Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 124: Fallback Plans

If Mariella decided to let them go, what then?

"So." Her voice cut through the silence. "Who still wants a gun?"

The three exchanged glances. Number Four broke first, jaw set. "I do."

Number Seven followed immediately. "I do."

Number Six hesitated. His mouth opened, closed. In the end he stepped back from the others.

"I'll defer to whatever Ms. Townsend decides."

Mariella distributed the weapons and tactical vests to all three. Matthew followed behind her with food and water.

They suited up in their gear, holstered their firearms, sheathed their blades, and each pocketed a small bag of crackers, a small bag of beef jerky, and a full military canteen.

"The guns don't get lost. The ammunition doesn't get wasted. Every piece of equipment comes back in the same condition it left in, because the next shift needs it." Mariella looked at each of them in turn. "Understood?"

"Yes, Ms. Townsend." All three, in unison.

Once the deployment was sorted, Mariella pulled Chandler aside. "Come by my study in a bit." Then she headed back inside and upstairs to her suite.

Her room was the largest in the villa by a considerable margin. It had its own fireplace, an oversized bathroom, and a private study off the main space.

The study's bookshelves held several hundred volumes, most of them chosen by the interior design firm that had furnished the place. World literature, classics, a few fairy tales mixed in.

She settled at the desk, picked up her phone, and messaged Kieran.

"Something major just happened in the complex and you're nowhere to be seen. What have you been doing?"

It took a while. When his reply came, it arrived with the energy of a man face-down on a couch.

"Heartbreak. Do not disturb."

Mariella sent back a question mark.

"Heartless woman." He attached a grinding-teeth emoji. "If you weren't interested, you shouldn't have given me ideas."

She sent back a face full of question marks.

What ideas? Whatever he'd imagined, he'd imagined entirely on his own.

"Bad enough you found someone else. Did you have to tell me about it? My heart is in pieces." A cracked emoji followed.

Mariella skipped the back-and-forth and called him directly. The signal wasn't great, his voice coming in slightly distorted, but clear enough.

"What are you actually talking about?"

Kieran sounded genuinely sorry for himself. "You really don't feel anything for me? Not even a little? The new guy is that bodyguard who beat up Harvey, isn't it. I've seen him around. He's decent looking, I'll give him that. But I'm not worse."

"There's no new guy, there's no old guy, and I don't have time for whatever competition you've invented in your head. Tell me something useful."

"You could at least be a little nicer when you want something from me," he muttered, aggrieved. "You can't just come in demanding things. There are social norms."

Mariella said nothing. Did all men get like this eventually?

"Fine, not that you'd understand anyway. Cold-hearted woman." He seemed to realize she was losing patience and shifted gears. "Here's something actually worth knowing. Harvey ransomed Roxanna."

Mariella laughed under her breath. "Cost him a massive fortune, I'm sure."

She'd originally intended to bleed the Grahams dry herself. Apparently Vere had beaten her to it.

"Forget the money for a second. Harvey's situation is what it is. Roxanna spent days with Mr. Guerrero and came out of it in rough shape. Word is her kidney condition got worse and she's on medication. Viola has been tearing into Harvey about it ever since."

Mariella stifled a yawn. "Since when do you follow gossip this closely? Does this look like something I care about?"

What happened to that pair of them was their own problem. The only Graham business that interested her was what she could still extract from them financially.

She moved on. "What's actually going on with No. 101? Why did your grandfather have to step in himself? Where were you?"

Kieran's voice dropped. "It's not good. Grandpa reached out to the police, but they can't spare anyone right now. Word from reliable sources inside is that conditions may get significantly worse before they improve.

"The military is tied up building disaster shelters. Police are focused on protecting senior officials and their families and helping establish official bases. A unit they managed to deploy a few days ago got ambushed by the convict gang and took serious casualties.

"Grandpa spent a long time negotiating with the authorities and finally got a firm answer. A police unit can be sent in about two weeks. So Celestine Ridge needs to hold on its own until then.

"He was worried I'm too young to command the room, so he took point himself."

A pause. His voice dropped further. "It's bad, Mariella. He's told me to be ready to pull out at any moment. If Celestine Ridge falls, we'll likely move to an official shelter." Another pause. "Do you want to come with us?"