Leo watched the Perry boy heave himself out of the water and roll onto his raft. Madison was kneeling next to him, talking… A moment later, Perry was pacing excitedly up and down on the Seeker, holding his head in his hands… Something must have happened on that dive, thought Leo. Madison’s body language was strange, too. He saw her shrug her shoulders, then look at the water for a very long time, as if studying its depths. Eventually, she joined Flynn at the helm of the Seeker, and the two headed back toward the Archipelago.
Leo put the binoculars down, his lips stretching into a thin smile. The Fury swayed up and down, little waves lapping gently against its sides. He knew he was onto something… His gut was telling him Flynn Perry was up to no good, but for now it was just intuition, nothing specific… He had to be more patient. He would keep following the pair quietly. Flynn would make the wrong move, and then it would be all over… But first, Leo was going to check out the deserted Power Plant. The place had piqued his interest so much… He was only a mile out, a safe distance and clear of Flynn’s usual route. Leo glanced at his watch. The raft would be far away by now and safe enough for the Fury to slowly move in. He pressed the button on his dash board, and the boat’s engine roared to life.
TWENTY TWO
“Are we ready?” Marcus Van Zandt flicked away a speck of dust from his sleeve. He was wearing a velvet suit, which had once been maroon in color. As far as he was concerned, it was perfect for the grand occasion. Few owned suits in such good condition, and Van Zandt was very proud of that fact.
“They’re all here, Marcus!” Vince Jordan said. “You can start the Departure Ceremony at any time.”
Van Zandt leaned forward, pulled the curtain slightly and peered through the slit. The microphone stand was waiting for him, right in the middle of the grand stage, erected especially for the occasion. A huge crowd had gathered in front of it. The crescent bay of water, surrounding the Van Zandt building, was full with hundreds of vessels, all crammed together, jostling for room. Each and every one of these vessels had been decorated with whatever the people could find that was bright and colorful. The Government required that all vessels looked festive and cheerful… so improvised flags and streamers flew from masts, empty soda cans jangled on ropes and wires. Another requirement was for the people to make as much noise as possible. A cacophony of loud trumpets, shrieking horns and beating drums assaulted Van Zandt’s ears, but he wasn’t bothered by any of it. The more, the merrier, he thought, pleased with what he was seeing and hearing. It was going to be a day of great Departure fun.
The Upper Side residents had shown up in full force for the celebrations and were ready to party. It was one of the highlights of the year and few wanted to miss it. The people were shouting, cheering and clapping their hands in great anticipation. The Lower Side was also gearing up for the event. Most of its residents were in various stages of intoxication, thanks to the cheap Algae brandy the Government had provided for the occasion. It had been flowing freely for a week now, so the mood on the Archipelago was highly festive… drunkenly so, and that was exactly how Marcus Van Zandt wanted it to be.
He smiled and glanced to the right, where his Government ministers were seated on a floating pontoon. Duncan Roth was standing alone on his enormous power boat. Next to his boat was the Departure raft, which was docked securely to the stage. Rows of crudely built bench seats were ready and waiting for the raft’s passengers. Those had been nailed together hastily and with little thought to comfort. But a lot of effort had gone into decking out this one-way vessel and making it look as grand as possible… Banners and an assortment of rag-tag decorations hung over it, like a canopy of shredded rainbows. Everybody knew that the raft was missing a few crucial parts… there was no steering rudder, nor pedals or oars of any kind… it was not meant to be operational… It was meant to drift away smoothly into oblivion! It looked perfect, thought Marcus Van Zandt with pride! Everything about this Departure Ceremony was perfect.
“Let’s begin!” Van Zandt threw back the curtain, a wide smile on his face. He walked onto the stage, fully aware of the power he held over the people of the Archipelago. A loud roar welcomed him as he stepped toward the microphone. He waited for a few seconds then raised his arms to quiet the crowd.
“Greetings and for the Greater Good of everyone…” His voice crackled through the speakers, then faded into a loud feedback noise. Van Zandt scrunched up his face and glanced angrily behind him, where a pale-looking man frantically worked the knobs of a decrepit amplifier. A moment later, the jarring noise was gone, and Van Zandt turned back to face his hushed audience.
“It’s this time of year again…” said Van Zandt, teeth flashing in the light of the setting sun, “…the time, when we get together to say a big thank you to our departing citizens!” He paused to allow the crowd to cheer and clap. “All week we have been celebrating their lives,” he continued, “and the many years of hard work they’ve given us… to make our community a better place! Today, we also celebrate their noble and brave act of selflessness… the decision to step away and make room for the new workforce, which our Archipelago community so much needs!”
Van Zandt paused again to allow for more cheers and clapping of hands.
“As you all know, fresh water’s been flowing freely and without any restriction since the start of this Departure week! And it’ll continue to do so for another week, as a token of gratitude toward all of you… and especially to the people we’re saying good-bye to today!”
Hearing those words, the crowd erupted in a frenzy of excitement. People began to jump up and down on their rafts, making the water roil underneath. They rattled their empty soda cans, banged on drums and blew their horns, creating a terrible and deafening racket.
Flynn stared blankly at the spectacle playing out around him. He had stationed the Seeker as far away from the stage as possible. Pharrell and Clay’s raft was directly behind him. Flynn felt completely removed from the madness of the crowd and all the jubilation… An extra week without water rations! That was how much it took for all these people to go crazy with joy… to buy their love and absolute loyalty!
But Flynn knew he was once guilty of doing the same… He and his father had also come to watch Departure Ceremonies… same place… same excitement and euphoria. They had both cheered, they had clapped… they had played their part… And they had enjoyed their gifts of free water, food and all the little extras that came with such an event… But back then, Flynn had watched strangers being sent away on the Departure raft… Now, it was people that Flynn knew… People he loved and cared about…
Suddenly, Flynn felt someone tap him on his shoulder. Startled, he turned and saw Madison standing next to him. “What are you doing here?” Flynn shouted against the noise of the crowd.
“I’m coming with you,” replied Madison.
“No, you’re not! Stay out of this…”
“It’s my plan… remember?”
“Makes no difference… you can’t come,” Flynn was yelling now.
They would have argued longer if it wasn’t for Pharrell and Clay stepping in. The two boys had jumped onto Flynn’s raft and now stood between Flynn and Madison. “Stop it!” Pharrell growled. “You’re makin’ people stare, you know.”
“Let Madison come,” said Clay. “She’s got a point… it was her plan…”
Flynn was clearly outnumbered. He scowled and said, “Fine…”