“You owe me for that shirt, Rev.”

“What?”

Zacky grabbed his shirt and threw it at the lanky male. “You got beer all over it.”

Brian groaned, shaking his head. Jimmy just stared at his friend. Since they had arrived at the Sanders’ place, and while Valary was attempting to coax her husband, their friend, out of hiding, the three friends, and young Johnny Christ, had been entertaining themselves. The latest activity had seen them drinking some of Matt’s private stash of Jack Daniels that he never actually drank. It was all there for guests, such as themselves.

One thing led to another, and before they knew it, Jimmy had ended up tossing the contents of his bottle at the mechanic.

Zacky snorted and laughed at the lanky male. “You should see your face, Jimmy. I’m not really pissed. It’ll wash out.”

“Oh, thank Christ for that,” Jimmy exclaimed with a grin.

Johnny, who was sitting on the floor, looked up and actually laughed. “You’re thanking me?”

“Well…” Jimmy started but was cut off by the sound of a throat being cleared at the entrance to the living room. He looked over as did the others.

Valary was standing there with a bemused expression on her face. “You guys must be bored…” Her eyes moved over them to settle on Zacky who now stood in only his work pants, a new beer clutched in his left hand. “Why don’t you have your shirt on?”

The mechanic glanced down at his torso, the ink that was etched on either side of his navel gazed almost mockingly out at the room. Then he looked back at Valary. “Got soaked. Blame Jimmy.”

She smiled faintly then looked at the others. “Matt says he’ll be out in a while.”

“Oh, good,” Zacky said, “I want to know what Eskino wanted.” Val frowned at him. He returned the look with one of his own. “What?”

Val just shook her head and entered the room, heading for one of the sofas. She sat down on the one closest to the door and tucked her feet beneath her on the seat. Zacky flopped down on the one opposite to her and crossed his arms an expectant expression on his face.

“Zacky, don’t look at me like that,” Val scolded him. He pulled a face then poked his tongue at her. She raised her eyebrows at him. “Seriously? You’re poking your tongue at me?”

“Yeah, how old are you, V?” Jimmy scoffed.

Brian snorted, “Twenty-seven, going on seven.”

The mechanic flipped him off before he said, “Come on Val, did Shads tell you what the General wanted?”

“He did, but he needs to tell you that himself,” Val answered. “It’s not my place.”

“Fair enough,” Zacky smiled then changed tack, sucking on his piercings. “How’s the campaign going?”

Val was a little surprised by his question but managed to think of a response before he jumped back in with another question. “It’s not. Elliott’s hit a road block, because he wants to find out what the competition is doing.”

The four men glanced at each other. All of them, including Johnny, knew who that was, after all Brian Haner Snr was the only man game enough to challenge Elliott Johnston for the position. They didn’t know the details; the whys or wherefores; however, what they did know was that Brian Snr was fed up with the current government and the way it was running things, especially where The Creed was concerned. Then again, everybody was affected negatively by The Creed, so in that sense the elder Haner was just reflecting the collective emotions of the community.

“Papa Gates won’t give anything away,” Brian finally commented.

Jimmy snorted, “That’s because he hasn’t got a plan.”

A strange expression appeared on Zacky’s face as he eyed Johnny for a second then returned his gaze to Val. Before he could add his thoughts, though, Jimmy spoke up again.

“What was that?”

Zacky frowned at his friend, “What was what?”

Jimmy jerked his chin toward Johnny. “You looked at Johnny.”

“So?”

“Well, when I said Papa G didn’t have a plan…you looked at Johnny.”

Zacky asked, slowly, “And, your point is?”

“Well, I thought it was a response to what I said,” Jimmy said with a shrug. “Maybe it wasn’t…”

The mechanic sighed and shook his head. But, he did make one concession. “Papa Gates has a plan. Shads said he does.” He held up his left hand to put off any more questions from the other male. Jimmy took the hint and slumped back against the wall where he’d been leaning through the whole conversation so far.

Brian murmured, “Another thing to ask Matt about when he decides to join us.”

“What’s the other thing?” The gruff voice caught them all off guard. They turned toward the doorway; Matthew stood there with his arms crossed over his chest a bemused expression on his face.

Valary blinked as she took in the appearance of her husband. He didn’t look any more at ease than when she had left him in their room. There were dark circles beneath his eyes, his gaze was hard. In fact, he looked even wearier as if the whole world was weighing down on his shoulders.

It was Jimmy who voiced what they were all thinking though, “You look like shit, Shads.”

Matt grimaced and rubbed at his face, mumbling, “Feel like shit.”

He walked into the room, footsteps heavy, and sank down on the sofa next to his wife. Val hesitated before shifting so she could lean into him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed them a little. She reached out to rest her hand on his knee, rubbing softly. He smiled weakly at her then glanced over at Brian.

“So, what other question did you wanna ask me?”

Brian snorted. “What did Eskino want?”

Matthew studied his friend for a moment, expression grave. Then he shook his head and spoke in a harsh voice, “I’m not talking about that. Not yet.” He licked his lips then smirked, “I’ll tell you about your dad’s election run, though.”

“We want to know what Eski said, though,” Zacky insisted. Brian nodded in agreement. They both knew their friend was attempting to deflect the attention from him onto something else, but they weren’t going to let that happen. Jimmy and Johnny watched on, expectantly.

“We’ll keep bugging you until you do, just so you know,” the mechanic added in a light tone.

Matthew rolled his eyes at that and swore softly. “Fine. You want to know? I’ll give you the short version.”

He paused for a breath; his eyes darted around the room finally settling on the coffee table in front of him. The guys waited, observing the unusually nervous tic he seemed to have developed. Val nestled in closer to him, a supportive connection. He closed his eyes then began to talk, voice strained, words tumbling out as if he couldn’t get them out fast enough.

“Eskino came to tell me that I’m out. Done.” He clenched his fist, punctuating his words by gently banging it against his left knee. “Finished. That’s it. Permanent vacation from the top spot.” Matthew spat the last few words, his anger barely veiled. He trembled and shook his head, his eyes fixed on a polished knot on the wooden table.

His words were barely out when Zacky gave a disbelieving snort.

“Are you for fucking real? You’re out completely?”

Matthew grimaced at the hint of hope in his friend’s voice. “No. Not completely. I’m just not…” he sighed heavily. “I’m not fit to lead The Creed.”

“Not fit to lead?” Zacky sounded incredulous. His eyes were wide, astonishment written all over his features. For all he didn’t care for The Creed, he had always thought his friend had the chops to be a great leader.

Matthew grunted, “His words.” He unclenched his fist and rubbed at the back of his neck.

“That’s bullshit,” Brian stated angrily. “The Creed would’ve fallen apart long ago if you hadn’t been there.”

“You think?” Zacky glanced over at him. Brian nodded emphatically. The mechanic looked back at the now-former-TaskerOne. “What do you reckon?”

Matthew met his friend’s sharp gaze then gave a cold smile. “I’m the best there is. And the General knows it. But, he’s become uncomfortable with me at the helm. I don’t know why.” He lifted his shoulders in an almost nonchalant gesture. “But, hey, it’s not my problem anymore.”

Val lifted her head then to look at him. He caught her expression, one of worry and curiosity. “Yeah, Val?”

She shook her head and leaned it against his shoulder again. Matthew shifted so he could wrap his arm back around her waist. He had a feeling he knew what she had wanted to say. He didn’t quite believe his own statement. He knew his attitude had changed even just over the past year. He also realised it was still his problem. Returning to the barracks after his break was over, it would be glaringly obvious.

He sighed and leaned his head back so he wouldn’t have to look at the expressions on his friends’ faces. They were a mixture of shock, disgust, anger but not surprisingly a bit of relief as well. It was no secret what they thought of The Creed. Of course, he was yet to drop the bigger bombshell on them. But, he would wait for a few minutes before he did that. Would allow them process the first piece of information first.

For several moments, nobody spoke. It was a lot to take in. Finding out that Matt was no longer top dog of the biggest enforcement organisation in New Huntington, was hard for each of them to swallow. Though they all resented what The Creed did, his friends’ hadn’t envisioned him being anything other than TaskerOne for the rest of his working life. Except perhaps taking Eskino’s job from him. At least that was what Jimmy and Brian thought. Zacky had other ideas buzzing around his head as he stood there looking at his friend.

“Matt?” Zacky finally broke the silence, his voice rough.

Matthew focused his gaze on the mechanic and nodded. “Yeah?”

Zacky shifted his bottle to his right hand as he tucked his left into the pocket of his pants. He sucked at the piercings on his bottom lip before he spoke again.

“The guys want to know about Papa Gates’ campaign.”

Matthew stiffened a little, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he narrowed his gaze at his friend. Zacky raised his eyebrows at him, giving him a pointed look as if to say, ‘you owe us’. Brian and Jimmy leaned forward, expressions of great interest on their faces. Matt removed his arm from around Val’s waist, leaning forward to prop his elbows against his knees. He smeared his palms over his face, dragging his fingers beneath his eyelids.

Then he lifted weary eyes to his friend. “You really want to do this now, Zack?”

“Well, what else are we going to do? We could keep going on about the whole Creed deal…”

“No,” Matthew said tightly, “we can talk about the campaign.” He looked askance at Val. “If that’s alright by you? I know you probably shouldn’t know about this.”

She laughed softly, shaking her head. “Probably not. But, don’t worry about it. I’m actually going to go freshen up. Leave you with the boys.” She leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek before getting to her feet and heading for the door.

Jimmy, who was positioned just beside the door, stopped her before she walked out. She glanced at him giving a small smile. He tilted his head to the side, not saying a word, a knowing expression in his eyes. He glanced over to Matt, who had his head down again, then back to her waggling his eyebrows. Val just patted his hand and smiled a little before she walked out. Jimmy watched her leave then turned just as Zacky prompted their friend again.

Matthew sighed shifting his weight on the sofa as he folded his arms over his chest. “PG thinks it would be good if I put up a showcase for his campaign.” He snorted. “Don’t know where he got that idea from. But, the short of it is that I’m writing something for him.”

“Writing?” Brian blinked. “Like what? A report?”

Matthew actually laughed at his friend’s question. “Reports suck. I wouldn’t write anyone a report unless I was forced to.” He shook his head. “No. Um…writing…something special.” He frowned to himself as if he wasn’t quite sure that was the right way to put it.

“For fuck’s sake, Shads,” Zacky muttered in exasperation. “We’re your friends, and a quarter of us already know what you’re doing…so…y’know?” He raised his eyebrows.

Matthew growled low, “Don’t rush me, Zachary.” His arms tightened, biceps bulging visibly. The mechanic held his palms up in a placating gesture. Matt acknowledged the gesture with a nod of his head then exhaled slowly, before continuing. “We started about a year back when he was first thinking about running for the Mayoral role. He contacted me and persuaded me to get on board.” He hesitated before he added with a wry smirk, “And I ended up writing a song for him.”

“You did what?” Brian’s voice rose sharply on the last word, shock was evident in his tone. His pupils were dilated and he had to grab a hold of the back of the sofa. “You didn’t just say-?”

“Yeah, I did,” Matt answered softly. He watched his friends’ reactions. Brian was just shaking his head slowly, as he frowned. Zacky wasn’t surprised; he already knew. Johnny was equally at ease. Jimmy stared at him from the doorway, as many different emotions warred across his features.

Finally, Brian found his voice. “But that’s just odd. Why would you write a song? Didn’t know you had it in you?”

Matthew chuckled, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. He knew his friends’ would be bemused by his revelation. However, he hadn’t counted on being amused by their reactions. Somehow, though it made him want to just bust out into laughter.

“God, Brian,” Matt said, smirking broadly. “I’m full of surprises.” He wriggled his eyebrows at his friend, a pointed look in his eyes. Brian blinked then scowled.

“Yeah, actually speaking of surprises. I’ve got a question about something Dad dropped at my doorstep earlier,” he said in a terse voice.

Matt licked his lips but said nothing, just waited, one eyebrow tilted a little more than the other. Brian leaned forward and pointed at him almost stern in manner.

“What are you doing, giving me a guitar?”

There was a deafening silence after the self-confessed poet’s sharp question, then Jimmy said loudly, “Hold it, hold it,” as if everybody else had been talking and he wanted them to stop, “what the fuck are you saying, Syn? A guitar?”

Brian nodded, “Yeah. A custom made Schechter. Pretty amazing, really…but,” he shot a hard look at Matthew who was on his feet now, pacing in front of the sofa. “I don’t get you, Shads. That instrument was in The Locker. It was all over the news how it was found at The Creed and shit. So, how’d you get a hold of it?”

Matthew was wearing a path in the carpet as he moved back and forth in front of his friends. His brow was furrowed as his mind churned over how best to answer. The others remained silent, not intervening and giving him the time he probably needed to gather his thoughts. Finally he turned wary eyes to Brian as a faint smile graced his lips.

“I used the Mayor’s order number to get it out of the Locker. Matt Berry didn’t ask questions.” He shrugged. “It’s not like it’s illegal for me to release an individual instrument. And at any rate, no one would suspect me of doing anything with it.” He held up his hands and smirked. “Could you imagine me forming a band, Syn?”

Brian snorted, shaking his head as he retorted, “Yeah, as much as we can imagine you writing a song.”

“Touché,” Matthew muttered. He ran a palm over his head and heaved another sigh. “Look, what do you want me to say?”

“Tell us what’s going on in that head of yours, Matt. We’re your best friends…and whatever it is…we are here for you,” Brian said slowly. “Don’t shut us out.”

Matthew smiled at his statement of loyalty then glanced toward Johnny, frowning again. The younger male lifted curious eyes to him. Their gazes locked for a moment, then Matt looked away again and groaned.

“Fine. Here’s the thing. Papa Gates wanted me to write a song for his campaign and to organise the recording of it. I’ve been working on that every second chance, while trying not to let anyone catch on at the barracks.” Matthew pegged each of his friends with a pained look. “Not easy, I can tell you.” He waved a hand in the air, “Especially with JB right there, all the time.” He tilted his head back and continued in a low voice. “PG said he could record all the tracks himself, but that it would be much better if it were recorded live…all at once.”

Brian blinked. “How?”

“Well,” he said, “that’s where the instruments come in.”

“Instruments?” Zacky, who had been silent up until then, asked. It wasn’t Matt who answered him though.

Johnny said, dawning understanding coming to him, “My bass, right Shads?” Even while in Matthew’s basement it still hadn’t quite hit him what was going on down there. Even after watching the video. But now it made sense, or it was beginning to.

Matthew’s lips curved as he nodded to indicate in the affirmative then he looked back at the others. “Just have to find a drummer.” He raised his eyebrows at Jimmy and asked casually, “What ever happened to those trashcan lids you picked up off the street?”

There was a pause then Zacky cracked it, laughing so hard he spilled more of his beer on the floor. Jimmy scowled at him then looked at Matt surprise written all over his face.

“How did you know about that?”

Matthew said, eyebrows arched, “I’m TaskerOne, I know everything.”

“You mean, you were T-One,” Zacky gently pointed out. His statement caused them to fall quiet once more and Matt sighed as he flopped back on the sofa, sprawling out across it.

After a while he said, “It’s not official yet. It’s a huge deal demoting a commander. Someone has to replace me, y’know?”

He shifted his body and looked at them. Zacky was gazing down in his bottle; Jimmy had shifted so he was leaning against the wall next to him. Johnny had moved so he was seated next to Brian. He rubbed his face, deciding not to mention that the General had practically told him Jason would be taking the position immediately. He wanted to think that he had a bit of control over what happened. Even though he knew deep down that he had none at all. His friends didn’t need to know that, not yet. It was enough Val had seen him in a moment of complete and utter weakness.

“So,” Zacky said, “When you go back next week?”

“They’ll probably have some ceremony. They have one for everything,” Matt stated sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. “Promoting someone, demoting someone…when someone manages to clean up their shit…” He smoothed his hands over his shorts as he met the mechanic’s eyes.

Zacky grinned, shaking his head, “Hah, too true. Well, guess you’ll just have to wait, yeah?”

Matthew nodded as he ran the tip of his tongue along his top lip. “In the meantime, I’m not going to worry about it.” He slapped his palms lightly on his knees. “Still got the rest of this week.”

“And the weekend,” Jimmy added with a chuckle.

“Yup, plenty of time to get into trouble,” Matt quipped, eyes holding a sparkle none of the others had seen in a while. He nodded to Jimmy. “So, those trashcan lids?”

His friend narrowed his eyes before he said, carefully, “I made a…drum set out of them.”

Zacky groaned and shook his head; Brian rolled his eyes but made no comment. Johnny allowed a small gasp of surprise to escape, but also said nothing. Matthew just looked at his best friend, one eyebrow raised a little. Then he smiled and clapped his hands together.

“Well, now that’s something, isn’t it?” He chuckled. “Who’d have thought that was you’re plan…” He rubbed his hands against his knees, marvelling at Jimmy’s initiative. “Genius.”

Jimmy stared at his friend as if he’d grown another head, unsure of this apparent change in attitude. Sure, he’d just been dumped by the General from his top position, but that didn’t mean much, did it? He was still a soldier of The Creed.

“Matt, you on something?” he asked, sceptically; he was reluctant to trust his friend’s sentiment, to have faith in it. Especially since he seemed to be acting in a way that was a huge departure from the norm.

Matthew laughed, shaking his head. “I think I should show you guys something.” He glanced at Johnny, who frowned in acknowledgement. “Yep.” Matt nodded almost to himself. “You’ll want to see this.” He pushed up off the sofa and padded across the carpeted floor to the door. His friends frowned, curiosity written all over their faces.

“Show us what?” Brian asked, speaking for all of them. Matthew just smirked before leaving the room.

The four men looked at each other then followed him out, each of them wondering what the hell had just happened.