“Expect me?” Phoenix interrupts. “I’ve offered my services. Gwen hasn’t asked me to do anything.”
“The last male baby born to the Regions isn’t going to be easy to just...take.”
“Who is the End Man in the Red right now?” Phoenix asks.
Her face is serious. Dead serious. They are actually planning on going through with this.
I blink at her. “Aries.”
She makes a face, like it could be worse and looks at Gwen.
“What do you know about him?” Gwen asks me.
I scratch my head. “Aries…? He’s…”
“What?” Phoenix says. “Spit it out.”
“You,” I tell her. “Are getting on my nerves, despite the way you kiss.”
“I can imagine it doesn’t feel as nice as when a woman gets on your dick,” she shoots back.
I glare at her.
“Fine...fine. Aries is batshit crazy,” I say. “Good luck with that.”
“We should be wishing you good luck,” Phoenix says. “Because you’re the one who’s going to contact him for us.”
“I’m not getting involved,” I say to both of them. “I have a pink jet and a good life.”
“A pink jet!” Phoenix says, flabbergasted. “I thought you cared about Folsom!” She picks up the closest thing to her and throws it at my head. I duck out of the way and a can of corn hits the wall behind me.
“You’re crazy.” I point between the two of them. “Dual crazies. Twin psychos.” I switch my attention to Gwen, clearly the more logical of the two.
“You have the opportunity to get out of here. Canada will provide you asylum. Why, Gwen?”
She slams her fist on the table so hard the vase of wildflowers wobbles precariously. Phoenix’s eyes grow large, and she looks between the two of us. Gwen’s tiny shoulders squared, she stands up to face me. I remember this from last time, in the hospital with Foley. She’d threatened my life and she barely reached my nipples.
“My son,” she says from between her teeth, “is with that woman…” She points to what I suppose is the direction of the Red Region. Leaning over the table toward me, her eyes are glowing with hate. I pity Langley. If Gwen gets ahold of her…
“I’m not leaving the Regions without Rebel. And that’s the end of it.”
I look at Phoenix then. She shrugs.
“All right.” I sit down at the table, head in my hands. “Say I can get in touch with Aries. Who’s to say he’ll help us?”
“Isn’t there some type of brotherhood between you guys, some oath of loyalty? Folsom and Kasper don’t like each other, but Kasper pulled through.”
“Kasper owed Folsom,” I say and then I wish I hadn’t. Gwen is looking at me curiously. “It’s not my story to tell.”
“I’ll reach out to him myself,” Phoenix says with finality.
“No.”
Both women look at me in surprise. There’s no kindness in their eyes as they wait for me to speak. I’m either here to help them or I’m not. Goddamn, how did men ever manage to rule the world with these tiny generals in existence?
“I’ll do it,” I say. “You two keep your heads low or Folsom and I will both have someone we care about in prison.” I storm out before either of them can say another word.
This is exactly why men have nearly gone extinct: women.