Archipelago N.Y.: Flynn (21 page)

He scooped up
another can of glue from the shelf. Getting low on oxygen and with his mesh
sack full and weighing him down, Flynn kicked his feet and turned to go. He
swam between the aisles of the hardware store and out through the broken glass
window toward his diving bell. Once inside, he took a breath to check the air
quality. It was fresh. Madison was doing her job to perfection. Flynn knew she
was working extra hard to impress him… trying to regain his trust… As much as
he didn’t want to admit it, he was enjoying her efforts…

As far as Flynn
was concerned, Madison had done her bit…He suspected that it was her way of
trying to save face. Everyone knew that she was now Leo’s property. She had told
him how the two of them would be paired after the Departure Ceremony… The Van
Zandt boy had agreed to let her work as a Crew Mate on the
Seeker
until
then, only because Duncan Roth had requested it. In fact, his father, Marcus
Van Zandt, had ordered Leo to let her go… for the Greater Good of the
Archipelago…

Flynn rested for
another minute inside the bell, took a couple of deep breaths and went back out.
Pharrell was also scavenging the store shelves below, his diving bell swaying
close to Flynn’s. Pharrell and Clay were in on the rescue plan, and Flynn
wondered what had made Pharrell take the risk. Whatever the reason, Pharrell
had done something remarkable… Shortly after Duncan Roth had left them with
their assignments, he and Clay had agreed to join in and follow Flynn. And
Flynn was grateful for that. He would have gone alone, but the chances of
succeeding had improved greatly with the two boys by his side… He wasn’t
counting Madison in on the action, though... she had done her part, but she
wasn’t one of them anymore.

Using his powerful
dolphin kicks, Flynn began his rise back to the surface. The shadow of The S
eeker
was right above him now, no more than thirty feet away. Flynn screamed to let
the last bit of air out of his lungs, and surfaced with a splash. After the
peaceful underwater silence, the sounds of the outside world rudely blasted at his
ears. The buzz of the early evening boat traffic, the shouts coming from the
nearby fishing nets, the screaming of the Archipelago’s hungry seagulls… He heaved
the sack on top of his raft and fell back in the water, spreading his arms
wide, letting his body relax and float. He looked straight up at the sky, so
that his ears dipped under the water to muffle the noises for another few more
minutes of peace and quiet. The sun was low and the sky was a beautiful swirl
of purple and orange.

With the corner of
his eye, Flynn caught a glimpse of Madison. She was standing at the edge of the
raft, her backlit silhouette towering above him like a bronze statue, her skin
glistening. Damn it, she was beautiful, Flynn thought… Even with all her hair
chopped off… She was talking to him, saying something he couldn’t hear. Flynn
was listening to his own voice which was screaming loudly in his head … Madison
was Leo’s girl! And no matter how Flynn fought it, the idea of these two being
together really hurt… But there was nothing he could do about it... Saving his
father and Tony were his top priority… He wouldn’t allow any of his feelings
toward Madison to cloud his mind and jeopardize his mission… It was much easier
to hate her, he thought. Happy with this decision, Flynn lifted his head out of
the water.

“…going to be
late, if we don’t head back soon.” 

Flynn only caught
the last part of Madison’s sentence. He was by the side of the raft in two
powerful strokes. Ignoring her extended hand, he pulled himself up on the
platform and crouched down by his sack. With his back to Madison, he started
emptying its contents and adding them to the pile of scavenged hardware from
his previous dives.

“Flynn!” She stood
right behind him. “Look at me!”

He didn’t.
Instead, he continued to fuss over his sack.

“Stop acting like
I don’t exist!” she yelled at him. “Why won’t you talk to me?”

“Tell me…” he said
without turning.

“What do you want to
hear, Flynn?”

“Tell me, Miss
Ray…”

“Stop calling me
that!”

“Now, don’t get me
wrong,” Flynn tried to keep his voice steady, “I’m very grateful for all your
help… and the plan to save Tony and my dad…”

“But something’s
been bothering you, right?” Madison interrupted him.

“I wouldn’t call
it that,” Flynn continued to stack the next hoard of scavenged goods. “But I’m
a little curious… ”

“You want to know
if I and Leo have…you know…”

“Well, if you
haven’t… I’m sure you will soon.”

A silent beat.
Flynn turned slowly, just in time to see Madison step forward, her eyes full of
hurt. And then, the girl raised her hand and slapped him hard on the face.
Flynn almost lost his balance. Somehow he was back on his feet, grabbing her
hand as Madison swung at him again. Immobilized, she kicked him in the shin
instead. Ignoring the pain in his leg, Flynn rammed her with his shoulder. Snatching
a handful of his hair, Madison stumbled backwards and dragged him down with
her. They hit the deck with a loud thud, and Flynn finally pinned her down with
the weight of his own body. Madison was twisting like an eel underneath him,
trying to get free. She struggled furiously against him, stopping only when she
had no more strength left in her. They lay still for a moment, their heavy
breathing slowing down, until Flynn realized he was holding Madison in a tight
embrace. Immediately, memories of their first kiss flooded in. He tried to
break away, but she pulled him back down… Their faces were inches apart, their
eyes locked. Her lips were dangerously close to his.

“Flynn,” she
whispered fiercely, “grow up, will you!”

He held her gaze
for a moment. The corner of his mouth twitched and curled up ever so slightly.
Then, he pulled away, sat on the car seat and put his feet on the pedals. “Let’s
go, Miss Ray,” he said dryly. “We’re done here.”

Madison bit her
lip and looked away as the raft lurched forward. 

WE THANK YOU
FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION!

YOUR HARD WORK
WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN!

FOR THE GREATER
GOOD!

The Lower Side had
woken up to a swathe of huge hand-written banners, announcing that the annual
Departure Ceremony was around the corner. Hanging from the facades of
buildings, bridges and walkways, these slogans had seemingly appeared
over-night.

"I hate
this!" Madison said.

Flynn glanced at
Madison then followed her gaze. Up above them, workers were draping more banners
at regular intervals between the buildings along the canal. They were getting
that stretch of the waterway ready for the big parade. This was where the
Departure raft would pass on its last journey through the Archipelago. Such was
the tradition… Flynn had never paid much attention to those signs before, but
now he felt sick to his stomach! “Let's get out of here!” Flynn said, his eyes
flashing.

Madison nodded,
gripping the back of the car seat to steady herself for the ride.

Flynn took a sharp
left onto Murray Street Canal and headed towards Midtown Bay. Duncan Roth had
given them yet another bizarre task to perform. He and Madison were to gather
enough supplies and build two diving bells, then leave them submerged at the
same spot they had been ferrying stuff to for the past few days… They had
dumped two dozen Ethanol barrels there, and so had Pharrell and Clay… Duncan
Roth had instructed them to take everything to an area across the Hudson Bay,
which Flynn knew was officially out of bounds.

No one ever went
in these waters, because they were considered toxic. There was an abandoned
Power Plant at the bottom and whatever had leaked out of it had poisoned a
large parameter of ocean around the facility... But Duncan Roth, apparently,
didn’t care what was in the water… Exposing his Free Scavengers to danger meant
nothing to the man… Flynn had stopped questioning the Rottweiler's strange
requests… He was simply counting the days and hours to the Departure Ceremony…
until the moment Flynn was going to finally kill the bastard!

“Let's see what
you’re up to now, Perry boy!”  Leo Van Zandt lowered his binoculars, rubbed his
bloodshot eyes and glued them back to the viewfinder.

He had spent the
last few days in his apartment, at the top of his father's building, tracking
every move Madison and Flynn Perry made. Leo had sworn to himself he would
catch the cocky son-of-a-bitch doing something illegal… and this time, Leo
wasn’t going to let Flynn get away…  Leo couldn’t wait for that moment when he
would deliver the scum boy to his father! Yes, he was going to prove to the
great Marcus Van Zandt that he had been right all along… That he was capable of
taking matters into his own hands!

He wasn't alone in
his mission. He and Madison had cooked up the plan together. In fact, she was
the one who had suggested going back on Flynn Perry's raft as bait. A decoy
that would lead Flynn into a trap! And she was the one who had suggested they
go after Duncan Roth, too… Madison had been so perceptive. She had picked up on
Leo’s resentment toward Duncan right away… What if she could find some dirt on
the Rottweiler himself? Working for Duncan she would be Leo’s eyes and ears on
the ground… According to Madison, there were rumors circulating on the Lower
Side about the man… People were saying that he was stealing from the scavenged
supplies… that he allegedly had a small network of buddies who did all the
dirty work for him…Madison would let him know if Duncan was lining his own
pockets through his ring of Black Market profiteers.

Madison had also
convinced Leo to stay away from her until the pairing… to keep his distance and
leave everything in her hands. And so far, she was doing her job really well.
No one suspected their little game…. But Leo had some reservations... Madison
was now in close contact with the Perry boy ... She had been very concerned
about Flynn’s fate in the Trials… Perhaps a little bit too concerned, and Leo
had noted that… Of course, Madison had reassured him, in more ways than one,
that there was nothing to worry about… In fact, Leo had witnessed something the
day before which had put his mind at rest. As usual, he had been spying on the
pair and seen Madison throw punches at the Perry boy…Unfortunately, at that
precise moment, Leo’s father had stormed into his apartment, wanting to discuss
some trivial matters concerning the Departure Ceremony… and Leo had put away
his binoculars… Later, when he found Madison and Perry, they were sitting far
apart from each other, the
Seeker
heading back towards the Archipelago.

Leo chuckled at
the memory of Madison hitting Flynn over the head… He zoomed in on them and
adjusted his focus. There they were! He recognized their raft right away.
Madison was standing on the platform… His eyes lingered over her tall, lean body
until she bent down and disappeared from his viewfinder. Leo shifted his
binoculars, and there she was again… Crouching at the edge of the raft, talking
to Flynn Perry.

"C'mon Perry
boy, do something stupid! Really, really stupid!" Leo muttered through his
teeth. It looked like Flynn was stringing something together, constructed out
of sheets of plastic and floating in the water next to him. Something that
looked like a diving bell…Yes, Leo was sure it was a bell… Madison was handing
Flynn some kind of a tool now. She got up again, walked away, and came back
carrying a big rock. The weight for the bell… So far, nothing out of the
ordinary, thought Leo. The Free Scavengers were obviously doing their drills…
Leo needed more.

“And where exactly
are you?” he muttered and shifted his binoculars away from the raft, slowly
scanning the area around it. He stopped at a crooked sign with the words “TOXIC
WASTE!” written on it with big letters. Right next to the sign, hung another
one, saying “DO NOT ENTER!” The signs were old and rusty, the letters faded.
Obviously, no one had been at this site for years.

“What is that
place?” Leo pulled back a bit, revealing four gigantic smokestacks sticking out
of the water, surrounded by a makeshift chain-link fence. He readjusted his
zoom and pulled back farther. Flynn’s raft appeared to be all the way across
the Hudson Bay.

“Aha! I know where
you are!” Leo couldn’t contain his excitement and lowered his binoculars. The
Power Plant… the submerged and completely off-limits nuclear power station!
What were these two doing there? Had they gone on their own, or had Duncan Roth
sent them? The man’s name made Leo’s face turn red with anger and hatred… That
bastard never wasted an opportunity to humiliate him … especially in front of
his father. But it seemed impossible for Leo to weaken Duncan's hold over his
dad. Until now that is, he thought… Leo prided himself on smelling trouble from
a mile away… and he was certain something was up …

Leo lifted up his
binoculars and looked through the lenses again. It took him a second to find
the raft. Perry was gone, along with the diving bell. Madison was standing
alone on the deck, a pigeon perched on her shoulder. A moment later, Perry's
head reappeared in the water. He heaved himself back on the raft, walked over
to Madison and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch
my girl, you prick!" cried Leo, flinched and lost his focus on them. When
he found them again, they seemed to be arguing. Madison looked angry and was
waving her hands. She appeared to be shouting at the Perry boy. “That’s more
like it,” Leo muttered to himself and stepped away from the window. His mind
was made up now. Something was going on at the Power Plant… He had to get a
closer look at this place. Sneak in, wait and when the divers were gone, he
would check out the site. Leo quickly gathered his stuff and left the
apartment.

"Don't be
silly, Flynn!" Madison was seriously annoyed now. "We've done what we
were asked to do! It's time to get out."

"Just one
quick look, alright! I need to see what's down there."

Flynn stood on his
raft in front of Madison, dripping water all over the deck. He had just dragged
the last diving bell underwater and tied it to the bottom of what was a
semi-submerged chain link fence, doing exactly what Duncan had asked. The job
was done. They could go home now. But something was bugging him… They had been
bringing stuff here two days in a row, dumping it and going back for more…
Where was it all going? Simply sitting at the bottom of the ocean? Flynn was
struggling to make sense of it…Why would Duncan bring their scavenged supplies
to this abandoned old place? There had to be logic behind that. Otherwise, it
was just plain crazy!

While attaching
the last diving bell, Flynn had taken a good look down below. He had seen the
smokestack disappear into the darkness, and felt the need to dive deeper and
find out more about the site! Now he was itching to go, but Madison was not
having any of it.

“It says TOXIC, in
case you can't read!” she shouted, pointing at the rusty sign on the fence. “You
want to get yourself poisoned? Seen anyone else diving around here...”

“Madison!”

“Besides, if
Duncan finds out ... we're done! It's over...”

“Madison!” Flynn
placed his hands on her shoulders, to steady her and stop her waving her hands
in his face. “I've been in the water a few times already! Nothing's wrong with
it. If there was ... I'd be ill by now, right?”

She said nothing,
just glared at him.

“As for Duncan
Roth...” said Flynn, glancing around, “he's nowhere to be seen, is he? We're
alone here.”

The two of them
looked at each other for a long moment. Then Madison pushed away from Flynn,
walked over to the seat and slumped on top of it. “Go on, then!” She folded her
arms across her chest. “But don't expect any help from me! I'm not pumping any
air down to your bell!”

“I don't need any!”
Flynn grinned and snapped his goggles on. “I'll be in and out!”

He stood still at the
edge of the raft for a second then dived in. The cool water swallowed him as he
sank past the fence with the two new diving bells attached to it. He followed
the vertical drop of the closest smokestack. Going down, Flynn saw the
smokestack end where the outline of a huge rectangular structure began. He kept
his dive steady along one of the outer walls of the building. There were no
windows, no doors ... no openings of any kind. It looked like one massive block
of concrete, covered in barnacles and slimy, brown weeds. Flynn had never seen
anything like it! He was almost at the bottom of the wall now. The murkiness of
the water was making it harder for Flynn to see where he was going. He was
about to switch his flashlight on, when a movement a few feet beneath him
caught his attention. A school of fish shot out from the wall and swam away in
a hurry. Where did they come from, wondered Flynn.