UnWholly (Unwind Dystology 2)

“So what do we do if it says things are getting dangerous?”

“Damned if I know,” Hayden says. “That’s Connor’s department.”

There’s a console from which Hayden creates playlists and runs interviews for his Radio Free Hayden show.

“You realize that it doesn’t broadcast any farther than you can shout,” Starkey tells him with a smirk.

“Of course not,” Hayden says. “If it did, then the Juvies could pick it up.”

“If no one is listening, then who’s it for?”

“First off,” says Hayden, “your assumption that no one is listening is incorrect. I estimate I have at least five or six listeners at any given time.”

“Yes,” says Tad. “He means us.”

“And second,” Hayden says, not denying it, “it’s preparing me for a career in broadcasting, which I plan to pursue once I turn seventeen and get out of this place.”

“Not hanging around to help Connor, huh?”

“My loyalty has the half-life of unpasteurized milk,” Hayden tells him. “I’d take a bullet for Connor, and he knows it. But only until I’m seventeen.” It all seems pretty straightforward until Esme says, “I thought you already were seventeen.”

Hayden shifts his shoulders uncomfortably. “Last year didn’t count.”

Next to Jeevan is a printout. A list of names, addresses, and dates. Starkey picks it up. “What’s this?”

“Our good man Jeeves here is responsible for getting us a list of all the kids slated for unwinding from here all the way to Phoenix.”

“These are the kids for your rescue missions?”

“Not all of them,” Hayden says. “We pick and choose. We can’t save everyone, but we do what we can.” He points out the highlighted names—the ones chosen for rescue—and as Starkey looks over the list, he starts to get angry. There’s information about each kid, including birth dates—except for the ones who don’t have a birth date. Instead a stork date is listed. None of the storked kids are highlighted.

“So you and Connor don’t like saving storked kids?” Starkey asks, not even attempting to hide the chill in his voice.

Hayden looks genuinely perplexed and takes the list to look at it. “Hmm, I hadn’t noticed. Anyway, it’s not part of our criteria. We look for only-children in dimly lit suburban neighborhoods. It means fewer people to squeal on us, and less of a chance of being seen. See, brothers and sisters can’t keep their mouths shut, no matter what we threaten them with. I guess mothers who stork babies mostly give them to people who are parents already. Hard to find a storked only child.”

“Well,” says Starkey, “maybe we need to change the criteria.”

Hayden shrugs like it’s nothing, like it doesn’t really matter, and it just makes Starkey angrier. “Take it up with Connor,” he says, then goes on with his grand tour of the communications center, but Starkey’s not listening anymore.

- - -

The revelation in the ComBom gives Starkey a game-changing idea. One by one he singles out all the storked kids in the Graveyard. It’s not an easy task, because most storks want to keep their storking a shameful secret. Starkey, however, makes no secret of his own doorstep arrival, and soon the storked kids begin to seek him out, seeing him as their champion.

As it turns out, a full fourth of the Graveyard population are storks. He keeps that information to himself.

The girl named Bam, who at first hated him because he took her place in the Holy of Whollies, warms to him quickly because she’s a stork as well. “If you want your revenge on Connor, be patient,” he tells her. “It will come.” She reluctantly takes his word for it.

One day Starkey catches Connor when he’s busy supervising the dismantling of an engine.

“Is there a buyer for it, or are they gonna put it up for sale?” Starkey asks pleasantly.

“They asked for it in the front office, that’s all I know.”

“The engine says Rolls-Royce—I thought they only made cars.”

“Nope.”

Starkey keeps chatting about pointless stuff, until he’s sure that Connor is irritated at having to divide his attention between the engine and Starkey. That’s when Starkey pulls out what he’s been hiding up his sleeve.