Archipelago N.Y.: Flynn (17 page)

“Turn back and go
away! This is a restricted area, only Upper Side residents can enter!” the
burly guard shouted at Flynn as the
Seeker
approached the check-point
platform.

The whole length
of Midtown Bay, the one bordering with the Upper Side, was cordoned off,
check-point rafts at every hundred yards or so. Flynn glanced down at his
tattered shorts and bare feet.

“I said turn back,
scum boy!” the guard yelled again, cocking his gun. “Are you deaf, or
somethin’?”

“I'm a Free
Scavenger! I can go anywhere I want!” said Flynn and pointed his chin at the
Empire State Building, two blocks away in the background.

“Hah! Is that so?”
scoffed the guard. “Got any ID on you, wise guy?”

Flynn realized he
had forgotten to put on his golden badge. It was instantly recognizable and allowed
those who wore it free movement in all areas of the Archipelago. Of course, he had
not yet gotten into the habit of wearing it… Flynn dug in his harness pouch,
took the badge out and flashed it at the guard. “That good enough for you?” he
asked, glaring back at the man.

At the sight of
the badge, the guard's grim face changed its expression. He lowered his weapon
and started to back off. “Duncan’s Gold…You should be wearin' it, you know!”
the man said, but his tone had softened now. There was a definite note of
respect in his voice.

“I’ll wear it when
it pleases me!” Arrogantly, Flynn shoved the badge back in his pouch. “Can I go
now?”

The guard nodded
and stepped back.

Flynn steered his
raft through the gap between the check-point platforms. As he was passing, his
eyes met those of the guard. The man quickly looked away. Flynn pedaled ahead,
smiling to himself. He was beginning to enjoy his new status and the power it
gave him. The way he had dealt with the guard made him feel full of pride and
self-importance… But the golden badge had done something else… It had suddenly
rekindled Flynn’s anger toward his father…brought back their argument over
Flynn’s future… Flynn wished his father could have seen this… how Flynn had
entered the Upper Side with just a flash of his new badge! He knew damn well
where his future was! Right here, staring at him! And his future home was in
one of the tall buildings rising out of the water before him… Flynn had come to
the Upper Side to collect the key to his new lodgings and start his new life.

And the way things
stood, Flynn needed a roof over his head as soon as possible… After storming
out of his apartment, Flynn had made it straight to Tony’s, hoping to camp on
the Romero’s floor. But Mrs. Romero would have nothing to do with Flynn. No, he
wasn’t going to see his friend, because Tony was resting after his ordeal at
the Trials. She didn’t care about Flynn and Tony winning the damned race, or the
cursed golden badges… What mattered to Mrs. Romero was that her son could
barely breathe, was running a high fever and coughing up blood… And according
to Mrs. Romero, Flynn was to blame for everything… Tony’s poor health was all
Flynn’s fault… Having made all those accusations, Mrs. Romero had slammed the
door in Flynn’s face… With nowhere else to go, he had spent a freezing and very
uncomfortable night down at the Pier.

Now, the
Seeker
was passing by the big docks, surrounding the base of the Van Zandt Building. But
Flynn’s plan wasn’t just to walk in there and get his key from Duncan Roth… He
was also there for Madison Ray… He was going to negotiate her release, no
matter what. The Rottweiler obviously had power over Leo Van Zandt, judging by
the way the man had spoken to the boy on the day of the Trials. Everyone had
seen Leo cower in the Rottweiler’s presence…As the winner of the Trials, Flynn
felt confident he could persuade Duncan Roth to talk to Leo and have Madison
come home. After all, he had all the evidence in the world to prove that Leo
Van Zandt had tried to destroy his chances at competing… Madison’s note to Tony
was tucked away safely in his pocket, and it clearly stated what Leo had done.

Flynn pedaled past
a row of vessels moored along the floating platforms, looking for an empty
slip. Suddenly, two familiar figures caught his eye. He jerked his head back
and his feet froze on the pedals. No, there was no mistake! It was Madison,
walking beside Leo Van Zandt. The two were making their way along one of the
well-scrubbed gangways which connected the Van Zandt building to the docks! Flynn
watched as Leo led Madison to his motor boat, jumped on board the
Fury
and held out his hand for her. Wait! Was that a smile on her face? Flynn’s
chest tightened as he caught his breath…Madison didn’t look like a captive… No,
she seemed to be following Leo willingly, enjoying herself. She giggled when
Leo gunned his engine and his boat sprang forward. He steered it away from the
dock, and in a slow and leisurely speed, headed north, toward the heart of the
Upper Side.

Flynn stood still
for a moment, puzzled and hurt by how Madison had acted. Then he pressed on the
pedals and followed the motor boat. He trailed the
Fury
as it entered
Park Avenue Canal and headed towards the Chrysler Building. With his jaw
clenched and his knuckles white from gripping the steering column, Flynn kept
his raft at a safe distance from Leo and Madison. He could see them well enough,
though… he could see Leo showing off, pointing at the tall buildings flanking
the canal. And there was Madison, looking admiringly at the boy…

“Bastard!” said
Flynn, gritting his teeth. The Van Zandts owned not only the buildings, but the
people in them…the people around them, he thought bitterly. And now, Leo had
set his eyes on Madison and added her to his collection! “Damn it!” Flynn spat
in the water, his anger growing with every passing second. Who was he kidding,
really? Pretending that his golden badge and Free Scavenger position gave him
power! Power over a bunch of guards and low-ranked officials… There was nothing
Flynn could do to this Van Zandt kid! Nothing!

The boat ahead
stopped suddenly. Flynn cursed again and quickly swerved to the right. He
pressed his raft against the massive tires lining the wall of the nearby
building, trying to hide in their shadow and avoid being spotted. He lowered
his head, but kept his eyes pinned on the motor boat. Leo was gesturing again,
pointing at the MetLife Building, home of the Van Zandt Security Force. Flynn
had heard the building housed the Archipelago’s guards and the militia. All the
weapons were kept in there, too. The MetLife building had been turned into a
fortress… and it was Leo’s fortress, like everything else on the Upper Side.

Leo stopped waving
his hand. His arm fell casually around Madison’s shoulders. But she didn’t pull
away as Flynn had expected. No! She didn’t seem to mind one little bit. Madison
had allowed Leo’s fingers to dance around her neck, playing with her long hair.
Flynn felt his blood boiling inside him, rushing madly to his head! He couldn’t
stand watching this anymore. He couldn’t bear the thought of these two together.
But why did he feel such anguish at the sight Madison and Leo? The reason was
simple and it took Flynn completely by surprise… Flynn was in love with Madison!
He had been in love with her from the minute she had stepped on his raft. If
only he had realized this sooner… but he had been way too busy with the Trials
and blind to everything else, including his own feelings.    

Throwing all
caution to the wind and fearing nothing, Flynn pressed on his pedals and sped
toward the boat. He was going to tell Madison how he felt about her and take
her home… He was going to ram his raft into Leo’s boat, and sink the bastard!
He was picking up speed, when suddenly Madison turned her head and saw him. There
was a funny look on her face. She stared at Flynn, then leaned into Leo and
whispered something in his ear. Seconds later, Leo gunned his boat’s engine. The
Fury
jumped forward and sped up the canal, leaving Flynn’s raft rolling in
its wake.

“Damn you,
Madison!” Flynn said, slamming his fist on the seat. There was no way he would
ever catch up with them. The
Fury
was now a small dot, far out of his
reach. It made a quick turn into one of the side canals and disappeared out of
sight. Flynn lifted his feet from the pedals, letting the
Seeker
drift
and buried his head in his hands. Betrayed! That’s how he felt… Betrayed and
tossed away, like the useless piece of garbage that he was! He knew Madison had
seen him, and she had turned her back on him! She had made her choice, he
thought… She had picked Leo Van Zandt over him, and it was as simple as that.

The loud blowing
of horns and angry shouting made Flynn jump out of his seat. His raft had floated
into the middle of Park Avenue Canal, causing a small traffic jam. A red-faced
water bike cop was pedaling toward him with one hand on his gun holster. Flynn
took his badge out of the pouch and lifted it up over his head. Instantly, the
cop made room for the
Seeker
to maneuver away from all the vessels…
Duncan’s Gold had worked its magic again, but Flynn now felt little comfort in knowing
that. Slowly, he made a wide U-turn and headed back in the direction of Midtown
Bay. Flynn needed to get away from the Upper Side…Seeing Duncan Roth was the
last thing he wanted to do… and getting the key to his new home was no longer
on his mind. All he could think about was what Madison had just done to him…

She had broken his
heart.

Madison flinched
and looked away, trying to hide her worried face from Leo. His arm was still
around her shoulders, his hand playing with her ear. The
Fury
was going
at top speed, and it was an incredibly bumpy ride. Boats, rafts and all kinds
of water vessels moved to either side of the canal, clearing a path for them.
They knew whose boat it was and instantly got out of its way. Madison glanced
back. To her great relief, there was no sign of Flynn… “Can we stop now?” she
cried over the roar of the powerful engine. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Really?” Leo
sounded genuinely surprised. He pushed back the throttle, and the boat slowed
down. “You said you wanted to go fast, didn’t you?”

“I’m just… not
used to it,” said Madison. Her face had turned green. It was true… she had
never been on a speed boat before, never traveled in anything faster than a
raft. As thrilling as it was, this first taste of high speed had made her
stomach turn… But was it the speed that made her feel this way, or was she just
worried sick about Flynn? Madison had seen him coming after them… she had seen
the mad look in his eyes… and realized that Flynn was going to ram his raft
into Leo’s boat. She had acted on the spur of the moment… The only way she
could protect Flynn from the terrible consequences of what he was about to do
was to get away from him… So, Madison had asked Leo to show her how fast his
boat could go… and he had done just that…Well, it had worked! They had lost
Flynn, with Leo none the wiser…

Madison leaned
overboard and threw up. She fell back on the seat, her chest heaving. There
were black spots swimming in front of her eyes and a funny ringing sound in her
ears.

“Feeling better?”

Leo’s voice sounded
muffled, distant. Slowly, the spots cleared and she could make out the shape of
his face, leaning over her, his lips curled into a smile. Madison fought the
urge to slap him away. “Yeah, I think so,” she said.

“Well, you better
get used to it, beautiful.” Leo stretched back on his seat, tapped the steering
wheel and grinned. “This’ll be part of your new life… If you keep your end of
the bargain, that is!”

Madison said
nothing. She pressed her mouth shut, trying not to choke on the bile rising up
her throat again. Her end of the bargain! Leo didn’t need to remind her again.
She knew the Departure List was going out that evening and that her parents had
been spared. Madison was already playing her part…  Sitting here, next to him,
letting him touch her… Yes, she had accepted his offer. What else could she do?
Refuse him? Fight him, drive him insane with rage and give Leo even a bigger
reason to harm everybody she loved? No, she wasn’t going to fight, not now
anyway. She would fight later, Madison thought. For now, she was going to play
along, act normal and try to stay a few steps ahead of Leo.

But Madison knew
Leo wasn’t stupid… He could smell a rat from a mile away. If she was faking it,
he would sense it immediately and turn the game around. Madison would have to
convince Leo that she was with him not out of fear, but because she really liked
him…It was going to be hard! Luckily for Madison, she was good at acting and
hiding her feelings… And right now, Leo was staring at her, studying her face, attempting
to read her mind. Madison could feel his eyes burning holes in her skin, trying
to peel off the false mask she was wearing… With the wave of sea sickness gone,
she managed a coy smile. “It’s not a bargain, Leo!” she said, her hand finding
his. “I think I can get used to this!”