Archipelago N.Y.: Flynn (13 page)

“And the others?”

“Those who end up
at the bottom stay on the Lower Side and join the big Industrial Scavenging
crews, lifting up the heavy stuff…Vehicles, parts of buildings… and that’s kind
of boring, really,” replied Flynn and looked around. “Like these guys over
there… C’mon, I’ll show you.” Flynn sat behind the pedals and steered his raft
toward a platform, anchored a few hundred feet away.

The platform was
huge and made of large pieces of salvaged pontoons, tied with ropes and held
afloat by dozens of empty oil drums. All of its four sides were buffered with
old tires. When the
Seeker
got closer, Madison noticed the big square hole
that had been cut in the middle of the platform. Four rusty lamp posts were
erected above the hole. Joined at the top, they formed the skeleton of a
hoisting frame. A thick cable ran from the hole up, through hooks at the very
top of the contraption, coiling around a massive wheel at one end of the
platform. It served as a primitive pulley mechanism.

There was a flurry
of activity going on the platform and all around its perimeter. Divers were
getting out of the water and hopping onto the smaller rafts, which flanked the
platform. Shouting at the top of their lungs, a large group of men had gathered
around the hoist wheel. They all grabbed hold of its handles and working
together, they began to turn it.

Madison could now
see their muscles bulging under the weight of whatever was attached to the end
of the cable. “What are they doing?” she asked.

“They’re pulling
something heavy out of the water… My guess it’s a truck… or a bus,” Flynn
replied. “The divers have found it, cleared the debris and attached it to the
cables… These guys are bringing it up to the surface.”

The men were
grunting now, their bodies covered in sweat. The wheel was turning slowly, the
cable coiling around it. Suddenly, the nose of a van emerged from the hole. The
crew hoisted the vehicle until its whole body, covered in barnacles and seaweed,
was swinging from the frame above their heads. Water and silt were pouring out
of its broken windows. Once the van was secured safely to the frame, two motor
boats started tugging the platform towards the nearest harbor.

“That’s the kind
of scavenging job I don’t want to end up doing!” Flynn said quietly, watching
the whole procession disappear into the distance.

“I can see why,”
Madison nodded in agreement.

“Here comes
another one.”

Flynn pointed at a
large raft approaching the Lower Side from the east. It carried a rusty section
of a big airplane fuselage. He knew they were still exploiting one of the
sunken airports, but this kind of cargo was a rare sight. Most planes had
already been scavenged, their engines, seats, cockpits, miles of wires and
cables pulled out and used for something else on the Archipelago. “Let’s go
back now,” he said. “Get us some rest before the big day tomorrow.”

Flynn pressed on
the pedals, turned the raft around…and froze in his tracks! His eyes had met
the steely stare of none other than the man everyone called the Rottweiler. This
was Duncan Roth, the high-ranking Government official who commanded the
Scavenging operations on the Archipelago with an iron fist. But more
importantly, he was the man in charge of the Scavenging Trials. Everybody knew
that Duncan Roth had been the best free diver in town. His record for staying
under water without oxygen was unbeaten to this day. And he had gone up through
the ranks of the Free Scavenger Crews, rising quickly to his present lofty position.
No one from the Lower Side had ever done this, gone that far and achieved so
much. And for this very reason, Duncan Roth was hated and feared by many on the
Lower Side… He wasn’t one of theirs anymore… According to Flynn’s father, Roth
had betrayed them all by switching sides. “He’s a traitor,” Alan Perry would
say… But Flynn didn’t think so… Duncan Roth represented something that Flynn
wanted out of life… He wanted to follow in his footsteps... Just like Duncan
Roth, Flynn was going to get to the top too… and he was going to make a name of
himself.

Now, the man who
ran the Scavenger Trials was standing in a speed boat, only a few feet away
from Flynn’s raft. His muscled arms were folded over his chest, his weather-beaten
face completely expressionless. Unblinking gray eyes were staring right back at
Flynn. Looking at those eyes, Flynn was suddenly convinced that Duncan Roth
knew everything about him… about all his illegal scavenging, his trips to the
Black Market…and, worst of all, the Rottweiler knew about his two encounters
with Leo Van Zandt. Of course, Leo had broken their deal and told Duncan Roth
about finding the
Seeker
outside the permitted Zone, thought Flynn… How
could he have been so stupid to think that someone like Leo would keep to his
word? Tony had been right, warning him to be on the lookout for trouble… Was
the Rottweiler about to accuse him of breaking the law? Was he going to banish
Flynn from the Trials? Flynn would have to keep his mouth shut and not argue
back…Being cocky with Leo was one thing…to disrespect this man would be another
story… “For the Greater Good, sir,” Flynn said, swallowing hard and feeling his
blood run cold.

Duncan Roth didn’t
even acknowledge the greeting. He just kept staring at Flynn, saying nothing. Flynn
slowly pressed on the pedals and started to move away. No sound came from
behind, no movement in the water. Flynn increased his speed and threw a quick
glance back. Duncan Roth was still there, looking at him… Flynn kept pedaling.
After a while, when he was sure he wasn’t being followed, he breathed a sigh of
relief.

“What was that
about?” Madison finally asked.

“I don’t know,”
said Flynn, trying hard to sound upbeat. “Guess the Rottweiler’s just keeping
an eye on the teams, that’s all.” But deep down, he was sure there was more to
this encounter… and that there would be trouble ahead.

Flynn dropped
Madison off at the basement docks of her building and left without stopping to
chat. She watched his raft exit through the gap in the wall, then turned and
headed for the dimly lit stairs. Madison had only climbed a few steps, when a
figure appeared out of the shadows. It was Leo Van Zandt, standing on the
landing above, with a sinister smile on his face.

“Hello Madison!”
Leo drawled as he came down toward her. “What's wrong, beautiful? Aren't you
happy to see me?”

Madison took a
step back. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Leo’s motor boat, full of his guards,
entering the basement. When she turned round, Leo was standing right next to
her.

“Now, Miss Ray,”
he said, casually placing his hand around her shoulder, “will you be a good
girl and follow me? I believe, I invited you to dinner … and tonight’s the big
night.”

He took a step
down, but Madison didn't move. “Sorry!” she said, trying to keep her voice
steady. “The Trials are tomorrow… I’ve got to rest.”

“No, you don’t.”
Leo’s smile widened.

“What do you
mean?” Madison asked.

“You’re not going
to the Trials, I’m afraid,” said Leo, suddenly grabbing her hand.

“Let go of me!”
Madison jerked her arm, trying to pull free, but Leo tightened his grip.

The smile on his
face had vanished. “It's no longer an invitation, Madison Ray! It's an order!”
he hissed in her ear. “I’ll let you in on a little secret… The Departure List
comes out in forty-eight hours… and I know your parents are getting old, so… I
think you get my drift?”

Madison felt as if
someone had knocked the air out of her.

“I bet you don’t
want to be saying goodbye to them, just yet!” Leo said with a little chuckle.

“You…” she gasped,
struggling for words, “you can’t do that! They’ve got at least a few more years
before their time is up… they’re both healthy and strong…”

“Oh, I can do
anything I want!” Leo’s face was now inches from hers. “So…what’s it going to
be, then? Join me for dinner, or we’ll have to make some additions to the
List?”

 Glaring at the
boy, Madison stood for a long tense moment, her mind racing. And then she
nodded slowly, resignation now etched on her face. She allowing her hand to slacken
in his.

“That's better,”
Leo drawled, his smile reappearing. “Shall we go then, beautiful?”

“First, I’ll need
to get something from my place.”

Leo frowned, his
eyes narrowing. He hesitated for a second, then let go of Madison and folded his
arms over his chest. “Fine! I’ll be waiting for you right here.”

Madison turned to
go, but he grabbed her arm again. “Don’t try anything stupid!”

“Of course, I
won’t,” she said, managing a weak smile. “I won’t be long.” And with those
words, Madison shot past him and ran up the stairs. Taking three steps at a
time, and trying not to cry, she headed straight for her Pigeon Tower.

Flynn was
seriously worried now. He threw a nervous glance at the row of little rafts
moored to the long floating platform of the Scavenger’s Dock. It was built
right above the sunken old Ferry Terminals and spanned the base of One, New
York Plaza building. All the competing Scavenging teams were already there;
busy with their last minute preparations, checking their diving equipment,
tightening ropes… Not all rafts were the same, though. Some had the advantage
of using pedals and water wheels, while others were only equipped with crudely
made oars and short wooden paddles.

Flynn looked to
his right where Pharrell Lewis was fixing a piece of tape around the hose of
his air pump. Their eyes met and Pharrell winked at him. Flynn nodded and
looked away. He had come hours before dawn, way before all the other teams. He
had checked and re-checked his gear many times over and was ready to go…
Except, there was no sign of Madison! The Trials were about to begin, and Flynn
had no Crew Mate! He could do it alone, he knew that… It was risky and
dangerous, but not impossible. He had done many dives on his own, and he was confident
enough he could do it again today. But the rules were clear… Anyone without a
Crew Mate wasn’t allowed to compete and would be disqualified!

Flynn had kept
telling himself that Madison would show up … But now, as he was counting the
last minutes before the race, a terrible feeling of dread had crept in... What
if she didn’t? The biggest day in his life was about to end in disaster! All
his dreams and hopes for the future, shattered! With his stomach tied up in a
knot, and his heart pounding in his chest, it was hard for Flynn to stay calm…
Where the hell was Madison?

The sound of
engines made him snap to attention again. Three motor boats shot out from
behind the Plaza building, made a wide turn and approached the platform. Duncan
Roth was in the first boat. Leo Van Zandt and his thugs were in the second,
followed by a bunch of guards in the third. The boats stopped by the platform,
killed their engines and the group disembarked. All the Scavenging teams stood
up on their rafts and watched the Rottweiler walk over to the center of the
platform. “For the Greater Good!” they all cried.

Flynn heard his
own hoarse voice join in the salute. Duncan Roth, his face expressionless as
always, slowly glanced over the rows of rafts. His piercing gray eyes stopped on
Flynn for a moment, inspected the rest of the teams then returned back to
Flynn. It was the same stone cold stare the man had given him the day before.
The stare that had sent shivers down Flynn's spine. Duncan Roth took out his
handheld device. “Name?” he said dryly.

“Flynn Perry, sir.”

“Where's your
partner?”

“She...” said
Flynn, feeling he was going to be sick, “… she'll be here ... any moment now,
sir!”

His words were met
with a loud snort of laughter from Leo Van Zandt, who was now standing right behind
the Rottweiler. He folded his arms and locked eyes with Flynn, an arrogant
smirk on his face. Flynn glared back at him.

Duncan Roth
glanced at Leo, slightly raising his eyebrow then turned to Flynn. “Go home
Perry!” There was no emotion in his voice. “You'll be assigned to a new job
tomorrow, together with all the others who’ve failed the Trials.”

Flynn felt like a
hammer had hit him over the head. The blood drained from his face. His legs
felt unsteady and his hands had suddenly gone numb. All eyes were on him now… “Sir!”
cried Flynn, trying hard to compose himself. “I can do it… alone! Give me the
chance, so I can prove it to you!”

“You know the
rules, boy!” The Rottweiler's unblinking eyes stared at Flynn. “You can't
compete without a Crew Mate! Go home!”

“But ...” Flynn
choked on his words. His eyes found Leo, only to see a victorious smile spread
over the boy’s face. Flynn stood motionless for a long moment then started to
untie the
Seeker
from the platform. It was all over! His future wiped
out!

“Flynn, wait!”