Saving Sky (5 page)

S
KY WENT BACK TO CLASS
and tried to act normal. It wasn't easy. “Fight-or-flight” chemicals were coursing through her system, causing her heart to pound and her hands to tremble. Her face was flushed, and she couldn't think straight. So she did what students have always done when they didn't want to be called on: she kept her head down and didn't make eye contact.

POSTPRANDIAL
, Mrs. Chavez wrote on the board. They were studying Greek and Latin roots. “Anybody want to take a guess? Jose?”

“After prandial?” Jose said. “Whatever that is?”

“Right.
Post
is a prefix meaning ‘after.' It's attached to a suffix,
prandial
: ‘to make a new word.' So what about pre-
prandial
? What would that mean? Stef?”

“
Before
the prandial thing.”

Sky looked out the window for at least the fourth time. The silver van was still in the parking lot. Would it be too much to ask for the suit guys to leave before the bell rang?
Pre
-bell?

“That's right, Stef. So, if I tell you that
prandium
is a Latin word for ‘midday meal,' can anybody tell me the whole word? What does
postprandial
mean?”

“‘After lunch'!” came a chorus of voices.

“Excellent. Now here's another one. Can you tell me the difference between these two prefixes?” On the board she wrote
ANTI
-and
ANTE
-.

Hands went up, but not Sky's. She knew the answer. She'd known all the answers. She was an ace at this kind of thing. But she still didn't trust her voice.

“Toby?”

Toby was also an ace; but before he got the chance to prove it, the door opened. Mrs. Chavez slumped with exasperation. And really, who could blame her?

A head peeked in. It was Mrs. Peña, the lady from the front office.

“Sorry,” she said, “but Kareem Khalid needs to come to the office, please.”

“He's not here. He left for a dental appointment.”

“Really? He didn't sign out.”

Mrs. Chavez turned her palms heavenward and shrugged.

The door closed, and Toby was called on a second time.

“
Anti
means ‘against.'
Ante
means ‘before.'”

“Very good. Anybody want to give me some words using either of these prefixes?”

Nobody did. They were too busy listening to the voices out in the hall.

The door opened again. It was still the office lady, but standing behind her was a man dressed in a dark suit. Sky felt another jolt of adrenaline.

“Sorry to keep interrupting, but we need to speak with you in private, please? In the office?”

Mrs. Chavez looked ready to bite Mrs. Peña, but she dutifully put down her marker and headed for the door. “While I'm gone, I want you to write down as many words beginning with
anti-
and
ante-
as you can think of. Okay?”

Notebooks were opened and quiet scribbling filled the room.

Sky wrote mechanically:
ANTIFREEZE. ANTIDOTE. ANTI-AIRCRAFT. ANTIBIOTIC. ANTEBELLUM. ANTECEDENT.

What was happening out there, she wondered?

They're asking about the dental appointment, you dummy!

Did Kareem bring a note?

No, Mrs. Chavez would say. His mother came to pick him up.

When did this happen?

About ten minutes ago.

Did his mother come to the classroom?

No, one of the students ran into her in the hall.

Really? Which student?

The door opened, and Mrs. Peña peeked in for the third time.

“Sky Brightman? Can you come to the office, please?”

 

“I just assumed it was his mother,” Sky said. “I mean, she didn't say. It was just some lady. I never met his parents before. Maybe she was his babysitter.”

Sky was in the principal's office, the center of much unwanted attention. Mrs. Peña was peering through the almost-closed door. Mrs. Chavez leaned against the wall, hands folded, looking impatient and annoyed. The agents stood watching Sky like a couple of hawks about to swoop down on a bunny. And Ms. Golly, usually so pleasant and cheerful, sat stiffly in her chair, fixing Sky with a look that said she knew a lie when she heard one.

“You were not aware, then, that Kareem doesn't
have
a mother? That she died a long time ago?”

“No!”
Sky flushed, remembering the look that had crossed Kareem's face when she'd told him his mom was there. Oh, jeez! How to make a bad situation worse! And then, while they were walking down the hall, what was it he'd said? “My
mother
?”

“So, this mystery woman,” Ms. Golly said. “What did she say, exactly?”

“Um, ‘I'm looking for Kareem Khalid. Do you know where he is?' Something like that. ‘He's late for his dental appointment.'”

“Why didn't she come to the office? That's the normal procedure.”

Sky shrugged. “I don't know. She just said she needed him to come, so I went back to class and told Kareem she was out there.”

“So, where is he
now
, Sky?” This from one of the men in suits, the one with the ginger mustache. He leaned forward as he spoke, resting his big hands on the desk. Sky didn't care for the way he looked at her, or the way he used her name.

“At the dentist's, I guess.”

“Did you see them leave together?”

“No. I went to the bathroom. Other direction.”

“And then you came right back?”

“Yes.”

“Not exactly,” Mrs. Chavez said. “I'd say you were gone a good ten minutes. Both times.”

Things really got quiet then.

“Ms. Golly,” Sky said, her eyebrows knitted in feigned concern, “has Kareem been, like,
kidnapped
or something? I mean, you called in the police and everything?”
She indicated the two men.

This was much, much better, she thought. Definitely more convincing. Plus, she'd managed to change the subject at a very awkward moment.

“No, dear. We don't think he's in any danger. It's just irregular, that's all. Students aren't supposed to leave school without signing out.”

The bell rang, marking the end of third period. Kareem would be leaving the band room now, trying to be inconspicuous in the crowd. If the agents would just stay there talking for another five minutes…

“All right, Sky,” Ms. Golly said. “You can go now. Mrs. Chavez, I apologize for interrupting your class. Gentlemen, I'm afraid I can't give you any more information, and right now I really have to call his—”

“We need to search the school,” said the other guy, the one with the shaved head.

Ms. Golly squinted her eyes, catlike. “I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Search the school?
”

“He might be hiding somewhere in the building.”

“Hiding?”

“Yes.”

“And you need to speak to him
why
exactly? Has he committed some kind of—”

“We just want to ask him some questions.”

“In regards to what?”

“That's not your concern.”

She sat up straighter. “Actually, it is.”

“No, ma'am. This is confidential government business.”

“Well, you're not doing anything till I phone Dr. Khalid. Mrs. Peña, will you get me that number, please?”

“The father's in custody, ma'am.”

“In
custody
? Dr. Khalid?”

“Yes. And, like I said, we need to search the school.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and laid it on her desk. She picked it up and read it.

“It's a warrant, ma'am.”

“I can see that.” She looked up at him, perplexed. “Let me get this straight. You're here to
arrest a seventh grader
?”

The agent met her gaze.

“We're going to search the school now,” he said.

T
HAT NIGHT AFTER DINNER WAS
over and the horses had been put to bed, they gathered in the sitting room to talk. A fire was blazing in the stove. Ana handed a lantern to each of the girls, and they got busy winding them up. Then she switched off the electric lights.

“We all settled now?” Luke asked.

Ana nodded. “Mouse, please stop bouncing.”

“Sorry.”

“All right.” Luke took a deep breath. “Well, obviously we have a situation here, and a very serious one. Ana has told me about your father, Kareem, and your cousin, and what happened at school today.”

“What?” Mouse asked. “What happened?”

Luke turned to his daughter. “This is a very important, very secret thing, Mouse; and we're trusting you to keep it a
secret. Do you think you can do that?”

“Of course.”

“Because if you can't, I need you to go to your room so we can talk privately.”

“I said
yes
!”

“She's fine, Dad,” Sky said. “Really.”

“Okay. What happened is this. Some men, agents from Homeland Security we think, went to the hospital where Kareem's father works and took him away. They also arrested Kareem's cousin.”

“Like those people at the store?” Mouse's eyes grew wide.

“Yes, exactly like that. They wanted to take Kareem, too, but we didn't let them. Mom brought him here instead. So now he's hiding, and it's our job to keep him safe. That's what we have to discuss now—how exactly we're going to do that.”

“Got it.” Mouse curled up into a ball, her arms wrapped around her legs, chin resting on her knees.

“All right,” Luke said. “Now, we all need to face the fact that what we're doing—hiding a fugitive, basically—is illegal and therefore dangerous. Not just for you, Kareem, but for us as well. I wouldn't mention it except that ‘us,' in this case, includes our children; and they will always be my first priority.”

Sky winced. Sometimes her father could be so blunt. And
none of this was Kareem's fault.

“It's probably just some stupid mistake. I certainly hope that's the case. Maybe your family has the same last name as someone on the watch list, and Homeland Security is all turbocharged after this last series of attacks. If so, then they'll figure out pretty quickly that they've got the wrong people, and your father and cousin will be released. To be honest, I can't imagine what else it could be. A college student, an anesthesiologist, and a seventh grader—not a very likely set of terror suspects.”

“It's not a mistake,” Kareem said. “And I don't think it's just about us. There's something weird going on.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, when my cousin was arrested last night, his roommate followed the van in his car. That's how we found out what happened—Charlie called my uncle and told him. The agents said they were taking Sayed in for questioning, so Charlie just assumed they'd go downtown to the police station. Only they didn't. They got out on the highway and drove all the way to Huntsville—and not to the prison either. They took him to one of those detention centers. You know, where they kept all the illegal aliens during that America for Americans thing?”

“The
deportation
centers?”

“Yeah.”

“But that doesn't make any sense, Kareem. Those places
were closed down three or four years ago, when A for A was complete.”

“I'm just telling you what Charlie said. There were guards at the entrance. They let the van through, then locked the gate again.”

Luke gazed down at his hands, frowning fiercely. In the lamplight he looked almost ghoulish. “It would be a big job to get a place like that up and running again,” he said. “They'd have to turn the water and electricity back on, and hire guards, and get a kitchen staff.” He paused. “They wouldn't—”

“They wouldn't do that for just one person,” Kareem said.

“Oh my God!” Ana's voice came out sort of strangled. “They're rounding up other people. Lots of people. Everybody, you know, from enemy countries.”

“No!” Sky almost screamed. “They can't do that!”

“I'm sorry,” Luke said, “but they can. They did it before, to the Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. And it'd be much easier now, with all that information they have in the national ID database. They know where everybody works, where they live, where they go to school, where they shop, who their doctors are. Identifying members of any particular group—it's nothing. A few keystrokes on a computer and they've got a list of names and all the contact information they need. The only hard part would be
picking the people up, one by one.”

“Luke, stop it! You're scaring the kids. You're scaring me!”

“But he's right,” Kareem said. “It's the only explanation.”

The room grew very quiet.

Ana finally broke the silence. “Okay. Let's not overreact. I'll keep checking the news sites at work tomorrow. If they really
are
doing something like that, then they can't keep it secret forever.”

“Why don't we just go online now and look it up? There might be some mention—”

“We don't have internet here,” Luke said. “And we don't have a computer.”

Kareem looked stunned. “Why?”

“It's not how we do things.”

He glanced quickly around the room.

“We don't have a TV either,” Mouse said.

“Then how do you find out…”

“Aunt Pat calls and tells us if anything happens.”

“Oh.”

Ana took a deep breath. “I promise I'll keep checking, Kareem. Meanwhile, we have to think—assuming we're right—just what exactly this means for us.”

“It means we're in this for the long haul,” Luke said, “and we can't afford to slip up. Mouse,
no telling Andrea and making her swear to keep it a secret.
Okay? 'Cause she won't. Nobody
ever does. And
no phone calls
, Kareem especially! Not to your house to see if your dad's been released. Not to your aunt and uncle's to ask about Sayed.”

“I don't have a phone. Sky ditched it at school.”

“Good. That was smart. The rest of you—no mention of Kareem at all. Not even to Aunt Pat. When you use
any
phone for
any
reason, assume somebody's listening.”

“That's totally creepy,” Sky said.

“Yes, it is. And that goes for the internet, too. Just because you use a school computer doesn't mean it's safe. Or private. I mean it, kids. Think I'm paranoid if you want to, but…”

“We
got
it, Dad!”

“Fine. So let's talk about how this is going to work. I'm afraid we don't have a guest room, Kareem. You'll have to sleep on the couch.”

“No problem.”

“Aside from that, and sharing a bathroom with four other people, you should be pretty comfortable. You won't have to stay inside all day. We've got sixty acres out here, and the house can't be seen from the road. The property is surrounded by a fence, and the entry gate is locked, so if anyone arrives unexpectedly, we'll have plenty of warning. They'll ring the buzzer, or call my cell phone if it's someone who has the number; and one of us will go down there to let them in. That'll give you time to hide.”

“Hide where, Luke?” Ana asked. “If the agents come out
here, they'll do a thorough search.”

“Not without a warrant, they won't.”

“Oh, honey, they can get those in a heartbeat these days.”

He took a deep breath and let it out through soft lips. He sounded like a deflating balloon. “I'll need to build some kind of hidden compartment,” he said. “Let me think about it.”

“The feed room,” Mouse said.

“What, baby?”

“He could hide in the feed room.”

Luke considered that for a minute. “Not bad,” he said. “The construction's pretty rough in there. I could move a wall out, leave a space behind it. No fancy carpentry needed, not like building a false bookcase or something like that.”

“I hate to press you,” Ana said, “but is there any way you could do it tonight? We'll all pitch in. The thing is, they might very well show up tomorrow. I don't think Kareem's at the top of their list, but all the same—there are just too many signs that point to us.”

She raised one finger. “Hanif and I work together and we're friends. I was very clearly upset about the arrest.” Second finger. “Then right after he was taken away, I called Sky—they can get hold of our phone records and it'll show the exact time—then I left the hospital and was gone for over an hour.” A third finger. “At the same time, right after
our phone call, Sky got Kareem out of class. And the agents know that, because she was called to the principal's office while they were there—”

“What?”
Luke was horrified. “You're just now telling me this?”

“It doesn't change anything, okay?” They glared at each other for a couple of seconds. “It's just what happened.”

“I can't stand this,” Kareem said, suddenly getting to his feet. “I really can't. I don't want to get you all in trouble.
Please
just take me home. If they arrest me, fine. At least I'll be with my dad. I really, really don't want to do this.”

“Kareem—” Ana's voice took on a soothing tone. “Honey, just before your dad…left…he saw me standing nearby, and he said—just mouthing the words, of course, so the men wouldn't hear—he said, ‘
Please
, take care of Kareem!'

“Now think about that for a minute—there he was, at this terrible moment in his life, and his
one
concern was for you and your safety. When I nodded yes, that I'd take care of you, he looked so relieved—like he could handle anything so long as he knew you were safe. Please, honey, stay here for him. It's what he wanted. Do it for your dad.”

Kareem sat in stony silence.

After about a minute Luke got up from his chair.

“Sky,” he said, “grab a couple of flashlights. Let's go out and look at the feed room.”