by Jody Klaire
I didn’t know which one Huber was but both looked dangerous. It once again made me marvel at Frei’s ability to survive.
“This is Samson,” Harrison said. She held a tablet in her hand with a stylus pen poised over it. “She is head of physical education.” She motioned to baldy. “This is Mr. Crespo.” She motioned to sharp eyes. “And this is Mr. Huber.”
So sharp eyes was Huber. Go figure. I nodded to them, not knowing how I should greet Huber.
His eyes twinkled as he flicked his gaze over me.
“Let’s see how many we can salvage,” Harrison said in such a dismissive manner that I scowled.
If she saw it, she didn’t acknowledge it, and turned to the kids. I sat down next to Huber, Crespo, and prayed that my group pulled off a miracle.
AS HARRISON TOOK us outside and ran each kid through a vigorous fitness test, Huber guided me away from the others. “My girl says you’ve done a good job with what you have.”
The way he talked about Frei was paternal. “I learned from her.”
He kept his eyes on the proceedings. Harrison was demanding more and more from each kid who went up. “She’s always been a good teacher. She speaks highly of you.”
She did? I straightened my shoulders at that. “Anyone who knows her would feel the same way about her.”
Huber’s face didn’t change expression from the mild interest in proceedings but something flickered across his eyes. “If they knew she was running wild . . .” His jaw flexed. “That I’d allowed her to do so . . .”
“Sure,” I said, not knowing what he was fishing for.
“She says you’re unique.” His eyes met mine with an odd look that I couldn’t read. “Shame, that you never came my way.”
So he could sell me? Did he want to be flattened? “Er . . . thanks?”
He smiled. “It’s a compliment. Take it.”
And that sounded like an order.
“She said they are sold for their uses?” I felt sick. I felt like crying. I felt like I needed to grab the kids and rescue them.
“If she didn’t tell you, neither will I. It’s better you don’t know.”
He was so calm about it all. Crespo was eying each kid like they were lunch. Harrison was more and more pronounced in her desire to fail them. How could they do it? How could they act like these people were worth nothing?
“You are all sick bastards, do you know that?” I couldn’t hold it in, and I was ready for Nan to rattle me for cussing but it hurt. It hurt to watch the terror. It hurt to watch the lack of emotion these people had.
“I didn’t make the system,” he said as if I hadn’t just insulted him. “I just work in it.”
“It don’t matter. You let this happen.”
Huber met my eyes. “I never pretended I didn’t. It’s business and she’s right.”
“About what?”
Harrison’s scowl grew deeper as she challenged each kid. They were more than a match for her test. I’d made sure of it. They could do it several times and still be ready to go again. My group were not being sold.
I tensed as next up and last in line was Miroslav.
“She is right to speak highly of you.” He wandered to Crespo who looked as unhappy as Harrison.
I held my breath as Miroslav began his test. I had rigged it so that everyone performed the test sitting down. If he didn’t stand, he’d be safe.
“Nan, if you can hear me, help them,” I whispered up to the sky, following it up with a silent prayer. The sun overhead made the temperature soar. Miroslav’s condition didn’t do so well in the heat.
He needed help. Help from somebody who cared.
I leaned against the wall, powerless to do anything but watch. Miroslav started off great. He sipped his water as much as possible. It had salts and minerals in it. It tasted foul but Frei had come up with it and he’d improved with it.
I found it hard to join up what I knew of Huber, his manner and the way he treated Frei, to the cold businesslike way he talked.
He seemed to have accepted the way things were but then he wasn’t the one being sold.
Miroslav finished the test. He wobbled but he’d managed it. Harrison looked ready to spit feathers. I held my breath as a sly smile touched her lips.
“You will stand as we run through the results.”
My heart sank.
The heat made me feel tired. Miroslav couldn’t do it.
“Nan, please?” I slammed shut my eyes and said a prayer up to the Big Guy. It needed a miracle.
My group stood in the beating sun. Miroslav stumbled to his feet and joined them. My heart started to pound in my chest. I knew it was from him. My legs were shaking.
I glanced up to the sky and “ask and you will receive” popped into my head.
I shut my eyes and did just that. In fact I begged.
My heart got faster. Harrison was a quarter through reading out. She was taking it real slow. I opened my eyes. Miroslav’s gaze locked on mine.
He was scared.
I could feel his fear pulsing through me. I was terrified for him. My knees creaked like they’d buckle.
“Hold on,” I mouthed to him. “Hold on.”
His shoulders rose and fell as his breathing got more labored. My chest ached. Any second he’d have to bend over. His body couldn’t hold him up.
Harrison glanced over at Crespo with a snide smile.
I kept my eyes locked on Miroslav. I didn’t care if I had to take on the entire school. I couldn’t watch him be dragged away. I couldn’t.
Miroslav’s eyes flickered. My heart hammered so hard that I could see my t-shirt jumping with it.
“Please,” I whispered. “Please help him.”
Miroslav’s sweat trickled down his nose. I held my breath.
He was gonna drop.
His face contorted.
No . . .
Jed moved. He shoved his arm underneath Miroslav’s shoulder. I could almost hear him whisper as he smiled at him. “I got you.”
Ryan went to Miroslav’s other side, tucked an arm under his free shoulder. He smiled at Miroslav then turned to the front. Harrison glared at him but Ryan puffed out his chest. His resolute courage pulsed from him, I could almost feel them. Three boys side by side not buckling in spite of the snarl from Crespo, the scowl on Harrison’s face. They weren’t letting him fail.
Jed looked at me and nodded. He wasn’t letting go.
Jessie hurried forward and linked arms with Jed. Leigh-Anne followed joining Ryan, Jane, then Ian, then Ty. A silent order seemed to pass down the line. Each one linked arms with the next. Every kid defiant, every one of them making the choice to stand firm.
It looked like a show of unity, of teamwork but they were saving Miroslav’s life . . .
And it felt like they knew it.
I could do nothing but nod back, mute with tears. They were taking care of who needed them most.
Unity, spirit, strength.
These kids were something else. Every one of them was a hero.
Harrison and Crespo exchanged a look.
Huber’s lips twitched, his eyes glinted with amusement. “I don’t look good with sunburn, Ms. Harrison. Hurry it up.”
She narrowed her eyes at the kids, then turned to her tablet. She finished the list, announced they passed, and stomped off. She didn’t so much as utter a word my way as Crespo followed on behind her.
Huber turned and nodded to me before following.
I met Jed’s eyes, fighting the urge to run over and hug him half to death.
“Miss Samson, he’s gonna hit the deck if we let him go.”
Miroslav’s heart hammered away, mine in chorus. I strode over and grabbed Miroslav’s other arm from a wheezing Ryan. Jed and I carried him inside. The girls brought over water and we lay him down.
“You did real good,” I whispered to Jed as he rammed his hands in his pockets. “Real good.”
Miroslav’s heart started to slow as he lay still.
Jed shrugged. “He helps me with my homework. Him and Jessie do so much for us. Least I could do.”
I met his eyes, tapping Ryan’s pocket to tell him to take his pump. “I’m proud of you. All of you.” My voice was raw with relief, emotion, and joy.
“We make you look good?” Leigh-Anne chirped at me from over her water bottle.
“Good? You just made me look like a genius.” That made me laugh. “Get Miroslav back to the dorm. Take the rest of the day off.”
They all looked at each other. I was sure they’d never heard an order like that before. With all their medical issues, it was amazing they’d passed let alone held up to the heat and held on for Miroslav. They all needed the rest.
“You want to spend a beautiful sunny day sweating in a gym?”
Lots of head shakes, confusion, whispers.
“You earned some time to relax. I mean it. Go be sixteen.” I met Jed’s eyes. “Without making me regret it.”
Ty wheeled the chair over as I pulled a shaking Miroslav up and placed him on it. “You heard the lady.”
“What do we do if anyone catches us?” Jessie chewed on her nails.
“You tell them if they got a problem, they can come and see me.” I nodded at the growing number of excited smiles. “Now get, before I change my mind.”
“Yes, Miss Samson.”
Now they sounded like they were in the military. Frei would have been proud of that. I watched them go, like a family, like a team and my heart lifted.
I liked these kids.
I liked them a lot.
Jed had been a hero today. He’d been a leader.
I smiled up at the sky, thanking the Big Guy for listening. “When he can’t help, he sends somebody else” is what Mrs. Stein had always said.
Technically, she was on about the fact he would know I was up to no good graffiti-ing her café. Right now, it had gained new meaning.
I smiled and wandered back to the villa. If Huber was here, Frei would need my support. Least I could do was cook up a great dinner.
Chapter 24
FREI CAME HOME looking beat that evening and I could feel how much it wore on her being shoved back into her past. As she went upstairs to shower, I set out her dinner and attempted to figure out how much whisky to ice she liked. The stuff smelled potent but I noticed she only ever had one glass. I knew she used to drink a lot more. Although I wondered why that had changed, I was happy she was drinking less of it. I didn’t like to think of what it did to her insides.
“Lorelei?”
I stepped out of the way and pointed to her dinner. “Eat, relax, I’ll leave you in peace.” I smiled at her, hoping to dislodge the frown on her face.
“You made it for me?”
You’d have thought I’d given her treasure. It was steak and vegetables in my attempt at casserole. It weren’t the best meal for the heat but I was sick of salad. I hoped she was too.
She wandered to the table and looked down at it. I handed her the Worcester Sauce she liked so much. “Makes my eyes water so you’ll have to do that part yourself.”
She speared a piece of steak with her fork and bit it in half with her teeth. Inside was nice and brown. I’d cooked it up first. Okay, so the kitchen looked like a twister had paid a visit but I’d cooked up something nice, by myself. I was proud of that.
“It took you hours?” she said, eying the devastation behind me.
I shrugged. That was the problem with kitchen diners, your artistic process was revealed.
She let out a breath and shook her head. “You’re a balm for the soul, you know that?”
I tapped the Worcester. “Enjoy.”
She grasped my hand as I turned to leave. “You don’t have to go. Sit, stay. Have you eaten?”
My stomach growled and she dropped her gaze to it with a smile.
“You wanna talk about it?” I asked as I filled up a bowl for myself. It was when I looked down that I realized that casserole might be better to eat with a spoon. She nodded as I held up two.
“Which part? The fact that I lost five kids today or Huber taunting me about it?”
Five? I slumped down into the seat next to her. “What happened?”
“Maybe I just didn’t inspire them enough.” Her tone was full of hurt as she dosed her dinner with Worcester Sauce.
“I doubt that.” I chewed on my food. It tasted great. The thought of five kids gone stole the joy from it. “You’re a great teacher.”
She eyed me for a moment. “You hated me in training. You nearly drowned and then almost froze to death.”
“And you treated me like everybody else there.” I smiled. “It weren’t exactly fun but the training stuck. Most of it.”
“It did?” She tucked into her food. I felt a pang of pride at her groan of appreciation. It could have been the Worcester for all I knew but I was taking it.
“When I needed it in St. Jude’s, it came out. Sure, you scarred me for life . . .” I chomped more of my food, my stomach demanding that I feed it. “But it saved a lot of lives.”
“She was an idiot.” Frei’s gaze hardened. “I ordered her to tell you. I trusted her to keep you informed. Another success for my ability to inspire and command.”
“Self-pity don’t sit right on you.” It was painful to know that Renee hadn’t told me even under orders. I did my best to let that go. Tonight wasn’t about me. “What happened with your group?”
“It takes extreme skill to be the kind of thief they are looking for. It takes a passion for it.”
“They didn’t have it?”
She ate her food and I turned back to mine. She’d explain when she was ready. Frei was quiet and controlled but having spent time around her, I could tell that it was a sign of her processing the situation. She thought deeply but it was always worth waiting for the words when they came.
“A lot of them didn’t understand why. They needed to learn so much without any real reason. I couldn’t fire them up. All I could do was make it a competition. I lost them.”
She had a difficult job. Mine was easy in comparison. I was building them up. Weight training, fitness, it paid off. They were feeling better, their conditions were under control. The benefits were there to see. How did someone explain why climbing a wall blindfolded was useful?
“Mine asked the same thing today.”
Frei kept her eyes on her food. “Huber enjoyed informing me of your success.”
“Nothing whatsoever to do with me.”
Her icy blues met mine. “Everything to do with you. I saw the bond, the way they held that boy upright. It comes from you.”
I didn’t think so.
It came from me shutting my eyes and asking. Jed and the others were good at their core. “It’s a lot easier when you are dealing with the ones that everyone writes off. They want to prove themselves.”
“That isn’t a good trait for mine.” She sighed. “Under- handedness, manipulation, extreme fitness, and agility yes, but a good heart?” She shook her head. “Not so much.”
“They sabotaged each other.” It was a statement. The flash that flicked before my eyes showed me as much. Competition was encouraged but it had brought out the worst in already damaged kids.
“And not deftly either.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t do anything but stand and watch.”
That I knew first hand from watching Miroslav. He’d been lucky to find a hero in Jed.
I put my arm around her and pulled her into me. She didn’t resist and relaxed against me. I could feel her tears wet on my neck. “Crespo was happy.”
“He looked like he needs to be covered in treacle and buried in a termite mound.” My ability to let it all slide waned when faced with these people. It was so hard when they were so happy to profit from other’s pain.
“He’s vile,” she muttered in agreement. “Some are far worse than others.”
“They are all slave traders.”
She lifted her head up to look at me. Her e
yes glistened with her tears. “You told him what you thought of him, didn’t you?”
She was talking about Huber, her tone said as much.
“He confuses me. I hate what he does. I hate his attitude.” I shrugged. “You care about him. He must have a good trait in there somewhere for that to happen.”
She held my gaze. I wasn’t sure what thoughts ran through her mind but I was happy to let her think. I smiled, hoping that she would soak up the warmth and comfort from it.
She cleared her throat and noticed the glass on the counter beside her empty bowl. She lifted it up. “You pay attention.”
I finished off my food not sure what to say.
“Remind me again why you aren’t married?”
I snorted with laughter, picked up our bowls, and wandered to the sink.
“I’m serious.” She sipped on her whiskey. “Why can you love everyone so freely but not let anyone in further?”
Didn’t that shot hurtle past my armor to a raw spot? “You pay attention too.”
“It’s not a bad thing.” She sighed. “It sounded like a cheap shot, I’m sorry.”
I washed off the dishes and leaned against the sink with my hip. “You’re fighting all the survival mechanisms that you’ve counted on all your life.” I met her eyes. “You hate losing, you have to be the best. Huber issued you a challenge ’cause he knows how to push your buttons.” Some folks had bigger issues than I ever wanted to understand, Huber being one of them. “He’s smarting ’cause we’re close.”
“Are we?” She raised her eyebrows, her glass to her lips. “Close?” she whispered.
That earned her a smirk. “Best you don’t tell nobody, huh?” I picked the towel off the side and wiped down the dishes. Frei kept doing the household chores like I wouldn’t notice so I wanted to make sure she got we were a team. She weren’t nobody’s slave. “You don’t want just anybody thinking there’s warmth beneath the metal.”
“Good thing you’re not just anybody then.” Frei rattled her glass, the ice chinked around. “No one else knows how I like my drink.”
The cocky attitude emerged with a playful smile and I knew I’d done enough to lift her out of her funk. “But then they don’t get to spend time with you neither.”