“Yes, that’s exactly what I want.” He cocked his head up and pursed his lips in an exaggerated gesture of consideration, “Well, actually, I want you to go with these men. I need to stay here and have a word with Sasha.”

Emmanuel looked into her eyes. He was scared, clearly. But he kept his voice steady when he spoke.

“Sasha, I’ve got to go do my duty. Find R– Aaron for me, will you? Tell him I, um, wish him the best. And I hope to see him soon.”

He put definite emphasis on that last word. And then he gave Sasha a very deliberate nod before he stood and stepped toward Alexander’s men.

“Take him to the factory for his intake processing. I’ll be along shortly,” Alexander said. He put a hand on Emmanuel’s forearm as the young man passed by and said, “You should give a prayer of thanks, brother. God has blessed you with a great honor.”

Emmanuel’s smile was as false as Alexander’s.

“God bless you, Martyr Dubois. I’ll pray that you and all your men grow closer to our Lord.”

Was that a threat? she wondered before deciding, of course it was. In a more normal situation Sasha would have mulled that over. It certainly was not the sort of comment she’d have expected from a true Martyr. But just then she was far too consumed with terror, both for Emmanuel and for herself.

Alexander’s guards led Manny away, and Alexander took his place at the table. He took a long sip from Emmanuel’s cooling coffee and smiled his snake smile again.

“I must say, Sasha, I thought you had better taste than that.”

For the first time in her life, Sasha found herself trying to stare daggers at someone. Oh, if only I could shoot knives out of my eyes, she thought as she imagined one striking Alexander in the forehead with enough force to burst out the back of his skull. Is that something “chromed” people can do? She wondered, and decided she’d ask Marigold if she ever got another chance to talk to the woman.

“Hey!” He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes and she hated him a little more. She was sorta surprised to learn that was possible.

“Look, I know coming here can be disorienting. I know this is a lot to get used to. But him? A fucking spic? It’s people like him who filled this continent with their mongrel spawn and tore American civilization to splinters.”

“We are all brothers and sisters in Christ,” she said. “We are all the frui–”