The Encampment

by Edward Kendrick

  “First people have to know it’s happening, and that means a kid has to get away and then tell someone who might believe him.” Ran looked hard at Davie. “If you were an average Joe and some kid who was obviously homeless stopped you on the street and told you he’d been being held prisoner to do slave labor, would you believe them?”

  “You bet I would,” Davie replied. Then he thought about it and shook his head. “There’s so many stories guys tell to make a buck. I suppose I’d think they were conning me for spare change. But the cops…”

  “If the kid got up the guts to go to one—and you know how most homeless feel about the police—and if they were believed…” Slade said. “For starters, using semis for housing means by the time the cops arrive where the kid says it was, it’s gone.”

  “What about where they were working? They could tell the cop and he could check that out,” Vin said.

  “The young man I talked with had no idea where he’d been taken. He was driven there in a delivery van while it was still dark, and picked up in the evening after dark, at the back of the building in an unlighted alley. He says one guy he knew did field work somewhere out in the country, so far from civilization there was no way to tell where he was.”

  “These bastards have all the angles covered,” Vin said angrily.

  “They do,” Slade agreed. “Using terror as their weapon. The slightest infraction and the kid gets a beating, in front of everyone else.”

  “So you want us to get picked up by these guys, right?” Davie said. “Then what? Like you said, if we escape, the truck will be gone before we can bring anyone back to it.”

  “Undoubtedly,” Slade agreed. “What we need from you are names and descriptions of the people involved, and proof of what’s happening.”

  Davie snorted. “I can see it now. You give me a recorder that I try to hide on me, which to begin with they’d probably find. If they didn’t, I ask who they are and try to get them talking about what they’re doing. Like that wouldn’t be a big give away that I’m a ringer.” He frowned deeply, clenching his hands, when something else occurred to him. “If I go back on the streets, and I’d have to, there’s guys who’d attack me because I stopped them from hurting someone. And what about my mom’s ex-boyfriend. He’s out there somewhere looking for me. He finds me before I can connect with one of the gangmasters or whatever and I’m dead. Kind of makes me useless if that happens.”

  “He has a point, Slade,” Vin said softly. “The same holds true for me and you know it.”

  “You two won’t be going back looking the way you do now,” Maddox said from the doorway. “Sorry I’m late to the party, Slade. I had something I had to take care of.”

  “No problem. I’ve just finished telling them what’s going on, which you know about already.”

  Maddox nodded, pulling up a chair from the dining table, straddling it with his arms across the back. “So, as I was saying, the two of you will look different than you did when you came here.”

  “You planning on plastic surgery?” Davie muttered.

  “Nothing that drastic, Davie. Darken your hair and make it less curly. The curls are a dead giveaway. Different gear, different clothes. Grubbier than you were when I picked you up.”

  “Is that possible,” Davie replied with a small grin.

  “You know it is. Neither of you will shave for the next few days. That’ll give you a scruffy look. Vin, you’ve been here and working out of doors long enough you’ve got a good tan. We can lighten your hair.”

  Vin rolled his eyes. “Bleach blond is me.”

  Maddox laughed. “Not that bad but different from the brown it is now.”

  “From what you said, you’re not planning on shipping us out today,” Davie commented.

  “No,” Slade replied. “I want to see if I can locate your mother’s ex-boyfriend and get him out of the picture. He’s the biggest threat to you.”

  Davie turned to look at Vin, asking, “What about you?”

  “I’m no threat.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “I know.” Vin sucked in a breath. “If we can pull off the transformation I should be okay as long as I keep a real low profile.”

  “One thing that you can do,” Ram said. “Or rather that Davie can do, is be the point man. If these men approach him, he can say he’s willing but only if his boyfriend can come, too.”

  “Before you say anything, either of you,” Slade said. “There has to be a reason to keep you together, for your own protection, and playing the boyfriend angle should work. If they’re smart they’ll figure it’ll give them something more to hold over you to keep you in line.”

  “Are you okay with that idea?” Davie asked Vin.

  “Yeah. It’s worth the risk if it’ll stop the bastards.”

  Turning to Ran, Davie said, “This is why you put me through all the training.”

  “It was. We needed to know for sure that you can take care of yourself is things go bad.”

  “Okay. Figured as much. One last question. I know what Grey was doing for you, Slade, before you pulled him up here. Does he know about this?”

  Slade waggled a hand. “When he first told me about you I thought you might be a good candidate for certain jobs, because of your reputation as a fighter. The problem was, there was no reason to pull you off the streets. Sure, there were guys who wanted a piece of you, but I doubted you’d be willing to go into hiding because of that. That is until your mom’s ex started hunting for you. Because Grey was connected to one too many guys who had suddenly vanished, it’s put him in danger despite the fact you were protecting him. Your refusal to come up here without him gave me the perfect excuse to get him off the streets.”

  “Then you sent Pace in, in his place?” Davie was certain that’s what had happened.

  “We did,” Maddox agreed.

  “Is there anything else either of you want to ask?” Slade said. When Davie looked at Vin, and they both shook their heads, Slade dismissed them with the admonition they were to keep everything that had been said to themselves. “Despite the fact Grey has undoubtedly figured out there was more to bringing you up here than to keep you safe, Davie, the less he knows, the better.”

  “Got it.”

  As soon as they left the cabin, Vin asked, “Are you okay with everything?”

  “You bet,” Davie instantly replied. Then he qualified his apparent bravado. “I’m scared, sort of. Taking on a couple of punks who are tormenting some poor kid is one thing. Going up against men who don’t mind beating the hell out of someone to make them obey is another.” He smiled grimly. “They probably get off on it.”

  “I’m sure.” Vin glanced up at the dark clouds. “I hope those aren’t an omen.”

  “They are.” Davie managed a grin. “That it’s going to rain any second now, so we’d better get the hell inside before it happens. The drowned rat look is not good.”

  “You think?” Vin gave him a salute before making a dash for his cabin.

  Davie did the same, getting to his cabin just as the skies opened up.

  “Where have you been?” Grey asked, his tone accusatory.

  “Talking with Slade. He wanted me to know that it’s safe for me to go back,” Davie replied. Which isn’t quite a lie. I am going back, though it’s not safe at all.

  “The bastard’s out of the picture, now?”

  “Slade’s working on it, he said. I think…I hope it means he will be soon.”

  “I see. We’ll miss you, you know.” Grey seemed to accept Davie’s leaving with no problem, even teasing, “Who gets to work the garden now? It better not be me. When do you leave?”

  “Not for a couple of days,” Davie replied as he got out the makings for hamburgers. “Want one?”

  “It’s supper time. I’m hungry. Does that answer your question?”

  Davie laughed. “Okay. Just checking. And so you know, I’m not stupid. I’m going to do something to change how I look before I le
ave.”

  “That would be a smart idea. Want some help?”

  “Sure, if you’ve got any wild ideas lay them on me.”

  “Stay away from tight T-shirts and jeans. You want to look skinnier than you are, not muscular. Sweats work best.” Grey leaned against the counter. “You used to flaunt your build to scare off punks. Don’t do it, now.”

  “Makes sense to me.”

  Grey grinned. “I was always the brains to your brawn.”

  Davie flipped his off, finished forming the burgers, put them in the frying pan, and set it on the stove to cook. While they waited, Grey sliced some tomatoes and Davie set the table. When the burgers were ready, he put them on buns and they sat down to eat. After taking a couple of bites, he bit the bullet and said, because he and Grey were more than friends and he trusted him, “You know what’s going on, don’t you?”

  “Yeah. Not the specifics but…” Grey rapped his fingers on the table. “You’re probably going after someone who’s a problem. If I don’t miss my guess, because I’m pretty observant, Vin’s part of it, too. You don’t have to answer, but if he is, you could have worse back-up.”

  “You’ll know he is when he leaves the same time I do, so I might as well admit it. I wonder what everyone else will think.”

  Grey snorted. “Three guesses and the first two don’t count, although they’d be wrong, right?”

  “Yeah, damn it,” Davie grumbled, hoping Grey believed him. As with all things pertaining to Vin, it wasn’t his place to reveal what Vin kept secret.

  “You won’t leave until after Buzz’s birthday, I hope.”

  “It’s tomorrow, right?” When Grey nodded, Davie said he’d be there.

  * * * *

  Saturday morning, Grey and Davie did laundry. While they waited for the washer to run its course, they checked out what was available in the room where used clothes were stored for anyone who needed them.

  “These are so not you,” Grey said with a grin as he dug through a pile on one of the tables. He handed Davie two pair of sweatpants that would have fit someone half-again his size. Davie eyed them, tempted to put them back on the table before thinking better of it. Not me, or at least not the ‘me’ anyone would remember, which is what I’m supposed to be going for. On another table, he found a sweatshirt and a hoodie that had definitely seen better days. He had the feeling they’d belonged to one of the other guys, who had traded them in for something more presentable.

  He’d always worn sneakers while living on the streets, even in winter, because they were easier to run in when necessary. It went against the grain to opt for boots, but he did when he found a pair that was only a size too big. With extra socks, they’d work.

  He stashed his new possessions in his backpack, and when the laundry was done, left a couple of pairs of jeans and a T-shirt on the tables to replace what he’d taken. They had barely finished emptying the dryer of its second load when Ace and Will appeared.

  “Perfect timing,” Will said as he dumped his clothes into one of the washers. “Now if Maddox would spring for another dryer…”

  “One thing at a time,” Grey replied, shaking his head. “Be glad he got this.” He patted the new washer.

  “I am, I am, but I can wish, can’t I?”

  “If you’re going to wish, wish big,” Ace said. “Snowmobiles we can use this winter.”

  “An Olympic-sized swimming pool,” Davie suggested.

  “Why not? We could ice skate on it when it freezes over.”

  “Uh-uh. A movie theater, since TVs wouldn’t get reception up here even if we had them,” Grey added.

  “We’ll make a list for Maddox,” Will said, “and hope he springs for a second dryer.”

  When Davie and Grey left, Will and Ace were coming up with more ideas, with Fox’s help when he arrived to do his laundry.

  As soon as lunch was over, Davie went to see Maddox.

  “When are you going to do my hair?” he asked when Maddox let him in, not aware Vin was there until after he’d spoken. Then he said, “Not bad,” taking in what he was seeing. “You look like you’ve spent the summer lying in the sun at some resort.”

  While Vin’s hair wasn’t blond, it was definitely a couple of shades lighter than his natural brown, which seemed to soften the tight lines of his face.

  “After the party tonight, or tomorrow,” Maddox replied to Davie’s question. “Doing both of you now would call attention to the fact something’s going on.”

  Davie nodded. “You’re right. So, which?”

  “Tonight would be better. That way we can take off early tomorrow morning, so be packed and ready. You’ll be staying at one of Slade’s shelters tomorrow night. It’ll give you a chance to get acclimated to being back in the city. Vin, more than you, Davie, since you’ve haven’t been away that long.”

  “Almost two weeks, but who’s counting,” Davie said, realizing it felt longer than that. “I bet no one knows I even left.”

  “Somehow I doubt it. The word is out that you took off because the bastard, as you call him, is looking for you.”

  Davie eyed Maddox, then said, “Why do I think that was done on purpose?”

  “Because it was? We didn’t want anyone questioning why you suddenly weren’t around and that made as good an excuse as any.”

  “Now if no one recognizes me when I get back…”

  “It’s unlikely anyone will since you’ll be on the far side of town from where you used to hang out.”

  Davie grimaced. “If you mean what I think you do, that’s not exactly the greatest area by a long shot.”

  “True,” Maddox agreed, “but there’s a shelter, a couple of soup kitchens, and day labor site, which are where those men pick up a lot of their victims. You know how it is. The worse the area, the more guys like you want to get away from it but with no money and fear of being found by the family they’ve run from, they make the perfect targets.”

  “No kidding.” Davie looked off for a moment, remembering his own fear. Then he pulled himself back to the present, saying, “I take it that after tomorrow night we start acting like we’re pretty new to the city, on the run, scared, and looking for anything that’ll help us survive.”

  “Yes. Whatever works to get them interested in you.”

  “You’re good with this, Vin?” Davie asked him.

  Vin nodded. “I know the area, but it’s been over a year since I was there.”

  Davie frowned. “Maybe we should…”

  “I said its fine and it is,” Vin replied tightly. “I’ll see you tonight.” With that, he left the cabin.

  “I should have kept my mouth shut,” Davie said.

  “He’s tense, just like you. He’ll get over it,” Maddox assured him. “You’ve already got a start on scruffy. Don’t go overboard on it. There’s a difference between not shaving every day because you can’t find a place to do it and looking like you’ve spent the last six months as a hermit.”

  Davie ran a hand over his jaw, feeling light stubble, and nodded. “I wasn’t planning on looking like the guy in ‘Revenant’.”

  Chuckling, Maddox said, “Do you have any questions?”

  “Not that I can think of. We go in, memorize names and faces, then make the big escape and report in to Slade.” And hope to hell we can escape. Something he had no intention of saying to Maddox.

  His fear must have shown despite his trying to hide it, because Maddox said, “Go talk to Ran. He has something for you so we can keep track of exactly where you are.”

  “Super spies are us?” Davie might have found the idea fun if it hadn’t been his life that was at risk if everything went south.

  “Nothing that dramatic. There’s an implantable tracking device he’ll inject into you. Painless and undetectable unless you know what you’re looking for.”

  “Then let’s hope the SOBs don’t.”

  Davie left, heading to Ran’s cabin. As he crossed the clearing he stopped to talk to Lon, Fox, and Jude who were
decorating the tables with strips of crepe paper. “It better not rain or you’ll have a real mess.”

  “Bite your tongue,” Jude muttered, hastily looking up. “Nope. No clouds, no rain.”

  “Maddox came through as promised,” Lon said. “He got this and steaks and ice cream, so tonight we party!”

  A birthday and farewell party, not that they know Vin and I are leaving.

  Ran let him in when Davie knocked on the cabin door.

  “Maddox said you’re going to put a tracking device in me,” Davie said as soon as he was inside. “Where?”

  “In the back of your neck, under your hair. Have a seat.” Ran pointed to one of the chairs at his dining table. When Davie did, Ran picked up what looked like a tranquilizer gun. “Lean over,” he said, so Davie complied. He felt a sharp prick seconds after Ran pressed the gun to his neck. “It’s in,” Ran said, putting a bandage over the injection site. “Keep this on for a couple of days.”

  “What if they ask about the bandage?”

  “I’m sure you can come up with some clever, smartass reply.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  Ran grinned. “Get out of here. I’ll see you at the party. After it’s over, remember to go to see Maddox so he can do your makeover and take a picture. Before you leave for Slade’s shelter tomorrow you’ll be given new driver’s licenses with photos to match your new looks.”

  “You think of everything.”

  “We have to,” Ran replied. “Now go.”

  * * * *

  Everyone gathered at the tables in the clearing soon after five, the aroma of steaks on the grill being the biggest drawing card.

  “Meat, real meat,” Lon crowed, setting a bowl of potato salad on the table designated for food. Ten brought over a tossed salad and Grey added bread to a plate already sitting on the table. Others contributed either condiments or drinks—meaning milk and water in pitchers. Styrofoam plates and cups were at one end, along with real silverware.

  “Okay, everyone, let’s do this,” Ran, who was in charge of the steaks, called out. “If any of you like shoe leather, you’ll have to wait a few more minutes.”

  That evoked laughter from the young men as they grabbed plates and went to get their steaks. Soon, they were seated, eating with gusto.