Though, to be honest, I wouldn't put those tactics past Oldham either.
There's only one more person to speak after her, and I mostly drown out the sounds of Senator Lilliman droning on and on about the fear that he has for his state.
He lives in New York, which is one of the areas that is least populated by the Gifted in the country, thanks to the population density of non-Gifted and the inability to go undetected there for very long. Most non-Gifted people will stigmatize and ostracize anybody who they know has a Gift because of the fear they have of those abilities. Anybody who is Gifted that moves into such a densely populated area generally doesn't last that long.
Of all of the states, that's not the one to be concerned about.
Now the Wasteland that has opened up in Missouri? That’s something that we should all be concerned about.
The last time the Resistance had made their move with such a massive power play was during the riots in the seventies. They had opened up what were dubbed Wastelands, which was an appropriate name for the front lines of war between the Gifted and the Resistance.
Most of the time, these Wastelands are protected by Shields that the Resistance place around the borders of such areas so that any Gifted that they Transport in or that choose to go there in an attempt to rescue others or take to the fight themselves, or even those who stumble into it unintentionally, are unable to get out again.
The fact that they have resorted to these old barbaric traditions again is unsettling, but unsurprising. Having it confirmed just means that now I need to spend some time with Gryphon to figure out what resources we need to keep at the Sanctuary, and what we can send there to attempt to shut them down before the situation gets way worse. It's not going to be easy; we’re already stretched thin. Our best chance would be to send Oli in to wipe them all out.
That is, and will always be, a last resort.
When the senator finishes up his droning bullshit, the entire room politely claps for him before we all begin packing up to get the hell out of here. The crowd moves as one towards the door, and I find my skin prickling with even more irritation at the situation.
Fucking useless, the lot of them.
There are a few Gifted community members making their way towards me that I ignore completely as I make a beeline for the door. I have no interest in speaking to them, having already denied them access to the Sanctuary because they were unwilling to go through the vetting process, but I'm sure they have now seen the errors in their way. The problem there is that we have no ability to take more people in, thanks to the attacks by the Resistance putting us behind schedule by four months on getting more houses completed.
They had their chance and blew it.
I make it three more steps towards the door before Senator Oldham slides in front of me, blocking my path with that genteel smile of hers. My bond recoils inside of me, unhappy for her to be this close to us, but I force a neutral expression to fall over my features.
“Councilman Draven, I wasn't expecting you to show up. Rumor has it, you have found your little girlfriend and are ignoring your responsibilities now that you're shacked up with her.”
I do not like this woman talking about Oleander.
I don't like the way she is using a dismissive tone, and I hate the language that the non-Gifted use when speaking about something so revered by the Gifted community, but I paste a sedate smile on my face.
“If these are your congratulations, I must admit I find them lacking. I have been busy dealing with the issues with the Resistance and keeping as many of my community members alive as possible while dealing with the worst that humanity has dredged up.”
I also include her in this statement, but from the way she gives me a very political smile back, she misses that fact. “Yes, well, it can be difficult dealing with members of our community who are thugs and criminals, though we find that a good police force and a rigid law system has worked for the non-Gifted communities. Maybe you should consider the same for the Gifted.”
She has no idea of the policies that we have in place, or the ruthlessness that we employ when dealing with the Resistance. I doubt that her community would happily set Dobermans on criminals and watch them tear them limb from limb the way that we do with the shadow creatures. I very highly doubt that they would comfortably watch a nineteen-year-old girl commit mass murder against their enemies, so I find her condescending tone just a little off base.
It’s hard to keep my tone from being scathing but I think I manage it. “Is there something that you would like to speak to me about? Because I have other places to be today that will be more productive than this little chat we have been forced to have as a group.”