Messiahs by Matt Rogers (bookstand for reading txt) 📕

She said, ‘We wouldn’t last a day if we were that overt. No — we are subtle. Exposing ourselves to the masses right now wouldn’t be smart. But there’s always risks, doing what we do. I’m planning in advance, expecting more resistance in future. There’s already some trouble brewing here. Two of my contacts have gone radio silent on me — I suspect one of them has fled town. I can’t reveal more until I know I have your loyalty, but just know you’ll never be asked to do anything outside the range of your abilities.’

‘How do you know the range of our abilities?’

‘I made an assumption based on how many people you put in the hospital.’

Slater said, ‘The pay?’

Maeve said, ‘We’ll get to that.’

‘That’s what everyone says before revealing it’s dog shit.’

‘First I need an expression of interest. Tell me you’re interested, and you stand to make more money and do more fulfilling work than anything you’ve seen in your lives. That I guarantee.’

King said, ‘I’m interested.’

They looked at Slater.

He nodded slowly.

She said, ‘We live in a commune in Thunder Basin. The facilities are excellent. Will you come out and see them? We can discuss all the details out there.’

Slater looked hesitant.

Maeve lowered her voice and said, ‘Want to know something else? Your friends are with us.’

King said, ‘We don’t have friends.’

‘Maybe not yet,’ Maeve said. ‘But wouldn’t you like to get to know those two beautiful girls from the bar better? Alexis and Violetta, I believe it was…’

She trailed off, flashing a sly look.

Neither of them spoke, but they both made it appear they were tantalised.

Maeve put the nail in the coffin. ‘To them, you’ll be gods. If you take my offer, you’ll have power over all of my followers. You’ll be my security team. They worship me, so they’ll worship you. What sorts of things could you get up to with the women who love me? You can have them all. Whoever you want, however you want.’

Silence.

King said, ‘I’m in,’ knowing there was a special place in hell for Maeve Riordan.

45

In the back of her pickup truck, King and Slater sat quiet and stoic.

At close to one in the morning, after finalising specifics, Maeve drove them into the darkness. It was absolute, all-encompassing — the grasslands swallowed them whole. They had their hands in their laps and their duffel bags between their legs like they were off to military boot camp.

Maeve had already asked them how many nights they’d booked at the Arbuckle Lodge, and they’d told her it didn’t matter. When they were in, they were all the way in, and they had no attachment to anything other than their own destinies, so they’d be coming with her now instead of waiting out their stay in Gillette.

She liked that.

Now, Maeve said, ‘I need to make a few things clear.’

Slater said, ‘Sure.’

‘You’re not hired just yet, obviously. We wanted to snatch you up before anyone else could get to you, so we made our move prematurely, but that’s okay. We’re all professionals here. If you don’t like our setup, or we don’t like your attitude, we go our separate ways. No harm done.’

King said, ‘What’s going to be surprising about your setup? I thought you already covered everything.’

Maeve shook her head, the back of her skull wrapped in shadow as she stared out the windshield into nothingness. ‘I haven’t even scratched the surface.’

Slater knew, between himself and King, he was the bad cop. So he sat forward and said, ‘What exactly is going on here?’

Maeve said, ‘The movement I run … no matter how hard I try, I can’t explain what it is. You’re just going to have to see for yourself.’

Slater said, ‘You think we’re suckers?’

King said, ‘Will…’ like he was scolding a younger brother.

Fulfilling the role of “good cop.”

Maeve said, ‘It’s quite alright, Jason. Both of you relax. You’re going to stay with us for a few days as we get to know each other. Right now we hardly know a thing about each other. How can we know if we’ll work well together if we don’t click?’

King said, ‘That sounds fine.’

Slater shook his head in the darkness. ‘Are we getting paid for this time?’

Maeve looked over her shoulder, her face stern. ‘If you don’t like it, Will, I’m happy to take you back to your lodge. But if at any time you’re unclear about the dynamic, then let me make it clear right now. This is my setup. My commune. You are welcome guests, but until I fully trust you, that’s all you’ll be. Everything I said in the hotel room still stands, but you wouldn’t have come with me if I simply asked you to visit. If everything goes well, you’ll have jobs — and lucrative ones at that — but that’s dependent on whether or not we click.’

King said, ‘We’ll click.’

Slater said, ‘Maybe.’

A long period of quiet elapsed. Slater stared out the window, pretending to think it over. There wasn’t much to look at. Just the gaping chasm of the frontier at night.

Slater said, ‘I’m fine with it. You keep saying “we” though. Who runs the commune with you?’

‘My husband,’ Maeve said. ‘Dane. He’ll want to talk to you tomorrow.’

King said, ‘We’d be happy to.’

Maeve said, ‘Not you. Just Will.’

King didn’t respond.

Maeve said, ‘Is that going to be a problem?’

Slater said, ‘Why me?’

‘Dane is our head of security,’ Maeve said. ‘He’s very particular about who we recruit. He’ll interview you one by one. And you’re first, Will, because something tells me you’ll have more questions than your friend.’

Slater said, ‘Something tells you right.’

King said, ‘Who are we replacing?’

Maeve said, ‘What?’

‘I assume you already have some sort of security measures in place. Who are they?’

Maeve said, ‘“They” are Elias.’

Slater said, ‘One man?’

‘He’s talented in specific areas,’ Maeve said. ‘I won’t go into detail. Don’t want you running your mouth around town if you decide to leave.’

No one answered.

Slater understood what she’d done. By hinting at illegalities, she’d