115 Going South (1/2)
On Saturday, 24th of February, Li Yang woke up at exactly five minutes past midnight.
He hadn't slept for more than a couple of hours, and the couple of hours he did sleep were filled with nightmares. He tried to remember what they were when he woke up and couldn't, and decided that was just as well.
He knew what had brought his nightmares about even though he couldn't remember them. He was about to leave the apartment where he'd spent all his life. He was about to leave it for good, or maybe bad - whatever. He wouldn't be coming back.
It made him sad, which was odd, because his time there hadn't been a happy one. But the apartment had become a part of his life, an important part. Lying on his bed and staring into the darkness, Li Yang realized that was how things worked. You could love or hate someone or something, it didn't matter: an emotional investment in something meant it became a part of your life. It would stay with you forever no matter what happened next, no matter how hard you tried to forget all about it and get on with your new life.
The lights had been working for over a week, but he got up and got dressed in darkness: he'd gotten used to that. Jake Donato would be coming shortly: he'd promised to be there by one o'clock in the morning. At two o'clock, the whole team would leave the apartment on Mott Street and begin the journey to Fairhaven, the little town on Chesapeake Bay where Harper Lee's friend owned a small farm.
There were six of them: Li Yang and Jake Donato, Harper and Charlene Lee, and Harper's friend Bobby plus his Russian girlfriend, Olga. Bobby and Olga had arrived the previous day, and were sleeping in Rose Fogerty's former bedroom.
Li Yang wasn't impressed with Olga any more than he'd been impressed with Bobby. She had short spiky blond hair and a total of seven rings installed in various parts of her face: two in each earlobe, one in each eyebrow, and one in her nose. The rings were thin and elegant, but to Li Yang they still meant that Olga was one of the people his mother used to call the new barbarians. She'd been convinced that their appearance meant civilization was about to die.
As he dressed, Li Yang thought - not for the first time - that she had been right.
He still felt that way when everyone had assembled and they set out, leaving the apartment block on the stroke of two o'clock. The night was dark, but the night wasn't silent: they heard an army vehicle growl past on a neighboring street. They all felt very reassured by that sound. Heavy military presence was all that kept New York from erupting into one big battleground.
Naturally, Harper Lee was the leader of their little band.
”That's a contradiction in terms,” said Olga. Although Li Yang had known her for just a few hours, he'd already identified her as someone difficult: hard to understand, hard to like, hard to get to agree with anything that was proposed.
”Life is a contradiction in terms,” Harper said. ”You're born in order to die. We're going to run across a lot of army and police patrols. I'm the only one that has a gun permit. I want those guns well hidden, you hear me?”
He spoke softly, but everyone heard him very well.
”Okay,” said Harper, when he was satisfied with their silence. ”I'll ride in front. We come across a patrol, let me handle that. Charlene, you ride second. And can everyone understand right now I'm not favoriting Charlene. I'm using her. A family story always works well, if anyone starts asking a lot of questions.”
”Thank you for using me, Harper,” said Charlene, and Bobby laughed.
”Okay,” Harper said again. ”Bobby, you and the rickshaw come next. Olga next, Li Yang and Jake bring up the rear. Everyone fine with that?”
Li Yang wasn't fine with that. He didn't like the idea. He wanted to be close to the front- not up front, being the one in the front always meant extra danger - but second, or third. He turned to Jake and said:
”You and I, we better ride side by side.”
Jake nodded.
”Very good idea,” he said.
They set off. Almost right away, they heard the pop of a distant gunshot, and everyone gripped their handlebars a little bit tighter. They saw no one until they reached the Holland Tunnel. An army APC was parked in front of the entrance. There were five soldiers sitting or standing around it: three black, one tan - Indian? It was hard to tell in the light - and one white. The white soldier was in the process of taking a hit from a blunt when they came by. He continued to smoke it even when one of the black guys, wearing numerous stripes on his sleeve, shouted:
”Hey! You guys! Halt!”
They all stopped, obediently. The striped commander unglued his ass from the side of the patrol vehicle, and walked a few steps up to Harper, stopping midway. Li Yang noted that one of his hands hovered over the butt of his gun.
”Okay,” said the striped commander, sounding very much like Harper Lee. ”Who are you? Where are you coming from? Where are you going? And why?”
”We're residents of New York, leaving for the country,” Harper answered with great dignity. ”A friend of ours owns a farm in Virginia. We're going to join him.”
”Wise move,” said one of the black guys.
”Shut up,” said the striped commander. ”You carrying any weapons or drugs?”