Chapter 1257 (2/2)

It was only when they had left the school and gotten onto the Manatech railway heading West from West Providence toward the suburbs that Derek turned toward his son and released a low breath. “Alright, I know you are upset. And I want you to know that I believe you. But this… this is something you just need to accept.”

“But I didn’t START it! She stole mom’s necklace and threated to smash it. If I hadn’t hit her… she really would have stomped on it” Tim blurted out.

Derek couldn’t help but wince at his son’s volume as he spoke of hitting. A woman sitting across from them on the train looked up from the display of her interspatial watch and frowned. Then she produced earbuds from the watch and popped them into her ears. Leaning forward, Derek patted Tim on the back. “I know son. You did the right thing… But sometimes the world isn’t fair. Sometimes… there are bad things that you cannot do anything about.”

Tim simply looked at Derek, uncomprehending. “Why not?”

Derek felt a headache brewing. “This… do you know who Lucy is?”

Finally, clarity returned to Tim’s eyes as he frowned. “A bully.”

That made Derek wince. “That might be true. But that’s not why the school is covering up for what she did. Her name is Lucy Rowel. Her father… is the head of the Order Valorem. And I think the principal likes having the Order Valorem around to protect the campus. She’s scared that if Rowel’s daughter is injured… he might switch schools.”

“Well, why wasn’t the principal scared of you? Is Lucy’s dad stronger than you?” Tim asked, finally a touch of solemness overtaking his face. “What’s his Level?”

To that, Derek didn’t know how to respond. First, because he didn’t rightly know what Level Mark Rowel had reached. And secondly… even if Mark Rowel was above Derek’s Level of 49, Derek had a certain amount of confidence that he would still be able to win against the other in a one on one fight. At the first parent-teacher conference, Derek had seen Mark Rowel. His Survival Instincts had basically yawned at the man.

Derek had been one of the first individuals to enroll in Zone 1’s military force right from the getgo, so he had benefited from all the knowledge and forewarning that Zone 1 had received. Right from the beginning, he knew to train his Skills first and foremost. And he had honestly been at Level 49 for over a year now, but after he had been told the details of condensing a Fate, he had requested a transfer to the Border Security Department rather than remaining on Patrol.

Because although the rate of failure for condensing the Fate had been lowered to less than 10%, Derek still didn’t dare make the attempt. Tim’s mother had died during the arrival of the System, and if Derek died too…

“I don’t know. But not all problems can be solved by fighting,” Derek said diplomatically. And individual strength can’t solve every problem.

But his son surprised him by looking up at him and announcing proudly to the train car. “But when our foes refuse to treat us with respect, what choice do we have but to fight valiantly for our due?”

The corner of Derek’s mouth twitched. “You are going to quote comic books at me right now?”

Tim’s gaze was scathing. “Tim Nash isn’t from a comic book, he’s from a web serial. About a Detective who investigates government corruption. Which is exactly what this is, right?”

To that, Derek didn’t know what to say. There was so much that at twelve, Tim didn’t yet understand about Earth. So many dirty things about living in Zone 1 that Derek didn’t want to put into words. About the citizenship tiers that could determine your life and about how most of Zone 1’s current political clout on the World Council was based upon fear of Mjolnir.

Derek knew that Tim’s school described the System to its students as something that was dangerous but largely benefited humanity. After all, it had eradicated disease and created an equal playing field for all income brackets. Which, Derek supposed, was the government’s prerogative; they wanted to keep the population from panicking while they established their power.

But even if everyone now could use the System to grow strong, was the playing field really equal? If it was, why was his son, who had complained of Lucy bullying him for months, being blamed for lashing out when all of his complaints had been ignored?

And why did Derek feel so helpless when he looked at his son’s hopeful gaze?

A bitterness that had been building for a long time fizzled in Derek’s heart. But ultimately, he shoved it back down and tried to smile at his son. “...it might be something close to that though. But you know, it’s not all bad.”

Tim folded his arms across his chest. “Well yea, at least I won’t have to go to stupid school and have Lucy put worms in my lunch anymore.”

The flash of anger felt hot and comforting, but Derek pushed that back down too. A deep, cold maw gobbled it all up. After giving Tim a teasing look, he continued to say, “You can’t go to school, but that doesn’t mean we have to stay at home.”

Tim caught on almost immediately. His eyes brightened. “You mean…?”

Tim’s smile did a lot to suppress the negative feelings that had been festering in Derek’s heart. He returned the smile toward his son. “Yup. I have enough money saved up… I’ll take a day off and we will go Friday to see the first game of the new football league.”