by Elle Casey
Chapter Sixteen: Malcolm
“CHANGE-UP, MAN. TAKE OFF your shirt.” The guy in front of me started unbuttoning the black shirt he was wearing. “My name’s Bud, by the way.”
I backed up a few paces. “Uh … no thanks.” I wasn’t sure what he was about to do, but whatever it was, I wasn’t interested.
He pulled the shirt down his arms, stopping just to undo the buttons at his wrists before taking it off all the way. “We don’t have a lot of time. Take your shirt off and put this one on.”
I was relieved to know there wasn’t going to be any attempted man-touching going on. “You want me to take my shirt off? And put yours on?”
He stopped in mid strip. “Are you hard of hearing or just retarded?”
“Not cool, man. I have no idea what the hell is going on here.”
The guy paused for a moment. “They didn’t give you the plan?”
“No. I wasn’t even aware there was a plan.”
He sighed. “Okay, sorry for harshing on you. You’re leaving as me. I’m staying as you. Jen and I will go out after you’re long gone and be seen around town so we can keep the cops thinking you’re still here. Get it?” He reached up and pulled the top of his head off.
“That’s a wig,” I said, a little out of breath. Part of me actually thought he was going to remove the top of his skull and show me that he’s some kind of go-go gadget robo cop.
“Yeah, it’s a wig. You think I’d walk around with fucked up hair like this for real?”
I laughed in relief. “I was kind of wondering.”
The guy smiled kind of evil-like. “Yeah, well, glad you liked it so much, because it’s yours now.” He threw it at me.
The black tangle bounced off my chest and landed on the floor. I made no move to pick it up.
“Take your shirt off,” he urged. “Hurry up. I don’t want Jen giving us shit about taking too long.”
“Who’s Jen?”
“She’s my sometime partner and all-the-time pain in my ass. That woman you saw out there with the red lips.”
“Oh.” I lifted up the edge of my shirt, still not excited about the idea of wearing some stranger’s clothes. He yanked the shirt away from me before it was completely off my arm.
I took his shirt from the ground and slid my arms into it, glad to find that it was freshly laundered. It made me feel a little guilty to know he was going to be wallowing in my stale sweat. That shirt had been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours.
“Get the hair on. Come on. We gotta beat feet.”
I picked up the black mess from the floor. “This thing is so eighties.”
“You like the ponytail? That was my add.” He smiled, his expression telling me he was torturing me on purpose.
“Mmmm, not so much.” I moved the hair around a little, trying to find out where I was supposed to put my head.
“Give it to me,” he said snatching it from my hands. He shook it out, shoved some hair first to one side and then the other, and then slapped it onto the top of my head. “Use the mirror. Get it straight.”
I walked over to the small armoire and used the mirror on the front of it to adjust my new hair. “No way does this look natural,” I said, frowning at my ugly self. “I look like a drugged-out eighties rhythm guitarist in a shitty band.”
“Here, add this to your look.” He handed me some sunglasses and a baseball hat.
“Oh, yeah,” I said, putting them on, “this looks sooo much better.”
He stood behind me, hands on hips, his aggravation reflected in the mirror. “Do you or do you not want to get out of here undetected with your girlfriend?”
I didn’t argue the girlfriend part. “Yeah. I guess.”
“No, it’s either yes or no, man. Don’t waste our time. Every second counts. Every second costs money and possibly lives. You have to know what you want and then go after it. This ain’t high school anymore.”
He was dead serious, I could tell by the hardcore expression on his face. Even wearing my shirt, he was intimidating as hell.
“Lives?” Of everything he’d said, that was the part that had really stuck. Crazy. No one’s risking lives, right? Whose life would it be, anyway? Mine? Rae’s?
“Yeah. Lives. You get what we’re all about, right?”
“You’re like … commandos or something.”
“No, we’re not commandos. We’re military contractors. Independent security specialists. We get paid the big bucks because we take big risks. And right now a bunch of people are taking risks for your ass, and the least you could do is make it easier to not get someone jacked up or killed.”
I swallowed hard. How had I gone from hiding in a bathroom in high school avoiding an over-eager Miserable to playing cat and mouse with commando freaks, nutjob parents, and cops? Am I even awake? I reached over pretending to brush some lint off my sleeve and pinched my arm really hard. Ouch. Shit. I guess I am awake.
“Come on. Maybe one of the chicks can help you with that hair.” He walked out of the room, not looking back to see if I was doing what he said.
I didn’t respond, choosing instead to just follow him out of the room and hopefully get through this weird shit as quickly as possible. I walked down the hall and out into the living room, joining Rae near the back of the couch. She was facing away, toward the kitchen, so I leaned in near her shoulder and said in a quiet voice, “How fucked up is this? I feel like a lunatic.”
She turned and nearly gave me a heart attack, smiling her head off.
“Rae?” I said, my voice coming out totally weak.
“Fooled ya. Pretty good, huh?” Someone else’s voice was coming out of a face that wasn’t quite Rae’s. But she was wearing Rae’s clothes and had her hair, too.
I backed away from her, bumping into someone behind me. I spun around to find a blond with red lipstick standing only inches away. “Sorry,” I said, looking down at the ground. That’s when I saw her shoes.
“I know those sneakers,” I said, looking back up at the woman.
She was smiling at me and lifting her sunglasses. “Boo.”
“Rae?” I asked again. My brain was spinning. Rae’d apparently done a change-up too, with that Jen lady Bud had been talking about. “Holy crap. I totally didn’t recognize you.” She looked like either a Hollywood celebrity or a big time hooker. I wasn’t going to tell her that, though. She seemed downright cheerful.
“Nice wig,” she said.
“Ugh, let me help you,” said Jen, coming up to my side and reaching up to my face.
I flinched away from her, but she just kept coming, grabbing onto the wig and wiggling it around on my head. “It’s not even centered. You want to blow this whole thing?”
I stood up straighter once I realized she wasn’t there to attack me. “I’ve never worn a wig before. I don’t even know how to put one on.” I felt it settling over my head tighter. The heat building up under my own hair made the sweat begin to come out all over. Soon I’d be dripping. “This thing sucks,” I said.
“So does getting arrested and tortured,” said Jen, stepping back to admire her work. “As good as it’s going to be. Ready?”
She was talking to me, but I didn’t have an answer for her. My concentration had gotten stuck on the word tortured. The word arrested was pretty awful too.
Rae put her arm around mine, clinging to it like we were going out on a date or something. “We’re ready. What do we have to do?”
Mr. Butts had just come in from the garage. “I put the coordinates into your GPS. Get in the car and start driving. Your bags are in the back seat. Purse in the front has your wallets in it and two cell phones. Stay at the location we’ve programmed in until you hear from us.”
Rae looked at Mr. Butts, her shiny happy expression changing to one of worry and fear. I was right there with her, wondering what the hell he was talking about.
“Say what, now?” I asked.
Jen blew out a big breath. “I really think you should
have at least one of us going with them.”
“No. You know the drill. We have people waiting on the other end,” said Mr. Butts, frowning at her. He looked at us next. “You can do this. It’s simple. You get in the car and follow the directions. We have locator beacons on the car, so we will know where you are at all times. If you go off course, you’ll hear from us. Your trip should take about fourteen hours going the speed limit. Always go the speed limit, understand?”
He waited until we both nodded before continuing.
“You have IDs, credit cards, and cash in the wallets. Use cash for food only. Do not talk to anyone, do not make eye contact, and avoid cameras. Every gas station store has them, so pay at the pump with the credit card. Keep your faces pointed at the ground. Get food at grocery stores, not gas stations convenience stores. Don’t stop to rest, just switch drivers every three hours or so. One drives while the other sleeps. Don’t leave the highway except for food. Do you understand these instructions as I’ve given them to you?”
I nodded dumbly. I felt numb, like I was in an end of the world scenario where if I didn’t follow everything to the letter, the whole planet was going to explode.
Rae’s question brought me out of my movie daze. “Why are you worried about cameras?”
“Facial recognition software. Keep the sunglasses on. Hat on and low over the head,” he said, looking at me. “Don’t let them get a straight shot of your face if you can help it. Stay away from ATM machines and banks. Keep the hat and glasses on even when driving on the highway or in town.”
“I’ll wreck the car,” I said. “I can’t drive in the dark.”
“The lenses are specially treated. You’ll see fine, both of you.”
“Won’t that be suspicious?” asked Rae.
“Better to be suspicious than photographed without them on. Now it’s time to go. Say your goodbyes.” He moved out of the way and let Jasmine get close. She’d been standing in the background, patiently waiting her turn.
The adults went out into the garage, leaving us standing in the house alone. Kootch was behind Jasmine, his expression revealing nothing.
“I told you guys my parents would take care of everything.”
“I’m not even sure where we’re going,” said Rae. “Do you know?”
“No, I have no idea. I’m not on the need to know list,” said Jasmine. “But it’ll be safe, you can bet your ass on that.” She hugged Rae, speaking over her shoulder. “Just stay together, you guys, no matter what. Together you cancel each other out. No one can find you if you’re normal.” She pulled away and came for me. I hugged her back awkwardly. It felt weird to have her pressed up against me with Rae there watching. She wasn’t bothered by it though, I could tell, but still…
“I’m glad your parents are keeping us together,” said Rae. “No way could I do this on my own.”
“Sure you could,” said Jasmine. “You don’t need Malcolm to be strong. But it will be more fun to have him there, I think.” She winked at Rae, making her go pink in the face.
“Take it easy, man,” said Kootch, holding out his hand to me. “Keep it real, but don’t forget about us … you know … when you get wherever. Witch Mountain or whatever.”
I smiled. “Nice. Alien spaceship escape plan.” I was joking, but for all I knew, that’s what they had planned for us. I lost my smile immediately.
“Now remember,” said Jasmine, talking in low tones to Rae, “I’ve given you the secret word. There are three more I want you to know about. If you get a message from me and it doesn’t have one of these words in it, you ignore it, you hear me? Treat it as bad news and ignore it completely. Do the opposite of whatever it says.”
“What?” said Rae. I was glad she asked the question so I wouldn’t feel like the only clueless idiot in the room.
“Codes. Here they are …” She leaned over and whispered in Rae’s ear. Then she pulled away. “Got it?”
Rae nodded.
“If I send you a note or a message, it will have one of those words in it. If you get a message that’s supposedly from me, but is missing one of those words? Ignore it. Get me? And I’ll only use each word once.”
Rae nodded, a small smile coming out. “But why do we need them? Aren’t your parents handling everything?”
“Yes, they are. And I have all the faith in the world in my parents. But if the shizzle hits the fizzle, I’m going to be all up in your business, helping you stay clear, okay? I promise you that.”
“Yeah, me too,” added Kootch. “Me and Geneva are ready to go road tripping any time you need it. Just say the word and we’re outta here.”
Jasmine stepped back until she was even with Kootch. “We got your backs. Now go get out of here and find your bliss. We have to erase any trace of you being here.” She reached over to the hall table where a pair of pink kitchen rubber gloves were sitting. She pulled one on and let it snap at the bottom. “Come on, Kootchie Pie, time to de-fingerprint the house.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m busy right now,” he said.
“I’m pretty sure you are too. Following my orders. Come on.” She walked past us, blowing us a kiss on the way.
Kootch followed, giving us a baleful look as he walked by. “Thanks a lot, you two. You probably touched the shit out of everything while you were here, too.”
Mrs. Butts stuck her head in from the garage. “Come on, kids. Time’s awastin’. Get a move on.”
I took Rae by the hand and looked down at her, trying to see her eyes behind the sunglasses. “You ready to do this?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, squeezing my hand and gesturing for me to go to ahead of her into the garage.
Chapter Seventeen: Rae
WE SPENT THE FIRST FEW hours of the trip trying to wrap our heads around the idea that we were running away from home, finally doing what we’d always dreamed of. Malcolm took the first driving shift, and I sat in the front passenger seat next to him. The car was a small economy-sized model with two doors and a hatchback. It was kind of hard to tell how this was all going to end up, since we didn’t even know where we were going. Whether our escape would turn out like it always had in my dreams was still a mystery.
Conversation shifted to the concept of figuring out our destination. The GPS system was only giving us directions, but efforts to find out the final stopping point hadn’t worked out so well. At one point a voice had come over the system telling us to stop messing with the buttons. Big Brother was definitely watching. Maybe it should have scared me, but I found it oddly comforting to know we weren’t totally alone. Malcolm and I avoided talking about personal things since we knew we could be overheard.
“We just passed a sign saying interstate sixty-five in five miles. Do you think we’re going to go that way?” asked Malcolm.
“Maybe. Where does it lead?” I opened the glove compartment for the tenth time, hoping a map would magically appear. No such luck, though.
“North. That’s all I know,” said Malcolm, staring out the windshield, still wearing his ridiculous mullet wig. He was one pitifully ugly boyfriend today. I didn’t tell him that, though, because I didn’t want him to get upset and pull the disguise off. I liked the idea of being different people for a while, at least until we were really, really far from my parents. It probably helped that I felt beautiful in my get-up.
“Want to bet we’re going to Canada?” I asked.
“No, we can’t be going there. They said it would take fourteen hours. That’s not enough time.”
“So, north, but south of Canada. Hmmm… Detroit?” I wasn’t much for geography, but I’d lived there once. I think it was move number three in a very long list of moves.
“Maybe. Or Chicago.”
“But I thought they were going to send us to the middle of nowhere,” I said, shutting the glove compartment. The only thing in there was an ice scraper, a seat belt cutter, and the owner’s manual.
“We just assumed that. Unless that lady Jen said som
ething to you about it, we’re just guessing.”
“She said she wasn’t on the need to know list.”
“Neither was Bud. I think it was Mr. Butts who put the coordinates into the GPS.” He spoke louder. “Mr. Butts? Are you there?”
Only silence greeted his question.
I sighed heavily. “This is boring. I hate road trips.”
“They’re not so bad, really,” Malcolm said, a slight grin making his ugly disguise not quite so terrible. “At least we’re going in the opposite direction as all those people looking for us.”
“We hope,” I said, not in the mood to cheer up.
He reached over and put his hand on mine, squeezing it. “You’re not alone. That’s got to be worth something, right?” He glanced over and then went back to concentrating on the road.
My heart warmed at his gesture, some of my grumpiness slipping away. “Yeah, that means something. A lot, actually. I’m glad it’s you in the car with me and not someone else.”
He smiled but said nothing.
We went silent again, the miles gliding past. I was easily lost in my memories, wondering when and if I’d ever see my parents again. I’d miss my mother for sure. She always seemed weak, afraid. Now that my father’s actual relationship to me was in question, I wasn’t missing him so much. I picked my brain over for memories of him and our interactions, trying to find clues about when he’d entered my life and if he was really related to me by blood.
A couple hours later we stopped for gas, being very careful to follow Mr. Butts’ directions. Malcolm did all the work, pumping the gas and using the credit card to pay. When he came back into the car, I took it from him to put it back into the wallet. “Thank you, Mr. …” I looked at the card, “… Williams.”
“You’re welcome, Mrs. Williams.”
I smiled. Our fake IDs and credit cards made us either a married couple or brother and sister. I avoided the subject of talking about it, too embarrassed to confess I kind of liked the idea of playing house with Malcolm.