Restoring Harmony (20 page)

42

A GROUP OF ABOUT TEN BROTHERS TOOK US TO Elliott Bay, and I gave them my bike as a thank-you for their help. “God be with you,” Elder Mathew said, shaking my hand.

“And also with you,” I answered, feeling a little silly, but that was how the other boys always answered him.

The five of us made our way down the long dock towards the
Marybelle
. About half the berths were filled, and even though most of the boats had at least one lighted lamp hanging on them, all the decks were deserted. The
Marybelle
’s single lantern illuminated the peeling letters spelling out her name. The smell of saltwater sent a wave of homesickness over me.

Because of the polio threat, boats from the U.S. were banned from going into Canadian waters. The captain of the
Marybelle
told us as we boarded that the plan was for him to let us out on a deserted beach near Victoria.

He wore black pants and a heavy wool coat with the collar turned up. His hat was pulled down low, and he had a bushy mustache that flopped around when he spoke. “That guy earlier never mentioned a suitcase,” he said.

I shrugged and heaved it onto the deck anyway.

“Cost you extra, that will. It’ll slow us down.”

“How much?” Grandpa asked.

“What’s in it?”

“Why?” I asked.

“Weight.”

“No gold bars,” I said, “if that’s what you’re thinking. Just personal stuff.”

“Well, we’ll discuss it when we get there.”

If we got there. The boat’s paint was peeling and cracked, the sails looked like they were made of scrap paper, and the ladder leading to down below was rickety and shaky. In the hull, Grandpa had to hunch over to keep from hitting his head. There were two tiny seats, kind of like the ones on the airplane, except they had some sort of harness that strapped over your whole front.

“I’m going to wait for Spill,” I said. I hurried up the ladder before Grandpa could stop me. The boat was barely rocking, but even the tiny bit of motion had sent my stomach reeling.

I wasn’t sure what kind of a deal Spill had made with the captain, but if it cost more than one piece of gold per person, he was going to make up the difference and my father would pay him back. Before we’d split up, I had given Spill all my gold except one piece, which we’d placed in a tiny secret compartment that Spill had built into the heel of my boot.

“I’ll be back,” I told the captain.

“We sail at eleven, with or without you.”

I jumped onto the dock and ran about halfway towards land. There was a big wooden crate with heavy ropes spilling out the top, and I crouched behind it to wait. I wanted to make double sure no one was following Spill. If someone was, I had Randall’s gun, and this time I could use it if I had to.

Less than five minutes later, I heard voices, and I could just make out two figures moving down the dock towards me. I watched, and as they got closer, I realized that one of them was Spill, walking on his own, but the other figure was actually two people. Randall had hold of Brother Paul, his arms twisted behind his back and a knife to his throat. I waited until they were about ten yards away and stepped out of the shadows.

“What’s going on?” My fingers clenched Randall’s gun in my pocket.

They all jumped. “Jeez, Molly! You scared me!” Spill said. His hair was a mess, and even in the dim light from the closest boat lantern, I could see he’d been hit in the face and a bruise was already coming up.

“Just the person we wanted to see,” Randall said. He smiled like we were old friends.

“Why are you holding Paul like that?” I demanded.

“Because I’m here to make a deal,” Randall said.

I waited.

“Robert’s already agreed to come back with me. If you come quietly, I’ll let your grandparents go, and this guy too.”

“I can’t do that,” I said. Slowly I took the gun out of my pocket and aimed it at Randall. Spill moved towards me like he was going to try to stop me, but I waved the gun at him and said, “Nobody move. Where’s the other guy? Randall’s partner?”

“I hit him with a piece of metal piping,” Spill said. “He’s in the alley, out cold.”

Randall laughed. “You shoulda seen Robert. He was like an action hero in the movies.”

“Are you all right?” I asked Spill, and he nodded.

“You gonna shoot me, Handsome Molly?” Randall asked. Paul shuddered and let out a little moan. “You didn’t do it last time you had the chance.”

“I would’ve if I’d had to,” I said, breathing slowly to keep my voice steady. “Or I would’ve tried anyway. I know you let us go. Spill explained about the password.”

“I can’t let you get away twice, though,” Randall said.

I stood up straighter. “It’s not up to you this time.”

Randall laughed. “Am I supposed to be worried that you’ve guessed my password?”

“I didn’t take you for the book type, Randall,” I said. “
Soriano
had it all wrong, though. The house doesn’t always win.”

I saw him blanch, but he kept grinning, and the lamplight reflected off his white teeth.

“I’ll make
you
a deal,” I said. “You let Paul go, and I’ll give you your gun back so you don’t get kicked out of the Organization.”

“And what’s to stop me from shooting you and Robert?”

“Oh, I’m going to stun you first and then we’re going to escape.”

“That could work. Or I could kill this guy,” Randall said, “and then take you both down anyway.”

“I guess you could try, but right now I have the gun set on
Shoot to Kill
and I really want to get home.”

Paul whimpered again, and I felt kind of sorry for him because he didn’t know what an excellent marksman I was.

“So let me get this right,” Randall said. “I let the kid go. You stun me. You leave my gun, and you and Robert ride off into the sunset?”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“Deal.” In one swift motion he flipped the knife closed and pushed Brother Paul away. “Get outta here!” he said.

Paul stood there in shock for about a tenth of a second and then he ran, disappearing into the night. I’d had the gun set on
Stun
the whole time, and I didn’t hesitate. I laid my thumb on the thumbprint pad and fired. A red laser shot out and hit Randall in the chest. He fell to the ground, writhing, and then he lay still.

“Quick,” Spill said. “Let’s get out of here.”

I laid the gun down on the dock, and we started running for the boat. I heard Randall scramble to his feet.

“I told you once, Molly,” he yelled after us, “never tell your enemy what you plan to do or they can pretend it worked.”

“Keep running!” I told Spill.

“Go! Go! Go!” Spill yelled at the captain as we threw ourselves onto the deck of the little boat.

The captain had already untied the thick rope, and he flipped a switch, sending a hum through the air, but Randall had caught up to us. Luckily the boat had pulled just far enough away to make it a long jump, and instead of trying it, he stopped and aimed his gun at us. “My suit’s got a lining of HyperFoil
,
” Randall told me. “Completely stun proof.”

Spill flattened himself onto the wooden deck and tried to pull me down too, but I just stood there, smiling. “I figured,” I said. “That’s why I had a backup plan.”

As the tiny boat pulled away from the dock, Randall tried to fire the gun, but nothing happened. We were thirty yards away by the time he realized what I’d done.

“That’s right,” I called to him. “I didn’t just override your thumbprint, I reprogrammed it to mine. You have to figure out
my
password now!”

Randall lowered the gun, and I swore he even laughed, but I couldn’t be sure.

“Have a good life, Robert!” he yelled. “I’ll miss ya!”

Spill stood up. “You too, Randall. Thanks for everything.”

“Here’s a clue,” I yelled. “Eat your veggies!”

If he answered, we couldn’t hear him.

“You chose a vegetable?” Spill asked. “That won’t take him long.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said, laughing. “I chose
zucchini,
and I can never remember how to spell it.”

43

WE SCRAMBLED DOWN THE LADDER, AND GRANDPA grabbed me in a bear hug before I was all the way into the hull. “Oh, thank God!” he said. “I was afraid he was leaving without you.”

I clutched his arm. “I don’t have a good feeling about this boat.”

“Shush,” he said, glancing at the kids.

“You don’t think we’re going to sink, do you?” I whispered to Spill.

He laughed. “It’s all appearances, Mol. Relax.”

But how could I relax? Worrying about ending up in quarantine or worse had wound my nerves up tighter than my curls on a wet day. Now that we were aboard, all my fears of trying to sneak the kids into Canada came rushing back like a tidal wave too.

“Strap yourselves in!” the captain yelled through the open hatch above us. “Better hold the kids.” And then he slammed it shut, taking every extra scrap of fresh air with him.

“Seems a bit excessive for a sailboat,” I said.

“This boat’s a runner,” Spill explained.

“What’s a runner?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” Spill said, smiling.

Grandpa’s eyes lit up. “Really? A runner? I thought those were only for the military.”

“That’s why it’s disguised as a decrepit fishing boat,” Spill said. He helped Grandpa get into one of the tiny seats with Brandy in his lap and hooked the harness over both of them. Then he strapped Grandma and Michael into the other seat and put my fiddle, our packs, and Grandma’s suitcase in a storage bin and latched the lid.

“I guess we’re on the bunk,” Spill told me.

I sat on the edge. “I don’t think I’ll last for two days in here.”

“Who said anything about two days?” he said. “It’s more like three or four hours.”

“Yeah, right,” I said. “I did study geography in school. Sail-boats are really slow, you know?”

Spill scooted onto the bunk until he was near the wall. “I told you, this is a runner.”

The volume of the humming increased, and I watched in amazement as everyone’s hair slowly rose in the air and stood on end. Brandy and Michael burst out laughing and then we all joined in. “What’s happening?” I asked.

“Static electricity,” Spill explained. “It’s a by-product of the Magno Waterborne Ocean Module.”

Whatever that meant. It was pretty funny to see everyone’s hair sticking up, though.

“Hold on, Molly,” Spill said.

All the slow rolling as we wove our way out of the marina made my stomach turn over. I swallowed hard. Once we were in the open water, there was a loud whine from the engine and then we suddenly picked up speed. It felt more like flying than being on a boat. We could hear the water shooting out behind us, and it gave me this really powerful rush of adrenaline, which actually was kind of exhilarating.

“It seems like we’re airborne!” I yelled over the noise.

“Almost,” Spill yelled back.

I was just thinking that it wasn’t so bad when the boat lurched to one side, tossing us to the end of the bunk, then flinging us the other way before we could regain our balance. On the third lurch, we lost our grip and were thrown onto the floor right at my grandparents’ feet.

“What’s going on?” I yelled over the noise.

“It’s the zigzag effect,” Spill explained, also shouting. “That’s why everyone else is strapped in and we wish we were.”

I struggled towards the bed, and Spill gave me a shove onto the mattress.

“What does that mean?”

“The boat goes in a zig-” His words got lost as we slammed together. I’d never had Spill’s body pressed up so close to mine, and I think I would’ve liked it a lot if I hadn’t been about to lose my dinner.

“The boat goes in a zigzag,” he tried again, breathlessly. “But I don’t really know how it works.”

“I do!” Grandpa said, glowing with pride under the green pallor of his waxy skin. “There’s a computerized module that’s in sync with the magnetic float sensors, and it’s programmed to avoid hitting the swells of the ocean straight on. It sort of zips in between them, allowing for greater speed and less f riction.”

“Less friction for who?” I yelled.

The boat lurched again, sending me towards the floor, but Spill grabbed hold of my leg before I was tossed all the way out.

“You two all right?” Grandpa yelled.

“Is it like this all the way?” I asked.

“Probably,” Spill said as we slid off the bed onto the floor again. We got back on the mattress, and Spill managed to get a grip, but this time we were crushed together.

“Molleee?” Grandma called.

“I’m okay,” I gasped.

Brandy and Michael began to cry.

“I feel like the chicken pieces Mom puts in a bag with flour and shakes up before she fries them,” I said.

Spill gave me a wan smile, but he looked like he wished I hadn’t mentioned food. Eventually I got the idea of lying on the bunk and weighing myself down with Spill. Or maybe it was his idea. Either way, it wasn’t the romantic scenario I’d imagined. I clung to him around the waist, and he crushed me into the mattress. Still . . . having his body pressed against me like that made me kind of flustered. When I caught his eye, he actually blushed and turned his head away.

After what might have been days, but was probably only hours, the boat slowed to an easy glide and finally rested, bobbing on the water.

“Everyone okay?” Grandpa asked.

His face was a lovely shade of green. Brandy had been sick and looked like she might be again. It was stifling hot in the hull, and the stench was enough to make me heave too. When the hatch opened and a rush of salty sea air poured over us, we all gulped in deep breaths.

The captain’s face poked through the hole. “Canadian Coast Guard’s out in full force. We’re gonna have to go up north to Parksville or thereabouts.”

“That’s great news!” I said. “That’s a lot closer to home.”

Finally something was going our way!

Spill and I lay on the bed next to each other not moving, letting our organs settle back into place. His warm body pressed against my side and relaxed me. I lost track of how long we floated with the hatch open. I might have even dozed a little.

“I think we should try to stick together,” Spill said after a while. “But with the Coast Guard out there, we might have to split up.”

“If we do, we should meet at the north end of town on the highway. It’ll be pretty easy for you to find it because there are signs that say Canada 1 everywhere,” I said.

“Sounds good,” Spill agreed.

The captain stuck his head through the hatch again and told us it was time to climb up on deck, but we had to lie low and follow instructions or he’d throw us overboard.

Spill went first, and Grandpa lifted the weakened kids one at a time up to him on deck. Then we passed the luggage and Jewels up. Grandma and I followed. Grandpa brought up the rear. We all lay down on the deck, the ocean wind tearing at our hair and clothes, damp air filling our lungs.

“Scoot on over closer to the railing and wait,” the captain said. “I’ve lowered the extra magno-floats so I’m getting enough lift to run this baby almost onto the sand and still get away fast if I need to, but you’ll have to wade in.”

“When we’re all out safe,” Spill told him, “you’ll get the second half of your fee.” He slipped me the gold. We didn’t want the captain to know exactly who had the money.

“And I want extra for the suitcase,” the captain said.

“How much?” I asked.

“Another piece of gold.”

I started to argue, but Spill said, “Fine. I’ll cover it.”

“It’s too much money,” I protested.

“We’re not really in a position to negotiate now,” Spill told me. “I’m going first. Jack, you’re next. Molly, you hand down the kids and then help Katharine.”

The captain scoured the shore with night-vision goggles. “Go now!”

Spill was over the edge in a flash, and Grandpa flung himself out of the boat so fast he sent up a splash, drenching the rest of us. We handed down Michael and Brandy, and then I helped Grandma over the railing. She had a lot of trouble raising her right leg, but she got over in the end, and Spill steadied her as she landed in the water. I handed down the backpacks next.

“Give me the suitcase,” Spill said.

As I reached for it, so did the captain. “I’ll be keeping that,” he said. “If you think it’s worth a whole piece of gold, there must be something really valuable in there.”

“There’s not! At least not to you!” I said. I grabbed the handle and pulled as hard as I could, but the boat was swaying on the shallow waves and my feet slipped on the smooth planks. In the distance, dogs began to bark.

“Let it go, Molly,” Spill ordered me. “Hurry. Someone’s coming!”

I yanked on it, bracing my foot against an old wood box. This was all my grandmother had left of her life, and I was not leaving without my half-sewn maid-of-honor dress, either.

“Here’s your pay,” I said. I tossed the coins across the deck with a clatter. The captain let go and scurried after the rolling gold. I heaved the suitcase to Spill, grabbed Jewels, and had one leg over the railing when I froze. All I could see was black below me and it seemed reckless and crazy to just jump into it.

“It’s only a few inches deep,” Spill said. “Come on!”

The barking dogs got closer, and I could see a light onshore bobbing up and down. A flat hand smacked me square on the small of my back. “Get off my boat!”

I toppled over the edge and landed on my butt in the icy water, holding Jewels over my head.