Eliot Strange and the Prince of the Resistance

49) On the Road to Stuart, Virginia

My mother insists on torturing me too because she gets in a separate vehicle, and I have to ride with Gus Lancaster for the next thirty miles alone.

There is silence for the first fifteen minutes. I guess Gus is very satisfied with me as his captive because he is, for once, not talking.

It is me who breaks the silence. I have questions.

"Did you kill him?" I ask.

"Who?" asks Gus who turns his eyes from the road long enough to glance at me.

"Agent Davies. You said he was shot in his sleep. That sounds like you."

"How little you know about me," says Gus who seems a little less disagreeable than before until he says. "I'm ruthless when I want my way. But I would never shoot someone in their sleep. I like people to see it coming. To know it was me."

I let that sink in. I picture Gus shaking Agent Davies awake, and then shooting him. That's probably how it happened. There is no honor in this man.

"Did you kill Ned too?"

"Who is Ned?" asks Gus.

"The newspaper editor. You know when Jack and Carli got away from you at the newspaper office. Ned was the editor. Someone beat him."

"He died?"

"Yes, he did because somebody beat him bad."

Gus shrugs his shoulders as if to say - oh well.

"He had a pregnant wife. A wife who was going to have his first baby. A baby boy. Ned never got to see his son because he is dead."

For a split second I think this gets to him, but Gus quickly recovers. "A lot of people have died, Elie. And will die." He says it like he is the student council president making morning announcements: And today, be ready, a lot more people are going to die. "And besides," he continues, "I didn't beat your Ned. It is not my style. There was another man there. I only questioned."

I really hate this guy. We ride in silence for the next few minutes, but I have one last question:

"What about your dad?"

"What about him?"

"What happened with him? Is he a liar and killer like you? Is he a pretend agent too?"

This stings him a little. I can tell by his expression.

"No, my dad is a good guy. Honorable. He will always do his job and the right thing, well, as far as he can when you are involved with international politics and secrets." He laughs. "I told you, we argued."

I feel like hitting back. "So, I guess you argued about you being a low down, stinking asshole of a person, or was it your betrayal of everything he represents?"

I guess I touch a nerve because Gus says, with what seems like a little sadness:

"No, we argued about my plan. I had a plan to end this all. Dad disagreed."

A plan to sell out a prince. A plan to murder innocent people who only wanted to help others and see their baby boy.

"Well, at least your dad has a little integrity, unlike you. You are nothing but a Judas."

 Gus doesn't say anything back.

 Finally, I get the last word.