Upbeats

  Chapter Sixteen

  Robyn was a fixed component in the plan. Out of Smithy and I, I got the job to do the sneaking. So then the unwelcome job of playing patient was open to the rest.

  We used some of Robyn’s art pencils. They were all the same brand and colour and some were a lot shorter than others. She made them look the same size as she held them out to Ned, Brooke, System and Smithy.

  Everyone drew a pencil.

  "Phew," Brooke breathed as she pulled out what was obviously the longest pencil in the lot.

  System’s was only a bit smaller than Brooke’s.

  Ned’s was only as long as his ring finger. He groaned. "I hate this game," he grumbled.

  Then Smithy pulled out one that was barely two inches big. He frowned. "You use 4B’s a lot," he commented.

  Roby shrugged. "It’s perfect for cartoons and dark shades," she admitted.

  "It’s okay," I tried to reassure Smithy. "If we can get this plan to go according to the book, the dentist may not even go near your teeth . . ."

  Smithy sighed, not happy but not about to back down. "When’s the appointment?" he asked.

  "I’m going to phone right now."

  ♫

  The dentist wasn’t full today. We managed to get an appointment for eleven.

  We were given our choice of dentists. And guess who the head dentist was?

  None other than Joseph Gemini.

  I figured it had to be a fake name. It was a good one, though.

  If it was who I thought it was, than this was going to be the first time we’d come face to face with our enemy.

  Only the three of us were going to the dental clinic. I asked System to do a bit of digging and see if he could find where Gemini was living. As soon as he did, he was to take Brooke and Ned along and see if they could find anything there that could help.

  So, that was the game plan. Now we had to start moving.

  Brooke, Ned and System went to the cave carrying an assortment of wires, map books, an old phone, parts of computers and Brooke’s laptop.

  Robyn, Smithy and I caught a bus going straight into town. Gemini Dental Clinic was located in the heart of the business district.

  "Okay," I said in a low voice as the bus started rolling. "Let’s go over this one last time: Smithy has a dental appointment and isn’t happy about it in the least."

  "Got that right," he muttered.

  "So he’s kicking and fighting and refusing to go in. His parents couldn’t bring him because . . .?" I waited for Robyn to answer. We’d been through this thing a thousand times, she knew it off by heart.

  "Because they’re busy. They’ve asked you and I, his closest friends, to take him to the clinic, against his will."

  "Good. As soon as Smithy is in the dentist’s chair, I’ll go off, on a search for the bathroom. I see which offices I can get into. I guess all. If I find something, Robyn, I’ll let you know. If the mission is in jeopardy or something’s not going right, we get out as fast as we can run. We clear?"

  Robyn and Smithy nodded. "We’re clear."

  I sat back and pretended to relax. "Alright, this shouldn’t be too hard . . ."

  We got off at a stop that was around the corner from the dental clinic and as soon as the bus started rolling away, Smithy leapt straight into his amazing, though short-lived, acting career.

  He did it so suddenly, for a second I actually forgot that he was just faking it.

  Smithy tried to make a break for it but Robyn and I grabbed him and pulled him towards the clinic. There wasn’t a single moment he stopped fighting.

  The clinic was an old building with thick, double brick walls; thick enough for me to hide in. It may have been eight or nine decades old but it had been recently refurbished. A rounded rectangular sign boasted Gemini Dental Clinic in metallic lettering.

  I was getting a strong vibe that this was the right place.

  Robyn opened the door, using her elbow and together we dragged Smithy in. He had calmed down the vigorous resisting but was still as rigid as stone with a gloomy expression as real as if he really was going to the dentist’s against his will.

  The clinic’s waiting room was immaculately clean and reeked of a heavy overdose of floral air freshener.

  White-washed walls, teal carpeting, semi-comfortable but cold plastic moulded chairs and pictures of grinning people, paintings of pristine beaches and exotic animals as well as abstract art consisting of splattered rainbows of colours and sequins, made it your typical waiting area.

  The only other patients were an elderly couple and a mother trying to soothe her small son who obviously feared sitting in the dentist’s chair.

  Smithy crossed his arms and kept up his air of reluctant patient. Robyn and I were sitting on either side of him to make sure he didn’t make a run for it again.

  "So far so good," Robyn whispered to me.

  "Let’s keep it up," I suggested.

  The receptionist, sitting behind the counter, was scrolling through information on the computer and tapping loudly on the keyboard. A rather plump nurse, maybe in her thirties, with mousy brown hair tied into a loose bun, strode over to the desk, examined her clipboard and said something to the receptionist. The receptionist pointed at Smithy.

  The nurse did a double take and asked the receptionist something.

  I wish there was super hearing in System’s odd brew of Amepips.

  She shrugged. "Smithy?" she said.

  Smithy looked up at her with his stormy expression. Robyn and I yanked him to his feet.

  "Go on," Robyn said. "Stop being so otherwise."

  Smithy rolled his eyes. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Fine," was all he said.

  The head dentist came out of his office and walked up to the receptionist.

  He pulled down his face mask and for a moment all I could do was stare. Then I realized it was rude to stare as well as the fact that I didn’t want him to remember my face if he ever saw it again.

  Being in his presence, I saw that the hologram hadn’t really done him justice.

  He was tall, a head taller than Smithy, taller in real life than he was in the hologram.

  As menacing as the left side of his face, covered by the metal, seemed in the hologram, it was ten times scarier when you see it close up.

  He looked half robot.

  The receptionist pointed to Smithy again and Dr Joseph Gemini spun around. For a second, he just stared at Smithy, as if he had seen one of the chairs spring to life and start tangoing with the X-ray machine.

  He blinked and resumed his air of friendly, great-to-see-you dentist.

  Smithy pretended to be taken back by Gemini’s appearance. I knew Smithy had been expecting this, but maybe he was really freaked out by seeing Gemini’s metal face.

  "Right this way, Mr Smith," Gemini said, spreading his arm, motioning to the corridor.

  "It’s just Smithy," Smithy mumbled. "Nothing more, nothing less."

  Gemini smiled. "Of course. That’s a fad, isn’t it? Just going by one name."

  Smithy shrugged and followed Gemini as he led him down the corridor.

  I started to get up but Robyn reached out and pulled me back down. "Wait till he’s in," she whispered.

  I waited but I couldn’t exactly tell when he’d be in.

  "Alright," Robyn said, letting go of my arm.

  I casually walked up to the evacuation plan that was hanging on the wall near the entrance to the corridor. The sound of drills and other dental equipment getting louder as I got closer.

  The evacuation plan showed the building. If anyone was watching me, they’d think I was just trying to find where the bathrooms were located. I pretended to find it and walked down the corridor.

  I walked past the room Smithy was in. I casually glanced in. Smithy hadn’t started fighting just yet. He was sitting on the edge of the laid back chair, arms crossed, and waiting for Gemini to finish preparing his equipment. Gemini was calmly chatting to Smithy.


  "What’s with the metal face?" Smithy asked, bluntly.

  "I was in an accident when I was younger," Gemini explained. "The skin on the left side of my face was torn off and my left eye was blinded. The metal shields it."

  I didn’t think that was the truth. If you had an accident where something like that happens, I doubt they’d weld metal onto your face.

  It was definitely alien. Though I didn’t see what purpose the metal really served.

  I had to move on. If I hung around, someone was bound to see and then they’d start asking questions. Questions I didn’t want to answer.

  Fortunately, Gemini’s office was just next door.

  The door was closed and I didn’t want to find out if it would squeak, so I looked up and down the corridor and walked through it.

  I had only discovered my power the day before but I was getting the hang of it already.

  The office was tiny. It consisted of a kitchenette, with a kettle, a microwave and a small fridge; a filing cabinet, a bookshelf and a wall shelf housing an enlarged model of a tooth and various other models; a pile of medical equipment in one corner; and a desk with papers scattered everywhere.

  I immediately got down to searching through the papers to see if Gemini would keep a To Do list.

  What exactly did I expect to find?

  To Do:

  6:30 a.m. Go to work.

  12:00 p.m. Have lunch.

  4:40 p.m. Pick up car from workshop.

  7:55 p.m. Destroy Planet Earth.

  I doubted he would write something like that down.

  But I kept looking through the various papers to see if I found anything of interest or out of the ordinary.

  I was five minutes into my search when I heard a loud crash from next door: Smithy had begun his active resistance.