THE SURFACE
Chapter Five
"Well, it’s Saturday."
Arnold looked down at Katie.
"I noticed."
"Why do we want him so
damned bad?"
"One ship. Titanic."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know.
His memory of Titanic," she mimicked.
"Exactly." He scribbled
notes on his clipboard.
"After that, will you let
him go? I’m sure that by now he has a life in New York."
"Too bad."
"Arnold, tell me that you
will let him go after you get what you want."
He thought about it and
hesitated. "I don’t know. He may be dangerous."
"Oh, please! He just needs
to adapt to this society. It’s not that hard!"
"He winds up in jail, it’s
your fault. That’s not a risk—"
"He won’t. I know it."
Katie stood confidently, smiling.
*****
"Lexi, I know it’ll work!
It’s almost the week of the Kentucky Derby, and if Lemons wins, Jack will be
free!"
"Yeah, but what if Lemons
loses?"
"She won’t. She can run, and
fast." Melinda smiled at them.
"And," Ashley added,
"if she loses, we always have Sinister." She shrugged.
Lexi nodded in agreement.
"So, I guess we’re going to see Kentucky."
A Week Later
"Tomorrow is the big
day." Melinda grinned.
"I hope that one of them
wins." Lexi spun around in the chair contently.
"Jack’s freedom depends on
it," Ashley finished.
"Do they know?"
"Yes. It’ll help both of
them run faster."
*****
"Tommy, is that true? If one
of those horses wins the race, I’m free?"
"Absolutely. No strings
attached."
"Well, then, I hope one of
them wins. Wait. Where would I go then? I don’t have a home anymore."
"I know your situation, and
I talked to Mel. She’s going to rent you a real apartment in her
building."
"That’s great." Jack
smiled excitedly.
*****
Lexi and Ashley fidgeted with
their passes as they walked around the clubhouse, chatting with celebrities and
other people. They were drawing lots of attention, since they were the youngest
owners of a derby horse and equestrians themselves.
Lexi looked at the clock.
"Come on. Time for post. Let’s go get Jack freed."
They walked up to the grandstand
and showed their passes. All the horses filled the gate and the bell rang. The
horses came shooting out. Lexi and Ashley’s hearts pounded as Sinister weaved
in and out of the lead.
They screamed for him to run
faster, and the jockey used the crop to get him back in front. It was between
him and another horse now. From the time he was in front, everything seemed to
be eternal. The race was taking forever to finish now, and Sinister was all the
way in the back.
"No chance in hell can he
get up front." Lexi sighed sadly.
"There’s still a lot of the
race left." Melinda’s eyes never left the lot of galloping thoroughbreds.
Sinister continued to weave in and out of the lead, leaving all three of them
anxious.
It was finally the last turn
before the finish line.