Price of a Bounty (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!) (18 page)

-Keira-

Who
Are You?

I
watched as they drove away from the little yellow house. I would
miss April. I knew when she returned she would be different. Her
experiences overseas would change her, of that I had no doubt. I
hugged myself as they drove away. Already, I felt a sense of loss,
even though I was both excited and a little scared for April. What
would she learn? Who would she become?

Guy
walked over to the porch swing, and I followed. We both sat and
began to rock. He shifted and draped his arm over the back of the
swing, around my shoulders, then turned his head to look at me.
“Scott won’t be checking in until they land, so we have the
rest of the day with no plans.”

I
leaned my head on his shoulder. “Can we return to our holiday?
You know, just leave reality behind for a while?”

“Perhaps
we should bring reality more into focus instead,” Guy suggested
seriously.

I
let out a breath. “Why do you insist on being so serious?”
I tilted my head back and looked up at him.

His
deep blue eyes studied me intently. “I didn’t answer
April’s question before, when she asked how you fit in, because
I wanted to talk with you about it first. How do you fit into the
Resistance? How do you fit into my life? Only you can answer those
questions, Keira. Who do you want to be?”

“I
think about that all the time. Right now, can’t I just live in the
moment and think about it later?”

“No.”

“No?”
I pulled away from him and sat up straight. “But I can’t
concentrate on myself right now! I’m too worried about April.”

“They’re
going to be out of touch for at least eight hours. This is the best
time to talk about it. You’re at a safe house. No one is listening
but you and me. You can be completely honest here. I know who I am,
and I know what I want. I came to terms with myself a long time ago.
Now it’s your turn. And I need to be certain of your path before we
can move ahead.”

I
looked off into the distance. “Well, I guess I’m one of the
people who breaks in and steals stuff.”

“A
Raider. But Keira, who are you? There’s more to you than that.”

I
thought back. Who had I become, and why? “
I
was eight when my parents died. Dad from sickness and Mom
from…well that’s a little more complicated. As our only living
relative, Aunt Cady had to take us in.
When I was 16,
she kicked me out. With April’s help I was able to sneak back into
the house to sleep for a couple of weeks. I went to school during
the day but could no longer concentrate, so what was the point?
After that, I lived on the streets. I had to do certain things to
survive. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t have any other choice. I
needed to eat. I needed a place to stay.”

I
looked at Guy. “I’d really rather not talk about that.”
He remained silent, but I could tell by his expression that he
wasn’t going to let me off the hook. Why did he want me to
talk about it, to remember? Maybe I really did need to look back
before I could move forward. Guy didn’t seem to be judging me,
not yet anyway, but what would happen when he learned the whole
truth? He already knew a little about my past, but to share all of
it, to say it out loud after I’d tried so hard to forget. Would that
change things between us?

I
took a deep breath and continued, “A few of the men I stayed
with, they hurt me, badly. I tried to drown it out with cheap
alcohol. If drugs weren’t so expensive, I may have tried them
too. Within only a few weeks, I hit my breaking point. I almost
ended it.” I rubbed my wrist.

“But
then I thought about April, and I knew I just couldn’t, and I
couldn’t lose myself to the streets either. I had to fight back. It
was the only way I would be able to help April when her turn came.”
Guy still hadn’t looked away.

Now
that I had started, I needed to continue, to finish this. “It
was revenge at first. I hurt them as badly as they had hurt me, and
I left physical signs. I wanted others to be able to see who these
men were on the inside. I earned a reputation that’s kept me
safe, both me and April. No one on our end of town will hurt her,
and even though I knew what kind of a man Lance Beckett was, I never
thought he would, at least not without April telling me or fighting
back. Guy, why didn’t she fight back?”

He
shifted his arm and pulled me closer.

“I
messed up, didn’t I? I didn’t teach her enough. I should have
taught her how to fight so that she could when I wasn’t around to
protect her.” I began to cry.

Guy
leaned down and whispered, “I know who you are. You’re a
fighter, a survivor. You’re also a protector.”

I
shook my head, my thoughts still in the past. “I began hurting
people as a way to survive, but then killing became a way to make a
living. It’s become routine. Now I don’t feel anything
at all when I’m on a job.” I looked at him. “I
would have killed you too, you know, if Elaine Ramsey hadn’t slipped
up. I would have killed you and not wasted another thought on it.
I’m so sorry.”

“Keira,
who do you want to be?”

I
took another deep breath. “I want to be more like you, I
guess, and more like Scott, but I’m afraid for him.”

“Why?”

“Scott
sold out by joining the military. I really believe that. But his
heart is in the right place. If the Gov ever learns what he’s doing
on the side, he’ll be court martialed and executed. You know that,
right?”

“For
Scott, it was far more dangerous in the early days, when he didn’t
have the rank or the support that he has today, but he’s brave, like
you. He believed it was worth it, and he knew the risks when we
started this. We both did.”

“What
about you?” I asked him. “I can’t figure you out. You
have everything: wealth, social standing. Why do you risk it?”

“Because
I know who I am, and I’m being true to myself.”

“And
who are you, Guy Bensen?”

“I
already told you. I’m a Guide. Right now, I’m your guide. So what
do you think? Have we figured you out?”

“You
mean, am I willing to risk it all for the Resistance?”

“I
mean are you willing to work for the common good?”

I
paused, then said, “Yes, but I’m doing this for more than just
the Resistance.”

“Why
then?”

“I
want to make up for past mistakes . I can’t promise I won’t kill
again. I know I have it in me, and if I’m cornered I may have to.
And I would kill to protect, but I’ll try not to let it get to that
point. I’ll try to find alternatives.”

Guy
smiled.

“Who
do you want me to be?”

Guy
stood and pulled me to my feet. “Keira, that is the wrong
question. My opinion shouldn’t matter.”

“But
it does matter to me. I’ve been on my own for so long, watching out
just for myself and for April, not caring about anyone else. I don’t
want to live like that anymore.”

“And
you don’t have to.”

Guy
pulled me into a warm embrace. I leaned against him and felt his
strength. When he pulled away, he reached into the pocket of his
jeans and withdrew a shiny gold pendant. It looked like a serpent in
the shape of an S striking at a gold coin. It sparkled in the sun.

“I
know it can never replace the locket you lost, but I want you to know
that I’m glad.”

“About
what?”

“That
I was right about you.”

-Scott-

No
Race Can Prosper

“No
race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in
tilling a field as in writing a poem. - Booker T. Washington.”

“What?”
April asked.

“That
quote is what started it all.”

“How
do you mean?”

“I
met Rick a few months before my sixteenth birthday. He was new in
town. He hadn’t realized who was who at school yet, so he crossed
social lines that aren’t typically crossed.”

“You
had classes together?” April asked in surprise.

“Of
course not. He was placed in classes with the other rich kids, but I
was sitting alone at lunch those days. I was busy trying to figure
out my future. It’s hard to know who to sit with at lunch,
especially if you’re new. Do you try to break into an established
clique? Should you sit alone? Or, should you sit with someone else
who looks as lonely as you?”

“I
see.”

“‘No
race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in
tilling a field as in writing a poem. - Booker T. Washington.’ That
was the first thing Rick ever said to me. He said they’d been
discussing that quote in English class, and he wanted to know my
opinion. At first I thought he was joking. A rich kid, asking for
my opinion? I looked around to see who was watching, but no one was.
No one had ever been interested in my opinion in anything before
that.”

“I’ve
always been interested in your opinions,” April reminded me.

“So
you have.” I smiled. “How are you doing?”

“I’m
nervous,” she admitted.

“There’s
an envelope in the glove compartment. It contains your paperwork: a
new ID, travel documents and bank account information. Memorize the
address on the ID. If anyone asks for your permanent residence,
that’s what you should tell them, even though it isn’t where you’ll
really be staying. All correspondence will be routed through that
address.”

“Where
will I be staying?”

“When
you’re not at the Art Institute, you’ll live and work with
Danielle Bellami. You should follow her instructions while you’re in
Parisio. She can be trusted.”

“How
will I know who can be trusted and who can’t? I’m not used to
mistrusting people. That’s more Keira’s style.”

“Just
follow Danielle’s lead, and you’ll catch on in no time. I think
you’re going to like her. You’re alias is Aimee Lafleur. It will be
best if you use that name from now on, especially when you return
home. There’s a good chance you’ll be wanted, for
questioning if nothing else. Beckett’s family won’t let
his death go unnoticed.”

April
looked at me with tears in her eyes. “I don’t think I’ll
ever be able to let go of that either, Scott.”

I
reached for her hand. “We’ll help you through this. We
all will. Just don’t turn yourself in. You wouldn’t get fair
treatment.”

“Will
I ever be able to use my real name again?”

“Only
with people you’re absolutely sure you can trust.”

April
nodded and opened the glove compartment. She studied her new ID,
then put the documents into a purse she’d chosen from the safe house.
It complemented her outfit. She really did have a flair for both
style and color. If clothing styles were any indication, she and
Danielle would get along well.

Other
than her eye, April looked great, and even that didn’t look so bad.
The eye drops the doctor had given her were already beginning the
healing process.

“So,
what did you tell him?” April asked suddenly.

“Who?”
I asked.

“Rick…Guy…what
did you tell him? Your opinion of the quote,” she reminded me.

“Well,
I think it means that everyone is necessary. As long as a person
finds some way to contribute to society, it doesn’t matter which task
he chooses. We’re all important. That’s what I told him.”

“Did
he agree with you?”

“Yes,
and that was the beginning of the Resistance, only we didn’t know it
at the time.”

“Scott,
do you think what Keira does is necessary?”

I
was quiet for several minutes. When my thoughts circled around to
what Elaine Ramsey had tried to do to Keira and then to what Lance
Beckett had done to April, I knew I’d found my answer.

“Sometimes.
Yes.”

“Oh.”
April looked down at her hands. “I wonder if there’s another
way.”

“You
sound like Guy.”

“He’ll
be good for her, won’t he? He’ll challenge her to think about things
like that?”

“Yes,
he will. You know, I don’t think many people are capable of doing
what Keira does. It makes me feel terrible though, knowing that
enough bad things have happened to her to allow her to be able to do
what she does on a regular basis.”

“I
know what you mean.”

We
were both quiet for a while, lost in thought.

“April?”

“Yes?”

“I’m
sorry. I thought…I mean, I didn’t think he would…”

“I
know. You couldn’t have. I didn’t tell anyone, didn’t let anyone
know. It’s all right now, Scott. I’m safe now.” April leaned
her head on my shoulder.

She
shouldn’t be comforting me! I put my life on the line to save
strangers all the time, yet I’d failed to protect both of my
sisters.
I shook my head. April was truly amazing. In her own
gentle way, she had just forgiven me.

She
was quiet for a little while, and then she spoke so softly I almost
missed it.

“Scott,
do you think Keira focuses too much on their death?”

“Who’s
death?”

“Mom’s
and Dad’s. I’m just asking because, well, look how she is and look
how I am.”

“Maybe,
but it’s more likely a result of her years on the streets and
her personality. You two were always so different. That’s probably
why you became such good friends.” I smiled at her.

She
nodded. “Probably. I don’t remember it at all.”

“Don’t
remember what?”

“When
they died. I think I’ve blocked it. I just remember snippets
really, of good times with them, and then living with Aunt Cady.”

April
had been really little, just six. “What do you remember?”

“Mama
dancing with me, swinging me around in her arms and singing me to
sleep at night. Daddy telling me stories and drawing pictures –
I know now that they were his architectural design plans.” She
smiled at me. “He would give me paper and crayons so I could
work alongside him.”