Fakie Page 5

  “No, we’ve taken control of our lives. As long as we don’t do anything to attract attention to ourselves, we’re as safe as we’ve always been.”

  Alex held back his gut response: That’s supposed to make me feel better? He couldn’t say that to his mom. She was trying so hard to make him feel safe. He chose instead to say, “I guess you’re right. I’m sorry I freaked out.”

  “You don’t really want to leave here, do you?”

  “No. I like this place.”

  “I can tell,” she smiled weakly. “I like it too. Let’s stay for right now. But let’s be sure to keep our eyes open.”

  * * *

  “So what exactly does this crap mean?” From across the visiting table, Steve waved away the papers Frank held in his hands.

  “It means that we know where Eileen was when she last contacted Lankford. We traced all of Lankford’s contacts to their computers’ addresses. Eileen’s were the only ones that moved, which means that she’s the only witness who has moved. With a little more research, we could sell the locations of the other witnesses to the felons they helped convict,” Frank boasted.

  “I don’t care about that,” Steve snapped. Then the businessman inside him added, “At least not yet. My appeal date is less than two months away. Come March lst, I want no living witnesses.” The anger was back in his voice. “Understand?”

  “I understand.”

  “Good. So where are they now?”

  “We don’t know. We’re hoping she tries to contact Lankford’s office when she sees the headlines.”

  Steve couldn’t believe his ears. He kept his voice low, but his mouth nearly foamed with fury. “Let me get this straight. You try to get the information from Lankford, but you can’t, so you kill him. Then I pay some computer geek $200,000 to do all this paperwork, and we still don’t know where they are?”

  “No, but there’s the — ”

  “Shut up!” Steve glanced at the security guard, who started walking his way. Steve made eye contact, shook his head, and gave a fake grin at the guard. The guard gave a warning look and walked back to his post. He continued much more quietly. “I’m not waiting for her to contact them. She hasn’t in over a year, and she’d be stupid to do it now.”

  Frank nodded in agreement.

  “Where are the girls?” Steve continued.

  “They are just about done with Maryland.”

  “This is going way too slow. I only have a month and a half left until my court date!” Steve checked his voice level again. He leaned in closer to Frank. “It’s time for a different approach. Use your government contacts to get into the social security files.”

  “That’s a different department. It’s not going to be that—”

  Steve’s glare was enough to stop Frank in mid-protest. “They moved in November,” Steve explained, as if to a two-year-old. “So if Eileen began working in November or December, the social security office would have a record of a new number appearing in that state. Check for a single parent with a newly-enrolled child at a nearby school.”

  “But there’s millions … and we don’t know which state.”

  “Then you shouldn’t be wasting your time talking to me.” Steve leaned back in his chair. The conversation was over.

  With that, Frank stood and walked out of the room. He could feel Steve’s glare burning a hole in his back all the way through the gate.

  CHAPTER 15

  FOR A WEEKand a half, Alex pretended nothing was bothering him. He was getting better at it each day, but there was still a nagging feeling in the back of his head — he could feel it right behind his left ear — that something was really wrong this time. He decided to be the good son and let Mom believe he was fine. He would bury his guilt over his dad and Mr. Lankford. He would pretend to be a skateboarder named Alex. And he would be prepared to run at any moment.

  He felt more fake and exposed than ever.

  To make him feel a little safer, his mother bought them each a new cell phone for emergencies only. She paid with cash, used different names, and bought prepaid cards. There would be no connecting the phones to the two of them. She set her phone number on his speed dial and vice versa, and that made him feel better.

  “The key,” she reminded him, “is to go on as if nothing happened. If you start acting paranoid, you’ll attract attention.”

  Therefore, when Tim started giving him the silent treatment, Alex figured he was just being paranoid. He decided it was all in his head and that he would just go along as usual.

  That Saturday, Sonya drove the boys to a salvage yard in search of a rail — “so we can grind!” Nate had repeated about ten times. After over an hour of hunting, they found an old, eight-foot, galvanized steel pipe. They drove immediately to Tim’s house with the pole sticking out diagonally from the back window of the Toyota, which caused a lot of stares.

  Tim politely thanked Alex’s mom, but hardly said two words to Alex.

  The boys worked for a few more hours elevating one end so that it resembled a handrail on stairs. Then Nate, of course, was the first to ollie up and execute a 50-50 frontside grind. He landed the trick and thrust his arms in the air in victory. “Gnarly!”

  Everyone clapped and grabbed their boards.

  Alex celebrated the completion of the group project by keeping a promise to himself. He walked to the top of the ramp and set his board’s tail on the edge. No skill here, he encouraged himself. Just guts. He stomped his front foot on the board and went down. On his first try he bailed. The board slid down without him.

  Just guts, he told himself. On the second try, he dropped in.

  Nate and Tyler applauded. Tim said nothing.

  * * *

  They met all week immediately after school and held sessions on the completed half-pipe and rail. None of them cared that winter had finally arrived and the temperature plunged into the thirties. Tim’s mom had to pry them off the ramp each night after dark.

  One Friday night, Tim, Tyler, and Nate agreed to meet right after breakfast the next morning to skate. Alex, however, had to decline. “I can’t come tomorrow. Will you guys be here on Sunday?”

  Tim gave him a look.

  “What are you doing?” Tyler asked with a slight attitude.

  “There’s something I gotta do with my mom.” Alex gave his best eye-roll for effect.

  “We’ll be here Sunday,” Nate said grabbing his bike. “See you guys tomorrow.”

  “Wait up,” Tyler yelled pedaling after him.

  Tim looked at Alex when the other two were out of earshot. “Will you really be here on Sunday?”

  Alex understood his meaning. “I’m not leaving, Tim. There’s just something I’ve gotta do tomorrow.”

  “What?”

  “What do you mean, ‘what?’”

  “I mean,” Tim said, “what are you doing tomorrow?”

  “I told you, I’m going somewhere with my mom,” Alex defended.

  “Why do you always have to be like this?” Tim flung his arm in frustration and took a step back.

  “Like what?”

  “Like this!” Tim said much louder. “You give me a lot of half answers and obvious lies. You don’t even mention that day in history class when you freaked. What’s going on with you?”

  “Nothing’s going’ on,” Alex assured. “I just freaked that day in history. But I think I’ve got it worked out. I’ll be here Sunday,” he repeated.

  Tim nodded. After a moment, he offered, “You know, if you need my help with whatever …”

  “Yeah, I know.” Alex looked down. “I hope it doesn’t come to that … Thanks though. I’ll see you Sunday.”

  * * *

  Gina walked down the steps of Pocomoke High School. Their search in Maryland was complete. She and Leah would meet tonight in Baltimore to discuss beginning Virginia on Monday. Gina planned to continue traveling down the East Coast and then sweep west. She thought Leah should start in the Fairfax area and then travel south.

  Gina made a mental note to tell Frank to cross Maryland off the social security number hunt. Danny wasn’t in Maryland, and there was no way Eileen would send him to school in one state and work in another. She wouldn’t be close enough if something happened.

  She sighed to herself as she took the barrette out of her hair in the car. Ballantine had better come up with a big bonus for this one, because this search feels like a total waste of time. Some of their clients in the Midwest were getting impatient, and armed extremists were not people she wanted to make angry. Aaron was in Minnesota now, trying to satisfy some of the customers, but he needed help. Gina and Leah should be helping Aaron, not wasting time looking for the boy and his mom. Steve was ruining the business and endangering all of their lives by fixating on them.

  It was time to get rid of Steve. Aaron could certainly take his place. Gina knew she wouldn’t make a good leader; she was too hot-headed. She didn’t mind killing people, but it was usually a spur of the moment decision. However, Aaron was smart and ruthless. He would do whatever it took to get the job done.

  She sighed again as she drove toward Baltimore. She would see how this quest went. If they didn’t find the kid by the time they covered South Carolina, she would have to talk to Frank and Aaron about mutiny.

  At the next light, she checked her PDA. There were over fifteen high schools in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach area alone. Fifteen!

  She wanted to kill someone right now.

  CHAPTER 16

  ON SATURDAY, SONYAand Alex made a short trip away from town. They traveled past the school and into a rural area very different from the Virginia Beach suburb they were now used to. They turned off the road at the third mailbox with a blue burglar alarm sign attached. Neither spoke as they drove about 300 yard
s along the twisty, bumpy dirt path, which led them to a large barn-shaped house with a two-story garage next to it. An old, dark blue Chevy Blazer sat in the driveway.

  Alex got out of the car. He could see nothing but trees, some of which had blue and red paint splattered on them. He listened. Other than the loud purr of Mom’s car, there were only forest sounds. One word popped into his head: secluded.

  “Have a good time, honey.”

  “I will,” he said, glancing around to see if anyone heard. Mom should have known not to call him that when there could be other kids around.

  “Call me when you’re ready.”

  “I will.” He shut the door and gave her the customary half-wave as she turned the car around and slowly left the driveway.

  He turned to see Brian walking up behind him.

  “Good. You found the place.”

  * * *

  The boys rode four-wheelers through the woods for two full hours. Alex didn’t know how to work a clutch very well at first, but he got the hang of it. On one section of the path was a clearing. They got the Yamahas up to 60-something mph, but not the 80 mph they had hoped.

  “Wow! That was cool!” Alex proclaimed, taking off his helmet back at the house.

  “Yeah, I thought you’d like it,” Brian said with the first real smile Alex had seen him show. “I think we should jump some ditches next!”

  “No, that’s okay. Casts make me itch. Hey, do your parents own all these woods?”

  “My dad does. My mom lives in Pittsburgh. There’s thirty-two acres — Dad likes his privacy.”

  “That’s for sure. I couldn’t hear a thing — no trucks, no sirens, nothing.”

  “Yeah, it’s quiet. You want lunch?”

  “Definitely,” agreed Alex.

  The kitchen confirmed that Brian’s mom didn’t live there. There were no flowers on the hand towels. The placemats had Harley Davidson logos on them. Things were neat, but in piles. Alex missed the typical “man” stuff in his own home.

  “The bathroom is the second door on your right if you want to wash up.”

  Alex looked down at his mud-crusted hands. “Okay, thanks.”

  Alex noticed a small, gray box wired to the phone on his way down the hall. Weird, he said to himself.

  Brian’s dad came in a little later for lunch. He was a tall, slightly heavy man with long hair and splotches of oil from head to foot. “Hi,” he said. “You must be Alex. I’m Brian’s dad.” He continued wiping his hand on his jeans. “You can call me Ron. Sorry about the grease.”

  Brian stared at his dad and hinted, “I thought you were going to be working on your truck.”

  “I am working on the truck,” Mr. Joseph replied, staring back. “I just came in to get a bite to eat. Why don’t you go get cleaned up?”

  Feeling a little uncomfortable, Alex tried to break the tension. “Hi, Ron,” he said, accepting his greasy handshake. He wasn’t used to calling friends’ parents by their first names and it felt odd. “I love the woods on your property.”

  “Thanks. I like space, and I don’t have to worry about not liking my neighbors.”

  Alex smiled. Still scanning around the room, he noticed a lump near Mr. Joseph’s ankle. “Thanks for letting me come over. I really like the four-wheelers.”

  “Yeah, Brian and I race ‘em all the time. He’s learned how to fix ‘em too.”

  Brian left for the bathroom,

  Then Mr. Joseph whispered, “I’m really glad you came. Brian has been talking about you since you moved here. You’ve really made an impression on him.”

  “Uh, thanks,” Alex said quietly, shifting his eyes to the floor.

  “No, I mean it. Ever since you stood up for him, he’s been a different person. And I wanted you to know I appreciate it.”

  Brian returned, and Mr. Joseph changed the topic back to racing four-wheelers.

  * * *

  After lunch, Brian suggested they go to the garage. “I’ve got something else to show you,” he said.

  Brian led Alex to a large wall cabinet. He snapped open the doors and revealed several strange pistols.

  “Guns? Are these yours?” Alex asked. Guns made Alex nervous.

  “Yep! They’re paintball guns. They’re awesome!”

  Alex smiled faintly. “So you run around the woods and shoot trees?”

  “No, I use the trees for practice. So, you want to try?” Brian asked with hope in his eyes. “We’ll use the fresh paintballs, not the frozen ones I use for target practice. They’re like marbles — they would take your head off.”

  All he really wanted to say was, No thanks. This is a little too real-life for me. But instead, he shrugged and said, “Sure.” Alex was impressed by how sincere he could make himself sound. “And my head thanks you!”

  Brian handed him padded camouflaged clothes and a face mask. “Is all this necessary?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah, the balls sting really bad if you don’t have pads on, and the goggles…” He then said in his best grouchy old lady voice, “You could put your eye out with that thing, Sonny.”

  Brian gave him the basics, and they spent the next hour or so stalking each other through the forest. As the bright blue paint smeared on his gear proved to Alex, Brian was an excellent shot.

  When Brian went in the house later to grab some sodas, Alex stayed in the garage to peel off his gear and call his mom to pick him up.

  “I want to thank you again for all you’ve done for Brian,” Mr. Joseph repeated as Alex hung up the phone.

  “It’s okay,” Alex said, brushing off the compliment. “I really didn’t do anything that I wouldn’t have done for anyone else.”

  “Yeah, but even those losers he usually hangs around with didn’t try to help him with the firecracker thing,” Mr. Joseph stated. He caught Alex looking at the lump on his leg. “Are you wondering about this thing around my ankle?”

  Alex’s face burned. He had already figured it out. The telephone box and the lump on his leg were probably parts of an alarm system he’d heard about in the hospital. Mr. Joseph was on house arrest.

  Mr. Joseph hiked up his pant leg to show the black band and small silver box attached to his ankle. “I was drinking one night after work, and I decided to drive home. The dumbest thing I’ve ever done. I hit a girl who tried to run across the road.”

  Alex nodded.

  “I got ten years. They let me out after three, and I’m under house arrest for two. I can go to work, the store, and home. Anything else, I have to call and get permission first. If I step out of these woods without phoning in, I go back to jail.”

  “Dad!” Brian had walked in and stormed away in embarrassment.

  Alex went after him. “Brian, really, don’t worry about it.”

  “This is all I need,” Brian grumbled holding his head. “My dad’s going around telling my friends he’s a convict.”

  “Dude, it’s okay. People make mistakes. I’m not going to tell anybody.”

  “Don’t you get it?” Brian asked. “If people find out he’s been in jail, people will … I might as well move!”

  “Look, Brian, at least you have a dad.”

  The sentence was out of Alex’s mouth before he could stop it. Maybe it was the lunch conversation. Maybe it was the father-son engine tuning. Maybe it was the Harley Davidson placemats. Alex slipped. He had always been careful. His face burned with embarrassment.

  Brian stared at him in shock.

  “I’m sorry, Brian.” Alex wished his face would turn back to its normal color. “That just came out. Uh … wow … My dad ... died ... a few years ago, and I’ve been thinking a lot about him recently … And …”

  Brian stared.

  Alex continued, “I’m sorry … And if you give me a hug, I’ll slug you.”

  Brian flashed the faintest of smiles at Alex’s joke. “Okay then.” Instantly serious again, he added, “I’m really sorry about your dad.”

  “Yeah,” Alex whispered. “Um look, I really don’t like to talk about that, so if you could just not tell anybody I told you that …”