by Bob Cooper
“This has got to work,” she mumbled half to herself as she wheeled the last cart off the truck.
Hillary knew Acey was scared and gave her a reassuring smile.
“Hey. Relax. What’s the worst that can happen? They arrest us again,” Hillary said, trying to get her to lighten up. However, she knew that all their futures depended on getting Raina out of there and into court to testify.
The hospital corridors were not quite busy yet. The doctors had not made their rounds, and the new shift was just coming in. Acey and Billy stopped at a patient room to deliver breakfast. The patient was sleeping, so they left a tray of food at his bedside. Billy looked at the delivery sheet. Raina was next on the list. Acey peeked down the hall and saw two nurses standing in front of her room. Billy sauntered towards Raina’s room. Acey pushed the cart behind him. They both noticed the guard sitting next to the entrance.
“Please unhook this patient from the monitor and get her cleaned up. She’s being transferred in an hour,” the head nurse instructed.
The new nurse acknowledged and walked into Raina’s room.
“Take this to the patient next door and wait for me to get you,” Billy said, handing Acey a tray of food from the cart.
Acey looked puzzled but did what he said. Billy nodded to the guard and then swung the cart into Raina’s room. Acey slowly walked into the room next door. The patient was wide-awake and eager to get his food. Acey smiled at him as she set the food containers at his bedside.
Billy really had no plan from this point on. He knew getting into the building wouldn’t be much of a problem, but how they would actually get her out, he had no clue. The nurse was disconnecting all the tubes from Raina as he entered.
“Good morning everyone,” he said, wheeling the cart in. Raina and the nurse looked at him as he reviewed Raina’s chart for breakfast.
“Could you please wait outside while I finish cleaning her up? It will only take a minute,” she said.
“No problem,” Billy replied, walking out of the room.
He looked at the guard watching him and considered some small talk, but only smiled at him. The doctors began to make their rounds, and he knew there wasn’t much time left to pull this off. He was about to go into the next room to see what was taking Acey so long, but the nurse called him back into the room.
“Okay, she’s ready for breakfast. Make sure you adhere to the requirements for this patient. As soon as I connect her to the monitor, you can distribute her meal,” she said.
“I thought that maybe she would like to sit up and have her breakfast by the window and see the sunrise come up over the mountains,” Billy said.
“I would really like that,” Raina said to the nurse.
The nurse hesitated but gave in. They helped her into a lounge chair and propped her up so she could reach the tray table.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Enjoy your breakfast,” she said, leaving the room.
Billy looked down the hall and watched the nurse head into another room. He quietly closed the door.
“Raina, we have to move fast. Acey is in the next room, and we need to get you out of here.”
Raina looked confused and stared at him.
“Trust me. This is our only chance to get you out of here.”
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m a friend of Hillary and Acey. She’s next door. We have to move now,” he said emphatically.
“I don’t know you,” she replied.
“Look, your sister is in the next….”
“Wait. How do you know Acey’s my sister?”
“Because she told me when she and Hillary tried to get me drunk so I would agree to help them get you out of here.”
Raina shook her head, trying to make sense from what he said. But it did sound like something the two of them would do.
“Alright, what do we do?”
“Get under the cart, and I’ll put this sheet over you. Hillary is waiting in my truck in the garage. Let’s move now.”
Billy was about to help her off the chair when an intern walked in.
“What is she doing out of bed. Who are you? Where’s the nurse in charge, he said slamming the chart on the bed.
Acey wasn’t doing much better in the next room.
“This is not what I ordered,” the patient yelled at Acey as he threw the tray to the ground.
“Nurse! Nurse!” he screamed just as his body when into a seizure.
Acey was stunned. His body convulsed violently which sent the monitor alarms at the nurse’s station in crisis mode. The guard heard the commotion and rushed in along with the intern from Raina’s room. Nurses crammed into the tiny room and literally threw Acey out. She walked into Raina’s room where Billy was putting the sheet over the entire cart with Raina laying underneath. She lifted the sheet to see Raina’s face. She smiled at her and squeezed her hand as Billy pulled her away.
“Come on, let’s fly,” he said, maneuvering the cart out of the room and down the hall.
He dodged nurses and doctors running to the convulsing patient. Acey was ahead of him opening doors, moving towards the elevators as fast as she could. The elevator seemed to take light years to reach the garage level, where the truck was waiting. Hillary saw them from the rear truck camera and opened the back door. They rushed the cart to the truck and lifted her in. As Hillary slammed the door shut, sirens began to wail.
“I think they’re on to us,” Billy said fearfully from the front seat.
Hillary sped down the exit ramp. The gate was down, and a guard was motioning her to pull over.
“Hold on,” she said as the truck blew through the gate sending pieces out into the street. The guard jumped back into the shack but then ran after them with his blaster drawn as the truck screamed down the street. Hillary turned down the service alley and then back to the main highway where she accelerated to max speed. Raina’s hand found Acey’s from under the cart and squeezed tightly.
“Hang on a while more,” Acey said as the truck careened through the traffic.
“We can’t go back to my place. They’re probably on to me. But I know another place,” Billy said.
23
The news about Raina’s escape hit the media fast. Alerts began to display on all public monitors almost immediately. The authorities determined Bayberry Catering was involved and rounded up employees for questioning, along with Billy’s father. After several hours of questions, they let everyone go except for Billy’s father. Tony brought the news to Dirk who was elated at first, but soon realized the gravity of the situation. Acey was on the run, broke her bail agreement and was currently the subject of an intense manhunt. He also knew O’Malley would stop at nothing to eliminate them.
“You have to find them,” Dirk told Tony.
“I have my investigators looking into it. They found the Bayberry Catering truck, used to break Raina out, abandoned not too far away from the catering company. But that’s not why I’m here. As you know, the judge has ordered your case to start in two days. It seems the Academy wants this resolved soon and put behind them.”
“It sounds like O’Malley’s doing,” Dirk said.
“I tried to explain we are not ready—especially with getting witnesses ready to testify but to no avail. We will have to go with what we have.”
“You have to find Raina and get her to testify. That’s our only chance.”
Aidan learned of the escape from the guards. Smiling, he thought how Acey would not sit still and would do whatever needed to be done. Closing his eyes, he longed to see her. The career that Aidan aspired to since childhood was over, and he would need to look for another way to make a living. But what hurt the most was that he broke the promise made to his father—to follow in his footsteps. He believed he had dishonored his father’s memory.
Tony met with Aidan to remind him of the trial’s early start date. He did not paint a rosy picture. Since his romantic involvement with Acey was no secret, the prosecution
would use it against him. Tony came up with several scenarios they might use, but they all required him to say he was an unwilling participant, and somehow by accident, ended up on the ship with them to Antares.
“That’s just not how it happened. It’s not the truth. I may be punished for not following the Code of Ethics, but I will not lie. I did what I did because it was the right thing to do, and in doing so, I am prepared for my punishment. I plan to change my plea to guilty,” he told Tony.
“I was afraid that you would do that. You know what the punishment is for what you did—three years in prison and a dishonorable discharge from the Citizen Guard.”
Aidan hung his head thinking about the time he would spend away from Acey, and Tony saw the pain in his eyes.
“Maybe we can cut a plea bargain if you plead guilty. I’ll throw it out to the prosecuting team and see what they say,” Tony said as he left Aidan.
***
After abandoning the truck, Billy took them down an alley to a warehouse his company used. The guards were watching the news about Raina’s escape and didn’t notice them sneaking down to the lower level.
“All the warehouses in this section of the city are connected.”
“Where do they lead?” Acey asked. She and Hillary struggled to hold Raina up as they slowly made their way through the dark and damp tunnels.
“To just about any part of the lower east side,” he said.
Billy led them through the maze, only stopping when Raina needed to rest. Even though she was feeling better, her head ached, causing her some disorientation, but with Hillary and Acey’s help, she remained determined to press on. They came to where the tunnel ended at a fork Billy paused and looked first to the left and then to the right.
Hillary and Acey looked at each other, questioning Billy’s ability to get them somewhere safe. Taking several steps down to the left, he motioned them to stay put. Acey could see him studying the walls and the ceiling as he continued to walk further down until he was almost out of sight. A sudden flash of light illuminated the entire tunnel for a brief moment, and then the light became more subdued.
“Are you alright?” Hillary whispered rather loudly.
“Yes. Follow me. Quickly!”
Acey lifted Raina’s arm over her shoulder and started down the tunnel. The light grew brighter, the closer they got to him. Rats and other vermin scurried under their feet as they hurried towards Billy.
“Just keep your eyes focused on Billy and keep moving,” Hillary said, noticing the stressed expression on Acey’s face.
“Down here just a little farther,” Billy said, coming back to help carry Raina.
He led them to a ladder that extended to the ceiling about twelve feet from the floor. There was a vent covered by a metal grate overhead. Billy climbed up and with great difficulty, pushed it completely over to one side.
“We’re going to have to get Raina through that vent,” he said coming back down to help.
Raina was able to make it up the ladder with Billy in front, pulling her up, and Acey and Hillary holding her steady from behind. That did the trick, and Raina made it up and out. She collapsed on the ground to rest while Acey and Hillary came through. The smell was not much better than the tunnels below, and Acey could see garbage strewn all about the alley.
“Quickly, follow me,” Billy said, leading them into a doorway in the back of the high-rise. Billy looked around and saw no one. Leading them to a freight elevator, they all got in.
“Fifteenth Floor,” he said as the elevator lurched upward.
“Where are we going?” Acey nervously asked.
Billy was about to answer when the elevator stopped, and the doors opened. Two maintenance men with assorted tools discussing a problem with the ventilating unit stepped inside. Hillary pushed Raina into Acey to prop her up better. Billy distracted them with small talk until they got off one floor below their stop.
Once on the fifteenth floor, he took them to unit 1503 and looked into the camera while pushing a button. The door opened cautiously to reveal the right side of an old woman’s face squinting through the crack.
“Grandma, it’s me, Billy. Let me in.”
The door opened, and a tall, slender, gray-haired woman came into view. Taking a long look at him and then at the three women, she kept the security lock engaged. Billy waited for her to absorb the situation before he spoke.
“Grandma, please let us in,” he said, looking down the hallway to see if anyone saw them.
She opened the door and let them in without saying a word. The monitor was on and broadcasting the news of Raina’s escape. The woman’s eyes were glued on Raina, who was totally exhausted from the experience and could not stand on her own without Acey and Hillary’s help.
“I’m sorry for dragging you into …” Billy started to say before being cut off.
“Bring her to the couch. The poor dear.” Running off to the kitchen, she brought back a cold glass of water.
“Here drink this and lie down,” she said to Raina.
“Grandma, this is Hillary, Raina, and….” He tried to explain before getting cut off again.
“I know who they are. I watch the news. That’s all they have been broadcasting. How’s your Grandfather?” she said, looking at Acey.
“Uh, I’m not really sure. He’s in prison.”
She saw the forlorn look on Acey’s face, and her maternal instincts took over.
“I just know he will be alright,” she said hugging Acey to her breast.
“Grandma, let me explain why….” Billy tried again, unsuccessfully to complete a sentence.
“Just how are you involved in all of this,” she said to Billy.
He waited to see if she was going to continue talking, but she stood there with arms crossed, waiting for his explanation. He shared the story of how they met and why he was willing to help them. She listened intently, but Billy could see she was not buying the story.
“So let me understand,” she said. “You risked your future and the company’s reputation because they promised to put you in touch with influential people from the art world?”
Billy looked at Hillary and then at Acey. Knowing how they pressured him to help in Raina’s escape, Acey was about to say something when Billy raised his hand and cut her off.
Billy looked at his Grandmother and walked over to the display cabinet, where she kept the family album. He brought up a hologram of him, and his father taken when he was only seven years old. They were in the park under a Mesquite tree with the mountains in the background. His father had his arm around him with a forced smile as a passerby took the image. Billy remembered it very well. It was the week his mother left them.
“When mom left, Dad was devastated. The catering business was in its infancy, and Dad was struggling to get it going. Dad catered a party and met Dirk Saunders. He really liked the food and promoted the company to the Academy. He got us in. From that point on, the business took off thanks to Dirk. Dad never forgot that. So when learning about Dirk’s predicament, Dad and I followed the story closely. After their return to Earth, we decided that we might help him out by passing information from the outside while they were in prison.”
“So it was your father then, that passed us the napkin in our jail cell and told us about Raina being moved when we got out on bail,” Acey said remembering those instances.
“Then it was no coincidence that you came to deliver the food last night. And everything else you said was a sham, Hillary said looking upset.”
“Whoa, hold on there. I had no idea you were going to call and order food from us. When you did, I seized the opportunity to help, and no, not everything I said was a sham.”
Hillary stared at him in amazement, not knowing whether to believe him or not. His Grandmother too had a puzzled look on her face. She moved over to Billy and put her arms around him.
“This sounds like something you and your father would concoct. You need to get the word out to Dirk that everyone is
okay.”
“If you can get in touch with Tony, our attorney, he can relay the info to Dirk and Aidan, but we have to get Raina in better shape so she can testify,” Acey said.
Everyone turned to look at Raina sleeping on the couch.
***
Billy’s Grandmother personally went to see Tony and gave him the message about Acey and the group. He then made plans to meet them at her house secretly. He couldn’t risk being followed, so he planned to go there the next day after nightfall.
It was midnight when he finally made it to her apartment. By then, Raina was able to stay conscious, and the trauma to her head was healing. After exchanging pleasantries, he got right down to business.
“Raina are you up to this,” he said, looking her straight in the eyes.
“I am,” she assured him.
He turned on the recorder and asked her to relay her involvement, including her suspicion that O’Malley was implicated in her mother’s death. Tony listened intently for the next three hours, making sure he questioned every detail so that he understood how he might present her testimony in court. It was quite late, but before he left, he made sure he had all their attention.
“Let me say that this case is not going to be a slam dunk by any means. All we have is Raina’s admission to planting the murder weapon for O’Malley, and her theory that he is behind her mother’s death. Without concrete evidence, the prosecution will be relentless. Raina was complicit in the murder and will face jail time. Aidan will be expelled from the Citizen Guard. Dirk could spend the rest of his life in jail. Acey and Hillary may do time for aiding and abetting a criminal.”
And on that sour note, Tony left. Everyone retired to bed except Raina. Staring out the window, she made up her mind to go after O’Malley. Before the sun came up, she snuck out of the apartment and onto the street.
***
The courtroom was packed to the rafters, and the Citizen Guard had their hands full keeping order. The Earthers were there in full force along with every fringe organization chanting and screaming slogans, representing their views. Monitors were in place outside around the courthouse ready to display the proceedings inside for those who couldn’t get in. Vendors sold their wares, trying to capitalize on the unfolding events. The media mingled in the crowds and attracted those that wanted to get as much publicity for their cause as possible during the biggest court drama in many years.