Among the Free

Chapter Twenty-Three

Luke would have been overjoyed if the person on the TV screen with Philip Twinings had been Nina or Trey or Mr. Talbot or Mr. Hendricks or Nedley, another man who'd helped with their cause. He would have been proud; he would have stood up and shouted to the whole dining room, That's my friend! I helped, too!

But the person beside Philip Twinings was a muscular man whose face still sometimes haunted Luke's dreams.

It was Oscar.

Back in the fall, when Luke had witnessed the death of two people right in front of this building, Oscar had been the one who'd killed them. Oscar had tried to manipulate Luke, tried to get him to betray an innocent boy, maybe even tried to kill him, too. Before Oscar had slipped away into the darkness that awful night, some of his last words to Luke had been, "You're a good kid, even if you aren't ready to work with me yet" and, "You owe me now."

Oscar had always confused Luke.

And terrified him.

Now Luke peered at the TV screen, trying to under-stand. Could Oscar have been involved all along? Did he help destroy the building where all the identity cards were stored? Did he coordinate the rebellions in the rest of the country? Have I been working with — for? — Oscar the past few months without even knowing it? When Luke and his friends had first decided to go undercover to sabotage the Population Police from inside, Mr. Talbot had warned them about the need for secrecy. "The less you know about the other people you're working with, the better," he'd said. "If you are ever caught, God forbid, you wouldn't mean to betray your friends, but things might slip out. . during torture. If you don't know much, you can't reveal much." So Luke had never known the fake names Nina and Trey were using at Population Police headquarters; he'd never known when or if his brother Mark had showed up to help; he'd never known anyone else's role in the plans they carried out. He'd been a cog in a wheel, and he'd never been able to see the whole wheel or where they going.

Could Oscar really have been the one steering?

"I must say," Philip Twinings was saying on the TV screen, "it's very courageous of you to step forward at this point, when there are still rumors that the Population Police haven't been fully, um, eradicated. For the benefit of our TV audience, I'd like to point out that Oscar Wydell is standing here at the former Population Police headquarters without any security around him."

"You're standing here without security too, Philip. You should be complimented on your courage as well," Oscar said, with a comfortable laugh. "I used to work as a bodyguard, and I learned to have a sixth sense about danger. I do not feel that I am in danger now. These are my friends here — my colleagues."

"I see," Philip said. "It's certainly been a very happy crowd, and everyone has been glad to find out about your role in the elimination of the Population Police. Do you feel that the overthrow is complete? Or are you concerned at all that the Population Police leaders might be consolidating their forces for a return to power?"

"Philip," Oscar said, leaning earnestly toward the camera, "I understand why people are afraid. Our country has been through a very dark time, ever since the first drought and famine nearly twenty years ago. In the past six months, the Population Police have achieved new heights of oppression. But one of the reasons I agreed to speak with you this morning is to assure the entire country that my people and I are in control. We have Aldous Krakenaur and the rest of his. . his henchmen locked up in a secure location. In due course, we will hold a trial, and anyone who wishes to will be allowed to testify against them."

'And where might that secure location be?" Philip asked eagerly.

Oscar shook his head regretfully.

"I don't feel that I should reveal that, because of the extreme — and quite justifiable — anger so many people have against the Population Police," he said. "We will punish the Population Police through legal means, not vigilante justice. We plan to hold trials."

"But there are no laws in our country right now," Philip said. "There is no government. What standards will you use to try them?"

"The standards of basic humanity," Oscar said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a great deal to accomplish this morning."

"Of course," Philip said, stepping back.

Oscar turned to go, the camera shot lingering on his muscular back. Then he turned back around.

"One more thing," he said. "What you've been doing, interviewing people about their experiences with the Population Police… That could be helpful, as we form our new government We want to make this truly a government of the people. I have a vision of people standing right here, testifying, talking about the mistakes of the past and their hopes for the future. It could be… cleansing."

"What an excellent idea!" Philip gushed. "We've accumulated so much footage already, which we'll be showing momentarily…"

Luke watched Oscar disappear from the TV screen. Through the window, out on the lawn, he could see Oscar striding away from Philip and the cameraman, toward the headquarters building.

If he came in here, into the dining hall, would he recognize me? Luke wondered. Does he know what I did? Would he call out, "Oh, yes, my brave friend, I'm so proud of you, so grateful for the part you played. Come and help us plan our government"?

Would I want him to?

On the TV screen, Philip was introducing the footage Simone and Tucker had taped the night before of people entering the gates of the big celebration.

"Here's one of the more humorous responses we got," Philip said.

And then Luke saw his own image on the TV. Onscreen, he had Eli's quilt clutched around his shoulders and a desperate look in his eye.

"You — you're calling this Freedom News, right?" he was saying on the TV.

"Yes, that's right," Simone said. "We are."

The TV glowed with her loveliness, the camera clearly illuminating her lustrous blond hair, her bright blue eyes, her confident stance. Too quickly, the focus slid back to Luke with his wild hair, wild eyes, and ragged quilt.

"Then I'm free not to talk," the televised Luke said. When he'd spoken those words, he'd thought he sounded dignified and noble, like a legal citizen claiming his rights. But on the TV screen his voice came out squeaky, shifting from high to low ranges just in the course of six words. He sounded crazy. He sounded like he deserved to be mocked.

Luke blushed and slid lower in his seat.

Hiding again.