“No, you don’t.” Leo’s smile widened.
“What do you mean?” Madison asked.
“You’re not going to the Trials, I’m afraid,” said Leo, suddenly grabbing her hand.
“Let go of me!” Madison jerked her arm, trying to pull free, but Leo tightened his grip.
The smile on his face had vanished. “It’s no longer an invitation, Madison Ray! It’s an order!” he hissed in her ear. “I’ll let you in on a little secret… The Departure List comes out in forty-eight hours… and I know your parents are getting old, so… I think you get my drift?”
Madison felt as if someone had knocked the air out of her.
“I bet you don’t want to be saying goodbye to them, just yet!” Leo said with a little chuckle.
“You…” she gasped, struggling for words, “you can’t do that! They’ve got at least a few more years before their time is up… they’re both healthy and strong…”
“Oh, I can do anything I want!” Leo’s face was now inches from hers. “So… what’s it going to be, then? Join me for dinner, or we’ll have to make some additions to the List?”
Glaring at the boy, Madison stood for a long tense moment, her mind racing. And then she nodded slowly, resignation now etched on her face. She allowing her hand to slacken in his.
“That’s better,” Leo drawled, his smile reappearing. “Shall we go then, beautiful?”
“First, I’ll need to get something from my place.”
Leo frowned, his eyes narrowing. He hesitated for a second, then let go of Madison and folded his arms over his chest. “Fine! I’ll be waiting for you right here.”
Madison turned to go, but he grabbed her arm again. “Don’t try anything stupid!”
“Of course, I won’t,” she said, managing a weak smile. “I won’t be long.” And with those words, Madison shot past him and ran up the stairs. Taking three steps at a time, and trying not to cry, she headed straight for her Pigeon Tower.
THIRTEEN
Flynn was seriously worried now. He threw a nervous glance at the row of little rafts moored to the long floating platform of the Scavenger’s Dock. It was built right above the sunken old Ferry Terminals and spanned the base of One, New York Plaza building. All the competing Scavenging teams were already there; busy with their last minute preparations, checking their diving equipment, tightening ropes… Not all rafts were the same, though. Some had the advantage of using pedals and water wheels, while others were only equipped with crudely made oars and short wooden paddles.
Flynn looked to his right where Pharrell Lewis was fixing a piece of tape around the hose of his air pump. Their eyes met and Pharrell winked at him. Flynn nodded and looked away. He had come hours before dawn, way before all the other teams. He had checked and re-checked his gear many times over and was ready to go… Except, there was no sign of Madison! The Trials were about to begin, and Flynn had no Crew Mate! He could do it alone, he knew that… It was risky and dangerous, but not impossible. He had done many dives on his own, and he was confident enough he could do it again today. But the rules were clear… Anyone without a Crew Mate wasn’t allowed to compete and would be disqualified!
Flynn had kept telling himself that Madison would show up… But now, as he was counting the last minutes before the race, a terrible feeling of dread had crept in… What if she didn’t? The biggest day in his life was about to end in disaster! All his dreams and hopes for the future, shattered! With his stomach tied up in a knot, and his heart pounding in his chest, it was hard for Flynn to stay calm… Where the hell was Madison?
The sound of engines made him snap to attention again. Three motor boats shot out from behind the Plaza building, made a wide turn and approached the platform. Duncan Roth was in the first boat. Leo Van Zandt and his thugs were in the second, followed by a bunch of guards in the third. The boats stopped by the platform, killed their engines and the group disembarked. All the Scavenging teams stood up on their rafts and watched the Rottweiler walk over to the center of the platform. “For the Greater Good!” they all cried.
Flynn heard his own hoarse voice join in the salute. Duncan Roth, his face expressionless as always, slowly glanced over the rows of rafts. His piercing gray eyes stopped on Flynn for a moment, inspected the rest of the teams then returned back to Flynn. It was the same stone cold stare the man had given him the day before. The stare that had sent shivers down Flynn’s spine. Duncan Roth took out his handheld device. “Name?” he said dryly.
“Flynn Perry, sir.”
“Where’s your partner?”
“She…” said Flynn, feeling he was going to be sick, “…she’ll be here… any moment now, sir!”
His words were met with a loud snort of laughter from Leo Van Zandt, who was now standing right behind the Rottweiler. He folded his arms and locked eyes with Flynn, an arrogant smirk on his face. Flynn glared back at him.
Duncan Roth glanced at Leo, slightly raising his eyebrow then turned to Flynn. “Go home Perry!” There was no emotion in his voice. “You’ll be assigned to a new job tomorrow, together with all the others who’ve failed the Trials.”
Flynn felt like a hammer had hit him over the head. The blood drained from his face. His legs felt unsteady and his hands had suddenly gone numb. All eyes were on him now… “Sir!” cried Flynn, trying hard to compose himself. “I can do it… alone! Give me the chance, so I can prove it to you!”
“You know the rules, boy!” The Rottweiler’s unblinking eyes stared at Flynn. “You can’t compete without a Crew Mate! Go home!”
“But…” Flynn choked on his words. His eyes found Leo, only to see a victorious smile spread over the boy’s face. Flynn stood motionless for a long moment then started to untie the Seeker from the platform. It was all over! His future wiped out!
“Flynn, wait!”
Startled, Flynn looked up.
Panting and covered in sweat, a familiar figure was running down the Scavenger Dock toward them. Visibly exhausted, Tony Romero came to an abrupt stop in front of Duncan Roth. “Sir…” he gasped, struggling to catch his breath. “I’m his Crew Mate, sir! Sorry I’m late!”
“You?” Duncan Roth’s eyes narrowed. The boy looked like he could barely stand on his feet. “You think you’re fit to compete?”
“I can do it, sir!” replied Tony. “For the Greater Good, sir.”
The Rottweiler studied him for a moment then took out his handheld again. “Name?”
“Tony Romero, sir.”
“Fine,” Duncan Roth said, typing on his screen. “You’re signed in, and you may join your…”
“Duncan!” Leo cried out angrily. “You can’t allow this!”
Duncan Roth raised his hand to silence Leo’s protest then nodded to Tony. “Go on, boy. Join your team mate.” The Rottweiler then turned to face Leo. “Don’t ever interrupt me again!” he said and waved the boy away.
Leo, his face turning bright red, opened his mouth as if to say something then closed it. He stepped back angrily, shaking his head. Tony, still panting, scrambled onto the Seeker and stood next to his friend.
“Tony, what the hell are you doing here?” Flynn whispered.
“I’ll explain later.”
All teams were waiting for Duncan Roth to speak. The man was now holding a bullhorn.
“Listen up, everyone!” began the Rottweiler, his amplified voice rising over the Scavenger’s Dock. “Today you’ll be scavenging within the waters of the Lower Side. You won’t be leaving its boundaries. In a minute, you’ll be given maps with the co-ordinates of your individual challenge tasks. There’s a map for each team, with a different target for each one of you. I’ve personally planted all targets and drafted all the maps. Each target is unique and different from the rest. The targets are placed approximately at the same depth and not far from each other, so it’s a fair game… But expect surprises! Don’t try to cheat, fight or steal another team’s target. I’ll know! Anyone caught breaking the rules, will be disqualified! Is that clear?”