She glared. “I don’t believe you.”
“You have to. That’s my testimony. I broke the conditioning, and came back all by myself, I wormed my way in here. He had nothing to do with it. You can’t touch him.”
“Mary!” Court groaned in agony. “Don’t you know what the penalty is?” To the officer. “It was me, it was all me. I dragged her back. Don’t—oh, god, don’t do anything to her, do it to me!”
“Court, don’t you see? It’s not one or the other of us, it’s both of us or me! For the children’s sake, Court, for the children’s sake, it has to be me!” To the officer: “He said that to try to protect me. I ll swear in any court you want. It was all me.”
She grinned, the snake watching Eve take that first bite. “Sorry, lady, that train won’t fly. It couldn’t have just been you. Impossible.”
“Court, it was all me. Say it was all me!”
“Mary, I can’t.”
His arms tightened around Lizzie, and she squeaked, “Daddy!”
“You have to, Court. Tell her the truth. For the children’s sake. It was all me.”
The official merely shook her head. “I’m taking you both in. The kids can go to social services. I’m taking no chances with you two criminals. You deserve what you’re going to get. Both of you.” To Court. “She couldn’t have done it alone. You’re in it up to your neck.” To both of us: “You want your modified Miranda rights? Or do you depose you’re aware of them? They added recently that you can access LegalNet.”
“I depose, I know my rights,” I said hurriedly. The new Miranda rights took ten minutes to read, especially since the witness had to say, I acknowledge, after every bureaucratically waffled sentence.
Court grimaced. “I depose, I know my rights.”
Randy swallowed. “What are you going to do with Daddy? And Aunt Mary?” I was grateful I was even an addition.
Even bureaucrats have some feelings. “They’re… going to jail. I’m sorry, kiddos. For a long, long time. You won’t see them, so you’d better start forgetting them.”
“No!” from all three of the kids. Lizzie clenched her fists at her. “You can’t take our Daddy.”
“Kiddo, I’m going to take your daddy. And your—” She hesitated.
“Aunt Mary,” I supplied grimly.
“Aunt Mary.”
“You rotten mean fink!” Link soared to his feet and hurled himself at the official.
“Sonny.” The woman plucked Link off and held him, legs thrashing, arms flailing. “Kid, if you were a little older, I’d arrest you, too. I’m doing my duty, and you’re obstructing me. Now, you kids. Go throw your favorite videos and toothbrushes and whatever else you’ll need for a few days into a bag. I’ll give you five minutes.” She plunked Link onto his feet.
“You can’t give us orders.” Lizzie, as usual.
“No.” She nodded. “I can’t. What I can give you is five minutes. Anything you don’t have ready to go with you after that, you can just live without.”
“No!” All three of the children were either wailing or shouting.
“You can’t, official or not.” My chest felt so tight I had to force the words out. “You can’t. I said it was just me. Leave Court.”
“Lady, you get high marks for trying to save him. But you can t. He’s in it deep as you. You couldn’t have done it alone, of course he helped.”
“No.” Harley unfolded himself. “He didn’t help her. I did.”
“Who the hell are you!”
Harley was smiling. “I just told you. The man who brought her here. The man who helped her.”
“Don’t be a fool, mister. Don’t you know the penalty?”
Harley nodded, almost contentedly. “I know exactly what I’m doing, officer.” He waved at the badge/tester and held out his hand. “Just use that gadget of yours on me. You’ll see. Why I wanted her back. Why I brought her back.”
“I don’t understand. I—” She gasped Then, unbelieving: “You’re the other one!”
“Right.” Harley glowed. “I’m the other one.”
I decided to throw a monkey into the pot. “Har-ley? You can’t be. Court would never have brought him to meet me.”
“Right. Of course.” The official nodded. “The other one wouldn’t be welcomed here. Good try, whoever you are, but it won’t work. I’m not letting these two off, no matter what lies you tell.”
But Harley had strolled over almost casually to face her. “If you think I’m lying, why are you afraid to confirm my lies?”
“Harley? It can’t be true.” To the official. “Don’t dare test him. He’s a friend of the family, that’s all, with no idea what he’s risking! I told you already, it was all me, and that’s final.”
“Of course he’s a liar,” the official spat. But Harley was running his bare finger over the case, and the official glanced at the screen and flinched back. “Oh, shit!”
“Oh, shit,” I echoed. “Court, he isn’t, you wouldn’t have brought my other widower here, you wouldn’t.”
He looked ashamed. “Did you think I liked what was happening?”
“Court, I may kill you myself.” Then I froze. Because, legally, that’s what all three of us were facing. Body donation. Real brain death. Desperately, to the officiaclass="underline" “I don’t care what either of those fools says, it was all me. All me. You can’t touch them if I say it was all me.”
She shook her head. “You’re lying, lady. I’m taking all three of you in right now.” She looked at the children, and licked her lips. “You kids, I meant it. Get what you need and be ready to leave when I am.”
Lizzie dived on Court. “Daddy, don’t let her take you away.” Randy ran into the study. Link again hurled himself, fists flailing, at the official, who by now looked frazzled.
“You can’t take either of them. Not Court, not Harley. I said it was all me, and I’ll swear it. You’ll look a fool.”
“You’re not taking my daddy!” Randy had reappeared, with the small target pistol Court kept packed away in his closet. We all practiced with it. Court always said that even a young child could be educated in gun safety, and that it was ignorance and curiosity that caused so many accidents. Nonetheless, he had kept it locked except in use, until recently.
“Kiddo, you are interfering with an officer of the United States in her duties. Put the gun away, and I’ll forget all about it,” said Ms. Badge in a jollying tone.
“Randy.” Court’s voice was firm. “Put it away. We’re in enough trouble as it is.”
“She isn’t taking you.” Randy was equally firm. For a second, I saw my child as the man he would be one day.
“No. She isn’t,” I agreed. “Unless she wants to make a fool of herself. I said it. It was all me and only me. She won’t take Court, she won’t take Harley. Just me.”
Court was suddenly smiling. “She won’t take any of us.” To his son: “It’s a promise, Randy. So put it away.” Curious: “Is it on safety? And if it isn’t, did you load it?”
“Aw, Dad, what good is an unloaded gun? And I can’t fire it when it’s on safety.”
“Safety, son. Now.”
Randy knew that tone. I could hear the click of the safety.
“Go put it away. Unloaded.” Randy looked defiant. “Don’t worry, son. It’s under control.”
“It sure is.” The official had regained her spine, once the safety clicked. “You’re all coming with me.”
“Of course. It’s your career, after all,” Court said softly. “Or more accurately, it was.”
“Hey, pinpointing you three felons, that’ll make me.”
“Or break you. I’m going to swear it was me, and only me. That means, you’ll have two false arrests on your record, if your superiors believe me.”
Harley and I got it simultaneously, and grinned in relief at each other. I nodded, and he spoke. “I’m going to swear it was me and only me. So, if your superiors believe me, that’s two false arrests on your record.”