Simon passed the photograph of the happy red-haired family back, not taking a second look.โ
โI donโt know,โ he said, voice spiking higher, betraying him. He was supposed to be a better liar than that.
โSimon?โ Maddy asked.
โI donโt know,โ Simon repeated. โDo you know all the stu๏ฌ your weird uncle gets up to?โ
โWe donโt have a weird uncle,โ she snapped back. โIs he, like, a stalker, or something?โ
โNo,โ Simon said, though he hadnโt leaned into the word like he fully believed it. โNo, no, no. Look, Iโm sure the RV is just secondhand. Maybe he bought it from that family and neither of them ever cleared out the glove compartment.โ
โThat makes sense,โ Maddy conceded. โSo why are you being weird about
it?โ
โIโm not being weird.โ โYes you are.โ โMaddy,โ Red warned. โSimon.โ So did Arthur.
โItโs nothing, really.โ Simon wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, droplets of sweat by his temples. โJustโฆwell, my uncle owns a used-car dealership, right? Thatโs why he had an RV we could use. But, and you know, this is not as bad as itโs going to soundโฆโ Simon trailed o๏ฌ, clearing his throat. โWhat I mean is, Iโm not sure his business is strictly legal, if you catch myโโ
โStolen?โ Oliver barked suddenly. โYour uncle sells stolen cars?โ โMaybe.โ Simon held his hands up in surrender, taking a step back. โMaybe?โ Oliver demanded.
โWell, n-no, de๏ฌnitely, actually,โ Simon stammered. โI know because I, well, I helped him once. Couple of times. Few times. Run some scams. Apparently I have a trustworthy face. Good liar when I need to be. Acting is just lying, after all, isnโt it?โ
Maddy gasped. โSimon, youโve stolen cars?โ
โNo.โ He shook his head, pointing his index ๏ฌngers at her. โIโve helped.
Thereโs a di๏ฌerence.โ
โWhy would you do that?โ Maddy stared him down, breathing hard. โOh come on, why dโyou think?โ Simon retorted. โI needed the money.โ โWhy?โ Maddy pressed. โYour parents have money.โ
โWell, they arenโt Lavoy-loaded,โ Simon said. โI know you never have to think about stu๏ฌ like this, because your mom thinks the sun shines out of your ass and would support you whatever you wanted to do. But my situation is di๏ฌerent. I need the money, in case I want to take a year o๏ฌ and apply to drama schools next year and my parents freak out and refuse to pay for it. I havenโt told them yet, I havenโt decided yet. Itโs not that big a deal, really. Just think of it as practice for my ๏ฌrst big acting gig. My uncleโs been in prison a couple of times, but that was ages ago and heโs actually a pretty nice guy. Not everything is stolen, someโs legit.โ
โWait, wait, wait, forget all that.โ Oliver stood up, swung his legs out. โAre you saying thereโs a possibility that this RV was stolen?โ
Simon swallowed. โThere is a small possibility, yes.โ โFuck!โ Oliver smashed his ๏ฌst down on the table.
โBut he didnโt say it was when I asked to borrow it, Iโm sure he would have told me. He made it all sound legit, said we could use it for free, no charge, before he sold it on,โ Simon said. โShowed me all the features.โ
Thirty-one feet long, Red thought.
โYouโre telling me thereโs a chance Iโve been driving across state lines in a stolen vehicle?โ Oliver rounded on Simon. โDo you know how bad that is for someone like me?โ He bared his teeth. โFor me and Maddy, considering who our mom is?โ
โWeย didnโt steal it,โ Simon said desperately.
โThatโs not the point!โ Oliver replied. โI thought you said you didnโt have any secrets before. This is a pretty fucking big one, Simon. Jesus Christ.โ
Maddy stepped in front of her brother, asking, โWhy would your parents let us use this RV if they know what he does?โ
โThey didnโt, obviously,โ Simon answered. โThey donโt know I got it from him. My mom doesnโt even like her brother, doesnโt know I sometimes go see him. They think weโre renting it from a company, thatย youย organized it.โ
โSimon!โ
โWhat, itโs not my fault, Maddy!โ He turned his eyes on her. โIt was your idea in the ๏ฌrst place. Youโre the one who told me we had to keep everything as cheap as possible so that Red could come!โ
It was strange, hearing her name like that, forgetting that it belonged to her, that it wasnโt just a misplaced splash of color. A second later, Simonโs words punched her in the gut, winding her, gnawing at her chest.ย Keep everything as cheap as possible so that Red could come.ย Her fault again. Simon and Maddy, talking about her behind her back, making Red their problem to solve. And why did it hurt so much that they all knew? Little Red Kenny, poor as dirt and a dead mom, but she hadย potential,ย hadnโt you heard? Everyone was looking at her now, everyone but Arthur. Redโs eyes glazed but she blinked the tears back, forcing her eyes open and closed. Donโt you dare, donโt you fucking dare. She didnโt need their pity, she had her plan.
โIโm sorry, Red,โ Simon said, his voice softening. โI didnโt meanโฆโ
But he did mean, and that was okay. She was ๏ฌne. She smiled, waved her hand in front of her face. But she didnโt look at Maddy. That betrayal was
worse, somehow. No, that wasnโt fair. Maddy cared, that was all. Maddy looked after her, looked out for her. Maddy cared.
โAnd Iโm sorry about the RV,โ Simon continued, looking around at the others. โLook, it probably isnโt stolen, I dunno. But whether it is or not, it doesnโt really matter now. I donโt think someone is threatening to shoot us all over a stolen RV. Killing that innocent couple out there.โ He stepped forward, pressing one ๏ฌnger into the photo in Maddyโs hand, over the manโs face. โI donโt think thatโs jolly olโ sniper number one and jolly olโ sniper two.โ He moved to the womanโs face, her auburn hair framing his ๏ฌngernail. โHusband-and-wife murder team, I donโt think so. Itโs not about the RV, is it? Why weโre here.โ
He ๏ฌnished, breath heavy in his chest, shoulders moving in time with it. He was avoiding Redโs eyes, though, wasnโt he? At least he ๏ฌnally seemed to have sobered up. Enough.
โNo,โ Oliver said, dropping back down to the booth, rubbing the hand that had punched the table. โBut it could be something to do with your uncle. A business thing. Some people he pissed o๏ฌ. Orย youย pissed o๏ฌ.โ
Simon shook his head. โHeโs a criminal but I donโt think heโsย thatย kind of
criminal. Plusโโhe coughedโโkilling all of us, including me, wouldnโt really be a punishment for him. Not sure he cares. This isnโt about him.โ
โOf course youโd say that,โ said Oliver. โPeople have died.โ
โYeah, and whose idea was it to pass them a note? Thatโs on you, Oliver.โ โAnd it would have worked,โ Oliver hissed, โif the sniper wasnโt somehow
fucking listening to us!โ
โHeโs not listening,โ Reyna said, voice croaky and unused. โWeโve checked, thereโs no microphone planted anywhere.โ
โYou were at this table here,โ Red said, looking at Oliver and Maddy. โTalking low, so Joyce and Don wouldnโt hear. If there was a bug, it would have to be right around here. Around this table.โ
โMaybe we havenโt checked everywhere,โ Oliver said, studying the table, eyes ๏ฌickering like he was spooling back his memory, replaying the scene. โRed, give me the walkie-talkie.โ
That was when she realized; the sound of static had gone. Left her.
Red looked down. It wasnโt in her hand, where it was supposed to be. Fuck, where was the walkie-talkie? She must have left it somewhere. She must haveโ
โRed?โ Oliver snapped his ๏ฌngers impatiently. โItโsโitโs gone,โ she stuttered. โI donโt have it.โ
โWhat do you mean you donโt have it?โ Oliverโs voice hardened. โWhere is it?โ
โIโI must have put it down somewhere,โ Red said, patting the sides of her shirt as though it could have somehow slipped down there. Sheโd lost it. Of course she had, this was what Red did. Couldnโt be trusted with anything. Things erasing themselves from her memory as soon as they were out of sight. Lost keys, lost phones, lost wallets.
Why couldnโt they hear the static? Red needed that sound back, anything but empty to her.
โFor fuckโs sake, Red. Where were you searching?โ Oliver pushed up to stand. โThe kitchen? Reyna, go check in the cupboards.โ
โWhereโve you been?โ Maddy said, more patiently than her brother. โRetrace your steps.โ
Red hated when people said that. That was the whole point, sheโd already forgotten where sheโd been, there was no trace left to follow. It skirted around her mind, evading her as she tried even harder to think back. And, great, now theย Phineas and Ferbย song lyrics were running through her head again, word for word.
โEveryone be quiet a second!โ Oliver shouted, holding his ๏ฌnger to his lips, motioning to listen with his hand by his ear.
Red held her breath and strained to hear. Strained harder. Where had she left it? It was somewhere, it couldnโt have disappeared, Red knew. Even though things did seem to disappear around her: headphones, homework, moms.
There was a faint hiss, almost unnoticeable, not much louder than the way the air ๏ฌzzed when you were scared or alert. But it was there, Red recognized it, coming from beyond the kitchen. Her eyes followed it, to the closed door.
โThe bathroom!โ Of course. Red darted forward, slamming down the handle and wrenching open the door. The welcome sound of static ๏ฌlled her ears and there, waiting for her on the side of the sink, was the walkie-talkie. Green eye winking as she stepped forward to scoop it up, holding it to her chest. โIโve got it!โ she called back out to the others. Hers. Her responsibility. Oliver wouldnโt take it away from her, would he?
โBring it here.โ
Red sidled through the bathroom door, pressing the down button to skip from channel nineโwhere sheโd left itโback to three.
โโฆwhat I say.โ The voice cut in, midsentence. Fuck, the sniper had been talking to them.
Redโs eyes widened. The other ๏ฌve were over there, too far away. Just her and the walkie-talkie, keeper of the voice.
He couldnโt know, she couldnโt let him know they hadnโt been listening, that they were searching for interference on the other channels.
Red raised the walkie-talkie to her lips, pressed the push-to-talk button. โUnderstood,โ she said quickly.
Static.
Of course they hadnโt understood, they hadnโt even heard what heโd been saying. But that was the only word that came to her, vague enough to ๏ฌt most places.
โGood,โ the voice replied. โIโm getting impatient.โ Static.
โWhat did you do that for?โ Oliver hissed.
โSo he didnโt know we werenโt listening,โ she said. โI think it worked.โ โShh. But we have no idea what you just agreed to,โ he said, holding out
his hand for her to bring him the walkie-talkie.
Red hesitated, then placed it in his open hand.
Oliver took the walkie-talkie and bundled it up in his shirt, holding it close in the material, between his tightly cupped hands.
His voice dipped back into whispers. โItโs the classic Trojan horse,โ he said. โMaybe the bug is inside the walkie-talkie, so itโs listening even when we
think itโs not. We always have it around us. And Red, you brought it over when me and Maddy were doing the note. Maybe itโs listening all the time.โ
โOh, theyโre clever,โ Simon said, wagging one ๏ฌnger.
โI can check?โ Red o๏ฌered, voice low. She did not want to believe Oliver, follow him again, even though it made a perfect kind of sense. โI know what the inside of a walkie-talkie looks like, all the parts. I can look?โ
โHow do you know so much about walkie-talkies?โ Oliver asked, not giving it up.
โI just do.โ Red held her hand out now, waiting for Oliver to pass it back. Her memories did not belong to him. He might be the natural leader, but he didnโt know what he was doing here. Red did.
Oliver narrowed his eyes. He unbundled the walkie-talkie and passed it over.
โShh,โ he said as he did.
Red slid into the other side of the booth, placing the walkie-talkie down. She would have to be quick at this, so the sniper didnโt know they werenโt listening again, if he tried to talk. Concentrate. Redโs ๏ฌngers moved to the knob on top, beside the antenna. She ๏ฌicked it into the o๏ฌ position and the static cut out.
Silence. A buzzing kind of silence, broken up by Maddyโs breath as she leaned over Red. It was distracting, in and out and in, a faint whistle underneath.
Red pushed down and slid o๏ฌ the back casing, into the battery compartment. It was empty, other than the three batteries slotted into place. Next she grabbed the screwdriver from the table, inserted it into the ๏ฌrst screw on one of the back corners and turned it around, fast as she could. She placed the small screw on the table, spinning around itself, and turned to the next.
The others were all staring, she could feel their eyes on the back of her neck, on her ๏ฌngers as she unscrewed the next one and placed it down. It almost rolled o๏ฌ the table but Maddy caught it.
โThanks,โ Red said, unspooling the next screw.
Oliver shushed her. And was it spiteful that Red wanted him to be wrong about this? For him to be wrong and her to be right.
She undid the ๏ฌnal screw, dropping it with the others, and pulled the plastic casing up and to the side, carefully as red and black wires connected through to the batteries. She propped it there and looked down, bringing her eyes closer.
The green circuit board sheโd been expecting to see, with small metal parts soldered on. The connection to the antenna, the ampli๏ฌers and mixers on an integrated circuit. And what were those small parts called again, oh yeah, capacitors. The tuner, transformers. She remembered the diagrams, the YouTube tutorials. Words and shapes sheโd learned long ago, the kind that stayed in her head because they werenโt important. Except they were now, and there was nothing here that shouldnโt be. She recognized it all, same as the parts inside her momโs walkie-talkie.
โIs there anythiโโ Oliver began.
โShh,โ Red said this time. She was concentrating.
Slowly, Redโs ๏ฌngers pried up the circuit board, just a tiny bit, so she could lower her eye to the gap and see the parts beyond, sitting at the front of the walkie-talkie. She didnโt want to pull anything out of place, she didnโt trust herself to be able to put it back together. She didnโt know if she could rebuild it if it all fell apart in her hands now. The last time sheโd taken hers apart and put it back together had been more than a year ago. Last February 6, just for old timesโ sake.
Red could see red and black wires connecting to the circular plastic part that doubled as microphone and speaker at the front, beneath the grille in the plastic.
That was it. Nothing here that shouldnโt be. No bug that didnโt belong. Red lowered the circuit board into position, even more carefully than before, and guided the plastic casing back on.
โNo bug,โ she said, starting on the ๏ฌrst screw, forgetting to whisper.
Oliver shot her an angry look. โHow do you know?โ
โBecause everything thatโs there needs to be there,โ Red said, tightening the screw and moving onto the next. โThereโs no independent listening device in there because thereโs no separate power source. And thereโs nothing connected to those batteries that shouldnโt be. Heโs not listening to us. Not unless we push the button,โ she added, slotting in the third screw.
โAnd we just have to take your word on that, do we?โ Oliver asked, also forgetting to whisper now.
โOliver.โ It was Maddy who said it this time.
โShe could be wrong,โ he replied. โOr she could be lying to us. How do we know we can trust what sheโs saying?โ
Red wasnโt wrong and she wasnโt lying, not about this at least. She slid the plastic that covered the battery compartment back and turned the knob to switch the walkie-talkie on. The ๏ฌzz of static greeted her, welcoming her home. Sheโd missed the sound. Wasnโt that stupid? But it meant the walkie-talkie was working, she hadnโt broken it somehow by trying to be useful. Except now she wasnโt useful, she was a liar.
Like when she gave her statements to the police over ๏ฌve years ago. Red was trying to be helpful, to be useful, even though the world was ending around them. She described her ๏ฌnal phone call with her mom, every hateful part of it. Over and over again, every last detail she could remember. โThere was a doorbell in the background. Mom rang the doorbell at someoneโs house. They answered and she said โHello.โ โ But that couldnโt be true, you see, theyโd explained to her. Her mom wasnโt found anywhere near a residential road, near houses. She was found inside Southwark Generating Station, that old, abandoned power station on the pier. And she was dead within ten minutes of that phone call. They didnโt say Red was lying, not like Oliver just had, they said she must have been mistaken, confused, she was only thirteen, she was in shock. Sometimes Red wasnโt really sure if sheโd remembered it at all. And, now that she thought about it, was she sure about the walkie-talkie?
โWhat are you talking about, Oliver?โ Reynaโs turn to look at him, crossing the awkward silence that had followed his words.
โThe sniper knew about the note, Reyna.โ Oliverโs face was reddening again, heat in patches up his neck. โHe knew what was written on it. He also knew exactly where we were to trap us here. So if weโre saying there isnโt a listening device somewhere in the RV, then we have an even bigger problem. Because the only alternative is thatโฆโ
He drew o๏ฌ, eyes circling around the group, ๏ฌnally coming to rest on Red. โOne of us is working with them.โ
