberto said. “So not really, no. The vice president wants to talk to you.”
“Go,” Selene said. “I’ll help out here with our people. I hear Judgement killed a paladin.”
“Good for her,” I said and walked off with Roberto, who was practically pushing me forward.
“Roberto,” I said, looking back at him. “What is wrong?”
“It’s all gone to shit,” Roberto said. “We thought the president was a hostage.”
“Where is he?” I asked.
“That’s part of the problem,” Roberto said as we reached a tent and stepped inside to see the human commanders, along with the vice president, Queen Orfeda, and Jinayca, the latter of whom was rubbing the back of her hand.
“Who’d you punch?” I asked her.
She pointed to a metal cabinet with a hole in it. “It was that or General Pompous Twat over there.”
“How dare you?” the general shouted, before seemingly discovering who was in the tent with him and taking a deep breath.
“So this is going well,” I said.
“You,” the general almost shouted, his finger pointed at me accusingly.
“Hi,” I said.
The general stormed over to me and prodded me in the chest with a large finger. “I am four-star General Blake,” he said. “And you have committed an act of treason against our country. What the fuck did you do to the White House?” He prodded me again, and I looked beyond him to Roberto, who looked like he might throw up.
Two of the large men—one had an FBI jacket, and the other I assumed was Secret Service—looked like they’d rather be elsewhere, while Vice President Katia Lopez appeared to be genuinely intrigued by what was going to happen.
“So what do you have to say?” the four-star general shouted, drawing looks from several dozen service personnel outside the still-open tent, who tried very hard not to be interested.
I looked down at the spot where Blake had prodded me. “General,” I said softly.
“Yes?” Blake said.
I looked up at the general and met his stare. “If you ever poke me in the chest again or shout at me like you’re doing right now, we’re going to find out how long you can survive without any oxygen.”
Blake’s face went bright red. “How dare—” he started, before I waved a hand and removed the oxygen from his lungs.
I stepped past the general, barely bothering to pay attention to him as he dropped to his knees. I stopped at the vice president. “Can’t you control your attack dog?”
“He’s angry,” Vice President Lopez said. “And I’d rather he wasn’t dead.”
I snapped my fingers, to the sound of audible gasps from Blake. “I do not play games,” I said without turning back to Blake. “I destroyed a portion of your building, a building I believe has been rebuilt before. I did so because there was a sniper up there who may have wanted to kill Gawain. The same Gawain who I’m pretty sure was working with your president to kill your people. Tonight we saved your capital city, your Senate, your Congress, your innocent civilians. How many died?”
“Sixty-eight thousand at last count,” a woman in an FBI jacket said. “That’s a rough estimate based on figures we’re getting in.”
“It would have been two hundred and sixty-eight without us,” I said. “And you know it.”
Vice President Lopez nodded.
“I do not expect to be liked,” I said. “But I do expect your people to show me the respect I deserve. The respect we all deserve. I broke your building; it can be rebuilt.” I turned back to the general, who was back on his feet. “I promise you one thing: I am not someone you want to pick a fight with. The enemy is still out there, and your country is still going to need people like you to help it through what happens next. So my advice, General Blake, is to grow the fuck up and act like the goddamn leader you’re meant to be.”
Blake nodded slightly before looking at the ground.
“Nice speech,” Roberto said.
“I’ve been listening to Mordred,” I told him. “Madam President—because I’m pretty sure you’re about to be that, if not already—I wish you the best of luck. Once we’re done, I’m sure that King Mordred will want to come back, and we’ll talk about what happens next. I’d like to come with him, so long as