Bridges

“So, you going to tell me what’s doing with you, Jimmy?”

Matthew and Jimmy were taking a breather in a small hollow off the main tunnel. Jimmy swigged from his water flask and glanced at his friend.

“What?”

“How did you know about this?” Matthew gestured around the Bridge. Jimmy’s lips curved in that same secretive smile. Matthew glowered at him. “James.”

Jimmy sighed and stared up at the damp bricks. “There’s a lot you don’t know, Shads. About me.” He paused, staring into space for a moment. Matthew shifted his weight and frowned more at his friend. Jimmy laughed roughly, shaking his head. “Everyone thinks I’m this crazy ass slacker who has nothing better to do with my time than sticking my nose in everyone else’s business…”

“Yeah, you do that a lot,” Matthew agreed with a wry smile. Jimmy tapped the side of his nose.

“The General knew I was onto something a long time ago.” He paused again then went on. “My family left New Huntington a year ago. You remember?”

Matthew nodded slowly, not sure where his friend was leading with his story. He remembered that day. It had been a big confusion for everyone. The Sullivans just upped and left without saying goodbye to anyone. No explanation, save Jimmy coming in and announcing they’d gone.

“Yeah, I remember. You were a fricking mess.” He glanced sideways at his friend. “What of it?”

Jimmy looked at him finally, eyes guarded.

“I needed them to distance themselves from me because it wasn’t safe.” He smirked. “You think Papa Gates started this whole thing on his own?”

Matthew blinked. “What?” He was confused by the apparent change of topic. He stared hard at his friend. “What’re you saying?”

Jimmy smiled more. “It was never his idea to run for Mayor.” He crossed his arms and looked pointedly at the other male. “It was mine.”

Matthew’s brows crashed down over his eyes, consternation evident in his expression. “You? But…PG told me…” He stopped unsure of what it was the elder Haner had told him. “Wait…he said the idea was put to him by an associate. That was you?”

Jimmy nodded. “The one man Liberation front.” He smirked. “Well, not one man…I had help. You know her.”

Matthew frowned. “Her?”

Jimmy chuckled softly as he got up to stretch his legs. “Eli’s assistant.”

“Melissa…” The former Commander rubbed at his forehead. “The riots back then…were you a part of that?”

Jimmy lifted his shoulders a little. “I wasn’t there.”

Matthew’s eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Does it matter? We’re here now.” When his friend didn’t respond Jimmy sighed heavily and conceded, “Yeah. I was there. But, you were too busy gunning for Mel.”

Matthew tightened his lips. “If I were still…”

Jimmy looked directly at his friend. “The Creed would have a field day with this information. You would have to shoot me.”

“I would’ve.”

“I know.” Jimmy patted the wall of the tunnel. “No room for sentimentality, right?”

Matthew clenched his jaw, but admitted, “It’d kill me.”

Jimmy shook his head and murmured, “You were already dead inside, after Luke.”

Matthew grimaced. “So, that’s why you took the risk?”

Jimmy smiled sadly and nodded. “It was one I was willing to take.” He leaned forward and stabbed a finger at Matthew. “I was pissed at you, pissed at the world. And…for all I acted like I didn’t care…I cared very much. This whole stupid ban…it was…just that. Stupid.” He shook his head angrily. “I knew about the Senator. I knew about what really happened. I couldn’t stand by and keep letting The Creed win.”

Matthew frowned. “That was classified.”

“I knew Melissa, remember?”

“Wait…that doesn’t make any sense.” The other male pointed out, “Melissa only started working for Eli after the riots.”

Jimmy scoffed, “You don’t know Mel.”

Matthew blinked. “What?”

“Elijah has known Melissa all her life, Shads,” Jimmy said. He let that statement stand as he looked down the tunnel. “Come on. We should get going.”

Matthew grabbed his shoulder, jaw working as confusion warred in his mind. “What are you talking about? Mel said she started working for Elijah after the riots.”

Jimmy sighed, looking at his friend. “Matthew, we gotta go save Val.”

“Not until you tell me what you know about Melissa.”

Jimmy looked at him hard then relented, his expression suddenly tired. “Mel is Elijah’s niece.”

“Niece?” Matthew stared at his friend as it slowly dawned on him. They both knew that Elijah only had one sibling. “You mean. She’s…Eskino’s daughter?”

Jimmy nodded, expression twisting slightly; he obviously didn’t want to get into it. “Yeah. Can we go now?”

“Yeah…yeah…we, we can go.” Matthew shook his head as he slung his bag back up on his shoulder. “Unbelievable…”

Jimmy just grunted in reply and trudged through the muck as they continued on their way.

* * * * *

Val sat with her head in her hands, breathing slowly as she tried to keep her fraying nerves together. The cell she was in was small, not uncomfortable, but very small. There was a single bed and desk to one side and a toilet which was partitioned by a curtain off from the rest of the room. But, she didn’t really take any of it in. All she could think was that she hadn’t gotten to say goodbye to her husband.

Not properly. Not in any real way. Not in those words.

She could still picture his retreating form when he had left her at the council building. Then she had thought she would see him again. Now she wasn’t so sure. She hated that; hated not knowing. And she hated what Jason was doing.

“He was your friend!” She realised she was yelling as she found herself leaning against the cell door. Tears filled her eyes as she slid to the floor a hand pressed to the door. “Your friend…” She sobbed, chin dropping as she leaned her cheek against the cold steel. “Friend…”

Val trembled as she could picture Jason’s hard features in her mind. His words pierced her heart. He would kill her if Mathew didn’t turn himself in and that terrified her. But, more than that, it saddened her. How it had come to this, she didn’t know. She thought loyalty meant something to Jason. Thought that friendship meant more than anything. Evidently that was not the case.

She heard a click and realised the door was being unlocked. Shuffling back from it she peered up through her lashes as the heavy door swung open. Jason stood there, expression grim. She bit at her lip, watching him warily. He frowned down at her then when he spoke, his tone was bleak.

“My men have sighted your husband. Hopefully, he will make the right decision for your sake.”

Val rubbed at her face and avoided meeting his gaze, knowing deep down that Matthew would not compromise, not even for her. He loved her, she knew that, but he would not give himself up. Not for her, not for anyone.

“He…” she stopped herself, not wanting to speak of it. Jason just grimaced and shook his head.

“He loves you, Val. He won’t be so stupid as to let you fall through the cracks.”

Val glared up at him. “He will not give himself up.”

Jason snorted. “He will if he wants you to live.”

She trembled. “Jason…don’t do this.”

He stared stonily at her. “The law is clear on traitors, Valary. He will turn himself in or face the consequences.” Jason turned and left without another word, the heavy door locking shut behind him.

Val trembled and took a deep shuddering breath. And sent out a silent prayer to whomever would listen to her.

Please…keep my husband safe…and get me out of this….

* * * * *

Melissa sat in the driver’s seat of Eli’s people mover, glancing across at him. “You do know what you’re doing, don’t you?”

Elijah nodded as he stared out at the highway. She sighed and returned her own gaze to the road, shifting gears as they sped along. He looked at her.

“You knew this was where this was headed, hun…”

Mel shook her head. “It’s getting too much, Eli…” She clenched her jaw. “Matthew should’ve been told earlier.”

Elijah sighed heavily. “It wouldn’t make any difference. At any rate, he wasn’t ready.” He tapped his fingers on the dashboard. “He is now, though. He won’t let anything stop him from finishing this.”

Mel grimaced as she thought of something else; Matthew’s wife. “Will they actually kill Valary?”

Elijah glanced at her, eyes sharp. “He won’t allow that to happen. He’s capable of a lot more than even Pete realises.”

“You think he’ll kill Berry?”

“I don’t know. But, I can tell you his betrayal will influence Matthew’s decision.” Elijah smiled a sad expression. Melissa rolled her eyes but said nothing more as she concentrated on the road. The old rocker wanted to continue the conversation, though.

“The Creed underestimate Matthew Sanders to their detriment. He’s thought this out more thoroughly than anyone knows.”

Mel scoffed. “Except you?”

Elijah heard the disbelief in her tone. “Sweetheart, I only know what he’s told me.” He shifted in his seat the leather creaking. “He’ll make the change that this city…this country needs.”

Melissa slowed as she reached the turn off for Long Beach, casting a long look at him. “You truly believe that?”

“What else can I do?”

“I don’t know.” She frowned. “But…what about Haner Sr?”

Elijah glanced sideways at her. “You mean his plan to become Mayor?”

“Yes. Does Matthew know the extent of our involvement?”

Elijah shook his head. “No. But, I believe James will fill him in.”

She laughed softly. “Now that will be an eye-opener for Matthew…”

The elder male smiled softly looking at her from the corners of his eyes. “How do you feel about that, though? He’ll know about you.”

Mel had no reply for him. She looked back at the road and continued driving in silence.