Liberty

by Annie Laurie Cechini

  To the Eternigen.

  I tore through the streets of Paris, narrowly avoiding capture at every turn. The soldier was hot on my tail, inches away from grabbing the collar of my shirt when I thought of a solution. I turned hard to the right and shot back to the river, leaping into it just before the soldier lunged for me.

  REUNITED 20

  I HEARD A VOLLEY OF BULLETS FOLLOW ME INTO THE RIVER, BUT I swam deep into the murky water and waited until I heard nothing. After a few moments, I floated to the surface beneath the bridge and took a chance, peering carefully around a pylon. The coast appeared to be clear, so I hauled my sailboard out of the river and headed full throttle toward the shuttle. Seconds before I reached the shuttle doors, another sailboard slammed into me. I almost flew off my board, but I steadied myself just in time to get punched in the face by the beggar woman.

  “Flark!” Instinct and rage took over. I lifted my board and spun it three hundred sixty degrees, slamming full-force into the back of my assailant’s knees. She buckled on her board and flew straight into a tree. I took a deep breath as I hopped to the ground, flung open the shuttle doors, and dragged the sailboard inside. I slid into the pilot’s chair, started the engine, and sped toward Liberty.

  My heart sank as Liberty came into view. There were two agents circling the ship, and Bell and Berrett were nowhere to be seen.

  “Ceese,” I yelled into my Cuff, “open the airlock and take off!”

  CiCi’s voice came across the intercom. “No.”

  “Excuse me? I said—”

  “No. Not without Bell and Berrett.”

  I swore under my breath and pulled the shuttle up to circle high enough above Liberty so the agents couldn’t hit the shuttle. As I looked across the sky, I could see a military cruiser headed toward us. “Ceese, you gotta take off now!”

  “I am not leaving Bell!”

  “Ceese, we’re all gonna die if you don’t.”

  “Then we die! I’m not leaving without them.”

  “Ceese, that’s an—”

  “Captain?” Bell’s voice came over my Cuff.

  “Where the flark are you?” I yelled.

  “We’re ‘ere, but we ‘ave a problem. There are four agents behind us, and two circling the ship.”

  I looked down and saw them all heading straight for us.

  “Captain? What is your game plan?” asked Bell.

  I winced. Game plan? I had no game plan. When was there ever a functional game plan? Sometimes, it would have been nice to let the buck stop with someone else.

  “Pull up, now!” yelled Berrett. “CiCi, set a course for New York, and for the love of all that’s holy, drop the airlock door!”

  “Aye, Cap.”

  “What?” I bellowed.

  “Sorry, Cap! Aye, Berrett!” cried CiCi.

  I performed the fastest shuttle docking procedure ever and watched Berrett and Bell skid to a halt next to me. I ran out into the airlock, slammed the door shut, and raced to the cockpit.

  Hobs was in the copilot seat. “You okay?” he asked.

  “Where is that little worm?”

  “Easy, tiger. She’s freaked out enough at the moment.”

  I jerked Liberty into the air and pointed her nose up as high as I dared. I heard CiCi scream as the sound of bodies and sailboards crashing into Liberty’s hull rattled me to my bones.

  “Hobs, take the wheel,” I said. I ran back to the airlock antechamber to see what had happened.

  CiCi had locked her arms around Bell. “Nice to see you too, CiCi,” said Bell. “I like the new ship. Did you give ‘er a makeover?” she asked.

  CiCi nodded. “Took a whole week, which is why we were late comin’ to get you. Sorry ‘bout that.”

  “No worries,” said Bell. “It’s good work. Where’s ‘Obson?”

  “I’m here!” he yelled. He came running up the corridor and grabbed Bell, picked her up in his arms, and spun her around. “Welcome home!”

  “Yes, it’s the only ‘ome I ‘ave now.”

  Hobson gasped. “Your family?”

  “They’re safe. For now, anyway.”

  “Uh, I hate to interrupt, Hobs, but who is flying this thing?” I asked.

  Hobs chuckled. “Aw, come on, even I know how to engage the auto pilot.”

  Right then, a resounding crash shook Liberty. I eyed Hobson. He shrank into his backbone with wide eyes.

  “Right. Cockpit, now, all of you,” I said.

  We scampered through the ship. “She’s very impressive,” said Bell. “Where’d you find ‘er?”

  “Berrett,” I said over my shoulder. I flung open the cockpit door, sat down, and flicked on the hull cameras.

  “Looks like a superficial ding, guys. Space skud or something. Doesn’t look like it did anything other than add to Liberty’s pretty costume.”

  Bell fingered the leather copilot’s seat. “May I?” she asked.

  “Be my guest, Bell. You are my first mate,” I replied.

  Bell raised an eyebrow and nodded toward Berrett. “Sure he isn’t your first—”

  “Okay, let’s get back into space, shall we?” I flicked on my Cuff and started searching the courses we could take, but I could feel the flush in my cheeks.

  “Where to next, Captain?” asked CiCi.

  “You? You should be sent immediately to the brig,” I replied.

  “Aw, but Cap, I—”

  “You disobeyed an order, Ceese!”

  She stuck her chin out. “I’d rather go to the brig than abandon my friends.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You pull a stunt like that again and you will find yourself locked up for a week. Clear?”

  “Aye, Cap. Do we even have a brig?”

  Berrett cleared his throat.

  “Yes, Berrett?” I asked.

  “..... so, our course ....”

  “I heard, you want to go to New York. It’s twice as dangerous now that they know what kind of ship we’re in. They’ve seen Liberty. If we’re going to New York, we’ll have to hide her even farther outside the city than we did in Paris.”

  “I know, but I was hoping I could get to McSorley’s. There’s a message I have to deliver. It’s important, Dix.”

  I glared at him. “Max sneak you an extra delivery behind my back?” I asked.

  He shifted uncomfortably in his shoes. “You could say that.”

  Some nagging little voice in the back of my head said, It’s the least you can do.

  Stupid little voice.

  “Fine. New York City it is, Bell.”

  “Aye, Cap. But only if you tell me about Tabitha Dixon.”

  “Dix. My name is Dix. Clear?”

  Everyone nodded.

  I looked helplessly at Hobs. “I think it’s time,” he said.

  I took a deep breath. “I’m from New Maryland on Titus. I lost my family in a cruiser accident that wasn’t actually accidental at all. Mrs. Ford is my guardian and I’ve got Hobs working on cracking the formula for Eternigen so we can fly into deep space and get away from all this skud. My real name is Tabitha, but if you ever, ever call me that, I will break every bone in your body. Slowly.”

  I spent the rest of our trip to New York telling my crew the story of my past and fielding questions. They handled it surprisingly well, and I realized how lucky I was to have all of them. It hadn’t occurred to me earlier that I would need CiCi’s obnoxiously unswerving loyalty myself before the day was over.

  “So, Berrett actually caught you in mid-air?”

  “Yes.”

  Bell smiled her most brilliant smile. “Berrett, you are quite impressive. Not many would just scoop a strange girl out of the air that way. Especially that strange girl.”

  “Hey! What did I tell you at school? Strange is the new sexy.”

  “Per’aps where you are from.”

  I stuck my tongue out at her.

  “Oh, very mature, Tru—er, Dix. This will take some getting used to,” said Bell. “I ‘ave a question, though
. ‘Ow did Berrett know exactly where to find you?”

  My gaze flicked to his. “Good question, Bell. There’s only one way the Underground would know exactly where to send him, and that’s if they had the tracking frequency for my Cuff.”

  “Wow, how’d they wind up with that?” asked Hobs. “Only the teachers and parents are supposed to have access to student Cuff frequencies.”

  Berrett pressed his lips together and inhaled through his nose. “Okay, so there’s one thing I didn’t level with you on.”

  “All that’s ‘oly, Berret, what ‘ave you done?” asked Bell. “She’s going to kill you.”

  “Now, Bell, let’s be fair. Depending on how this plays out he might only merit a maiming,” I said. I was trying to be calm, to downplay the freak-out party my nerves had suddenly decided to throw. “Out with it, Berrett.”

  “Tess knew your Cuff frequency. She gave it to me so I could find you.”

  “What?”

  “I told you. You’re dead,” said Bell.

  “She’s not gonna kill him,” said Hobs.

  “Yeah she is! Where’s the popcorn? This oughtta be good,” said CiCi.

  “Shut up, all of you!” I yelled. “How in the name of all that’s holy did Tess get my frequency?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” said Berrett.

  “Oh, right, and you expect me to believe that?” I shot back.

  “Deep breath, Dix,” said Hobs. “I think it’s clear that you have allies in the Underground. Maybe it was someone trying to protect you. Maybe even Mrs. Ford.”

  “She is a teacher, and you did say she was your guardian,” offered CiCi. “Maybe she follows you on your Cuff.”

  “Yeah,” said Hobs. “She has SUN apps that others don’t, and as your guardian she’d still have legal access to your frequency from the Cuff you got at the Académie.”

  “That’s ... I just can’t believe ...” I felt like gagging. I had been totally tricked by everyone I was supposed to trust.

  Hobs put one arm around my shoulder. “Has it ever occurred to you that there are people in your life who love you and want to look out for you?”

  “I do not need help.”

  Bell laughed. “Oh, yes you do, and from multiple disciplines.”

  “Shut up, Bell,” I said. “I just ... I dunno. It’s like they didn’t trust me to take care of myself.”

  “Or maybe it’s like they knew you were gonna die trying to save your crew and they intervened,” said Berrett.

  “I am not speaking to you. Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

  “You just said we can’t speak.”

  “Just ignore what I said and tell me the truth about telling me the truth!”

  Everyone stared at me.

  Hobs turned to Berrett. “Maybe you should indulge her just this once.”

  Berrett knelt down next to the arm of my captain’s chair. “Because, like Hobs said, there are other people in this world who love you and want to help.”

  I looked right into his eyes, searching for the tell of a lie. His gaze didn’t falter, and I began to feel like perhaps it was time to not look right into his eyes. Berrett pushed off the arm of my chair and stood up. “Like Mrs. Ford, for example. I don’t know for sure if she’s the one who sent the frequency to Tess, but it makes sense.”

  “Well ... whatever,” I said. “Why don’t you guys go to the galley and get some food or something? No more questions for now.”

  They shuffled out one by one, leaving me to ponder on my mysterious guardian angels. I decided perhaps it was time to send a book to Mrs. Ford.

  I nestled Liberty in a forest of trees far outside New York City. I was breaking about sixteen different arboreal protection laws, but by this point I didn’t give a flark.

  “So, what do I call you, again?” asked CiCi.

  “Dix inside the ship, Morgan Fey anywhere else. Berrett changed my name.”

  Bell giggled as she picked up a sailboard. “Morgana? Really? Oh, Berrett, you’re ‘eelarious.”

  I frowned. “Yeah. Eel-arious.”

  “I like Cap better. I’m gonna keep calling you that,” said CiCi.

  I laughed. “Whatever flies your ship, Ceese.”

  I used my Cuff to open the loading door, and the five of us flew out into the waning afternoon. The humid air hung thickly around us, making it seem as though we were flying through water. I glanced back at my crew. Hobs’s sailboard was looking a little wobbly.

  “How you doin’ back there, Hobs?” I yelled.

  “I’ve been better!” he yelled back. I slowed to sail beside him and laughed as his curls wrapped themselves around his face.

  “You’re doing great!”

  I patted him on the back and sped up again, pulling up a little so I could do a barrel roll.

  “Captain,” yelled Bell. “We’ll have to split up to avoid suspicion once we reach the city.”

  I nodded. “You know where you’re going?”

  “Don’t I always?”

  I laughed. “Right. Forgot who I was talking to for a second. Fine, you take Hobson. Berrett and I will take CiCi.”

  Bell nodded and fell back to collect Hobson. As we approached the city, I leveled out and slowed to avoid attracting attention.

  “Berrett, Ceese, you’re with me,” I yelled.

  The city hadn’t changed, but my perspective had. New York and Paris felt like sister cities to me. Except that one sister had retained her youth and beauty due to the constant affections of the System of United Nations, and the other had aged prematurely. Still, there were advantages in flying through dingy old New York—it was easier to sneak around in the dark, foul alleys than it ever was in Paris.

  We slowed down as we closed in on the familiar old brick building.

  “Ugh, I did not miss that smell,” I said, kicking off my sailboard.

  Berrett laughed. “I did.”

  “Yes, well, you always were somewhat bizarre.”

  “I’m not the one who leapt to certain death from an exploding ship.”

  “You don’t have to keep bringing that up, you know.”

  “Yeah! Lay off,” said CiCi.

  “Thank you, Ceese. Come on,” I said. We walked into the bar, arm in arm.

  There, sitting at a bar stool with her small hands wrapped around a big glass of water, was Mama B.

  ESCAPE ARTISTS 21

  I GASPED AND MOVED FOR THE BAR, BUT BERRETT SLAMMED his foot down on mine and held me back.

  “Say one word and I’ll wring your annoying little neck myself,” he said.

  “What?”

  “Just wait. We’ll get a room and go upstairs. She’ll figure it out.”

  “Cap?” asked CiCi.

  “Yeah?”

  “I don’t think this place is meeting the health codes.”

  “Me either, Ceese. Come on.”

  CiCi and I moved through the crowds and huddled in a corner while Berrett got a room. We watched the doors and windows, paranoid that someone would recognize us. After what seemed like an eternity, Berrett motioned for us to follow him through the hidden door and up the staircase. Just as we were about to move, CiCi pulled on my shirt sleeve and nodded to the door. Bell and Hobson walked in. I caught their gaze and nodded them over to the secret door. One by one, the five of us slid through the door and up the stairs.

  Berrett punched in our bedroom door code and the door popped open. We piled inside, letting out a collective sigh of relief. Berrett paced, Bell and CiCi flopped onto the bed, and Hobson and I huddled in a corner by the fireplace.

  “So, you said to ask you later,” said Hobs.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Ask you later. If you are okay.”

  “Oh, right.” I had completely forgotten. Of course the answer was no. I was totally on edge, practically drunk on my own misery.

  “I’m okay,” I said.

  Hobson’s eyes narrowed. “Uh-huh. You just go ahead and keep all of this bottled up inside. I
have some ulcer pills I can share with you.”

  I laughed. “Nothing I can do, Hobs. Just gotta keep swinging.”

  He nodded. “You’re doing a good job, Dix. I’m proud of you.”

  His words reverberated through me, calling up a memory.

  “Look, Hirum! I got it!” I cried.

  He laughed. “Not bad, T. For a girl.”

  I dropped my fishing line, fish still attached, in order to punch Hirum in the shoulder.

  He dodged my fist. “Smooth, Ishmael.” He reached over and grabbed my pole before it could disappear into the water.

  “Huh?”

  “Haven’t you read Moby Dick?” he asked.

  “No, it’s not required until next term.”

  “You’ll love it. Mrs. Ford is such a good teacher she could make reading tax files fun.”

  I idolized Hirum. He teased me, but he really was a great big brother. I helped him reel in the fish on the line and we packed it in.

  He tousled my hair. “Nice catch. I’m proud of you, T.”

  Nothing warms you to the core quite as much as your hero telling you he’s proud of you.

  I took a deep breath, pushed the memory away, and smiled at Hobs. Before I could exhale, a short series of knocks on our door made me jump out of my skin. Berrett stopped pacing and smiled. It was at that particular moment that I realized it had been a while since I had seen him smile. The sight of his pure, unadulterated grin sent shivers up my spine.

  Without even looking through the peephole, Berrett ran to the door and threw back the locks. He pulled Mama B. into the room, and between Berrett and me she was nearly knocked down with affection.

  She wrapped her arms around us. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

  I pushed Berrett out of her arms and hugged her tighter. “I was worried you were dead.”

  “You know she’s my mom, right?” asked Berrett.

  “I don’t care. I’m stealing her. She’s mine now, go find your own.”

  “You have my own, you weirdsmobile.”

  Mama B. just laughed. She kept one arm around me and put the other around her son as she walked toward the fireplace.

  “Who are your friends?” she asked.

  “That’s Bell, my first mate, and Hobson, and this is Chiu Chin.”