Chapter Five
“I don’t want to finish the fuel too soon, by trying to fly too far. We will go to a close port and try to con the Mayor that we have very little fuel. Then he will look for us in the port rather than think we have already left.”
“So where are we going to land?”
“I set the control to go to Cadim, the closest port to Pluto.”
“What if they catch us there?”
“We will have to avoid that, won’t we partner?” grinned Jim.
“Yes, we will do it. I know you will save us from them.”
“Not just I Edward, both of us will work together. Didn’t I say we are partners?”
Edward felt a happiness he had never felt before. Oscar too had been a great friend, but he felt as though he belonged with Jim.
When they landed in Cadim, they hid the flyer in another copse of trees. Jim seemed to know that port well too. When asked how he did, he replied that he had been travelling the universe for a long time and knew quite a lot of ports very well.
They were both very hungry by the time they had finished hiding the flyer. Cadim was a port even smaller than Pluto. This time they went to a little bread and bun stand by the way side and Jim started talking to the vendor asking for something stored away in a far corner of the stall. While the man’s back was turned, Edward picked up a couple of plates of food on display on the counter and ran away nimbly. When the vendor started shouting, Jim pretended to chase behind Edward to catch him. They managed to get away long before the vendor could even get out of his cart.
There was no time to try to get more fuel because they saw the Pluto Mayor himself coming out of the fuel yard in Cadim. Fortunately for them, the Mayor did not see them .So they managed to get in their flyer and fly away.
They had to land at several more ports before they managed to get fuel. Always the Mayor seemed to be only one step behind them. It was only when Jim decided to double up and return to a port they had been to before that they managed to gain the time they needed to find fuel. That port was called New Austin and it was a bigger port than even Pluto. This port looked more prosperous and the people seemed to be living in better houses. There was large market place and Jim and Edward were irresistibly drawn to a large barbecue party going on in the car park of the market where vegetable sausages were being barbecued in enormous numbers. As soon as they realized that this was a charity drive to feed the poor, they joined the line several times and ate their fill. It was nice not to have to con other people to eat, just for once.
Then they set off to the fuel yard. Jim closely observed the procedure and found that flyers just parked in the yard and once their fuel tanks were refilled, paid the employee of the yard who came to fill up the machine. Then they just moved out. There did not seem to be a paying at the entrance method.
Desperate now, because they knew they did not have enough fuel to fly into another port, Jim decided to take the plunge and take their flyer into the yard. The yard hand came up to the flyer with the fuel pump and Jin ordered him to fill up. He was thinking a way out furiously in his mind when Edward who had been hanging out of his window observing everything going on around him suddenly shrank back into the machine as though he had seen a ghost.
“Jim, they are here!” Edward tried hard to control the trembling in his voice.
“Who, the Mayor?”
“No, the ECF people. You know the people from whom I stole this flyer, The Earth Confederation Force.”
“Where?” Jim’s voice was sharp.
“Right next to us, on my side. Their flyer is being filled up too. I don’t know the people who are standing there, but I saw them studying the logo on our machine very carefully and pointing it to each other.”
“Damn! They must have recognized the flyer. Ok, we have to get out of here fast. They are much more dangerous than the Mayor. Let me handle this, Edward.”
Jim poked his head out of the window and looked at the yard hand who was still pumping in fuel.
“Hi Mate, it is almost full and we should stop now. See that flyer next to us on the other side. We are both machines from the ECF and they will be paying you through our account with you. I have just got a message to rush off for an urgent assignment, so they agreed to pay for my fuel too. Just take down my registration number and they will pay. Now stand back, because I am going to take off immediately.”
Hey, sir, I have to check with them before...” the yard hand’s voice was drowned off by the sudden roar of the flyer.
Those standing on the ground were treated to one of the greatest flying feats of the times when the machine that was parked on the ground one minute, took off vertically and zoomed beyond eye view within seconds. Once they were high up in the air, Jim eased down the speed slowly and then set the controls to go to Orleanais.
“At last!” breathed Edward, almost reverently. He had found that even though he had felt a great fear when the flyer shot up, a deep exhilaration was pervading all over him in his admiration of Jim’s feat.
The flight to Orleanais was without adventure. Since Jim had never been to Orleanais previously, there was no little copse of trees this time. They had to land at the fuel refilling yard just like other people. They parked the flyer in a far corner of the yard, partly covered by a building if any one were to look from the entrance gates.
“Edward, we have reached our goal. I think the ECF will be behind us looking for their craft very soon. Once we find someplace where we can hide the craft in, we might be able to take it away. But I think that is asking for trouble. The ECF will be much more difficult to dodge than the Mayor. I think we need to bid goodbye to the flyer now.”
Edward was sad, but his confidence in Jim was so high he agreed with him at once. “Yes, you are right Jim. After all I only stole the craft to get to Orleanais to find my father. I never wanted to keep it. I am happy for the ECF people to get it back. Then may be Lieutenant Oscar will forgive me.”
“I think he might, Edward. The craft is in very good condition other than for a few dents, so they won’t be too upset. Now let us get out of here before anybody remembers we brought it in.”
The two of them followed the usual procedure involved in parking a vehicle in the yard and signed the necessary papers. With his tongue in his cheek, Jim filled all the forms as if the craft belonged to John Uppin. He even signed as J Uppin. Taking the receipt for the craft, they then left the yard, both of them taking a last look towards the flyer as if in silent goodbye.
Who is John Uppin? You had such a funny look in your face when you wrote that name.”
Jim laughed. “John Uppin is the Mayor, Edward. When the ECF people come, they will find the craft parked under the Mayor’s name.”
Edward couldn’t help laughing at the trick Jim had played.
“Now we need to set about finding your father. First, what is his name?”
“Richard Finnegan”
“Okay, I think we need to go ask at the registry office. They register anyone who comes to live and work here. Unless you get registered they don’t issue a taxation number, and without that nobody is allowed to work here.”
“How do you know all this Jim? Isn’t this your first visit here as well?”
“Yes, it is. But all colonies and ports operate in the same way. If I wanted to work anywhere in the universe, I would have to register.”
“I see, then let us ask at that office.”
It was not hard to find the registry office since almost everyone they met had to register there. Once they got there, Jim made friends with a lady at one of the counters by recounting Edward’s story and asking for her help to locate Edward’s father.
The lady who was called Anna was very helpful. She unearthed records of an older system to look for Richard Finnegan since he had arrived in Orleanais over ten years previously. She found his registration details, but said that his records had stopped after about four years of working in Orleanais. Glancing at Edward’s disappo
inted face, she quickly added that this usually happened if people left the colony or even sometimes when they changed cities. Orleanais had three major cities, so he could be anywhere.
“Here, I have printed out his last known address and details here, so I think the best thing you can do is to go to this address and try to find out where he went, from the people in the area.”
Disappointed, but still having hope that they would be able to find the whereabouts of Richard, they thanked Anna and bid her goodbye. She gave them a map to make it easy for them to find the place.
After walking for quite a distance, following the map, they reached the small flat listed in the paper. Edward felt a deep excitement grip him when Jim lifted his hand to ring the bell of the flat.
An old man answered the bell. “Hello, what can I do for you?”
“Are you Richard Finnegan?” Jim asked even as he realized that the man was too old to be Edward’s father.
“No, I am Marcos. There is no Richard Finnegan living here.”
“Oh, we were given this address as the place where he was living about six years ago.”
“We moved in here only a couple of years ago. Janey, who will be able to tell them about a Richard Finnegan?” the old man turned into the tiny flat and called out.”
“Who wants to know about Richard Finnegan?” an old lady came out of a bedroom.
“We do” answered Jim. “We have come all the way from Earth looking for him.”
“From Earth! That is a long way to come to look for a person. Are you related to him?”
“This is Richard’s son, Edward.”
“Oh!” the old lady looked blank and Jim saw the deep sadness that crossed over her face. He felt apprehension now.
“Is something wrong?” he asked sharply.
“We never met Richard. But I know someone who knew him well those days. Why don’t you go to her house, she should be in at this time. She lives just a couple of doors down, in number sixteen. I will call her and let her know you are coming.”
They thanked Marcos and Janey then walked down the passage to number sixteen. Before they could ring the bell, the door flew open and a young woman stood there staring at them in bemusement.”
“Edward, Edward Finnegan? Are you Edward Finnegan?” she spluttered even as she stared at Edward.
“Yes, I am Edward. Do you know my father?”
“Oh, Edward, I have always wanted to meet you so much. Richard was always planning on going home to fetch you here. We were both going to go together. Oh, Edward, I am so sorry, so so sorry.....” the lady put her arms around Edward and started sobbing.
“Where is Richard now?” Jim spoke sharply before Edward could say anything. It was obvious something was terribly wrong.
“He caught an incurable disease and passed away almost six years ago.” the lady’s very voice was trembling.
Edward felt faint and would have fallen to the ground except that the lady was holding on to him tightly. He felt as though the world was cut off from under his feet.
“Oh no, this poor kid! He came all this way to find his father. No wonder he didn’t come to Earth, Edward, see he would have come for you if he had been living.”
“Please come into my flat. We will talk there. Edward, you have no idea how I have longed to meet you. I have been collecting money for ages to go to Earth to meet you and bring you back if I could.”
“Were you Richard’s wife?” Jim’s voice was abrupt.
“No, just his girlfriend. He did not feel free to marry again because they never knew exactly what had happened to his wife, your mother Edward.”
They all trooped into the flat and sat in the tiny sitting room. The lady said, “My name is Elaine. Who are you? Are you related to Edward?”
“No, I am Jim Hawks. We met each other in Pluto. Edward managed to get to Pluto all by himself, on the way to coming here.” He looked at Edward’s blank eyes and strained face and asked Elaine, “Do you think you can get something to drink for the boy? I think he is in shock?”
“Yes, of course. And you must be hungry travelling from Pluto. I will get you something to eat too.”
The disappointment was so great; Edward did not feel he could eat anything ever. However, Elaine got him a very sweet cup of tea and made him drink it. Edward felt a little better. Soon they sat down to a hastily prepared pasta meal and as Jim told him firmly that he had to eat before they could plan anything else, he meekly ate it all.
After the meal he definitely felt better. They told their story to Elaine and Elaine told them how Richard had arrived in Orleanais ten years ago into a world full of hardship. His one aim had been to collect enough money to go to Earth and fetch his son.
She then said “I arrived here a few months after Richard and the only work they had for anyone who came here, male or female was construction work. The city was being built then. We had a quota to finish each day, it didn’t matter to them how long we took to do it because we only got paid once the job was done. To be fair by them, it was usually an eight hour job for a normal experienced construction worker. Unfortunately most people who came over had never done any construction work previously. Richard said it took him about eleven hours to complete each job when he first came over. By the time I got here he was beginning to finish in about nine hours. I was struggling until about ten or eleven at night when we first met. Richard was very kind; he helped me finish my work early. In repayment I used to cook for us because he had no clue how to cook. Eating out was very expensive.”
“He must have been a nice man” said Jim. Edward said nothing at all; he just wished fiercely that he had had a chance to meet his father.
“Yes, he was. The day I managed to finish my work in eight hours, Richard signed up for a second job. He was very keen to collect enough money to bring you here Edward. I told him we will both do the usual eight hours and collect the money together so that we could go and get you, but he wouldn’t listen. He said he couldn’t use my money because I needed it. He worked too hard, got sick and died even though the doctors tried everything they could to save him. Edward, I was going to come to see you alone, you know. I couldn’t bear to lose him and to know that you were in an orphanage. I just need a little bit more money to buy the ticket for me to go there and then buy tickets for both of us to come back. I need you here Edward. I miss Richard so much; having you here with me will be almost like having him back. Will you live with me Edward? And Jim too, naturally. I can see the two of you are inseparable now.”
Both Edward and Jim were deeply touched. Trying to make light of a deeply emotional moment Jim laughingly said, “Hey, you don’t even know me! I could be this monster you don’t want anywhere near you in a couple of days!”
Gravely, Elaine shook her head. “No, you couldn’t be. You took the trouble to bring Edward here. Only a kind and nice man would do that.”
“Jim is very nice. Thank you Elaine, I would love to live with you if Jim would too. It would be lovely to learn all about my father from you. Besides, if Jim is here, I will not miss my father too much.”
Elaine hugged Edward and he felt something wet touch his face. Her voice was trembling slightly when she said, “You can’t imagine how I have dreamt of having you here with me. I have even looked up a suitable school for you and located a baseball field where you can play baseball. So many other things like that. We three are going to enjoy our lives, eh?”
“Thanks, Elaine. I will naturally move out as soon as I have tied up a few lose ends and found a job, but thank you for letting me stay here until then.” For once Jim sounded very serious.
“What lose ends?”
“The Mayor and the ECF. I have actually decided what needs to be done. As we told you, the flyer is registered as parked by the Mayor. I have already left his pouch of drugs in the flyer. So if we can get the Mayor into the flyer when the ECF arrive, we will be able to get rid of the Mayor as well as draw away ECF attention from us to him.”
“H
ey, that sounds like a good plan. How do we get the Mayor into the flyer?”
“Maybe you can help us there Elaine. He knows the two of us too well for us to be able to do anything.”
“Of course I will help you. What do I have to do?”
“My plan is very hazy yet. Let us fine tune it as we talk, okay?”
“Alright.”
“First, my thinking is, if the Mayor thinks I have left his pouch of drugs in the flyer, he will try anything to get into the flyer to get it. Supposing you were to throw a fit in front of him with me and show him the papers to the flyer in a fit of rage or something so that he gets them in his possession.”
“Hey, that sounds good, but first things first. How do I meet him?”
“We will hide outside the fuel yard and wait for him to come out. When he does, I will point him out to you.”
“You seem to be sure he will be coming here?”
“He followed us to every port we landed at, so I assume he will follow us here.”
“Okay, so why won’t he just go to your craft before he comes out of the yard? Then he can search it before he comes out?”
“We have so far never parked in a yard until New Austin, and even there we waited until much later to bring it in. So he will never expect it to be in the yard. In response to how we do it, suppose you were to have a raging fight with me outside the fuel yard just as the Mayor walks up and in your anger you let out something about my hiding valuable stuff in the flyer.”
“Oh, I am beginning to get it. I stand in the walkway in the Mayor’s path and rant and storm at how you have disappeared so fast after seeing him. Also how you conned me out of money for some fake charity, but I stole your pass to the fuel yard when I found out. While I’m speaking I look at it and disgustedly throw it away saying after all it is of no use to me because I can’t get into the yard as you or something!”
“You are getting the drift, dear Elaine! In cons, you don’t plan the exact words; you use the opportunity as it arises. I like the charity con idea, because it allows the Mayor to think I swindle you out of a lot of money.
She said “that sounds good.”
He continued “I will run away and turn the corner just as the Mayor reaches you. He will most probably be alone because he stations his two beefy bodyguards outside the fuel yards to watch out for me. All right let’s go, but I think Edward you need to stay back out of this one, for now.”
“I will not” Edward was very firm on that.
Jim laughed and put a friendly arm round the boy’s shoulder, propelling him out of the door.
“Just a minute, I have a car. We will go in that. Then you can show me the Mayor and disappear before he reaches the car. I will get out and shake my fist after you shouting blasphemies at you!”
“That sounds perfect.”
They all left the small home heading to the car.