Looking Back Through Ash - Wade Ebeling Page 0,142

look appalled, but his confusion would not let him pull it off. Adjusting the strap on the rifle, even though it was not biting in any way, reminded Tony just who was holding most of the cards.

Flipping over another of his trump cards, Daniel steeled his voice, and roared, “Susan had my father killed all those years ago. She deserved whatever she got…” Bringing his voice back down to a civilized level, he added, “Why don’t we take a little walk? I can tell you what I think we should do about Bob, and his stolen power. Maybe you should tell the rest of these people that they are not leaving today?”

……..

Saturday

After showing Tony the stored weapons and food, Daniel told him that they then needed to use the time it bought to plan how to recover the Warehouse. Daniel allowed Tony to return with two additional pails of the freeze-dried food, but none of the guns. It was still far too early to give the group everything, especially a way to kill him and take the rest. The easy choice was still to just abandon the area, and with it, the Warehouse. This choice would be made all the easier with all the provisions that Daniel could supply, and this would not do.

Given that Tony did not ask any of the questions, of which Daniel had been dreading, he knew that convincing the group would not be that hard. Tony did not ask where Daniel was sleeping, or how he had been preparing the food without any evidence of a campfire nearby, let alone a pot to boil water in; Daniel had not gotten the chance to fully prepare the collapsed building yet. Tony did not even ask any questions about the fictitious letter from Allen.

It seemed that just getting the food had quelled Tony’s drive to be the leader, and he supplicated to Daniel. The promises of how easy it would be to retake what was lost, especially when previously believed to be impossible, became the thing that bound the group together again. This new sense of purpose had been hand-delivered to them by Daniel. The means to accomplish this goal, however, was being withheld.

The group coalesced around Daniel, trying to prove themselves worthy of his promised gifts. Daniel offered suggestions rather than issuing orders. If the group felt it was in their best interest, and it would bring them closer to the new goal, they would oblige with amazing speed and effectiveness.

“I think that the first step should be to put some people, hidden mind you, around the Warehouse to see if we can spot any patterns. What do you guys think?” Daniel would offer, in an off-hand kind of way. This implanted suggestion would then be met with a predestined chorus of agreement. “Well, if we have three pairs of people, where they can see all sides of the building, you know? That should be enough, right? Oh, we should try to find them something to write on, that would help too, I think. So, like, after a day, or whatever, we could send another pair out to replace them. Then whoever was out there could come back and tell us what they saw. Stuff like how many guards they saw, and when they switched them out, that kind of stuff. Makes sense, right?”

Knowing that most of the group felt obligated to show Tony some kind of loyalty, Daniel always conferred with him about the minute details of the forming plan. These details then got transmitted back to the group via Tony. This managed to keep up the façade that all of this was a group effort. After three days of watching the Warehouse, Daniel called together their first real meeting.

“Could you join me up here, Tony?” Daniel asked, after everyone was gathered and mostly settled. “Okay everyone, listen up, please. We just got a piece of information, from young Brian here, that has changed the plan a whole lot…But it is very much so for the better,” Daniel said, smiling broadly. “But, before we get to that, I think we should take care of some other business first.” He gave the murmuring crowd a chance to settle down again before continuing, “With the key to our success just handed to us,” Daniel said smoothly, while nodding at the befuddled-looking Brian, “I think it is time to elect our leader…for when we retake the Warehouse. Now, now, just listen to me for a second. I nominate