Children of the Uprising (33 page)

Brian and Jared didn't meet in Battery Park this time. They had too much to discuss to do it out in the open. Brian wasn't about to invite Jared back to the compound either, not with Christopher and Maria there. Brian and Reggie were all too aware of the powder keg they were building. It wasn't only that, though. Reggie still wasn't confident that they could trust Jared. They were doing their best to have people shadow Jared, to watch him. The problem was that none of those people had the access that Jared had. He was the only one who could get them where they needed to be. The people watching Jared did have their orders, though—to take him out at the first sign of anything suspicious. Jared had survived this far. So, instead of at Battery Park, Brian and Jared met at an out-of-the-way bar in Red Hook where they could be reasonably sure that no one was watching them.

“Does it have to be so messy?” Brian asked after Jared relayed the whole plan to him. Brian looked down at the papers that Jared had prepared. Jared had been careful not to give Brian anything too detailed. He had to make sure that they still needed him. If they wanted the plan, they were going to have to take him with it.

Jared took a swig from his beer. He wiped the foam off his lips with the back of his hand. “Did you guys really think that you were going to be able to end the War without getting your hands dirty?”

“But this is all over the city. These are innocent people.” Brian looked at the map Jared had given him with each of the targets marked.

Jared laughed. “You're supposed to be rebels. You're not bound by the rules. If you were, Christopher wouldn't be a hero. He'd be shunned.”

“It's not about the rules,” Brian said, shaking his head. “It's about innocent people getting hurt.”

Jared's frustration began to come through in his voice. “I think you and I have different definitions of what
innocent
means. You know as well as I do that the willful blindness of these ‘innocent people' is the whole reason why the War has lasted as long as it has.” Jared waited for Brian to say something. When he didn't, Jared lost his patience. “Fine,” he said in answer to Brian's silence. “You guys can do what you want. But this plan”—Jared poked the papers on the table—“is the only way to be sure that this is going to work. If we don't distract them with chaos, if we don't light this city up, then all those innocent people that you're worried about protecting are going to come down on us and they're going to come down hard. Do you know what that means?” Jared asked Brian, rolling now like he hadn't in years.

“What?” Brian deadpanned, knowing full well that he was being used as the straight man.

“It means that we don't destroy the Intelligence Center because we don't have time. It means that the War limps on and all the work that you guys have done will have been for nothing. Worse, after your little rebellion ends, the War will get stronger. If you fail this time, no one is going to follow you again because they'll have lost faith in what Christopher represents and there's never going to be another Christopher. The War won't allow it. And all that to save a few people whose only saving grace is that they were born of parents lucky enough to not be part of the War. Is that what you want?”

Brian leaned back in his chair. He took a sip of his beer. It was dark and bitter. “No,” Brian answered.

“Who's making the call here?” Jared asked, pulling the papers back from Brian, unwilling to let him keep even the generic stuff.

“Reggie,” Brian answered.

“What about the kid? What about Christopher?”

“He's already done enough.”

Jared laughed. “Are you telling me that the kid doesn't have any say in his own revolution?”

“He's still just a kid.”

Jared paused, not sure if now was the right time to make his demand. He thought maybe he should wait for Brian to take the plan back to Reggie. Maybe then Jared would have more leverage. But he decided not to wait. He picked up his beer and knocked back the third of a glass that was left in two gulps. Then he set the glass on the table and stared at Brian. “Did you know that I was the one that fired you when you used to handle Joseph?”

“I had my suspicions,” Brian answered.

“I thought you were a bad influence on him. I thought you were making him soft.”

“I wasn't making him anything.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jared motioned to the waitress for another beer. “It was Maria, but I didn't know that then. And then the kid came along.”

“Where are you going with all of this, Jared?” Brian asked, beginning to lose his own patience. He didn't have the type of time that Jared had.

Jared stared down at the table. “I want to meet Christopher,” he said.

“No way.” Brian shook his head.

“You don't even have to tell him it's me,” Jared bargained. “I just want to see what all the fuss is about.”

“Why would we let you anywhere near Christopher with your history? We're not even sure if we can trust you yet.”

“You can trust me, Brian. Because you're trying to erase history, and nobody has more reason to want history erased than I do.”

“I'll talk to Reggie, but I wouldn't get your hopes up.” Brian stood up. “I'll be in touch,” he said. Then he walked away.

Jared remained in the booth. He finished his beer. When he was done, he ordered another one.

Everything was going fine until the lights went out. Christopher was talking to Alejandro when the room went dark. Alejandro reacted quickly to the darkness, pushing Christopher into a corner and putting his body in front of Christopher's to shield him from whatever it was that might be attacking them. Christopher moved without knowing what was happening. He couldn't see anything. His body hit the wall after Alejandro pushed him and he turned around. When he turned around, the only thing that he could make out in the darkness was Alejandro's back.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. This was supposed to be the easy one. “No inquisition this time,” Reggie had promised Christopher. The Americas was supposed to be a foregone conclusion. Reggie set up a room in the back of the warehouse that was large enough to fit everybody. It was dangerous putting everyone in a single room in the middle of Brooklyn, but sometimes you have to balance risk and reward. The risks were high, but the way Reggie saw it, the rewards would be worth it. It was a show of confidence. If this night went well, the whole world would be united.

Christopher walked into the already full makeshift banquet room with Addy on his arm. She'd found him half an hour earlier, still getting ready for the evening. Reggie had asked Christopher to dress for the event—no tie, but a shirt with a collar and a sports coat. The only other time Christopher could remember wearing a sports coat was when he'd had to go to the funeral of a great-aunt. She died in her home at the age of eighty-two. At the time, Christopher didn't even know people could live that long. Christopher put the jacket on and stared at himself in the mirror. The jacket was a little bit broad in the shoulders but was otherwise a good fit. Brian had had it delivered earlier that morning. He had estimated Christopher's size. Christopher was still staring at himself in the mirror when he heard a knock near the entrance to the room he was given. Christopher thought it would be Reggie or Brian or maybe Evan or Maria. “Come in,” Christopher called out, staring at the reflection of the entrance to his room in the mirror.

Addy walked in. Christopher saw her in the mirror. Their eyes met in the reflection. She saw that Christopher was still getting ready. “Is it okay if I come in?” she asked.

“Of course,” Christopher answered. He and Addy hadn't exchanged more than a few words since he'd gotten back. She'd deferred to Evan and Maria, knowing her small role in Christopher's life.

“Big night,” Addy said as she stepped closer to Christopher.

“How so?” Christopher asked, watching her reflection move toward him, looking to see if she got his joke.

“This is it,” Addy said. “After tonight, everything is official.”

“Then I guess it is a big night,” Christopher agreed as he turned to face the real Addy.

“You look good,” Addy said, looking Christopher up and down. She stepped in front of him and reached out to fix the crease on one of his lapels.

Christopher was glad Addy had come to see him. He wanted to get something off his chest. “Listen, Addy,” Christopher started, “I wanted to tell you how sorry I was for leaving you and Evan the way I did. I didn't know about the raid. Reggie didn't even tell me about it until yesterday. He promised me that he didn't know about it beforehand. He promised me that my leaving that night was purely a coincidence.”

“Promises,” Addy echoed with a playful lift of her eyebrows.

“Well, at least I didn't know,” Christopher said. “I wouldn't have left you guys if I'd known.”

“And then none of us would be here.” Addy laughed. “You don't need to apologize to me and Evan. We're on your side no matter what.”

Addy's words were a relief to Christopher. “So, you and Evan, huh?”

“Yeah,” Addy said, adding coyly, “but you knew that before you left.”

“I did, but I didn't know it was going to last.”

“I was the opposite.” Addy smiled. “I didn't know it was going to happen, but as soon as it happened, I knew it was going to last.” Christopher caught a slight blush on her cheeks. “We didn't mean anything by it, Christopher. If that's why you left, I mean.”

“You and Evan don't need to apologize to me. I'm happy for the two of you. I didn't leave because of you.”

“Then why did you leave?”

“I don't know. I got scared. I saw how all those people looked at me. I saw how you looked at me, and I knew that I couldn't be the person that you all saw.”

“But look at you now,” Addy said, barely able to hide the thrill in her voice.

“It's not what you think,” Christopher said. Addy hadn't been in Indonesia or in Istanbul. She didn't know that all Christopher did was tell the truth to people who'd been waiting for a long time to hear it. He wasn't a hero. He didn't do anything. By a fluke of circumstances, he was the only person that they would all listen to. He was still only a cog in the machine. But he didn't want to debate that. He didn't want to talk about himself at all. It wasn't only because he still didn't feel like a hero or a prophet or a leader. It was also because he didn't want to be any of those things. After everything that had happened to him, after being paranoid his entire life only to have that paranoia justified, Christopher still hadn't figured out what he wanted—other than for all of this to be over so that he could have the simple life that other people had. So he changed the subject. “So what's next after all of this for you and Evan?”

“I don't know. What do you think? Maybe you and me and Evan should move to an island somewhere where nobody remembers your and Evan's faces.” Christopher had almost forgotten that he wasn't merely the War's most wanted man. He was a fugitive in the real world now too—he and Evan. Christopher had heard what Evan did for Addy and how it had made the rounds on the news. “Maybe we can find you a nice local girl there so you don't have to be our third wheel forever,” Addy teased.

“That sounds nice,” Christopher said, smiling at the thought. “Your hair—the red is growing out. Are you going to dye it again?”

Addy reached up and pulled a few strands of her hair in front of her face to look at the color. “I haven't decided yet. Evan likes the natural color.” She paused, looking down at her watch. “So, are you ready for this?” she asked, motioning toward the door.

“Yeah,” Christopher answered. He'd never felt so ready for anything in his life. He was ready for the beginning of the end.

Reggie had done what he could to formalize the event. They had drinks in the back of the room—nothing fancy, merely beer in coolers, but even that was something. The room was almost full by the time Christopher and Addy walked in. People had already cracked open the beer. Addy and Christopher didn't pause at the door, so it took a few moments before anyone noticed that they had arrived. As soon as someone finally saw them, the applause began. It was sparse at first, but grew as each set of eyes in the room found Christopher. When about half the room had caught on, Addy slipped away from Christopher's side so that he was standing alone. Then she began to clap too. Before long, it was almost everyone. Christopher's eyes scanned the room. They met Reggie's and Brian's. He saw Evan, standing near the back of the room. For a moment, Christopher let himself forget that they hadn't actually accomplished anything yet. Only one person in the room wasn't clapping. Maria was standing in a corner, her eyes wet with tears, her arms crossed over her chest.

Reggie took a fork and banged on a beer bottle to draw everyone's attention. Christopher's eyes moved from his mother to Reggie. The room became silent. “I wanted to welcome our guest of honor,” Reggie said, his eyes falling on Christopher. “I'm sure he will take the time to speak to each of you if you like. But before we start the mingling, I should note that I have been informed that the Americas have officially joined us and the rest of the world in this one chance to end the War.” Reggie's words were met with more applause, this time even louder than before. Reggie lifted his beer in the air, “To the end of paranoia,” he said. Everyone in the room raised a glass to Reggie's toast. Christopher looked over at Maria. This time, even she lifted her glass and smiled.

The mingling began after the toast. People flocked around Christopher. He was the candle to their moths. They came to him with stories to tell about their own youth and their own parents and their own revolts against the War. When the stories were over, they came to him with questions. They asked him for advice about their own plans, their hometown plans to rid the world of the Intelligence Centers. He heard stories about armed boats riding along the coast of Costa Rica, beaching themselves and letting off gunmen like in a miniature Normandy. He heard stories about a frontal assault on a building in the shantytowns of Rio. Then he heard whispers about New York, about explosions, citywide mayhem, and mass hysteria but no specifics. Reggie hadn't told Christopher anything about New York yet. Christopher heard everything thirdhand. He wanted to know more. He wanted to know what was being done in his name. He'd known that Reggie was hiding something from him. When he met Maria, Christopher thought that might be it, but there was more. Christopher now knew that there was more.

Out of the blue, another beer bottle was being raised and tapped like a bell. Christopher was shocked to see that this time it was Evan who had drawn the attention of the room to himself. He got the attention, apparently more quickly than he had anticipated, since for a few seconds, he stood frozen as everyone stared at him. “Speak,” Addy yelled from the back of the room. That seemed to break Evan's trance. He cleared his throat and said, “I just wanted to say that Christopher has always been like a brother to me. Neither of us had our own brothers. We only had each other.” Evan's eyes searched out Christopher in the throng of people. When his eyes connected with Christopher's, he finished, “No matter what happens, Christopher will always be a brother to me. I am willing to share my brother with all of you in order to get this done. Then, when it's over, I want my brother back.”

The cheers for Evan's speech were more muted and less confident than the cheers for Reggie's had been.

Alejandro was the first person to reach Christopher after Evan spoke. Christopher shook Alejandro's hand and Alejandro told Christopher where he was from. “Costa Rica,” Christopher echoed, remembering what he'd been told earlier that evening. “Will you be on the boat?”

“No,” Alejandro said with pride, “I will meet the boat on the beach,” and Christopher couldn't help but be proud too. Then, without warning, the lights went out and the room went dark.

Panic looks different when you're in a room full of people who've been taught since they were young never to panic. It's not loud and chaotic. It's silent and it's swift. Everyone in the room moved through the darkness like they were part of a rehearsed, silent ballet. In seconds, each of them either found cover—in a corner or behind a piece of furniture—or crouched down, making as small a target as possible. Those who had weapons, which were most of them, drew them. Alejandro pulled a knife from his pocket. Christopher saw the shine of the metal. Alejandro's body blocked everything else. Alejandro was using his own body as a shield, placing it in front of Christopher, putting Christopher's life ahead of his own. Christopher hated it. With everyone in place with weapons drawn, the room froze and waited. They all knew that there was nowhere to go. They'd stand there, fight there, and win or die there.

A voice cut through the darkness. It was an unexpected whisper. “Everyone stay quiet,” the voice said. “There are people outside the building. We don't know what they're doing here, but we're watching them. Hang tight.” Then the voice was gone and the room was silent again. A few people took the moment to reposition themselves so that they were facing the door, ready to pounce if necessary.

“You don't have to protect me,” Christopher whispered to Alejandro's back.

Alejandro lifted his hand, motioning for Christopher to stay quiet. Evan was in the back of the room, not far from where he'd given his toast, squatting down near the floor. Addy was closer to the door, muscles tense, ready to rush the door if it came to that. Maria was across the room from Christopher, her eyes not moving from the spot where she knew her son to be, not ready to lose him again. The silence and the darkness lasted for another twenty minutes. For twenty minutes, nobody moved and nobody made a sound. Then as quickly and unexpectedly as they'd gone off, the lights came back on. Christopher could see the room now, like a statue garden, everyone but him in fighting position.

“False alarm,” the whisperer returned, obviously now a member of Reggie's security team. “It was just a couple of kids painting graffiti on the building next door. They're gone now.”

“You sure?” Reggie called out to him, still speaking in his own elevated whisper.

“Yes,” the guard answered. “They're gone. It was nothing.”

“Okay,” Reggie called out to the room in a normal voice now. “Perhaps that should be our sign to call it a night. I think most of us can hold off on any more adventure until we're the ones causing it.” Reggie's declaration was met by murmurs of consent. Without any more fanfare, people started moving toward the door.

Alejandro began walking silently toward the door too. Christopher caught up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. “You didn't have to do that,” Christopher repeated to Alejandro.

Alejandro turned back toward Christopher. “Yes, I did,” he said. He said nothing more and then turned and headed for the door.

Christopher stayed. He watched the room empty slowly. He waited until almost everyone was gone except for Reggie and a few stragglers, but he kept his eyes on Reggie and not the others. Christopher walked up to Reggie. He didn't waste any time on formalities. “I want to know what the plan is for New York,” he said.