Chapter 9: Pack the Handcuffs
1672 Words
Chapter 9: Pack the HandcuffsThe officer was kind enough to drive her home, dropping her in front of her building and idling as she walked inside. Her apartment was terribly quiet. She spent the first several minutes walking in and out of each room, turning on all the lights, checking the locks and shutting all the blinds. When she was wrapped in the safe cocoon of her own place and possessions, she sat down to think.
The real-life appearance of the navy car and the man with the hat was having an unexpected effect on her. She felt like a child who’d just encountered a monster from her nightmares. She was drained, her bones growing weary while her phone grew heavy in her hand. Her strength was failing her.
Luckily, Rita had always been the strong one. That truth seemed so clear now, in the sight of their separation. Rita failed because she knew she would get back up again, because she knew she was strong. She didn’t doubt her resilience.
Olivia, meanwhile, felt like she was cracking under the pressure of what she had to do. Then the phone rang in her hand, playing the twinkling piano tune that announced her beautiful, brave little sister. She answered it.
“Hello?” She spoke more hoarsely than she meant to.
“Ollie? Oh my god, where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you for over a week, and you’re just--”
“I know.” Olivia stopped her with her soft tone. “I know, I’m sorry. I don’t have a good excuse, and I thought I was protecting you by pushing you away.”
This was perhaps the most straightforward thing she had ever said to her little sister, trusting her to handle it as well as she could. She was met with silence at first, then a demand.
“Tell me what’s going on right now!”
She told her sister everything. About meeting Byron, about her conflict with Dr. Parker, the stalking, the lies, everything. She was crying by the end, Rita uncharacteristically silent.
There was a small stretch of silence between them when Olivia was finally done, so Rita could finally respond to her sister’s deluge.
“Wow, you are a mess.”
It made Olivia laugh, and the space inside her head grew a little brighter.
“Here’s the thing, though.” Olivia said after a while. “I need to, I think I have to...”
“Leave.” Rita answered for her.
Olivia nodded gratefully, and even though she didn’t see, Rita seemed to understand that she was right.
“Where will you go?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t know, or can’t tell me?”
“Probably both.” Olivia answered, blowing her nose.
“OK. Well you need to be safe. Maybe soon this will all calm down” Her voice was choked up when she said it, though she tried her best to hide it. .
“What will you do? How will you find Byron?”
“Byron?” Olivia groaned. “Weren’t you listening? Why on Earth would I find Byron?”
“Well for one, because you’re in love with him.” Rita answered peevishly “but also because he got you into this mess and he should be the one to get you out.”
Olivia hummed thoughtfully. That wasn’t a bad point.
“You should also forgive him and run away with him.”
“Oh, what the hell Rita?”
“You need to lighten up.”
“Lighten up? He lied to me!”
“Well yeah, of course he did. He’s like some kind of internet outlaw, and he’s got to keep that stuff close to his chest. That’s all he did, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he lied about it, but he was actually protecting you the whole time. I’m not saying his behavior was right, I’m just saying that his intentions were genuinely good. He never did anything to intentionally harm you. His only mistake was getting recognized, which seems pretty reasonable for an internet outlaw.”
Olivia opened her mouth to protest such soft treatment when Rita cut her off.
“It’s almost as though he thought he was protecting you by pushing you away.”
Olivia was suddenly glad they were on the phone so Rita couldn’t see her gaping like a fish. The dumbfounded silence stretched for several more seconds before she managed to shake it off.
“Please promise me that you won’t ever call him an internet outlaw to his face.”
Rita’s bright, loud laughter blared from the earpiece. Olivia tried to laugh with her, roughly wiping away the tears that fell.
“He’s got a big enough ego already, and... he doesn’t...” Olivia heard Rita’s first sob, and they were both instantly in tears. It was very late when they said goodbye.
She sent Byron a text message before she fell asleep.
“Meet me tomorrow morning. It’s time to go.”
Olivia woke with the sun streaming through her blinds to lay bright stripes against the wallpaper. She had expected to be woken by the doorbell by now, having fallen asleep on her sofa with her bags packed after waking at 3 am. She had heard nothing from Byron thus far.
She felt a bolt of panic lance through her chest at the sight of the clock on her wall. Noon?
Byron wasn’t coming. He’d left her here, good riddance. Left her alone with the choice before her: To give up her life as she knew it, or let Parker get away with hiding the cancerous consequences of his product. When her phone rang she nearly jumped for joy, but it was Rita’s ringtone.
“Hello?”
“Turn on your television.”
“Rita?”
“Turn on your damn television you silly girl! It’s him, it’s your Byron. He’s being arrested!”
“What?” Olivia lunged for her remote.
Indeed, it was ‘her Byron’ that popped up on the screen, though the screen said his surname was Furgettar. A breeze was blowing his hair into his face while he crouched and climbed into a police car.
“Welcome to our breaking studio coverage. The FBI has announced that they have arrested World Leaks co-founder Byron Furgettar on international charges of espionage and treason. The countries that have warrants for Furgettar’s arrest are currently in negotiations over who’s prosecution will take precedence. In a statement delivered by his lawyer, Furgettar noted that World Leaks would continue to function without him at the helm. There has been much speculation about how Furgettar was captured, with several sources indicating that he may have turned himself in to the authorities.”
Olivia was still sitting in front of her television, remote in her limp hand, when her sister arrived. Rita used her spare key to let herself in, sitting Nelly in Olivia’s lap and scooching to sit next to them. Olivia hadn’t even realized she’d dropped the phone.
Commercials and other news stories blurred past, she didn’t take them in. At first there was only one story that would rouse her from her shock, or rather, what Rita was calling shock. She assumed that was why she was suddenly wrapped in a blanket. After a few hours, though, another story broke that nearly drove her straight to her feet.
Black Earth’s logo filled the screen by the anchor woman's head. Olivia turned up the volume.
“Recent leaked documents reveal that mining magnate Black Earth has been hiding private studies that show a correlation between ingesting foods grown in soil that was processed by one of their prototypes, and several forms of abdominal cancer.
Thankfully the potentially deadly subterranean drone was still in its prototype stages and there is therefore no widespread concerns for American produce. However, this news did not come soon enough for the residents of Carson Hill, Washington, which has shown samples of highly contaminated soil in several areas where local produce is grown. The study, which Black Earth has not commented on at this time, seems to indicate that cancers of the digestive tract skyrocketed in Carson Hill in the two years since their soil was processed.
There has been speculation that this leak was in fact an act of retaliation against Black Earth on behalf of World Leaks founder Byron Furgettar, who was arrested late last night on what many claim are charges meant to frighten whistleblowers, not protect the public. There has been speculation that Furgettar was targeting Black Earth himself in the months leading up to his arrest, with multiple witnesses claiming to have seen him near their corporate campus on several occasions.”
Olivia couldn’t move from the couch, flipping constantly from one news channel to another. It wasn’t long before Nelly was fast asleep on her guest bed, and her mother joined her not long after that. Olivia kept staring at the television.
She needed to get out of the city. Even if Byron’s sacrifice had kept her from the hands of the police, the people from Black Earth might still be looking for her. If nothing else, she was pretty certain she was fired.
The knock on the door was so soft she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it at first. Then it came again, steady and rhythmic. She looked through the eyehole, surprised to see a big white smile and a green doorman’s uniform. She opened the door.
“Gus?”
“Hello miss.” Gus’ voice was low and even. “How are you?”
“I’m, well... not very good.”
“No.” Gus agreed with a sage nod. “No, of course you’re not. I am here at the request of Mr. Duke.”
“Don’t you mean Mr. Furgettar?” Olivia sighed.
Gus’ face hardened a little.
“No ma’am. That name’s never gonna leave my lips.”
Their eyes met, and after a moment Olivia thought she understood.
“That’s what he pays you for, isn’t it?”
Gus smiled at her again.
“Among other things, miss. At the moment I’m to get you out of the country.”
“Where will I go?”
“Oh, all over at first, miss. can’t stay in one place for too long, but don’t worry, old Gus will be there with you. You’ll get a high-speed tour of Europe by the time we’re done. Is this your bag?”
He pointed at the big suitcase she’d packed the night before. She hadn’t even realized it was still there.
“Yes, it is.”
Gus immediately stooped to take up the handle, moving the luggage into the hallway.
“Wait, when are we leaving?”
“Right now, Miss.”
“Now? but-- wait. Wait. I have to say goodbye.”
She was three steps from the bedroom door when she stopped, staring into the darkened room through the c***k in the door. Was there anything else to say? She and Rita had their goodbyes.
Instead she turned to her kitchen table, locating a pen and a piece of paper.
Rita,
I think you already know why I’m not here. He made arrangements for me to be safe, and I believe I will be. Please never forget that you are a mighty person, and that you don’t need me or anyone else. I will get in touch as often and as soon as I can do so safely.
I love you both so much,
Olivia
- Writer
