lilshitmax:
Max considered Daniel’s words carefully, turning them over in his head. Most of the camp leaving him or needing to be left behind wasn’t that big of a wash. He already knew most of them would likely drop out when the end of summer came around; he just expected that when the fresh faces came back, he’d just have fresh meat to start the cycle up all over again. But as much as he hated to admit it, Daniel was right.
He was capable of so much more. And he wanted it.
He nodded slowly in reply, turning the wood over in his hands. He re-framed his thinking when he realized he felt his heart sink; Daniel wasn’t saying that the place was a failure, that he’d wasted his time. He meant that there was even better results on the near horizon, if he was willing to work with it. Max blinked in realization that he even had to re-script his thoughts. Why was he seeking Daniel’s approval? That was stupid, and most of all dangerous.
“I’ve been using the concept of family and community here,” Max admitted, and hung the blank plaque back up on the wall, sitting down on the raised platform across from Daniel, looking up at him. “So many of the kids come from broken homes or shitty parents. Someone who knows, I know exactly what they need. But I also know some of them don’t; Erid and Nerris are two notable few who I know I’m going to lose when fall comes. But that’s not that big of a loss.”
Max paused again, clearly thinking hard on whatever it was. He was searching for that thing that he’d kept out of reach of everyone, the Ultimate Goal that was secretly unreachable. But there wasn’t any. Anyone could join given the right amount of dedication, Anyone could reach any non-leadership rank with the right amount of work. They were granted the feeling of community and once they hit a certain point, the only thing he had for them were more little trinkets to add to their ceremonial dress. The holes in his plan were starting to become more evident the more he twisted Daniel’s words for every drop of insight they’d give.
And on the topic of questioning him- yes, he was prepared for questioning. He had books upon books of facts, information that twisted up each accusation and deflected it, he was good at playing an honest game. But that’s where the fault came, wasn’t it? His Pack was subject to infiltration, the exact same flaw Daniel’s day bore, this time to the extreme with the lack of a sacrificial deadline.
Liars.
Someone parroting his teachings to get in close, enough to cause damage to him, or to his structural support in Nikki and Neil. At this point, Max couldn’t do without them. Or someone who got close enough to do damage to David too- his first little project, his inspiration, and someone he’d unintentionally ended up with a fondness for. David…
And Daniel right now was the most likely to do both of those things. While at the same time giving actual, genuine advice. It made Max’s inherent paranoia spike and his head spin. He shook his head and scowled.
“Holy shit…” He shook his head and looked up at Daniel, knowing that while he was a god on this soil, there was plenty of unclaimed domain out in the real world. And as much as he hated to admit it, Daniel very well may be his ticket to that larger claim. More silence, another pause as he weighted his options. And then he decided.
“Where do I go from here? You know what the fuck you’re doing, where can I do better right now that’ll set me up for the next step?”
Max may have considered himself a God at Camp Campbell, but Daniel was the Prophet, receiving the Word of God through visions and leading the people in God’s way. He knew God - and Max was no God. He was the ass wearing a lion’s skin. Or, a wolf’s skin, as it were. And while Max might have fully believed in the power he thought he had, Daniel was able to see through it easily. Already in his mind were words and truths and scathing lies to undo all the work that Max had done here.
He wouldn’t, of course. There was no ends to those means. Tearing down what Max had here would only drive a wedge between them, and right now, Daniel needed the kid’s trust. Just temporarily. There were things that he could do to bring Max around, but they’d take time. After his last visit to Camp Campbell, he was sure that Max wouldn’t trust him as far as he could throw him, but all that would change in due time.
Daniel smiled, and regarded Max with a curious eye. “I do know what I’m doing, Max. I’m glad you realize this. I know how easy it is to be prideful when you find yourself in a position of power. And take it from me, friend, that’s not a mistake you want to make.”
The pastor had been prideful once. His first taste of real power, the first time he realized he could hold the flame of someone’s life in his hands and strangle it, snuffing it out completely. He’d been proud of himself, his abilities, and it felt like he was untouchable. He’d let himself get messy, and he’d almost slipped through the cracks and let himself become nothing more than another five o’ clock news story.
But he’d learned from his mistakes, and he’d taken his facade to new heights. He’d become the Priest and Prophet that so many exalted, and now he intended to hold tight to it.
“If you really want my advice, Max,” he started, something almost resembling sympathy to his voice. He knew Max wanted his advice, more than he was letting on. He could see the flaws in his plan now, and it was the perfect opportunity to set up the rest. Daniel moved, hands behind his back as he started pacing, an old habit. “I think you should do your research. Think of the most successful groups - if you even know any. Hmm,” he sounded disappointed for a moment, and moved on. “Heaven’s Gate. The Church of Scientology. The Manson Family, if you want a more extreme example. Do you think any of them held control over their followers through friendship and unity?”
He sounded almost amused. Even Daniel’s church - while yes, offered solidarity and safety among his congregation - wasn’t built on the power of friendship alone. He preyed on religious fear, the threat of eternal damnation and the promise of eternal paradise basking in God’s Glory leading his parishioners like a carrot and stick. Daniel was a Prophet of God. His word was the Word of the Lord, and anyone who disobeyed him disobeyed God. Simple as that.
It wasn’t to say that he never had dissenters. Everyone in his line of work did, eventually. But he knew how to handle them easily enough. What was more important than anything was the work.
“Tell me, Max. How badly to do you want to be like them - or like me? Like you said: I know what I’m doing. How badly do you want that?”
Max curled his lips in a faint snarl as Daniel spoke, particularly when he suggested he hadn’t done his homework on the other varying groups. Max had studied borderline obsessively to each of them, picking out what he believed would be most effective at his scale, what he would be best able to execute. Though, there’s always more to be learned. And so, he smoothed his face over, and paid attention.
“Much more through the fear of dying alone and unaccepted,” Max stated plainly, in reply to Daniel’s question on friendship and unity. “Have you seen my Pack? Outside of this place they all feel like they’re freaks, with some exceptions. They’re begging for any chance to be part of something that won’t toss them to the curb for following the wrong trend.” Still, as big as he spoke Max knew the value of what Daniel was saying, and so he kept listening.
Max didn’t believe in organized religion, real or phony. It was too easy to rationalize his way out of its traps, too easy to just stop believing; it was too feeling-based. And feelings changed. Facts didn’t. So that’s what he wanted to hold so firmly onto, and that is what his biggest defense against Daniel was. His books and books of facts. Manipulated facts, skewed and misleading graphs and charts, but facts nonetheless. You can’t argue with facts. And Max came bearing plenty. He could talk circles around nearly anyone at this point, anyone who was smart enough to keep themselves on equal intellectual ground. And anyone too dull to manage that Max usually could twist and turn over even easier. Or, if he couldn’t, make a mockery and example out of. That part was the easiest of all.
At Daniel’s last question, Max paused. He knew what class of people he wanted to fall into- no, that he was fated to fall into. He looked up at Daniel, dead in the eyes, with a low and determined fire behind him. He snatched up that craving for approval, and scorched it in that fire, turning it on its head.
“I want to be better than you. And I will get there, one way or another. By any means nessicary.”
