* * *
He found the Super Chip! Ackers held it up in his hand, staring at it with awe. It was such a small and harmless looking thing, yet Ackers knew that whoever held that Chip had the power to circumvent the world’s technological safeguards. It was like the ultimate skeleton key, able to open any lock. All around Ackers, Johnny’s room was a complete mess. Ackers had turned over every moveable item that he could lift and dumped its contents all over the floor, he had tossed all Johnny’s clothes from the closet, he had even taken apart Johnny’s old computer and made sure that the Chip wasn’t hidden anywhere in that prehistoric machine. But Ackers had finally found it buried at the bottom of the closet. He knew instantly that it was the Super Chip; there was no hiding the amount of connections and registers the Chip held from Ackers’ x-ray glasses.
Ackers took off the glasses and continued to stare at the Chip. A tear started welling up in his eye; it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever stared at. It was art, perfection, ultimate… Ackers stopped in his unrestrained admiration. Was that a noise?
Ackers listened more intently. Someone was opening the window to Johnny’s room!
Looking wildly around the room, Ackers spotted the only place he could instantly hide. He dove under the desk of the old computer and held his breath, not daring to move a muscle and give himself or the Chip away. He must protect it at all costs, the safety of the world depended on it. Well, of course he had to protect himself as well. The world wouldn’t want him to get seriously hurt or injured or incapacitated in any way while he was saving it. Ackers swallowed a large lump in his throat. Outside field work really wasn’t meant for someone as important as him.