Ben snorted. “Come on.”
“No. Really.” Peter was silent a few moments. “I wish I could help her.”
“Who? Dr. Hughes?”
“Yeah.” Peter’s ankles came to rest. “Do you ever wonder about her?”
“Wonder what? If she’s safe?”
“No. What it was all about for her. I’m pretty sure her research with us was illegal. Or at least unethical.”
Ben scratched his chin. “You’re probably right.”
“So why’d she do it? She can’t even actuate.”
The answer seemed obvious to Ben. But when it came to other people, things that should have been obvious to Peter weren’t. “I think all of us just want to make the world the way we want it to be. Even Dr. Hughes. And that’s what actuation is.”
Peter shrugged. “Maybe it’s that simple.”
“It’s that simple,” Ben said.
“I wish I could really make the world the way I want it to be.”
“How would you change it?”
“I’d make myself smart enough that my dad would leave me alone.”
“Why not change your dad so he doesn’t care?”
“That would work, too.” Peter slumped onto his back. “What about you?”
“I’d change my mom so she’d stick with something and let us stay in one place. From now on.” Ben didn’t want to talk about this anymore, and he got up from the bed.
They played some pool after that, and watched some TV, and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening trying not to talk about or think about what had happened the previous night. It was harder for Ben to not think about what lay ahead of him.
Ben didn’t see much of Peter over the next couple of days. He had gone back to training with Sasha, while Ben spent his time with Agent Spear, Agent Taggart, and Ronin, preparing for the mission. Agent Spear drilled Ben on information about Poole and the Dread Cloaks. Agent Taggart rehearsed the things Ben would say and do. Ronin just hovered at the back of the room, listening and watching.
“And why do you want to defect?” Agent Taggart asked him for the hundred and fourteenth time.
Ben resisted rolling his eyes. “Look, I think I got this, okay?”
“No,” Agent Taggart said. “Not okay. You head out tomorrow. And are you ready? Do you think you’re prepared? Because once you’re out there, we won’t be around to save you like we did in that alley. You’ll be on your own.”
Agent Taggart still didn’t get that she hadn’t saved Ben, and neither had Agent Spear. But he let it go. “I’ll be with Ronin.”
“You’ll be on your own. I don’t care what kind of deal he made with Mr. Weathersky.” Agent Taggart looked over her shoulder. “Don’t trust him or count on him. Now tell me. Why do you want to defect?”
Ben sighed. “I hate authority and I don’t like the Quantum League rules.”
“Right.”
“Wrong,” Ronin said.
Agent Taggart spun around. “What do you mean, ‘wrong’?”
“I’ve been listening to you people force-feed this poor kid scripts and answers for days. And as soon as we hit the field it’ll be worth as much as a salt lick in a desert.”
“Thank you for that,” Agent Taggart said. “The input of a thief and a traitor.”
Ronin shrugged.
“Don’t listen to him, son,” Agent Spear said. “You stick to the plan, now.”
Ben nodded.
They gave him new clothes, and Ben made sure he took his Locus out of his old pocket. For the rest of that evening, he gripped it hard in his fist. He was doing this for his mom. He was doing it for Dr. Hughes. And maybe he was even doing it a little bit for Ronin. So he could see his daughter again.
Ben ate dinner that night with Peter and Sasha. They didn’t say much, and when they did, it sounded forced. Sasha gave him a hug before he went downstairs to bed.
“Go get ’em, Locus Boy,” she whispered in his ear.
He lay in bed awake most of the night, Peter and the others asleep all around him. All they faced the next day was more training. Ben finally nodded off. Woke up again. Slept some more. Then it was morning.
Time to go.
HE wasn’t hungry. He skipped breakfast and went straight up to the library; Peter came with him. Ben’s fingers felt numb and icy, his palms wet. Agents Spear and Taggart were there, and so was Mr. Weathersky. They began talking to him. Ben guessed they were saying encouraging things; he wasn’t really paying attention. But he nodded and said thank you, then Ronin came in.
“Car’s out back,” he said. “You ready?”
No.
“What?”
“Yes, sir.”
Ronin chuckled. “Don’t ‘sir’ me. You know my name.”
“Okay … Ronin.”
Ronin glanced around the room. “Don’t look so nervous, people. I’ll bring him back in one piece. I promise you that. And I’ll get you your augmenter gun, too, along with one professor.” He glared at Mr. Weathersky. “You just have my payment ready. You understand me?”
“Yes, Ethan,” Mr. Weathersky said.
“Let’s go, kid.” Ronin left the room.
Ben stood where he was a moment longer, a little dazed, and then followed after him. The others accompanied him to the rear of the building. They stayed and watched as he climbed into the passenger seat of a car, beside Ronin. Peter waved to Ben as Ronin turned the ignition and popped the car into gear. Ben nodded back, and then forced himself to look away, to face the road ahead as Ronin pulled the car out into early morning traffic.
They drove in silence for a while. Ben’s heartbeat slowed a little, and he gradually settled into his seat. He noticed the car for the first time. It was nice. New. Expensive.
“The League paid for this?”
“Are you kidding me? I couldn’t be seen in a League piece of crap. I’ve got a reputation.” Ronin stroked the steering wheel. “No, she’s all mine.”
“Nice,” Ben said.
“Thanks.”
“So tell me about yourself,” Ronin said. “Who’s not missing you?”
Ben looked out his side window. “My mom.”
“Where is she?”
Ben stopped to think. What day was it? Then he checked the time, and figured out where she’d be. “On her way to class. Up at the university.”
Ronin nodded. He flipped his blinker and made a sudden turn.
“Where are we going?” Ben asked.
“The university.”
He sat up. “Why?”
“Look, I’m not going to lie to you, kid. What we’re about to do is dangerous. Now, I meant what I said; I’ll do everything I can to get you out of there safe. But just in case, for my own peace of mind, I’d like you to get another look at her before we go.”
“You mean a last look,” Ben said.
“I mean another look. That’s all.”
Ben’s fear rushed back in. He closed his eyes and went quiet. He breathed deep and tried to slow down his heart. It was going to be okay. He’d see his mom, but he knew what to expect now. She wouldn’t know him. Then he and Ronin would infiltrate the Dread Cloaks, save Dr. Hughes, get the augmenter gun, and go back to the League. Then Ben would get his life back.
Easy.
A few minutes later, they pulled through the main campus entrance.
“Which way?” Ronin asked.
Ben directed him to the building where his mom had her first class. Ronin pulled over, parked the car, and turned off the engine.
Ben checked the time. “We’re early. She’ll be here soon.”
“All right.” Ronin hit a button on the side of his seat. The back lowered with the hum of a motor. “Wake me up when you’ve seen her. It’s too early for me.” He folded his arms and closed his eyes.
Ben shook his head and watched the sidewalk fill up with students. He scanned faces, watching, waiting. The minutes ticked by. He wondered if he’d missed her, or gotten her schedule wrong, or if she were
home sick.
Then he saw her. She strolled toward the building, and she was smiling. Then …
“No,” Ben whispered.
Ronin’s eyes snapped open. He sat up. “No, what? You see her?”
Ben pointed.
“That her?” Ronin asked. “She’s pretty.”
Ben looked out the opposite window. “Get me out of here. Now.”
“Who’s that guy with her?”
“NOW!”
“All right, all right.” Ronin turned the key.
Ben couldn’t resist looking one more time as they drove away, just as Marshall opened the door for his mom and they went inside. Ben held his rage in a minute longer, and then he started kicking and punching the dash.
“Easy, easy!” Ronin reached his arm across Ben’s chest and pressed him back into the seat. “Don’t take it out on my car, kid.”
Ben breathed hard. “Sorry.”
Ronin held him a moment longer. “You good?”
Ben nodded, and Ronin released him.
Ben used his shirt to wipe the scuff marks his shoes had left on the dash. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Ronin said. “You wanna tell me what that was?”
“Not really.”
“Okay, then.”
Neither spoke for a while. Ben was grateful Ronin had let it go, because he didn’t know what to say or think about what he’d just seen. Marshall. His mom. Her arm in his. She was smiling at him.
“You hungry?” Ronin asked. “How about some breakfast?”
“Sure,” Ben said.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t dated before, and it wasn’t because Ben didn’t want her to date at all. He actually did, so long as she dated the right guy. But Marshall was not the right guy. This was one more thing in his life the League had screwed up.
Ronin took them to a small diner. “Best pancakes in the city,” he said. “They’re sourdough. You ever had sourdough pancakes?”
Ben followed him inside. “I don’t think so.”
It was a seat-yourself kind of place, packed with old guys Ben guessed went there every day, sat at the same stool at the counter, and usually ordered the same thing. He and Ronin grabbed a corner booth, and when the waitress came, Ronin ordered sourdough pancakes for both of them and coffee for himself. Ben didn’t care. He was even less hungry now than he had been before they left the League’s headquarters.
While they waited for their food, Ronin propped both elbows on the table, letting his hands fall against each other over his coffee, and stared at Ben. “You want to know why I asked for you?”
Ben pulled his thoughts away from his mom. “You said I could play the part.”
“Right, but do you know what I meant by that?”
“I guess not.”
Ronin lifted his mug and sipped. “I could tell. I saw the way you looked at Mr. Weathersky, and I could tell.”
“Tell what?”
“How angry you are. How much you hate the League.”
“So?” Ben hadn’t kept that a secret from anybody. “What does that have to do with this?”
Ronin leaned toward him. “Because when you look Poole in the eye and tell him how much you want to destroy the League, you won’t have to act.”
“That’s not what Agent Taggart told me to sa —”
“Agent Taggart doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I’ve been doing this a long time, and one thing I’ve learned is that about five minutes into any undercover operation, there’s a moment when you realize the script you thought you could rely on is completely worthless.”
“So what should I do?”
“Improvise.”
“Here you go, hon.” The waitress appeared with their food, two stacks of pancakes so big they hung off the sides of the plates. “You let me know if you need anything else.” She left the bill on the table.
Ronin peeled the wrappers off a couple of butters and smeared them over his pancakes. Then he poured on the syrup. “Eat ’em while they’re hot, kid.”
“I don’t know if I can improvise,” Ben said.
“You improvised in that alley just fine.”
“You beat me.”
“But that was your first real fight, and you were quick.” Ronin folded a huge, dripping bite of pancake into his mouth.
Ben shook his head. He looked down at his plate and reached for the butter.
“But don’t worry.” Ronin wiped his mouth with a napkin. “You’re not there for the fighting. Leave that to me. Your job, your only job, is to convince Poole that you want to spy for him.” He rapped a knuckle on the table. “That, I know you can do.”
Ben drizzled on the syrup and took a bite. The pancakes were really good. He’d have to come back here with his mom when … His body tensed up as it all came back. He wanted to pound the table.
“Whatever happened back there at the university,” Ronin said. “Whatever’s got you steaming. Is it the League’s fault?”
“Yes.”
“Then use it. Take what you’re feeling and hold on to it. Bury it down deep so you can dig it up when you need it. You’ll do just fine. Okay?”
Ben took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Good. Now finish your pancakes.” He checked his watch. “We leave in ten.”
“Where are we going?”
“To get the Paracelsus crew together.”
Ben kept quiet until they were back in the car, well on their way. He didn’t know where they were going, but this wasn’t part of the plan. “Why are we getting your crew together?”
“This was never a two-man job,” Ronin said. “But I wasn’t about to let any agents mess it up. To work Poole, I need people I can count on.”
Ben looked down at his lap. What could he do? He didn’t have any way to contact the League. They’d said the Dread Cloaks would find anything like that when they searched him. Could he run? Maybe, but then what? They still didn’t have any other way to rescue Dr. Hughes and get the augmenter gun back.
“Look, kid,” Ronin said. “You and I have two things in common. We both hate the Quantum League, and we both need something from them. This mission will get us both what we want, and I will see it done. You may not like how I go about it. The League sure won’t. But it will get done. That’s all I care about, and you are just gonna have to trust me.”
He looked at Ben. Ben looked at Ronin’s beaten and weathered face, and he believed him.
“Okay, Ronin. We’ll do it your way.”
“Okay. I’m glad that’s settled.” He pulled onto a side street and parked the car. “Now, there’s an abandoned building up ahead. It’s my crew’s safe house. When we go in there, the story is, you helped me escape.”
“What?”
“They have to think the Dread Cloak mission is just another job. We’re after that gun. For us. Not for the League. Got it?”
“Got it. We have to work your crew before your crew can work Poole.”
Ronin grinned. “You’re gonna do just fine, kid. Now, these are good people. They may look rough, but you don’t have to worry about them.”
“Okay.”
They got out of the car and walked down the street. Ronin led them to what looked like an old warehouse. The windows were all boarded up at street level, and mostly broken out up above. He stuck a key in a padlock near the bottom corner of a heavy roll-up door, and then heaved it open a few feet.
“Go.” He nodded Ben toward the opening, his eyes on the street.
Ben ducked inside, and Ronin followed him, letting the door fall shut behind them with a clang. The feeling of an actuation tingled the back of Ben’s neck, and he turned to find Ronin kneeling on the ground, staring at the corner of the door.
He stood a moment later. “Just locking up from the outside. It’s this way.”
The warehouse was empty except for a few vehicles and a stack of old wooden pallets. They crossed to a door on the far side, which Ronin opened with a different key. He motioned for Ben to go
through first, and then closed and locked the door behind them. They were in a narrow hallway, and Ben followed Ronin until they reached a corrugated metal stairway.
At the bottom they came to yet another door. This time, Ronin knocked. “Open up! It’s me! And I’ve got a package.”
Ben heard sounds on the other side. Then the door squealed open, revealing the largest man Ben had ever seen. He completely filled the doorway, and he didn’t look soft. Ben couldn’t guess how much of him was muscle underneath. He stared at them, his face as red and blank as a slab of beef.
“Out of the way, Polly,” Ronin said.
The giant grunted and shambled aside.
“Let’s go.” Ronin guided Ben through the doorway.
They stopped a few steps into the room. Ben felt it. He knew Ronin felt it, too. Actuations, all ready to fire. The air buzzed with them. Ben didn’t even dare look around.
“That’s far enough,” a voice said off to the side.
“What’s this, Argus?” Ronin asked.
“You know what this is,” the voice said. “We’re doing what you would do if one of us showed up after getting nabbed. Move a muscle and we’ll fry you.”
“WE’RE alone,” Ronin said. “Nobody followed us.”
“Who’s the kid?” That was a woman’s voice, to the left.
“Ben,” Ronin said. “He’s a League recruit.”
“Why’d you bring him here?” the first voice asked.
“I’ll explain everything,” Ronin said. “But it’ll be easier if we cool things down a bit in here first.”
A moment passed.
Ronin sighed. “Think about it. If I were a League rat, you guys’d already be trying to fight your way out of here. Now stand down.”
Another moment passed.
Then the air calmed. The feeling of actuation dissipated, and Ben relaxed a little. There were two men on his right. One of them was slender, wearing a leather jacket dripping with chains, and he had a six-inch mohawk. The other was stocky, and bushy. Bushy hair. Bushy eyebrows. Even a bushy sweater. The woman to Ben’s left had blond hair cut to the length and line of her jaw, and she wore a business suit. The big guy, Polly, stood behind them blocking the door.