The Compound part 16
"WHERE IS SHE?" Grady yelled.
In a flash, Matthew was out of the bed and moving toward Grady. "Hey!"
he said, "Calm down!"
"Fuck you, Matthew!" Grady slurred, and it was obvious he had been
drinking.
Matthew took the man carefully by the arm and pulled him into the
apartment, carefully closing the door as he did so.
"What's wrong?" Matthew asked him.
"Shawna. She never came home last night."
"Did you ask Paul where she is?" asked Matthew.
"Yeah," Grady shook his head, unsteady on his feet. "He told me to go
home. What the fuck is happening, Matthew?"
Matthew looked over at his wife, who had gotten over her sudden shock.
She climbed off the bed, but unlike her husband, who stood in the middle of
the room naked, Rhianna clutched a blanket to herself and wrapped it around
her body. She was calm, but not yet comfortable enough to be relaxed
around this man in his present state.
"It's okay, Grady," she said as she got off the bed. "Shawna's being
looked after."
"It's not right; I'm her Head of House, I should be involved," Grady
muttered. Matthew rolled his eyes and helped the big man over to the
chair. Grady dropped like a sack of cement, but stayed awake.
"You okay, big guy?" Matthew said.
Grady looked up at him with red eyes. "What's going on?" he said,
"Where is she?"
"I can't tell you where she is, I don't know," Rhianna told him, "but I
think you should know what's going on, for your own good at least."
Grady focused on her, and looked more alert than they first thought.
"Please do."
Rhianna told Grady about Shawna's criminal past, the robbery, the plane
crash, and the dead body still on the Mountain. She also started to tell
him about Dirk when he waved her down.
"I know about him already. So the bastard got her in trouble. Is that
him up the mountain?"
"Yes, we think so, and she says it's him," Rhianna replied.
"Shit," Grady said, his head low.
Rhianna and Matthew looked at each other. Neither had thought Grady
cared enough about Shawna to be like this.
"I guess that's why she saw the elders," he continued, "they had to
decide what to do with her." He looked up. "Do you know what they
decided?"
"I'm sorry, Grady, I don't. When I left, they were still talking about
it."
Grady sighed. "You were there? Did it look good?"
Matthew was interested in how Rhianna was going to answer that one.
Rhianna padded over and got down on one knee in front of Grady. She put
a hand on his leg and shook her head. "I don't think it looks good for
her," she said. "You know the law. She's supposed to be taken back to
face the authorities, but she wants to stay. Since she was forced into
committing the crime, you might say she has extenuating circumstances, but
it's a hard call. The elders were supposed to have an announcement this
morning."
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Grady asked.
Rhianna shook her head, but this time it was Matthew who surprised her.
"Get dressed, Rhianna," he said. "I think I know what to do."
---***--
"So you think she should stay now?" Matthew whispered to her as they
walked along the hallways inside the huge huts.
"Shawna is a victim, not a crook. She was forced; her boyfriend using
her addictions as leverage against her. She needs help, not a jail term,"
Rhianna replied.
"Won't she get help on the outside?" Matthew asked.
Rhianna gave him a look. "She'll be better off here. Look, Matt,
you're not kidding around, are you? You do have a serious plan to help
her, right?"
Matthew's face hardened. "I've never been more serious."
They reached Paul Anderson's home, and Matthew knocked on the door. It
was opened presently by Lilly, who looked nervously at the three adults in
the hallway.
"Dad's pretty mad right now," she said, "it might be better if you came
back later."
"This is important, Lilly, let us in and go get your father," said
Matthew.
Lilly gave Grady another look, then stepped back and opened the door.
The threesome had stopped off on the way to let Grady splash some water
over his head. He looked a little better now, more in control of himself,
and Matthew had told him to shut up and let him do the talking.
The woman and two men entered the family-sized apartment, and Matthew
pointed to the floor pillows in the living area.
Rhianna took her cue, and for once didn't argue with her husband. She
went and knelt on the pillows.
Lilly had disappeared into the back somewhere, and Paul stepped through
an arch a moment later. He looked curiously at his younger brother for a
second, then he noticed Grady standing by the door and frowned.
"I'm not telling any of you where she is," Paul said, "so Grady, if you
think getting my brother involved is going to help your case, think again.
My advice to you is to go home and forget about her."
"She's leaving then?" Grady said, forgetting his instructions.
"Grady," said Paul, his face softening slightly, "it's for her own
good."
Matthew glared at Grady for a moment before turning to his brother.
"Paul, we all think that it's better that Shawna stays."
"That's...not an uncommon feeling," Paul admitted. "But when it came
right down to it, rules are rules. We've never kept anyone back before
when they should have been exiled."
Matthew reached out and put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Yes...we
have!"
Paul stared at Matthew for a second, then realization struck. "No,
Matthew. You can't do it."
"Can't do what?" said a nervous Rhianna.
Matthew turned to his wife. "I want to go tell them about me, about my
real past," he said. "Paul says they're stuck on law; Shawna can't stay
because no one else has. Well, they need to know that it's already
happened."
"Gabe told you not to tell anyone!" said Paul, talking about the
original Gabe Miller, who was the only person other than Paul and Rhianna
who knew about Matthew's criminal past. Gabe Miller the first had passed
away a year and a half ago, and with him went one of the strongest minds
the Compound had ever had. He was the voice of the elders, and the guiding
force of the community almost from the time it was founded.
"They have to know," Matthew said slowly.
"What if they decide to exile you as well?"
Matthew shrugged. "It's a chance I'm willing to take."
Grady stepped forward, puzzled. "Wait a minute. Are you saying that
you're wanted too?"
Matthew shook his head. "No. I've done my time, but that might not
matter here. Look, Paul, are you going to set up the meeting or not?"
Paul looked at his feet for a moment, deep in thought, then he nodded.
"Wait here, I'll send for you when they're ready." he said.
Matthew stepped to one side and Paul left the apartment.
"I hope this works," Matthew whispered.
---***--
"Two years ago, I came back to the Compound after being gone for many
years," Matthew began. He was standing in front of the assembled elders, a
larger group than had heard Shawna's case the night before. Everyone of
any seniority had been pulled in to discuss Shawna, and Matthew knew that
confessing to this group would be the same as confessing to the entire
community. Whatever happened after this, no one would look at him the same
way again.
"As far as anyone knew here, my life on the outside was successful.
People knew I ran an import/export business, doing my bit to help the
United States free market. I stayed in touch with my brother, and through
him I passed on the news of my accomplishments." Matthew gave Paul a small
smile. Paul was sitting close to the elders and didn't return it, he was
too nervous.
"I know it surprised a lot of you when I did return, and the surprise
was bigger when I brought a wife with me!" He gestured to Rhianna, who
knelt with some of the younger women on one side of the classroom.
"But, what you know about my life, wasn't exactly how it happened. I
was a crook. My import/export business just a cover for my smuggling
operations. I smuggled, across various borders, illegal artwork and
historical items, business secrets and prototypes, even people who didn't
want to be recorded entering or leaving the country. I had a hand in
almost everything that could be moved, but I never, NEVER, dealt in drugs
or arms. It was a profitable business, and it made me rich." He glanced at
Rhianna, who smiled in encouragement.
"Things were fine until I ran into some people I couldn't say no to.
They forced me into a deal that I didn't want to do, and it almost turned
out to be worse than even I could imagine. But I was rescued...I was
caught, by a very beautiful and sexy FBI agent." He smiled at Rhianna and
her eyes began to tear up. She knew he was risking everything by telling
all this, not only for himself, but for his entire family.
"You all know Rhianna used to be in the FBI; we never made a secret of
that," Matthew continued, and Shawna looked up. She was kneeling near the
center of the room, her hands still bound behind her from the night before.
She had given up hope, and had resigned herself to being taken to jail.
Now hearing that Rhianna had been a cop after all, made her think her fate
was sealed. She wasn't sure what Matthew was going on about; but it didn't
matter to her.
"What none of you knew...well, most of you...was that Rhianna was the
agent that caught me and put me away. I spent two years in prison for my
crimes, and then something happened to change things.
"Remember when I came here, there was a mad man killing our women."
The assembled group, shocked by what they had heard so far, suddenly
stirred to life as they remembered the horrible year that they all had been
stalked by a killer from the town below them. Matthew waited until the
outraged whispers died down before continuing.
"Most of you know that Rhianna was instrumental in catching that
monster; what you don't know was that he was the reason we came. I was
still in prison at the time, and it was felt that someone from the outside
had to come in and find out who the killer was. So Paul talked to me, and
I told him about Rhianna. She came in as my wife, and saved us all."
"Wait a minute!" Robert Klink said. "You mean she wasn't your wife, but
here undercover?" There was another murmur of discontent.
"Yes," said Matthew.
"But, your wedding...your marriage to her now...it's a lie?"
Matthew looked over at Rhianna for a moment before answering. "No," he
said. "I fell in love with her long before I came back here. As far as
I'm concerned, our marriage here has never been a lie. For Rhianna, it
took a little longer, but I doubt she would have gone through with the
wedding if, deep down, she didn't feel the same way about me."
"Is this true, Rhianna?" Robert asked.
Rhianna, nodded, finding it hard to stifle her emotions. She looked
directly at her husband, proud of his confession, and mentally sending him
her strength.
Few doubted that their love was for real; Matthew and Rhianna's marriage
was privately considered to be one of the strongest in the Compound. No
one who saw them together could fail to see the bond between them.
"Go on, Matthew," Robert said.
"I ah...well. After that case was over, I was supposed to go back to
jail. But a good friend of ours intervened and arranged for me to serve
the rest of my sentence here. As long as I never left the mountain, the
last six months of my jail term would be spent at home. And when they were
up, I left to bring Rhianna home. The rest, as they say, is history."
There was silence in the room for a moment.
"So, you've lived a lie all these years," Robert finally said. "Not
only that, but you're a convicted felon. I'm not sure what you thought you
might accomplish telling us all this, but as we find ourselves forced to
have Shawna removed from the Compound, the same reason forces us to ask you
to leave too."
There was another murmur of voices from the group.
Matthew stood still, his eyes on Rhianna, who locked hers on him in
return.
"Wait," said a new voice. It was Leann Miller. "Matthew, why did you
tell us all this?"
"My wife thought that Shawna would be better off staying here," he
replied.
"Well, I don't see how your confession was supposed to help her!"
"I wanted to show you all," Matthew said, turning to face everyone,
"that sometimes a rule can be broken for the right reasons. I'm told that
it's only a point of law, our law, which is forcing Shawna to leave. I
think a lot of you want her to stay, and you only need an excuse to make
that so. In fact, let's take a vote right now, shall we? Who thinks
Shawna should stay?"
Hesitantly, most of those assembled raised a hand, including Paul and
most of the elders. Surprisingly, even Robert had his hand up.
"Matthew," Robert said. "You made a valid point, but it doesn't work,
I'm afraid. You're trying to tell us that precedence has already been set
with your staying here, but none of us knew about your history, so how
could you have been pardoned? The rule is in place so that we don't fill
our community with those who are dangerous and untrustworthy. You
understand that we have to be very careful with it."
"I understand. But you're wrong; in a way, I was ruled upon," Matthew
replied. "Remember how I said most of you didn't know about my real past?
The three people who did know were Paul, Rhianna, and Gabe Miller." He
looked at Gabe the second sitting at the elders' table. "Your father."
There was a rustle of voices.
"Gabe knew?" Robert said.
Matthew nodded. "He told me not to tell; that I had paid my debt and
deserved another chance. I took that hand he held out for me, and I don't
think anyone here has regretted my coming back!"
Robert and the elders huddled for a moment. "Considering," he said to
the room at large, "the ruling that Gabe made on Matthew, it's understood
that there is precedence for Shawna not being forced out, and I think
another vote is called for to decide that officially. But I must point out
again, that if we vote to let her stay, we will be breaking an outside law.
We'll be harboring a fugitive. It's something to keep in mind.
"But first, Matthew. You showed great courage telling us all this. I'm
glad old Gabe let you stay."
"I'm glad he did too!" Matthew said, relaxing for the first time since
he entered the room.
Robert stood up. "Let's vote. Does Shawna stay?"
---***--
The wind had picked up on the mountain, and another bank of low clouds
hid the top from view. Paul looked up, and wondered if this was how it was
up here when the small plane had crashed here into the trees.
He stood silent, watching as Sheriff Kinkade, a couple of deputies, and
two FBI agents from Denver went over the wreckage. The Sheriff excused
himself and wandered over to where Paul waited.
"Hell of a mess," said the Sheriff.
"Yep," Paul answered.
"And you found it just yesterday?"
"Some kids did; they came and told me."
Kinkade nodded. He looked down at the three sacks of money sitting
nearby. "Supposed to be three million in those bags."
"I expect there still is."
"Funny, how they survived the crash unburnt."
"Lucky, I would say. You people put so much value on that paper."
"It would have been a tragedy if it HAD gone up, true enough." Kinkade
watched his men work for a few minutes. "You know, there's just the one
body in there, no sign of anyone else in the wreckage."
"Is that so? I didn't get too close myself, so I didn't check," Paul
replied.
"Any idea where they might have got to?"
Paul turned to look in his friend's eyes. "Wherever they are, I'm sure
their misdeeds are catching up with them. Even if the law doesn't get
them, they get punished in the end."
"I hope so," replied Sheriff Kinkade, with a knowing look in his eyes.
"I really hope so."
---***--
Gabe Miller IV sat his tankard down on the table and sat next to Grady.
The two men were in the small bar that served the social needs of the men
of the Compound. Dark and quiet, it smelled of countless years of spilled
beer and manly sweat, but the men loved it. It had never seen the face of
a woman.
Grady ignored Gabe for a moment; he was used to drinking alone.
"I just heard the whole story," Gabe said. He had been attending to a
birth, or he would have made the meeting too.
Grady grunted.
"I hear Matthew Anderson gave a hell of a speech," Gabe continued.
Grady nodded.
"I'm happy she's staying, Grady, but it doesn't look like YOU are.
What's up?"
"I am happy, but I'm not sure it's for the right reasons," Grady finally
said. "I didn't want her to go, yet it's hard having her around."
Gabe understood. He had thought a lot about Shawna over the past few
days, and he realized that she might not know what her feelings were for
him. Gabe had watched her looking at Grady; even he could see she was
smitten. But he wasn't going to give up on her just like that. Shawna had
stirred something within him that he couldn't ignore, and while he was
willing to let Grady have a first shot at her for his own healing, Gabe
wasn't going to wait around for ever. If Grady didn't make a move soon,
then Gabe would.
"You know, Cheryl would want you to be happy..." Gabe began to say.
"Oh, don't YOU start!" said Grady, pushing his chair back.
"Hey, wait. You know it's true. I'm not telling you to go chase after
her, but I do think you need to stop beating yourself up about how you feel
about her!"
Grady said nothing, but Gabe could tell he was listening.
"Grady, give yourself a chance; she might be just what you need!"
Grady sat up and took a swig of his beer. He looked up at the old
carriage clock in the corner, one of the few timepieces in the Compound.
"She should be coming out of the stocks pretty soon, right?"
"Yep, three hours a night for the next month," said Gabe.
"Maybe I'll go say hi, be there when she comes out. I can walk her over
to Leann and Gabe's."
"Don't expect Granddad to invite you in, though. Since he took over
being responsible for Shawna, he's kept her pretty close."
"Do you know why they took her away from me?"
Gabe smiled. It was a smile of regret as to how things could have been
and a smile of happiness over how things could be. He reached out and
patted his friend on the shoulder.
"I'm sure you'll figure that out soon!"
---***--
It was getting dark, the sun already gone behind the great mountains
that surrounded the Compound. Yet the sky still glowed with the last of
the day's light.
Matthew and Rhianna sat on a rock overlooking the river valley the
Compound was nestled in. A blanket was wrapped around the two of them for
the evenings were growing colder, and they snuggled together tightly.
They had been sitting in silence for a while now, watching the sun go
down, and it was Matthew who first spoke.
"You happy?" he asked.
"About what?" his wife answered.
"In general. You happy here?"
"Wonderfully," she said, giving him a hug.
"No, no bullshit. I want a serious answer."
Rhianna looked at her husband's face in the fading light, and saw that
he was indeed serious. "Okay," she said. "Why do you want to know?"
Matthew sighed. "This whole business with Shawna. I watched you. From
the moment she arrived you switched to Cop mode and you loved it. You were
ready to throw that woman in jail yourself at one point. I saw a Rhianna I
had never seen before, and to be honest I was a little concerned. I know
you don't get many chances to use those skills up here. Coming to live on
this mountain was a huge change for you. So tell me, are you happy here?"
Rhianna sat and stared at him for a moment. "Matthew, I can't say that
living here hasn't been frustrating at times. Primitive living, and at
times primitive thinking has made my transition tough as you know. But
hear and believe me when I say this. I have never been happier in my life.
I can't say that enough, I can't make it any plainer. You make me happy."
Matthew nodded. "Okay then."
Rhianna giggled. "You can be a bear sometimes you know."
"Grrr," Matthew replied.
Rhianna laughed.
"Do you think Shawna will adjust?" he asked her.
Rhianna thought about that for a moment. She was glad that Paul had set
her some punishment for her crime, but happier yet that the girl would get
the help she needed to rid herself completely of her addictions and clean
up her life. "I think so, unless her suitors start to fight over her."
"Suitors?"
"Oh yeah. Don't tell me you didn't notice how Gabe looked at her!"
Matthew chuckled. "Gabe? Well, it's about time. He can be lot of fun
at times, but if there was ever a guy that needed to get laid, it's him."
"Don't be so crude," Rhianna said with a smile.
"Grrr," Matthew replied.
"There you go being a bear again!"
Matthew turned to his wife and growled, making a fierce face as he did
so. He began pinching his wife under the blanket and with a squeal she
jumped up to reveal that she wasn't wearing much at all.
Matthew got up, arms up high and with a roar made a jump for her, but
she was too quick. Laughing and screaming Rhianna ran down the trail back
to the Compound with her bear of a husband roaring and running after her,
while above them the stars began to shine brightly on the Compound.
The End of this Story.
