Gestern

by J. Grace Pennington

  What were the police doing here?

  I remembered Dred saying he had been waiting for Edmunds to send the police after him for what he was allegedly doing to Ursula. He’d planted evidence and everything. He must have finally done it, hoping to arrest or at least discredit us all.

  Unless—they were trying to help us? If it had been Mr. DeMille who put the reward out for information—

  Lights flashed through the back window, and I tremblingly gripped the back of my seat and turned around to look out. Pairs of headlights raced through the forest after us, too fast and surrounded by too much dark and too many trees for me to see much else.

  And they had autopilot.

  The unmistakable sound of a blaster shot rang out and I screamed.

  “Get down!” August yelled over the hum of the engine. I ducked below the seat and put a hand on the back of Ursula’s head to push her down with me. She was shaking but kept quiet, huddled below the window.

  Another shot rang out, and this one made the car swerve and bump worse than it had yet. Ursula screamed this time. The car lurched left and right.

  “The tire!” Dred yelled. He punched commands on his dashboard, but kept getting errors. The self repair must be down along with the autopilot.

  August continued to try his best at navigating, but within seconds he swore and slowed to a stop.

  He couldn’t safely drive in these conditions. I knew it. He knew it. Dred knew it.

  We all stayed perfectly still as the lights and sirens approached behind us. Ursula kept shaking, huddled against me.

  The sound of cars behind us died. We waited.

  Two officers approached the car from the right, mostly silhouetted against the headlights.

  A male voice, muffled through the windows, barked, “Get out of the car with your hands up. Now.”

  I looked at Dred.

  “Do it,” he murmured, and opened his door.

  Shaking, I opened my door and limped out, gripping the cold metal top of the car for support. “Come on, Ursula,” I called back, voice shaking as much as I was.

  She followed me out, clutching her doll. August got out of his side, hands up.

  A uniformed officer came forward and felt along each of our jackets for weapons, then nodded to his partner and stepped back. The second man beckoned August over to our side of the car. Then he faced the four of us.

  “Does someone want to explain to me what’s going on?” he asked, voice deep and harsh.

  I didn’t speak. Nor did August.

  At last Dred said, “I’m sorry. We didn’t know who was pursuing us. We had been chased here by a dangerous group, and we were seeking shelter at the house of some kind people back in the village. We didn’t know that it was the police there. We thought... it was someone else.”

  The officer stared at him. Then he pulled a pad from his jacket pocket and navigated it to the images we had seen earlier of myself and August. “We have a warrant for the arrest of August Howitz and Andi Lloyd. We received a tip last night that they had been spotted here, and we came to investigate.

  I blinked. Just us? What about Dred? Wasn’t he the one Edmunds had planted evidence against? Squinting at the image, I read on below it. The charge was “kidnapping.”

  Dred and August seemed equally speechless. Ursula clung to me. My leg throbbed.

  “We’re going to have to ask you to come with us back to Vienna,” the officer said. “We have some questions for you.”

  I looked at Dred. He nodded.

  A safe ride back to the city. Things could be worse. We could sort it out when we actually got there.

  I gripped Ursula’s hand and prepared to follow the officers, but I stumbled and nearly collapsed when I tried to leave the support of the car. “My leg is injured,” I explained, voice still trembling.

  The officers exchanged glances.

  “I can help her,” Dred said.

  “Very well.” The officer gestured to a car a few meters away.

  Dred put an arm around me and led me once again. The pain was back to a numb, warm throbbing again, so numb that between the ache and the cold I could hardly feel my lower leg at all.

  He helped me into the car without a word, and Ursula followed me. Before Dred backed away he squeezed her knee and smiled at her. Then the door was slammed by an officer.

  I watched out the window as Dred and August were escorted through the harsh lights to another police car.

  “What will happen?” Ursula asked, her voice sounding smaller than ever.

  “I don’t know. But it’ll be okay.”

  She just leaned against me.

  After several minutes, two officers got in the front of the car and drove off. A semi-opaque partition between the front and the back of the car meant I couldn’t hear anything they said, so Ursula and I remained alone together.

  I rubbed her arm a bit, trying to slow my heartbeat. It would be okay. It would. God would protect us. The police, corrupt as they were, wouldn’t let Edmunds’ men take us—would they?

  “Does your daddy miss you?” Ursula asked, voice slightly muffled against Dred’s coat.

  I smiled through the ache in my heart. “Yes. He misses me a lot. And I miss him.”

  “Will you see him soon?”

  I almost said “I hope so,” but I changed it to, “Yes.”

  “I’m glad.” She wrapped her arms around her doll more tightly.

  We rode on in silence for a little while, passing nothing but trees, and I tried to make sense of things. Kidnapping? Was Edmunds trying to say we had kidnapped Ursula? But surely Dred would deny that—although we technically had. He had kidnapped her first, though. What was Edmunds trying to accomplish here?

  It made my head hurt.

  I thought Ursula was sleeping as we finally left the forest and began driving along a paved road in open land. She was so quiet. But after awhile, she asked, “Why did my Daddy call you Genevieve?”

  I was surprised that she remembered that, and I wasn’t sure how to explain it to a child. “Well, that was my name when I was born. Genevieve Lavinia Sandison. But my mama took me away because I was in trouble, and she gave me to my other daddy, the Doctor. He didn’t know my name, so he named me Andi Lloyd. That’s my name now.”

  She thought about this for a moment. “What’s your middle name?”

  I couldn’t help a smile. “I don’t have one.”

  She pulled back and looked up at me, her little face appalled. “Why not?”

  “Because the Doctor hates his middle name, so he just decided not to give me one.”

  “What’s his middle name, then?”

  “Handel.”

  “Handle?” She wrinkled her nose. “Like a drawer handle?”

  I actually laughed. “Kindof.”

  She giggled.

  “What’s your middle name?” I asked.

  “Frances.”

  Frances. Ursula Frances Howitz. I liked it.

  I put my arm around her again and pulled her close to me. She leaned against my body and soon enough actually did fall asleep.

  The dark motion as we passed through towns began to lull me to sleep as well. The pain in my knee had numbed with the rest, and other than the persistent throbbing ache in my knee, I felt almost fine. Even mentally—I felt the strangest sense of peace. Not a true peace, no, but the calm before the storm. There was nothing I could do. Nothing. Just sit, and wait.

  It lifted a burden from me for the moment. I couldn’t fix it, not right now. I could only be still.

  CHAPTER XXII

  I never completely made it to unconsciousness, but I did drift in and out of a semi-sleeping state as we rode along. It must have been half an hour before I opened my eyes to the bright Vienna skyline, familiar from when we’d first approached it by train.

  It felt like that time had been years ago.

  A glance at my wristcom showed that it was six in the morning.

  I shook Ursula gently. “We’re almost
there, sweetie.”

  She woke up and shifted against me. “Where?”

  “Where the police are taking us. Your daddy and August will be there, too.”

  The mention of Dred made her straighten up and her bright expression twisted my heart. I foresaw no scenario at the end of this where she could stay with both Dred and us. Even if we all made it out of the country, which seemed extremely unlikely, I didn’t think Dred would be allowed on the Surveyor, and there was certainly no way August and I would stay behind.

  If it came to that—which was a very big if, the way things were looking—wouldn’t it be better just to let her stay with him?

  I would miss her. Oh, I would miss her terribly. But—couldn’t it be the best option? Couldn’t it? To leave her free to stay with the only father she knew and loved, and to leave us free to find our way back to our best lives?

  For me to have hope of finding my way back to my best life, and to keep her from having to leave hers in the first place?

  Another ten minutes found us pulling up to a simple, sprawling, four-story building marked with the word “Polizeistation.” The first bare hints of sunlight fell upon the building as we pulled up to it and the car parked in front.

  The officers got out, opened the back door, and helped me out. My leg felt stiff and it still hurt to walk on, so one of them supported me on the walk into the building, while the other held Ursula’s hand and led her in after us.

  The room we were ushered into was warm, large but simple, with several plain, comfortable chairs, and a screen projecting a holographic cooking show in one corner. A desk spanned one wall, and several people sat at it talking into headsets or typing on slightly out-of-date computers. They didn’t even look up as we passed by.

  After that, we went down a long hall that was already bustling with people, and through a simple black door that slid upwards as we approached it.

  Beyond the door was a room very much like one of the briefing rooms on the Surveyor, though with no windows. A long, rectangular table surrounded by black chairs ran down the room, and a screen hung on the back wall. The screen was empty, but the room wasn’t. Two women in shapely silver uniforms sat on one side of the table, and two men, also in carefully tailored silver, sat opposite them.

  All four rose when we entered the room.

  They all appeared to be over fifty years old, though one lady’s hair was pure brown without a speck of gray. She was on the plump side, but held herself like a model. She walked towards me and extended her hand. “Hello. I’m Ambassador Lindra of the European Council. These are my colleagues Ambassador Gray, Senator Manheim, and Dignitary Leslie. You are Andi Lloyd, I presume?”

  Her voice was like music. I leaned on the officer and put out my free hand to take hers, uncertain how one was supposed to address an ambassador. “Yes. I’m Andi Lloyd.”

  “Please be seated.” She gestured to a seat next to the other woman, who was slender and gray-haired and just as regal. The officer helped me over there, but I paused before sitting. “Excuse me... can my sister sit with me?”

  The councilmembers exchanged glances, and Ambassador Lindra spoke again. “I don’t think that is best. She will remain at the other end of the table with the officers, for the present.”

  Ursula stared at me with wide eyes, but I only bobbed my head and sat where directed, heart pounding. I was right, then. We were here for allegedly kidnapping Ursula.

  Just as I settled into a chair, the door opened again and two more officers led August and Dred into the room. August glanced around, saw me, and visibly relaxed. Dred similarly sought out Ursula, but his expression and posture didn’t change when he saw her. She, on the other hand, waved and said, “Daddy!”

  The four councilmembers looked at each other again.

  They directed August to a seat next to me, and sat Dred opposite us. Two of the officers retreated to the far corners of the room, one closed and locked the door, and the other sat next to Ursula. I watched as he pulled out a pad and directed her to put her hand on it for a moment, then he tapped it a few times before laying it face down on the table.

  Ambassador Lindra settled herself into her seat again. “This situation was brought to our notice by Oscar DeMille. It seems there have been conflicting accounts regarding this little girl. Mr. DeMille is an American chartered exploration manager, owner of many ships. One of these ships is the Surveyor, where I believe you two, Miss Lloyd and Mr. Howitz, have been employed.”

  I nodded vigorously, anxious to move on. I already knew all about Mr. DeMille.

  “DeMille says that an employee of his, a Captain Trent, claims that another officer heard from U.S. Senator James Edmunds that Professor Rupert Dred was conducting experiments on a very young child in Austria, and that he sent Miss Lloyd and Mr. Howitz, family members of hers, here to retrieve her. To the best of your knowledge, Miss Lloyd, is that the case?”

  “Yes ma’am,” I said, still wondering what the proper way to address her was.

  “Let the record show that Andi Lloyd proclaims these facts to be accurate the best of her knowledge.”

  It was only then that I noticed a tiny triangular recorder in the center of the table.

  “And Mr. Howitz, to the best of your knowledge, is this version of the facts correct?”

  “Yes, your honor,” August answered.

  He continued to amaze me. How did he know how to address them? Had he had dealings with dignitaries before?

  “Very well. Let the record show that August Howitz proclaims these facts to be accurate to the best of his knowledge.” She turned to Dred now. “We have another version of the same incident to determine. Senator James Edmunds called us last night to say that he had been working with a Doctor Gerard Lloyd, officer aboard the Surveyor, and that seeing some of the doctor’s messages had made him aware of the fact that Miss Lloyd and Mr. Howitz intended to kidnap an underage child from a secure and safe location with her legal guardian. “

  I stared at her as she made this speech, heart frozen with confusion. Had Edmunds really seen the Doctor’s messages, or was he bluffing? I wracked my brain for any record or evidence of what Edmunds had actually said to us, but could think of nothing. No one else had been present. I’d had no reason to think of recording the interview. But it could be easily proved that Dred wasn’t Ursula’s legal guardian, couldn’t it?

  Or could it? If Edmunds could influence police and transports and communication signals—what couldn’t he influence?

  It was his word against ours.

  “Professor Rupert Dred,” the ambassador went on. “To the best of your knowledge, which of these sets of facts are the truth?”

  I looked across at him, tried to read anything behind his eyes. I read nothing. His eyes were empty.

  He turned to look at Ursula, who still held Galactic Lucy against herself.

  Her big brown eyes smiled back, so trusting.

  “The first story is true,” he said, voice not moderating in expression.

  I couldn’t stop a gasp. He looked back towards me, still expressionless.

  “Please explain further for the record, Professor Dred.”

  “I kidnapped this child from her legal guardian years ago and I performed experiments on her. Miss Lloyd and Mr. Howitz came to rescue her, and I was trying to take them all back into captivity. To the best of my knowledge, they are her closest living relatives.”

  I leaned forward and opened my mouth to cry out his name, but August pressed his hand to mine and held me back.

  “Why would you tell us this, Professor Dred?” the ambassador asked, her eyes peering into his.

  His voice continued to be calm and even. “Because I know you will search my private notes for evidence and I know you will discover the truth, and I do not wish to add to my sentence by perjuring myself.”

  His notes. The evidence that Dred had planted there to use against him. But wouldn’t Dred have removed it, if he decided to go after myself and August instead?
<
br />   Unless—

  I remembered back to hours ago, when he had shown me the wanted notice for our capture on August’s pad. Not his.

  He must have kept his pad offline to preserve his research. Edmunds wouldn’t have been able to access it.

  The ambassador spoke. “Let the record show that Professor Rupert Dred declares his guilt in the matter of the child. Due process shall be initiated.”

  My heart thumped in my ears, almost drowning out her tones. Why? He loved Ursula.

  That was why.

  They were all rising. I should stand up. I did, unable to suppress a grunt at the shot of pain.

  “We will retire to discuss this matter and call you back when we are ready with our verdict,” she said. “In the meantime, the police will escort you to guarded hotel rooms. Mr. Howitz and Miss Lloyd may stay together, but please separate the others for the time being.”

  I took a last look at Ursula as we were ushered out of the conference room. She still sat, holding her doll, playing with its hair.

  ***

  August and I didn’t talk for a long time after we were left alone in our complimentary hotel room. It was the same hotel we’d stayed in when we first arrived, I noted, almost with amusement.

  I laid down on one of the two single beds as soon as I had set my backpack down. It felt good to get off my sore knee. August shuffled around for awhile but I didn’t look to see what he was doing, and finally he must have either laid down or sat somewhere.

  Silence settled in.

  Then, in a soft voice, he began to sing.

  I had never heard August sing before. His voice was timid, unobtrusive, but it had a certain richness to it. A veiled strength.

  The song sounded familiar, like a distant memory, though it was in German and I couldn’t understand a word of it. But it was gentle. Touching.

  Peaceful.

  “What is that?” I asked when he had finished. I turned my head and saw him lying on the other bed, hands behind his neck, studying the ceiling.

  “It’s called Edelweiss. It’s from a movie. At least, the English version is.”

  I kept looking at him.

  After a moment, he continued. “It’s just a song about Austria. Funny—the people who wrote it and sang it and all were American. Like me. But—I think they must have had Austria in their hearts somehow. Mom and Dad and I watched the movie before we moved here.” I watched as a slight smile touched his lips. “I was excited. I thought Austria would be like it was in the movie—bright. Colorful. Brave.” He sighed.