Impersonator (Forager Impersonator - A Post Apocalyptic Trilogy Book 1) (20 page)

A slightly thinner Ryan came back to work on Wednesday, saying he’d been struck down by a bout of gastro. Poor guy.

We had made good use of the two days he was absent. The cache hidden in the basement of an old grocery store in Ascot Vale was now stocked with a hundred blankets, boots and shoes of all sizes, several first aid kits, hats, backpacks filled with bottled water, and of course, guns. We didn’t spend the whole of each day doing this, of course. We still had to do our jobs and the truck needed to be filled with recyclables.

Now that Ryan was with us, we went back to foraging as usual, heading for a high-rise apartment block out past Essendon in search of plastics. The areas closest to Newhome had been stripped pretty bare by foragers over the decades, forcing us to go further and further out.

After a long and gruelling Friday, I was standing in the back of the truck, receiving folding plastic chairs from Jack as he passed them up to me. Ryan was still in the building, ripping plastic plumbing out of bathroom vanity units. Con and Matt were engaged in a deep-and-meaningful near the front of the truck, and my ears picked up when I heard Con quietly mention Ryan’s name. I plonked the next chair down quietly and focused on what they were saying.

“...those porn DVDs in Ryan’s backpack?” Con asked Matt.

“Yep. Stuffed ‘em at the bottom of his bag, under the spare t-shirt.”

“Sure he won’t find them?”

“Not unless he tips the contents of his bag out, and he’s never done that,” Matt replied. “But Con, isn’t this a waste of time? What are the odds the Custodians will run one of their spot checks today?”

“They will. I made sure of it.” Con sounded mighty pleased with himself.

“How?”

“A couple of hundred bucks in the right hands.”

“You bribed a Custodian?” Matt sounded shocked.

“More like a clerk – the one who draws up the Custodian duty rosters,” Con replied.

“But if Ryan really is an informer, won’t they let him off?” Matt asked.

“If the Custodians catch Ryan with contraband, they’ll have to arrest him. Of course, once they get him back to the station they’ll let him go with a slap on the wrist. But it will still serve our purposes, because he’ll get the sack.”

“Right, got it. You’re one devious git, Con, you know that?”

“I do what needs to be done,” Con answered.

I stopped listening at that point, but my mind was elsewhere. Still adhering to their presumption that Ryan was a Custodian informer, they set him up. And Con was wrong, the Custodians would not let him go with a slap on the wrist. He would lose his job, get a stint in prison, and face a hefty fine. The dishonour could also destroy any prospects of him marrying well.

I had already seen what a short stay in a prison factory could do to an innocent man, and I could not bear the thought of Ryan turning out like my father did. Scarred, broken, a shadow of who he used to be.

I had to save him, though how, I had no idea.

I was just about out of my wits by the time we drove into the yard at the Recycling Works an hour later. Seeing a squad of Custodians searching the truck and gear of a foraging team that returned before us sent me to the verge of panic.

I had tried to get to Ryan’s bag after we finished loading the truck, but with Con loitering beside it, I had to abandon the attempt. When it came time to leave, Ryan had grabbed the bag and stuffed it between his feet in the front seat. As I was in the back, that was that.

“Great, it’s ‘harass the foragers’ day’ today, is it? Stupid gits, haven’t they got anything better to do?” Con said as he parked the truck beside the Custodian’s G-Wagon. I loved how he acted all innocent. Scumbag.

“Apparently not,” Matt replied.

I finally hatched a desperate plan that could save Ryan’s bacon, so I held my stomach and groaned.

“Brandon?” Ryan asked, concerned.

“Gut ache. I better not have caught this from you.”

Overhearing us, Matt and Jack clambered out of the vehicle as quickly as they could, eyeing me nervously. When I followed them and lined up beside Ryan, they stood on his other side.

We dropped our bags on the concrete in front of us, and I went through the motions of moaning in pain while crouching down, holding my stomach.

Their search of the other foraging team complete, Sergeant King and his goons headed ominously towards us. I was out of time.

Doubling over, I put my hands over my mouth like I’d seen others do when they were about to vomit, but surreptitiously stuck a finger down the back of my throat at the same time. My stomach heaved and I threw up all over Ryan’s bag.

“Oh, man! Couldn’t you have aimed that somewhere else?” Ryan jumped back, fuming.

“Ew, gross,” Matt said as he, Jack and Con stumbled quickly away.

The sergeant and his companion kept their distance from me and grimaced.

“That had better not be contagious,” King snarled.

“Just spent two days in bed with it,” Ryan said.

The sergeant swore. “Then get your behind out of here, Thomas! And wash that blasted bag before you go!”

With one hand clutching my stomach, I grabbed the befouled backpack and shuffled towards the large doors leading into the warehouse.

“Go with him, Private. Check the contents of the bag when it’s clean,” King said to one of his men.

“Me?” the Custodian asked, face ashen.

“Go!”

The private came after me, but left as big a gap between us as he possibly could. No one wanted to catch viral gastroenteritis.

Passing into the warehouse, I shambled past piles of neatly stacked piles of wood until I reached a steel drinking trough. Keeping my back to the Custodian, I turned the tap beside the trough and washed away the vomit. At the same time, I quickly unzipped the bag and stuffed my hand inside. Finding two DVD cases at the bottom, I drew them out and quickly shoved them into the narrow gap between the trough and the wall. Not much of a hiding place, but it would have to do. I would come back later and throw them somewhere no one could find them.

The bag clean, I turned around and tipped its contents on the ground.

“Yeah, yeah, that’ll do. Now get to sickbay,” the Custodian said, refusing to come any closer.

Leaving the bag and its contents on the ground, I made my way slowly to the grossly ill-equipped sickbay below the boss’ office.

The room was small – just wide enough for a fold-up cot, six-foot tall medicine cabinet, chair, sink, and toilet at the far end of the room. I washed my hands and face, and lay on the bed, feigning illness.

Now that the whole affair was over, my pulse started to come back to earth. I exhaled a large sigh of relief – my plan worked – Ryan was safe! On the other hand, I was sure Con saw right through my little act, so I wasn’t looking forward to our next meeting.

Turned out I didn’t have to wait long.

Ten minutes later Con stormed into the sickbay like a bull at a gate, with Matt and a very concerned Jack trailing behind.

“What did you think you were doing, you stupid punk!” He grabbed me by the collar and in one smooth action, hauled me off the cot and slammed me into the metal medicine cabinet. Glass bottles rattled and tinkled inside.

I met his fury with my own. “Thought you could pull off a stunt like that without me noticing, did you?”

“You idiot! This was our best chance to get that jerk out of the picture so he couldn’t stumble onto our preparations for the breakout.” He stuck forehead right against the brim of my cap. I could make out every pore on his greasy skin. “Not to mention how much effort it took to set it up. You got any idea how much it cost me personally to get the Custodians here today?”

Sick of being bullied by this murderous doofus, I grabbed his collar and shoved him back. “I told you time and again that he’s not an informer, but you won’t listen, will you?”

“Look here, you arrogant little prat–”

“No, you listen. You pull a stunt like that again, or harm a single hair on his head, I’ll turn us all in. You hear me?”

Con’s grip on my collar slackened and he fell back, shocked beyond measure. Even Matt and Jack cried out in dismay. For I’d just threatened the four of us with execution.

“What the blazes has gotten into you?” Con said as he shoved me into the medicine cabinet again. “You off your rocker?”

“Don’t you get it, guys?” I took in all three of them as I answered. “We blew it big time with Dan. Ain’t no way I’m letting us do that again.”

Con glanced at the others and drew back a fist. “I’m gonna smash some sense into him.”

Jack rushed forward, alarmed. Matt just watched.

“You sleeping well these days, Con?” I asked. The fist stopped inches from my face.

“What?”

“’Cause I’m not. If I even manage to get to sleep, I’m plagued by horrific nightmares haunted by Dan. By his shock at my betrayal, his broken body, and now his mother asking how I could have done such a dastardly thing.”

“We made a mistake!” he barked.

“Yes, we did! And I’m trying to stop us making another one! For Dan’s sake, and for ours.”

“Brandon’s got a point.” Jack nodded his head, casting a pleading look at Con.

“Matt?” I said.

“Don’t rake me into this.”

“How’s your conscience at the moment? You sleeping okay?”

He turned away, unable to meet my gaze.

“I thought so.” I turned back to Con. “You gotta stop thinking that everything I do is a challenge to your authority.”

“Think you’re smart, don’t you?” he snarled. “Well you’re not. You’re just a stupid kid who’s grown too big for his own boots. From here on, you’d better watch your step or I’ll smash you to a pulp with the slightest provocation.” With that he stormed from the room. Matt rushed after him, but Jack remained.

“Be careful around him, mate. I don’t know what’s come over you these days.”

“You think it might be from those images of Dan’s broken face that I can't get out of my mind?”

“I hear you, but just back off from Con a bit, okay?”

“I’ll try.”

“Try harder.” He gave me a half-hearted smile and raced after the others.

Not wanting to bump into them again, I waited ten minutes, popped upstairs to see the boss to collect my pay, and headed home.

I got quite the surprise, though, when I stepped out of the yard and found Ryan leaning against the fence, waiting for me. I noticed he didn’t have his backpack.

“You owe me new bag. And a water bottle. And a lunchbox.” He pushed off from the wall and fell into step beside me.

“Sorry about that. Your bag was in the wrong place at the wrong time. What did you do with it?”

“Didn’t do anything with it. You can throw it in the bin on Monday.” He didn’t look the least bit impressed.

“Do I have to?”

“ Yes. You feeling bit better now?”

“Still sore, but there’s nothing left to bring up.” I considered telling him the truth so he could watch out for them trying something like this again. On the other hand, he would probably go straight to Con and have it out with him. As that scenario could have fatal results, I decided I’d better keep it to myself for now.

“You think you caught it from me?” he asked.

“Must have.”

“Really? The fact is, I didn’t have gastro. Just ate something past its useby date that evening.” He stopped and pulled me to face him, studying me intently.

“Must have picked it up from somewhere else, then,” I said.

“Can you drop the charade?” The tone of voice jarred me to the bone. “I know what you did, and why. The other three were trying to frame me. When I went to fetch my bag – more specifically – my house keys that were in it, I had a little hunt around. Imagine my surprise in finding two porn DVDs shoved into a gap behind the water trough. DVDs which I quickly disposed of before King works out what you did.”

I sighed. “You sure you’re not a detective?”

“This isn’t a joke, Brandon. Why didn’t you tell me the truth in the first place?”

“You mean like this? Oh, by the way, Ryan, the others slipped contraband into your bag ‘cause they don’t like you and want you off the team.”

“Why don’t they like me, Brandon? What have I ever done to them?”

I didn’t reply.

“Don’t go all silent on me, mate. If their little stunt had worked, they would have done more than get me off the team. I would have lost my job, been fined, and been thrown in prison. Now talk to me.”

“They...they think you’re a Custodian informer.” My voice came out as a whisper. Why did I feel guilty, as though I’d just betrayed a confidence? I owed those three nothing!

Ryan burst into a spontaneous bout of laughter. Tears even came to his eyes. “You serious?”

I nodded.

His mood suddenly darkened. “Why does that worry them, Brandon? They must be doing something illegal and they’re afraid I’ll find out.”