Chapter 36: Staunch Conservative

On Saturday morning, the Carter siblings went out to fix the yard's fence.

Mrs. Wood, from across the street, came over with her pushcart, stopped at the gate, and said, "Last night, I saw Scott being picked up by a car."

Elena smiled, "Great, he won't bother us."

Mrs. Wood, being kind, reminded, "You can't do without him."

Elena nodded, "He'll be fine."

Mrs. Wood slowly pushed her cart back towards her house.

Martin came out of the house with a toolbox, looked at the slightly shabby wood materials in front of him, and started giving commands, "Hall, grab your shovel and dig some holes. Harris, find a ruler and measure the height. Lily, give me a hand."

He took out a handsaw and started sawing the wood.

Suddenly, someone blocked the sunlight.

Martin looked up and found it was Lily. "Idiot, what are you doing?"

Lily stretched out her hand, "You dumb pig, give me the saw."

Martin remembered Elena mentioning that Lily was the best at handiwork in the Carter family, so he handed her the saw and asked, "Can you handle it?"

Lily, proficient in sawing the wood, said sassily, "I can make it look just like yours!"

Martin didn't stop her; instead, he said, "I have something handmade to do," but then reconsidered her age, "Never mind, it's not suitable for you."

Lily raised her voice, "Watch me saw this wood just like your face!"

"You better not be bragging, idiot," Martin decided to find James a companion, "If you can't do it, I'll dig a hole in the backyard and bury you."

Lily blinked, "And then listen to you and Elena every night?"

With a swoosh, a worn-out rope thrown by Elena hit Lily on the head.

Lily quickly shut up and worked quietly on the handiwork.

Martin took a shovel to help Hall dig the hole.

His body seemed to have muscle memory, making the work especially smooth.

Digging holes to bury someone didn't seem hard.

After a busy morning, they erected wooden fences where the wire mesh was missing in the yard.

All the wood materials had peculiar shapes, standing in the dirt as if defying gravity.

They were Lily Carter's masterpieces.

Martin and Elena tied everything together with ropes and connected it to the wire mesh. Despite not looking aesthetically pleasing, it was functional.

The key was, it wasn't worth stealing.

The worn wood wouldn't interest Scott.

Martin washed his hands, took out the car, and said, "Idiots, lunch is on me."

The four got in the car, and Martin drove to a nearby fried chicken burger joint. Five or six dollars per person was enough to make Lily and Hall, the two idiots, eat until they were about to burst.

After lunch, Harris bought some old magazines from a nearby bookstore.

Back at the Carter house, Martin sat on the couch, casually picked up a magazine, and said to Elena, "Calculate the rent."

Then, he turned and pointed to Lily, "Idiot, shut up!"

Lily swallowed her words, coughed, and tried to defend herself, "I didn't say anything."

Elena went to find the ledger.

Martin flipped through the magazine; it was an astronomy magazine. The page he opened to was introducing a newly discovered star.

It seemed like new stars were discovered every year?

Martin held up the magazine and showed it to Harris, "Studied astronomy?"

Harris, engrossed in his book, didn't look up, "Forgot? I'm a member of the astronomy club. Don't ask me to introduce stars; I'm in a public high school."

Elena came out of the bedroom with a notebook, flipping through it as she said, "I don't know how Emma negotiated with Jack, but six months' rent is $1000."

Martin thought to himself they must have negotiated in bed and said, "I'll transfer it to you on Monday."

Elena was never polite with Martin when it came to money. She rolled her eyes, "Idiot, do you want to be a scoundrel like Jack and default? This rent is overdue till March, and it's almost June!"

Lily finally seized the opportunity, "He'll enjoy it more when he messes around because of default."

Martin tossed the astronomy magazine at Lily's face and said briskly, "I'll give you $2000."

Elena generously said, "I don't want the interest."

"I've got an appointment this afternoon. You guys continue," Martin said, getting up to leave.

Elena picked up a laundry basket and followed Martin next door to collect his dirty laundry.

Their washing machine had been sold years ago, so Martin's dirty clothes were always taken to Elena's place for washing.

Martin was used to it and said nothing as he got in the car and headed downtown Atlanta, arriving at the same cafe as last time.

Barkley, a journalist from the Atlanta Interstellar News, was already waiting there. When he saw Martin, he said, "I've found some information."

Martin took out the prepared $200 and handed it to Barkley, "This is for you."

Last time, Martin had asked Monica's freelance journalist friend about the market price for getting info and buying materials from journalists.

Barkley took the money and said, "In a few days, a director from the Atlanta Methodist Association named Milton will attend a large skills training press conference. He is the most staunch conservative opinion leader in the association."

He opened his bag, took out the collected materials, and handed them to Martin, "The speech that triggered the protest of the Freedom Society - the view that women are just family subordinates and must follow the will of the family, was publicly expressed by him."

Martin quickly skimmed through, "Has he made even more extreme remarks previously?"

Barkley nodded, "Yes, he is an extremist within the conservative faction."

Martin continued reading Milton's information, which was mostly accessible public information collected by journalists.

One section caught Martin's attention: in Milton's three marriages, two failed due to his wives' infidelity. The wives had accepted media interviews during the divorce, claiming that Milton was useless.

After thinking for a while, Martin said, "Barkley, my friend, I might need a small favor from you in a few days."

Barkley looked at the money, then at Martin's polite attire, and didn't hesitate, "We are friends, so it's a given that I'll help you. Just call me anytime you need."

Martin mimicked a phone gesture, "Wait for my call."

Barkley pocketed the money from his civilized friend and cheerfully left the cafe.

For someone who worked for a tabloid creating stories, making money wasn't shameful.

Martin went to the club and headed to the office to find Vincent, "Boss, I've been carefully reviewing various newspapers in Atlanta over the past few days. The media is no longer mentioning the Beast House's name, which isn't good for the club's further publicity."

Vincent, having reaped real benefits from the name recognition, took this seriously and said, "We can't really sue the Methodist Association. Civil lawsuits take a long time and are costly; it's not worth it."

At the last press conference, Martin made loud accusations but only sent a lawyer's letter.

Martin said, "Boss, last time, the Methodist Association picked on us. Why can't we give them trouble this time? Let's protest against the Methodist Association scumbags again and call the media."

"Let the media hype it up again?" Vincent thought it could work, "Are you confident?"

Martin continued, "Last time, I saved Kelly Gray, a director at the Freedom Association. Ms. Gray has hired me as a part-time social investigator for the association. We can use the Freedom Association's name."

Vincent, recalling Martin's key role in the club's explosive popularity, agreed, "Alright, personnel costs will be paid hourly."

Martin thought to himself, those actively seeking help really aren't worth much.

*****

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