Joan Undone

Chapter 12

A second boy whips out a laser gun, not a lethal kind, but enough to burn skin. He slashes it against our front tires, which immediately blow out. I leap out of the van.

"Get over here, you little shit!"

Said little shit's eyes widen, like he wasn't expecting anyone to confront him.

"Let's get outta here," one of his friends says. "She's got crazy eyes."

The boys take off down the street. I'm only a few steps after them when Harriet tugs on my arm, stopping me.

"Let them go," she says. "They're stupid kids, a bunch of Mac clone types. They've never had this kind of freedom, and they don't know how to handle it."

"Show me your IDs, now."

A tall, tan man in camouflage fatigues and a nametag identifying him as "Sergeant Wong" steps in front of us. I resist the urge to roll my eyes and hand him my phone. He scans my ID first, and then Harriet's.

"Come with me," he commands.

"We did nothing wrong!"

Harriet subtly squeezes my arm, and I seal my lips.

"He has a gun, and we are unarmed. In his mind, we're potential Throwback terrorists. We have no rights," Harriet says, her voice low and flat in my ear.

Sergeant Wong hauls us into his autonomous Hummer that looks like it could withstand an apocalypse.

A man who looks like an ancient Ram clone type is also crammed in the back seat. The wrinkles in his face are deep, and he has a cataract in one of his eyes that obscures the pupil.

"Are you okay, sir?" Harriet asks gently.

"Gavyn Mol," he says, introducing himself in a voice so gruff it's hard to understand him. "I've been unemployed for over six months."

"So?" I whisper to Harriet.

"He's breaking the law. Throwbacks must be gainfully employed or pay a yearly stipend to Strand," Harriet explains.

"What are you two going in for?" Gavyn asks.

"Not sure. Our IDs are in order," Harriet says as she gives his hand a squeeze.

The eye that is still clear meets hers, and the suggestion of a smile tugs at the corners of his lips. "Nice to have a bit of kindness. I thank you for it."

"Bow beneath your burden, do not break," Harriet murmurs.

"Perhaps, this time, I will be broken."

The sergeant climbs into the vehicle. "I'm returning you two to Seattle Secondary. If your enrollment there is legitimate, you have nothing to fear. I've temporarily patched your tires and programmed your van to follow us."

The rest of the ride is silent. Sergeant Wong drives the Hummer in manual, and we make it across town through the deserted streets of Seattle in record time.

Sergeant Wong lets Harriet and me out of his vehicle, and then locks the Hummer with Gavyn still inside. Harriet presses her hand against the window in farewell.

When she turns away, her eyes are shiny with tears. Sergeant Wong strides into the Little Theater, and we have to jog to keep up. Upstairs, Candy, who works as an executive assistant at Seattle Secondary, sits at the desk outside of the headmaster's office. She takes in the Sergeant's uniform and stands.

"How can I help you, sir?" she asks, giving him a winning smile.

Candy is cloned from Marilyn Monroe, and even the stoic Sergeant Wong stares at her, a little dazzled. "I'm here to confirm the enrollment of Harriet Mol and Joan Fasces."

"Of course," she says and calls up a holographic display of our identities and records at the school.

My eyes bulge as I scan the information. It shows that neither Harriet nor I has missed a single day of classes, and that our behavior has been exceptional. Surely, Headmaster Hunter left long, critical notes about me, but someone has deleted them.

"Thank you," Sergeant Wong says, his eyes briefly straying to Candy's chest.

My fist tightens, but Sergeant Wong manages to shake himself out of his stupor. Thank God he's not another Officer Boer, because I'd kick his ass before I let him fondle Candy the way Officer Boer assaulted Sparkle.

"Stay out of trouble, and off the streets," Sergeant Wong says to Harriet and me, and then leaves the office.

Candy lets out a sigh of relief. "You're lucky that the acting headmaster edited both of your records, and that I fudged your attendance report. Professor Wilde must have known that you two would find yourselves in some kind of trouble."

"We owe you," I say, and her face hardens.

"Maybe that makes us even. You helped me by killing Headmaster Hunter. You will never, ever know how much he made me suffer."

Candy turns back to her tablet, and I can tell that she doesn't want Harriet or me to see the tears in her eyes. Sparkle didn't like me to see her cry, either. We both leave and make our way downstairs to our empty Remedial Acting classroom.

"Have Throwbacks always been jailed for unemployment?" I ask, thinking about Gavyn.

"It's an offense that the police usually let slide, unless you piss them off. But now, I'm sure the National Guard wants as many Throwbacks off the streets and retired as possible."

"You think they'll kill Gavyn?"

"Yes," Harriet says. "Crew's not the only one who will be shedding blood. Now all Throwbacks will begin paying for his sins."