By the time the last few cars left New London, Brian had more than a hundred new recruits at his back, including a few vital skills they'd been lacking. Up until that day, Brian had been communicating with his followers simply by cheap burner cell phones, but Felix knew that couldn't last. As soon as they started showing real growth, they were bound to get noticed—and with the political support he'd seen coming out of the Ashe family, plus Cinza's upcoming meeting with the President, Felix knew they'd be vulnerable to wiretapping as much as any crime family.

This was Washington, though, and even if they were way out in the middle of nowhere, they'd still managed to pick up a few tech-heads with the skills they needed. Brian would have an end-to-end encrypted messaging system by the end of the day, robust and effective enough to call support anywhere he needed from his growing army.

"What's next?" Brian asked Felix as they retreated to the quiet bar in Neilton once more. There were a few patrons this time, but all known regulars whom Brian had recruited long before Felix entered the picture. Brian didn't seem giddy—Felix doubted he'd ever see a truly positive emotion on the man's face until they'd completed their mission—but there was an undercurrent of excitement. Felix felt it too.

They'd pulled off something important that day.

"We do it again tomorrow," said Felix.

"I assumed grassroots meant word-of-mouth," said Brian, slightly confused. "Won't they tell people, and they'll tell more people?"

"Yeah, but we need to give them reminders," said Felix. "People don't just show up to one good speech and suddenly change their whole way of life. Well, some people do," he added with a smirk. Casey Alston, junior year at Columbia. That was a damn good speech. "For most, though, you need to build up momentum again. People attach themselves to a community. You gotta keep them coming back, over and over, until they really feel like they're a part of the group."

Brian nodded. "I can do that."

"In the meantime," said Felix, popping open his laptop, "I'll be getting that recording up and spreading."

"...Recording?"

He grinned. "Nothing spreads a message faster than a good video. That was a killer speech."

Brian shrugged. "I just talked to them."

"Whatever you did, it worked, and somebody got the whole thing on their cell. They were kind enough to let me copy it over."

"What if they track us down?" asked Brian cautiously.

Felix shook his head. "So they find out you were in New London for one day. Everybody knows you're in this area, and they haven't found you yet, thanks to our friend here," he added, nodding at the proprietor.

The old man nodded back, polishing a glass. "And they never will. I don't know a Brian Hendricks."

Felix grinned. "We'll be a lot more careful with every speech going forward. Can't just give up your location like that more than once, especially now that Winscombe's probably mouthing off to every single damn agency in the country. It was only gonna work while everyone was still recovering from the London shitshow."

"Speakin' of which," said the old man, reaching for the TV remote. He turned it on and unpaused the video.

"...named a Brian Hendricks of Rallsburg as the culprit behind the so-called golem attacks in Tacoma and Lakewood. Brian Hendricks has been assumed deceased since the events in May, but with this accusation, the FBI has officially changed his status to 'missing, wanted for questioning'."

"So they're looking for me now, too," said Brian calmly.

"They already were, I'll bet," said Felix with a shrug. "No reason Hailey wouldn't have told them when she met up with 'em couple weeks back. Now they're going wide with it, since Cinza name-dropped you and screwed whatever clandestine action they might've been trying. Plus, we get even more recognition." He grinned. "They're tripping all over themselves. It's perfect."

"You aren't worried it'll draw too much attention?" he asked. "Interfere with our own recruitment?"

Felix glanced up at the ceiling. "You see any helicopters flying around today? The search teams? They gave up on this area a long time ago. They ain't gonna find us."

"What about informants? We're trusting a lot of people when they show up to these meetings."

Felix nodded. "We have to, but I've got plans for that too. Pick a few of your inner circle, and we'll hold multiple meetings at once. On the others, we patch you in wirelessly. I've bought a couple decent cameras to use. We'll stream you live to each one, and rotate where you show up randomly, so they can't ever predict which one you're going to be at."

"It's not foolproof," said Brian.

He shrugged. "Nothing is, man. We're in a war. It's a shitty, cloak-and-dagger war where we're never going to be sure who we can really trust, but that's how it goes." Felix sighed. "Worst case, we just stream you to all of 'em, but I don't like the optics on that. I think you've got real stage presence, and you lose a lot of that when you go video-only."

"And if they aren't sure which one I'll be at, they're more likely to keep coming back for a chance to find the real meeting," said Brian slowly, nodding along.

Felix snapped his fingers. "Exactly. We'll build up more engagement with the real followers."

"You're really not worried about infiltrators?" Brian asked.

He shook his head again. "None of these will last that long. We're still going to keep coordinating through the phones, and the app Dennis is setting up tonight. We'll compartmentalize as much as we have to. Everybody knows as much as they need to, and we give out missions piecemeal. When we have a real target, we can call in support instantly. They'll let us layer everything so we can run everybody we need from right here. No eavesdropping, totally secure. This will work."

"Where did you learn all of this?"

Felix grinned. "Reporting on third-world revolutions. New technologies can really help people rise up against corrupt governments when they're used effectively. I think this is the first time I've been around a grassroots campaign to keep the status quo, though."

"So what's next?" Brian asked again, though he sounded far more confident than before.

Felix clapped him on the back. "You leave that to me."

Monday morning, and Felix was feeling apprehensive. They'd done another speech the previous night, driving down to Aberdeen for an impromptu town hall gathering. It gained another groundswell of support, and another hundred or so joined the private app right as Dennis launched it. A few starting hiccups, but by Monday morning, they were communicating without problems.

Still, they weren't really fired up yet. They were in the opening stages, but to really get the ball rolling, Felix needed something to incite them to action. He needed drama, and he wasn't sure he would get it. He was afraid of the slacktivism effect, where he'd get a ton of people signing up but without any real commitment to action. Sure, these people might be interested in the cause, agree with Brian's words, but they'd never actually witnessed the danger. There was a real threat that had to be stopped, at all costs.

Felix needed a story.

It took him a fair amount of digging to find someone who could pull it off on such short notice. He felt like he might be rushing things a bit, but he couldn't afford to wait too long. Cinza was meeting with the President that very afternoon, and the man had a sterling approval rating with the public. If he came out in favor of the awakened, they might lose a great deal of support. Felix needed to secure as many followers as he could get firmly in their camp before that happened.

So long as they had enough people at their backs, Felix was confident they could still take out the awakened before it was too late—before they spread too far.

He didn't like the idea that popped into his mind, but it was the best thing he could come up with in the time he had. It went against his principles as a journalist, but if it worked? He wouldn't care. He'd be the guy who helped save the whole world from a terrible threat.

Felix could live with that.

They got into the tinted SUV, driven by the Tacoma cop Brian had recruited long before Felix joined them. Felix was curious how he'd managed to sway the officer, but neither told him much when asked. He doubted he'd ever get the full story, but it didn't matter. The cop wasn't the story. He wanted to remain anonymous, and Felix could give him that. He was doing important work.

"Where are we going tonight?" asked Brian, in the back seat behind the other two.

"A church in Satsop," said Felix. Perfect location, too.

"You've got that fuckin' stick, right?" asked the cop, merging out onto the highway and barrelling down the road south toward Aberdeen. Brian didn't reply, his eyes closed as if meditating.

"Never lets go of it anymore," confirmed Felix. "Wouldn't even let me touch it."

"That's not new. Never lets anyone near it. Good riddance, too. Thing's a fuckin' nightmare." He glanced over his shoulder at Brian. "Better you than me."

Brian nodded. "As soon as we can, I'll destroy it. It is an abomination."

"Useful, though," said Felix.

"So is magic," said Brian.

Felix raised an eyebrow. He glanced at the cop, surprised, but the officer didn't seem surprised. Evidently, they'd discussed this topic before. "But…" Felix prompted.

"Everything can be useful," said Brian. "What matters are the risks. Magic isn't worth the risks."

Felix nodded. "Makes sense."

They were quiet all the way through Aberdeen, Brian laying low despite the dark tinting in the windows. He didn't trust anything anymore, and Felix couldn't blame him. Even if the world didn't really know him, their enemies certainly did. For that matter, Felix wondered if he should be worried about getting called out. After all, Jeremy Ashe knew he was working with Brian. Felix didn't think Ashe would turn him in though. The man hadn't seemed totally certain, and that niggling doubt was likely to leave the reporter in place—particularly since, at the time, Felix hadn't actually been helping Brian, just reporting on him.

As they arrived at the little church in Satsop, the cop pulled them around to the rear. A couple of Brian's inner circle were already at the entrance, watching out for any sign of trouble. They let everyone through without harassment, since Felix wanted to build a welcoming atmosphere for new recruits, but the moment they saw any sort of authority figure approach—sheriff, police, or God-forbid the FBI—they'd sound the alarm, and Felix would get Brian out of there.

They signaled an all-clear. Felix nodded as they drove past to the rear entrance. The officer got out first, checking the area yet again. Finally, Felix and Brian got out. Brian rolled his shoulders, trying to relieve some of the tension from the awkward way he'd ridden through town. Felix patted him on the back.

"Just another one, you got this."

Brian nodded. "You're streaming it this time, right?"

"Yeah, we should be set up for that." Felix wasn't sure if it would actually get through, but he'd been reassured of the network's quality. Worst case, he'd still have the recording to post online afterward—or not, if everything goes to plan…

"Okay. Let's go." Brian pushed through the rear double-doors into the church, heading straight for the main hall where people were still gathering. They hurried to follow. Brian waited while Felix gave a similar introduction as before, though he didn't bother to try and rile up the crowd as he had the first time.

He left that to the professional—and indeed, they'd received a huge donation from a few of the well-off new recruits, so Brian was getting paid. Felix hadn't informed him, since Brian scorned the idea of getting paid for the work they were doing. Still, Felix knew better than to turn down a resource as valuable as money. He invested some of it, unsure how long their crusade might end up being, and helped pay the bills of the man housing them back in Neilton, shoring up the edges of their operation. When Brian needed the money, as he inevitably would, Felix would be ready.

I'm gonna have to switch up introducing him or not too, or else they'll catch on as soon as I show my face somewhere. One or two rallies down the line, something like that. "...you've come here because you're not sure about these 'awakened' in your midst. You're worried about what they'll do next, and if you're safe in your own home. You aren't," Felix added, and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath from the crowd. All right, so I'm not totally worthless at speeches. Good to know. "They're a bigger danger than you realize. But I can't tell you just how much. I haven't witnessed what they can really do."

At those words, Brian emerged from the side door to the little church stage, crossing out into the open. Felix gestured to him. "This man can. Brian Hendricks." No applause, of course—Felix didn't expect it anymore, and didn't really want it either. He saw a few repeat faces in the crowd, but he wasn't expecting many yet. They were deliberately trying to pull a wide audience, a variety to start the tendrils of the conversation in many communities all at once.

The one face that really mattered was in the crowd, and Felix got an affirmative nod from the man as he left the stage. He was ready, on Felix's signal.

Brian launched into his speech—a similar structure as before, but as off-the-cuff as the first had been. He started off calm and small, practically conversational with the crowd at large. He talked like he were just their neighbor, telling them what had happened, and it was the sort of story they instantly believed, because he sounded so sincere—so broken.

Felix marveled at his skill to draw the crowd in. Once they'd accepted his story, they had no trouble accepting his later rhetoric. Brian slowly built them up to a low furor, as each new sentence boiled the crowd into a frenzy. By the time he reached the peak, Felix would have sworn he could have started a riot with a single word, and yet he kept them all under control.

Which meant it was about time for someone to try and disrupt that control.

A blinding yellow-orange light seared into Felix's eyes. Fire burst out of the crowd, an eruption of flames that flew forward toward Brian. Sheer heat rolled over the room in a wave. The ball missed Brian by inches, sailing overhead—but the damage was done.

Someone had just tried to assassinate Brian Hendricks. With magic.

The crowd roared with unabashed fury. Brian was on his feet again, scanning the sea of faces for the attacker, but the mob had already found him. Without hesitation, they piled in on the man who'd thrown the fireball. Fists thumped against skin and bone as he went down, crushed by bodies in a storm of rage brought on by the attack against their leader.

Come on, I know you won't let this stand, Felix prayed, watching Brian. Get in there.

As he'd hoped, Brian didn't. He grasped the golem rod from his jacket, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Without warning, a golem erupted into the pew where the mob had attacked the man, splintering wood everywhere. People were pushed aside by the swiftly-growing monster, forming a protective shield over their hapless victim.

Can't let them attack people without cause. We need an army, not a mob. You know what to do.

"Stop!" Brian roared, his deep voice piercing the cacophony. He walked forward, and the crowd bubbled back into silence once more, parting like the Red Sea to let him stride forward. When he reached the beaten man, Brian leaned down and helped him to his feet. "Can any of you prove this man was responsible?"

No response, of course. None of them had a stone to detect awakened. They were all new recruits.

Brian nodded. "We don't hurt the innocent. That's what makes us different from these cowards, these monsters." He turned to the man, bleeding and bruised but mostly intact. "Tell me, are you awakened?"

"No."

"Liar!" shouted the next man in the pew, nursing bloody knuckles. "I saw him! He did something right before it happened!"

"He tried to kill you!" cried a woman further down the row. "We stopped him!"

"Magic can be misleading!" said Brian, cutting off further protest. "We have to be vigilant! We have tools for this!"

Oh, shit… what happens now? Brian's gonna find out he isn't awakened, and then… go through the rest of the crowd, until he finds no one, because it wasn't actually magic. That isn't really the most satisfying conclusion. I didn't plan this far enough.

"Hold him steady," Brian said aloud, and the two strongest men nearby grabbed both of the man's arms. He struggled slightly, but Brian shook his head. "Don't worry. If you aren't awakened, nothing will happen."

The room was so silent, Felix could hear the faint buzz of the emergency exit sign all the way across the room. Brian was staring at the hapless victim, one hand in his pocket, concentrating. Every single person waited for his judgment, his direction on what to do next.

If he's innocent, we leave confused and fearful. If he's guilty, we have a real villain, and Brian proves his abilities and his leadership. We give them a real look at what they're fighting, and how they can be beaten. We'd be so much better off if he were guilty.

Except… he isn't.

Brian nodded slowly, removing his hand from his pocket. He raised his voice. "...He is one of them. He tried to kill me." He turned away, leaving the man behind. "You know what to do."

The crowd descended on him. He'd tried to kill their leader, a man who had just riled them up into a frenzy. He was 'awakened', inhuman. He represented everything they feared, everything they hated—and with the sheer intensity of the rage Brian had built up, they were eager to take it out on the first thing they could find.

The poor man didn't stand a chance.

Brian walked to the front of the church, still pointedly avoiding looking back at the crowd busy tearing apart the man who'd purportedly tried to kill him. Instead, he walked straight up to Felix, and the reporter had never felt so afraid in his entire life. Brian spoke in a low intensity that sent a shiver through his bones with every syllable.

"He wasn't."

Felix gulped. "No."

Brian stared him directly in the eye. Felix withered under his glare. He couldn't match it, and he ended up looking down at the floor instead.

"Don't ever try to manipulate me like that again."

Felix nodded.

Brian walked back to the front of the church, calling his followers to attention once more. Felix didn't hear another word he said, trembling in the back of the hall. He saw the officer supervise the disposal of the body, saw the people file out with grim excitement, saw his own crew deliver the recording of the night to his hands. Felix didn't hear anything all the way back to the bar in Neilton. As Felix went to bed for the night, he finally reconciled it in his mind.

They both knew what was at stake. Nothing could go wrong. They needed the support. Brian hadn't wanted to do it; Felix hadn't wanted to do it. They'd sacrificed an innocent. They'd probably sacrifice more before their crusade was over. Necessary evils, like the golems, like the identifying stones.

Necessary evils. Isn't that the phrase always used by dictators and fascists, right before they start killing off everyone they don't like?

This is different. These people chose this. They're putting the world at risk. We're just trying to survive.

So are they, aren't they?

It's a war now. If it's us or them, I choose us.

So the argument went in his head, all night until he finally fell asleep hours later. Felix Wieczorek wanted to believe he'd chosen the right side, wanted to believe he hadn't paid a man to die just to prove a point. His dreams were just as troubled, but when he woke up in the morning and reviewed his footage, Felix remembered the other things he'd seen.

He remembered Nate Price, nearly burning a whole room of reporters alive just to show off.

He remembered Hailey Winscombe, destroying buildings in Tacoma and London wherever she went.

He remembered Rallsburg, annihilated in the blink of an eye.

Felix remembered, and knew he'd chosen the right side. It was necessary. Brian was necessary, along with his whole following. They had to stop magic before it was too late—before the whole world ended up like that poor town, burned to ashes and scattered in the winds.