A Girl Called Fearless

by Catherine Linka

  “Honey, I know it’s overwhelming, committing to a life with someone you barely know…”

  “I know enough, Daddy. And you do, too. You can’t tell me he’s a good person.”

  Dad’s lips went flat. His eyes darted from me to the car and back. Finally, he let out an exhausted breath. “We need Hawkins. We’ve got hundreds of families depending on us. These men, most of them are raising kids by themselves. They’ve got mortgages…”

  “Can’t you get the money some other way?”

  “It’s too late for that. Jes has been buying up stock. He’s close to owning half the company.”

  I didn’t know much about business, but I guessed what that meant. “Jes owns you, too.”

  “You could put it that way.”

  “Not a great feeling, is it.”

  “No, quite frankly, it sucks.”

  We stood there in silence, Dad biting his lip, and me shaking my head. Hawkins controlled both of us.

  “Hawkins suggested I read my Contract,” I said.

  “What did you do!”

  I took a long hard look at Dad. He had no clue about Yates. Roik and Hawkins had kept him out of the loop.

  “I didn’t do a thing. He just said I should read it. Besides,” I said quietly, “if I want to change anything, don’t I need to do it before the Signing?”

  “I don’t think that’s possible. Jes and I already negotiated the terms. Your signature is more of a ‘formality’ than anything else.”

  “Property,” I muttered. “That’s all I am. Property.”

  “Honey, I promise I’ll get your Contract out and go over it with you line by line, but right now I’ve got to answer these calls.”

  “Fine.” I was exhausted.

  I let Dad lead me back to the car. He sat me down in the backseat and buckled my seat belt, gently moving my arms as if I was still six.

  Dad reached for his phone and started messaging like the future of the world depended on it.

  I kicked off my cherry heels and curled up in a ball. My dress stank so bad it was making me sick all over again.

  Dad couldn’t help me, and it wasn’t because he didn’t want to. The whole drive home, I kept hearing Hawkins’ voice in my ear. Read your Contract, darling.

  It wasn’t an order. It was a threat.

  46

  I wasn’t the only one who’d had a terrible time at Hawkins’s party. Something Hawkins said had spooked the Biocure board, because they started showing up at our house before I’d even changed out of my dress.

  Dad burst into the kitchen while I was searching for ginger ale. He looked like he could use a defibrillator. “Can you put together some snacks, honey?”

  I was too tired to argue. “Sure. What’s the emergency?”

  “The board’s questioning how I’ll vote at the next meeting. Some of the members are convinced I’m in bed with Hawkins.”

  “Can’t imagine why,” I muttered as Dad dashed out the door.

  Once they were shut away in the living room with their beer and cheese crackers, it only took a minute of searching Dad’s files to find my Contract. I sprinted upstairs and locked my door. Then I spread the pages out on the floor and kneeled over them.

  What do you want me to see, Jes?

  I skipped to the end, because Ms. A had warned us that was where they hid the bad stuff. Unlike the earlier sections, I didn’t need a law degree to decipher what they meant. I wasn’t surprised when I saw the virginity clause, or that my Contract didn’t have a four-year college deferral like Dayla’s first Contract did.

  But I’d never imagined there could be something worse than a virginity clause. I had to read the final pages twice, because I just couldn’t believe them.

  If I failed to perform my wifely duties, Hawkins could transfer ownership.

  If I failed to live up to my vows to love, honor, and obey, he could transfer ownership.

  In the event Hawkins even suspected I was unfaithful, he could transfer ownership.

  He could resell me.

  I read and reread the section, but no matter how hard I looked, there wasn’t a single sentence stating I had the right to approve who bought me.

  My sweatshirt was strangling me and I tore it off. Okay, okay. Don’t freak. Dad hasn’t signed it yet. The signature lines are still blank.

  There were two more pages to go, and even though I hoped I’d seen the worst, I knew better than to trust Hawkins. I kept reading.

  In the event of an impending transfer of ownership I could buy out my Contract by repaying my bride price.

  Sure. Because I had fifty million dollars of my own, right.

  My hands were shaking so bad by the time I picked up the last page, I almost couldn’t read it. But once I did, I dropped it and hugged my arms to my chest.

  The Contract was in force as soon as payment was received. That fifty million Dad got from Hawkins a few weeks ago. That was my bill of sale.

  Hawkins owned me NOW.

  OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod.

  Yates called me about an hour later, and I almost didn’t pick up, Hawkins’ threats echoing in my head, but I was desperate to hear Yates’ voice.

  “Aves —”

  I heard the catastrophe in his pause. “What? What are you going to tell me?”

  “Gabe’s been arrested.”

  “No, say it isn’t true.”

  “We think he’ll be charged with kidnapping.”

  “Kidnapping?” Father Gabe was going to prison. Roaring filled my ears.

  “The girls he helps are minors. They can’t legally give consent, so technically, Exodus is a form of kidnapping.”

  “Hawkins did this, didn’t he?”

  “Not sure. His lawyer thinks it came from someone higher up. Someone in Washington.”

  Things were starting to make a bizarre kind of sense. “While you were gone, I asked Gabe why he risked working for Exodus, and he said the weirdest thing about girls being pawns in a chess game our leaders are playing.”

  “I wish I knew what he meant by that. Gabe always kept a lot of secrets.”

  I wrapped my arms around my legs to stop the trembling. “This is horrible.”

  “Aves, I know it looks bad, but Exodus’ plan for you is still in place. All we have to do is get you out of L.A.”

  “Aamir’s still okay with helping me?”

  Yates didn’t answer right away. “Aamir’s gone into hiding. So, I’m extracting you. All we need is a car.”

  “No, you need to stay away from me,” I said. “Hawkins threatened to have you arrested.”

  “I can deal with being arrested.”

  “He threatened to hurt you.”

  “If you don’t get away from Hawkins he will hurt you, Aves, and I’ll have to live with that, and it will be much worse than what he might do to me.”

  I laid my head down on my knees. I couldn’t protect Yates. No matter what happened he was in danger.

  “I know someone who’ll loan us a car,” I said.

  “Someone you trust?”

  A week ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated, but now I had to take the chance that Prandip wouldn’t betray me. “Yes.”

  “Then call them.”

  My fingers messed up when I dialed Dr. Prandip’s number and it took three tries before I got it right. Her husband must have thought I was going into labor, the way she told me to slow down and breathe. I heard her tell him she was going upstairs.

  Then she promised I could use her car. The person helping me could pick it up at her office. All he had to do was tell the office manager he was from the Mercedes Service Department and would bring it back the next day.

  I sent Yates a message. “All set.”

  Outside, a flashlight beam ran back and forth along our fence. Ferris was on duty, keeping me safe from the bad guys. The only thing was, Ferris couldn’t keep me safe from the scariest of them all.

  47

  Dayla showed up early on Sunday to go shopping for a crib and s
troller. then dragged me to Chinatown for dim sum. After, she insisted we go for mani-pedis and to get her color corrected. Just like she had Friday night, Dayla stuck to me like a tattoo. Ho was getting his money’s worth out of her.

  The next morning, Dayla had a nine o’clock with the Headmaster to persuade him to reenroll her. When she passed by our class, my heart raced like I was out on the track. The Headmaster had to say no. I could not have Dayla shadow me at school today and I could not have her backstage at the play tonight.

  In class, the minutes ticked by so slowly it was like waiting for an execution. Ms. A tapped her fingers on Dayla’s empty chair.

  The Headmaster called Ms. A out of second period, and she didn’t return for the rest of the period. When the bell rang for morning break, we all looked at each other and got up.

  Dayla was hanging out in the courtyard, surrounded by sophomores, but she brushed them off when she saw me. Her eyes were slits. She was ticked.

  “What happened?” I said.

  “They wouldn’t let me back in.”

  “That’s too bad.” I shot thanks to the Headmaster and Ms. A.

  “I was sure the Headmaster was going to say yes, but then he called in Ms. A.”

  “Ms. A said no?”

  “Not exactly. She went on and on about how she’d love to have me back, I was such a good student, blah blah blah, I’d definitely benefit from completing the semester, but then she asked if the board needed to weigh in. She’d hate to have my return ‘marred by questions about my character.’ I can’t believe she did that.”

  Ms. A was brilliant. No father would want Dayla in the classroom infecting his daughter with romantic fantasies. “Maybe she didn’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Bull. She knew exactly what she was doing.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Dayla sipped her latte. “It’s okay. I took care of it.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. What did you do?

  “Anyway,” she said, “I wanted to tell you Buck’s flying in this morning so I get to meet my knight in shining armor.”

  “I hope he’s—” I searched for the right word. “Nice.”

  Day threw her bag over her shoulder. “Yeah, me, too.”

  “Call me later?”

  “Yeah, we’ll autopsy my life.” She hugged me good-bye, and I watched her walk away.

  If I’d been locked up like she was, who knows what I’d do to get free.

  Ms. A was back after break. “Let’s resume our lessons on first aid. Today, poisoning.” For the last two weeks, she had lectured us on what we called LC. Leading Causes of Death in Children. Drowning. Electrocution. Poisoning. Falls.

  She seemed distracted. She dropped her first aid kit when she pulled it out of the drawer and had to search her bookshelf when normally she’d reach automatically for a book she wanted.

  We waited, our first aid kits open on our desks. Sophie Park whispered across the aisle. “What’s up with her?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, but the hideous tickling sensation up my neck was back.

  “Please find your syrup of ipecac.” Ms. A fumbled in her kit while the rest of us found our bottles and held them up as we knew she wanted.

  She shoved her kit away. “Good. You found it. If a child has ingested poison, time is of the essence. Ipecac can induce vomiting, giving you precious minutes until help can arrive. Some consider it folk medicine, but if you are desperate, it is both powerful and effective. I recommend you keep it in your purse at all times. Is that clear? Who does not understand?”

  The skin on my neck pulled tight. Ms. A only said that when she absolutely, positively wanted us to remember something.

  She strode over and locked the door. Zara glanced at me. What the hell?

  Then Ms. A walked to the front row and looked right at the camera like she wanted to make sure it had a clear shot. She smiled, her eyes taking us all in, even the empty seats where Sparrow and Dayla used to sit.

  “My darlings. My chosen ones,” she said. “I have tried to prepare you for life outside these walls. The administration has decided that this will be my last day.”

  I shook my head. No, this can’t be happening.

  She stared hard at the camera. “But I cannot go silently and I cannot go nicely. You are not objects to be sold by your fathers to pay off their debts or buy a new house. And the movement in this country that claims that you need to be protected has created legalized servitude.”

  Footsteps clattered down the hall.

  Ms. A embraced us with her eyes. “Don’t let the Paternalists take away your rights without a fight. Don’t let them make you weak and dependent. And above all, don’t let them silence you.”

  A fist banged on the frosted glass in the door. “Ms. Alexandra. Ms. Alexandra, you’re wanted in the Headmaster’s office.”

  I leaped out of my seat. She hugged me to her, and we were enveloped by fifteen sets of arms.

  Keys jerked angrily in the lock.

  “I will miss you, my beauties.”

  “No, don’t go, you can’t,” we cried.

  The door swung open and the Headmaster himself stood there. “Girls, you need to release Ms. Alexandra.”

  We reached out faces and hands for her kisses. Her perfect makeup was streaked with tears.

  “Mr. Austin will take over the class while Ms. Alexandra comes with me,” the Headmaster said.

  Ms. A took a deep breath, and stood up straight like she’d breathed in the power to do anything. Then the Headmaster and Security escorted her out, taking my last chance to escape with her.

  Dayla had no idea how she’d just imprisoned me for life. Or, maybe she did.

  “If you would take out your workbook on household finances,” Mr. Austin said.

  I went to close the first aid kit, but then I realized that Ms. A had given me one last lifesaver. I palmed the tiny bottle of ipecac, and dropped it into my backpack.

  No, I was not going to give up. It was time to act.

  48

  Roik crushed out his cigarette when I came down the steps after school. A shiver ran through me. Now. You’re doing this.

  I held out a cup. “Coffee? I put in two ice cubes just the way you like it.”

  He smiled and took a gulp. “Tough day?”

  “Don’t pretend you don’t know about Ms. Alexandra.”

  “No, I saw them escort her out.”

  Roik started the car. The fancy iron gates released us, and he pulled into the street. I looked at the coffee silhouetted in his cup. A quarter was already gone.

  I took a centering breath. “I want to see Mom.”

  “It’s not Tuesday.”

  “I haven’t seen her in two weeks, and after next Saturday, who knows when Hawkins is going to let me see her again.”

  “Hmm. You sure you’re ready to face the crime scene?” he said.

  I gripped the armrest. “I won’t know until I try, right?”

  “I dunno. It’s late. Sun’ll be down soon.”

  “I was helping with costumes for the play. Come on. Fifteen minutes, that’s all I’m asking.”

  “All right, but the second the sun goes behind the hill, we’re out of there.”

  “Deal.” I sat back as Roik pulled onto the freeway.

  This is really happening. Dear God, please tell me Yates got my message. I’d texted him from day care lab, but I hadn’t heard back.

  We sailed past the Million Mother Wall and Roik touched his fingers to his lips and blew a kiss. Billboards loomed over the wall, shouting out warnings. My heart pounded faster with each one.

  K-9 Commandos. Keep your home front secure.

  Can’t afford a bodyguard? Our No-Jack titanium ankle bracelet is guaranteed. We retrieve your girl or we pay you $100,000.

  Burning Desire Signing Brokerage. White, black, brown, or Asian. We satisfy your every need.

  I tore my eyes away from the window and focused on Roik’s coffee cup. Yes, I get it. The
world’s a dangerous, messed-up place, and I’m insane to make a run for it.

  There was strength inside me and I needed to find it.

  I put in my earphones and pulled up Survival Instincts. Those six angry girls sang to me and I whispered the words along with them. Call me Ninja Warrior Templar Gladiator G.I. Ranger Samurai Terminator.

  Roik pulled into the cemetery and every muscle in my body tensed. I dropped my earphones on the seat. Crime tape ringed Mom’s grave.

  Take the blanket out of the trunk like you always do and walk up the hill. You can do this.

  “Don’t get out yet,” Roik ordered.

  “Why not? The place is empty.”

  “Wait for me to check it out. The cops still haven’t found the driver of the blue van.” I heard a clip snap into his gun, then he climbed out of the car.

  I leaned over the seat. Roik had finished his coffee and his Taser lay on the center console. Always carry backup, he liked to say, so I shoved it into my bag.

  Roik waved to me to come up, so I grabbed my backpack and started up the hill. The yellow crime tape snapped in the breeze.

  I flashed back to the man’s hand on my throat, the gun shoved up against my eye. My heartbeat pounded in my ears.

  Keep going. Don’t stop. I kept my eyes on the green grass, and forced one foot in front of the other. Seventy-five steps up the hill to Mom’s grave.

  I stood beside Roik, my knees shaking. He shook his head. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s too soon,” he said. Sweat was beading on his forehead.

  I hated what I was going to do. “I need to talk to Mom alone. Could you just leave us?”

  “No, it’s my job to protect you.” He wiped his face.

  “Look around,” I said. “The place is empty.”

  He gave me a look like something awful was going to happen. “Get back in the car.”

  “Why?”

  Roik grabbed me and pushed me ahead of him. “Go. Get in the car.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  And then he doubled over. Vomit spewed from his mouth. “Get—in the—car.”

  “I’m sorry, Roik.”

  And I Tased him. He fell on his back, the volts jerking his body as they coursed through him. I picked up his phone and threw it as hard as I could.