“Okay, they’re gone now. You wanna finish filling me in, Shads?”

Zacky leaned in the doorway of the gym where Matthew, Johnny and Brian Snr were now positioned. The four men were all on edge after Jason and co had left the house. Johnny was pacing the length of the room with his gaze downcast, and mouth sealed in a tight line. Matthew straddled a bench with his forearms resting against the weights, his head down. Brian Snr regarded the three young men from where he stood, propped up against the door leading down to the basement.

Matthew lifted his eyes to his friend, and frowned a little. “What’s there to add? I’ve told you everything.”

“Really? You’ve told me what you’re doing. But not why.”

“Do I really need to explain myself to you?”

“Would be nice.”

Matthew sighed, shaking his head. “Yeah, and it would be nice if the world was at peace and everybody was happy and there was no hate and no war and more music in everybody’s lives.” He snorted derisively. “Fuck nice, Zack. Life’s not about being nice.” He leaned back on the bench and glared at the mechanic. “Life’s about surviving. Getting by with what one’s got. That’s all you can do.”

Zacky rolled his eyes but didn’t argue with his friend’s statement. Instead he looked over to Johnny then Brian Snr. He wondered what they thought about all of this; neither of them had had any comment to make while he was berating their mutual friend.

“What do you think, Papa G?”

Brian Snr moved away from the basement door.

He paced over to lean against the wall as he mused in silence for a moment before answering, slowly, “Matt’s right. Except he doesn’t quite believe it. Otherwise we wouldn’t be doing this.”

“Yeah, I get that. But, why?”

Matthew groaned as he finally snapped, “Why? Why?” He sat forward and slapped a palm against the side of the bench. Then he stabbed his finger in the air as he spoke in a tone that held barely veiled disgust. “Because I’m sick to death of The Creed. That’s why. The whole organisation has gone to shit and I’m done. I am fucking over it. Just…so…over it.” He slumped forward against the weights, put his hands over his face and actually moaned, mumbling to himself. “Shit…”

The three men all just stared at him, expressions mirroring their shock at his outburst. It was so unexpected since Matthew was usually so reserved. Yes, he did have an explosive temper, but he rarely let it show when he was around his friends. Zacky stared at him confusion written all over his face. Johnny blinked fast as if the action would help him to clarify what the big man had just blurted out. He’d seen the video Matt had shown him, but even that was tame compared to his revelation now.

For Brian Snr, though, it wasn’t as much of a surprise. He’d known for a long time how frustrated Matthew was with his work and with the things he had done and would probably have to keep doing. However, he hadn’t expected him to come out and say it like he just did. He’d envisioned a much calmer, reasoned explanation, as he did with everything else. He frowned as he finally decided somebody had to ask the obvious question.

“So, what’re you going to do about that, Matt?”

It took Matthew several long minutes before he was able to look up at them. When he did they could read the tension in his eyes.

“I’d resign, but at the moment I can’t afford to. Once this break is over I have to get back into it…and not let up for a second.” He shook his head angrily. “If I quit now, Eski would get suspicious.”

Brian Snr nodded slowly, brow creased in thought. “That’s fair enough.”

“You think so?” Zacky managed to find his voice, jerking his gaze away from his friend to look at the elder male.

“Yes, I do. It’d be a bit odd for Matt to leave The Creed now, particularly since he didn’t want to take this break in the first place.” Brian Snr looked to Matthew as he added, “At least not for the length that it’s ended up being.”

Matthew grimaced, licking at his lips in a nervous gesture but said nothing as he stood and wandered back over to the door. He hesitated, laying a palm against the wooden frame then he looked back over his shoulder at them. Thoughts were flitting across his mind, made evident by the swirling emotions in his too bright stare.

He exhaled roughly before he finally spoke again. “Zack call Jimmy…”

Zacky still had the same confused expression on his face and on hearing that, he frowned deeply. “What for?”

Matthew leaned his forehead against the door frame, letting his breath out roughly. “Just…tell him to come over tonight.”

“Okay…” Zacky sensed his friend had had enough and decided it was probably a good time to leave. So, checking his pockets for his keys, he nodded to him then turned to let himself out.

Matthew watched him leave, a tightness forming in his chest. He knew his request had to be an odd one, knew his friend probably thought he’d gone mad by now. But, he figured that there was time enough to sort that out. Still, the situation wasn’t an easy one, and there was still that tension between the old friends.

He heaved another sigh as he looked over at Brian Snr. “Papa G? Get the guitar to Syn…and…” he paused then said, “get him to call me.” He swung his gaze to Johnny. “Christ, come back down here with me…” With that he pushed open the door and stepped into the darkness, heading back down into the basement.

Johnny glanced at the elder man who tipped his fingers to his forehead. “Go. I’ll see you, kid.”

He steeled himself and clenched his jaw returning the gesture to Brian Snr before following Matthew’s footsteps through the door.

Brian Snr waited for the door to click shut behind them before making his way out of the Sanders’ residence, Schechter clutched close to his chest.

* * * * *

On the other side of town General Eskino was worried. Reports had come in that had him on edge, trying to figure out what was going on beneath his very nose. At present he was playing host to several young cadets who worked as his informants within the corps. One of them stood before him regaling him of breaking news that had just recently come to light, and red flags were going up in his mind. Something was not right.

The General leaned back in his chair and frowned at his computer monitor. Then he glanced at the soldier standing in front of him.

“You’re certain?”

“Yes, General. I am. The message came through clear as day.”

Eskino cursed silently as he returned his gaze to the screen. He scanned the records for a moment longer then sent the machine to sleep. Then he placed his hands against the desk, and pushed himself up out of his chair.

“Send for the Captain. We need to deal with this immediately.”

“Sir.” The soldier saluted then turned to leave. The General help up a hand for him to wait, though.

“One more thing.”

The solider tilted his head to Eskino. “Yes, Sir?”

“Bring my car around. I think I need to pay Shadows a visit.”

The soldier nodded then turned on his heel and walked out the door. General Eskino moved over to the window and stood with his hands clasped in front of him. He sighed deeply, and murmured quietly to himself.

“What am I to do with you?”

* * * * *

Jimmy hung out of the window of Zacky’s truck and hollered in an unintelligible stream of words. The mechanic groaned, but said nothing as he fought not to be amused by his friend’s antics. Jimmy kept his head out like a dog enjoying the rush of the wind as the vehicle travelled on its way. But then he stopped midway through a yell and scowled, pulling back into the cabin of the truck.

“What?” Zacky asked recognising the rare anxious expression in Jimmy’s eyes.

He rolled his eyes. “Just saw the General.”

“Eskino?”

“Yeah looked like he was in a hurry.”

Zacky scoffed, “He’s never in a rush.”

Jimmy chuckled, “Well, he definitely seemed it this time.”

“Probably an emergency.”

“Hah. He’d send Shads if he were working.”

Zacky muttered, “Not much risk of that now.”

“Huh?” Jimmy glanced at the mechanic. Zacky shook his head as he concentrated on the road. “Whaddya mean, V?”

Silence filled the vehicle as Zacky tried to figure out how to respond to his friend. His mind was a mess and hadn’t cleared at all since leaving the Sanders’ residence. Any hope of him coming to a sane conclusion was all but lost to the swirling chaos which was the thoughts in his head. Explaining the situation to Jimmy would not be easy; however, he had to say something.

He cast a sideways glance at the tall man, and grimaced at him. “Shads’ dug himself a big fucking hole.”

“What?” Jimmy scrunched up his face. “Where?”

Zacky groaned, shaking his head as he turned into the Sanders’ street. “Not a real hole. It’s a figure of speech.”

“Oh, right. He up to something?”

“You could say that,” the mechanic muttered as he peered through the windscreen. His gaze narrowed as he noticed there was already a car parked in the Sanders’ driveway. “Shit, it’s the General.”

Jimmy frowned and asked, “How can you tell?”

Zacky pointed to the passenger door, the insignia of the Creed was printed in gold leaf covering most of the panel. It reflected the afternoon sunlight, a badge of representation. Jimmy’s expression didn’t change, holding that unusual anxiety that was not the norm for him.

“So, that’s where he was rushing too,” Jimmy spoke in a stage whisper, “the plot thickens…”

Zacky rolled his eyes, as he drove up onto the lawn, parking near the flowerbeds. He sat for a moment, and stared out at the house. The front door was ajar, and the air felt heavy. He wondered what was going on inside, hoping that it was just a social call. But feeling that it had to be something more.

“Rev, I have a bad feeling about this…”

Jimmy wriggled on his seat. “Well, should we go in?”

Zacky shook his head slowly as he braced his forearms against the steering wheel. “Let’s wait a couple minutes.”

“Zack, I hate waiting,” his friend mumbled. The mechanic just sighed in agreement and frowned out the window.