I ran my fingers through his thick blonde hair. Nothing. No sigh or acknowledgement that I’d touched him. Not even a flicker of his eyelids. I shuffled down the blanket and began unlacing his shoes.
‘Couldn’t you have chosen a more hidden away spot?’ asked Peg, as he approached. He looked like a ninja in his black wetsuit, his brown hair even darker than normal now that it was wet. ‘Anyone looking out of the window might see us.’
‘Clarence put the blanket here.’
‘Let’s drag him to the side. We’ll blend into the shadows more if we move to the bushes.’
Together we pulled the blanket. Clarence rolled from side to side moaning gently.
‘Have his parents gone to bed yet?’ asked Peg.
‘His mother turned in just before we came outside. His dad is out of town on an “important business event”.’
‘That’s great news. Who’s on the door?’
I shrugged. ‘Clarence didn’t speak to him. I’d guess it’s not one of the doormen he knows well.’
Peg was busy pulling Clarence’s jacket off his deadweight body. It was a light, green jacket that reached his hips. Underneath he was wearing a white shirt.
‘Do you think you could finish undressing him?’ asked Peg. ‘While I take this wetsuit off.’
I nodded and looked away. Feeling slightly sick, I unbuttoned Clarence’s trousers and pulled them down over his hips.
‘Please tell me you don’t want his underwear,’ I said.
‘I’d do almost anything to help Ry,’ said Peg. ‘But I draw the line at wearing Clarence Wolfe’s underwear.’
I threw the trousers to Peg and started work on Clarence’s white button-down shirt. Clarence moaned again and a tiny stream of drool made its way out of the corner of his mouth. Peg helped me prop Clarence up so we could pull the shirt off his back.
‘How do I look?’ asked Peg, as he tucked the shirt into his trousers.
Clarence’s trousers were too short and too baggy for Peg, but with the jacket and straw hat, he might be confused for him. Anyone who knew Clarence well, however, would know at a glance that Peg was not him. Clarence was much broader.
I picked up the bottle and two glasses. ‘Better look drunk,’ I said.
Peg put an arm around me and held me close. ‘OK, it’s time for some role play. I get to be the loud-mouthed, alcoholic jerk. And you get to be the pretty girl.’
He kept his arm around me and I leant in close to him, but we stuck to the shadows as we made our way towards the residential wing. The first part of the operation had been a success, but we still had so much to do before Ryan would be free. Just before we reached the door, Peg stopped.
‘He mustn’t see my face.’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ I said. ‘Pull the brim of the hat down low and keep the bottle in your face.’
Peg held the bottle of beer up to his mouth and drank from it. I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind and giggled loudly.
‘Clarence, save some for me.’
As we walked through the door, I spun him around so he was facing me, his back to the doorman.
‘Come on, my turn,’ I said, reaching for the bottle.
I gave the doorman enough time to recognise me, smiled and waved, and steered Peg towards the lift. Peg pressed the call button for the penthouse. The seconds it took for the lift to arrive felt like minutes. If the doorman asked Peg a question, we would be caught. Even if Peg managed to run, they knew who I was. I knew enough about criminal law in 2123 to understand I’d be sent to the Lunar Facility.
The lift pinged to announce its arrival and the door slid open. Empty. I pushed Peg inside and pressed myself up against him, pretending to kiss him as the door shut behind us. As soon as the lift started moving, I took a step back.
‘What if his mother sees me?’ asked Peg.
‘We have to turn right when we get out of the lift,’ I said. ‘The dining room is all the way at the end of the hall. If his mother shows up, Clarence’s bedroom is the second door on the right. He has an en suite bathroom. Go inside and lock the door.’
‘It disturbs me that you know your way around the inside of his bedroom.’
The lift arrived. I quickly checked to make sure no one was in the hall, put my arm around Peg and headed towards the dining room. Once we were in the alcove, we were out of sight unless Mrs Wolfe decided she needed something from the kitchen. I opened the door to the dumb waiter.
‘Jeez,’ said Peg. ‘I have to squeeze in that?’
‘It’s bigger than it looks. You should go first in case Mrs Wolfe wakes up. When you climb out at the bottom, make sure to send it back up for me.’
‘Where does it go?’
‘To the kitchen.’
Peg swore. ‘What if someone sees me climbing out of it?’
‘The Wolfes are the only family who live here all week. The other Guardians go home for the weekend. And it’s late. There should only be a skeleton staff on duty, so unless someone orders a late-night snack from the kitchen, we shouldn’t run into anyone.’
‘But if I do get seen?’
‘You’re Clarence Wolfe. You’re a stupid drunk boy doing a dare or something. Just keep that hat tilted over your face.’
Peg wedged himself into the dumb waiter and tucked his knees under his chin.
‘Take the bottle. We’ll need it to hit the guard,’ I said, passing it to him.
I pressed the button and watched as the door of the dumb waiter closed. It was only about a five-second journey, plus climbing in and out time. I counted silently in my head. On twenty, the dumb waiter whirred and began its return journey.
I yanked open the door and squeezed myself in, bottom first, then legs and finally arms. It wasn’t until the door opened again in the kitchen, that I realised I’d been holding my breath.
Peg was waiting for me. ‘Just one woman in the kitchen,’ he whispered. ‘She’s watching a soap on the com-screen.’
I spun my legs out of the dumb waiter and slipped out. ‘Let’s go.’
I peered around the corner into the corridor that linked the various service areas. Nothing. We started along the corridor. There were no sounds from above or below us, just the patter of our footsteps on the marble floor.
‘If someone sees us?’ he whispered.
‘We make it look like we’re trying to find somewhere private to make out.’
‘If you wanted to kiss me so bad, you should have just said. There was no need to go to such elaborate lengths.’
I shushed him with a finger to my lips. I knew he was just trying to lessen the tension, but this was no time for jokes. I needed to focus all my attention on finding my way.
We passed the sweet-smelling laundry rooms and the storeroom. I turned down the next corridor, my heart beating faster when I saw the analogue clock at the end.
‘This is it,’ I whispered. ‘Follow me to the end of this corridor, but don’t come any further. When you hear me cough, you know the guard has his back to you. Ryan’s cell is about ten metres down the corridor.’
‘He might hear me coming.’
‘There are two of us. He’s not expecting anyone. We can do this.’
Peg nodded.
‘You OK?’ I asked.
‘Terrified. I need to knock this guy out, but I don’t want to kill him. If I don’t hit him hard enough, he’ll have time to raise the alarm. I’ve never done any kind of hand-to-hand combat training.’
‘It’s going to be fine,’ I said.
I took a deep breath, but nothing would calm my jittery pulse. I knew my story; I’d practised it many times. I was playing hide and seek with Clarence Wolfe. If he found me, I had to let him kiss me. Please let me hide here for a couple of minutes. He wouldn’t agree – I knew that – but it should be enough to distract him. I would get him to face away from Peg, but if he did see Peg approaching, he would assume it was Clarence come to seek me. All I had to do was play the role of a silly drunk girl.