Book Three of THE COMPLEX TRILOGY
Heather Hayes
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, places, and events are a product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First soft back edition December 2018
© 2018 Heather Hayes. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
Published by AH Digital FX Studios, INC 12/12/2018
AH Digital FX Studios, INC
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ISBN: 978-1-945597-08-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018967039
Cover by Adam Hayes
Book Layout and Design by Adam Hayes
The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Paperback printed in United States of America
For Sarah and Logan
It is a rare gift when family and friends
are one and the same.
Chapter 1
The itchiness of my wig is going to drive me crazy. I've scratched my head at least 50 times in the last two hours. I resist the urge to scratch again so I don't blow my cover.
A loud, male voice directs my attention to the stage of the Grand Hotel's banquet hall. "And the winner of the Herrington Vote-Off is-Brock Hamble!" My smiling, political brother cordially shakes hands with his opponent, Leonard Bloxhouse, and joins the handsome master of ceremonies at the microphone to wave to the crowd.
I jump out of my seat in the midst of thousands of other people and shout for joy. Garth is only a second behind me when he gets to his feet and kisses me, bumping his big, fake nose into mine. "This plan is going to work, Elira. I can feel it."
I whisper into his ear, "I think our plan will work too, but I don't want to get cocky. Just because Herrington is voting for Brock doesn't mean all of the cities will."
My father leans over to us. "Winning this Vote-Off brings him up to 60% of the popular vote. Things are looking good for us."
I smile with relief. If my brother, Brock, wins the senate seat, he will propose a change to our archaic law that keeps people with physical flaws locked away in the complex. "How many days are left until the official vote?"
Dad rubs his hands together. "Eight."
Those eight days can't get here soon enough. I turn to my other, less-political brother, Greggory. "When are you going to air the footage at the news station of what's really doing on in the complex?"
"Right after Brock wins it. So probably ten days from now. Hey, here comes Charlie."
A short, stocky man with a big video camera approaches us. "Doctor Hamble, I'm Charlie Jessen from the national news station. You are the father of Brock Hamble, are you not? I'd like to interview you for a piece I'm putting together about Brock for tomorrow's news."
My father smiles as he shifts his feet. "Uh, sure. That's fine."
Charlie nods to my mother's turned back. "We will want to see your lovely wife showing her support too."
Mother turns around and smiles in her bedazzling way. "I would love to tell the world about the best future senator the United Cities has ever seen."
Charlie turns and smiles at Garth and me. "Excellent. Would your guests like to say a few words in favor of Brock Hamble on the news as well?"
Fear surges through my veins. "No! No, thank you," I say at the same time as Garth. "We are late for a meeting with-a sponsor. We'll see you later, Doctor Hamble." I give my father a knowing look as I shake his hand.
"See you later, Josie. Remember that number we talked about." He tries not to look worried about us as he turns to my brother. "Greggory, you should join us on the other side of the camera for once. We want to show the country how excited Brock's family is to see him pulling ahead in the polls." I feel myself twitch.
Greggory shows a new side of himself when he smiles and claps Charlie on the back. "Sure, anything for my old pal, Charlie, here."
Great-this interview will probably take forever, and we just claimed we were leaving. How are we going to get home? It took quite a bit of convincing to get my parents to let me come here tonight. I need to prove to them that I know how to get myself out of uncomfortable situations. Garth intertwines his fingers with mine as we leave the Grand Hotel's banquet hall. We always walk so his normal hand is on the side next to me, so we can do this. His deformed hand is safely hidden in his pocket. He tilts his head toward the hotel desk. There is a telephone sitting on it. I haven't used the telephone very much, but Ernestine made us all memorize my parents' phone number in case we ever need help. I guess this is as much a time for help as any.
Garth points at the telephone. "Your dad did mention a number we talked about."
I scratch my chin nervously. "I'm sure you're right. I hope I can do this."
The lady at the desk smiles at us, completely clueless that she is looking at two wanted persons. "May I help you?"
I smile sweetly at her. "May we use your phone, please?"
"Sure. Just dial nine and then the number."
My finger shakes as I try not to mess up the phone number. The voice on the other end sounds like Ernestine trying to disguise her voice to sound like a man. "Hello? Hamble residence."
"We need a ride back from The Grand Hotel. Are you available?"
"Yep. On my way." I hang the phone up, relieved that our solution will work.
I see a woman with spikey blonde hair and a big, round stomach across from me. She is going to have a baby! I've never seen someone this pregnant so close-up before. I feel myself drawn to her. Before Garth can stop me, I touch the woman's protruding stomach. "You have a baby growing inside of you. How wonderful."
The woman pats my arm and smiles at me like I'm the cutest 10-year-old she's ever seen. "Yes. There is a baby growing inside of me. Thanks for noticing." I smile one more time and back away, embarrassed.
Garth walks me away from the crowd of people. "You probably shouldn't have touched her stomach."
I feel silly now for doing it. "Yeah, you're probably right." I turn around and see the woman giving me a weird look as she whispers to her husband. "I hope Ernestine gets here soon. I feel so stupid."
Ernestine definitely doesn't obey the speed limit getting here, but I'm grateful that we don't have to wait outside with these people for long. Dressed like a man with a hat and mustache, she rolls down the window and asks, "Did you two order a ride?"
"Yes, we did. Thank you," I say as we slip inside the black car.
Ernestine doesn't turn around as she drives off. "Well?"
I smile. "He won. That puts him to 60% of the popular vote."
"Perfect. I need to stop by Complex Supplies Row on our way home, if that's all right."
My smile turns into a frown. "Ugh. I hate that place. Why?"
"Maxine said she had to drive the linen truck to the store-front tonight because the complex is so short-handed right now, and she had information she didn't want to say over the phone."
I shrug. "Okay." I am amazed that Maxine is doing so many weird jobs for the complex these days. She used to take care of my age-group of girls only. I wonder what kind of news s
he can have that she doesn't want to share over the phone.
Garth sees the worry in my eyes. "It'll be okay. Don't be anxious."
My nerves are on edge more than ever since my best friend was captured and taken back to the Complex of Undesirables. "It might be news about Avra in the complex." Garth takes my hand and nods understandingly.
When we pull up to Complex Supplies Row, we don't see a supply truck anywhere. Stores line the street on both sides, filled with goods our friends who are imprisoned in the complex are forced to make with no pay. It's 9:00 at night and all the shopkeepers are turning the signs in their windows from 'Open' to 'Closed.' I try not to sweat as I see the pretty linen shopkeeper stacking pillowcases by color in her window display. One of those might have been made by me on a job research day during my own time in the complex. Or, maybe one of them is the one Bicep sewed before pounding the table and sending his sewing machine crashing to the floor. He'll never know that what he sewed made money for someone else.
Urch. The sound of loud brakes interrupts my thoughts. Maxine looks out of place as she climbs out of the huge, white, covered truck that she has somewhat successfully parked.
We jump out of our car to join her. "Is there anything you don't do at the complex, Maxine?" I ask.
Maxine looks at us curiously for a minute, but then figures out who we are in our disguises. She wipes sweat off her brow with her jumpsuit sleeve and forces a fake smile on her face. "Well, let's just say, I've dropped a few notches on the totem pole since the break-out."
The side door to the linen shop opens and the pretty worker approaches Maxine. We shut our mouths and return to our car until the linens are unloaded and the worker locks her shop. Once the linen worker drives away in her yellow sports car, Maxine approaches our car.
My favorite adult and confidant from the complex avoids eye contact with me when she approaches us. "May I have a private word with you, Ernestine?"
Ernestine nods her head wearily. "Sure. You two-stay out of trouble."
"What do you consider trouble?" Garth asks with a wink. Ernestine gives him a hard look as she follows Maxine down the street toward the city park.
I don't like that Maxine doesn't want to speak in front of us. "Garth, what if something is wrong with Avra or-Jefrey?"
Garth moves the red curls of my wig back behind my ears as his face tenses. "Jef will get what he deserves, and there's nothing we can do about it."
My boyfriend is still angry that his twin brother turned traitor on us complex escapees and Garth didn't even know it. I tilt my head toward him. "Is that how your parents feel?"
Garth's eyes lower to his hands. "No. My mom is heartbroken. I think my hard-nosed dad is even sad that Jef's back in the complex." I take my boyfriend's hand. It must be hard to lose someone who used to be like his other half. His eyes lift slowly. "They're walking back now. I didn't even get a kiss yet." He plants a wet one on me before Ernestine opens her door.
Ernestine hops into the car and watches Maxine drive away. She doesn't say anything as she turns the engine on. I can't handle the suspense. "What did Maxine say?"
Ernestine pulls onto the road slowly. "I don't know if we should talk about it right now. Let's wait until we're with your parents."
I slap the center console in frustration. "No, Ernestine. What is it?"
"They've been torturing Avra since they took her back, so three weeks now. She hasn't said anything, but she can't take much more. She's unconscious and-she's dying."
Chapter 2
"Dad, I told you we weren't stranded. Ernestine picked us up. I don't care about driving. What I care about is my best friend dying in the complex before we can change the law!" I throw my red, curly wig on the table to prove my point and to let my itchy head breathe.
My father pours himself a tall glass of water and sits down at the other end of the basement table. "Elira, I keep getting the feeling that I need to teach you how to drive. I'm taking you to the desert for driving lessons tomorrow, and that's that."
Garth sits next to him at the table. "May I come too? I really want to drive."
Father shrugs. "Fine. Anyone who wants to learn can come with us."
I stomp my foot in frustration. "Dad, I don't care about driving right now. Avra is dying!" I feel my eyes swell with tears.
My dad stands up and walks around the table to hug me. I wrap my arms around him and let the tears fall. I knew the complex would kill Avra. That's why I got her out of there in the first place. "What are we going to do, Dad? Changing the law will take months, maybe years." I wipe my eyes with my hand before my flesh-colored makeup can stain his shirt.
Father walks back around the table and takes a big drink of water. "I've been thinking about this very thing since they took her back. I have a plan."
"You do?" I smile for the first time since Ernestine got back in the car tonight.
"Yes, but it would mean letting a friend of mine in on our secrets. I've been trying to decide if he would turn you in or not, and-I don't think he would."
My anxious eyes search my dad's face. "Who is he?"
"His name is Henry Ricks. He works for both complexes as-a gravedigger."
I nod my head in acknowledgement. "You've mentioned him before."
Rocky joins us at the table. "What do you mean by both complexes, Doctor Hamble?"
"He buries the dead from both the Herrington Complex of Undesirables and the Herrington Complex for the Elderly. Every major city in the country has two complexes. One for the elderly and one for the deformed and unsightly."
Rocky turns his head so he can hear better with his good ear. "Why would someone who works for the complex want to help us?"
Mother sits across the table from father to join the conversation. Father smiles at her, then turns to Rocky. "Henry's kind of like Maxine. He thinks the system is unfair and wrong. It pays better than his last job, so he sticks it out, but it makes him sick to bury a kid every other day."
I'm confused about how a gravedigger could be helpful. "So, what can he do for Avra? He won't see her till she's-dead."
Father scratches his head. "I will need Maxine to help us too. I have-acquired a substance that when taken orally will render a person unconscious, it slows all bodily function down to the point of making a person appear dead."
Scott stands up from off the couch and starts pacing the great room. "I don't like the sound of that." He stops pacing after a couple of rounds and asks, "What is it called? Is it safe?"
Father smiles weakly. "It's an illegal, foreign drug called sheol. It is not 100% safe-but 90% of people who take it appear dead for two hours and then slowly regain body function for the next eight hours. Ten hours later, the person should be back to normal."
I am shocked that my father has an illegal drug in his possession. "Where did you get it?"
"I-I'm not proud of this, and I don't recommend any of you do it, but it was the only way I could think to get Avra out of the complex. I-I had Greggory buy it from a drug dealer for me."
My mother pushes herself back from the table. "You had Greggory buy something from a drug dealer?"
"Calm down, Florence. He isn't as innocent as you'd like to think. He hangs out with the party crowd at the university, and he wants to save Avra too." The look on Scott's face is hard to read.
I am still worried about how bad of shape Avra is in. "So, what if the person is already deathly ill when they take this-substance?"
Father sighs. "Those kinds of people are usually the ones who make up the 10% who don't make it."
Scott starts pacing again, this time faster. "It might kill her."
I can see where my dad is heading with this. I jump out of my seat and take Scott's hand to stop his pacing. "Scott, she is dying right now anyway. I think we should at least try to save her."
Garth sees a flaw in the plan. "Maxine doesn't work with the teenage girls anymore, or the troubled kids in private rooms. How will she slip it to her?"
Dad scratches his head. "That's the tricky part of this whole thing. If she can find a way to slip her four drops on Friday around noon, I will be in the complex doing a training for the complex doctors on heart health. I will insist on seeing every patient with heart defects. When they take me to Avra, I will declare her dead and personally assist in putting her in a body bag. I'll help hand her over to Henry, who will then switch that body bag for a body bag filled with rocks and bury that instead."
Why hasn't he marched into the complex sooner? "I didn't know that they let you go inside the complex, Dad."
My father folds his arms across his chest. "You have to be invited, and this is only my second invitation. It's now or never."
We all sit there and think about the implications of the plan before speaking. My mother speaks up first. "Is Henry poor enough to be tempted by a bounty?"
Father scratches his chin. "Well, he isn't wealthy by any means, but he has an adult-onset heart murmur himself. I've been kind enough to keep his secret, and I believe he will be kind enough to keep mine."
Garth scrunches his eyebrows together and asks, "What would happen to Henry if people knew he had a heart murmur?"
Father tilts his head from side to side. "Hopefully nothing. Adult bodies break down as they age, but some employers don't employ people with obvious health problems. They think it reflects bad taste on the company's part."
"Oh."
Mother looks at her watch and purses her lips. "The timing will be tricky. If Maxine gives it to her at noon, you better see her before two."
"I'll be in the complex from 8:00 until 3:00. I'll present my material quickly in the morning, getting done at 10:00, and then see patients until 3:00. There are about 200 heart patients in the complex."
I shake my head in amazement. "Two hundred patients! You'll never get to her in time."
Father reaches a hand out to me in explanation. "Since I'm presenting on heart murmurs, my goal is to identify all the patients who should be on the new heart murmur medicine that just came out. I'll have them send all heart patients to the doctors' office starting with the youngest dorms and ending with the oldest workers in a steady lineup. I only need five minutes per patient to establish if they have a murmur or not. I have a lot of pull in the medical community, so I think the complex doctors will obey my wishes. I promise I'll find a way to see Avra between noon and two."
The Complex Leader Page 1