Ch 976 - Everything is Fine

While everything cooled down, Lincoln and Justin hid out in the bunker. Justin thought that "bunker" was too restrictive a term to describe the underground mansion his grandfather had built. There was one floor dedicated entirely to bedrooms, another which housed a spa. In what Justin thought of as the boardroom, the walls were lined with monitors, corkboards, and the middle was the console. 

Justin wasn't quite sure how or why Lincoln wanted vengeance against Alex. It seemed completely out of place. For Justin, the answer was so much simpler: he wanted his family to notice him. Everything he had been doing over the years was to get them to alk to him, and take an interest in him. Instead, they gave everything in Alex. Of course the oldest child got everything while the run of the Ambrose litter was pushed off to the side.

Justin was sitting in a comfortable chair at the top end of what he called the "boardroom table." It was a long table which stretched the length of the room. Lincoln saw at the very head of the table, his suit jacket hanging on the back of his seat and the top buttons of his shirt unbuttoned. He had also loosened his tie out of a need to relax, and he was scribbling something on a ledger.

"What's that?" Justin asked, trying to peer over the top of the ledger.

Lincoln gave him a sidelong look and nudged the ledger out of the way.

"Just some accounts," Lincoln assured him. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with just yet."

Justin furrowed his brow, feeling confused. "Just yet?" he asked. "Well, what's that supposed to mean?"

He had meant the question seriously. There was something not quite right about the way Lincoln was behaving. Evasive, and almost odd, as if he was trying to get everything in order. It made Justin think of a dying relative trying to put together their last will and testament before it was too late, and they passed away without their affairs accounted for.

There's no way he's dying, Justin thought. The idea of his grandfather dying made him wince. He didn't want to lose his grandpa so soon. Granted, Lincoln had to be in his late sixties, far too young to die of old age by modern standards, and he could afford some of the best healthcare the United States had to offer. There was no way he could be dying soon.

"Grandpa," Justin asked, thinking as he spoke. "Is everything okay?"

The question seemed to take Lincoln by surprise. He froze, holding the ledger just a few inches away from his face. He turned his head slowly toward Justin, and set the ledger down, closing it as it he rested it on the table.

"Why are you asking?" Lincoln asked in a suspicious tone.

Confused, Justin said, "You seem a little distracted," he shifted in his seat, coming closer to his grandfather. "Like, there's something on your mind."

Lincoln gave Justin a long, hard look. Justin thought he could hear the wheels turning in Lincolns head as he tried to think of something to say. Justin began to feel awkward, as if he had intruded on something very personal.

"Justin, my boy," Lincoln finally said, relaxing his posture. "There are some things which I need to tell you." He inclined his head toward Justin. "At the moment, it is not in anyone's best interests for me to share them. All will become clear in due time."

And that was all Lincoln had to say on the topic.

Justin reclined on his seat and looked up at the corkboard. Post-it notes, newspaper articles, and Lincoln's ramblings were connected by countless pieces of string. Lincoln was standing at the corkboard, regarding it with his hands behind his back.

Justin leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs. Although he didn't like being underground so much, he enjoyed the time he spent with his grandfather. 

At least somebody in this family pays attention to me, he thought bitterly. 

His family had never understood him. Gideon and Flora saw potential only in Alex, and that was what hurt Justin the most. 

"So," Justin said, "what's the plan now?"

Lincoln turned away from the corkboard and silently regarded Justin. 

"Patience is a virtue," he said in his refined voice. "We wouldn't want to leave Riley or Todrick out of the festivities, would we?"

Justin blinked, confused. "No?"

Lincoln nodded. "That's right. If we're going to dismantle your brother and his empire, we need to work together."

Justin nodded, and Lincoln made his way to one of the monitors where he started typing. The monitors were linked to cameras all over Baltimore. Lincoln had even managed to get a nice view of Alex's house in the middle of the woods. Unfortunately, they were unable to get a good view inside the house. Justin didn't need to see inside the house to know that Flora and Gideon were inside, probably fawning over their favorite son. 

He pulled out his phone. There were twenty notifications of missed calls, and twelve voice messages. Most were from Gideon, but a couple from Alex. Justin listened to one from Gideon.

"Hey, Justin!" said his father's voice message. "Can you call me back really quick? Your mother and I have an idea we want to run by you."

[SFX: beep]

Justin deleted it and moved on to the next one. 

"Hey again, Justin!" said the next voice mail. "About the idea we wanted to run by you. We've run it by Alex and he's happy to go forward with it. We just want your opinion as well since, you know, it's a family thing. The whole family should be involved in the decision-making process. Call me back!"

Justin deleted it. The next one was from Alex. 

"Justin," said the voice mail. "Just call Dad back. You know how he worries. He wants to take the whole family skiing in Switzerland. It's frankly a good idea and I think it would be good for you to get away from certain people for a while. Call him back."

[SFX: beep]

Justin sighed and put his phone away after deleting that last one. A ski trip in Switzerland sounded amazing, but he wasn't sure he wanted to go. As much as he enjoyed being outdoors and talking to the gorgeous local women, he knew what would happen. Either Alex would be so amazing at skiing that Flora and Gideon would stop paying attention to Justin, or Alex would get injured and the whole trip would be canceled before it was over, so Alex could get medical attention. 

He tucked his phone away and turned his attention to one of the monitors. It showed Riley and Todrick approaching the bunker. They scanned their fingerprints and made their way to the boardroom, where Lincoln gave them a warm, if formal, greeting. 

"Gentlemen!" he said, throwing his arms in a wide greeting. He smiled, but it was dark and menacing. 

That caused Riley and Todrick to pause and exchange a worried glance. Riley turned to Lincoln.

"What's your game?" Riley asked, suspicious. He narrowed his eyes at Lincoln. 

Lincoln lowered his arms and gave Riley an unreadable look. 

"There are no games," Lincoln said, returning to his seat. "Only a matter of some urgency to discuss."

Riley took a seat at the console, and Todrick sat next to him. It occurred to Justin that he rarely saw one without the other. 

"Your plan failed, old man," said Todrick. "Bankrupting Alex Ambrose, your grandson, didn't work. We had better come back strong if we're going to finish him."

Lincoln looked at Todrick. "We're going to try something a little unconventional."

Riley piped up, "What does that mean?" He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest. "We've tried everything we can think of, and he just won't go down without a fight. Whatever we try next has to be the things that completely finishes him."

Lincoln smiled. "What we are going to do," Lincoln said, "is take him by surprise. And that's where you come in, Riley. You are going to infiltrate his friend group. Get in good with that Louis boy, and join the Demon Sect."

Riley shot to his feet. "What?!"

Justin was as surprised as Riley. Alex would certainly know that something was amiss if Riley suddenly decided that he wanted the two of them to be friends. Justin sat back and watched, unsure of whether his input would be helpful.

Lincoln laughed. "I thought that might take you by surprise," he said. 

"What I don't understand," Riley said, scratching his head, "is how you can expect me to infiltrate the friend group of a man who knows I hate him, and he has tried to kill me on numerous occasions!"

"It's quite simple, really," Lincoln said. "I will give you false information, and you will go to Alex, crawling on your hands and knees -"

"Stop right there!" Riley snapped. "I am not crawling to Alex Ambrose to beg for forgiveness! I'm too good for that!"

Lincoln stared down at him. "You will do what I say," he said in a faint voice. "And you will not complain."

Riley stared at Lincoln, his mouth agape. 

"Everything is under control," Lincoln continued. "You will be wearing an earpiece the entire time. I will be watching every step of the way. All you need to do is follow my instructions."

Riley's face turned red. "No." he said. 

Lincoln stiffened and glowered at Riley. "What did you just say?"

"I said no!" Riley shouted. Todrick had shrunk back and was watching Riley with a mix of surprise and horror. 

Justin covered his mouth with one hand and also shrank back. You didn't say no to Lincoln Ambrose. If he asked for something, you made sure you gave it to him. If he demanded something, you made extra sure to give it to him. 

"Think very carefully," said Lincoln in a cold voice. "You are treading on dangerous ground."

Riley scowled at Lincoln. Justin's blood ran cold as he watched the two of them exchange glares.

"No," Riley said, taking a step back. "I have had enough of the plans that go nowhere. All they do is get me nearly killed, and I have to come back from the dead every few weeks just to almost die again. I'm sick of it."

With that, he turned on his heel and left. A moment later, Justin watched as Todrick slowly stood up from his chair, then turned and gave a quick bow to Lincoln, and scurried off after Riley. 

Lincoln sighed, then turned to Justin.

"Looks like it's just the two of us," said Lincoln. Then, he broke out into a dark smile.