Lacy turned to Serena. “We made it!” she cried. Serena opened her eyes weakly.
“Wha…” she mumbled.
“We made it, Serena. We made it out!”
“We made it!” Serena repeated in a whisper. “Thank God!” The two hugged and cried on each other’s shoulders. Seconds later, Serena slumped over limply. Lacy felt for a pulse, but found none. She knelt over her friend’s body, took her in her arms and cried like a baby.
“No! No! We made it! We made it! You were so close – so close!” she sobbed.
The whine of Mosquito bikes and the blare of police sirens echoed toward them.
A Reckless Act
Richard gave Zonk a pat as he and Carrie followed Keller into the RV and sat down around the table. Keller went out to the fire-pit and soon returned with tea for all of them.
“Crack’s one of the most notorious gangsters in the city,” he said as he sipped his tea. “He’s attached to one of the most powerful militias, an ultra-right-wing outfit called the ‘Triumph of the Will’ – ‘Triumph’ for short. “They’ve got a fanatical belief in the philosophy of ‘every man for himself’. Their big beef is energy. They resent government control of energy sources, and they resent them being rationed out – you know – Energy Triage and such.
“I don’t think Crack could give a damn about Triumph and their philosophy – he just wants the chance to butcher at will, and maybe share in any power they might grab if they win. There's lots of other gangs, militias, armies, etcetera out there, all fighting to fill the law and order vacuum. The ‘real’ army’s power depends on mobility, and mobility depends on cheap energy. They’ve never been able to come up with a practical electric tank or jet fighter, and the cops are stuck with those piddly little Mosquitoes. Without energy, it’s tough for either of them to enforce the rule of law.”
“So does this Crack have some kind of regular hangout?” said Richard.
Keller stared at him. “Look, you’re not going to be of any use to Danny if you’re dead. If he’s still alive, you want to be around to help him. Believe me, if you tangle with Crack and his crowd you won’t be. What are you planning to do – stroll up to Crack and ask him what he did with Danny?”
“You said yourself that if I leave this to the cops, nothing will happen,” said Richard. “It’s been over a week now, and they’re still convinced Danny’s either not really missing or dead. Even if they were serious about the case, they’ve got more pressing problems than one missing kid. Can you honestly tell me that you disagree with that assessment?”
Keller stared into his teacup for several seconds.
“These guys move around constantly,” he finally said, looking up. “I know some people who could probably find out where Crack is at the moment, but I’d have to go to town and talk to my contacts. How do you two feel about looking after the old homestead for a day?”
“Actually, it might be just as well for us to stay here. Somebody broke into my place while I was gone. They didn’t take anything, just tore the place up. It might not be safe to stay there right now.”
Keller looked up in shock. “They didn’t take anything?”
“Just from the garden - maybe something scared them off.”
“Maybe,” said Keller, shaking his head. “It’s too late for me to leave now. I’d want to meet with my people and be holed up indoors before dark. We’ll have to wait until morning and I can be off first thing. There’s room in the RV for all of us. It’ll be a bit cramped, but it’s only one night.”
“Thanks – I appreciate it.”
“Look – you sure this is what you want? ‘Cause I’m not exaggerating here – this guy is a murdering psychopath, and he’s got a gang of murdering psychopaths working for him. Maybe you should check out some other options first.”
“I’ve explored all the other options. We know that Danny was hanging out with Crack. Now Danny’s missing. You can bet Crack’s got something to do with it.”
“Okay, okay” said Keller. “I’ll head out tomorrow. Let’s not talk about it anymore. Come on outside. I’ve got a special treat for you two.”
Carrie spoke up, “Would you mind if I took a nap? I’m pretty exhausted.”
“No problem,” said Keller. “Just a second and I’ll set up the bunk for you.”
***
Carrie slept for a couple of hours and woke feeling surprisingly refreshed. As she slid down from the bunk, she heard strange sounds coming from outside. Warily, she tiptoed to the door. Richard and Keller were sitting by the fire-pit. Each had a sawed-off stump for a chair and a glass jar half-filled with a golden liquid in one hand. Zonk sat between them.
They rocked back and forth, singing:
Awwwwr you my darling
Awwwwr you my love
Awwwwr you an angel sent from above
They would sing each ‘awwwwr’ as if they were howling, and with each howl, Zonk would join in and actually howl along. Carrie doubled over laughing. The singing continued:
Awwwwwr you the answer to all of my prayers
O please say that you awwwwr, say that you awwwwr
She wandered over to join them.
“Hello, sleepyhead,” called Richard on seeing her, with a slur in his voice. “Sorry if we woke you. Jim and I were just teaching Zonk a song.”
“And I see Jim’s been teaching you where he keeps his bootleg hooch,” laughed Carrie.
“Well – yeah – that too,” he admitted.
“It’s good to see you loosening up a bit,” said Carrie.
“Hey, I’m loose, baby,” laughed Richard. “Here - have a drink.”
“Is it drinkable?”
“Nectar of the Gods.”
“Then sure – deal me in.”
Richard stood up and began to sway. Carrie jumped forward and grabbed his glass.
“I think maybe you’ve had enough for one day,” she said.
“Yeah, maybe,” he answered. “Jim, what the hell’s in this stuff?”
“An old family recipe,” laughed Keller, “and a trade secret.”
“Come on,” said Carrie, putting her arm around Richard’s waist and guiding him to the RV. “I think it’s bedtime for you young man.”
“Who you callin’ young!” Richard drawled as she led him into the RV.
A few minutes later she re-emerged and joined Keller at the fire. Zonk lay with his eyes closed by Keller’s feet.
“Is that offer of a drink still open?” she said, sitting down on Richard’s vacated stump.
“Absolutely,” said Keller. He went inside the RV for a few seconds and emerged with a clean jar.
“He’s dead to the world,” Keller said, tilting his head back toward the RV. He twisted the cap off of a bottle filled with the golden liquid and began to pour.
“Not too much,” said Carrie. “I don’t want to end up like him.”
“Sure,” said Keller. “Just a touch to wet your whistle.” He poured an inch or so into the jar and handed it to her. He held up his own jar for a toast:
“To seeking…and finding,” he said, and clinked his glass against hers.
“To seeking and finding,” she repeated, “alive.”
“Amen to that,” said Keller. "And speaking of that, somehow I get the feeling that you're a lot of the reason why
he's
still alive.” Again Keller motioned with his head toward the RV.
"For somebody that's never been outside of the city, he's done okay,” said Carrie. “But I'm not sure how long he would have lasted without anyone to help him. I couldn't just let him go off and throw his life away."
"But that's not the only reason…"
"What?"
"That's not the only reason you're helping him."
Carrie felt herself blushing.
"Well, yeah – I guess," she finally answered.
"So you're planning to go with him when he runs off looking for Crack?”
“Yeah.”
“However you feel about him, I hope I’ve impressed on you the danger we're going to be facing."
"We?"
"You don’t think I’m going to miss out on this do you? I've never shied away from a fight before, and I'm not about to start now. I don’t know what we’re going to do if and when we actually catch up with Crack, but I can guarantee that whatever it is will involve an insane amount of danger. We're talking life and death here.”
"You and I have both beaten the odds so far,” said Carrie, “Maybe a miracle will happen and we’ll beat them again. If not…I’m not afraid to die.”
Keller said nothing, but reached out with a stick and poked at the fire. A swirling halo of sparks rose on a column to the sky.
***
The next morning Keller threw some things into a backpack and was gone. After breakfast, Richard and Carrie sat around the fire. Richard absently scratched Zonk behind the ears.
“So this is the dog you got to protect yourself?” Carrie said.
“Yeah…Well, I admit that he’s not exactly your ideal guard dog…”
“I think ‘not exactly’ is kind of an understatement. So is there anything else he can do?”
“Uh… shake a paw?” he suggested. As if feeling the need to defend his dog, he looked down at Zonk and actually said, “Come on, Zonk. Shake a paw…” he thrust out his hand hopefully.
Zonk lay on the ground. Only his eyes moved, gazing up at Richard as if he had no idea what he was talking about.
“He can do it,” Richard insisted. “He’s probably just tired right now or something.”
“He’s been sleeping all night. He just woke up.”
“Well, maybe he didn’t sleep very well – how do I know?”
Carrie just shook her head.
“Anyway,” said Richard. “It was Danny who really wanted Zonk. They seemed to form an instant bond.”
“Well, no accounting for taste,” said Carrie. “But I guess that’s a fair enough reason to keep Zonk around. He is kind of lovable in an innocuous sort of way.”
“Don’t you listen to her, Zonk,” crooned Richard, putting his hands over the dog’s ears. “Don’t let the mean woman upset you.”
They sat without speaking for several seconds.
“I’m sorry about what happened back at the College,” Richard said suddenly, breaking the silence. “I’m more attracted to you…”
“You don’t have to explain anything,” said Carrie. “Take whatever time you need. I want you to be sure.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” said Richard, reaching out and taking her hand. “It’s been on my mind since we left, and I’ve decided that I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”
Gently he took her in his arms and kissed her. They strolled together hand in hand to Keller’s RV.
Keller returned late that afternoon.
“Good to see you back safe and sound,” said Richard. “How did the trip go?”
“Let’s go in and sit down,” Keller gestured toward the RV, “and we can talk about it.”
“Well,” Keller said, once they were settled in, “my contacts were able to find out where Crack is holed up right now. He’s laying low in an abandoned industrial park about an hour’s bike ride northeast of here. He’s been there for a couple of weeks, and he’s getting ready to move, so if we’re going to do anything, it better happen soon.”
Keller pulled a map from his pack and spread it out on the table.
“We’re here,” He pointed at a red dot on the map that marked the beginning of a thick red line.
“According to my sources,” Keller said. “Crack is right here.” He pointed another red dot at the other end. Richard made careful note of the path.
“Does this place have a name?” Richard said.
“Apparently it used to be called ‘Keating Industrial Park’, though they weren’t sure whether the name was still visible anywhere. It should be easy to find though. We just get onto Broadway follow it east until we hit Kensington.” He ran his finger slowly along the red line on the map. “Five blocks north on Kensington should put us in the immediate area. After that we should be able to find it by sight.”
“Realistically, what can we actually do?” Carrie said.
“Against Crack?” Keller said, shrugging his shoulders. “Not much. There’s no way the three of us can tackle him head on – we’d just be throwing our lives away. I think our best bet is to lie in wait nearby, maybe ambush one or two of his gang as they leave the compound, assuming we ever get that kind of opportunity, pray that it’s somebody who actually knows something about Danny, and somehow force them to give us the information. We’ll have a better idea what our options are after we’ve seen Crack’s setup."
“There’s no ‘we’ here,” said Richard. “You’ve both already done more than your share to help me. If this guy’s as bad as you say…”
“Hey!” Carrie turned on him. “I’ll be the one to say whether or not I’m going with you.”
“That goes for me too,” said Keller. “You and Danny are the closest thing I have to family. It’s my decision whether I go, not yours.”
“You said yourself that it would be suicide for me to tangle with Crack,” said Richard. “I can’t ask you two to commit suicide along with me.”