Chapter 23

Alan

       Orchid told me and Ryder that while Nolan was playing off that he was fine with not being a Protector, his mind was saying otherwise. It was all Grandpa Gary's thought that Nolan no longer was a Protector, all because he decided to take Jerome's mom's word for it.

       We also knew Grandpa Gary wouldn't reconsider anything at all if we talked to him calmly about it, so we decided to take things to a whole new level.

       Grandpa Gary walked into the training room to check up on us, but all he saw was Ryder and Orchid sitting down and me laying down. "Why aren't you three training?" Grandpa Gary asked. "We're in a very serious situation right now with a potential attack from Dirk's team. We need everyone training as hard as they can, so get up."

       "You know, we would but that would defeat the purpose of what we're doing," I said.

       "Which is?" Grandpa Gary asked.

       "A sit-in," Orchid said. "We're protesting."

       Grandpa Gary crossed his arms over his chest. "And what exactly are you protesting?"

       "You being in charge," I said. "You're a horrible leader."

       "Yeah, you're overworking us, you're biased, and you kicked someone out just for having a relationship with a sorcerer," Orchid said. "And before you say anything, Jerome didn't kill anyone. We went to talk to him about it, and he was telling the truth when he explained the real reason he was kicked out of the Sorcerer Circle."

       "He's a sorcerer, Orchid," Grandpa Gary said. "First off, he could have used a spell to block your mindreading, and second, he's your brother's boyfriend. You can be lying to protect him."

       "Okay, first of all, Jerome wasn't the one who used a block," Ryder said. "The head of sorcerers did when Orchid tried reading her mind. And second, I would never lie if it meant putting Nolan in danger. If Jerome really did kill someone, I wouldn't want Nolan anywhere near me because unlike you, I put my family first."

       Grandpa Gary didn't seem to appreciate Ryder saying that, but we didn't care. Ryder was telling the truth; Grandpa Gary never seemed to put his family first for anything.

       "So, as we can see, we are going to continue protesting," Ryder said. "That is until one of two scenarios happen. You allow Nolan to be a Protector again or you resign as the head of this HQ."

       "Not happening," Grandpa Gary said.

       "Then our protest isn't coming to an end," Ryder said.

       Dad and Tulip were walking by just then, and Grandpa Gary stopped them. "Grayson, mind telling your children to stop their ridiculousness? They're not training because they're, apparently, protesting."

       Dad looked at us. "Stop protesting."

       "Not until he either resigns or allows Nolan back in," I said. 

       Dad shrugged and looked back at his father. "Sorry, I tried."

       "Hey, Tulip, want to join the protest?" I asked.

       "I don't know..." Tulip said uncertainly. "I don't want to get in trouble."

       "Good thinking," Grandpa Gary said.

       Too bad I knew exactly how to get Tulip on our side.

       "Tulip, want to know why Nolan is no longer a Protector?" I asked. "Grandpa Gary told him to choose between being a Protector or being with Jerome. Oh, yeah, Jerome and Nolan are dating now, but Grandpa Gary tried tearing them apart."

       "He tried sinking Jerlan?" Tulip asked and I nodded, so she walked over and sat down with us. "I am now protesting."

       That only made Grandpa Gary look even angrier as he looked at Dad. "Tell your kids to stop this right now," he said.

       "They may be my kids but right now, they're under your control since they're here in the HQ," Dad said. "If you can't get them to listen to you, that's not my problem. Maybe next time, you should think twice before kicking their brother out."

       Dad then walked away, leaving Grandpa Gary to deal with us. "If the four of you don't get up now, you can consider yourself in the same position as your brother," he said. 

       "You want to kick us from the Protector Circle as well?" I asked.

       "I will if you don't listen," he said.

       "Do it," Ryder said. "You do realize that the reason the four of us went on the most missions had nothing to do with being related to the head, right? We were always the go-to people because, without bragging, we're simply the best Protectors."

       "Yeah," I agreed. "Good luck going to interview supernaturals without our mind reader to know if they're telling the truth or not. Good luck sending someone to a very dark place and not able to see because they don't have night vision. Good luck sending someone anywhere and have them be in trouble because their agility isn't super high."

       Nothing Grandpa Gary said or did was going to get us to move. He had to know how stubborn we could be at times since our stubborness came from him. Too bad it was four of our stubbornness against only his.

       "You want to play the hard way?" Grandpa Gary asked. "Fine. I'm giving you one last warning. Get up and train or else I'll bring someone from the Tribunal here, and they might do a lot worse than just kick you out."

       "Again, I say do it," Ryder said. 

       Grandpa Gary walked away, most likely to call someone from the Tribunal. "Are you sure we won't get in trouble?" Tulip asked.

       "Positive," Ryder said. "Grandpa Gary is the one in the wrong here. His reasoning for kicking Nolan out is completely false, and I would personally love to bring that to the attention of the Tribunal so they know what kind of man they left in charge."

       It didn't take long for Grandpa Gary to return, this time with Martha and two other Tribunal members. "Martha, how lovely to see you again," I said.

       "Now isn't the time for pleasant greetings, Alan," Martha said. "May I ask why you're all defying the head of the HQ?"

       "He kicked Nolan out of the Protector Circle," Ryder said. "Under false accusations, and he refuses to take Nolan back, so we're protesting until either Gary here steps down as the head or until Nolan is allowed back in."

       "I told you, allowing your brother to stay in contact with a dangerous person will only bring down the HQ," Grandpa said. "I didn't want anyone's safety being at risk."

       "Did Nolan refuse to drop contact with this dangerous person?" Martha asked.

       Gary nodded. "I gave him a choice, and he made it."

       "Then I don't see the problem," Martha said. "Now you four really need to start listening to the head unless we not only kick you out but bring you to the Protector Circle Guild in Alaska where you will stay under surveillance."

       Ryder stood up, and I was really hoping he wasn't putting an end to the protest.

       "If you're going to do that without a fair trial, then I wouldn't want to be a Protector anyway," Ryder said. "Like I told Gary, I would never allow my little brother to be near someone who's dangerous. Gary's lying."

       "I am not," Gary said. "I was informed that Nolan's little sorcerer boyfriend had killed someone in the past, thus causing his end with the Sorcerer Circle."

       "Oh, okay," Ryder said. "And I hope you know the head of the sorcerers is actually Jerome's mother. Do you want to know why he was really kicked out? Because he was gay. She lied and said he killed someone out of spite because her husband divorced her once Jerome was kicked out."

       "Alright, here's what we would do..." Martha began, but Ryder cut her off.

       "Bring out the lie detector," he said. "Use it on Orchid. She read Jerome's mind when he told us the reason he was kicked out, and she said he was telling the truth. Not only that but when she tried reading the head of the sorcerer's mind, she couldn't because it was blocked. And that, my friends, is why we're protesting. All because Nolan was kicked out due to false accusations."

       One thing I always admired about my older brother was that he was never afraid to speak his mind, which was definitely needed right now.

       "Gary, is that true?" Martha asked.

       "I can assure you that even if it is, I had no idea," Grandpa Gary said. "Irene told me that Jerome was kicked out because he killed someone, and I assumed she was telling the truth because she's in a well-expected position and wouldn't have a reason to lie."

       "Oh my..." Orchid said as she stood up. "You're lying. You knew Jerome never killed anyone. You only used that as an excuse to kick Jerome's boyfriend out of the Circle because you don't agree with the LGBT community. Homophobe."

       Grandpa Gary snorted. "Says who?"

       "Uh, your mind," Orchid said. "Did you really think I wouldn't read it to find out if you're the one ly--" She stopped, then scoffed. "You're disgusting." Orchid then looked at Martha. "I refuse to partake in any Protector Circle business as long as Gary's in charge."

       "Orchid, stop being melodramatic," Grandpa Gary said.

       "I'm not," Orchid said. "We need a professional leader, one that doesn't kick people out for being gay, lie about someone killing someone, and... What was the last one? Oh, right. Sleeping with the head sorcerer."

       Oh.

       Wow.

       I felt like throwing up now.

       "She's lying," Grandpa Gary said. I didn't even think I should refer to him as my grandfather now, though. He was no grandfather. "She will say and do anything to help out Nolan."

       "Bring out the lie detector," Orchid said. "Or better yet, they should use it on you. See if you can get out of this now."

       "Gary, can we discuss this situation in your office?" Martha asked.

       Gary didn't reply as he lead Martha and the other Tribunal members to his office.

       "Is he being kicked out?" I asked. "Can they do that? Please? I want my baby brother back."

       "Yeah, so do I," Orchid said.

       "So... You were actually telling the truth about all of that?" I asked.

       "Unfortunately, yes," Orchid said. "I guessed he never thought I would read his mind, because I've been trained to do it on missions only. I just hope all of that is enough for him to be replaced."

_________________

Or shoveled. Shoveled works too.

It's so close to Halloween and I still have no idea what I'm going to be. cx I really wanna be Rapunzel BUT I CAN NEVER FIND HER DRESS ANYWHERE. So I'm going to go to a Halloween store sometime this week to see what's there.