Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem ( Elysia and Tarquin)

Tarquin: "..."

Bernard strolled up to the rickety bridge like he'd done it a thousand times before, walking right along the chain without even grabbing the handrail. His hands were tucked behind his back, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

He didn't bother holding on himself, but he did toss Tarquin a warning.

"Better hang on, man. If you fall and break something, Elysia's gonna have a heart attack."

Tarquin accepted the advice, sounding a little humbled. "...Alright."

When they reached the other side, Bernard tapped his wristband, and the makeshift bridge started folding itself up with a soft whirr.

Tarquin asked, "Did Walter design this?"

"Yep. Walter used to be the chief engineer for the military—sharpest guy I know. He loves tinkering with this kind of stuff. If you can dream it up, he'll make it real."

Tarquin seized the opening.

"If Walter had such a sweet gig in the military, why fake his own death and go off the grid?"

Bernard just kept his hands behind his back, squinting at the horizon.

"That's his business, not mine. If you want to know, you should ask him yourself."

Tarquin shot back, "Alright, then why did you fake your own death and disappear?"

Calling you out, old man.

Bernard turned and gave him a long look. "Didn't I tell you already? Because of my brother."

"...That's one reason. There must be something else, right?"

Bernard's eyes narrowed even further, and he stared hard at Tarquin for a while before saying, almost out of nowhere,

"Anyway, whatever we're up to, it's nothing shady."

With that, he started walking on ahead.

Tarquin: "..." So apparently, there *was* more to the story-a bunch of big shots all faking their deaths and hiding out in the woods. What could their secret be?

They walked for a while longer, and Bernard led the way to what looked like an ordinary cellar. He opened a hidden stone door, and inside, the place was way bigger than it appeared from the outside.

There were computers and even some old smartphones inside.

Tarquin picked up a phone. It powered on-battery full-but there was zero signal.

He was just about to ask when Bernard chimed in,

"You need to follow the prompts on your wristband. Yeah... all this is Howard's handiwork."

It was a pretty complicated process, and the two of them fiddled with the setup for

a good while before finally getting it to work.

Tarquin couldn't help but wonder:

were all these precautions really just about retiring in peace, or was there something else they were hiding from the world?

He shook off the thought for now and dialed Axel's number.

Axel picked up almost instantly. "Who is this?"

"It's me," Tarquin replied.

Tarquin's voice caught Axel off guard. "Tarquin?"

"Yeah."

Axel wasn't convinced, so they exchanged a quick code phrase before he relaxed.

"I thought you were in the middle of nowhere. How are you even calling me?"

Axel was a man of few words, but even he sounded curious.

Tarquin didn't bother explaining. "Get things in place at Darkfort City.noveldrama

fre mountains in a few days. Someone might be coming doplne

a close watch."

"If they forget about anyone living up here, leave it be. If they remember, make

sure they forget again."

Axel got the message. Keeping things hushed up was his specialty.

"Understood."

Tarquin asked, "Any movement from the Medical & Pharmaceutical Association?"

"Nothing. They haven't noticed the virus sample is missing."

Tarquin had swiped the backup sample, not the one they used for research, so no one had caught on.

"What about Zane?"

"He's still stuck with Ms. Newsom,

and it's rough. Some tabloid

reporters caught a whiff of theal.' '

but Mr. Huber managed to shut it

down..."

They chatted a bit about the situation in Jindale City. As Tarquin was about to hang up, Axel suddenly said,

"Tarquin, Sabrina's using your wife to stir up trouble. You want to get involved?" Tarquin frowned. "What's she doing now?"