Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (40 page)

“I
was
there
for
his
first
breath
and
I
was
there
for
his
last.
It’s
not
fair;
he
should
be
burying
me…”

Lee’s
face
was
sore
from
crying.
He stood
back
and
listened
to
the
blessing
that
was
being
cast
over
Tom’s
coffin.
Enduring,
empty
and
alone,
sensing
no
comfort
in
anything.

He looked
for
loving
eyes,
but
could
not
find
them.
His
throat
was
sore
and
needed
to
be
comforted.
Feeling
that comfort
would
never
come,
he
broke
down.
As
he
did
a
familiar
hand
slipped
into
his
and
squeezed
tight.
The
comfort
he
sought
was
standing
right
behind
him
and
he
didn’t
realise
it.
With
Jennifer
holding
onto
him
he managed
to
say
his
goodbyes
and
to
be
one
of
the
men
to
lower
his
brother
down
into
the
ground
to
his
final
resting
place.

Standing
up
in
front
of
everyone
that
was
there,
reaching
into
his
pocket
he
pulled
out
the
piece
of
paper
that
Jennifer
had
seen
him
with
before
they
left
for
the
funeral.
Lee
took
a
moment
or
two
and
let
the
morning
wind
blow
over
him.

He gazed
to
the
sky
and
felt
a
small
radiation
of
heat
from
the
sun,
despite
the
fact
that
it
was
still
cold
and
there
was
soft
dew
that
lay
all
round.
After
he
took
his
moment
he
unfolded
the
piece
of
paper,
then
first
looking
Jennifer
in
the
eye,
then
Philip
and
once
more
back
to
Jennifer and turned
his
focus
down
to
the
page.
He
began
to
read
his
own
words;

Today
I
say
Goodbye

Today
I
say
goodbye,
to
the
man
who
was
the
apple
of
my
eye

I
take
you
here
to
your
resting
place
and
I
hope
you
now
find
eternal
grace.

Willingly
I
walk
the
path
that
you
have
walked,
guided
by
your
light
I
shall
never
be
lost

I
carry
you
along
these
final
steps,
to
this
place
where
you
are
laid
to
rest.

Not
ready
to
say
goodbye,
knowing
deep
down
inside
the
reason
why.

You
are
my
hero,
my
friend;
you
can
do
no
wrong,
even
if
you
try.

I
pick
myself
up
and
I
will
move
on,
safe
in
the
knowledge
we
left
no
stone
unturned.

I
feel
you
in
my
heart
and
your
guiding
hand
on
my
back,
but
still

I
must
say
goodbye.
I
will
carry
you
forever
and
love
you
even
longer
But
on
this
day,
I
must
say

Goodbye

Lee
tearfully
struggled
to
force
the
words
out
of
his
mouth.
Talking
to
Tom
and
for
all
to
hear,
he made
it
through
and
delivered
the
words
he
wanted
to
say
to
his
big
brother. Maintaining a strong jaw despite the emotions bubbling through him, he bid
his
final
farewells
to
all
the
mourners
who
had
come
to
see
Tom
off.

Lee,
Jennifer
and
Philip
returned
to
the
house
and
to
their
new
reality;
a
world
where
a
good
man
was
taken
so
early
and
for
no
good
reason.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Over
the
coming
weeks
Lee
healed
physically
from
the
injuries
sustained
during
the
fight, but he was left
with
a
scar
across
his
face
from
where
McKay
cut
him.
It
would
serve
as
a
constant
reminder
of
what
he
endured
to
survive, although
physically
he healed
relatively
quickly
under
the
care
of
Jennifer
and
his
father. But the reality was that no matter how much time passed, the acute pain of the loss of his brother would never leave him. It would remain etched into his skin and his bones, just like the scar on his face. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Philip
procured
another
wrecked
shell
of
a
car
and
spent
most
of
his
time
between
working
on
restoring
it
and
tending
to
Lee
when
he
needed.
Philip
seemed
to
have
an
incredible
burst
of
energy
over
the
following
weeks,
never
stopping
to
take
account
of
what
happened,
fully
restoring
the
vehicle
in
a
matter
of
weeks.
Lee
and
Jennifer
knew
that
he
was
just
trying
to
avoid
the
chaos
he
had
inside. They were each suffering and dealing with it in their own way and just hoping that soon they would see the light at the other side.

Emotionally
finding
himself
lost,
the
prospects
of
a
world
without
Tom’s
guiding
presence
were
too
much
for
Lee
to
endure.
Everywhere
Lee
looked
he saw
Tom’s
face,
in
every movement
he
made,
in
everything
that
was
around
him;
it
was
both
a
comfort
and
a
curse,
willingly
carrying
this
sadness
with
him.
He wished
his
brother
was
still
there,
but
remembered
that
he
had
no
regrets
in
their
relationship.
Comforted
that
his
brother
was
his
best
friend
,
there
was
nothing
more
he
could
have
done
to
be
closer
to
him
in
his
lifetime.

But he also
knew
that
he
was
taken
away
before
his
time
and
someone
had
to
answer
for
what
had
transpired.
He resented
the
fact
that
his
brother
was
taken
from
him
and
trying
to
hide
this
made
him
very
moody
and
easily
agitated.
This
was
the
wrong
way
to
be,
but
he just
had
to
get
through
what
he
was
feeling,
because
deep
down
even
though
he wished
his
brother
was
there
and
wished
he
could
have
taken
his
place,
he
knew
that
Tom
would
only
have
ever
wanted
him
to
live
a
long
and
happy
life. Lee sat on the couch in the sitting room, unable to communicate through the relentless pain that surged through his veins. Jennifer came in and sat beside him. She didn’t talk as she waited for Lee to speak first, to see if he was able to open up a little. But he did not move. He just sat in silence, numbed by pain. Jennifer could see he was not going to talk, not yet. She flicked on the TV and turned on a film she knew Lee always loved. Lee became visibly agitated and uncomfortable. By the time the opening credits finished, he was rubbing his eyes and hiding his face. Jennifer hesitantly asked, “Are you ok?”

Lee did something he had not done before, snapping at her, “How could I be ok? Tom is dead. Do you not get that? He’s gone and I will never see him again. I will never hear his voice. I will never confide in him. And I will never watch our favourite film together again!” He gestured towards the TV.

Jennifer knew that the film triggered this and that it was not a personal slight against her. But still it stung as she was trying her best to be there for him and give him everything he needed. She bit her lip and looked at her hands, trying to work out what to do; how to help this man that she loved who was in so much pain. Looking up at him with wide eyes she caught a glimmer of the man behind the pain and found the strength inside to reason with herself that it would take time. She stood up and threw her arms around him, kissing his cheek.

“You will be ok. I promise you!”

Lee took as much comfort in the words as he could and with a cracking voice, “I am sorry, it’s not easy!”

The
only
people
who
could
link
him
to
the
breakout
and
Tom’s
death
was
Tom,
who
he
just
buried
and
McKay,
who
was
dead.

Impatient with the recovery process and willing himself to heal faster he became frustrated and a restless energy built up inside of him.
Lee needed an outlet to focus his attention
on and
build up
the
strength
within
him
to
face
the
task
of
exposing
the
atrocities
that
the
United
New
World had
been
involved
in
and
the
subsequent
cover
-ups
.
Lee
gathered
the
files
that
his
brother
uncovered
from
where
he
stashed
them,
under
the
floorboards
in
the
spare
room
of
his
apartment,
and
began
to
work.

Studying
the
notes,
he learned
the
entire
truth
of
what
had
been
happening
and
how
the
government
had
been
both
dictating
to
and
controlling
the
international
media.
He learned that
there
was
a
specific
chain
of
command
within
the
government
and
the
cover
-ups
went
right
to
the
highest
office
in
the
land.

Lee
pieced
all
the
information
together
and
wrote
his
article,
exposing
the
full
extent
of
what
happened
with
irrefutable
evidence,
including
names
of
high
ranking
officials
and
specific
events
that
were
covered
up
and
why.
It explained
that
the
media
was
fed
mistruths
about
the
state
of
things
in
the
economy
to
ensure
a
stability
mechanism.

He worked tirelessly
on
his
article
day
and
night, writing and rewriting sentences. Changing the structure, the opening line, and the headline. It had to be perfect and there was no room for mistakes.
After
two
weeks
of constant grind
he
finally
had
a
finished
article.
It
extensively
exposed
all
the corruption
and
cover
-ups
that
were
contained
in
the
files. Rarely taking time to relax he seemed to use the article as a method of cleansing; a way to connect with Tom. A way to help him put some reason to his death and to help bring a little justice to what had happened.

When
finished,
he
informed
his
boss,
Pete
Laurie
that
the
article
was
complete,
informing
him
how
long
the
article
was
and
of
the
specifics
of
sneaking
the
article
into
the
paper
without
raising
any
alarms.
It
was
arranged
that
Lee
would
sneak
into
Pete's
office
on
Friday;
Pete
would
slip
out
early
,
before
the
paper
went
to
print.
That
way
he
could
insert
the
story
and
have
it
as
the
lead
article
for
the
weekend
edition.