Page 62 of Laying Low

Reg blinked at him, and Val snorted.And Agent Hemmer of border patrol cleared his throat.

“Okay, so first things first.I know you’re all concerned with the fate of our three emigres—let me reassure youallthat Ms.Barrera and her nephew and their young friend will be offered every opportunity to move here to Canada, to be allowed to work, live, pay taxes, and even become citizens if that is what they wish after the proper amount of time passes and procedures are followed.And while wehaveapprehended Ilia Kirov’s uncle and the other members of his gang and charged them for an illegal border crossing, possession of firearms, and using false credentials to impersonate members of a foreign law enforcement agency—” He sighed.“—we don’t know how long they will be imprisoned or even if we’ll be able to make the charges stick.Ilia’s best chance would be to stay here, be assigned an alternative identity, along with the Barreras, and to lay low and live his life until his uncle and all those around him fall out of power and find something different to occupy their time.”He paused and pursed his lips.“Or die.He is not in an occupation that promotes long life, and neither are his associates.But since we can’t count on that happening, I’m thinking maybe a change of venue is best.”

“Ilia’s mother…?”Anthony asked, giving Reg a sad glance.

“She smuggled Ilia’s passport to Ms.Barrera the day after the boys ran away from the school,” Julie said.“And she told us her brother would use her to get to Ilia.We couldn’t contact you to let you know that they’d be tracing the boy’s phone, but I guess you figured that out yourselves.”

“He was so brave,” Reg said, nodding so Agent Hemmer would understand this.“He threw the phone into the ocean and didn’t look back.He knew as soon as his mom texted him that he’d either have to turn us in to his uncle or he’d be killed himself.”

“So he’s told us,” Hemmer said, nodding back.“You’re right.It was a tough decision—and a brave one.And it probably saved his life.His uncle didnothave kind things to say about Ilia—I suspect he would have been killed whether or not he gave his family information about you all.”

“I showed up at the school,” Julie said, “and Adelle had just gotten the passport and the letter, and she took one look at me and started to cry.”She glanced at Reg fondly.“She remembered me, I guess, from when you went there.I told her we could take her to Reynaldo, but it would mean she’d leave everything behind.She stood up, grabbed her purse and her sweater, and walked out.”Reg’s mom shrugged sadly.“A girl was there as she left—one with purple hair—and Adelle hugged her and told her, ‘I have to go.It doesn’t mean I don’t care for you all.’And then we left.”She bit her lip, and Reg could tell she was trying not to tear up.“Just like that.Fucking heartbreaking is what it was.And so unnecessary.”

“Very necessary, Mom,” Dean said softly.“Even without Bratva, ICE would never have left her or Reynaldo alone.”

“She had us take her to a branch of her bank on the way out of town.She closed out all her accounts and made arrangements for her last check to be mailed to Canadian Border Patrol.”Julie shrugged.“Agent Hemmer, did she tell you that?”

“No, ma’am, but it was a smart move.If nothing else, it could point anybody looking for her our way.Whether it’s a bad person or a good person, she’ll be safe.”

“Good.”Julie gave a small smile.“She went shopping at a Walmart in Redding as we were heading north.Every stitch on her back is brand-new.Once I have an address, I’ll knit her a sweater so she’ll own something that wasn’t made on the cheap and mass produced.”

“She’d like that,” Reg said, remembering his old art teacher with a pang.She hadn’t deserved this—but she had risen to the occasion magnificently.Reynaldo deservedheras nobody else in the world could.

“So that brings us to you all, hopping on a boat in Tillamook Bay,” Hemmer said, steering the conversation delicately back on track.“Did anybody see you there?”

“No,” Anthony said.“See, the thing is, we never knew if it was ICE on our backs or Bratvadressedas ICE.Wethinkit was Bratva at the cheese factory, and at the hotelat first, but we heard a bunch of shouting and then a different set of voices, and it sounded like, you know, ICE.Either way, we stayed in hiding.Reynaldo was sick by this time, and having him end up in a concentration camp wasnotan option.”

“They call them detention camps,” Hemmer corrected mildly.

“They call themselves law enforcement, and that’s a lie too,” Anthony replied, his face darkening.“Anyway, a… well, let us call him a good Samaritan, saw us hide in his boat, went and bought us breakfast, and then took us out to sea.”Anthony smirked.“We asked him if he was going to cut us up into little pieces and feed us to sharks.He did not.When we stopped at the harbor, the plan was he was going to go buy us some groceries—more medicine for Reynaldo, some extra blankets, a charger for the phone, some more Dramamine for Reg—”

Reg grimaced.“Alas,” he said, remembering stretching the medicine out to its last dregs so he could make it across the sound.Val cuffed him playfully on the arm, and he rolled his eyes.“Yes, I still get seasick,” he said, shaking his head.“Of all the times to have to take a boat.”

“But ICE—and we think itwasICE, because they didn’t have masks—were bullying the harbor master as we pulled away.That’s when our phone juice ran out, which is why we lost contact.”

“And how you all ended up in the hospital here,” Hemmer said, nodding.“And in the meantime, your brothers here crossed the border and scared me up, telling me about the situation with a gang trying to cross.We were on the lookout for them, although they’d already smuggled themselves through.Some information from Dean, though—Lem Kirov’s name, for instance—gave us a list of his known associates, and we were able to intercept them, one at a time, while you four ran aground and hopped a ride.The man who infiltrated our hospital had been to four others in two days—and our people grabbed Lem Kirov just as you tackled him, Reg.I think, however they got here, they skipped right over you.You boys pulling out of the harbor early was probably the best thing you could have done.”

Hemmer smiled and drained the dregs of his coffee.“And that leads us to where we are right now.”He grew sober.“I’m going to ask this once.Are you allsureyou don’t want to seek asylum here with us?Any of you?The lot of you have helped smuggle fugitives out of ICE custody—if they find out about you, I can’t help you down in the States.”He gave Dean a sad glance.“You could lose your job, Dean.You could lose everything.”

Under the table, Reg felt Anthony’s fingers twine with his, and he swallowed.He wasn’t aware he was speaking until the words came out.

“But… who’s going to make it better if everybody who hates what’s going on leaves?”he asked.“Who’s going to picket the detention centers and film the violence and tell the real story if we’re all up here?”

He realized what he’d done and bit his lip.

“But maybe that’s just me—”

“Me too,” Anthony said, meeting Reg’s eyes.“You’re not going anywhere—home, Canada, the moon—without me.”

Reg smiled, thinking he was glorious.“Okay,” he said simply.“I won’t argue.”Why would he argue with a thing he desperately wanted?

“I’m not leaving,” Julie said firmly.“We’ve lived on that property for thirty-seven years.I’ve raised my family there.We’ve….”She shrugged.“I like to think I’ve done some good with my community there.I count this last week with that.Ed and I aren’t going anywhere.”

“Rory and I aren’t going anywhere,” Val said.

“Hell no,” Rory agreed.“Although that was great of you to speak for me, Val.I appreciate the confidence.”

Val rolled his eyes.“You’d be so lost without me.Don’t lie.”