Stratagem

by Christina Hagmann

  “Meda,” she called to me as Brody dragged me away. “I do know your mom. She raised me like a daughter.” She laughed.

  I tried to pull Brody to a stop. “Wait,” I said to Brody, confused. “Wait, did you hear what she said? We can’t leave her. I have questions.” Brody kept moving.

  “We have to get out of here,” Aaron said sharply. “They’ve tracked us. We need to ditch everything.” He ran to the camper and knocked on the window. Dan immediately jumped out of the driver’s side with a bag and a gun in his hand. He must have been at the window, ready to shoot or drive, whatever was needed. As soon as Dan’s feet hit the pavement of the parking lot, they both started jogging towards the tree line, guns still ready.

  “Come on,” Brody said, pulling me along. I moved hesitantly as I looked back at Isi, who started to get to her feet and brush the gravel off her jeans. She smirked at me again. The engine of the helicopter grew louder, and I heard Isi yelling at someone, but I couldn’t make out the words. I turned and began running.

  We crashed through the forest, and I hoped we had a good enough head start. I was now running from the Agency. That was dangerous, not only for me but for my family. I knew I couldn’t trust a word Isi had said, that the whole thing about my mother was to get me flustered, but it worked.

  Branches slapped our faces as we ran in the night. I was disoriented and glad I wasn’t the one leading the way. “Where are we going?” Dan yelled. I could see the glow of Aaron’s cell phone as he tried to run and punch in numbers. He must have pocketed his gun. I could hear the chopper overhead now, and lights were beginning to sweep in the distance. There was no way we could outrun them. I began wondering what the Agency would do when they caught the boys. Kill them immediately? Torture them to find out where they got all their intel? I didn’t want to even think about what they would do to punish me.

  The chopper swept in our direction. “They must still be tracking us!” Aaron yelled. “She must have something on her.” He motioned to me. I reached up to my earrings, but then remembered they were gone.

  “We’re not going to make it. Let’s ditch her,” Dan said. He pulled night vision goggles out of his back pocket and slid them on his face as he continued to run, and we followed his path. He sounded nervous; in fact, they all sounded nervous. If they were tracking me somehow, there would be no way we could get away from them.

  “We’re not leaving her,” Brody said in a voice that meant it was not up for debate. “That’s not part of the plan.” I kept moving as a branch stabbed my arm and I gasped and stumbled. Brody still pulled me along, though he too was getting grabbed by the outstretched arms of the trees.

  Aaron continued to watch his cell while weaving and ducking branches. When his screen lit up, making his face glow white, he called out, “Follow me!” Branches scraped my skin and caught on my shirt as the chopper swooped overhead. At one point, we almost ran right into the light sweeping the forest, but we managed to veer around it. I stumbled more than a few times and each time, Brody pulled me forward. I tried to imagine where a tracker would be on me. It couldn’t be on my clothing. I didn’t want to think about where it could be.

  Aaron was still leading us, watching his phone and continuously changing paths and zigzagging between trees. We followed closely as he led us along a small stream and then up a hill. From the top, I heard traffic on the road below. Aaron moved to the edge of the hill, positive he was concealed by the dark. I looked back and couldn’t see anyone. It was possible that we lost them. I hoped that meant there was no tracker.

  “I contacted the safe house. They’ll pull off onto the shoulder there.” He pointed. He turned to Brody. “When we get there, we can take care of…” He motioned at me.

  We all crouched down in the line of trees at the top of the hill. Dan faced the forest with his gun ready, waiting for movement. I hoped that we lost them. “How long will they be?” Dan asked, fidgeting but not taking his eyes off the forest where we had come from.

  “They’ll get here as fast as they can,” Aaron said, annoyed. A stick crunched a short distance away. The boys turned and trained their guns into the woods. The trees were thick pine at the base, and we were crouched low, concealed under the cover of trees. There was no way they could see us, unless they heard us. The shadows began to make their way to us, figures with dark masks, like ski masks. Amidst the shadows was one figure without a mask. Isi.

  Though we were completely still, I watched as her head turned, scanning the trees. Her mouth stretched out in a slow smile. I felt as though she was looking directly at me. Suddenly, she ran at us, faster than I anticipated her to be.

  The four of us immediately turned, broke out of the tree line, and sprinted down the hill. Shots fired from behind. “Come on!” Aaron yelled, not at us, but at the people we were waiting for. And as we approached the road, with nowhere else to go, a pair of headlights veered off to the side.

  We ran at the vehicle approaching us on the road. I hoped this was who we were waiting for, otherwise we could end up as road kill. As the vehicle got closer, they slammed on the brakes, screeching in the dark of the night and sliding a few inches forward.

  Aaron ran to the car and slammed his hands on the hood. He looked in and must have recognized the man behind the wheel. He waved for everyone to get in. “Go! Go! Go!” he yelled. We all piled in as quickly as possible, Dan first and then Brody, dragging me with. Aaron hopped in the passenger seat. A bullet smashed through the passenger side window, and glass rained down on us.

  “Go!” Aaron yelled. The man behind the wheel peeled out. More shots fired in quick succession as we all ducked low, bullets striking the body of the car. When the shots stopped and we were far enough away, I looked back out the window. On the side of the road was Isi. She must have run with us for a short way, trying to catch up. She stood motionless, dark, menacing eyebrows on a stark moonlit face. She raised her hand and flit her fingers in a little wave. I turned and watched the dark road ahead, still thinking about what she had said about my mother and still wondering how they had found us.

  chapter 13

  As we turned down a long, dark dirt road, I could see a building in the distance. Even in the dark of night, I could make out the paint peeling off the sides of the rundown safe house. Various pieces of equipment, mostly what looked like car parts, were scattered around the rotted porch. It looked more like a drug den or crack house with all kinds of additional structures branching off the sides. I didn’t feel safe at all.

  There was movement, even this late. A cluster of shadows was walking off the porch and going around the back side of the house. Two men were sitting on the porch. I could only make out their shadows from the distance, but they looked like they were discreetly guarding the place. As we got closer and pulled to a stop, I noticed some of the men’s clothes were drab in a way that was meant to be undercover, and it was clear they had military backgrounds from the way they carried themselves. Stiff-backed, with an air of efficiency about them. I had seen many like that back at the Agency. It was difficult to imagine them as real people. Then again, maybe the same could be said about me.

  Dan and Brody got out of opposite sides of the vehicle, and Brody helped me out his side. He kept his hand on my arm to guide me up the driveway, which was shaded by trees. There weren’t houses nearby, so the safe house was secluded, but it still made me nervous.

  As we approached the house, all movement ceased, and the men stopped and watched us approach. I didn’t like how their eyes stopped on me, much like the driver’s eyes had. I was the enemy, and they knew it. I tried to make my face as blank as possible as not to antagonize anyone, but these men weren’t like Brody, Aaron, and Dan. From what Brody told me, these men were part of a larger organization that specialized in calculating losses and seeking out potential threats, and I represented both categories for them. It seemed to me that I was getting out of the firm grasp of the Agency, only to fall into the hands of another giant. Only time would tell what thi
s would mean for me, but I was anxious, and judging by the looks of the men, I didn’t feel good about it. I couldn’t help but think I’d traded one prison cell for another.

  As we made our way up the porch and into the foyer, following the man who had picked us up, a different man approached. He was missing two of his bottom teeth. “So, this is her, huh?” He got close to my face and reached out, grabbing my cheek and pinching it. I turned my head, trying to get his hand off me, horrified.

  “Hey,” Brody said. He stepped between me and the guy. “What’s your deal?” He put his hand out in front of the guy, ready to push him back if needed.

  A man in a worn leather jacket stepped forward and pressed in front of the other guy. This man was older. He had a buzz cut, but there was enough hair to see that it would be stark white and full if he let it grow in. He had creases around his eyes, and his hands were leathery. “He’s never seen one up close,” the man in the jacket said, nodding dismissively to the other guy. “Name’s Judge.” He eyed my wrists as I tried to hide them, then regarded Brody, who set his mouth in a thin line.

  Dan cut in. “Dude, we were attacked. Give us a break.” He was flustered and raised his eyebrows in surprise at what came out of his mouth.

  Judge studied Dan first and then surveyed the four of us, stopping to nod directly at Aaron. “I knew your father.” Aaron stretched his mouth in a flat smile and nodded silently. Judge extended his hand to Aaron. “He was a good man.” Aaron reached out and shook the man’s hand.

  Aaron pointed at each of us as he gave our names to Judge. The large man shook hands with Brody and Dan as well but did not extend his hand to me. “Follow me.” He turned on his heel and led the way through the cramped, early 1940s home. As we weaved through the narrow hallways, it occurred to me that though these men had military backgrounds, they didn’t keep their house very clean like I would imagine military men would. Maybe they were more like militia or trained civilians who were brought in. Or maybe they were too busy to be bothered.

  We stopped at a doorway. When Judge opened the door, I could see it led down into the basement. I wasn’t thinking when I grabbed Brody’s arm. “No,” I said softly. Judge turned around and eyed me, and then his eyes traveled to Aaron.

  “What did she say?” he asked as he pulled a can of chewing tobacco from his back pocket and deposited a wad of it in his lower lip. He waited.

  “It’s fine,” Aaron said, nodding. Judge looked at him again and turned to make his way down the steps. Aaron looked at me. “It’s fine,” he said, trying to reassure me. I was surprised to hear those words come from him, but it didn’t make me feel any better.

  Brody patted my hand that gripped his arm and then squeezed. He spoke to Judge. “So, this is where we can test for the tracker?”

  “Tracker test and removal.” Judge took the steps slowly as the four of us followed him down into the dark. I held tightly to Brody. Judge made it to the bottom of the steps and continued talking. “They’re usually embedded under the skin in soft tissue. Fairly easy procedure, though it isn’t for the squeamish.” He looked at me briefly and noted my hand on Brody, then turned and walked across the room, flicking on lights and lamps.

  “Brody, no,” I whispered when the man was out of earshot. “You can’t let these people touch me. They want me dead.”

  Brody thought for a second, then shook his head. I noticed he didn’t disagree with me. He leaned in and whispered, “We’ll figure something out. Let’s see how it plays out.” I stared at him, pleading with my eyes, but he turned away from me.

  The basement looked like a torture chamber out of a horror movie. Trays were set up with various tools and cutting instruments. It crossed my mind that the room could, in fact, be a torture chamber, built to torture my kind. I tried not to think about that as we walked across the musty room.

  “Put her here,” Judge said, addressing the boys and not me. The chair was black with cracked leather and looked like something that belonged in a dentist’s office. I looked at Brody. He nodded. I felt so weak, and I hated it. My life was completely in the hands of Brody and the men that were supposed to be helping them, men that I didn’t trust.

  I sat down and gripped the arms of the chair. Judge turned his back on me and grabbed a device that looked like a black light holder. It was long, and when he flicked the switch, it glowed red like there was a laser in it. Judge held it a foot away from my body and ran it down the length of me. It let out a quiet buzz when it passed by my thigh. I held my breath.

  “Straighten your leg,” Judge said. He held the device closer until he found the direct spot, the outer fleshy area of my thigh. “Jackpot,” he said. “That should be easy to cut out. They usually don’t plant it too far below the surface.” I stared down at my leg in disbelief. Aaron studied my face, but my surprise must have been obvious. I had no clue how and when they would have inserted a tracking device in my leg.

  “So, you’ve seen this before?” Aaron asked as though making casual conversation.

  “Yep,” Judge said, not explaining anything but tossing the device down on a nearby table that held more ominous tools.

  “So, can you explain the procedure?” Brody asked, trying to alleviate some of my fears before I had a chance to voice them.

  “It’s real easy. I cut it open, use these babies,” he picked out a very large set of tweezers, “and pull out the embedded tracker, and then we sew it up.” He tossed the tweezers back down.

  “Her up,” Brody interrupted. “We sew her up.” He watched Judge to see if he was going to correct himself, but Judge glowered back at Brody, standing his ground. I looked up at Brody from my spot in the chair, thankful he was with me.

  “Look,” Judge said, moving towards Brody. “I don’t know what kind of thing you have going on—” He motioned between the two of us.

  “If you think,” Brody started, but Aaron held up his hand, stopping Brody.

  “I’ll do it.” Aaron stepped forward. Brody did a double take, and my breath caught.

  Judge paused, sucking on the chewing tobacco in his mouth before spitting a giant wad on the stained concrete floor. Then, the old man slapped Aaron on the shoulder. “You are so much like your father. Always willing to get your hands dirty.” I looked down. If Judge knew Aaron’s father, I wondered what he knew about me.

  Brody turned to Aaron. “Are you sure?” Aaron nodded. My eyes darted between them. Brody seemed to trust Aaron, but I still did not. Maybe this was a way for Aaron to hurt me the way I hurt him. Judge pulled Aaron in front of the tray and started going through the process with him.

  Brody crouched down in front of me and whispered, “This is for the best. Aaron will take care of you, much more than that guy.” He nodded in Judge’s direction.

  I started to shiver from the cold of the basement; the scrubs I was still wearing didn’t do much to block out the chill. I watched Aaron as he nodded and listened to Judge’s instructions. Brody awaited a response. I finally spoke. “I don’t know, Brody,” I said. “I am pretty sure Aaron is the last person in the world who would offer to help me out of the goodness of his heart.”

  “You don’t know Aaron like I do.” Brody squeezed my leg, and once more, I was very aware of his touch burning through the thin layer of clothing.

  “Trust me when I say I will never get to know Aaron like you,” I said. “Anyway, why would Aaron want to help me?” It was a valid question. Aaron could easily watch Judge take pleasure in digging the tracker out of my leg and not giving a damn about what it did to me. I was suspicious that there had to be another reason.

  Brody looked at me like he couldn’t believe I was asking the question. “Meda. Aaron is not a bad guy. I thought you would have picked up on that by now.” Brody almost seemed annoyed I was still questioning Aaron’s integrity as a human being. He continued, “You know you can trust me. And I trust Aaron.” I studied his face, looking for a sign he was lying to me. The problem was, I didn’t know if I could trust anyone, not
even Brody, but he took my silence as an agreement. And as he reached up and grabbed my hand, I was still thankful he was here for me, which was more than I could say for anyone else in the world right now.

  Once Judge was done talking to Aaron, Aaron dismissed him. Judge backed up, hands in the air, and muttered, “Suits me,” and made himself busy in some corner of the basement.

  I realized I would have to remove my pants, which was awkward, but in that moment, it wasn’t the heaviest thing that weighed on my mind. The boys turned while I stepped out of my bottoms and awkwardly pulled the large top I was wearing down to cover my underwear. I looked to see if Judge had turned, and his back was towards me. I sat back down on the cracked chair, and it chilled my legs. I shivered. Aaron grabbed the cutting tool and moved over to my side. He looked nervous, which made me feel a little better, like he was taking this seriously rather than just hacking into me.

  He scanned my leg again to make sure he had the correct spot, and when it beeped, he marked that spot with a Sharpie. Then, he crouched down as close as he could. “There’s not even a mark there,” he said as he studied my leg.

  “Yeah,” Judge yelled over his shoulder. “They’re pretty good at covering their tracks.” I could hear him spit again as Dan let out a nervous laugh.

  “Covering their trackers, good one,” Dan said, but there wasn’t a lot of humor in his voice. He looked squeamish. I took in a deep breath and reached for Brody’s hand. He gripped mine back.

  I watched as the blade easily broke through my skin. It was razor sharp, and I didn’t feel the sting until moments later. Once Aaron cut in, he was quick and efficient, which helped. I managed not to grimace too much, even though Dan kept making disgusting faces and saying, “Gross, doesn’t that hurt?” That didn’t help.

  I almost cried out when Aaron got a grip on the tracker to tug it up from my flesh. There was a queasy sliding underneath my skin and a numb weightlessness when it was pulled free. It wasn’t very big; in fact, it was about the size of a dime. When it was pulled free, Dan took it to Judge to dispose as Aaron prepared to stitch me up. “That wasn’t too bad, was it?” he asked me. I was surprised he had even spoken to me.