63

Chapter 63

Flange Orphanage, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2030, Planet: Grimoire

Oh, dearest deities, what is that crazy kid doing? Director Moline thought he'd die of massive heart failure on the spot. Coincidently right when he witnessed the moment of Grifton's draconic wings manifesting. With that occurred a split second before the orb sailed past Grifton's head and promptly boomeranged back at Helen Tinroy who'd been there undercover for a very long time.

A sigh escaped Moline. "I don't know what I'm going to do about him." He muttered in disbelief. "Sadly, there'll be no retrieving that insane girl." She'd had a promising future. If only she hadn't been revealed as a complete psychopath.

Commander Darmono shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Better to learn about her existence now before further sabotage occurs with fatal results." He reminded Moline.

"True, but that doesn't make it easier to swallow." Moline sighed. "This has been what, the sixteenth, seventeenth time this has happened?"

For that matter, why was it Darmono who always discovered the troublemakers who tried killing Grifton each time? He had one hell of a network when it came to such matters.

"This time it was more of a surprise when Lamberton came to me with the information." Darmono's face darkened. "I think he knows more than he's letting on. Right now, though, he's not telling the entire story."

Lamberton was involved in this somehow? That austere man? Moline eyed Darmono dubiously. "Now that I think about it. He had one wild younger brother."

Both men looked at each other in dismay. The thought that occurred to them next was..."I wonder how many more children are out there." Moline shook his head. "I remember the woman he'd been chasing. I wonder how she's faring."

Darmono sighed. "Not well." He folded his arms. "I think Lamberton is investigating her now that Grifton and that trio have begun manifesting their unique abilities."

Moline nodded as he thought about the wild youngsters. "Hmm, this is becoming quite the dilemma." He murmured with a frown. He glanced at the thick files with images on each of them and sighed.

Of the four, only Grifton showed his draconic roots so openly and easily. Granted, he didn't know how to control the transformation yet. Since it occurred spontaneously every time something put him in danger. Slowly but surely Grifton was gradually learning how to tame his innate traits.

"I'm wondering if I should enroll him early into a work program." He tapped Grifton's file. "He's earned enough credits and I'm getting the impression that he's impatient to fly the coop."

Darmono shook his head. "Just put him in the frost-ranked wagon's tier." He suggested. "My troop will watch over him since there are other dragons around. That way we can train him how to maximize his abilities to the fullest, without pushing him past his limits."

That sounded good, but Moline would consult with Grifton first. This was his future they were talking about after all. That's when the fussing began with Grifton bemoaning what would come of his future.

"Goodness, what kind of future is he envisioning?" Darmono looked shocked.

Moline shrugged. "That scenario only will happen to the miscreants that tried killing Grifton." He stated simply. "Obviously none of this was his fault. Trying to convince him of that is more difficult."

Darmono was thoughtful. "Maybe if we show him the video of what happened, he'll come to understand that nothing was his fault?"

Moline frowned. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt." An idea occurred to him. "Huh, it could be turned into a useful training tool so that he could learn to master his transformative quirk."

Darmono nodded with satisfaction. "Yes, I think that would be a good thing as well." He sighed. "I hadn't thought that far ahead, so I'm quite appreciative of you thinking about it first." His admission startled Moline.

"Hmm, thank you, I think." Well, at least Darmono wasn't attempting to outright seduce him any longer. He'd finally gotten it through his thick head that Moline wasn't interested in anything romantic period between the two of them. It had only taken eight years to hammer it into his thick skull.

~*~

Despite a fiery desire burning within him to pounce on the oblivious Director Doyle Moline, Darmono shoved the impulse down. He'd learned the hard way not to make advances on Moline. He still wanted to know what made him so skittish about relationships. It was especially bad when his pheromones leaked on occasion.

He'd almost lost control when Doyle panicked at the sight of someone attacking Grifton Tinroy in an obvious bid to kill him. As usual, the attempt failed miserably. That kid's survival instinct was the strongest Darmono had seen in a very long time. He shook his head in amazement as he watched the kid's evasion techniques.

"I'll have to admit, I'm in awe of his agility. He'd make a damn good soldier." Darmono let that thought slip out and winced as a frozen chill wrapped around him. "I'll let know that was speculation. I wouldn't inflict that experience on him before he has to register for the mandatory sign-up."

Moline regarded him in icy silence and then sighed. He relaxed and the chill eased off as well.

Darmono cleared his throat and shook his head. "You need to work on that temper of yours." He muttered wryly. "It isn't as if I wanted to make it into an actual fact."

Moline shook his head. "I don't care to joke about it." He sighed heavily. "It is more like I'm worried about what unit he would wind up in."

Darmono frowned because he understood where Moline came from in this case. Well, it was true that someone like Grifton would be viewed as a consumable commodity that was very rare indeed. "I would do my best to get him assigned to my unit when the time came." It would be the only way to keep him safe, and Darmono knew it.

Moline smiled wryly. "Well, that's relatively far into the future and I don't want to jinx it." He shrugged ruefully.