Archipelago N.Y.: Flynn

by Todorov, Vladimir

  Leo picked up the plate full of grapes, walked over and sat on the couch next to her. “Hmm, let me think now… What did happen at the Trials?” He leaned closer, offering her the plate. “I believe that your hero boy lost!” Leo paused for a second, clearly enjoying the impact of his words.

  Madison’s face had gone white as a sheet.

  “Not only did he fail to win,” Leo continued, “he also tried to sabotage one of the other contestants, and earned himself a place on the Waste Crews…So, it looks like you won’t be seeing him again!”

  Madison felt she was going to be sick. It had all gone terribly wrong! She had betrayed Flynn… She had chosen to protect her parents from the threat of Departure…earned them a few more years of life on the Archipelago, but she had traded Flynn’s future for that… condemned him to the Waste Crews… His young life was ruined! And hers too! That was the end of it!

  Leo sat in silence, studying her face. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. “Hah! Got you worried there for a moment, didn’t I?”

  “What do you mean?” Madison shot him an icy look, trying to regain her composure.

  “I mean, I was kidding! Your Lower Side friend’s safe … for now!”

  “You’ve got a really twisted sense of humor, Van Zandt!” Madison sprang to her feet as if stung by a jellyfish and stepped away from the couch.

  Leo was still laughing, extremely pleased with himself. “And you’re a smart girl, Madison! I’ve got to give you credit for what you managed to do yesterday,” he said, pointing to her basket. “You got a message out to that Romero boy, didn’t you?”

  Madison refused to answer.

  “Makes me like you even more… You and I will make such a good match, don’t you think?”

  Madison said nothing, glaring at him.

  Leo shrugged, reached down and lifted the basket’s cover. The pigeon’s head popped up. “Anyway…” Leo continued, as he fed the bird a piece of grape, “you’ll be pleased to hear, Perry’s got himself a position as a Free Scavenger and a golden badge… Not for long, though! Sooner or later, he’ll screw up, make the wrong move, and you my dear… will help me catch him in the act!” With those words Leo grabbed Madison’s pigeon, flicked his wrist and broke the little bird’s neck.

  SEVENTEEN

  “Turn back and go away! This is a restricted area, only Upper Side residents can enter!” the burly guard shouted at Flynn as the Seeker approached the check-point platform.

  The whole length of Midtown Bay, the one bordering with the Upper Side, was cordoned off, check-point rafts at every hundred yards or so. Flynn glanced down at his tattered shorts and bare feet.

  “I said turn back, scum boy!” the guard yelled again, cocking his gun. “Are you deaf, or somethin’?”

  “I'm a Free Scavenger! I can go anywhere I want!” said Flynn and pointed his chin at the Empire State Building, two blocks away in the background.

  “Hah! Is that so?” scoffed the guard. “Got any ID on you, wise guy?”

  Flynn realized he had forgotten to put on his golden badge. It was instantly recognizable and allowed those who wore it free movement in all areas of the Archipelago. Of course, he had not yet gotten into the habit of wearing it… Flynn dug in his harness pouch, took the badge out and flashed it at the guard. “That good enough for you?” he asked, glaring back at the man.

  At the sight of the badge, the guard's grim face changed its expression. He lowered his weapon and started to back off. “Duncan’s Gold…You should be wearin' it, you know!” the man said, but his tone had softened now. There was a definite note of respect in his voice.

  “I’ll wear it when it pleases me!” Arrogantly, Flynn shoved the badge back in his pouch. “Can I go now?”

  The guard nodded and stepped back.

  Flynn steered his raft through the gap between the check-point platforms. As he was passing, his eyes met those of the guard. The man quickly looked away. Flynn pedaled ahead, smiling to himself. He was beginning to enjoy his new status and the power it gave him. The way he had dealt with the guard made him feel full of pride and self-importance… But the golden badge had done something else… It had suddenly rekindled Flynn’s anger toward his father…brought back their argument over Flynn’s future… Flynn wished his father could have seen this… how Flynn had entered the Upper Side with just a flash of his new badge! He knew damn well where his future was! Right here, staring at him! And his future home was in one of the tall buildings rising out of the water before him… Flynn had come to the Upper Side to collect the key to his new lodgings and start his new life.

  And the way things stood, Flynn needed a roof over his head as soon as possible… After storming out of his apartment, Flynn had made it straight to Tony’s, hoping to camp on the Romero’s floor. But Mrs. Romero would have nothing to do with Flynn. No, he wasn’t going to see his friend, because Tony was resting after his ordeal at the Trials. She didn’t care about Flynn and Tony winning the damned race, or the cursed golden badges… What mattered to Mrs. Romero was that her son could barely breathe, was running a high fever and coughing up blood… And according to Mrs. Romero, Flynn was to blame for everything… Tony’s poor health was all Flynn’s fault… Having made all those accusations, Mrs. Romero had slammed the door in Flynn’s face… With nowhere else to go, he had spent a freezing and very uncomfortable night down at the Pier.

  Now, the Seeker was passing by the big docks, surrounding the base of the Van Zandt Building. But Flynn’s plan wasn’t just to walk in there and get his key from Duncan Roth… He was also there for Madison Ray… He was going to negotiate her release, no matter what. The Rottweiler obviously had power over Leo Van Zandt, judging by the way the man had spoken to the boy on the day of the Trials. Everyone had seen Leo cower in the Rottweiler’s presence…As the winner of the Trials, Flynn felt confident he could persuade Duncan Roth to talk to Leo and have Madison come home. After all, he had all the evidence in the world to prove that Leo Van Zandt had tried to destroy his chances at competing… Madison’s note to Tony was tucked away safely in his pocket, and it clearly stated what Leo had done.

  Flynn pedaled past a row of vessels moored along the floating platforms, looking for an empty slip. Suddenly, two familiar figures caught his eye. He jerked his head back and his feet froze on the pedals. No, there was no mistake! It was Madison, walking beside Leo Van Zandt. The two were making their way along one of the well-scrubbed gangways which connected the Van Zandt building to the docks! Flynn watched as Leo led Madison to his motor boat, jumped on board the Fury and held out his hand for her. Wait! Was that a smile on her face? Flynn’s chest tightened as he caught his breath…Madison didn’t look like a captive… No, she seemed to be following Leo willingly, enjoying herself. She giggled when Leo gunned his engine and his boat sprang forward. He steered it away from the dock, and in a slow and leisurely speed, headed north, toward the heart of the Upper Side.

  Flynn stood still for a moment, puzzled and hurt by how Madison had acted. Then he pressed on the pedals and followed the motor boat. He trailed the Fury as it entered Park Avenue Canal and headed towards the Chrysler Building. With his jaw clenched and his knuckles white from gripping the steering column, Flynn kept his raft at a safe distance from Leo and Madison. He could see them well enough, though… he could see Leo showing off, pointing at the tall buildings flanking the canal. And there was Madison, looking admiringly at the boy…

  “Bastard!” said Flynn, gritting his teeth. The Van Zandts owned not only the buildings, but the people in them…the people around them, he thought bitterly. And now, Leo had set his eyes on Madison and added her to his collection! “Damn it!” Flynn spat in the water, his anger growing with every passing second. Who was he kidding, really? Pretending that his golden badge and Free Scavenger position gave him power! Power over a bunch of guards and low-ranked officials… There was nothing Flynn could do to this Van Zandt kid! Nothing!

  The boat ahead stopped suddenly. Flynn cursed again and quick
ly swerved to the right. He pressed his raft against the massive tires lining the wall of the nearby building, trying to hide in their shadow and avoid being spotted. He lowered his head, but kept his eyes pinned on the motor boat. Leo was gesturing again, pointing at the MetLife Building, home of the Van Zandt Security Force. Flynn had heard the building housed the Archipelago’s guards and the militia. All the weapons were kept in there, too. The MetLife building had been turned into a fortress… and it was Leo’s fortress, like everything else on the Upper Side.

  Leo stopped waving his hand. His arm fell casually around Madison’s shoulders. But she didn’t pull away as Flynn had expected. No! She didn’t seem to mind one little bit. Madison had allowed Leo’s fingers to dance around her neck, playing with her long hair. Flynn felt his blood boiling inside him, rushing madly to his head! He couldn’t stand watching this anymore. He couldn’t bear the thought of these two together. But why did he feel such anguish at the sight Madison and Leo? The reason was simple and it took Flynn completely by surprise… Flynn was in love with Madison! He had been in love with her from the minute she had stepped on his raft. If only he had realized this sooner… but he had been way too busy with the Trials and blind to everything else, including his own feelings.

  Throwing all caution to the wind and fearing nothing, Flynn pressed on his pedals and sped toward the boat. He was going to tell Madison how he felt about her and take her home… He was going to ram his raft into Leo’s boat, and sink the bastard! He was picking up speed, when suddenly Madison turned her head and saw him. There was a funny look on her face. She stared at Flynn, then leaned into Leo and whispered something in his ear. Seconds later, Leo gunned his boat’s engine. The Fury jumped forward and sped up the canal, leaving Flynn’s raft rolling in its wake.

  “Damn you, Madison!” Flynn said, slamming his fist on the seat. There was no way he would ever catch up with them. The Fury was now a small dot, far out of his reach. It made a quick turn into one of the side canals and disappeared out of sight. Flynn lifted his feet from the pedals, letting the Seeker drift and buried his head in his hands. Betrayed! That’s how he felt… Betrayed and tossed away, like the useless piece of garbage that he was! He knew Madison had seen him, and she had turned her back on him! She had made her choice, he thought… She had picked Leo Van Zandt over him, and it was as simple as that.

  The loud blowing of horns and angry shouting made Flynn jump out of his seat. His raft had floated into the middle of Park Avenue Canal, causing a small traffic jam. A red-faced water bike cop was pedaling toward him with one hand on his gun holster. Flynn took his badge out of the pouch and lifted it up over his head. Instantly, the cop made room for the Seeker to maneuver away from all the vessels… Duncan’s Gold had worked its magic again, but Flynn now felt little comfort in knowing that. Slowly, he made a wide U-turn and headed back in the direction of Midtown Bay. Flynn needed to get away from the Upper Side…Seeing Duncan Roth was the last thing he wanted to do… and getting the key to his new home was no longer on his mind. All he could think about was what Madison had just done to him…

  She had broken his heart.

  Madison flinched and looked away, trying to hide her worried face from Leo. His arm was still around her shoulders, his hand playing with her ear. The Fury was going at top speed, and it was an incredibly bumpy ride. Boats, rafts and all kinds of water vessels moved to either side of the canal, clearing a path for them. They knew whose boat it was and instantly got out of its way. Madison glanced back. To her great relief, there was no sign of Flynn… “Can we stop now?” she cried over the roar of the powerful engine. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “Really?” Leo sounded genuinely surprised. He pushed back the throttle, and the boat slowed down. “You said you wanted to go fast, didn’t you?”

  “I’m just… not used to it,” said Madison. Her face had turned green. It was true… she had never been on a speed boat before, never traveled in anything faster than a raft. As thrilling as it was, this first taste of high speed had made her stomach turn… But was it the speed that made her feel this way, or was she just worried sick about Flynn? Madison had seen him coming after them… she had seen the mad look in his eyes… and realized that Flynn was going to ram his raft into Leo’s boat. She had acted on the spur of the moment… The only way she could protect Flynn from the terrible consequences of what he was about to do was to get away from him… So, Madison had asked Leo to show her how fast his boat could go… and he had done just that…Well, it had worked! They had lost Flynn, with Leo none the wiser…

  Madison leaned overboard and threw up. She fell back on the seat, her chest heaving. There were black spots swimming in front of her eyes and a funny ringing sound in her ears.

  “Feeling better?”

  Leo’s voice sounded muffled, distant. Slowly, the spots cleared and she could make out the shape of his face, leaning over her, his lips curled into a smile. Madison fought the urge to slap him away. “Yeah, I think so,” she said.

  “Well, you better get used to it, beautiful.” Leo stretched back on his seat, tapped the steering wheel and grinned. “This’ll be part of your new life… If you keep your end of the bargain, that is!”

  Madison said nothing. She pressed her mouth shut, trying not to choke on the bile rising up her throat again. Her end of the bargain! Leo didn’t need to remind her again. She knew the Departure List was going out that evening and that her parents had been spared. Madison was already playing her part… Sitting here, next to him, letting him touch her… Yes, she had accepted his offer. What else could she do? Refuse him? Fight him, drive him insane with rage and give Leo even a bigger reason to harm everybody she loved? No, she wasn’t going to fight, not now anyway. She would fight later, Madison thought. For now, she was going to play along, act normal and try to stay a few steps ahead of Leo.

  But Madison knew Leo wasn’t stupid… He could smell a rat from a mile away. If she was faking it, he would sense it immediately and turn the game around. Madison would have to convince Leo that she was with him not out of fear, but because she really liked him…It was going to be hard! Luckily for Madison, she was good at acting and hiding her feelings… And right now, Leo was staring at her, studying her face, attempting to read her mind. Madison could feel his eyes burning holes in her skin, trying to peel off the false mask she was wearing… With the wave of sea sickness gone, she managed a coy smile. “It’s not a bargain, Leo!” she said, her hand finding his. “I think I can get used to this!”

  “Really?”

  Madison could feel his warm breath on her face.

  “Give us a kiss then,” Leo said.

  Madison leaned into him and pecked him on the cheek. Leo frowned, then tried to find her lips.

  “Be patient, please!” whispered Madison, pulling away. “I…I need some time!”

  The corners of Leo’s mouth dropped. He hesitated for a moment before relaxing back in his seat. “Fine,” he said dryly, “I can wait.”

  They sat in silence for a moment, Leo drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, the engine purring gently as boats and rafts passed them by. “So…,” he finally said, “what would you like to see next?”

  “The greenhouses… the rooftop gardens I’ve heard so much about.”

  “Very well.” Leo pushed the throttle and the boat lurched forward.

  “Not too fast, please!”

  “OK, beautiful,” said Leo, turning his boat into Seventh Avenue Canal.

  They were now moving slowly enough for Madison to really look at the Upper Side. Of course, the buildings were all weather beaten, with long vertical streaks of grime running down their sides. But they all had proper glass windows. Also, she could see their original facades. The buildings were free from any shack-like extensions so typical on the Lower Side. Yes, there was the occasional add-on structure, sticking out like a giant bird’s nest, and she did notice several outdoor pulley elevators and platforms… But here, the buildings had been left
untouched, their silhouettes a lot more streamlined. There were no apartment towers rising from the rooftops … One thing that the Upper Side had in common with the Lower was the suspension bridges connecting the buildings and the cable cars crisscrossing the sky above.

  The Fury exited the canal, and the vast space of Central Park Bay opened up before them. Leo took a leisurely left turn into Fifty Ninth Street Canal. On their right, the entire length of the waterway was fenced off, check-points at every block or so. The traffic here was heavy and there were armed guards everywhere.

  “What’s that?” asked Madison, craning her neck to get a better view over the fence. She could see a number of giant water wheels turning slowly, pumping sea water into a web of pipe installations, mounted on large floating platforms. There was a flurry of activity going on around them. Huge rafts and barges, loaded with barrels, were moving back and forth between the floating docks.

  “This…,” said Leo, “…is your life support! The one thing you can’t live without!”

  “Which is what?” Madison turned back to look at the fenced area they had now left behind. There was a wry smile on her face. The one thing that Madison couldn’t live without was Flynn Perry… but she wasn’t going to tell Leo that…

  “It’s the Van Zandt Desalination Plant, of course!” Leo announced proudly, not realizing that Madison had stopped listening.

  Madison was completely spent… physically and emotionally drained. She sat slumped on her seat as Leo’s power boat entered the Lower Side, followed by his guards. He was taking her back home after they had spent hours at the Hanging Roof Gardens. It was dark now, the sun already gone… but the lush green colors of the gardens were still swimming in front of her eyes. The apple and orange trees, the grape vines, and the rows upon rows of planted tomatoes, cucumbers and salads… the terraced rooftops of several buildings at the corner of Central Park Bay were alive with all sorts of vegetation… Hanging Gardens they called them. True to their name, they really were hanging! Huge platforms connected by strings of bridges, a web of cables and pulleys, holding everything together…the gardens were a true marvel of engineering and water irrigation… and a luxury only afforded to the Upper Side Government.