โNobody move!โโ
Oliverโs eyes were frantic, spinning in his head as he studied the front of the RV, and the darkness of the uncovered windshield. He backed up, feeling for the knife on the table.
โHe said, โCome here,โ โ Maddy whispered, fear spiking in her voice, hands moving instinctively to protect her head. โIs he right outside? Oh my god heโs going to kill us all.โ
โHello.โ
The voice clicked o๏ฌ, replaced by that ๏ฌzzing hiss, but this time Red knew exactly what it was, the sound passing through her, gathering snapshots of memory. Ones she normally pushed away, the good and the bad. Running around her house, back when it had been warm, a walkie-talkie in her hand as she played Cops and Cops with her mom. Theyโd invented it, you see, because neither wanted to be a robber. Tiny Red yelling made-up police codes into the radio, sometimes too excited to remember to press the push-to-talk button, but always remembering to ๏ฌnish with โOver!โ Running into separate rooms, demanding status reports on theย Bad Guys.ย Theย Bad Guysย were invisible, but somehow she and her mom always managed to save the day and save the city. Together. They were heroes, if only in the game.
It was static, that sound, the fuzz between her voice and her momโs as they ran to each other, laughing, taking cover. But that was all ruined now, because it was the exact same sound as the one at the funeral, the static between the ๏ฌnal call on the police radio.ย Central to O๏ฌcer 819.ย Static.ย O๏ฌcer 819, no response.ย Static.ย O๏ฌcer 819, Captain Grace Kenny, is End of Watch. Gone but never forgotten.ย Static.
Gone, that was right. And Red tried to forget most of the time.
โHello?โ The voice came from Oliver that time, crouching low on the ๏ฌoor, eyes trained on the front of the RV, knife up.
โHeโs not there,โ Red said. โItโs a two-way radio.โ Oliver narrowed his eyes at her. โA walkie-talkie.โ
Oliver straightened up, his grip loosening on the knife. โWhere is it?โ โSomewhere over there.โ Simon pointed toward the driverโs seat, the one-
eyed bullet hole glaring back at them.
โInside or outside?โ Reyna asked, taking one tentative step forward.
โHow would he have gotten it inside?โ Oliver snapped. โWe are right here and the RV is secure.โ
Maybe if he said it enough times, it would become true. โCome here,โ the voice said, crackling at the edges. โHe wants us to go and get it, I think,โ Maddy said.
โI donโt care what he wants,โ Oliver barked. โLet me think for a second.โ โHe wants to talk to us?โ Simon asked, exchanging a glance with Maddy. โHello.โ
โHeโs waiting,โ Reyna said. โWe donโt want to piss him o๏ฌ, Oliver.โ โWhat are we waiting for?โ Simon said. He stepped forward, not checking
back for permission from Oliver. โCome on.โ He beckoned, not quite brave enough to go alone.
Red stepped up, Arthur too, walking carefully toward the front of the RV behind Simon, keeping their heads low. Red was ready to drop to her knees at the slightest sound or whistle of air, her breath tight in her chest.
The static grew louder, thicker, trying to draw up old and older memories, but Red thought them away. She needed her head here and now. And,
anyway, Simon was right, the static was coming from somewhere near the driverโs seat. Beyond.
โExcuse me,โ Oliver said, maneuvering Red out of his way with his elbow. Clearly heโd had his second to think, then. โWhere is it?โ
โI canโt see,โ Simon said, crouching low to search the footwells in front of the driver and passenger seats. โNot here.โ
โItโs outside,โ Red said, following her ears. โOutside that window.โ She gestured to the one she and Arthur had just boarded up with the ๏ฌattened suitcase. It sounded like the radio was just beyond, hovering in the darkness of outside where the rules were di๏ฌerent, waiting for them to let it in.
โDid you hear anything when you were covering the window?โ Oliver asked.
โNo, nothing.โ Arthur swallowed.
โHe must have put it there after we were done,โ Red followed up. She would have recognized that sound right away, if it had been only inches from her head.
โWe have to get it,โ Simon said. โHe wants to talk to us.โ He peeled back a few strips of the duct tape that held the lid of the suitcase in place. โAnyone want to take a look? Oliver, youโre in charge, arenโt you?โ
โIโm not putting my face out that hole.โ
โHello.โ The voice was right there, tinny but clear. A shiver passed up Redโs spine, climbing it to the back of her exposed neck.
โWell, Iโm not putting my face out there either,โ Simon hissed. โCanโt be on Broadway without a fucking face.โ
โHey, hey, one of you use your phone,โ Reyna said, standing with Maddy just behind the gathering. โTake a video on your phone, out the window.โ
โGood idea,โ Arthur told her, already retrieving his from his front pocket. He swiped across to ๏ฌnd his camera app, sliding to the video option and tapping the lightning bolt to activate the ๏ฌash. Aggressively bright against the dull yellow of the overhead lights.
โBe careful,โ Red told him as Arthur pressed the red record button, and the beep it made cut right through her, joining the shiver up her back.
Arthur nodded at Simon, who tucked himself up onto the chair to make room for him, pulling back the corner ๏ฌap of the suitcase. The gap was small, but enough for Arthur to snake his hand and phone through. He reached forward, losing half his arm to the outside world and the unknown beyond.
โHello.โ
Simon sucked in a nervous breath and Arthur ๏ฌinched, gritting his teeth. The sleeve of his arm shifted and wrinkled around the hinge of his elbow as he moved the wrist beyond, recording a full arc of outside. Red watched his face as he did, the tension in his upper lip, the focus in his eyes, and she reasoned that if she didnโt think about the red dot then it couldnโt possibly take his arm, or any other part of him. But didnโt that count as thinking of it?
โOkay,โ Arthur said, his face unfurrowing as he drew his arm back inside the RV, quickly, clumsily. He tapped his thumb to the screen to stop the recording. Simon pressed the duct tape back in place and Red leaned across the back of the chair to see the video on Arthurโs screen. Oliver did the same, watching over Arthurโs shoulder.
The video began with a shaky view of the dashboard, clipping the end of Redโs voice as she told him to be careful. It moved over, catching Simon as he pulled his legs up out of the way, glancing back, eyes on a point above the camera. A close-up of Simonโs ๏ฌngers as they bent into ridges, pulling the suitcase aside. The screen zoomed in on the black hole, breaking that barrier between out there and in here as it moved through into the total darkness of outside, the air lit by the ghostly glow of the phone. There was nothing out there, nothing they could see, until the view shifted down and the ๏ฌash reached the road, picking out stones and pieces of glass.
โHello,โ the voice repeated from ninety seconds ago, through the recording.
The shot juddered and then continued, swinging around to the right, the white light re๏ฌecting in the driverโs-side mirror.
โThere!โ Simon pointed at the screen.
Arthur paused the video. Hanging from the bottom of the driverโs-side mirror was a shape, a small black shape with an antenna out the top. The
walkie-talkie glared at them through the darkness with one bright green eye: a small backlit rectangular display.
โWhere is it?โ Maddy asked from back there.
โAttached to the driverโs-side mirror,โ Oliver answered, straightening up. โOkay, Arthur, reach out and grab it.โ
โWhy does Arthur have to do it?โ Simon said. โBecause heโs already done it once.โ
โItโs ๏ฌne,โ Arthur said, rolling up the sleeve on his right arm, opening and closing his ๏ฌst like he was practicing, tendons sticking out under his tan skin. There was a small, puckered scar near the base of his index ๏ฌnger that Red had never noticed before. Now de๏ฌnitely wasnโt the time to ask about it.
โHe wants us to pick up the walkie-talkie, he wonโt shoot, not yet,โ Arthur said in a whisper, more to himself than to anyone else. He cricked the bones in his neck and then he was ready, nodding to Simon.
Simon pulled the suitcase back, a bigger gap this time, and Arthur leaned toward it. He balled his ๏ฌst and pushed through, his arm disappearing outside again. His breaths came too quickly, fogging his glasses, his nose pressed up against the suitcase as he reached, blindly.
โI can feel it,โ he said, the muscles in his neck straining. โGrab it,โ Oliver said, leaning forward.
โI canโt, itโs attached.โ Arthur blew out a mouthful of air and closed his eyes behind his glasses. Like Maddy did sometimes, to focus. Had Red ever tried that trick? โOkay, I think I can unclip itโฆhold onโฆโ
โDonโt drop it,โ Oliver said, like Arthur wasnโt already telling himself the same thing. Probably; Red couldnโt read his mind.
โGot it,โ Arthur exhaled, opening his eyes and blinking slowly as he carefully guided his arm back through the gap, elbow, then wrist, the antenna of the walkie-talkie snagging on the suitcase as he ๏ฌnally pulled it inside. The static hissed, crossing the threshold, and Arthur hissed too, looking across at Red, his green-brown eyes swimming as they readjusted to the light.
โHere,โ he said, reaching over Simon to pass the walkie-talkie to Red, dropping it into her hand. It was cool against her ๏ฌngers.
โHello,โ it crackled from within her grip. She was holding his voice, he, him, the sniper, the red dot, but she didnโt want to and her heart was too loud, reaching up into her ears and the back of her throat. Red stared down at the walkie-talkie, at the numbers on the display, at the buttons below the screen, at the crop-circle holes of the speaker and microphone at the bottom of the device, so like the one she used to play with. All black, apart from the green display and one red button on the side.
โWhat should weโฆ,โ she began, but Oliver stepped over and picked the walkie-talkie up out of her open hand.
He studied it, narrowing his eyes.
โWhat are we going to say?โ Reyna asked. โMaybe we should plan beforehand, how to best play it, so he leaves us alone.โ
โHow do Iโฆโ Oliver shook the walkie-talkie, glancing up at Red. Had he really never played with one of these before, even as a kid? Red only ever remembered him doing homework or telling her and Maddy to keep it down. Oliver Lavoy, born prelaw just like his soon-to-be-district-attorney mom, no time for playing.
โYou hold down that red button at the side there to talk.โ Red showed him, like her mom once showed her. Not now, get out of her head, you donโt belong here.
โRight,โ he said, like it was obvious now. He took a deep breath. โOliver,โ Reyna said, โshould weโโ
Oliver pressed the button and the static cut out immediately. He raised the walkie-talkie to his face.
โWho is this?โ he asked, pushing his voice out so hard that it growled around the edges.
The static returned as Oliver released the button, looking back at the rest of them, eyes wide.
They waited.
The static clicked out.
โAh, you found me.โ The walkie-talkie spoke, cold and metallic. โWho is this?โ Oliver said again.
โThe button,โ Red reminded him.
โWho is this?โ Oliver repeated, holding down the button this time. Static.
โYou know who this is.โ Static.
โNo?โ Oliver said.
โIโm the one outside with the ri๏ฌe.โ
Red swallowed, forcing it down her too-tight throat.
โWhat do you want from us?โ Oliver said, pacing away from the cockpit and down the length of the RV. The rest of them followed. โIf itโs money, I donโt think we have much cash on us right now. But you can have it all. And my credit card. Iโll give you the PIN. Take as much as you want. Itโs yours. Just let us go.โ
Click. Static.
โI donโt want your money,โ the voice said.
A shadow crossed his face, confusion in the draw of his eyebrows. If only it had been that easy, Oliver. Throw money at the problem.
โWhat do you want, then?โ Oliver paced. โIโm sorry if weโre on your land. We didnโt mean any o๏ฌense. We got lost. We were never supposed to be here. Just the wrong place at the wrong time.โ
Static.
The walkie-talkie crackled, a strange, hitching sound. Was he laughing at them?
โWhat if I said you were the right people, in the right place at exactly the right time.โ
Oliver lowered the walkie-talkie, glancing up at the rest of them, eyes drawn. His mouth ๏ฌickered silently, words dying before he could breathe life into them.
Maddyโs arm tensed, pushing against Red. Simon on her other side, holding on to her sleeve. She didnโt move, staring at the walkie-talkie in Oliverโs hand, molding the static into empty whispered words in her head.ย Right people, right place, right time.
โWhat does he mean?โ Arthur said, voice rasping and low, catching on the sides of his throat. His eyes darted to Redโs, but she couldnโt give him any answers there.
Oliver sucked in a shaky breath and raised the walkie-talkie to his lips. He pressed the button, and the only sound in the RV, in the world, was Redโs breath, too heavy in her chest.
โWhat do you mean?โ Oliver asked of the man out there in the wide-open nothing.
Static.
โIโll tell you what I mean.โ Static.
โOliver Charles Lavoy. โMadeline Joy Lavoy. โReyna Flores-Serrano. โArthur Grant Moore. โSimon Jinsun Yoo. โRedford Kenny.โ
