Why did the kid turn himself in? Dodd wondered, standing on the side of the group and listening with what he hoped passed for a respectfully bowed head. Did he think it would help Savina?
Didn’t Savina tell her parents that she wasn’t raped? That’s right, she did, but Toby doesn’t believe her.
Dodd frowned. Somebody’s going to have to clue Toby in so that he drops the charges. Its 17 years in an undersea prison for the kid if he doesn’t. But it can’t be me, he’ll want to know how I know. What can I tell him? I can’t tell him anything, as far as he knows I only know what he’s told me.
I’m guilty of aiding and abetting a fugitive. If Toby found out I helped Savina, he’d turn me in, press charges against me.
Savina’s going to have to be the one to convince Toby.
Several more prayers went by, and they all shared the Spirit of Jesus in song, everybody except for Dodd, who felt left out. He ended up leaving before everyone else, excusing himself to go home to feed Sheila. Toby understood, and shook his hand at the door.
“I’m sure you’re going to at least hear from here any time now,” Dodd said. “Have you been checking your messages or anything?”
“Constantly.”
“Is that kid still scheduled for sentencing this week?”
“Yes. In a few days. We are pressing for the full penalty.”
“All the way, huh?” Dodd said. He had intended on asking if Toby was considering being lenient on the boy.
“What’s wrong? You don’t think he deserves it, now?”
“He did turn himself in. I just thought that Jesus would want …”
“Jesus will send him to hell,” Toby said vehemently. “What that boy did was a deadly sin.”
Dodd nodded. “Yes. Well, I’ll be praying that she comes back to you. Goodnight.”
“And if you see your friend Marauder, you better have him get hold of me. I still think he helped Savina get away.”
Dodd froze. “Danny said that girl wasn’t Savina, and that Bob said something to her that pissed him off.”
“I don’t think so.”
Dodd shrugged. “He’s never lied to me.”
Toby gave Dodd a strange, suspicious look, but let it drop.
“Goodnight, Dodd. God be with you.”
“And also with you.” Dodd shook Toby’s hand awkwardly and turned away, walking down to the sidewalk and turning toward home.
#
It was a hot afternoon, and Savina had been without a shower for days now. No shower and no change of clothes … I bet I smell pretty ripe, she thought. So this is what it’s like to be an anarchist. No, pardon me, a Mutualist. Anarchist is a term imposed upon us by others.
She grinned.
There was a nice spot along one of the canals not far away, with a shade tree and some bushes to provide a tiny bit of privacy. It was better than being naked out in the wide-open. The water was beautiful, so clear and cool, it made her feel wonderful; the only problem was that the current was so strong she had to constantly swim to stay in one place. If she stopped for a moment she was pulled dozens of yards downstream, and had to swim like hell to get back to her clothes.
Swimming on her back, looking up at the large oak tree above her, she saw a branch hanging out over the canal that would be perfect to tie a rope to. If she had a rope hanging down, especially with a large loop at the end, she could put it over her arms and just lie there with the water rushing under her.
“Hello, Savina.” It was a woman’s voice. Savina looked over to the bushes and saw the tall Indian woman, Evelyn Sunrunner, standing with a large bundle in her hands. “I brought you some clothes.”
Savina couldn’t pull her gaze away from the woman’s eyes.
They were like magnets. “Uh, thanks,” she muttered, forcing her eyes away. She swam to the edge and carefully pulled herself up the rough concrete.
“You’re starting to get a little tummy,” Evelyn said.
Savina looked down at herself. Her stomach was poking out a bit. “Wow, I hadn’t noticed.” She laughed. “There’s not many mirrors out here, and I haven’t tried to squeeze into a pair of pants for a while.”
“Just wait until your last month,” Evelyn said. She was smiling too.
“Have you had children?”
“Oh, no. I’ve got sisters upon sisters with children.” She handed Savina the clothes. “These are all real loose, they should fit you fine. I am just passing through and I brought these for you.”
“Where are you going?”
“I have business to attend to.”
“You can’t stay awhile? I’ve only got these two hackers to talk to, and most of what they say is gibberish to me.”
“I’ll be back before long. Then you can come with me. Oh, and by the way, Dodd got your message and he’s thinking about you. I have to go now. Take care, Savina.”
“You talked to Dodd?” Savina was excited.
Evelyn shook her head, a half-smile on her face as if Savina was missing something. “See you later,” she said.
“Oh … okay. Bye.”
Evelyn turned and walked away, back toward the city. You’re a little bit strange, Savina thought, but I like you. As if she’d heard the thought, Evelyn turned and gave her one last smile and waved. Her eyes were intense, even in the casual expression. She left Savina feeling funny. There was something about the woman’s eyes, but Savina couldn’t pin it down. Power, she thought. Power eyes. It was almost like they were lit up with electricity.
The woman disappeared among the oaks. Savina looked down at her new clothes, which were mostly denim. It all looked too heavy for this summer afternoon heat – Savina was burning up standing in the shade with wet naked skin. She could imagine what she was going to feel like with a denim skirt and a vest over a thick cotton blouse. She spread the clothes out and found a long thin pull-over dress and chose that, putting it on, hoping it wasn’t see through because she was not putting on anything else, except shoes. She gathered up her new wardrobe and made her way back to the camp.
Wiley saw her from down in the hole and came out, eyeing her.
“I like it,” he said, indicating the thin white dress.
“You can see right through it, can’t you?”
“Wellllll … yes.”
“No wonder you like it. I’ll put on something else if it bothers you.”
“Doesn’t bother me at all.”
Aaron poked his head out of the hole. “Whoa. Doesn’t bother me either.”
“Don’t you guys get any ideas. I’m dressed like this because of the temperature of the air.”
“I hope it goes up a few more degrees,” Aaron mumbled, then disappeared back into the earth. Wiley was sitting on the edge, grinning at her.
“If you don’t stop, I’m going to put something else on.”
“I’ll stop, I’ll stop. Evelyn tells us you’re pregnant.”
Savina was ready to be angry. “I don’t need you making any remarks about that.”
“Oh, I’m not. I was just wondering why you didn’t tell us. I hope the digging didn’t hurt you or anything.”
“No, just gave me sore arms.”
“Well, you’re not doing any more. If you want, you can pull out a cot and lie down here in the shade.”
“Why? I’m not sick or anything, I’m just pregnant.”
“You haven’t been sick in the mornings?”
“Only a little. That doesn’t happen to all women.” There was a strange light coming out of the hole, flaring. It lit up Wiley’s face from below, making him look like an old flat-film monster.
Blue smoke drifted up in a plume. “What’s that?” she asked, stepping forward.
“Just a laser.”
Savina peered down into the hole, squinting. There was an exposed length of thick cable that looked like a black pipe a foot wide. They had clamped something on it where it was completely exposed, and it was pulling a pencil laser around the surface, cutting into it. “What’s it doing?”
“Cutting off the insulation. We have to get to the fiber optics without damaging them, so the laser is only cutting down to the surface of the optics.”
“Who’s cable is that, anyway?”
“Remember, this is a secret.”
“I’m one of you now, remember?”
“Oh, tell her, Wiley,” Aaron said without looking up. He was facing the cable with a pair of goggles held up to his eyes.
Wiley looked down at him in amusement. “That was a one-hundred-eighty degree turn of the heart there, Aaron.”
“I like the way she looks in the dress,” Aaron mumbled.
Wiley laughed.
Savina stared at Wiley for a few silent seconds. “Well? Are you going to tell me or not?”