Bains’ tone became less accommodating. “The Leave of Absence application stipulated one week,” he said, his voice rising. “One Week! I’ve given you leeway even though this important event is rapidly approaching. I know you’re concerned about your brother, but you should let the police handle it. That’s their job. An extra day, possibly…”
“I don’t think that will be enough,” said Richard. “Look, I’m sorry, but these are circumstances beyond my control. It’s a life-and-death situation.”
“I understand that you are having personal problems. But you also have responsibilities here at the College.”
“Is Morrison still covering for me?”
“Mr. Morrison is doing a fine job,” said Bains, and Richard recognized what Bains’ emphasis on ‘fine’ might mean regarding his own state of employment.
“And the Agricultural pavilion is on schedule?”
“Yes, I believe so, though without your supervision I believe they’re planning to scale back certain aspects…”
“So the College hasn’t experienced any major hardship as a result of my absence.”
“The College has been getting along swimmingly without you. That’s not the point. I’m disappointed in you, Richard. What’s happening to you? You’ve always been so dependable and accommodating – we could always rely on you. Do you realize that if you were gone for another week the Innovation Day celebration would be taking place only a few days after your return?”
“Let me tell you something,” said Richard, raising his own voice. “The only family I have left in the world is missing. To be blunt, my brother’s life is vastly more important to me than Innovation Day.” He leaned forward, looking directly at Bains. “And while we’re on the subject of Innovation Day and ‘Man’s Triumph Over Nature’: I’ve spent the past few days fighting my way through what remains of Man’s accomplishments in Surrey. If the past few thousand years of history have been a battle between Mankind and Nature, I’ve got a newsflash for you – Mankind lost.”
Bains gaped at Richard as if he’d never seen him before. There were several uncomfortable seconds of silence. Finally, Bains slid over to the filing cabinet, hauled the top drawer open, and located another Request for Leave of Absence form.
“Taking your situation into account,” he said, “I’ll give you some latitude in this matter, but I hope you won’t test my good nature any further.”
With the signed paper in hand, Richard returned to his office to retrieve his pack. Walking out, he noticed yet another of the ubiquitous posters on the wall beside him – ‘First Annual Innovation Day – Man’s Triumph Over Nature’. With an angry flourish he grabbed the top of the poster, ripped it off the wall, and let it fall to the floor.
“The Police are just trying to do their job,” said Carrie as she chased Richard down the steps of the College.
“Well they should try harder,” he said. “We’ll head back to my place. I’ll do a proper repair on the lock.”
They climbed onto their bikes and headed for Richard’s house, wheeling down a main thoroughfare that was decked out with colourful streamers and banners announcing ‘Innovation Day’. After about ten minutes’ ride they reached an intersection jammed with traffic.
Richard felt a sudden chill, and wasn’t sure why. A giant Can-Cartel billboard loomed above them. Suddenly he realized they were passing through the exact spot where he’d exited the stalled streetcar what seemed like an eternity ago. The disturbing images came flooding back into his mind – Danny in the shadows of an alley talking to a tattoo-clad biker. It was the last day he’d seen his brother alive.
He glanced up and for a moment it was as if his daydream had come to life. A paunchy, bearded biker that could well have been Danny’s contact strode across the street not a half-block away and jumped onto a motorbike behind another man. The two tore off into the chaotic traffic before he could react.
Richard scanned around the crisscrossing maze of alleys where he’d first pursued Danny, praying that against all logic he’d see his brother again. There was no sign of Danny, but he saw something else that made his hair stand on end.
Reunion
It was a face in profile – one he recognized immediately. It was the face of Matt Foster, Danny’s friend from school. Matt was turned partly away from them, in the direction Richard had seen the biker disappear.
Richard rode quickly up until he was no more than a few feet away, and said, “Matt…”
Matt turned, recognized him, and immediately took off, sprinting down an alley to their left. Richard chased after him, but lost ground turning the bike. Before he could catch up, Matt reached a cross alley and tore around it. To Richard’s surprise the boy soon re-appeared, running in the opposite direction and frantically glancing over his shoulder. Seconds later Richard saw the reason for the direction change as Carrie, on her bike, came charging out of the alley.
Matt fought to cross the intersection and escape the other way, but Richard accelerated and cut him off. Matt was so out of control he ran right into Richard’s bike and fell to the ground. Richard quickly jumped off, hauled the boy to his feet, and slammed him against a nearby brick wall.
“Look out!” Carrie yelled.
Richard glanced down just in time to see Matt pull a knife from his belt. He smashed Matt’s wrist against the wall and the knife clattered to the ground.
He clamped his hand around Matt’s throat. “You were talking to that biker, weren’t you – the one I saw with Danny. You’ve been holding out on me.”
“Fuck you!” said Matt, “I already told you everything.”
“Then why were you running?”
“You scared me.”
“Cut the crap,” said Richard, tightening his grip. “Matt…Foster – that’s your last name. You’re ‘F’ aren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Danny’s journal – ‘F says C can get transportation’. F is you, isn’t it. What haven’t you told me? I’ll break your neck, so help me!”
Matt’s face turned red and his eyes bulged out.
“Okay,” he croaked.
Richard relaxed his grip, but kept Matt pinned against the wall.
“Danny told me he needed transportation,” said Matt. “He didn’t say why. I set him up with a guy I know.”
“What guy?”
“A guy named Crack. He’s a soldier in one of the militias around town. He can get anything. I set up a meeting between Danny and Crack. That’s all I know, I swear…”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Crack doesn’t like his name tossed around. It might have gotten back to him.”
“That biker you were talking to – who is he?”
“He’s one of Crack’s gang – a guy named Peachy. I was trying to set up a deal with Crack, but he wasn’t interested.”
“A deal for Danny?”
“No, No, I swear. I don’t know anything else about Danny.”
“So where can I find this ‘Crack’.”
“You can’t – not directly. I could put out the word and maybe meet with Peachy again, but it’d take a few days.”
Richard tightened his grip. “You’d better not be lying to me…”
“I’m not. That’s all I know.”
Richard let go and Matt collapsed to the ground.
“Get lost!” said Richard. Matt staggered to his feet and loped away.
“I’ll find you if you’re lying,” Richard called after him.
Richard turned to Carrie, “Thanks for the help cutting him off. What would I do without you?”
“You've come a long way from the timid schoolteacher I met a week or so ago.”
“Does that mean you’re glad you didn’t let them execute me back in Surrey?”
“I’ll reserve judgment on that,” she said, smiling.
They jumped back on their bikes and started to ride.
“Let’s forget about going back to m
y place,” said Richard as they rode.
“What?”
“Remember Danny’s journal? Remember he talked about someone called ‘C’? ‘C can get transportation’? Well C can stand for Chuck, Clarence…or Crack! Matt might not know how to find Crack, but if by some miracle he’s still alive, I know somebody who would probably know all about him.”
After about an hour’s ride they arrived at Jim Keller’s place. Richard accelerated when he spotted a wisp of smoke rising near the RV, and he said a silent prayer that Keller had somehow survived.
His prayer was answered when Keller shouted “Hey there!” from across the yard. He strode toward them with an armful of firewood.
“Hi!” returned Richard, waving. “Thank God you’re alive. I thought you’d had it for sure.”
Keller dropped the wood beside the fire, then walked over and he and Richard embraced.
“That makes two of us,” he said. “So – you’re still breathing. Thank God! I’m surprised I must say – but pleased of course. Not only are you alive, but you’ve done pretty well for yourself.” He nodded toward Carrie. Carrie blushed.
“This is Carrie Anderson,” Richard said, feeling warmth rush to his own cheeks. “Carrie, this is my uncle, Jim Keller. He helped me jump the train to Surrey in the first place.”
“Against every sensible fiber in my being,” said Keller. “But you survived – thrived even – looks like hardship and danger agree with you.”
Seconds later Zonk came tearing around the back of the RV and leapt up on Richard, panting and barking with uncharacteristic excitement. Richard ruffed the dog’s fur affectionately.
“Zonk,” he said. “You’re here too. Believe it or not, I’ve missed you.”
“After I got back on my feet I stopped off and picked him up at the shelter,” said Keller.
“This is Zonk?” said Carrie. “Somehow he’s not what I pictured.”
“This is Zonk,” said Richard. “He’s not much to look at, but he grows on you.”
“Hi, Zonk,” said Carrie, patting Zonk’s head and scratching under his chin.
“Keep scratching him there and you’ll have a friend for life,” said Richard. Zonk was in ecstasy. His tongue lolled around in his mouth and his eyes glazed over with pleasure.
“What happened to you – on the train?” Richard said to Keller.
“Takes more than a railway guard to do in an old dog like me,” said Keller. “Bastard shot me, but the bullet didn’t hit anything important,” Keller lifted his shirt to reveal a large patch over his midsection. “He caught up with me and we fought. In the end the guard made the jump – unwillingly, of course. I was hurt too bad to jump after that and by the time I got myself stitched up I had no idea how to find you. To tell the truth I’d given you up for dead.”
“Lucky for me I found a guardian angel,” said Richard, smiling over at Carrie.
She blushed again. “I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but I think that’s a first.”
Keller’s expression was somber. “Did you have any luck finding Danny?”
“I found a place where I’m sure he’d been, but I’m not sure how recently, and there was nothing to indicate where he went.”
“Sorry to hear that,” said Keller. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“As a matter of fact,” said Richard. “I had a run-in with Danny’s school friend on the way here. It turns out he’d been holding out on me – now he says he introduced Danny to some gangster, but he claims he doesn’t know how to find the guy. I was hoping that with your connections you might be able to help.”
“Hey, my connections are with the street people, not street gangs,” said Keller.
“Sorry,” said Richard. “I didn’t mean to imply…”
“That’s okay,” said Keller, smiling. “Matter of fact, I probably do know a little bit. Who is it you’re looking for?”
A guy named ‘Crack’,” said Richard.
Keller’s face fell.
“You know him?”
“Yeah, I know him – know of him at least. Sorry to have to tell you, but Crack’s about as bad as they get – a real bona fide psychopathic killer. There’s a few of his kind around – too many. Not only is life worth nothing to them, they get a charge out of taking it away from other people. That guy would literally just as soon kill you as look at you.”
“And Danny was hanging out with him…” said Richard, hanging his head.
“I’m sorry,” said Keller. “Come on in the RV and I’ll tell you what I know. It isn’t much, but it’ll be a start.”
A Horse, a Rope and a Plan
The time for their escape approached and, as they had planned, Serena came to take Lacy to the bathroom. There was a tense moment when another girl insisted she be taken first, but Serena told her to hold it until they got back. Just as they were about to leave, Lacy whispered into Serena’s ear: “Give me your keys – I’m going to give them to Mei-Lien.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Serena whispered back.
“We can’t just leave them here.”
“Are you two gonna get going?” yelled the girl who had wanted to go first. “I gotta pee here!”
Serena passed the keys to Lacy, who knelt down with her back to the others. She slipped the keys to Mei-Lien and whispered, “I’ll never forget what you did for me. Give us half an hour. Then do whatever you want.”
She rose, leaving Mei-Lien with a shocked expression, and the two quickly headed out into the hallway.
On the way, Serena whispered, “That wasn’t very smart, but I guess your heart’s in the right place. So far, everything’s going great. They left about fifteen minutes ago, and Frank went back to his room. He said he was going to take a nap. It’s now or never.” She gave Lacy’s hand a squeeze.
They reached the end of the second corridor and Serena opened the door. The horse stood a few yards from the elevator shaft, calmly occupied with its feedbag. The cage was no longer in sight. Obviously, thought Lacy, because now it’s down on the ground floor.
Serena handed Lacy one of the pairs of makeshift mitts, and one of the knives, a sturdy hunting knife with a partly serrated blade.
“Where on earth did you get this?” whispered Lacy.
“Never mind that,” answered Serena. “You go first.”
“Why me?”
“I’ll keep watch in case somebody comes. Come on – hurry – we haven’t got all day.”
Lacy shoved the knife firmly into her belt, put on the mitts, and reached out for the rope. She glanced over at the horse, but it was ignoring her. She pulled the rope toward her and got a good grip, then took a deep breath and threw herself out into the center of the shaft. She could tell right away that her arm muscles wouldn’t last long holding her full weight. She struggled to slide down quickly without burning her hands. As she started downward, she heard Serena whisper,
“Good luck. I’ll be right behind you.”
The rope angled out, as apparently Serena was pulling it toward her, preparing for her own descent. Suddenly, the little rope beside Lacy jiggled, and the bell at the top of the shaft rang out loudly.
“Oh shit shit shit shit shit!” she heard Serena say.
The horse started walking, and Lacy started moving upwards. Above her, through the open shaft, she heard the door opening, then Frank’s voice screaming,
“What are you doin’ in here!”
Lacy heard a scuffle, then a thud, and Frank yelled,
“You fucking bitch I’m gonna kill you!”
There was a violent struggle on the floor above her. She rose higher and higher, until she was less than a floor from the shaft opening.
Hugo’s voice boomed from below, “What goin’ on up there!”
“She’s trying to get away!” Frank screamed.
Lacy heard the crack of bone against bone. Serena screamed.
Lacy was almost at the top of the shaft. The light from the room illuminated her, and she he
ard Jun’s voice yell, “Look, somebody’s up there – hanging from the rope!”
She reached the opening and swung herself over and onto the floor just as gunshots echoed from below and several bullets whizzed by. She scanned around the room. Serena and Frank were wrestling on the floor, both covered in blood. She wasn’t sure whose blood until they rolled over and she saw Serena’s knife sticking out of Frank’s back.
Serena spotted her and screamed, “Cut the rope! Cut the rope or we’re dead!”
Lacy was confused.
“Cut the fucking rope!” screamed Serena. “Hurry!”
Finally, Lacy understood. She ran to the rope supporting the rising elevator cage, pulled out the knife and began to saw through the rough strands. The horse had been driven into a panic by the gunshots. By turns it lunged ahead, bucked and kicked out its hind legs, stopped, and bellowed frantically. The rope jerked violently back and forth through Lacy’s hands. It was hard to make a sustained cut. The makeshift mitt on her left hand helped her grip the rope as it moved.
She checked Serena. She was still wrestling with Frank. He was dying, but hadn’t given up the fight.
“You fucking whores!” Lacy heard Hugo’s bellow from a point frighteningly close to the top of the shaft opening. “When I get up there you bitches are dead meat!” As if to punctuate the threat, he fired several shots up through the shaft into the room. One of the bullets ricocheted off a pipe in the ceiling. Lacy heard a gasp, and glanced over to see Serena holding her side. She was kneeling beside Frank, who was now either spent or dead.
“I’m hit!” she said.
She staggered over to where Lacy continued to saw at the rope. The latest gunshots had driven the horse berserk. With a furious shake of its head it threw off its feedbag and bucked, screamed, and kicked blindly at the walls of its prison. Its progress down the hallway all but stopped, and it sometimes even moved backwards.
Serena crawled over and peered down into the elevator shaft. She screamed as several more gunshots whistled up from below. The shots missed, but drove the horse into an even more desperate frenzy. Lacy was thrown off her feet as she clung to the snapping rope. One second it would be so taut she swore it would break, the next it would be loose in her hand. She had cut about two thirds of the way through, and was sawing at the remaining third in a panic.
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