All things considered, the ballet class had gone well. I did manage to bruise the big toe nail on my right foot doing Pointe work.
It probably meant I was anemic again. There were a few close calls with nearly passing out, but I danced through them like always.
Common sense told me it meant I should eat something, but I was twistedly proud of having gone all day AND a two hour ballet class on nothing more than a diet pill and a cup of black coffee. My stomach hurt, but it was worth it.
I had to remember the cause.
Throwing a pair of jeans back over my sweaty dance clothes and slipping into a pair of sandals, I headed back down the hall, only to see Frank coming towards me from the direction of the lobby.
"You know there are some cops out there who want to talk to you?"
I blanched and looked sharply at him at the same time. I knew he could be a joker sometimes, but I could tell by the look on his face he was being one hundred percent serious.
"What did they tell you?"
"Something about having some questions for you about the Lopez kidnapping" His New York accent was stronger than usual.
"How did they find me?" I was asking myself more than Frankie.
"What do you have to do with that? I think they got it all mixed up." Anger was rolling off of him in waves.
"God, Frankie, I was an idiot. I called in a tip, but I never told them who I was. Let alone where I was." Perhaps my paranoia hadn't been unwarranted after all…
"They knew who you were when they came lookin' for ya. Had a file and everything."
"That doesn't make sense!" If they knew who I was before they came looking for me, and they already had information gathered, there had to be something bigger going on.
"Look kid, I never asked you about what you can do. Figured it was enough you told me you were a mutant, it wasn't my business. But now-"
"Frankie, what does that have to do with anything?"
"They're out for blood 'Licie. They don't care nothing about finding more information, they just want someone they can blame." His unintentionally projecting his aggression, and I was having a hard time blocking it out.
"But I…" It wasn't just his feelings that were invading now, I could feel the emotions of the few remaining occupants in the building. Having been rattled by the situation as I was, I was having difficulty keeping my mental shields in place.
"I know you ain't never hurt a fly, but they don't. They take one look at you, they won't even bother to keep lookin' for the actual suspect." He always did have a way of seeing the dancers in our class as innocent little girls, no matter how old we were.
"What makes you think they'd do that? I'm innocent, I have nothing to hide!" I knew the government was doing everything in its power to criminalize mutants, but had that gone as far as arresting them for crimes they did not commit if the situation proved convenient?
" I tried to kick 'em out when I saw it was you they were after. Said they didn't have the right to be on private property without a warrant. But they saw your name on the roster, and bam, probable cause for a search. Then I said I wasn't sure you were still here, and no one 'cept students and employees was allowed past the lobby. They told me to go get you, but I told them to get the hell out." He stopped, his expression suddenly turning to disgust. "Then one of 'em says 'You know what she is? A goddamned mutie. Do everyone a favor and help us get it off the street. If we can't kill it, the least we can do is make sure it never sees the light of day again.' I'd heard enough, said I'd go and get ya, and here I am."
"Frank…"
"You gotta get out of here, love." He said simply.
"I can't! Running is what someone guilty would do, and I didn't do anything." Why should I run? No, this could not be happening.
"Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Least you can do is give yourself a chance."
"If I talk to them I can prove my innocence." I'm a cute nineteen year old girl who doesn't look a day over fifteen.
"Still won't change the fact that you're a mutant." The guard grunted.
"They wouldn't arrest me because of that, they couldn't!" Surely they didn't think I was capable of kidnapping and murder.
"For someone as smart as you, you can be real dumb sometimes."
"Frankie!"
"It's true. Those cops out there don't give a damn about how cute you are, how young you are, or how naïve you are. But they will take advantage of what you are if you let them." He gave a glance back towards the lobby. "So don't let them."
"What would I do if I did run?" I didn't like the idea, but I considered it for a moment.
"First thing you gotta do is loose the cell phone."
"What?" Okay, none of this made much sense to me, but what did my phone have to do with this?
"You have one, don't tell me you don't. That's how they found you." He said, as though it were common sense.
"I don't understand."
"All phones these days have GPS in 'em. All they gotta do is see who's name is on the voice mail and follow the signal. Which is why you gotta get rid of the thing. Don't you know nothing about running from the law?"
"Not really." But it did make me wonder what he did in his spare time.
"Alicia!" Frank's tone was sharp, he genuinely believed the only chance I had was to get away.
"Look, maybe I'll take my chances with the police. If I try to run, all I'm libel to do is hurt myself."
I was innocent. I had nothing to be afraid of.
Right, keep telling yourself that.
"Kid…" He was nearly pleading by now.
"I can use my dad's influence if I have to. The idea kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but it's better than the alternative."
"You have no idea what these cops would do to you if they had the chance."
"Neither do you."
"I know how these guys think. I'm just like them."
"That's not true!" Frank was a good guy. Why else would he still be standing here trying to convince me to save myself? Anyone else would have turned my over without a second thought.
"It is. 'Cept I'm not about to hang anyone for bein' born with an advantage. 'Cause that what it is, and they're just afraid of what they don't understand. Kid, you have one advantage, and I'm trying to give you a head start to go with it. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, use it."
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. Shaking my head, I let out the breath I wasn't aware I'd been holding and closed my eyes.
As if such a simple thing could keep me from seeing what was to come.
Should Alicia go with the cops or try running away? I've started writing out both possibilities, but I still don't know which direction to go in.
Any opinions?