The Federation

Joshua poked his head out of the door into his penthouse suite, looking up and down the hallway for any sign of Carter, before stepping out and motioning for me to follow. I stepped out into the hallway as well, closing the door quietly behind me. His hand found mine as we stepped out into the directors’ lobby and headed towards the elevator. He was smart enough not to grab the hand Carter liked to hold—the hand that would never be the same again, I’m sure of it.

We quickly found our way to the dormitory hallway and began down it, looking for a certain number. Once we reached it, Joshua knocked gently and waited for a response.

“State your name,” the guard called from the room. All the rooms had been locked from the inside, and the guards were ordered to not let anyone in except Joshua or Carter.

“Joshua,” Joshua answered. “This is urgent.”

Moments later, the lock clicked and the door swung open. Light from the room swept into the dark hallway, and both Joshua and I blinked and winced against the bright light. The guard looked a little surprised to see the two of us together but allowed us entry. Once he’d closed and locked the door again, Joshua turned to him.

“You must not speak of this to Carter,” Joshua told him.

“Speak of what, Josh?” the guard replied with a small grin. Joshua smiled briefly back.

I broke away from Joshua and walked towards the group of sleeping rockstars huddled in the center of the room. They hadn’t been given mattresses or blankets or even a comfort object. I felt that rage boil in my blood again. I would take Carter down with my own two hands. And I would like it a lot.

“The guards always listen to me better than they do Carter,” Joshua informed me quietly, stepping up beside me to peer down at the lightly snoozing rockstars before us. They looked like puppies in a cage, all huddled together for warmth and not caring if their butt was in someone else’s face. “It pisses him off to no end.”

“Good,” I answered. Finally, I spotted Joan and stepped around the pack to her. I crouched down next to her sleeping body and gently patted her cheek with my palm, knowing just a light, simple touch would bring her from the light sleep she found herself in. Gently, her eyes flickered open.

“Asher!” Joan exclaimed excitedly, throwing her arms gleefully around me. I cautiously hugged her back. To be honest, I’d expected her to wake up and start yelling at me about bringing this menace into the Legion.

“I’m sorry, Joan,” I apologized once we’d pulled away from each other. The six other rockstars began to stir, having been awoken by Joan’s shriek. “This is all my fault.”

“Nonsense,” Joan scoffed, resting a hand on my shoulder. “You could not have known that this would happen. I thought Carter was quite a charming young fellow. I was so excited about the prospect of him joining the Legion. He had everyone fooled.”

Everyone except Jimmy, I thought. Jimmy knew something was up all along. God, I feel like a bitch now.

“Don’t look so down, Asher,” Joan continued, catching the sad look in my eyes. She sat up and rested both of her hands on each of my shoulders. “The Legion isn’t just a bunch of floundering guppies.”

“Yeah, Asher, we’ll make it out of this mess,” Matt Tuck, who was in this group of rockstars, agreed, sending a warm smile my way. I smiled as best as I could back.

“So, why have you come to visit us?” Joan asked. I felt better, knowing that at least someone in this Legion didn’t completely hate my guts.

“A few nights ago, I snuck into Joshua’s bedroom because I knew I needed his help to take Carter down,” I explained, motioning for Joshua to come join us. “None of Carter’s band mates are particularly thrilled about what Carter has done. So, for the last few nights, we’ve been trying to come up with a plan. And we finally thought of something—but we need a second opinion. We think it’ll work nicely, if everyone involved will agree to it.”

“What’s the plan?” Hayley Williams, also in this group, asked curiously. She looked pale and tired under all that orange hair of hers.

“We need to call Carter’s bluff,” Joshua began. “So we’ll be doing some bluffing of our own. All of the rockstars are going to ‘overpower’ the guards. Then, all of the Legion agents will meet in the lobby with the guards cornered or restrained somehow. Once Carter’s bluff is called, he’ll have no choice but to surrender.”

“How do we communicate this to the other groups without their guards knowing?” Joan asked. She looked around at the guard standing in the room with a frown. “And he’s just heard the whole thing.” She jabbed her thumb in the guard’s direction.

“Don’t worry about the guards,” Joshua said hastily. “They’ll be glad to help us. They’re not too fond of Carter at the moment, either.”

“Over the next couple of nights, Joshua and his band mates will go from guard to guard and explain what’s going on to the rockstars inside each room and the guards standing guard over them,” I explained. “We can smooth out the details tonight, Joshua can tell his band mates sometime tomorrow, and we can start telling everyone tomorrow night. Hopefully, if all goes to plan, we’ll do it in three nights.”

“I think it’s a fabulous plan,” Joan said. “If everyone agrees to it, there’s no doubt in my mind it’ll work.”

Everyone else soon agreed.

“Alright, let’s start smoothing out the details,” I replied, feeling confident now with their enthusiasm. Maybe this plan could really work.