Vince Jordan nodded and left.
Marcus waited until he had closed the door. “You OK with that decision, Duncan?” he swung his chair to face his right-hand man.
“I’ll accept it, yes,” Duncan replied.
“Do you have a replacement for the boy? He was on one of your winning teams.”
“I’m thinking of someone… someone I’ve seen work with the diver.”
“I know who you’re thinking of!” Leo erupted suddenly. “You can forget about her, Duncan!”
“Leo!” Marcus Van Zandt exclaimed, slightly puzzled by their exchange.
Duncan Roth barely looked at the boy.
“Stop defending him, Dad! He shouldn’t have allowed Flynn Perry to compete in the first place. That boy’s nothing but a criminal!” Leo was now yelling, his voice shrill.
“Leave!” Marcus sprang out of his chair, pointing at the door.
“I’m old enough to be part of this Council!”
“You’ll be welcomed back when you learn some manners! Now go!”
The look on Leo’s face was that of a child whose toys had been unjustly taken away. His eyes were full of helpless anger, welling up with tears. He glared at his father, his lips trembling. Then he threw a nasty look at Duncan Roth and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
A moment of silence followed Leo’s exit, then Marcus slowly eased back in his chair. “Teenagers!” he said, rolling his eyes. “Which reminds me! Next time we meet, we should have our Day of Pairing on the agenda… Must find Leo a fine specimen of a girl… so he can calm down a little.” Van Zandt chuckled. “As a bonus, he’ll provide me with some Van Zandt grandkids to keep me happy,” he added and winked at Duncan Roth.
“I suspect Leo’s already found himself a girl,” Duncan muttered under his breath.
But Marcus didn’t hear him. He was back to what they had been discussing earlier. “Got any new ideas about disposing of the people on the List?”
“Same as before,” Duncan replied dryly. “I see no reason to change the procedure.”
“If it ain’t broke, why fix it, right?” Van Zandt laughed. “They’re all yours, after the Departure Ceremony’s over… I trust you’ll do as good a job as always.”
“Rest assured, Marcus. All will go according to plan.”
“Well, then…” said Van Zandt, turning to face his other board members, “we’ve covered the results from the assignment trials held today… All in all, the new work force exceeds the numbers of those who’ll be leaving us. Congratulations for a job well done, gentlemen!”
There was a round of applause as Marcus rose from his chair. “I guess that’ll be all for now. For the Greater Good! You may leave.”
Madison opened one eye just a crack. The first thing she saw was the blurry outline of a tall figure. Slowly, her vision cleared, her eyes focused, and she realized Leo Van Zandt was sitting cross-legged just a few feet away from the couch. Staring at her!
“You look very pretty in your sleep, Madison Ray!” he drawled, his lips stretching into a lecherous smile.
Madison sat up in a flash, fully awake now. Her fish-skin top had rolled up and twisted above her waist, her shorts had ridden up her tights, revealing her long, tanned legs. She must have tossed and turned a lot in her sleep… But how long had she slept? How long had Leo been sitting here? Judging by the light outside the windows, the day was nearly gone. Hastily, she straightened her top and pulled at her shorts, trying to cover as much as she could of her bare flesh.
“Pity you had to do that!” Leo’s smile widened. “I was enjoying the view!”
“Were you now?” Madison snapped. She shot him an angry look and said, “Then you’re no different from any common Lower Side pervert!”
“Now, now, Madison!” Leo said, mockingly. He leaned forward, his hand reached to brush away a loose strand of hair from Madison’s face.
But she was faster than him. In an instant, Madison had scooted over to the far end of the couch, her knees drawn to her chest, her arms wrapped protectively over her shins. “Don’t touch me!” she hissed at him.
Leo’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. The corner of his mouth twitched. He stood with his arm outstretched, frozen in mid air for a long moment, then he let his hand fall down. “You’re right… I’m a Van Zandt after all,” he said. “Born and bred on the Upper Side… I should have impeccable manners…” He got up and walked over to the table, still laid out with the untouched food. Leo took a grape, tossed it in the air and caught it in his mouth. “To prove what a gentleman I can be, I’ll now engage Miss Ray in polite conversation,” he drawled. “I suppose you’d like to hear about the Trials, then? And their final outcome?” he spoke with his mouth full, chewing, his eyes fixed on hers.
Madison’s heart skipped a beat… Of course, she wanted to hear about the Trials! She was worried sick about Flynn… But she wasn’t going to give Leo the pleasure of seeing it written all over her face. She fought to suppress her emotions as she watched him pick another grape and pop it in his mouth. Calm and relaxed, he looked nothing like the Leo Van Zandt from the day before. The smirk on his face could only mean his plan had worked… He had succeeded and Flynn was either disqualified or had lost the race, or… worse, thought Madison. “What happened at the Trials?” she asked.
“Mmm…” Leo sucked on the grape for a moment, “these are excellent! Have you tried them?”
“Answer my question, Leo!”
Leo picked up the plate full of grapes, walked over and sat on the couch next to her. “Hmm, let me think now… What did happen at the Trials?” He leaned closer, offering her the plate. “I believe that your hero boy lost!” Leo paused for a second, clearly enjoying the impact of his words.
Madison’s face had gone white as a sheet.
“Not only did he fail to win,” Leo continued, “he also tried to sabotage one of the other contestants, and earned himself a place on the Waste Crews… So, it looks like you won’t be seeing him again!”
Madison felt she was going to be sick. It had all gone terribly wrong! She had betrayed Flynn… She had chosen to protect her parents from the threat of Departure… earned them a few more years of life on the Archipelago, but she had traded Flynn’s future for that… condemned him to the Waste Crews… His young life was ruined! And hers too! That was the end of it!
Leo sat in silence, studying her face. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. “Hah! Got you worried there for a moment, didn’t I?”
“What do you mean?” Madison shot him an icy look, trying to regain her composure.
“I mean, I was kidding! Your Lower Side friend’s safe… for now!”
“You’ve got a really twisted sense of humor, Van Zandt!” Madison sprang to her feet as if stung by a jellyfish and stepped away from the couch.
Leo was still laughing, extremely pleased with himself. “And you’re a smart girl, Madison! I’ve got to give you credit for what you managed to do yesterday,” he said, pointing to her basket. “You got a message out to that Romero boy, didn’t you?”
Madison refused to answer.
“Makes me like you even more… You and I will make such a good match, don’t you think?”
Madison said nothing, glaring at him.
Leo shrugged, reached down and lifted the basket’s cover. The pigeon’s head popped up. “Anyway…” Leo continued, as he fed the bird a piece of grape, “you’ll be pleased to hear, Perry’s got himself a position as a Free Scavenger and a golden badge… Not for long, though! Sooner or later, he’ll screw up, make the wrong move, and you my dear… will help me catch him in the act!” With those words Leo grabbed Madison’s pigeon, flicked his wrist and broke the little bird’s neck.