Price of a Bounty (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!) (16 page)

“Guy,
don’t you get it? When you steal for the Resistance, someone
gets blamed. Always. I’m sure you usually let your alias take
that burden so that no one else gets hurt, but who do you think Mr.
Beckett is going to blame this time?”

I
felt sick to my stomach. Keira was absolutely right. I’d
never realized, never thought…whenever possible, I hadn’t
been letting the blame fall on my aliases, quite the contrary. All
along I’d been hurting people too, and this time it was Keira’s
little sister who’d been hurt.

I
stood and helped Keira to her feet.

-Keira-

Getting
Her Out

During
the drive back to Tkaron, Guy called someone and placed a rush order
on a new identity for April. Then he tried to convince me to wait.
I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to get April out immediately.

“Keira,
listen to me. It’s possible that nobody has noticed the
missing items yet, so we need to handle this delicately. If April
leaves without a solid reason before that happens, Lance Beckett will
suspect her for sure.”

“Then
we have to get her out before the robbery is discovered.”

“It’s
not that easy. Beckett has money and power on his side. It’s
not just about getting April away from him. If he suspects her
before we can get her out of Tkaron, he’ll use the authorities
against her.”

“I
could just take him out,” I said quietly.

“How
about we try to bring him down another way?”

“What
do you have in mind?” I looked at him.

“I
don’t know yet. Just give me a minute to think.” He paused.
“If we can get April out discreetly, I can improve her life a
great deal, and I know we can find a way to bring down Beckett in
court. Remember, I have money and power on my side too.”

“She
said Ashton had a job opportunity for her, but…oh no! I think I
convinced her not to trust you.”

“You
did that? She didn’t jump at the opportunity like I expected. I
tried to get her out the day before yesterday.”

“See?
These kinds of secrets, they don’t help anyone. And now they’ve put
April in danger.”

“Would
anyone there be suspicious if you visited her tomorrow?”

“Of
course not! She’s my sister. I visit her all the time.”

“That’s
what you should do then. Stop by for a visit and convince her to
trust me. I was going to call in my resignation tomorrow, but
instead, I’ll return to work. I’ll stay on until we can get her out
of the realm.”

“What
type of job training, out of the realm, do you have in mind for her?”
I asked suspiciously.

“It’s
legitimate work. I know people overseas in the art world. I’ve been
looking for someone with an artist’s eye who could be trained to come
back here to work for the Resistance. There are plenty of galleries
downtown where April could work a day job, and on the side, she could
work for the Resistance, verifying the authenticity of certain pieces
before I fence them.”

“April,
an art dealer? Are you sure she has the right qualities?”

“She
has an eye for art, and I believe she could handle the training. Do
you think she’d be willing to live in Mediterra for a while?”

I
settled back and tried to imagine April living a high-class life. I
liked it! As I listened to the smooth hum of the motor, I began to
relax. Eventually, I dozed off. When I woke, we were back at my
apartment.

***

A
few hours later, I called the Beckett estate. I planned to ask April
out to lunch so that we could talk privately about her options. Guy
would return to the estate as Ashton the following day, the day that
Mr. Beckett planned to hear from him. He would take it from there.
He reminded me that it may be a week or more before we could get
April out permanently. We didn’t want anyone to know there was a
connection between them.

Unfortunately,
when I called, I wasn’t allowed to speak with April. The butler
informed me that she wasn’t feeling well. He advised me not to stop
by for a few days. He said she was contagious.

“Something
is really wrong,” I said after I’d closed the connection. “I
don’t believe for one second that April is sick or contagious. We’re
switching to plan B.”

“We
never discussed plan B,” Guy said.

“Well
now we’re doing things my way. I’m going in today, and I’m getting
her out.”

“At
least let me get you some backup.”

“I
work alone,” I reminded him.

“Not
on this one. I know what I’m doing. Please, trust me. Just give me
a few minutes. Don’t leave.”

He
held my gaze until I heaved a sigh and sat down to wait.

“I’ll
give you a ride there.”

Guy
took his transceiver into the bedroom and closed the door. When he
returned, he wore grass stained jeans and a work shirt.

“Will
I be working with Eberhardt again or with you?” I asked.

“Because
we were on holiday so is Eberhardt. He isn’t back yet. Let’s go.”

As
we hurried to the car I followed up with, “Is that who you
called? Eberhardt?”

“No,
I called one of our Shepherds.”

“A
shepherd? You have some sheep I don’t know about?”

“A
Shepherd is what we call our operatives who are skilled at getting
people from one place to another safely. It’s not easy. It takes
people skills and finesse and most importantly, the right contacts.”

“We’re
really sending April away.”

“Yes,
if she’ll go.”

Guy
dropped me off a few blocks away from the Beckett estate. He would
wait in the car. If I didn’t return within the hour, he would return
to work. He was my backup. We both agreed that I, and I alone,
should enter the estate on the pretense of visiting my sister who was
ill. It would draw the least attention.

I
approached the servants’ door in back and walked right in, like
usual. Lewis saw me first. He was still cleaning up from breakfast.

“Hi,
Lewis!” I called my customary greeting. “Do you know
where I can find April?”

He
stepped in front of me. “You shouldn’t be here. Come back in
a few days.”

“No,
I heard April is sick. I want to visit her. I don’t care if she’s
contagious.”

“You
need to leave,” he insisted.

“I’m
not going anywhere, Lewis, not until I see April.”

“She’s
in her room, and I’ll lose my job if I let you in to see her.”

“Then
don’t let me in.” I spoke quietly. “No one has to know
you saw me.”

He
hesitated but then moved aside.

I
hurried down the basement steps toward the servants’ rooms. One of
the doors had a lock on the outside. April never told me the
Beckett’s locked her in. Who would do that to the paid help? I
turned the lock and opened the door.

Light
from the hall spilled over a figure curled up on the bed. April wore
her pink sweatsuit. I could see her maid’s uniform crumpled in a
pile on the floor. The room smelled terrible, like someone had been
sick. Maybe they’d all been telling the truth.

“April?”
I called quietly. “Are you awake?” I tiptoed closer and
put my hand on her shoulder. Gently, I shook her and was surprised
when she cried out in alarm. I slapped my hand over her mouth and
turned her head to face me. Enormous tears streamed down her cheeks.
She was really banged up. I pulled her toward me and hugged her
tightly. She cringed and pulled back. What had Beckett done to her?

“Shhh,”
I stroked her hair and tried to calm her. “We need to get you
out of here,” I whispered. “Is there anything you need?”

She
shook her head. I helped her stand, and we started toward the door.
She could hardly walk, so I pulled her arm around my shoulders to
give her more support.

We
were almost to the door when she said, “Wait. Mom and Dad’s
wedding rings. They’re on the dresser.”

I
returned for them, and as an afterthought, picked up her uniform.

“I
don’t want that!”

“It
could be evidence.”

“But
who would you give it to, Keira? No one will believe me. I’m just a
maid.”

I
stared at her. “April, you are not just a maid. You’re so
much more than that!”

I
eased her arm back around my shoulders, and once again we moved
toward the door.

Together,
we climbed the stairs to the kitchen and had just arrived when I
heard a noise from the hall. Then I felt a hand on the back of my
neck. April pulled away and scooted back until the kitchen cabinets
blocked her path.

“I
should have known,” Lance Beckett sneered. “April is too
weak to have pulled it off by herself.”

“What
are you talking about?” I asked. “Pulled what off?”

“Where
did you take my valuables? Who did you sell them to?”

“I
didn’t take anything of yours! Get off me! Can’t you see that April
is hurt? She needs to see a doctor.”

“She’s
not going to see anyone. Who would pay the doctor’s fees? She is,
after all, only a maid.”

While
we were talking, April had risen to a standing position beside Mr.
Beckett. I struggled and pulled until he turned further away from
her. I wanted to give her the best chance possible to escape
unnoticed through the back door, so I was surprised when she rushed
at us instead and thrust her hand forward. Mr. Beckett’s eyes opened
wide, and he began to cough. His grip on my neck loosened. I pulled
away.

He
fell forward but caught himself against the countertop. I backed
away. The handle of a steak knife stuck out of his back. Lance
Beckett reached over his shoulder and gripped the handle of the
knife. I dropped April’s necklace with the rings and her uniform and
lunged toward the knife rack on the counter. I turned and steadied
the carving knife in my hand.

“Keira!”
I heard April’s scream as Mr. Beckett lunged at me.

I
sidestepped but felt a searing pain in my side. I ignored it and
raised my knife to his throat. Then I whispered quietly directly
into his ear, “Now the doctors won’t be able to help you
either, no matter how much care you can afford.” April turned
away as I sliced his throat.

“Grab
your things!” I called as I bent to pick up the knife he’d
pulled from his back. The other one was still clutched in my hand.

-Guy-

Onto
Plan C

Two
figures rounded the corner. One was Keira. I turned the key in the
ignition, and the motor rumbled to life. Slowly, I pulled forward.
When the girls climbed in, I noticed the blood drenched knives in
Keira’s hand. “Are we on to plan C?”

She
nodded. “It was unavoidable.”

I
could see from April’s condition that her situation had grown
exponentially worse after I’d left. Lance Beckett had indeed
targeted April for my actions. The skin around her right eye was red
and swollen, and she walked with a limp.

I
placed a call. “Can you meet us at safe house 4? Yes, as soon
as possible. We’re on our way.” I disconnected and
immediately placed a second call. “Did you get it? Good.
We’ll need you both on the earliest flight out. We’ll
see you soon.”

“Who?”
I asked. I nodded at the knives.

“Lance
Beckett.”

“Is
he?”

“Yes.”

“Ashton?
What are you doing here?” asked April.

“We
can talk about that later,” Keira murmured.

“No,
Keira, now. There’s nothing wrong with my hearing or with my
intelligence. Why is Ashton here?”

“There’s
no simple way to explain this. April, this is Rick. He was just
pretending to be Ashton. You were right though. You can trust him.”

“Trust
him? I don’t even know his name! Is it really Rick or Ashton? Or
is it something else?” She was on the brink of hysteria.

Keira
tried to calm her. “Listen, as soon as I learned what was
happening to you, we came back.”

“What
was happening to me? But Ashton knew about that before you left.”

“But
I didn’t know Rick was Ashton until last night, and he didn’t know
you were my sister,” Keira explained.

“Last
night…”

I
glanced in the rear view mirror. April stared at me.

“You’re
Rick?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“And
I’m supposed to trust you? You really were trying to get me out, to
get me somewhere safe before…”

“Yes,”
I said again. “I’m sorry I was too late.”

She
turned back to her sister. “Keira, why do you trust him if he
lied to you too?”

“I
didn’t know he was Ashton, but I know who he is. I trust him and so
can you. He really can help.”

April
looked at me again. “Why would you pretend to be a gardener?
You have a good job in finance, don’t you? Does this have something
to do with the stolen items? Is that why Keira was hired to kill you
in the first place?”

April
was absolutely right. There was nothing wrong with her intelligence.
My belief that our society was wrong to place value on people simply
based on their monetary wealth or lack thereof was reaffirmed.

“Yes,
April. I stole a lot from the Beckett estate and from Elaine Ramsey
too.”

She
looked at Keira, then back at me. “You two are meant for each
other. Do you kill people for a living too?”

“No,
I work at my father’s investment firm. This is a side job, and I do
it to help people.”

“I
don’t understand. How does thievery help anyone? Is there more you
aren’t telling me?”

“Yes,”
Keira and I replied simultaneously.

That
was clearly not what April had expected. She turned back to Keira.
“I should really trust him?”

“Yes,”
Keira responded. She returned her attention to me then. “By
the way, where are we going? This isn’t the way to the apartment.”