Page 226 of Johnny

He leaves the shade of the tent and wanders down the beach. The drones, all six of them, follow

him. Buzzing around him like pests. He swats them away when they get too close, and then starts

talking into the phone.

A hand on my shoulder startles me and I push back from the table and stand up quickly. Whirling

around to face… Samuel.

“I’m sorry to startle you. I just wanted to let you know that I’ll take good care of your father.”

I walk around the table and sit in the chair our host just vacated.

Then pick up the white ribbon she turned into a bracelet and stare at it for a few moments before

redirecting my gaze to my father. “Are you OK, Daddy?”

It’s painful to look at his face, so I can’t meet his eyes. It’s clear that whatever happened to him

was very… unpleasant.

But our secret is still safe.

“He will be OK,” Samuel says. “They smashed his foot with a hammer when he refused their offer

for you. Then broke his jaw. It will take six to eight weeks for him to heal, but I repaired him the best

I could. He will be able to work again. They left his hands alone, so they’re counting on it.”

I look down at his foot, which is in a cast. Then back up at Samuel. “Are you really a nurse?”

“I am now. But don’t worry. In my other life I was a world-class orthopedic surgeon.”

“Oh,” I say. “Well, thank you.”

“I was also his… distributor. He sends the treatments to me every month and I make sure they get

out to where they need to go.”

I hold my breath for a moment.

“I’ll still take care of that. Don’t worry. It’s all been set up with the Way. And I’ll be with him

forever now, I suppose. Which is fine.” He averts his gaze from me. “They killed my family so there’s

nothing for me to return to. But I’ll take care of him too, I promise. We’re in this together. And…” He

hesitates. “And you can move on to your new life without worry.”

It takes me a good two or three minutes to parse that whole statement and find the meaning

underneath. Understand it. Realize he’s my father’s partner and has also kept his secret. Paid a very

high price to keep that secret. And that, just as the woman said, he will be taking over my role in the

lab.

I have been absolved. Or, at the very least, let go.