The Complex Leader

by Heather Hayes

  "I thought you'd say driving."

  He sighs. "It's a close number two."

  I lose my comfortable pillow sooner than I'd like. "Elira, it's your turn," my dad says.

  I reluctantly leave Garth's side and climb into the driver's seat. "What should I do, Dad?"

  He points ahead of us. "Go around the obstacle course and then park next to that rusty old silo down there."

  "Okay." I think I'm doing better than last time as I make my turns. I don't nick any cones or cacti at least.

  When I park next to the silo, my dad turns to me. "I want you to back up, flip around, and park with your tail end first."

  "Uh, okay." I back up and flip around okay, but when I'm backing into the made-up parking space, I accidently bump the silo and the old metal rips open.

  "Elira! Pull forward," my dad says angrily. I obey him without looking into anyone's eyes.

  Someone is snickering behind me. I turn around when Rocky busts out laughing. "I knew I should go first, before you totaled the car."

  I don't appreciate his exaggeration. "I didn't total the car! I bet it didn't even hurt the car."

  "Let's get out and see," my dad says unenthusiastically.

  I am right about one thing; it didn't do more than scratch the bumper of my car. At least it will match the scratch on the passenger-side door. Unfortunately, the silo now has a huge flap of metal scraped to the side, which leaves a gaping hole in the side of it.

  My dad scratches his chin. "I'll just bend that back in place, but I'll still have to give Elmer some money to fix it."

  Rocky shakes his head as he peers into the hole. "This whole thing is a big rust can. All of the metal needs replaced, or maybe it should be torn down."

  I feel like such an idiot. "Dad, I'm so sorry."

  He waves it off like it's nothing. "It's okay." My dad walks over to the bent, splintering flap and uses both hands to tug on the rusty metal to bend it back. He pulls so hard that he kind of loses his balance and slips or stumbles or something. When he rights himself, the remaining rusty metal is barely hanging on to the building by a thread and both of his hands are bleeding.

  "Dad!" I scream as try to reach him. For some reason, I stop and sink to the ground. That much blood kind of makes my stomach feel funny.

  Garth pulls me up and takes me to the car to sit down.

  "Garth, what do we have to wrap his hands with?" Rocky asks as he looks around. We don't really have anything except cones and cardboard boxes out here.

  My father's voice is shaky as he says, "We usually keep a blanket in the trunk of the car. Will you boys wrap my hands for me?"

  "Yes, Mr. Hamble," Rocky says as he opens the trunk. "Uh, what else do we have? There isn't a blanket in here."

  My father sighs. "I guess Florence hasn't put one in Elira's car yet. If you can get me to my office, I have everything I need there."

  "Yes. I will get you there. Mr. Hamble," Garth says as he takes off his shirt and rips it in half. He hands Rocky one half of the shirt as he wraps one of my father's hands in the other half.

  I feel my breath catch in my throat as I notice that Garth has bigger muscles than I had imagined, or maybe it's just shock at my dad's predicament... Either way, Garth's white undershirt thing doesn't hide much of him... He doesn't notice my gaping jaw as he helps my dad get in the passenger seat of my car. Once he has my dad settled, he gets behind the wheel and tells us to buckle up. Why was I thinking about Damon, again?

  "I can drive if you want, Garth," Rocky says.

  My handsome boyfriend shakes his head. "No. I'll do it. You calm Elira down. I know how to get back to Herrington. I'll just need you to guide me from there, Mr. Hamble. How are you feeling?"

  "Okay, but I think I can feel myself going into shock."

  Garth's voice is steady and confident. "I'll get you to your office as quickly as I can."

  "Thank you."

  I put a hand on Garth's bare shoulder. "Don't speed once we get to Herrington; peace officers will pull you over for sure."

  "I'll slow down once we get there." Garth steps on the gas and we fly down the dirt road to the main highway. I keep looking from my father, who has turned white, to my boyfriend, who has literally given him the shirt off his back and is driving without much experience to a city that doesn't accept people like us. What a crazy afternoon this is turning out to be.

  Rocky looks at me curiously. "You don't look so good. Lie back and put your feet on me. Mr. Hamble, you do the same thing. Lower your head and raise your feet."

  "You're right, young man. How did you know how to treat shock?"

  "My dad told me after I accidently knocked something heavy on both of his feet."

  "That's a terrible way to learn about it."

  "Yeah." Rocky is suddenly getting squished by my dad's reclining seat and my feet. He doesn't complain. Rocky is a tease, but when there is trouble, he knows what matters.

  "Okay, Mr. Hamble. Where do I go from here?" Garth asks as we enter the city.

  My dad mumbles a little bit, but none of us can understand what he is saying.

  Garth raises his voice to snap my dad out of his stupor. "Ross! I need to know which way to go!"

  My father's voice becomes understandable. "Go straight until you get to Medical Parkway, then turn right. Look for my name on the sign."

  I'm not sure if that is enough to go on. I hope we don't get lost. Maybe we should go home instead. "Do you think you can get us there, Garth?"

  "Yes. I remember passing Medical Parkway on the way in. There was a building shaped like an ice cream cone on the corner."

  I'm surprised to see that he's right. There is a huge ice cream cone shaped building on the corner where we turn. The sign reads, 'Double Scoop It.' Garth drives slowly down the road filled with medical buildings and pulls into the one that says, 'Herrington Cardiology Center.'

  I look frantically around, afraid we're in the wrong place. "Garth, I don't see his name."

  Garth points up. "It's right there, under the big words."

  My brain finally clicks into place. "Oh, yeah. I'm so glad you are here. It looks like everyone has gone home for the night."

  He opens my door and holds my hands, which I realize are surprisingly cold. He leans in to kiss me before he asks, "Are you able to walk?"

  "Yes. Help my Dad." He kisses me one more time before walking to the other side of the car to help Rocky lead my dad to the door."

  "Garth, the biggest key on my keyring will open the door."

  Garth opens the door and we follow my father's instructions to the back of the building. I have to sit down again when we unwrap Dad's hands. The rusty metal must have fallen apart into a hundred little knife-like shards that embedded themselves into my father's hands. Rocky and Garth take tweezers and pull each of the little metal slivers out of his palms while I sit there helplessly.

  Watching my dad cringe makes me sad. "Are you okay, Dad?"

  He forces a smile for me. "Yes. This will be fine. None of these are deep. It's a lot of blood without a lot of bite."

  I remember something important. "Will you be able to do your presentation and heart murmur checks tomorrow?" I ask as worry fills my mind for someone else in trouble.

  "Yes. I'll just bandage my hands and wear plastic gloves like I usually do. I've had a tetanus shot recently. It will be fine, my love."

  "I'm so sorry."

  "Don't keep saying that. It's fine. I'll be a new person tomorrow. In fact, look, all the shards are gone." My dad points to a tall clear bottle on the counter. "Take that disinfectant over there and clean my hands off. I'll be almost as good as new." I still don't feel so good. I lay down on the row of chairs I'm sitting on.

  Garth takes the liquid and dumps it on his hands. My father flinches, b
ut his hands do look much better once they are cleaned off. Garth and Rocky wrap his hands in gauze and bandages, and he smiles as they clean up the mess. He extends his hands towards me. "See, Elira. All better."

  I wrap my arms around him and kiss his cheek. "Maybe everyone would be safer if I give up on driving."

  "No. You'll get it. No one is perfect at something new. Well, Garth is getting there awfully fast. Would you be willing to drive us back home, Garth?"

  "I'd love to. Thank you."

  "No, thank you."

  Chapter 7

  Friday is finally here. If everything goes to plan, we are going to rescue Avra today! Mother handed off the sheol to Maxine without a problem; she liked my mother's idea to take her five-year-old troublemaker to isolation today. I decide to eat breakfast with my dad upstairs before he leaves for the complex. I don't know if I expect this to calm my nerves or what, but it's not working.

  My hand shakes each time I raise a bite of omelet to my mouth. "Dad, how are your hands?"

  He sets his fork down and looks at them. He smiles like his life is perfect. "Much better. See? Only four bandages per hand today. Once I have gloves on, no one will ever know."

  My lower lip quivers as I imagine what he is about to do. "I wish I could help you in the complex today."

  He sighs. "I know, Elira. I wish you could personally remove Avra from that building, too, but I won't risk losing you again. You'll just have to trust us oldie moldies to do it."

  I grin at my dad. "You're not moldy."

  "Tell that to your brothers."

  I giggle and then become serious. "Ernestine says she'll drive me to the hill to watch. Across the street, anyway."

  "I would wear a different disguise, both of you. What if someone asks you what you're doing?"

  "I'm going to take a big map and say we're lost."

  Dad wipes his mouth with a napkin and stands up. "That should work."

  I wrap my arms around him. "Dad, I'm so afraid that she's already dead, or that she won't wake up from the sheol. Please, bring her back here, safe and sound."

  My dad has more confidence than I do. "I will, honey."

  His bandaged hands fold gently over my own. My mind switches from Avra laying lifeless on a bed to my gentle dad lying to the complex doctors. "Be careful. I don't want to lose you too."

  He waves off my fears. "I'll be fine. I'll see you back here at 4:00-you and Avra."

  A smile erupts onto my face. "I can't wait to see her again! I love you, Dad."

  "I love you, too." Dad kisses my forehead and leaves for the complex with a grim look on his face.

  •

  "Ernestine, don't park too close to the road."

  "I can't get off any farther. This is fine."

  I fiddle with the long, black wig I'm wearing. "Where will they send her body out of the building?"

  Ernestine points to the complex. "When I spent all those nights snooping around this place, they usually sent the body bags out that side door by the skinny driveway. A covered black truck would pull up to the door and the body bag was placed inside."

  "When will Henry switch Avra for the bag of rocks?"

  "I'm sure he has the body bag of rocks ready in the back of his truck."

  Movement in that area makes me gasp. I can't believe we're doing this. "Look! Here comes the truck!"

  Ernestine pulls something I've never seen before out of her giant purse thing. "I only have one pair of binoculars. They make things seem closer when you hold them to your eyes. Do you want to keep watch for us?"

  I snatch them out of Ernestine's hand. "Yes. Thank you."

  I am amazed at how close the complex side door is when I look through the binoculars. The black truck isn't all black, I notice, as it backs up next to the complex side door. The words 'Herrington Complex Undertaker' in white letters adorn the back hatch.

  I start breathing faster. "What if this doesn't work, Ernestine? What if she doesn't wake up? What if Dad gets caught lying?"

  Ernestine slips a finger under her blonde wig to scratch her head. "They won't do anything to him. They'll just think it was an honest mistake, that he thought she was dead. Avra, on the other hand, I don't know what they will do to her. Probably finish her off."

  I gulp. That was not what I wanted to hear; this could all go very wrong. Through the binoculars, I see a burly middle-aged man with a scruffy salt-and-pepper beard get out of the black undertaker truck and knock on the complex door. That must be my dad's friend, Henry Ricks. As I press the binoculars harder into my face, I see the door knobturn and someone, Doctor James, it looks like, walking backwards out of it. He is holding onto handles at the end of a big black bag. Henry opens the back of his truck and takes the end of the black bag away from Doctor James. My heart starts beating faster as I recognize the man holding the other end of the bag. My father, with plastic gloves on his hands, helps Henry hoist the body bag into the truck. I shudder as I watch his poor hands. I hope they are being careful with Avra. What if she can't breathe in there?

  Ernestine pulls the binoculars away from me and takes a look. "I can't believe it. This might actually work."

  I grab them back. "What if Doctor James sees the other body bag in the truck?"

  Ernestine scratches under her wig again. "Is he poking around in there?"

  My pulse quickens. "Not really, but I swear he's looking right at something big and black in the truck."

  "Shut the doors to the truck, Ross," Ernestine pleads aloud.

  I see Henry clap Doctor James on the shoulder and inconspicuously turn him away from the truck as he tells him something funny. My dad shuts the doors on the back of the truck and shakes both men's hands. I'm sure the handshakes are painful, but he doesn't show it on his face. My dad then leads Doctor James back to the door of the complex, and after his colleague unlocks it, they go inside. Henry gets into the front of his truck and drives away.

  I might jump out of my skin. "Let's go, Ernestine! She can't breathe in there."

  Ernestine turns on the car and makes a U-turn on the road. "I just hope there is breath left in her," she mutters.

  Chapter 8

  We stay on the main road as we watch the big black truck maneuver the small road that connects The Complex of Undesirables to the burial hill and The Complex for the Elderly. We stop just past the hill and pull over again. I put the binoculars to my face with anxiety. "I think he just unzipped the body bag a little bit. I hope she had enough air in there."

  Ernestine leans over the steering wheel to get a better view of the black truck. "The sheol causes her breathing to become so shallow, she probably had enough air for that short amount of time."

  "I hope so," I say as I watch Henry join another man who is already digging a hole near the truck. I see the sweat glistening off their foreheads as they work. It's taking longer than I thought it would. How deep does the hole have to be?

  "Oh no," Ernestine mutters as we see flashing lights approaching us from behind.

  I stuff the binoculars inside the bag. "What's going on, Ernestine?"

  "Peace officers are right behind us. When they come to my window, remember your fake name and that we are lost. Unfold the map as big as it goes. Now."

  I obediently unfold the map to its maximum size and will my hands to stop shaking as I hold it to my face. A young, blonde peace officer approaches Ernestine's window. She rolls it down.

  "Excuse me, ma'am, are you aware that this is a no parking zone?"

  Ernestine smiles at the officer. "I'm so sorry, we are lost. We're trying to get to the Herrington Museum."

  "Your license plates say you're from Herrington. How could you come this far past the city and not know to turn back?"

  Ernestine pauses for a second. "We don't get out much and we're terrible with direc
tions. Can you help us?" She asks.

  The peace officer frowns. "I don't have time to be escorting lost females all over the countryside."

  I lower my map and lean toward him. "Isn't it just straight for a few miles and then we turn left at the second intersection?"

  The officer leans closer to the window and looks at me. I feel my heart start to pound. Does he recognize me? I feel his eyes memorizing every detail of my face. "I'm sorry. I should be more help to respectable citizens like yourselves. I'll lead you right to the museum. I could even show you where the best exhibit is, if you want a tour guide."

  I'm thrown off by the change in the officer's attitude. "I-uh, thank you. We'll follow you back into town, but we want to spend more time than you can spare in the museum, so a tour won't be necessary."

  "Okay. Just follow me, ladies."

  Ernestine rolls up her window as the officer walks back to his car. I follow his progress with my eyes out of curiosity. "What is his issue?"

  Ernestine snorts. "He thinks you're pretty."

  The officer smiles and waves as he pulls in front of us. I huff, "We'll have to follow him now. Dang. I want to see Avra as soon as possible." As I turn to look at the hill, Henry is lowering a big black bag into the hole they just dug. I wonder if his helper can tell if it's a bag of rocks. He's leaning against the side of the black truck making smoke with something in his mouth, so hopefully he's too preoccupied to notice.

  Ernestine is breathing fast. "We can still make this work, Elira. When we get to the museum, we'll have to stay there and look around for at least an hour. I'll call Florence from inside the museum and have her and Scott meet Henry at the hand-off place to get Avra."

  "Where is the hand-off place again?"

  "The sporting goods store. A long black bag could be holding bats, or nets, or something else sporty, so we won't look suspicious."

  "Okay," I say glumly.

  "Cheer up, kid. Your friend is out of the complex!"

  I continue to frown. "I wish I could be the first one to see her, but we have to lose this officer, or we're sunk."