I go back to my laptop, shake out my hands then my head when Drew waves me toward the second pizza, then put my fingers to the keys.Christ, it would be better if I had all my equipment. I need to set programs running to break through the security shit. Gonna take far longer with just one laptop.
“You got a computer, Drew?”
He disappears and reappears with an ancient laptop.Beggars can’t be choosers,I remind myself, as I start up another search on it. Having done all I can, I open the second box and take out a slice.
“What are you doing, Tse?”
Seeing his interest isn’t faked, I decide to come clean. “I’m trying to find the man who ran into Mariana’s car. If it was an insurance scam, he’ll have started a claim. It should be on her insurance records.”
“How can you get into those?”
I tap my nose and grin. “Let’s just say, I have ways. But got to let the computers do their stuff for the moment. Now, let’s eat.”
Automatically his hand starts putting his pizza to his mouth, his teeth tear on a mouthful, he chews then swallows, then repeats the process. His eyes fix on the numbers streaming over the two screens.
It’s only belatedly I remember I should be doing that search Drummer asked me to do. Oh well, there’ll be time to research the Chaos Riders later. For the first time in as long as I can remember, my brothers are taking second place.
Chapter 11
Mariana
Two days have passed. Yesterday I was accused of a crime I didn’t commit. Today I’m taken again in handcuffs and shackled to the table where I first met Carissa. Each hour that passes makes me more frightened, scared on my own behalf and on Drew’s.What’s going to happen to him?Tse may be looking after him for now, as Carissa had assured me, but he wouldn’t do that forever. No, there’ll come a time when he’ll go back to his own life, and deliver Drew into the system. Who knows where, or with whom, he might end up?
For now, I’m grateful both he and I have got Tse. Judging by the suits she wears, Carissa’s fee won’t be cheap. I’ll never be able to afford it.How will I ever repay him?Then I realise I won’t have the chance if I’m deported penniless to Colombia.Will he stop paying her fee when he realises?
The door opens and my lawyer comes in. I push back my straggly, greasy hair, I’ve been unable to wash it in here. I used to pride myself on my appearance, but already my skin feels oily and neglected. Raising my face, I look at hers, knowing immediately she isn’t bringing good news.
Carissa sits down opposite, her eyes harden, and then she says, “You’re going to be charged with insurance fraud. They’re describing it as a felony. Not only, in their view, did you set it up as a deliberate attempt to defraud, you apparently caused serious injury to the person who crashed into your car.”
But it was him who caused injury tome.My head’s still hurting, and I know I’ve got whiplash as my neck has grown stiffer with each passing hour. I go to object; she raises her hands.
“If that was my only news, I’d be helping Tse get you a criminal defence lawyer. But I’m afraid that’s not all we have to contend with.” She places her briefcase on the desk and opens it. “Your fingerprints obviously exposed you as an illegal immigrant, currently with DACA status. The police have contacted ICE, and they have decided in the circumstances, and due to the crime you’ll be charged with, that immigration enforcement action is necessary.”
I feel her words like a physical blow. “But I didn’t do anything,” I protest, my hands covering my mouth. “I’m innocent. Surely I’ll have my chance at proving it at a trial? I’ve a right to be here, for now, anyway. I’ve done everything I should.”
“There won’t be a trial,” she replies grimly. “That’s the bottom line, Mariana. I’m sorry, I could string you along, but there are other factors at play here. ICE will be arriving very shortly, and I suspect they’ll take you into custody and send you to an immigration centre. I’m afraid being charged with a felony is as big a stain as being convicted.”
“They can’t,” I squeak.Deported back to Colombia? Leave Drew here?“My brother… I’m responsible for him.”
“Your brother is fifteen,” she says bluntly, but not unsympathetically. “When babies are being pulled from their mothers’ arms, why would the same people be worried about him?” The flash of her eyes shows she doesn’t approve. But her hands are probably tied, and there’s a limit to what she can do.
Oh Drew, I’m so sorry.She gives me a moment to process what she’s told me. I’m an immigrant without legal status. My hands clench as I realise I’m helpless. There’s no one to fight, orno one my protest would have any effect on. In a quiet, quavering voice, I ask, “What’s going to happen to me?”
She puts her hands on the table, palms down. “You’ll be taken to an immigration centre. The good news is you’ll be able to have visitors, so your brother and fiancé can see you. At some point, maybe after months, you’ll be taken in front of an immigration judge. He’ll listen to your case, decide whether to grant you asylum, but I won’t lie to you. Once the system gets hold of you, it’s unlikely it will let you go. The outcome is you will probably be given a deportation order. You’ll be sent back to Colombia.”
To my violent father. Or death, or to be raped at the hands of a gang in the streets. I’ve always known it was possible, though inconceivable to my very American mind. I was brought up in the US. Even without my father waiting for me, the thought of being alone in a foreign country is terrifying.
My fingers squeeze into my palms again, as I try to force thoughts of a fate I can’t even imagine out of my head. I focus on what I need to. “And Drew?”
“I’m hoping your fiancé will look after him. He could go with you, of course…”
“No. That’s impossible.” I don’t want my father getting his hands on him. A twisted madman who killed our mother? Who knows what he’d do.Those letters gave me a taste.
“If I’m deported, will I be able to apply to come back?”
Her lips purse. “Not once you’ve been deported. Not with this charge hanging over your head.”
“The charge they won’t even try me for. No chance to prove my innocence.”
