Page 47 of Ruthless

The bus arrivedat school right on time. The driver, Fred Jarvis, was a slight man with glasses and a cheerful smile. “We shouldn’t have any traffic problems out there,” he said.

Mr. Affir had been assigned to be the second teacher on the trip. Tessa thought Affir was a smart man but ill-suited to being a teacher of young students. It seemed he’d be better at a junior college, as he had no patience with children behaving like children. When it came to keeping an eye on the kids, he’d be fine, but other than that, well, he accepted assignments like this one reluctantly, at best. He saw no value in field trips. The one thing he lent to the party was the stern voice of authority. On a trip like this, he’d effectively squash any sort of craziness the kids came up with. That took some of the fun out of things, but with fifteen kids to ride herd on, it could be helpful.

She got her giggling, shouting flock loaded. Mr. Affir sat in the back where he could keep an eye out for misbehavior. Tessa intended to sit up front with the driver. She dropped her purse on the seat and stood up, faced the kids, and quieted them down. As she expected, Kayla and Jimmy shared a seat, and Kayla was staring out the window, watching a motorcycle pass in front of the school.

“We’ll be visiting a plant today,” she told them. “Two things I want you to remember on this short visit. First, this is a place of business and we are guests, so you must follow any rules you are told. Second, you are representing the school, and we want the community to know that you’re good students and well-behaved. That doesn’t mean I expect you to walk around silently with stony faces.” The students laughed, but the look on Mr. Affir’s face told her that was exactly what he expected.

She noticed one of the students, a gawky girl named Betsy, was texting on her cell phone. She walked over and took the phone out of her hand, switched it off, and put it in her pocket. “This is a school trip, and the same rules apply as in the classroom—no calls or texting. You can have this back when we return.”

The girl started to say something, then just pouted.

“During the plant tour, you can ask the guide questions. In fact, I encourage that. Don’t all ask at once, and no shouting. Mr. Affir and I will be on the tour with you, and you need to remember that we’ll be watching. Anyone acting out will be called to account when we return to school.”

She nodded at Mr. Jarvis, and he started the bus. Tessa walked down the aisle to check each student. Suddenly she was aware of someone stepping onto the bus.

“Hey, buddy, you can’t—” Mr. Jarvis protested, and Tessa turned to see why he had stopped.

A large man in camouflage fatigues, carrying a backpack and wielding an automatic pistol, loomed in the doorway. He pointed the pistol at Mr. Jarvis. “Pull out onto the street and turn into the right lane. Head up the street at the speed limit.” He reached over and closed the door behind him and, as Jarvis did as he was told, the man pointed his gun at Tessa. “Sit down, Miss Lee. I wouldn’t want you to fall and get hurt.”

Shocked, her heart racing, Tessa sank into an empty seat, her mind reeling. The man was Harvey Taylor.

As the busclattered down a side street, Taylor slipped off his backpack and a rifle that had been slung over his shoulder, putting them on the empty front seat. He looked at the driver. “You aren’t going to try and play hero, are you?”

Jarvis stared through the windshield. “No. Not me.”

The answer made Taylor smile, looking self-satisfied. “I didn’t think so.” Holding onto a stanchion, he faced the passengers. “Now, here’s what’s gonna happen… we’re taking a different field trip than the one that was planned. I promise it will be educational—far more so than a trip to see some sodas being bottled.”

“Dad, what are you doing?” The voice, Jimmy’s voice, came from behind her. His words were choked.

Taylor spun around, looking shocked. “What the hell are you doing here? I said you couldn’t go on this trip.” Then he turned on Tessa. “So, you ignore the parent’s rights even when the law says you can’t.”

“Jimmy showed up with a signed permission slip this morning, Mr. Taylor.”

Jimmy hunched down in his seat, trying to make himself look small. “I wanted to go. I forged your name.”

“Where did you learn that?”

“It’s in your book about surviving big brother.”

“Shit.” Taylor considered his options. “Well, maybe it’s time you stepped up, Jimmy. You’re here, and we’re going to make a statement that will finally be heard. Don’t worry. Be my brave kid.”

Under the circumstances, the fatherly concern and reassurance in his voice jarred.

Tessa put her hand in her coat pocket and wrapped her fingers around the cell phone she’d taken from Betsy. The children were all chattering to each other, fueled by a mixture of excitement and fear, and she took the chance that the noise would mask her making a call. She thought briefly of calling 911, but the police wouldn’t even know the bus had been hijacked yet; they wouldn’t make any sense of her call. She could call Donna, but she wouldn’t be able to explain what was going on. The woman might panic instead of working out what to do. Only two people she knew might possibly understand.

She chose Ronan’s number over Jett’s just because she could dial it more compactly with her thumb. Hoping she was visualizing the keyboard correctly, she pressed the buttons for Ronan’s number and hit send. For an agonizing moment, nothing happened and she held her breath. Muffled by her jacket, she heard his phone ring, and then the sound of his voice.

Hoping it wasn’t voicemail, she faced Taylor and spoke loudly. “Mr. Taylor, what on earth do you think you can accomplish by kidnapping this busload of innocent children who are on a field trip?” It was about all she could sneak in without it sounding like a complete explanation of the situation. She wasn’t sure it was possible to make a paranoid person more suspicious, but it didn’t seem wise to find out.

He came close and bent over to talk into her face. “To send a message that can’t be ignored, that’s what. I’m using the children because it’s all about them, and because people pay attention when it comes to children. I want the world to know about the way you’re poisoning their minds with pro-government propaganda every single day. You take away parental responsibilities and choice to ensure their loyalty to the State.”

That didn’t seem to be a fruitful way to take the conversation, so she changed tack. “Where are you taking us?”

“To a place where we’ll be safe.”

“Safe?”

“From the authorities.”

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