Swiveling around to face Harry, he added in a tone that could have caused flowers to wither, “As for you, Goldman, I’m not going to blame you for the arrival of the other clones sent by Allenby. However, you can and will be accused of what you were originally sent to prison for—illegal transgenic research. You can and will be accused of aiding and abetting a foreign national who may or may not be a spy. And if you can’t or won’t tell us what you’re up to, then there is your wife.”
Hearing that threat, Harry launched himself against the bars, straining to get through. No good. If Pavel couldn’t bend them with his superior strength, what chance did he have? They’d been made of some steel alloy, too tough for him to break and too inflexible to squeeze through. “You scumbag, can’t you get it through your head that Allenby is the one responsible for all this?”
A smirk came from Ulbricht. “We know... but he isn’t here. You are.”
“This isn’t legal, this kind of truck.”
Ulbricht offered an exaggerated sigh. He was in command, and he clearly knew it. “Haven’t you been listening? It is legal... so try and get around it. You can’t.”
“You...” Harry shook the bars in a futile effort to get free. Rage spent, he slumped down on his cot. “This can’t be legal,” he repeated.
As if tired of the constant questioning, Ulbricht rubbed his eyes, shaking his head all the while. “Even if it isn’t, you aren’t in a position to do anything about it. This kind of truck is mobile and constantly on the go. That way, if there are any more of you, they can’t find you. As for your friend Overton, we have him.”
With those words, Harry’s spirit sagged a little more. “Where is he?”
“He’s at home. He’s been relieved of his duties, although I doubt he’ll be fired. I could fix it so that he’d never work again even as a crossing guard, but I won’t. It’s you, you and your kind—you’re the real threat.”
As he leaned in closer, the expression on his face turned malevolent. “And now we’ve got you. Play ball with us and we won’t touch your wife and baby.”
Abruptly, he turned and walked out. The guard accompanying him offered a smirk. The door closed quietly behind them.
Bereft of all hope, Harry struggled to stop from crying. Anastasia...
“Hey, we get out of here soon,” Pavel said in an absurdly happy tone. “We get out soon and make plan, yes?”
Feeling all was hopeless, Harry asked in a dull voice, “How?”
Pavel shrugged and pointed out the small window. “I see birds. They give us ride home.”
He’s lost it. What do birds have to do with... ?
No, he hadn’t lost it, after all. With a shock bordering on disbelief and rapidly turning into hope, Harry looked out the window and realized what Pavel had meant. He didn’t want to believe it, but a covey of birds flew by. However, they weren’t ordinary, run-of-the-mill pigeons or sparrows or crows. They were large, well-formed, and human-sized.
Linda...
Suddenly, life and all of its possibilities seemed a whole lot brighter. The birds swooped in closer with Linda in the lead. She came close enough to toss in a crumpled ball of paper and then flew off.
He unfolded it, and the message read,
I’d get down if I were you.
“Get down!” Harry yelled and hit the deck.
Two seconds later, a blast rocked the truck from side to side. Another blast hit it and it pitched over on its side. Harry got buffeted around, but when all movement stopped, he found himself sitting on the wall. Pavel had been thrown into a wall as well, but he sat up, nodding, as if he’d been expecting that all along. “We got help, no?”
“Yeah,” Harry answered. Amazed seemed too small a word to use, and he searched his vocabulary for something more suitable. Nothing arose, but right now it didn’t matter. “We did.”
A voice came from outside. It was Linda’s. “Move back.”
As he did so, a couple of heavy chains with hooks came through the window and hooked onto the sides of the wall. Harry heard the pull of metal on metal, and a moment later, the wall came away. The grinning face of Linda peered at him along with five other faces. “How ya doing?” she asked.
All of them looked like deer, but they were considerably slimmer now. The dormant genes had to have something to do with reshaping their bodies into more aerodynamic structures, all with white wings. Deer-angels, he mused. That was also something new.
“I’m pretty good. Can you get Pavel out of here, too?”
Once they’d done so, they went forward to the front, where the guard lay on the ground with Ulbricht sitting next to him, a cut on his forehead and a dazed expression on his face. Harry grabbed him and hauled him up. “You are the biggest slimeball around. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t mash your head in!”
“You won’t kill me,” the senator said in the tone of the self-righteous who figured they were above all others due to either having money or standing in society. “You do, and you’re history.”
“No,” Harry answered as reason overcame rage. He reached inside the man’s jacket to pull out the camera. “You are. You’re no better than Allenby.”
In a quick move, he shoved him against the truck, snapped off a few pictures, and then took more photos of the license plate and the interior. “Smile for posterity,” he said before Linda grabbed him under his arms and took to the sky.
Grimly realizing this made him more of a fugitive than ever, he decided if humanity didn’t want him around, then he wasn’t interested in being with them in the first place.
An hour later, back in the Catskill Mountain cabin, the group sat on the couches, taking stock of their situation. Late at night though it was, no one seemed in the mood for sleep. Upon entering, he’d taken a quick shower, changed clothes, and found some other duds for Pavel, who seemed grateful for his new attire. “I use shower, too?” he’d asked.
“Have fun,” Harry had replied.
While he waited for Pavel, he felt a sense of temporary peace, as Pavel had disabled the security measures left by the FBI. Only one other deer-person had come along. The others had flown off, after giving friendly nods. Harry arose and got a few cans of cola from the fridge, handing them over to Linda and her friend.
“Meet my bud,” Linda said as she opened the can and downed her drink in one gulp. She introduced her companion as Beth, another girl who looked roughly to be the same age. With large and limpid brown eyes, she bobbed her head shyly, but did not speak. She, too, opened her can, but only took a few sips before putting it down, and gazed closely at Harry’s face and then Pavel’s as he emerged from the shower.
“Has she got problem introducing herself?” asked Pavel. “Young people are so rude, yes?”
“She can’t,” Linda put in. “She was born deaf and mute. She can sign, but not very well. She’s really good at reading lips, though, so that’s why she stares at us. She’s been teaching me, but it takes time to learn sign language, so...”
If demon-dogs could wear chastened looks, then Pavel set the bar. “Sorry,” he apologized. “I not know, but I have question. How you know where to find us?”
He pulled on the sleeves of his new shirt. It fit very tightly around his massive shoulders, nearly splitting the seams. As for his pants, they also fit too tightly, and his muscles rippled through the fabric.
A smirk formed on Linda’s face. Beth also wore a smile, and she sniffed the air which caused both girls to chuckle, Beth doing so silently. “What so funny?” asked Pavel, mystified.
“Your smell,” Linda answered. “You got a funny smell, same as Harry. Not bad, but funny, something we can remember and use. We tracked you down halfway, and some of the other members hid out in the city and checked on your whereabouts. Sewers are great for hiding in, but they stink, y’know?”
“I hear you,” Harry answered. He’d already had his fill of hiding out in the lower depths. Still, they served as the last resort, if it came to that. “How’d you get the
explosives and chains?”
Linda snapped her fingers. “It was pretty easy. We scoped out the area, I mean all of New York as well as the outlying areas. There are some army bases around here, right? Well, they have pretty good security on the ground, but it isn’t so good from the air, not against small objects like us. We don’t show up on radar. So, we flew in, took what we needed, and took off.”
High-flying reconnaissance and tactical reasoning—this girl would make a good leader one day. “So what do we do now?”
“We don’t do anything,” Linda answered with only a trace of sarcasm. “We got you out, remember? I owed you, and you did give me your address, so...” She raised her hands as if to say the playing field was even again.
The message was clear. This was their version of Independence Day and they wanted to go it alone. Going it alone, though, invited isolation and also invited trouble. That was exactly what Ulbricht wanted.
Harry explained that to them, but Linda’s expression remained bland. “Let him try and catch us,” she stated defiantly. “He doesn’t control the air.”
“How about he decides duck hunting season just started,” Harry replied, mustering up all the snark he could. “You can fly, you can run fast, and you’ve got skills, but you can’t run forever. I know. I’ve tried.”
Beth made a few hand gestures and Linda translated. “She’s askin’ if you’re siding with the government guys.”
Facing Beth and moving his lips in a slightly exaggerated motion so the girl would understand, he answered, “No, we’re not. But if we’re going to get accepted somewhere down the line, we have to work with them. By them, I mean the politicians and other government people who will back us.”
Having uttered those words, he realized how hypocritical he sounded. Only a few minutes ago, he’d been thinking he was done with the rest of society, but now...
Linda’s caustic laugh snapped him out of his daydream. “Harry, you’re a good guy, but I was doing fine on my own before Allenby’s goons caught me. You sound like my father—when he’s sober. Stay in school, get a job, be like everyone else.”
She swept her hands down her body. “You can sort of figure out I’m not like everyone else. Not now, and neither are you.” A note of anger entered her voice, and it seemed to translate to the same emotion on her face, but then her features settled into stone. “I can do fine on my own.”
“What about your friends, how long can they last?”
The question was enough to cause Linda’s attitude to turn defensive and she started in on the authority angle. She was old enough, she could do for herself, her friends were cool and they’d make out A-Okay.
The argument continued with both sides making points, Harry for security and Linda for independence, but halfway through it, he started to think she was right. So far, just trying to live his life as he saw fit, he’d been insulted, hunted, shot at, arrested, and almost killed.
For his part, Pavel threw up his hands and wandered over to the television. He picked up the remote and clicked it on. “You Americans, you argue about small picture,” he said in disgust. “Look at big picture.”
The screen flickered to life and he listened intently. Then he turned around. “You must see this.”
His words, spoken with quiet intensity, caused all three people to snap their heads in his direction. Harry let out a gasp. He couldn’t help it. A video report showed Anastasia being taken out of Maze’s house, flanked by five FBI agents. She held onto the baby, and a reporter, a young, blonde and earnest looking woman, gave a play-by-play account.
“This was the scene earlier on today,” she was saying, “Mrs. Anastasia Goldman, twenty years of age, was arrested on charges of sedition by the FBI. She is currently being held at an undisclosed location. A warrant for her husband’s arrest has already been served, and law enforcement officials are asking anyone who has seen Harry Goldman to alert them immediately...”
The voiceover faded as Harry’s picture flashed on the screen. Pavel shut off the television. Harry whirled around and fixed his gaze on Linda, who visibly flinched. Right now, he felt so enraged he wanted nothing more than to rip Ulbricht apart. Anastasia had always been innocent!
“They want me,” he grated through clenched teeth. “They want me, and they’re using my wife to get to me. They know I’ll come for her.”
Beth, eyes radiating fear, stepped up and gestured to Linda. “What is it?” Harry wanted to know.
Linda licked her lips with her tongue, and uncertainty tagged every word. “She says we should help, but she’s afraid.”
“You should be,” Harry countered. “I told you, this is what will happen to all of us.”
“Huh,” Pavel snorted. “Before you say we should work with government people. Now you say no. Make up mind, will you?”
Harry tried his best to explain. “It’s not everyone. It started with one crazy senator who thinks our kind should be locked up. He’ll do anything to get his way and this is it. Think it’s going to go away? No, it won’t. They’ve got my wife and baby, and what did they do? Nothing!”
He realized he was ranting. If he had to persuade anyone, it would be through reason. Society’s concepts of the normal be damned, he had to make everyone understand. He was different, but the same. This was his home, too.
Lowering his voice, he said, “Ulbricht, the guy who had us in that truck, he’s an idiot, but the thing is, more politicians might begin to believe him. Same deal with the police, and if they do, then call it open season on everyone who’s different.”
Moving over to where the computer was, he turned it on. He had an email to send and a person’s picture to search for. Once he was online, he said, “I need your help. Are you going to help me?” He realized he was begging, but there was nowhere else to turn.
“I will,” said Pavel. “I go and do what must be done.”
Linda and Beth looked at each other, as if undecided. Finally, Beth signed something and Linda nodded her head. Fear shone in her eyes, but she said, “Beth told me she’ll help, and I’m in, too. What do we have to do?”
Chapter Nine: On the Prowl
After a few hours of sleep, once everyone woke up shortly after eight A.M., Harry called up a picture on the computer. “This is the Chief of Police. He’s the one we want.”
Linda peered at the unsmiling visage of Tolliver. “Dude looks like he’s permanently constipated.”
She did have a knack of getting to the heart of the matter in a few seconds, Harry had to admit, and he chuckled. Dire as the situation was, a little levity was welcomed. “Yeah, he’s not known for his sense of humor. There are probably a lot of police near him.”
Linda extended her arm, and barbs on her forearm popped out and talons grew where her fingernails should have been. “I can do this if I think real hard about it... same with my wings.” She paused to stare at the enhancements as if they weren’t so much an addition, but an improvement. “You know, when I first saw myself in the mirror, I hated what I looked like. Were you the same way?”
To respond with the truth was the only way Harry could answer her. “Er, I chose to become this way.”
“No fooling?”
“No fooling.” He then went into a brief explanation of the how’s and why’s of his transformation. Pavel listened to it all, his face tightening when the idea of non-acceptance was brought up, the stares, the fear and the hatred that came with it, but said nothing.
As for Linda, she sat stock still, taking it all in and not saying a word. During the explanation, Beth came over to lock onto his face with her eyes, following his lip movements.
“Pretty heavy,” Linda commented after he’d finished. “If you’re happy this way, with being a cat-guy, I mean... it’s cool. Flying is pretty heavy duty, too.” She patted her shoulders somewhat self-consciously.
Harry admitted being what he was ranked on the high side of cool. However, there were always tradeoffs in life, and this happened to be one of them. Upgrad
es came with a price-tag attached. “I watched you. You look great up there. You all do. Oh,” he added, “I think I forgot to thank you for rescuing us.”
“You didn’t, but like I said, we’re even. This is something...” she hesitated, rubbing the furry spot around her chin, “this is something for you and your family. That’s cool. I never... never really had one before.” A look of sadness came over her face, and as if embarrassed, she averted her gaze.
Not having a family hit home. In a way, all of them were orphans, by either circumstance or choice. In his case, he’d lost his family due to no fault of his own. In the case of Pavel, Anastasia, and now Linda and probably Beth, they’d had no choice in the matter. Their families, their lives had been taken from them.
Perhaps... perhaps when all this was over, they could work on building a new family of their own, a new part of society. It was a thought of hope. In a world that was only too ready to dash the dreams of those who were different, hope had to exist. If it didn’t, then what was the point of it all? Harry already had his new family and wanted to keep it that way.
Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, he searched for the right address, and after finding it, pointed at the screen. “This is the place. I’m betting he knows where my wife and baby are.”
Next, he emailed Jason. The reply came back within a few seconds. Man, what is going on? The FBI, they came and took your wife and baby. Maze is traumatized and I’m freaking, too.
He would have to think of himself. Jason, you’re not being watched, are you?
It’s cool.
Thinking fast, Harry typed, I need you to contact Overton. If he can help us, we’ll need to talk. And I also need you to hang onto something for me.
What is it?
Quickly uploading the photos of Ulbricht, the prison-truck, and a few pictures of Linda and Beth, he sent them Jason’s way. Hang onto these. This is other proof that Ulbricht is dirty, at least in some way. His ties to Allenby through ASR—we can’t prove him guilty of anything except doing business, but this, the pictures of the truck... we got him.
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