Ransom

Chapter 3: Travel

They stopped at a McDonald's "drive-thru" for breakfast. Jack ordered ham-lettuce-tomato sandwiches for everyone and also an ice-cream for Harry, who seemed rather surprised at this action.

"You're too skinny for your own good," said Jack, before Harry could open his mouth to ask any questions. "Eat up."

Harry glanced at Dudley, who was eyeing the treat enviously, and seemed about to offer the cup to Dudley when Jack said sharply, "Don't give it to your fat lump of a cousin! I bought that for you!"

Harry withdrew his bound hands and set the ice cream down carefully on the floor of the van. "How are we supposed to eat with our hands tied?" he asked.

Jack paused. How could he have forgotten about that?

Harry gazed at him questioningly.

"Fine," muttered Jack. He took the switchknife out of his pocket and cut the ropes around Harry's wrists.

"That's only if you promise not to try to kill me," whispered Jack in Harry's ear.

Harry's green eyes widened in a startled response, but he said nothing. He picked up the ice cream and began spooning it into his mouth slowly, watching Jack's every move. Jack put the knife back into his breast pocket and climbed over the back seat to get his food.

"What about Dudley?" Harry asked, twisting his head around so that he could look at his captor.

"What about him?" Jack said.

"Doesn't he get his wrists untied too?"

"No," said Jack, holding out two wrapped sandwiches to Harry. Harry took them, handing one to his cousin without moving his head.

"Why not?" said Harry, as Dudley grasped the sandwich with both hands.

"Because he's a spoilt brat, that's why," said Jack, unwrapping his own sandwich.

Harry opened his mouth to reply, then closed it. He seemed to be undergoing some type of inner conflict.

"Well, can I untie him then?" he asked.

Smart kid, thought Jack dryly. "Only his wrists," he answered. "You can't untie his ankles. Or your ankles. If you do, I won't hesitate to hurt you."

"Okay," said Harry. He moved over to his cousin and undid the knots about Dudley's wrists. Jack watched him carefully, but Harry did not say anything to Dudley, and he settled back into his seat, relaxed.

At least this boy can be trusted, he thought. He finished his sandwich and lay down in the backseat to take a nap.

***

A whispering woke him; the noise was faint over the roar of the car, and Jack lifted his head up, straining to catch the words.

"What are you doing?!"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"B-but - you heard what they said - they'll hurt us -"

"You must be even stupider than I thought, Dudley," said Harry impatiently. "Not that I ever had much faith in your intelligence, but haven't you ever heard of the word 'escape?'"

"Th-they'll catch us a-and k-kill us!"

Not true, thought Jack, and he smiled wryly. Harry, one, Dudley, zero...

"If we escape before they notice, they won't catch us, idiot."

"B-but -"

"You're the boxing champion, aren't you?" Harry snapped. "If they try to hurt us, why don't you just beat them up?"

"Why don't you use those freak powers of yours?"

"I'm not allowed. You know that."

Freak powers? thought Jack sleepily. What...?

"You did it on Aunt Marge, and last year, with my tongue -"

"I didn't do anything last year. The twins made the sweets. As for Aunt Marge...well...that was a special circumstance. Now shut up, I'm trying to get us out of here."

There was a silence. Jack strained his ears to catch any sounds. They can't do anything, he thought uneasily, because the doors are locked...you can only unlock them through the driver's control -

A blast of wind knocked him backward. He jumped up and briefly saw Harry and Dudley fall out of the open back doors before he turned and hollered, "Stop! Stop the car, damn it!"

The car halted suddenly; the ignition was shut off, and the guard-driver turned around. "What is it, boss?"

"They've escaped!"

Jack opened the door and jumped down from the van. He spotted two blurs in the distance, but it was difficult to judge how far he would have to run to catch them in the darkness. Not very far; the boys' muscles would be weak after sitting for so long...

It did not take long to catch them. Harry, it seemed, was an extremely fast runner, but Dudley was not as fit, and this slowed the boys down. Jack knew that if he were Harry, he would probably go on ahead and leave Dudley behind. That, however, was the way of the streets; two boys of bourgeois living had most certainly not been brought up that way...

As soon as the guards had gotten a firm grip on the boys, Jack walked around to face Harry. Dudley, again, hung limply, but Harry, glaring murderously, fought the hold on his arms.

"What on earth," hissed Jack angrily, "did you think you were doing?"

"Trying to escape, that's what," Harry spat.

"You wouldn't have had anywhere else to go," said Jack, fighting the urge to slap the boy.

"At least I would have had the liberty to do what I wanted instead of being under someone else's control," said Harry furiously.

Jack laughed in disbelief. "What you wanted? You wouldn't even have been able to get what you needed. You've never lived on the streets, have you? It's a tough life there, you idiot schoolboy. I wouldn't expect you to know. There's hardly any water, and the food you get is half-rotten. There's no fast food, and there's certainly no ice cream. Being with me was your safest option. If I had wanted, I could have dumped you in the bad part of town and washed my hands clean of both you and your cousin. No evidence, no crime, no conviction."

A long silence passed, and they stood listening to the indistinct calls of insects. At last, Harry said quietly, "There's a reason I have to stay with the Dursleys. I wish I could tell you, but I don't even know what it is - all I know is that I'm safest there and that I'm not allowed to be anywhere else for the summer. You see, there's someone after me, and he apparently can't hurt me if I'm at the Dursleys...but if I'm anywhere else, he can kill me."

Jack frowned. "Who is this person?"

"Lord Voldemort," said Harry, and his expression grew distant. "I don't think you've ever heard of him, but he tried to kill me when I was a baby, and he...he came back last year and killed Cedric, and he tried to kill me, but I escaped..." Harry's voice trailed off.

"Why does he want to kill you?"

"I...I don't know." Harry's face showed the faintest hint of uncertainty.

"Lord" indeed, mused Jack. Had Harry had a skirmish with the Mafia?

"Who is Cedric?" asked Dudley, peering at his cousin.

"He was...a friend," said Harry slowly.

Jack couldn't help himself. "Would you like to talk about it?" he burst out. Harry glanced at him sharply, surprised. "It might be easier to...to deal with."

Harry seemed to consider this for a moment, then asked, "Where are you taking us?"

"We're going to find a hotel to stay in," said Jack, noting the abrupt change of topic, "and get washed up, and all that. I'm sorry, Harry," he said, feeling very tired suddenly. He turned, walked back to the driver's seat, and started the engine.

***