Melancholia

  He hesitated in the middle of turning around. “No. You’re just being asked a few questions.”

  “Do we have to go with you or can we refuse?” I asked.

  Rae squeezed my hand and looked at me with concern in her eyes. I squeezed her back to let her know I had things under control.

  He stopped trying to leave and completely turned around. “Listen, don’t gimme any shit, kid, okay? We just had a bomb go off in the middle of the city, people were hurt, maybe even killed, and we’ve got a fucking bomber running around who knows where planning to do who knows what. I just want to ask you some questions and be done with it. Are we cool here or do I have to get ugly about it?”

  None of the TV shows I’d seen had prepared me for this. “Uh … yeah. Fine. Whatever. We can give you five minutes.”

  He flashed a grin at us. “Make it fifteen, and I’ll toss in a donut.” He pushed through a crowd of uniformed officers and led us over to an SUV parked at the curb. It had tinted windows that were so dark it was impossible to see if anyone was inside.

  “Go ahead and hop in,” he said, opening up the back seat door. There was another person in the front seat who didn’t even bother looking at us. The back seat was empty.

  I hesitated before following his orders, putting my arm out to block Rae from going into the car ahead of me. “I’d prefer to answer questions outside the car, actually.”

  “Sorry, no can do. Procedure.” He smiled, gesturing towards the car. He seemed completely non threatening, but I wasn’t going to take the risk. In every TV show I’d ever seen, the guy driving the SUV worked for the federal government or the bad guys, not the local police department.

  “I want to stay outside too,” said Rae, crossing her arms over her chest. “Procedure, you know.” She gave him a wise-ass smile that made me want to hug her.

  He frowned, staring at each of us in turn for several seconds. I looked at Rae and she shrugged her shoulders at me, just as mystified as I was. It’s like he was trying to laser beam us with his eyes or something.

  “Why aren’t you getting in the car?” he finally asked.

  “Dude, are you deaf? We just said we’re not getting in.” I was losing my patience with this guy. He either had a screw loose or he wasn’t used to being told no.

  He stared at us hard again, screwing up his eyebrows in concentration or constipation or something.

  “What’s his problem?” Rae asked, whispering near my shoulder. The guy had to have heard, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he started looking around, tapping his foot, like he was waiting for someone to arrive and this mystery person was late.

  I got tired of the weirdness real quick. “Yeah, well, it’s been interesting, man, but we’ve got a lot of things to do before we go home, so … later.” I grabbed Rae’s hand and took off at a fast walk, yanking her behind me and stiffening my arm so she wouldn’t fall. Her sunglasses clattered to the street when we started running, but she didn’t stop. We kept pace with one another, zig zagging around people and in between cars, my goal to reach the sidewalk on the other side of the street.

  “What are we doing?” she said through gasping breaths.

  “There was something wrong with that guy,” I said, doing a quick side step to fit between two car bumpers.

  “Hey! Come back! I just want to talk to you!” The guy didn’t even attempt to come after us. His voice was far behind, and when I looked back, I saw him still standing next to the car.

  Our feet pounded down the sidewalk. I took turn after turn as the blocks went by, not even sure I was going in the right direction but not caring. We needed to put enough distance not only between us and that horrible bombing thing but also the weird cop, before I would be able to feel comfortable and safe again.

  Ha. As if we’d ever been safe. I slowed down when a drugstore came into view, guiding Rae into the door behind me.

  “Why are we going in here?” she asked, panting. We stood just in the entrance, trying to get our breath back.

  “I don’t know. Just to chill for a minute. Get a coke. Whatever.”

  She let go of my hand and slapped me on the butt. “I can’t believe you’re thinking of whatever at a time like this.”

  I frowned at her, confused. Then I saw the look on her face and understanding dawned. My neck started burning red.

  “Oh, shit. No, Rae, it’s not like that. I swear to God!” My face turned bright red too, now that I realized she thought I’d come in here after a bombing and being chased by lunatic cops to buy condoms. What a dick she must think I am.

  “Suuuuure, it’s not like that. I believe you.” She grinned.

  I couldn’t help but smile back a little in response. As uncomfortable as I was, the closeness that we’d shared earlier made even embarrassing moments not so awful. It was a revelation to me that I could be that comfortable around another person after only knowing her for such a short time. “Seriously. I think about that stuff a lot, but not usually when I’m running from a pack of wolves.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Did I miss the wolves?”

  “No,” I said, taking her hand again and walking down one of the aisles. “Packs of wild train riders and freaky cops. They’re all wolves.”

  “Are we ever going to be safe?” she asked, sounding forlorn.

  I stopped in front of big bags of candy, draping my arm across her shoulders. “Someday, yes. Right now, probably not. We need to get some supplies and get back to the apartment.”

  “Where is it?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “What kind of supplies?”

  “I don’t know. Food? Bandaids?”

  Even though I was more focused on the candy than her face, I could hear the smile there in her voice. “You’re like the worst commando survivalist ever.”

  “Thank you for that vote of confidence.” I wasn’t offended by her evaluation. She was totally right. The way my mind worked, candy and bandaids were all we needed.

  “I remember the address of the apartment,” she said. “We can just ask someone for directions.”

  “Or take a cab,” I said, pulling a bag of Smarties off the shelf and then moving down to snag some Hershey kisses from the bottom row.

  “Old school,” she said, looking at my selections. “I like it.”

  “You get something too,” I said. “I might not share.”

  She went into another aisle with me following behind and grabbed some breakfast bars and water. “In case we escape to Witch Mountain and need to survive for a few days without dying of sugar overdoses.” She eyed my candy with pursed lips.

  I gave her breakfast bars an equally disgusted look. “Later when you want to trade my candy for a lump of dried oatmeal mixed with nasty prunes or whatever, you’re going to have to beg.” I moved toward the cash register, holding our purchases against my chest, confident I had the best emergency rations in the place. Rae snagged something off the end of an aisle, and it was only when we got to the front of the store that I realized it was a box of Trojans. My face went red all over again.

  Rae stared straight ahead and refused to look at me, even when I jabbed her with my elbow. I willed my mind not to stray into the danger zone of picturing her naked. Imagining the feel of her soft skin. Remembering how her lips felt on mine and what they might feel like if they were ever …

  “Shit,” I said, dropping candy bags all over the floor at my feet. My fingers had apparently forgotten how to hold things. What an idiot.

  Rae and I bent down at the same time to get them and bonked heads.

  She collapsed into a fit of giggles on the floor, landing on the box of breakfast bars and crushing it. I heard one of the bags inside pop open.

  “Oh my god,” she hissed, still laughing, “my big butt just busted the entire box!”

  All the pressure that had built up inside me over the bombing and running from that cop came bubbling up and spilled over in the form of laughter. There may have been a snort or two mixed in.

/>   “Do you wanna get another box?” came a lazy voice from behind the counter.

  I looked up at the stoned-out guy standing there with the drug store’s blue apron uniform on, and the laughter kind of faded away. He was staring at us with a half-vacant look, very non-threatening but still a mood breaker.

  “Uh, yeah,” I said, standing up. I left Rae on the floor. “I’ll be right back.” I walked away, returning to the back of the store where the healthy stuff was. After grabbing the same kind of box we already had, I turned to go back to the front of the store. I was in a perfect position to see the main door open and the detective with the SUV come in with another man. This other guy was taller. His eyes roamed the store, and I ducked down just in time to miss being seen.

  Holy shit! Rae! I ran to the end of the row and moved two aisles over, hoping to see her down at the other end still on the floor. Maybe she’d have a chance of not being seen if she were still there, since the view of that spot was blocked by displays near the front door.

  The bags of candy were still on the floor, but she wasn’t. What the …?

  “Hello, we’re with the Chicago police. Did you see two teens come in here, a guy and a girl, brown hair for both of them, about eighteen years old?”

  “Uhhhh … maybe,” said the stoned cashier. “Not sure.” He was fiddling around with something on the counter near the register, not even looking at the men.

  “Did you or didn’t you?” said the other voice.

  He looked up and finally acknowledged them. “Dude, I already told you. I’m not sure. It’s been really busy today.”

  “Yeah, right.” The man walked over, pulling something out of the inner pocket of his jacket. “Here’s my card. Call me if you see them in here in the next hour. They’re in the neighborhood. Don’t approach them, just call.”

  The clerk took the card and examined it closely. “Whoooa, are they like dangerous or something?”

  “Yes. They could be.”

  “Whoooa, dude, no way. Like, axe murderers or something? No, wait. Not axe murderers. Bank robbers! Yeah, bank robbers. There are banks all over the place here, man. One on every corner. The Man, just taking all our dollars and turnin’ ‘em into pennies, know what I’m sayin’?”

  “Jesus, kid, lay off the weed.” The cop who tried to question us earlier paused and then addressed his friend. “We’re not going to get anything out of him. He’s not even in tune with his own brain. It’s just mush in there.”

  “Whoa, dude. Harsh,” said the clerk, his expression pure offense.

  They left without another word, a bell banging and clanging against the door when it shut.

  “Dicks,” the cashier said at their backs, just before starting to whistle like one of the seven dwarves.

  I ran up to the front of the store and searched the immediate area, looking for Rae. I nearly had a heart attack when she popped up from behind the photo developing machine at the end of the counter.

  “Holy crap, Rae. I didn’t see you there.” I rested my hand on my chest, feeling like I had to keep it there so my heart wouldn’t leap out from between my ribs.

  “Whoa, jumpin’ jack flash it’s a gas, gas, gaaaaasss,” said the cashier, catching sight of her just after I did. He was laughing at his own joke, barely able to talk. “I toootally didn’t even see you there, chica. Were you there the whole time, just hangin’ out, or what?” He suddenly focused on the photo developing machine. “Oh, hey … you need help with developing some pictures? I got skills in that area if you need me.” He looked at us expectantly, his half-closed eyelids making him appear to be falling asleep standing up. “I can totally do it all discrete and shit … if you have pictures you don’t want people to see.” A lazy smile lit up his face.

  Rae just stood there, mesmerized or something, maybe embarrassed that the guy thought we were developing naked pictures of each other. “Nah, man. But thanks for offering.” I threw the bags of candy and the squashed box of breakfast bars on the counter. I’d left the other one somewhere behind me, losing it in the heat of the moment. “This is all.”

  He ran the scanner over the bar codes and then pressed a button on the machine. After standing there completely still for a full ten seconds, he said, “That’ll be nine bucks fifty-eight.”

  After counting out the change and handing it to him, I bagged the stuff up, taking the receipt he offered. “Thanks. For everything.” The guy didn’t have to help us out, but whether he realized it or not, he had.

  “Hey, man, it’s all good, right? Power to the people.” He raised up a fist halfway and then let it drop. “By the way … The Man’s out there lookin’ for ya. Better watch your six.” He pushed the business card he’d taken from the cop over in my direction. His eyes opened wider for a second and he winked at us.

  I took the card from the counter, gratitude filling my every pore. “Thanks, man. Seriously, thanks. That was really cool.”

  “Yeah, man. Cool. We’re all cool. D’ya need anything else? Some weed maybe? Some X?” He grinned at Rae, making me think he might have taken both at some point this morning.

  I shook my head, smiling, since Rae didn’t seem capable of speech right now. “No, but that’s nice of you to offer. See ya.” Rae’s hand slipped into mine. It was cold and clammy.

  “Later, tater,” said the clerk, waving at us. “After a while crocodile. See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya…” His various goodbyes followed us out the door as we did our best to blend into a group of people moving down the sidewalk, our destination the corner where a couple of taxis were parked on the side of the road.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven: Rae

  WE WERE RIDING IN THE back of a cab, headed to the apartment when I finally got my voice back. Everything had happened so fast back there I’d gone temporarily speechless.

  “Who were those guys?” I looked at Malcolm, noticing he had a worried expression on his face. I was glad to not be the only one freaking out.

  “I have no idea, other than what it says on their card.” He held it out so we could both look at it.

  Matthew Brinkley.

  “That’s it? No company name? No title?” This made no sense. “He’s not really a cop, is he?”

  Malcolm shook his head. “I don’t think so. Maybe he is, but I agree … this is messed up.” He turned the card over; the back was blank. When we got out of the car five minutes later, he shoved it in his back pocket.

  The cab driver dropped us off in the underground parking garage and we rode the elevator up to our floor. Malcolm unlocked the door as quietly as he could and we went inside, both of us going directly to our bedrooms and pretending we were waking up from a nap.

  The sound of a cell phone ringing had both of us running from our rooms. I got there first. Looking down at the screens to figure out which one was ringing, I noticed that both of them had missed calls. Oh, crap. I opened the one that was buzzing.

  “Hello?”

  “Where have you been?” said the male voice on the other end of the line. I didn’t recognize it.

  “Taking a nap?”

  “Bullshit. You were seen outside. Did you have anything to do with that bombing?”

  My jaw dropped open as the shock went through me. Someone actually thought we could have something to do with a bombing? Like we actually did the bombing?

  “Hello? Did you hear me?”

  “Uh … yeah. Yes,” I stammered. “And no, we didn’t do any bombing, are you crazy?”

  “We know you didn’t do the bombing, but were you involved? Did you see anything?”

  My heart dropped. “Maybe,” I said weakly.

  A string of cussing and ranting followed, most of which I missed since the phone wasn’t exactly near the person’s mouth anymore.

  “Rae?” A woman’s voice came on the line.

  “Yes. Is this Mrs. Butts?”

  “Yes, it is. So what’s going to happen is this: Stay calm, take the cell phones, and go hide in the closet in the bigger bedroom. Ther
e’s a false back panel in there you can get behind. The latch is on the floor under a box that’s in there. It’s not a panic room, but it’s better than nothing. Stay together. Don’t make a sound. We’ll send someone as fast as we can.”

  “What?!” I looked at Malcolm, my eyes bugging out of my head.

  “What’d they say?” he asked, stepping closer to me.

  “Mrs. Butts, I don’t understand,” I said, gripping the phone so hard it made my hand hurt.

  Her voice went serious, almost cold. “You left the apartment. You’ve been seen by someone who wants to get their hands on you. We have to try and get to you first. We didn’t know this before, but apparently they have a strong presence in Chicago. Had we known that, we never would have sent you there.”

  “But who is it?” I asked, confused and scared and angry at myself for leaving. What a stupid thing to do for sushi and condoms of all things.

  “We’re not sure. We’re working on finding out, though. Just get in the closet and stay safe. If they get to you first, do what you can to stay together, but if you have to … and I hate to say this … separate and use your influence to get away.”

  “What?”

  “You know what I mean,” she said, frustrated with me. “Use your power over people to get away.”

  I handed the phone to Malcolm, not wanting to hear any more of it.

  “Hello, Mrs. Butts?” he said.

  I wandered into the kitchen to get a bottle of water out of the fridge.

  “Yeah, this is Malcolm. What exactly is going on?”

  I came back into the front hall, trying to listen in on what she was saying to him, but all I could hear were mumbles.

  “And who are these people?” He frowned while the answer came over the line.

  “Why us, though? And why the bomb? What’s that got to do with anything?” He shook his head slowly from side to side for the next minute or two, listening to whatever Mrs. Butts had to say.

  “Okay, fine. We’ll go in the closet for now. But after this we want a full explanation. I know you’re helping us, but it’s kind of not cool letting us run around only knowing half the story.” He nodded a few times before hanging up. “Okay. Bye.”