Gifted Connections 3

“I’m sure they will,” I stated practically. “This isn’t their home. I’m sure many of them have never been away from home or experienced the things we have but it doesn’t mean that we don’t stand behind the operations. Maybe if we weren’t grossly outnumbered, the learning curve for the Nons wouldn’t be as steep. They have already been exposed to the gifted community in one way or another. With a little help, we can all focus on our main mission and forget our differences.

“Sometimes we have to sacrifice some creature comforts for the greater good. I’m sure they will learn and adjust as we have.”

“Paul has been receptive to most of my suggestions,” Will spoke up from the end of the table. “He’s not unwilling to try to make the transition move smoothly.”

“What about the food?” Brad asked. “This food is amazing, but the food served to us earlier is a bit subpar. Our people grow and raise their own food. They won’t be satisfied with what comes out of that cafeteria. It isn’t what they are accustomed to. We could hardly ask them to leave their friends and family for this.”

“We are contracted out by the government and have civilians running the kitchen. It is comparable to what our troops eat when they are overseas,” Paul stated with a frown.

“Therein lies the problem,” April stated with natural grace. “We aren’t overseas. My people shouldn’t be treated like they are. The food at lunch today was overcooked, dry, and tasteless. If you had a competent cook in the kitchen, all of that could have been prevented.”

Paul looked taken aback by her blunt statement.

“I think I can help remedy that,” Drake spoke up. “I am a chef, of sorts. I have experience with ordering and creating a menu based on what’s available to me. I was going to ask you if I can assist in that when we return from our excursion. With a little bit of guidance, I’m sure your staff can be trained to prepare flavorful food.”

“I own several restaurants myself,” Remy added. “My brother was able to stay within budget and still produce delicious dishes. I can also assist with my experience if you’ll allow us.”

Warren nodded. “I also noticed you have an eco-system in your lowest level, capable of producing some crops all year round to produce fresh vegetables to supplement what you receive. It’s cheaper in the long run and tastier,” he added with a smile.

He played the part of the dignified man, but I could see now the passion in his eyes when he talked about growing stuff. I imagined he was one of those men that lived off the land and had a hand in making their community self-sufficient. By the way April smiled and nodded, I knew she loved that about him.

Paul looked thoughtful for a moment. “I would like your input, Remy and Drake, but we really don’t have the man power to grow our own food. This facility was originally created for the politicians and affluential people of society in the case of a natural disaster or an attack. Another facility for that purpose has been built since then, so a lot of their long-term planning was left behind,” he explained.

“If you provide the materials needed, we’ll provide the people,” April gave him a satisfied smile. With or without his agreement, she wouldn’t be sending her people here without ensuring them some comforts to what they were accustomed to.

“Do you mind if I help with that project?” Jaxson spoke up. “I’m learning agriculture science in school, and I was assisting Remy with his latest restaurant for a farm-to-table concept.”

He looked excited about the idea. I had completely forgotten that he had been fascinated by growing things, too.

“Splendid idea,” Warren said in a mock posh British accent. Most of us laughed at his impersonation, further proving my theory that he enjoyed making people laugh.

April, Brad, and Warren planned to leave early in the morning and promised to send a team and additional personnel to assist our growing operations by the beginning of next week. I had the impression that we had finally swayed them to support us. We could no longer work as individual communities if Horatio wasn’t contained to only one part of the country. We couldn’t limit ourselves if we hoped to beat him at his own game.

Will and Steven had a good rapport in the past with the Illinois group and they had communicated, but they had never directly worked together. We couldn’t pull all of the Knights from back home to assist us, leaving our community vulnerable. We needed to reach out to all of communities that shared our goals and ask them to send some of their people. Their community could still be protected while lending us a hand.

Many of the communities like April’s tried to keep to themselves. They had a system that worked for them, but none of them had went through training like ours at home, much less anything of this magnitude. I’m sure we would see some that had a background in law enforcement and the military, but they had chosen their quiet communities for a reason. They had gotten away from that way of life. They would have to be retrained in the program Will and Paul was creating.

The rest of the dinner conversation revolved around more of the intricate details in our transitions. April had promised to reach out to other communities and let them know her stance and support of our operations. It seemed like Megan, Beth, Paul, and Will would remain busy as they built the foundation of our potential future.

Will and Megan volunteered to take the children back to the apartment and get them settled for the night. Nadia and Patrick begged to spend the night with them, and Will gave them permission. Alex, Ella, and Nadia wanted to get back to their video games, and Micah and Patrick wanted to get back to their comic books.

That left us with no responsibilities for the children tonight. I had a hot shower, ice cream, a movie, and pajama’s calling my name, but first clean-up. Jemmy, Rachel, Troy, Noah, and Jaxson volunteered to help corral the kids back to the apartments and get them set up on the game system.

Beth was thankful for the opportunity to not worry about the children while she made sure the Illinois council was settled in for the night. I heard Brad murmuring to her about Cora before they left the room but was unable to hear Beth’s response.

I tried to shake the despondent feelings that threatened to engulf me. I still had nightmares of Steven’s death. I still wondered if I should have done things differently. I wondered if I should have listened to the small voice within that had warned me all day long. I knew it was useless plaguing myself with the ‘what ifs’ but my heart and brain continued to war with each other.

“Are you okay?” Jace asked quietly as I began loading the dishes onto the serving cart Paul had provided us.

“Yeah,” I said quickly.

Jace and Remy exchanged a look, and I knew they didn’t believe me. I wasn’t the greatest at deceiving them.

“That was an amazing meal,” Paul said to Drake. “If you have time, would you like to follow me to the kitchens? I can give you our budget and give you the list of companies we order from.”

“I would love to,” Drake responded with a smile. “Blake, do you want to come with?”

“Sure. I can load these up in the dishwasher,” I volunteered. “I’m sure the staff are gone for the night, and it would be rude to have our dirty dishes waiting for them.”