The Underground (27 page)

“Geez, you really must be sick,” she said, surprised.

“That’s what I tried to tell you,” he said with annoyance. It was a tone he had never used with her, and he felt bad about it.

“Alright. I was just trying to make you feel better, but if you need to sleep, then sleep. I’ll just go and read for a while before I join you.”

“Sleep well. Feel better,” she said a short while later. She kissed Nathaniel softly on the forehead before turning out the lights.

His sleep wasn’t restful as his nightmare came alive. He saw himself place the bomb before barely escaping with Shayla.

The explosion sent body parts everywhere. Hands still wore diamond rings. Arms still wore bright designer fabrics. Heads without bodies cried out to him, but it was too late. He looked over at Shayla who cradled the bloody stump of her mother’s head. As she held it out to Nathaniel and asked him why, through her thick veil of tears, he awoke abruptly with a scream that brought Shayla upright.

“What is it?” she asked frantically.

Unable to reconcile his task with the thought of murdering his lover and her mother, he told her what had happened. It spilled out of him in fragments, until he could speak cohesively. She turned on the bedside light and listened with wide eyes as he recounted the previous morning’s events in detail.

“I’m so sorry, Shayla. To bring you into this. To be part of it at all. I don’t know what to do, but if I don’t do it, they’ll kill me! They will!”

“We’ll figure something out,” she said, sounding shocked.

“Besides, if I don’t do it, someone else will! That’s one of the few things I know about how the Underground works. Goals are met, regardless of obstacles. Whatever the cost. It might not happen this Saturday, but make no mistake that it will happen.”

Just then, his phone rang. Given the events of the day and the unidentified caller, he felt he needed to pick up, even though it was 3 a.m.

As he answered, he heard the crackle of a bad phone connection, but there was a clarity to the voice that yelled his name.

“Joe! It’s Garrett. You
must
help us! We’re in the dungeon in Kansas City. There are hundreds of us. We’re dying! Send help!” he heard before the phone call clicked to a dead silence.

“You look like you saw a ghost,” Shayla said.
 

“I think I just spoke with one,” he said before recounting the snippet of a phone conversation he had just had.

“I know just the person to help us,” she said, seeming almost smug, which puzzled Nathaniel.

“What on earth are you talking about?” he said, feeling ill at the stack against him. There was nobody on earth who could prevent this eventual act.

“There is one thing I haven’t told you either,” she said. Nathaniel was fearful, but sat up straight as he couldn’t speak.

“Gerald is in the Underground. I’ve known him my whole life but only found out recently. He can help us,” she said.

Nathaniel needed a minute to take it all in, as his disbelief in what he heard was beyond his imagination.

“What can he do?”
 

“Think about where he works. We can have our own plan,” she said.

——–

“May I please speak with Chester?” Nathaniel said. He felt his heartbeat quickly. He knew it was extremely risky to call Chester, that he was explicitly instructed not to, but he had no choice. With Garrett in a dungeon and no way to contact Simon, he was in a corner.

“This is Chester,” said the friendly voice that he longed for.

“Joe Merino here. Sorry to bother you, but I must talk to Simon, immediately and I didn’t know who else to call,” he said.

As quickly as the chipper voice had warmed him, there was a chill as the call abruptly ended with a click. Nathaniel felt deflated as he threw the disposable cellular phone he purchased into a dumpster on his way to work.

It wasn’t the response he hoped for, but he still hoped that he would get a visit from Simon, and soon, even as he dreaded it.
 

——–

“You’re not going to do this,” Shayla said. She called him as he walked back to his hotel. He could hear she was in problem-solving CEO mode.

“Of course I’m not going through with this. I’m no murderer. Maybe I should just run. I’ll leave tonight and just go away,” Nathaniel said.

“You are the one who made it clear that the Underground carries out their plans, no matter what,” she said, accusing.

“That doesn’t mean that I can do it!” he said.
 

 
“Look. I’m trying to figure this out. Don’t yell at me!” she said.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do. Think of Garrett and all those men. They may be starving or tortured. I have no idea, but we can’t stand by and do nothing,” he said.

“We don’t know where Garrett is exactly. Why don’t we proceed with the plan that I came up with last night?”

“It won’t work,” he said, as he approached his hotel.

“Get in,” he heard as a black van approached and the door opened.

“I gotta go,” he said, and clicked his phone closed before climbing inside.

“This had damn well better be good,” Simon said.

Chapter 34

As he walked into the Palace for the second time in two weeks, Nathaniel couldn’t enjoy the beauty of the silk wallpaper and oil paintings that lined the hallways. He could barely take pleasure in having Shayla on his arm, dressed in a form-fitting vintage gown that made her look like a movie star.
 

Each step was an effort as he tried to make it through the evening without drawing attention to himself.

“You’re going to be fine,” she said to him, as if she could feel his fear through her skin. All he could think was that he should be consoling her.

Nathaniel entered the ballroom to a backdrop of live jazz, sprinkles of laughter and clinking glasses. He wanted to take Shayla by the hand and run the other way, but instead he allowed a smile to form on his face. He walked toward the Queen pretending that the gala was a pure joy to attend.
 

“You look beautiful, mother,” Shayla said, admiring her mother’s new pear-colored sari with gold threads. It glowed when the light hit it.

“Thank you, my dear,” the Queen said, turning to Nathaniel. “My daughter certainly looks stunning, doesn’t she?” the Queen said. There was something that terrified him further, in that moment, as the Queen faced him. He knew she couldn’t possibly know what was coming, but her eyes on him weakened his confidence.
 

“It is wonderful to see you again, your majesty,” he said. Just as he was about to bow, another couple approached the Queen. As quickly as she turned toward him, she was gone, gliding through the crowd with everyone patiently waiting to have a moment with her.

“That’s probably the only time we’ll talk to her tonight. She’s busy at these functions,” Shayla said quietly to Nathaniel after the Queen stepped away. Nathaniel took little comfort in Shayla’s declaration.

“Are we ready for the party?” Gerald said, approaching Shayla and Nathaniel, moments later. Nathaniel was still dumbfounded that Gerald was in the Underground.

“We’re ready,” Nathaniel said, reaching to shake his hand, which allowed Gerald to give him a beeper that would alert them when they needed to get moving. This was a world away from his Underground training of romancing women and cooking vegan delicacies. He was out of his league and felt uneasy about it, but there was nothing to do but put aside his fears.

Throughout the evening, Nathaniel was glued to Shayla’s side, greeting her mother’s old friends and supporters until he felt that buzzer go off in his pocket. He jumped. He gave Shayla a nod, and the smile on her face fell, for just a moment before she pasted it back up. Nathaniel walked slowly toward the ballroom exit where Gerald was waiting.

“Mr. Merino, may I escort you to the exit?” Gerald said, dead-pan.

“Thank you, sir,” Nathaniel said, glancing gain at the Spot on Gerald’s neck, yet another reminder of why he was taking such a great risk.

——–

“Mother, it’s Gerald, please come quick!” Shayla frantically said once all the party was over and all the guests were gone.

“What’s the matter?” her mother said, with a concern Shayla hadn’t seen on her mother’s face since Shayla’s father was near-death.

“He’s in my suite. He isn’t well!”

“Let’s get the doctor!”

“No, you must come now,” Shayla said, grabbing her mother’s hand, forcing her to walk quickly through the hallways.

“What happened?” the Queen asked.

“I don’t know, but he has been asking for you for the last hour and I promised I’d bring you just as soon as you were free,” Shayla said. Shayla slowed her pace a little as they passed a few servants, not wanting to cause alarm with them.

“Good evening,” Shayla said to the servant, forcing a smile as they passed and curtsied to the Queen.

“Do you think it’s something he ate? Where is Joe anyway?” the Queen asked.

“He’s with Gerald. I didn’t want to leave him alone,” Shayla said, her heart pounding as she lied to her mother. It’s for a good cause, she reminded herself.

“Hurry” the Queen said as Shayla’s trembling fingers punched in the code to get into her suite. When the door opened, the Queen ran inside and Shayla was behind her, closing the door as quickly as it opened, her body blocking the door.

“Where is he?” the Queen said, as she frantically surveyed the room. There was no sign of Gerald on the perfectly made bed or the empty couches. “What’s going on?”

“He’s in the bathroom,” Shayla said, just as planned. She had told the men that she didn’t want to watch.

“Gerald!? Are you okay?” the Queen said, near-tears as she ran across the room and pushed open the door that was slightly ajar and disappeared inside.

Shayla’s body trembled as she double-checked to be sure that the suite door was closed and locked. Gerald was the only other one with a code to enter, as they had just reprogrammed it to avoid any chance for a cleaning crew to come through unannounced.

Shayla heard her mother’s quick, muffled scream, before a rustling that she knew was a struggle. She heard the tear of fabric, undoubtedly the beautiful new silk sari. She almost ran across the room and into the bathroom, but couldn’t. She didn’t want to see.

Shayla slid to the floor, unable to hold her body upright any longer. Her body shuddered as she sobbed, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake.

Chapter 35

“Now you know what it’s like to have a silver duct-tape for a mouth,” Simon said. “You’ve ordered this very thing for countless decent men over the years, so I’m assuming you don’t mind it. At least you are having this experience privately. The men are usually paraded in public and every goddamn person who sees them knows they’re on their way to get their balls chopped off!” Simon’s voice rose as he moved closer to the Queen until he was inches from her terrified face.

Simon smiled before backing away.

“Maybe we’ll take you out on the balcony and duct tape your mouth closed. That’s what you do to others. That seems fair, don’t you think?” he asked, knowing she couldn’t answer. “Maybe I should take your photo and we’ll start that way. Smile for the camera,” he said, pulling the cell phone out of his pocket as he prepared to take a photo. “Just kidding!” he said, when he heard a knock at the door.

“Just a second!” he yelled as he put the phone back in his pocket. “Maybe it’s your savior?” he said to the Queen as he got up to answer it.

“Come on in,” Simon said, greeting Shayla, immediately getting serious. When he was alone with the Queen, that was one thing, but he wasn’t stupid enough to taunt her in front of her own daughter. Simon still couldn’t believe that Shayla had agreed to be part of this. He was impressed. This apple had certainly fallen far from the tree and he respected that a great deal. Even though the Queen was the devil, from where he sat, he still knew that to Shayla, she was mom.

“How is she?” Shayla said, alongside Nathaniel, both dressed in street clothes.

“She’s fine,” Simon said, as Shayla looked at her mother.

“Looks like her eyes are going to bug out of her head. Please take the tape off her mouth,” Shayla whispered to Simon, so her mother couldn’t hear. Simon had to admit that Shayla was right. The Queen’s eyes were bulging, but to him they looked like their wrath was aimed at her daughter.

“No screaming. I’ll take this off and keep it off, but if you misbehave. Can you be a good Queen?” Simon whispered in the Queen’s ear, so Shayla couldn’t hear.

The Queen’s head didn’t move. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, but Simon could see that she knew who had the upper hand. Despite his hatred for her and all she represented, he couldn’t help but notice her beauty. And even though he detested what she represented, he found himself feeling something for her. Was it a respect for her determination? He wasn’t sure. He saw her face relax before a barely perceptible nod.

He ripped the tape off her mouth, hoping that would rip away any feelings of sympathy, or any feelings at all that he felt for her.