“You know Miss Harving?” Sam asked. His voice was strange. What was he doing? I wanted to take his hand, but I didn’t know if my eyes would be shocked if I tried.
The “Don’t Jump,” song began playing, triggered despite the fact that—or perhaps because—we did not have our Cuffs. I glanced down at the ring below. There was no memorial to Beecher down there. The cars went zooming underneath us, blurs of red, silver and gold. The bridge was a constant rumble.
I didn’t like this place.
“We know her,” the maroon brother said, pointing a thick, knobby finger at me. “The Silent Freak?.”
“But you don’t know Carol Amanda Harving?” Sam asked, as if that was the more important subject.
Apparently they did, because they turned to look at Saretha. The indigo brother had circled around and was now standing right in front of Saretha. He cocked his head. “The actress?”
“The actress,” Sam confirmed.
All three brothers got squinty. They now had us surrounded.
We were sandwiched between them and the bridge’s wall, waist-high and full of colorful bunnies.
“She looks chubby for an actress,” the gold brother said. The lead looked at his Cuff as if it would tell him what to do.
“Why’s she with the Silent Freak??” The maroon brother jabbed his finger at me again. His Cuff buzzed. Mrs. Nince got richer.
“She’s studying for a role,” Sam said, as if it was obvious. I’d never realized how quickly Sam could think on his feet. He leaned in to the gold leader and whispered, “She is going to play the Silent Girl in an upcoming film.”
“Oh, is she?” the gold brother asked, like he wasn’t buying it.
“She looks like a sluk,” the indigo brother said.
My skin was crawling. I hated that word.
“She’s playing a role,” Sam shot back as if the indigo brother needed this explained to him like small child. The man’s face grew red.
I turned to look at the green of Falxo Park. It was empty, like it had been cleared. I scanned for anyone who might be a Silent, but how would I know? What could they do?
“Don’t look away from me,” the gold brother demanded, pushing on my cheek so my head turned.
“You made us talk,” the maroon brother complained. He spoke loudly over the roar of the traffic below. “You’re gonna pay for that.” Then he thought about the words in his mouth. “...and for this.”
He turned his Cuff to Sam and pointed. His wristlet was rimmed in gold and a crust of diamonds. The bill scrolled with his words.
“Fancy,” Sam commented. I loved that little voice, but he really needed to keep quiet now.
A woman jogged by with her tiny dog and pretended not to see anything. There was a roar of engines beneath us that crested, then pitched lower as a group of cars passed. Suddenly, the air grew quiet. I tried to push through the three men, but they would not budge.
The gold one looked Saretha over again, and then me. He narrowed his watery eyes.
“Silent Freak?.” He licked his lips and put a hand on my shoulder. It was heavy and warm. The maroon brother leaned over the ledge, checking the height, pressing the plastic mesh open until it split more.
“Talk,” the gold brother ordered. His fingers dug into my shoulder. His grip was like iron. “I’ll pay for your speaks—I’ll pay for a whole year. Say whatever you like.” He snapped his fingers like it was already done.
The maroon brother lunged at Sam and grabbed him in a bear hug. A chill went up my spine.
“She needs to be motivated,” the maroon brother grunted, flipping Sam upside down through the split in the mesh like a rag doll, grabbing him at the knees and dangling him head down, eighty feet above the rush of traffic. Sam flailed, wild-eyed, for something to grab hold of.
My knees nearly buckled. I thought I might vomit. I reached out desperately for Sam, struggling against the gold brother’s grasp on me.
“Don’t make me lose my grip.” The maroon brother frowned. He dipped Sam down roughly, like he was about to drop him. My heart felt like it stopped. Sam put a hand out against the smooth outer wall of the bridge, looking for something to cling to, but the bridge curved away from him, giving him nothing to hold.
Another wave of traffic roared below. I tried to reach for Sam again, but the gold brother pulled me roughly back. I punched him in the side of the head, but unlike in a movie, there was no powerful thwack. He did not drop to the ground. There was just a thick, meaty sound, and his brow furrowed.
“Just speak,” the gold brother said, as if he was tired of me. My hand stung from the blow, but I hauled back to deliver another when I saw someone in the distance.
Mrs. Harris clicked up the bridge in her heels from Falxo Park, rushing along, her face slack and vaguely annoyed. It might have been the only time I was ever glad to see her. There was no way she couldn’t see us. Her eyes blinked in shock and surprise. She stopped for moment and appraised the scene with a side-eye. The gold brother turned and grinned at her. She ducked her head down, as if a bright light prevented her from making eye contact.
“Help!” Sam called out, realizing someone was there. He could not see it was our Custodian.
Mrs. Harris’s sour face puckered with bewilderment. For one brief moment, I thought she might help, but no. She tugged at the bottom of her jacket and continued across the bridge. Her heels clicked swiftly along. She lifted her head as she passed to sneer at me and sign the zippered lips with a bitter, disdainful face full of hate.
“Friend of yours?” The gold brother laughed.
Mrs. Harris disappeared down the street.
I don’t know what I’d thought Mrs. Harris would do, but I felt betrayed. She was still our Custodian. My skin prickled and my pulse pounded in my neck. Sam cried out for help again. The maroon brother shook his head in disgust.
Please don’t do this, I begged in my mind. Tears of desperation streaked my face.
The gold brother clicked his tongue impatiently.
“Do you want us to let go?”
My breathing was ragged and out of control. I couldn’t speak. Truly. I swear. I could no longer form words. I would not have cared in that moment if my eyes were shocked, or what kind of trouble I’d be in with Keene Inc. for breaking my contract.
But I could. Not. Speak.
“Stop!” Saretha cried, then screamed in agony, her lids shut tight against the shock to her eyes. She screamed again and again, dropping to the ground. The three brothers watched, curious but unmoved as she pressed her palms savagely to her eyes.
“Do you seriously want to test us?” the gold one asked.
I didn’t want to test them. I didn’t want to be anywhere near them. I didn’t want any of this to be happening. I wished Henri, or Kel, or even Margot was nearby, but what could any of them do against all three of these men? I pitifully scanned the rooftops, but they were empty.
Saretha looked blindly around, panicked and desperate, her eyes rimmed in red. A coarse no gasped out of her throat.
“What?” the indigo brother asked, holding a hand to his ear and aiming it at me.
Sam redoubled his struggle against the maroon brother, kicking at him.