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Applause once again rolled through the crowd, and a few cheers broke out. Linden turned to Jackson to shake his hand, but Jacks signaled him off and stepped forward instead.
“I’m sorry, everyone. And thank you, President Linden, for all that you’ve just said. But we can’t do that,” Jackson said.
Linden’s face froze into a veneer of shock and confusion. Puzzled murmurs ran through the crowd. The cameras recorded everything, beaming it around the world. Maddy was stunned and didn’t know what to think of Jackson’s words. What was he doing?
“I mean no disrespect, sir. The Angels support you and your cause. Trust that we fully appreciate everything you are doing and stand for,” Jackson said. “I just don’t want to make any promises we won’t be able to keep.” Jacks cleared his throat and regarded the shocked masses with confidence. “It will all be clear soon.”
Still in shock, Maddy leaned in close to Jacks and whispered in his ear.
“Jacks, what is going on?”
Under his breath, Jacks answered, “That’s what I needed to talk to you about. I’ll explain soon enough. Just not here.” He turned to Maddy. “And you need to get ready to make a decision.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Before Maddy had a chance to ask any more questions, Jacks was making as polite an exit as he could. He left a shocked President Linden to deal with the crowd and whisked Maddy to one of the waiting black sedans that had brought them to the event. Jackson told the driver to go to Kevin’s Diner, then sank into the leather seat beside Maddy.
“I didn’t want to bring it up like that,” said Jacks. “But I couldn’t just play along with Linden. It wouldn’t have been right.”
Maddy just stared at him, speechless and confused. After all that had happened, was Jackson now saying that the Angels wouldn’t be cooperating with Linden and humanity?
“Jacks, what’s happening? What did you mean back there?”
He flashed a weak version of his trademark smile, then turned to look out the window, a strange expression casting over his face. “How long has it been? And you still can’t just trust me?” he said.
Maddy didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. It was just that too much was changing too fast, and she didn’t know how to process it.
They spent the rest of the ride in silence. Maddy stared out the window. They reached the restaurant within a few minutes, and they got out of the car and stepped into the empty parking lot.
She hadn’t even bothered to ask why Jacks told the driver to take them there. That was the least of the mysteries facing her today. The diner had remained closed to the general public in these days after the demon attacks. Not because it had been damaged, but because Kevin had volunteered to sponsor a relief kitchen to feed those displaced by the destruction. They had an enormous setup in the Angel City High School cafeteria, where he was whipping up his trademark omelets, hamburgers, and milk shakes with a team of five cooks working under him. The displaced were stretched out on cots in classrooms, hallways, and the gymnasium, and though it certainly didn’t feel like home to them, Kevin’s cooking was slowly helping them regain their health and happiness.
So Maddy and Jacks had the diner to themselves. Maddy opened the door to the darkened space and flipped on the overhead lights. They settled into one of the worn, cracked booths she knew so well.
Maddy sat silently, then looked warily, expectantly, at Jacks.
“Maybe we should have a cup of coffee,” Jacks said.
Maddy stood up to put a pot on, but Jackson put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. “I’ll do it. I’m not just some helpless Angel, you know,” he said with a wink. He stood up and went to the kitchen. “How hard can it be?”
She heard a lot of clinking and clanking from the kitchen that didn’t bode well. With a slight roll of her eyes, Maddy smiled weakly. Just then she realized that the last time Jacks had been in the diner was the fateful afternoon she had saved not only her Protection, Jeffrey Rosenberg, but also Lauren, his assistant. That was what had started the big crisis with Linden and the Immortals Bill. Tom had been there and then Jacks had come in. . . . There he was again. Tom. Maddy’s mind kept returning to him, no matter how hard she tried to put his memory to peace in her heart. She just kept replaying the dismal scene on the smoky street, when he’d told her “Don’t stop.”
Jacks emerged from the kitchen a few minutes later, holding two steaming cups in his hands. He handed one to Maddy. Whatever was in them at least looked like coffee, and Maddy took a cautious sip. Not bad. Definitely not as good as her uncle’s, but for a first-timer
, not bad.
Jacks cleared his throat again. Maddy eyed him more than a little expectantly.
“I’m really sorry about what happened, Maddy,” said Jacks. “I really did want this to be different. I didn’t know Linden would do what he did today.”
It took all of Maddy’s willpower to stay patient, and she was feeling more than a little exasperated. “Will. You. Please. Tell. Me. What’s. Happening.”
Jackson looked at her, coffee cup between his hands.
“Maddy . . . considering everything that’s happened . . . with Gabriel’s turn to evil and the corruption of the Council . . . the NAS and Protection for Pay causing the Angels to lose sight of what’s important . . . and now with the demon attack in our wake . . . It’s clear.”
“What’s clear?” asked Maddy.
“We must leave,” Jacks said.
