Chapter 43: Get Out Of My Town

Neither of them rested well that night, but Darlene got to sleep in as Wil went down to the jail and talked things over with his father. Dealing with the sheriff had taken a couple of hours, and then they gave Isom his steakhouse treat before going to bed. Wil woke up about three hours earlier than he wanted and took the Thunderhawk out for the day.

His father was already there and talking with Sheriff Harrington. In his short time as sheriff, the jail was less oppressive, and more in line with what you’d find in the city. Mark Marfolk sat behind bars on a bench, staying wisely quiet. When they saw Wil in the doorway with his staff and dressed in his official capacity as town wizard, their conversation stopped.

“Wil,” his father said, coming up and hugging him. “They told me their side of things. You did the right thing here, but this is clear retaliation for you messing with their operation. You’re not blameless here.”

“I know,” said Wil, eyeing Mark in the cell. The prisoner kept his eyes locked on the ground like he pretended to not exist. “But what I did is genuinely harmless. What would have happened if Darlene had been there and neither me nor Isom were there? They might’ve hurt her. He says they were just going to rob me and vandalize the place, but that leader of theirs is unstable. There’s no telling what he’d do, all because he was angry at me.”

Sheriff Harrington cleared his throat. “There’s no arguing that, Master McKenzie. But you should understand that they could potentially press charges against you as well. We want this to end as cleanly as possible. I would greatly appreciate it if you would let me handle things. Your reputation precedes you.”

Wil nodded, ignoring the heat rising to his cheeks. That was a valid complaint and he knew it. “Of course, Sheriff. I’ll do whatever I can to make this easy for you. When can we expect the others?”

“Any minute now. Can I get you some coffee?”

Wil gladly accepted, and sat at his old desk in the corner with a mug of frightfully strong coffee. He nursed it over the next twenty minutes. His father and the sheriff chatted while they waited, talking about the other townspeople and a few tourists who had damaged an inn and tried to skip town to avoid paying.

Right as he considered getting a second cup, the door opened and the other two wizards were marched in, hands cuffed behind their backs. Wil grabbed his staff and stood. McGinnis made eye contact, and Wil saw the man’s desire to hurt him, even without having to read his mind. This was personal, and it wasn’t going to end here.

Gayle on the other hand, looked embarrassed. As if she couldn’t believe she was stuck here with the others, and she totally wasn’t at fault. It almost made Wil laugh, but he stayed silent and let the sheriff handle things.

“So, are you two going to try to deny breaking and entering, or are you going to make things easy on me?” Sheriff Harrington hooked his thumbs into his belt and waited.

“No, not going to deny it,” said McGinnis. “Why should I? I was looking for a cure for an affliction Master McKenzie placed on me. Are you going to arrest him for that?”

“Mm. No, I don’t think so,” said the sheriff. “We could charge him for it. Just like we could charge you for this. But if you’re willing to have an adult conversation, we can handle this like men. And a lady,” he added, nodding at Gayle.

“If it keeps me out of jail, I’ll do whatever you want,” she said. “I see that’s what Mark did, at least. You alive in there, Mark?”

“Alive and mostly intact,” said Mark. The older wizard stood and pressed himself against the bars. “No thanks to you two. You left me to die to McKenzie’s cat!”

Wil cleared his throat. “He wouldn’t have killed you unless you seriously harmed him,” he said. “He’s well trained and was ordered to hold any intruders there for my return. Which he did. As for the nightmare I planted? That was wrong of me. Blasting your pile of guns though? No regrets.”

McGinnis surged at him, but the deputies grabbed him by the cuffs and yanked him back. “Those took hours to make, asshole!”

“Good,” said Wil.

“Dammit everyone,” Bob said. He didn’t raise his voice often, and Wil immediately shut up. Even McGinnis winced, though being handcuffed and unable to defend himself had something to do with it.

“If it were up to me, I’d let you all brawl it out. I’d put good money on my son cleaning your clocks, and it’d be satisfying to see. But as there is no doubt about what occurred, the Sheriff and I have decided to offer you three a deal. You won’t be arrested or charged with anything, and you will be free to go. So free to go, in fact, that you should get your things and leave town and never come back.

“In exchange, you forget your grudge. Pack it up and take it with you. With any luck, none of us will ever see each other again.”

“And what about our damaged goods?” McGinnis demanded.

“You mean the ones you built from stolen research?” Wil asked. “Given to you by a man I thought was my friend. A man who promised me no weapons. Those goods?”

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McGinnis sneered. His face was a splotchy mess and magic charged the air. “Yeah, those ones. The ones that are going to make us a fortune and keep us employed rather than just throwing together a bunch of junk and trying to sell it to nulls. We have a future. You may have gotten here first, but our weapons will eclipse anything you do as far as Cloverton is concerned.

“So sure, I’ll take your deal. We’ll take our stuff and leave. We’ve already won. All we have to do is finalize our magnum opus before the president comes. We don’t have to be in this boring town to do it.”

Sheriff Harrington stared daggers at him, and his hand balled into a fist. Bob looked at McGinnis with undisguised disgust. They all seemed to be waiting on Wil’s reaction. The funny thing was that Wil didn’t feel anything about it. He didn’t care about McGinnis in the slightest. All of his anger and hurt was somewhere else, and the petulant ravings of an embarrassed man meant nothing.

“If you ever come near me or my friends again, there is nothing in the world that will protect you from me,” said Wil. “Now get out of my town.”

Without much further ado, Harrington released Mark and had his deputies escort them from the jail and back to their cottage. They had three days to pack and leave, which soured Wil’s enjoyment of getting the last word in, but it would have to do. During those three days, he and the others wouldn’t be able to relax or progress in anything. They would need the time to hurt and grieve.

Wil remained at the jail, waiting for the hammer to fall. It was almost noon when Thomas entered the jail. He was as pale as a ghost, and kept his eyes on the ground.

“Yeah,” said Wil. “I wouldn’t want to look at me either. You and I have an uncomfortable talk ahead of us. I can handle this one Sheriff, if I may.”

Harrington nodded. “Only if you’re sure this won’t end in violence.”

“If it does, then I will have deserved it,” said Thomas, cracking half a smile. “I waive my right to press charges.”

“That won’t be necessary. C’mon.”

They walked out of the jail and down the road. Thomas said nothing, and Wil suspected he appreciated more time before they got to the point. Or maybe he dreaded it, and stopping for ice cream was a torture he may or may not have deserved. Either way, Wil needed something to boost his mood.

They sat on a park bench in the hot midday sun with ice cream sundaes, the sounds of birds and children playing nearby. “How long, Thomas? Was it the entire time? Was any of our friendship real, or just manufactured for your scheme?”

“It’s complicated, Wil. I’ll happily explain it to you if you’re willing to listen, but the short of it is the friendship was real.” Thomas took a bite of vanilla and chocolate fudge. “And the spying wasn’t my idea. I was pressured into doing it, and I deeply regret it.”

Wil breathed deeply. It wouldn’t do to laugh in his face. “You have to know, that’s not that comforting. I mean, I’m glad you regret it, but that doesn’t make me feel better. If that’s what you were hoping for.”

“I was. Damn.”

Part of Wil wanted to shout and growl and roar and maybe cry a little. It hurt, and speaking became difficult. He was in control, and it was miserable. “Explain it for me, please.”

Thomas swallowed and took a moment to prepare himself. “I was at Marlowe Manor when you arrived, and I was genuinely curious about you and interested in working together. As time went on, it got back to Ferrovani. He didn’t care for me staying and keeping you company as often as I did, until the explosive end of your tribunal.

“He saw my proximity to you and bribed and threatened me in the same breath to spy on you. I should have…I should have led him on and lied about doing it, until it was too late for him to do anything about it. I should’ve done that.” Thomas laughed bitterly.

Wil nodded as he ate his ice cream. “Yeah, you probably should have done that. Or maybe told me about it and seen what I could’ve done to help. If you had come clean about this at any time before last night, we could’ve worked things out.”

Thomas winced. “I tried last night. I was building up to telling you all about it, and I was going to tell them to get lost and destroy their copied notes. But then that idiot McGinnis decided it was time to get back at you.”

Wil laughed suddenly. Thomas gave him a funny look, to which Wil said, “I just thought that if Ferrovani was really that rich and accomplished, he’d have better hired help.”

Thomas laughed as well. “The thing is, they’re good at what they do. Mark and Gayle are almost as good as me and Bram, and McGinnis is more imaginative than you’d expect. They’re used to much harsher conditions, with more competition, a deadline, and sabotage all around. I think they went stir crazy here.”

Wil’s laughter cut out. “I’ll take your word for it. They broke into my house, Thomas.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Wil. I can’t undo things, but I can promise you that I want nothing to do with them anymore. If you can forgive me, I’ll prove myself twice over.” A manic, desperate gleam appeared in his eye. “I was trying to do the right thing, and I swear to you that the last couple of months have been the best. Please, let me have another chance.”

Wil wanted to, more than almost anything. It would be so easy to shrug it off and welcome Thomas back in. There was no way their friendship wasn’t real. Even if it started fake, it felt real, and they’d accomplished so much together. But Wil knew he forgave too easily, and he couldn’t think only of himself.

“They broke into my house. They’re making weapons. You’re making weapons. It was the one thing I asked of you, and you lied to me.” Wil took one last bite of ice cream before throwing it into a nearby trash can. The sweetness offset the bitterness he felt. “I could’ve forgiven you if it weren’t for that.”

Thomas inhaled sharply. “Wil, please…”

“It’s not just for me, it’s for Bram and Darlene too. They deserve better than this.”

“Well, let’s ask them!” Thomas tried to smile. “Make it a group vote. Let me state my case to everyone, and if you don’t want me, I’ll leave.”

Wil stood up. Thomas trailed after him in a daze. “This is my decision. I can’t trust you. But I need you to know that we’re not going to pretend you had nothing to do with our success. You’ll receive a full quarter of the credit and the money, as we agreed upon. But as of now, you’re no longer part of the team.”

He started to walk away, when Thomas called after him. “What am I supposed to do now?”

Without turning around, Wil said, “It doesn’t matter to me. Go work with your other team. Make your weapons and double dip on discovery, like you wanted. Just do it away from me. Goodbye, Thomas.”