It wasn’t promising, only twenty people or so were willing and capable of fighting; but Mathieu believed this could be a good thing. Small forces were maneuverable and fast. All he needed was some time to strengthen them and teach them to work together. He hoped.
Zanika tapped her foot. “So let me get this straight. You expect all of us to stay here until we’re ready to attack? And what is to become of our districts?”
He rubbed his temples, already having had this fight today. “Listen, I sent Mina to go inform the people of everyone’s districts that they will need to command themselves for a while. They understood. I did ask you all up here for a reason other than to listen to you bitch, if you don’t mind.” A dull throb was starting behind his eyes, and he really needed some sleep.
Solomon raised an eyebrow, “Then why don’t you tell us?”
“I would love to if you all would just shut up for a minute. There are only a few people here that can actually go into battle, therefore, I’ve had to plan accordingly. I want groups of four; each group takes a different route through Unith, hits the targets I’ve marked for them, and rendezvous just outside of Ateri. If all goes well, we will only need to do minimal fighting before we get to the capital and we can cut off reinforcements.”
“What’s the spread looking like?” Said Darcia.
Mathieu sat back in his swivel chair, “Okay. My unit will consist of myself, Erik, Enak, Solomon, Jo, Lione, and Kiev. Darcia, you are in charge of Unit Two which consists of yourself, Adele, Josette, and Zanika. Zerieve, you’re with Lenore, Narrie, and Akira as Unit Three. And finally, Avanon, you’re in charge of Elric and Ayame.” He ignored the sounds of discontent. “I’ve thought this through. It’s what is required. Also, for communication and timing purposes, Darcia’s unit will take Nikola, Unit Three will take Niveus, and Tesla goes with Avanon’s group. Those three and I can communicate long distance in case of order changes.”
Zanika was shaking her head. “No. I refuse to be away from Zerieve.”
“And separating Ayame and Akira would be a bad idea,” Solomon said.
“Enough.” Mathieu said. He was too tired to deal with their complaining, and he had spent the last three days analyzing every aspect of the plan. This was the most logical and intelligent break down of his forces. “My job is to tell you what to do. Then, you do it. I have a reason for everything I’ve done, so quit arguing and just do it.”
Enak giggled. “I think his plan is wonderful.”
Mathieu nodded. “Thank you. I also have a plan to help strengthen everyone’s gifts. I want to start on that today.” He said around a yawn. His suspicions about his helping book were right, and it had expanded its tutorials to include other gifts. “Today, I need Jo, Zanika, and Zerieve.” The clones nodded to him in understanding.
“Does that mean the rest of us can go?” Avanon asked, smiling.
“Yeah, go for it.” Everyone but Solomon left the room. Mathieu closed his eyes, thumping his head against the back of his chair.
“You look like hell…” The blond man said.
Getting to his feet, Mathieu made a soft sound of protest. “That would be because I haven’t slept in three days.” His mind had been a whirlwind, unable to sleep. If it wasn’t the plan, it was Erik; if it wasn’t Erik, it was Solomon. His mind had been going in circles over and over until he had given up on trying to sleep. So now, he was in a perpetual state of half-conscious.
Solomon stood from his seat, too, pulling Mathieu against him. Then he kissed Mathieu softly, stroking his lower back.
Mathieu didn’t have the strength to fight, to try and understand why Solomon was now acting like this; so he kissed the blond back, arms sliding around the man’s neck before gently nibbling at his lip. Somewhere inside him a fire was being lit and fueled, his body warming up and a light flush sweeping over his skin. A soft whimper left his mouth as Solomon lifted him by the back of his thighs, setting him on the table.
Hot lips were pressed against Mathieu’s throat, whispering, “Shit, Mathieu. I’m sorry.” Solomon kissed his pulse. “Pushing you away was just stupid…I know I shouldn’t have been worr—”
“Shut up. Talk later.” Mathieu threaded his fingers through Solomon’s hair, crushing their lips back together. His