Breakaway

by Jeff Hirsch

  Dan looked around the plane, frowning. He and Amy had flown all around the world, a lot of the time with Atticus and Jake with them. But he’d never known a flight so silent. Amy stared out the plane’s window with the same broody silence that had surrounded her since they had left the library.

  Dan knew what it was about, but there was nothing he could say. As slick as she’d tried to be, he’d seen her looking in his backpack. He knew what she must have found.

  Dan flushed. He couldn’t help feeling as if he’d been caught doing something shameful, like stealing or conspiring with the enemy. But they were just some brochures. And he’d told Amy that he was done with the Cahills after they figured out how to stop Pierce. If they figured out how to stop Pierce. He couldn’t do this anymore. It felt as if his skin was getting tighter every day, until soon it would suffocate him. Is that what she wanted for him?

  The more he thought about it, the more his guilt was replaced with anger. Anger at Amy. He’d been mad at her before — a lot — but it was usually a “hey you borrowed my hoodie without asking” kind of anger. This was real, burning hot, even teary. So much so that he couldn’t bring himself to say anything about it. They’d been through so much together and they’d always been able to talk through anything. It was the only way they’d survived. It was impossible, unthinkable, but something had changed.

  The pilot announced that he was preparing to land. Dan clipped his seat belt in place and looked out the window, gulping when all he saw below them was the iron sweep of the ocean. Landing without a runway just didn’t seem right.

  It ended up being surprisingly smooth, though, and minutes later they were met by a fishing boat. They all stepped uneasily onto the plane’s pontoons before taking the hand of a grizzled-looking fisherman and crossing over onto the boat deck.

  Dan steadied himself against the railing as Jake helped Atticus with his life vest. Amy stood off by herself, again, the hood of her sweatshirt pulled up as she watched the churn of the boat’s wake with empty eyes. This is ridiculous! Dan started to cross the deck toward her, but something stopped him.

  Once we have the silphium, we’ll both be more relaxed, Dan thought. We’ll talk then. Dan huddled against the railing, hoping it was true.

  A Land Rover met them at the shore and brought them into Doñana National Park, which did not look to Dan like the home of the world’s most famous sunken city. It was a mix of sand dunes and lush, reedy marshlands. About five miles inland, they moved onto a flat plain of sun-bleached dirt dotted with sprigs of dry reeds and tufts of grass.

  “So, this is Atlantis,” Dan said. “Man, the Aquaman comic books were way off.”

  “You wouldn’t look so great, either, if you’d been covered in silt for a few thousand years,” Atticus shot back.

  A dusty camp came into view. It consisted of a handful of tents with scientists bustling around in khaki and hiking boots. Their Land Rover came to a halt just outside of camp.

  “What if we’re wrong,” Atticus said, looking even younger than usual. “What if Dad’s not here and Pierce really does have him?”

  Dan looked back at his friend. “Hey, when are you ever wrong? He’s here. So, what’s the plan? Jake, do you want to —”

  Amy threw open her door and started across the plain. Dan and the others exchanged a look.

  It’s like we’re not even here, Dan thought, and then the three of them piled out of the car with Jake in the lead.

  “Hey!” Jake called after Amy. “You remember that whole thing about my dad disliking you, right?”

  “Yes,” said Amy, not even bothering to turn around. “And I also remember you saying that Dan and I should try making a direct appeal. Just hang back and let me talk to him.”

  Dan could see the tension in Jake’s shoulders ahead of him.

  “All due respect to your Leader-tude,” Jake called, “but he’s my dad and you don’t exactly seem in the most diplomatic frame of mind right now.”

  “I’m fine!”

  “You’re acting like a crazy person!” Jake fired back.

  “Dad!” yelled Atticus, and ran past everyone into the camp.

  Dr. Rosenbloom had just emerged from one of the tents. Atticus threw his arms around his very startled father, who spun him around.

  “What’s going on?” Dr. Rosenbloom asked. “Att, what are you doing here? Are you okay?”

  “We’re fine.”

  Jake glanced at Amy and then ran over to join Atticus. “We saw your house,” Jake said. “We thought something might have happened to you.”

  Dr. Rosenbloom’s expression cleared and he laughed. “Ah, I guess I was in a bit of a hurry. Sorry if it worried you guys. But aren’t you supposed to be back in Rome? Did you miss your flight?” Dr. Rosenbloom waved his own question away. “You know what? It doesn’t matter! When you guys see what we’ve found here, your heads are going to explode right off your shoulders. Come on, let me show you!”

  Amy stepped forward, and Dan put up a hand to hold her back. “Amy, wait. Let them —”

  “Dr. Rosenbloom!” Amy called.

  Dr. Rosenbloom turned. His smile evaporated the second he laid eyes on her. The glow that lit his face from the moment he saw his sons disappeared instantly, replaced with something dark and cold.

  “Dad —” Atticus began.

  “So, you were worried about me?” Dr. Rosenbloom repeated, anger coloring his voice.

  “It’s true,” Jake said. “We —”

  Dr. Rosenbloom broke away from them and marched across the field, his eyes locked on Amy.

  “Sir, I . . .”

  “We may be out in the middle of nowhere, Ms. Cahill, but we do get the news,” he said. “If you think for a single second that I’m going to let my sons get involved with a pair of entitled brats like you and your brother, then you’re out of your mind! I won’t let you do to Jake what you did to that Tolliver boy!”

  “Dad!” Jake exclaimed as Amy’s face went totally white.

  “Not another word, Jake,” Dr. Rosenbloom snapped. “Take your brother into my tent right now.”

  “Amy didn’t do anything!” Jake protested. “Those news reports are lies!”

  Dr. Rosenbloom whirled on his son. “That boy’s parents were lying, then? Is that what you’re saying? Is that what she told you?”

  “No! It’s just — Amy and Evan were trying to do something very important and he got hurt, but it wasn’t Amy’s fault. She tried to keep him from getting involved. She’d never let anyone get hurt if she could help it.”

  “I said, not another word!”

  “Sir, please,” Amy cut in. “Dan and I will go. Right now. I promise. You’ll never see us again. But I need to know about silphium. It’s very important. Have you found any?”

  Dr. Rosenbloom walked over, not stopping until he nearly ran her down. He glared at her with a heat that made Dan flinch.

  “We found two sealed jars this morning,” Dr. Rosenbloom said through clenched teeth. “They had markings that indicated silphium seeds were inside.”

  “Can we see them?” Dan asked, trying to move between Amy and Jake and Atticus’s dad. “Like my sister said. It’s incredibly important.”

  Dr. Rosenbloom shook his head. “I wouldn’t dream of it. And anyway, you’re too late. I sent them on already.”

  “Where?” Amy persisted.

  “One went to colleagues in Tunis for study. The other’s on its way to the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard. Both places are out of your reach. And now? I believe you were going?”

  Svalbard? Dan thought, and looked to Atticus.

  “It’s a vault built into the side of a mountain in the Arctic Circle,” Atticus said. “They’re using it to store seeds from all over the world.”

  “And the vault is shut tight, so there’s no thrill-seeking to be done there,” Dr. Rosenbloom said, nearly shaking with rage. “They only have staff at the vault a couple of times a year. They’re waiting to store the silphium and then they�
��re headed out.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Amy said. She kept her head raised, but Dan could see that she couldn’t quite look Dr. Rosenbloom in the eye. She turned to Jake and Atticus. “You two stay with your father. Dan and I will take it from here.”

  Amy turned her back on them and started to walk away. Her back was straight, but they could all see how badly she was trembling.

  “Amy! Wait!” said Jake as he charged after her.

  Dr. Rosenbloom reached out and caught his son as Jake tried to rush past him. “This is over,” he said, grabbing Jake’s shirt and shaking him for emphasis. “You and Atticus are going back to school, and I’m calling the Tunisian police right now.”

  Jake tore out of his father’s grip. “Then you’ll be calling them on me, too.”

  “Jake!”

  “I can’t explain everything now,” he said. “I just need you to trust me. Amy and Dan haven’t made us do anything. We’re doing this because we know how important it is. It’s probably the most important thing Atticus or I will ever do. We’ll be careful, I swear. But we’re going. Now.”

  “Jake, don’t you dare —”

  Jake’s face was granite as he turned away from his father. Dr. Rosenbloom stepped forward to grab Jake again, and Atticus ran out behind him. Amy stood motionless near the Land Rover, watching the Rosenblooms sprint toward her, with what looked like tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. When she saw Dan looking, she wiped them away and fixed her eyes on the ground.

  “Atticus!” Dr. Rosenbloom cried as his sons streaked toward the car. He looked shocked, as if he had woken up into an alternate universe.

  “Guys,” Amy said, putting herself between Jake and Atticus and the car. “You can’t —”

  “It doesn’t matter what you say, either,” Jake said. “We’re not doing this for you. We’re doing it because it’s right. So unless both you and Dan want us gone, we’re coming with you.”

  Amy turned to Dan, who was sitting in the front seat of the car. The force of her expectation was like a punch to his chest. He looked from her to Jake and Atticus.

  “We need them, Amy,” Dan said. “They’re coming with us.”

  “Stop!” Dr. Rosenbloom shouted as he ran toward the Land Rover. Jake and Atticus jumped in, and then Dan grabbed his sister and pulled her into the car.

  “Let’s go,” he shouted to the driver. “And hurry!”

  Dan glanced back at Amy as they took off in a cloud of dust. Her eyes were filled with the same emotion he’d seen back at the library. A look that screamed out that she’d been betrayed, and by the person she trusted the most.

  Dan made himself look away.

  “We’ll be in Tunis in a few hours,” he announced to the group. “We need a plan. Thoughts, everybody?”

  Amy was frozen in place, shocked breathless. What had happened to the two of them? Dan looked at her lately as if she were a stranger, but he had to know she was only trying to keep everyone safe. Didn’t he?

  Amy drew herself over the backseat and into the rear of the Land Rover’s storage compartment. She leaned over their backpacks so it looked like she was checking their gear, and pulled out her phone. She dialed, and while it rang she kept her eyes locked on Dan and Jake and Atticus, her heart aching to see them making plans without her.

  The ringing stopped and their pilot answered.

  “It’s me,” Amy whispered. “Yes. But I’ll need you to bring some things with you when you come.”

  Amy rattled off a list and then she looked ahead. The boys still were absorbed in their plans. Dan and Jake and Atticus seemed so far away, almost as if the inside of the car had been split into two separate worlds. Something cold clicked into place.

  And that’s the safest place for them, she thought. Far away. The way it always should have been.

  The pilot asked her a question, snapping Amy back to reality.

  “No,” she said, answering him. “There’s been a change of plans. Listen up. . . .”

  Nellie hid in the bathroom, listening as the last of the late-shift employees filed out of their labs. A half hour after their voices faded, the cleaning crews moved in with the swish of mops and the whine of vacuums. Finally, the only thing Nellie could hear was the soft ticking of the air conditioners winding down for the night.

  Nellie took a breath, then unfolded herself from her perch on top of the toilet bowl.

  Outside the bathroom, the corridor was filled with a mix of safety lights and deep shadows. Nellie glanced up at the security cameras mounted along the ceiling. They were stationary, and she was pretty sure she could stay out of their fields of view.

  She slinked up the stairs to the next floor, opening and closing doors with excruciating care so they didn’t make a sound. She made it to the fourth floor, then consulted her mental map. The entrance to the secret staircase was supposed to be at a dead end — left, then right, then left again from where she was standing.

  Nellie started down the first hall, but dove back into the shadows at the click of a door ahead of her. She flattened against a wall as a small woman in a white lab coat stepped into the corridor and walked down the hall. The woman patted at her pockets, growing increasingly frustrated as she searched for something. Once the woman was out of sight, Nellie waited and listened before continuing on. Every step confirmed that she and the woman were headed in the same direction.

  Maybe she knows I’m behind her and is leading me into a trap. Maybe this ends with me in the hands of a couple of goons like the ones that nearly killed the kiddos.

  Nellie shook off the unproductive thoughts and made herself continue forward. Her legs weren’t quite steady. Left, then right, then left again. Nellie hung back in the dark and peeked around a corner. The woman was at the end of a hall with her back to Nellie. She was still digging through her pockets, muttering to herself. Nellie heard a clink of change and then a deep ka-chunk. The woman moved aside and Nellie caught sight of what was at the end of the hall.

  It wasn’t a secret entrance.

  It was a vending machine.

  The scientist reached into a slot for her snack, tore open the bag, and chowed down an entire bag of honey BBQ pork rinds, going so far as to upend the bag so she could suck back the last remaining crumbs.

  Hmm. Maybe she isn’t a part of an international criminal conspiracy, after all.

  Nellie flattened herself into the shadows once again as the woman moved past her. When Madame Pork Rinds was gone, Nellie tiptoed down to the vending machine, running her hands along the walls, searching for a seam or a hollow place that might indicate an entrance. There was nothing.

  The vending machine itself looked perfectly normal. Glass front and black metal sides. A slot for change and a place to swipe credit cards. Next to the card reader there was a large red A surrounded in white. The machine itself was full of candy and chips and rolls of mints. Nellie nudged it with one hand but it didn’t move. She set her shoulder into it and pushed, still nothing.

  “Come on, you stupid thing. I know there’s more than pork rinds in you! There has to be!”

  Nellie gave it another push, and when it gave nothing in return, her frustration hit a breaking point. She kicked at the thing and pushed, rocking it back and forth.

  “Open up! Open up, you stupid thing! Open sesame!”

  “Hey!”

  Nellie gasped and whirled. She was face-to-face with a man in a charcoal-gray suit who was built to more or less the exact same specifications as the vending machine. A radio receiver sat in one ear and Nellie spied a gun-shaped bulge underneath his jacket.

  Nellie’s back was against the machine, and she could only look on in horror as the man strode toward her, reaching into his jacket.

  “Wait, no, I was just —”

  The guard pulled out a handful of change. “You scientists are all the same,” he said with a shake of his head. “So excitable. You have to love your machines if you want to get anything out of them. Treat ’em nice.”

>   He turned to Nellie with an odd smile on his chiseled face.

  “So? What is it that you wanted, Doc?”

  Nellie opened her mouth to answer, but words fled when she caught sight of the ID card hanging from the man’s belt. It was white, just like hers, but instead of the blue D as on her card, his sported a bright red A.

  Nellie glanced back at the A on the vending machine. It was a perfect match for the one on the guard’s ID. A volley of fireworks went off in Nellie’s head.

  “Uh, ma’am?”

  “Pork rinds,” Nellie said with a smile. “I’ll have the pork rinds.”

  Amy stood alone on deck late that night, looking up at glistening stars surrounded by black. They were in the open ocean, somewhere between the coasts of Spain and Morocco. There wasn’t a trace of land or a gleam of artificial light in any direction. Amy thought the view must have been no different than the one seen by the sailors of Carthage or Atlantis.

  She climbed the stairs up onto the bridge. Everyone else was down below. Amy had explained that due to a delay in getting fuel, the plane wouldn’t meet them for hours yet, so everyone should get some rest.

  Amy knelt beside the boat’s big steering wheel and took the key from the ignition beneath it. She dropped it into her palm where it joined the spare she had found among the captain’s things. The keys clinked together in her palm, catching the moonlight. She walked to the railing and turned her hand over. The keys fell into the water, hitting with a barely audible plop. There was a flash of silver in the moonlight and then they were swallowed up by the dark.

  “What are you doing?”

  Amy turned. Jake was standing at the hatch that led down to the crew compartment.

  “I was just . . . getting some air.”