Archipelago N.Y.: Flynn (26 page)

When Leo found
them again in his viewfinder, Madison was in the water with Perry. He watched
them disappear beneath the surface. He waited a few minutes, focusing his
lenses on the spot where he had last seen them. But they never resurfaced…These
two had not gone for a casual swim. This was a proper deep dive! Again, Leo
wondered what all this action round the Power Plant was all about… He grunted
in frustration and spat in the water. He was done waiting, lurking in the
distance! He had seen enough, and it was time for Madison to stop playing her
role. The time to act was now!

“I need a raft!”
he yelled as he threw his binoculars on the seat of his boat. “I need to get
closer, without them hearing me.” He glared at his posse of friends who sat
behind him, then at the guards in the boat next to his. With their engines
turned off and a safe distance away from the smokestacks, they had all been
waiting quietly for him to finish his little reconnaissance mission.

“Get me a good
raft, Simmons!” Leo turned to one of his guards. “A fast and quiet one,
alright! As soon as possible!”

“Err ... you want
us to build you one, sir,” said the guard, “...or to confiscate a raft from the
Lower Side?”

“I don't care, you
moron!” Leo yelled and smashed his fist on the dashboard. “Just get me the
bloody thing!”

He turned the key
in the ignition and the engine roared. Leo pushed on the throttle. His posse
cheered as the powerboat jumped forward and sped off in the direction of the
Upper Side.

“Come! Let me show
you, amigos.”

Tony Romero led
Flynn and Madison down the narrow walkways surrounding the
Ark
. There
was a flurry of activity all over the vessel. The newly arrived group had
joined forces with the existing crew, working around the clock to finish the
Ark
and get her ready to sail as soon as possible. Like ants, they crawled up and
down the scaffolding, laying down panels of salvaged metal over the hull and
welding them together. Mr. Kowalski ran around from one group to the next,
supervising the progress, making adjustments, testing the electrical systems
and fitting all mechanical parts.

“There!” Tony
pointed at the
Ark
.

The entire length
of her starboard was covered in a thick layer of raw algae. The mixture had
quickly dried up, turning from bright green to brownish gray, fusing the
grooves and gaps between the panels like cement. Flynn's father was with a
group of people who were hanging from harnesses and working their way across
the other side of the hull. Their job was to apply more of the fresh algae to
the remaining bare parts of the hull.

“So, that's what
it's for, then!” Flynn exclaimed. “All that algae we'd been lugging here!”

“Yes,” said Tony, “it's
like natural glue! Duncan calls it green mortar, whatever that is ... it’ll
seal the
Ark
, make her waterproof for when she goes under.”

“We'll be sailing
underwater?” Madison's eyebrows shot up in surprise. “What kind of ship is
this?”

“Mr. Kowalski
calls it a submarine! Says it can go both above and below the surface of the
water. Beats me if you ask!” Tony shrugged.

“I’ve seen
submarines from the Olden Days!” Flynn stared at the
Ark
with renewed
interest. “Only in pictures, though. Never for real…And those big fans at the
back ... what are they for?”

“Propellers! Old
industrial fans Mr. Kowalski had modified and connected to the engine,” Tony
explained. “Honestly Flynn, you should see the engine room and all the stuff
inside! It's amazing, amigo!”

“So, we'll be
powered, then! No more pedaling, eh!”

“Only for as long
as the algae ethanol lasts!” Tony said. “No one really knows how far we’ll have
to go!” He went on to describe the intricate system of ropes, pulleys and gears
Mr. Kowalski and Duncan had designed as an alternative, man-powered mechanism
for when they ran out of fuel. A simple switch shifted the propeller gears from
the engine to the three rows of pedal benches that could seat up to fifty
people at a time.

“So, sooner or
later we'll all have to pedal, I'm afraid.” Tony smiled.

“Knew it was too
good to be true,” Flynn grinned back at his friend then glanced around the solid
dome above their heads. “This is all great, but...how’re we going the get out
of here when she’s all ready to sail?”

“Duncan hasn’t
told anyone yet,” Tony replied. “I guess we’ll just have to trust him… trust
that he knows what he’s doing.”

“What is it?”
Madison whispered in alarm. Flynn had stopped pedaling, and was now straining
his eyes at the darkness behind them, his body tense. Flickering in the
distance, the Archipelago lights were their only source of light.

“Thought I heard
something!” Flynn said, looking back, trying to see in the darkness. “Sounded
like a splash...”

“Probably a seal,
or a dolphin,” Madison said. “What else could be out here at this hour?”

“I don't know. It
sounded more like...” Flynn stopped talking and waited a moment. It was dead
quiet, not a single sound could be heard, except for the water lapping against
the sides of the
Seeker
. “You're right! It's nothing.” He slid back on
his seat and started pedaling again. “Maybe I'm just tired!”

Flynn wasn’t just
tired! He was exhausted! He could barely keep his eyes open. He and Madison had
hardly gotten any sleep for over a week now… A few hours here and there, stolen
in between jobs. That was all. Flynn had never before performed so many dives
in such a small period of time…. He felt drained! But all this work had to be
done, no question about it. It was down to him and Madison, together with
Pharrell and Clay to gather and supply the
Ark
with all the essentials
for the trip. Duncan had given them a list with what was needed, and they had
gone out searching. They had scavenged for vacuum packed medication, bottled
water and canned food, tools of any kind, big and small, light bulbs,
rechargeable batteries ... the list went on and on! They had to dive for all
that, and ferry it to the
Ark
’s cargo hold. Flynn had lost count of how
many trips they had made back and forth between the Archipelago and the Power
Plant. It didn't matter. The
Ark
depended on him! And he wasn't alone.
Everyone involved had been working around the clock to finish the ship. A few
more days, Flynn thought, and they'd be ready to sail. He could see the black
shadows of the smokestacks now and steered the raft toward the chain-link
fence.

“I don't think
I’ve got the strength to go down tonight!” Madison said as they glided toward
the fence. She was half lying on the seat next to Flynn.

“Me too… I'm
spent!” He yawned. “Let's dump the cargo and go get some sleep.” Flynn got up,
dragged his feet to the back of the raft and crouched down to untie the net
holding his “catch of the day”. It consisted of a large load of canned food, a
collection of tools and copper wires, which had been scavenged from three
different locations. He was fighting with the knot, when he heard something and
froze… The splashing sound again! Loud and clear this time, very rhythmical and
coming closer… No, that wasn't a seal, or a dolphin, or any other sea creature.
Flynn knew what that sound was. A pedal-propelled raft! And they weren’t
expecting any company, because Duncan and the rest of the gang were down below,
working on the
Ark
.

Suddenly, the beam
of powerful floodlights was upon them! Blinded, Flynn shielded his eyes and
staggered back. Madison was up on her feet and by his side in an instant. Their
raft was now a brightly lit stage, with the four smokestacks as its sinister
backdrop. Instinctively, Flynn's hand reached for his diving knife.

“Stay where you
are, Perry boy!” Leo Van Zandt's voice rang out from behind the strong light. “Or
I'll shoot you right there on the spot!”

Flynn let his hand
fall and squinted. He could just about make out where Leo was standing and saw
a pistol flash in his hand. The Van Zandt raft was now only a few feet away
from them. Flynn did his best to scan the deck. It appeared empty, and that Leo
had come alone. They still had a chance, he thought.

“Throw your knife
in the water Perry boy,” Leo ordered. “Now!”

“You can't touch
us,” Flynn said, trying to keep his voice steady. “We’re Free Scavengers.
Duncan Roth is our boss, and we only answer to him and your father.”

“Hah! You're
nothing, Perry!” Leo sneered. “You’re a criminal, that's what you are! Do you
honestly believe you’re so valuable to us? That I’ll get in trouble with my dad
for killing lowlife scum like you?” He paused for a moment and pointed the gun
at Flynn. “No, I won't hesitate to shoot you! Your boss isn’t here to help you,
now is he?”

Flynn and Madison
stood frozen in the middle of their raft, staring back at Leo.

“But before I get
rid of you Perry boy...” Leo drawled, “you'll tell me exactly what’s so special
about these waters here.” He waited for an answer, but none came. “I’ve watched
you come and go all week long… So there’s got to be something down there.”

“There’s nothing…
just random scavenging stuff,” Flynn lied.

“Really? ... In
that case, you won’t mind if my men drop some mines round here, would you?” Leo
asked, pointing to the lights that had suddenly appeared in the distance. Motor
boats! They were moving fast, heading towards the Power Plant.

Flynn clenched his
fists and tried not to blink or say anything that might give away the terror he
felt. It wasn’t just his and Madison’s lives that were in danger now. If Leo
was going to mine the waters all around the Power Plant, then the
Ark
would never be able to sail away.

“Start talking,”
Leo exploded, “or I'm going to count to three and put a bullet through your
brain.”

Leo’s raft had now
drifted almost against the
Seeker
, and the two vessels were only inches
apart. What were his chances if he were to jump the bastard, Flynn wondered.

“One…” Leo had begun
his countdown.

Flynn tensed his
muscles. His mind was racing. He had to do something and the best he could
think of was for Madison and him to try and dive into the water before getting
shot. Madison squeezed his hand hard, as if she had read his mind.

“We’ve got to warn
everybody,” Flynn whispered and she held on to his arm even tighter. “They’ve
got to launch the
Ark
before it’s too late.”

“I know!” she
whispered back. “But my parents… I can't leave them behind, Flynn!” She turned
to face him, and he saw the tears running down her cheeks. She quickly wiped
her eyes dry and stepped away from him.

“Two!” Leo
drawled.

Madison took a
deep breath and shouted, “Leo, wait! I’ve got a better idea.”

Leo Van Zandt
lowered his gun a fraction.

“There’s no need
to shoot him,” Madison said as she moved farther away from Flynn. “We leave him
here in the water, take his raft back, and he’ll be dead by tomorrow… Drowned
or eaten by sharks.”

A sly smile spread
over Leo’s face. He saw how Madison’s words had taken the Perry boy completely
by surprise… “Great idea, beautiful! A slow and horrible death,” Leo said and
aimed his gun back on Flynn. “Shooting him would be way too easy.”

Flynn felt as if
someone had punched him straight in the face. He glared at Madison and couldn’t
believe what he was hearing… In fact, he had stopped listening altogether. What
was she doing?

“When they ask,
I’ll say it was a diving accident,” Madison spoke quickly. “… And if you want,
I can also blame Duncan Roth for Flynn’s death… I’ll tell your father how
Duncan didn’t give us any proper instructions… How he sent us on all these
dangerous late-night dives, in toxic waters with faulty equipment… that I
nearly died too…”

“I love it!” Leo
was now grinning from ear to ear. “That should get Roth in plenty of trouble
with my dad.”

“Sure will,”
Madison laughed and moved swiftly to the back of the
Seeker
. “But
there’s more…” She knelt down by the net full of the provisions for the
Ark
.

“What’s that?” Leo
craned his neck, his eyes never leaving Flynn. He could see that the Perry boy
had gone very pale, even with the spotlight shining on him.

Flynn wanted to
scream at Madison… She was going to tell Leo about the
Ark
? If only he
could, he would have killed her right there on the spot… But Madison was now
just too far for him to stop her.

“Just proof …,”
Madison began to speak very slowly and clearly, “that Duncan was … involved
with… all the Black Market profiteering going on behind the Government’s back.”

Flynn’s heart
stopped in his mouth… Madison had not said a word about the
Ark
! And
then as Madison’s words began to sink in, his heart soared like a bird… It took
a second for him to realize what Madison had been doing from the very start.
And doing it so brilliantly…She was playing the bastard! Giving Flynn a chance
to get away… to save the
Ark
!

“Leo, come have a
look at all this stuff,” Madison called out, still crouching by the net full of
salvaged provisions. Now, she was trying to distract Leo Van Zandt, make him
drop his guard.

But Leo didn’t
move from the spot he was standing in. “It can wait,” he said and cocked his
gun. “First, Perry boy has to go for a little swim…with the sharks.” Leo
snickered and fired his gun.

Flynn felt the
bullet whistle past his shoulder. He doubled over from the searing pain. Blood
was gushing out of a small wound where the bullet had grazed his upper arm.

“What’re you
doing, Leo!” cried Madison, her eyes wide with horror. “We said no shooting!”

“Just giving the
great whites a head start,” Leo laughed. “If I wanted to shoot him properly,
he’d be dead by now.” Leo motioned for Flynn to step forward and come to the
edge of the raft. “Get in the water, scum boy!”

Flynn obeyed
without protesting… This was where he wanted to be… In the water’s cold
embrace… All his life, the ocean around the Archipelago had been his playground.
He was in his full element here, surer of himself and more focused than when he
was on dry land… For some reason, it made him feel invincible… And that was
exactly how Flynn felt now, as he jumped off the raft and into the black water…
Leo would be waiting for him to resurface and suspect nothing. He didn’t know
of the air pocket inside the Power Plant, and that Flynn would be making his
escape. He would head down and never come up for air. First stop would be the
diving bell to catch his breath… then, another descent to the opening in the
wall… This was what Madison wanted him to do…  But Flynn wasn’t going to do
that… He couldn’t leave her behind!

Luckily for Flynn,
the light from Leo’s raft made it a lot easier to navigate as he swam back up
toward the two vessels. His plan was to get underneath his own raft and to
locate its hidden compartment. Inside, there was a tiny breathing space...and a
much better weapon than the knife Flynn had lost… His harpoon!

He found the spot
right under the starboard and squeezed in, glad that he could fill his
screaming lungs with air again. With no source of light, Flynn had to feel his
way around until his cold fingers unfastened the stash of the emergency gear. He
had to stop the flow of blood from his arm immediately, or face the possibility
of making Leo’s wish come true…There were sharks in these waters, so Flynn knew
he was in real danger. A strip of duct tape served as a bandage, and Flynn
quickly moved on to the next task at hand. He grabbed his harpoon… The weapon
had served him well in the past. Flynn was a good shot and felt confident he
would be able to take Leo out… Careful not to make any noise, he swam out to
the back of the
Seeker
.

Seconds later, Flynn
heard Madison’s voice above him and strained his ears to catch what she was
saying.

“Leo, there’s no
need to drop mines round the Power Plant… Trust me, there’s nothing here to
worry about,” said Madison…. Flynn couldn’t make out what Leo’s response was,
but Madison continued talking… “And I should know, right? Duncan was using the
site to just stash away some of his Black Market booty… that’s all… Let’s go
back home. It’s been such a long night.”

Flynn peeked over
the side and saw Leo and Madison getting ready to leave. But he also saw half a
dozen speed boats closing in! He knew he had precious little time to act. He
aimed the harpoon at Leo, released the safety catch and watched the spear fly
through the air… It struck Leo between the shoulder blades, knocking him down
to the floor of the deck.

“Quick, Madison!”
Flynn shouted. “Jump!”

But Madison
remained where she was… A hand had gripped her arm in an iron hold… Leo was
standing beside her again… He had been wearing his bulletproof vest under his
jacket and the harpoon had merely taken the wind out of him. Now, holding
Madison as a shield, Leo fired his gun at Flynn… and missed… The roar of the
approaching motor boats had briefly taken his attention away from his target, but
it had been enough for Flynn to disappear back underwater.

Within seconds,
the shooting began again in earnest… and this time Leo wasn’t alone.  Flynn
knew there was nothing he could do anymore. He was outnumbered and with only a
harpoon to defend himself and Madison… The security guards were emptying their
rifles into the water, throwing nets around the perimeter… Flynn caught one
final glimpse of Madison, filled his lungs with air and dived down.

He kicked his
feet, going deeper fast… But someone had followed him. The beams of powerful
flashlights told him that he was not alone. The entrance to the Power Plant was
there, just feet away now, when ... Flynn felt a hand grasp his foot. He swung
his body around and was face to face with Leo, who was holding Flynn’s ankle
with one hand ... a knife in the other. He slashed with the knife and the sharp
blade met with Flynn's calf, making a deep cut. Flynn winced in pain, but held
his breath and managed to grab Leo's hand, twisting it away. For a moment, the
two were lost in a cloud of blood, trashing around, fighting for their lives.
The torchlight illuminated Leo’s face. There was madness in his eyes as he
reached for Flynn's throat. But, there was also something else which Flynn
recognized immediately… Leo was about to run out of air! He was still holding
on to Flynn, but he was struggling now, getting weaker. There was movement
around them as a few shadows swam past Flynn. He glanced back, and saw two of
Leo's guards spreading a net, ready to throw it on top of him. With one swift
move, Flynn swung Leo around and kicked him hard in the face, sending him
straight into the net. It closed over Leo, trapping him inside. The guards
scrambled, frantically trying to untangle the net and free their boss. The last
thing Flynn saw before he swam away, were Leo's eyes. They were bulging for
lack of air and full of sheer terror! It was the look of a drowning man… and
Flynn knew that Leo would never make it to the top alive.

"It's only a
surface wound! No major blood vessels damaged! You'll live!" Ann Baxter
said when she finished bandaging Flynn's leg.

Flynn groaned. Not
so much from the pain, but from the terrible sense of guilt! He had let
everybody down…He had let Leo sneak up on them… didn’t raise the alarm in time…
and he couldn’t save Madison … He had left her behind… Flynn knew everybody was
staring at him, but didn't dare look up and meet their eyes. They all stood in
a circle around him. Duncan, Mr. Kowalski, his father, Tony, Pharrell, and
those who had stopped work and gathered to hear the bad news… Everybody, except
Madison, Flynn thought bitterly and slammed his fist against the wall.

“Flynn, stop
blaming yourself,” Duncan finally spoke. Up until that moment he had been
silent, a deep crease in his forehead. “You were extremely brave and did your
best.”

Now all eyes were
on Duncan Roth and everybody nodded… but Flynn saw how worried they looked.

“Alright!” Duncan
said. "This is where we are… I was hoping for an extra day or two, but
that's out of question now!”

A ripple of
nervous excitement went through the group. As his words spread, shouts of eager
anticipation echoed in the great chamber hall. Duncan raised his hand.

“Our location's
been compromised,” he spoke with great urgency. “You all know what you’ve got
to do and you’ve rehearsed the emergency procedure. So, let's get the
Ark
ready for launch.”

Everybody
scattered in different directions, splitting into small groups. The worried
faces were suddenly full of purpose and determination. They knew where they
were going and they did so with great urgency and a lot of noise. Confused,
Flynn stood in the middle of the storm, not sure what to do.

“Walter,” Duncan
placed his hand on Mr. Kowalski's shoulder, “please check all hatches and
windows… Make sure they're all well sealed. OK?”

Mr. Kowalski
nodded and hurried away.

“Flynn!” Duncan's
finger beckoned him. “You're coming with me to the helm.”

“Me?” Flynn
glanced around, unsure if Duncan wasn't addressing someone else. But there
wasn't anyone else left, except the two of them.

“I need you to
know how to work the controls, Flynn!” Duncan said as he led him up a walkway. “I
need someone I can trust, in case I'm ... not here to do it!”

“But, sir...err
Duncan...” Flynn swallowed hard. “Surely there’re others here, who could do
this... like Mr. Kowalski, or...”

“Walter’s a genius
at pretty much everything else, except ... navigation!” said Duncan, leading
Flynn toward the
Ark
. “As for the rest of our crew, most are lacking
either one skill or another, or simply can't see well enough because of their
age! You're my best navigator here and you're young! So, like it or not, you'll
have to be my second in command, Flynn!”