

Life On Aqua  
The Astronomer's Cipher

**  
Book On** e **of the VITA Cycle**

By Rob De Hart

Copyright 2012 Rob De Hart

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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**  
Table of Contents**

Prologue – Dying Quest -Or- Dying Request  
Part One – Discovery  
1 – A Mountain Moves at Will -Or- Will Mounting a Move  
2 – A Wail of a Whale -Or- A Whale of a Wail  
3 – This World of Knots -Or- Not of This World  
4 – Will's Cup Runneth Over -Or- A Coupe Runneth Over Will  
5 – The Moon Will Rise and Fall -Or- The Moonrise and Will's Fall  
6 – Strong Hold -Or- Stronghold  
7 – O Captain! My Captive! -Or- O Captive! My Captain!  
8 – One, Two, Three, Four -Or- Four to One = Three  
9 – Report of the Contort -Or- Contort of the Report  
10 – Dual Search -Or- Search Duel  
11 – Dying to Try -Or- To Die Trying  
12 – A Breath of Fresh Air -Or- Fresh Breath of an Heir  
13 – Break to the Key -Or- Key to the Break  
14 – Puzzled for Peace -Or- Pieces for Puzzle  
15 – Orders Disconnecting a Parent -Or- Connecting Apparent Disorder  
Interlude – Battle Stations -Or- Stationary Battles  
Part Two – Recovery  
16 – Firing Questions -Or- Questioning Fire  
17 – Subordinate Coordination -Or- Coordinate Subordination  
18 – Hid in Underwear -Or- Hidden Under Where?  
19 – Shoe Prints and Fingers Crossed -Or- Fingerprints and Shoes Across  
20 – Ring Delay -Or- Ding Relay  
21 – Squeezed Tight -Or- Tight Squeeze  
22 – Follow Mysteries Up -Or- Mr. E.'s Follow-Up  
23 – Power of Presents and Gifts -Or- Gifts of Presence and Power  
24 – In Her Rumor Circles -Or- Inner-Circle Rooms  
25 – Father Catching Up with Son -Or- Catching Son with Father Up  
26 – Blows to the Head -Or- Head to the Blows  
27 – History of Mr. E. -Or- His Story of Missed Terri  
28 – Friends, All Eyes Make Four -Or- Friends Make for Allies  
29 – Keep Out of Danger -Or- Danger! – Keep Out!  
30 – The Beginning of the End -Or- The End of the Beginning

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Prologue

Dying Quest  
Or  
Dying Request

From the Field Book of Dr. Thomas Banks:

7th March, 1998 KE

I have only days to live. I will not be able to komplete my quest. The doktors kan do no more for me other than manage my pain. I have been discharged from the hospital so that I kan live out my final days in the komfort of my own home. Maggie has rarely left my side over these past few months. She is my angel. Even with all she has done for me in our 35 years of marriage, I have asked her to karry out one last favor. She was resistant at first, but eventually relented when I told her it was my only dying request. She has agreed to go to the koordinates I had dekoded from the tablets. I just hope my kalkulations for the time of the event are akkurate. It should happen in three weeks' time.

****

**  
Part One – Discovery**

Chapter One

A Mountain Moves at Will  
Or  
Will Mounting a Move

Saturday, March 28th, 1998 AD

The Moon was setting over the Pacific Ocean, but veiled behind the dark storm clouds that were pummeling the Southern California coast with heavy rainfall. Even from the many places on Earth that had clear skies, the Moon was cloaked this night, hidden behind its dark side.

Susan Clayton was putting on her make-up in the upstairs master bathroom. It wasn't much of a master bathroom, as it was small with only a pedestal sink, a small bathtub/shower combo, and a toilet. The entire upstairs of the Clayton's small Malibu house consisted of this bathroom, a medium sized "master" bedroom that doubled as a home office, and a tiny closet. Susan was getting ready to accompany her husband to one of his mandatory work parties at his boss's house in Santa Monica. Susan had left the TV on in her bedroom at a rather high volume as she was interested in the upcoming weather report on the local news.

Now here's Jim with the weather, Jim? Thanks Carol. Heavy rainfall tonight expected to break all kinds of records for precipitation in one day as well as rainfall over the course of one week. This weeklong storm will be reaching its grand finale tonight, as the downpour is forecasted to be the heaviest night of rain this week. Good news is: There is an end in sight as the storm will move out of our area around three or four o'clock in the morning bringing sunny skies for at least the next week. In related news, tonight our coastal regions will observe a spring tide. No, that's not because its springtime, but because the Moon and Sun line-up and combine their pulling power on Earth's ocean tides. This causes the highest tides of the month... So be careful out there! Now let's pass it over to Chuck to tell us if the Lakers can keep their five-game winning streak going in Utah tonight...

Susan turned off the TV with a click of the remote.

"Susan!" her husband shouted from the downstairs baby's room, "Will needs a new shirt to wear to bed and I can't seem to find a clean one."

Susan yelled down to her husband, "Check the day-bag. I have a clean change of clothes in there for when I take Will to Mommy & Me."

"Got it" was heard a few moments later. Mr. Clayton looked in the day-bag and noticed each article of clothing had the name Will C. written on it with permanent marker. He fished out a clean shirt and walked back over to the crib.

Ding-dong rang the doorbell, faintly reverberating through the Clayton's home. The ring was drowned out by the deafeningly hard downpour of rain pelting the home's roof. Susan, having just finished with her make-up, was heading downstairs when she heard the bell.

"That must be Katie from next door," she said. "I'll get it."

Susan opened the door to see a typical 14 year old girl, fairly wet, shaking out her umbrella. "Katie, come in, come in. Thanks so much for babysitting again. I don't know what we'd do without you."

"No problem, Mrs. Clayton. I have to do research for my World History report tonight anyway. I seem to focus better when I'm over here. My brothers are so loud and annoying. Oh! Hi Mr. Clayton."

Mr. Clayton came out of the baby's room holding the listening end of a baby monitor. "Here you go, Katie," he said as he handed the baby monitor over to the babysitter. "We'll be home by ten. Feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen."

"Mr. Clayton?" Katie asked, "Would it be alright if I use your computer in your bedroom to do some research for my history report?"

"Of course, Katie. Just keep the baby monitor with you in case Will wakes up, OK?"

"No problem."

The Claytons each grabbed an umbrella and disappeared behind the door that led to the garage. Katie peeked into the baby's room and saw Will, just over one year old, lying quietly in his crib and staring up at a mobile of the Sun and the planets circling over his head. She left the door open and with the baby monitor in hand, she made her way upstairs and settled in at the computer desk.

The Clayton's beachfront Malibu home was the tiniest house on this stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway, commonly referred to as PCH. With just the one bedroom and bath upstairs, the PCH side of the downstairs consisted of a one-car garage on one side of the house, and a converted den that now served as the baby's room on the other side. Down the middle of the house stood a stairway that vaulted over a small half-bath, and a narrow hallway. Across the back, beach-side of the house was a small kitchen and a dining room. The baby's bedroom door faced the open dining room, which had old, floor to ceiling wood-framed windows that looked out onto the usually peaceful, but currently very stormy, Pacific Ocean. The home was also one of the few in the neighborhood that hadn't been completely torn down and modernized within the past decade.

Across the always busy, four-lane Pacific Coast Highway stood a huge, towering cliff of mountain. Many patches of the cliff that ran along the eastern side of PCH had to be reinforced with support beams holding planks of wood in place to prevent erosion from washing out the only north-south thoroughfare serving the beach communities of Southern California. The Clayton's portion of cliff was no different, having this man-made support covering the lower half of their cliff side. Many sections of PCH also had walls of recently stacked sand bags lining the cliff side shoulder of the highway to prevent the mini rivulets of mudslides from crossing the much-travelled highway during this week of heavy storms.

Heavy rain continued to pelt the Southern California coast. Upstairs, Katie was making progress researching when each country decided to enter or abstain from World War II. Baby Will was in a deep sleep with the sound of the rain enveloping him in comforting white noise. It was just past 9:30pm and the Claytons were already on their way home, driving up PCH.

As the Clayton's SUV curved around the final bend in the highway revealing the straight section of PCH on which their house stood, they saw the brake lights of the group of cars ahead of them all light up in unison. Already travelling at a conservatively safe 25 miles per hour due to the torrential rain, the Claytons easily slowed and stopped behind the cars ahead of them, only about 200 feet short of their own driveway. Then they saw the most horrifying image they could imagine. The wooden wall that held up the massive cliff overlooking the highway was no longer standing vertical, but tilting toward the ocean. Then right before their eyes the entire cliff side seemed to liquefy and simultaneously drop and race across the highway towards the homes on the other side, completely flattening the support beams in its wake. The breach in the cliff was as wide as five houses, and the center house belonged to the Claytons. The mudslide raced across the highway and pounded the houses. The tiny old house took the brunt of the impact. It was over in less than ten seconds, and the Claytons were already out of their car and sprinting toward the mayhem.

Katie was still typing away furiously at the computer keyboard when she heard the screeching of tires outside, immediately followed by the sound of Will crying through the baby monitor. She looked out the window toward PCH but couldn't make out anything in the dark, moonless night. A few seconds later, she was buffeted to the floor with the shake of what she thought was a large earthquake. The upstairs bedroom was plunged into darkness and bombarded with a cacophony of sound. She managed to get back on her feet about ten seconds later. Broken glass from the shattered window was strewn throughout the tossed bedroom, the TV was thrown off its perch, and a tall dresser was now at a 45 degree angle, being supported by the bed. Katie shook the broken glass from her hair and quickly took an inventory of the state of her body. Other than a few scratches, she was unharmed. Katie waited a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She then raced over to the stairway and down a few steps but quickly came to a stop. It took her a moment to realize what she saw. The stairway and hallway was flooded with mud. She leaned her head down and craned it around the stairwell so that she could look below the first floor ceiling toward the living room and kitchen. The mud had filled the entire first story of the home, leaving only about three feet of open space below the ceiling.

Baby Will woke up with a start when he heard the screeching tires through the large front window that looked out onto PCH. He began to cry. The large window then exploded, but the sound of breaking glass was dampened by the liquefied earth bursting through the weakest part of the house. Like a rocket ship entering its second stage, Will's crib was lifted and propelled through his bedroom doorway and into the dining room in a fraction of a second. The crib rocketed through the dining room on the leading wave of the furiously charging mud and burst through the old wood-framed windows in the same fraction of a second. Will would never remember what happened next, and no one was around to see the crib and Will get pulled into a furiously spinning whirlpool of water. The mouth of the vortex was about five feet in diameter, suspended in midair facing the Clayton's house, and arching out of the ocean like a giant bell speaker of an old gramophone. And without a splash or sound, both Will and the whirlpool vanished.

****

Chapter Two

A Wail of a Whale  
Or  
A Whale of a Wail

Saturday, 28th March, 1998 KE

It had been two weeks since Maggie Banks buried her husband. Her grief only quelled with the understanding that Thomas was now no longer in pain. It was Thomas who had made all of the funeral arrangements prior to his death, and Maggie was thankful for that. Maggie was left a comfortable amount of money to live and travel on throughout her remaining years, but she had no plans or thoughts of travelling right now. It was too soon. Perhaps in time she would be able to move on.

Maggie was 58 years old, six years younger than Thomas. She met Thomas in college. Maggie was in her final semester of earning her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Thomas was in his first year as a professor in the Astronomy Department. Although Maggie never took a course in Astronomy, she first noticed Thomas in one of the college's many cafeterias. This cafeteria was serendipitously located between the main Psych and Astronomy buildings on campus, and each of their schedules had them eating at the same time and place many times a week. One especially busy lunch hour at the cafeteria forced them to share a table. They immediately hit it off, and had a standing lunch date for the remainder of the semester. The rest, as they say, is history as they married one year later.

Thomas and Maggie never had children of their own, instead choosing to travel more than the normal couple. Half of the time they traveled together, but each was quite happy and capable of taking trips apart from each other. Maggie liked to do more touristy things, like sight-seeing and shopping; Thomas liked to go on fact-finding missions related to his work or side projects. When not traveling, Maggie enjoyed taking care of the dogs and cats they owned off and on throughout the years, and she volunteered for numerous charities and non-profit organizations. Thomas was a workaholic, spending all of his free time tinkering with projects either for his university or for himself.

Maggie knew that today was the day she was to carry out her late husband's last request. She knew it must have something to do with either his work as head of the Astronomy Department at the University of Kalifornia, Los Angeles, or one of his many side projects he dabbled in during his free time and sabbaticals. But it did not matter to Maggie. She never took too much interest in Thomas' work. And she certainly had no interest in what his friends and colleagues called as his fanatical fringe fields of fancy. Nonetheless, Maggie loved her husband and would certainly carry out his last dying wish. Perhaps once she did this last task for him, she would be able to begin recovering from her grief.

After staring out a large bay window from the breakfast table of her one-story Santa Monika house for what seemed like half the day, she glanced over at the clock on the microwave. It read, "4:45 PM" in large, green digital lights. Where had the time gone, she thought. She turned and stared at the manila envelope lying on the side table in the living room. She knew it was time to take a closer look at the envelope's contents. She had been given the envelope by her husband three weeks ago, the day she took him home from the hospital. Even though she promised to carry out the instructions on those pages, at the time she didn't give them a close look. All she remembered was what her husband told her in person: That she was supposed to go to some beach north of Santa Monika at a specific time, and take video of whatever she saw.

As Maggie stood up and walked into the living room she thought, me taking video – that's a laugh! And she grinned for the first time in weeks. She sat down on the couch, reached for the manila envelope, and opened it. Inside she saw three printed sheets of paper, one small digital video device, and a two page letter with her husband's handwriting. She pulled out the handwritten letter first, but began to tear up when she looked at her husband's unique penmanship. She decided to read the letter last and put the pages on the couch cushion beside her. She instead pulled out the three sheets of paper that obviously had information printed from the internet.

The first sheet was a map. It showed the exact location she was to go to. Her husband had written in pen exactly where she was to park the car, where to enter the property, and where to stand at the appointed time. On the second sheet were printed, turn-by-turn directions from their Santa Monika home to the specified location in Malibu. When she read the headline of the third sheet, she grinned even larger than minutes before. This sheet was titled, "How to Operate a Digital Video Rekorder." Maggie read the instructions and pressed the appropriate buttons on the video device while doing so. She recorded about 15 seconds of a 360 degree panning shot of her living room, kitchen, and dining room. She then tested out the zoom feature on the device and zoomed in and out on the papers beside her, spreading the two sheets apart with her left hand as she was filming. She pressed the STOP button and followed the instructions on how to power down the device. She put everything back in the envelope except the handwritten letter. She couldn't ignore it any longer. She read to herself, imagining it was Thomas speaking to her.

Dearest Maggie,

By the time you read this, I hope we have said our goodbyes in person. If by some chance we haven't, let me sum up everything I want to say in just a few words:

Thank you and I love you

The 28th of March is a day I've been looking forward to for many months now, but as it has drawn kloser, I have kome to the realization that I won't live to see it. So I must ask this favor of you.

Through my travels over the years, I've prokured what I now believe to be a list of lokations. More specifikally, exakt koordinates to points skattered throughout the world. Most of these points seem to be random places on a map; some on land, others on water. A few of the points are more interesting, like the one in the middle of a volkano. Thus far I have failed to konfirm what these points have in kommon, if indeed they have anything in kommon... but I believe that they must be associated with each other in some way.

I have a theory that I am asking you to test with regards to korrelating a point in time with each point on a map. I am optimistik that my theory is korrect, or I wouldn't be asking this favor of you.

Please drive to the lokation I have pinpointed on the map and arrive no later than 8:45pm. Park in the lokation I have designated and make your way down to the shoreline by 9:00pm. If anything of interest is to be witnessed, it should happen very klose to 9:30pm. Please have the video rekorder at the ready should you see or hear anything out of the ordinary.

If nothing happens by 10:00pm, then my theory is most likely false or my time kalkulations were flawed and you kan return home and forget this matter in its entirety. However, should my theory prove korrect, I will need to ask an additional favor of you. You will need to find an old kolleague of mine. His name is Dr. Steven Rivers. Unfortunately, I've lost touch with him over the years. The last time I saw him was at a seminar in San Diego in 1987. At that time, he was a young adjunkt professor at the University of San Diego. It was Dr. Rivers who helped me decipher the list of koordinates many years ago, but I have not kept in touch with him since. Please try to trak him down and show him the video. If he shows interest you kan also show him my leather-bound field book.

Maggie, it is impossible to express how much you mean to me in a short letter. Just as you are my beginning and my end, I will simply end this letter where it began:

Thank you and I love you

With all my love,

Thomas

Through her tears that were now streaming down her face, Maggie read the letter through a second time. She smiled throughout the second reading as she could not help but recount all of the other crazy ideas and adventures her husband conjured up throughout his life. It was one of the most endearing qualities she had of her husband. This idea didn't seem any crazier than any of his past ones, although the mention of the volcano did raise some apprehension.

Maggie still had a few hours before she planned to leave, and she spent that time cooking herself a small dinner and watching a program on TV that she really had no interest in. The directions her husband left her stated the destination was only 7.9 miles away and would take 19 minutes with traffic. At 8:00pm, she put on a light jacket, gathered up the manila envelope and her car keys, and left the Santa Monika house.

The drive took exactly 19 minutes and Maggie parked her car along the Pacifik Koast Highway in the area she was instructed. She opened the envelope and fished out the video recorder and the map with her husband's handwritten lines, circles, and arrows showing her the way down to the beach. It was now dark outside so she also grabbed the flashlight that she kept in the car's glove compartment.

The short trail down to the beach was in a vacant lot between a row of beachfront houses stretching north and south along the west or southbound side of PKH. This section of Malibu beach was very rocky, and Maggie picked out a nice sized boulder to sit on while she waited. She was in position at 8:40pm and now wished she had brought something to read. She switched off the flashlight and put it in her left jacket pocket along with the map. In her right pocket, she fingered the video recorder and sat silent.

As the minutes passed, she became increasingly sure that nothing out of the ordinary was going to take place. This night couldn't have been more ordinary. The weather was very nice. The temperature felt to be around 21 degrees Celsius, the sky was clear, and the sound of the ocean waves were no different than any other night. This section of rocky beach probably didn't get much foot traffic even during a sunny day, and tonight she had seen no one since she arrived.

She glanced at her watch. It was 9:18pm. She took the video camera out of her pocket and pressed the power button, she heard the beep that told her the device was powered on. She placed her thumb over the REK button so she would be ready to record and waited. Ten minutes passed and nothing but the repetitious waves made any movement or sound. Maggie then heard the device give two short beeps. She looked at the display and read that the device was powering down. She quickly deduced that the camera must have a battery saving feature that automatically powered down the device after ten minutes. She pressed the power button again, and the device again gave the single beep and read, "Ready" in the display.

9:30pm came and went without incident. Maggie was now disposed to wait out the final half hour and put this final adventure of her late husband to rest. But no sooner did she have that thought did she see something burst out from the ocean only 30 feet from her position. Startled, Maggie fell backward but caught herself. She somehow had the presence of mind to raise the video recorder and press the REK button.

At first she thought a huge whale had somehow breached from the shallows of the breaking waves and crashed onto the rocky beach. But seconds later she knew this was not the case. Maggie didn't know what she was seeing, but it was no whale or animal of any sort. It looked like a tornado of crystal clear water had sprung from the ocean. But the spinning water funnel did not extend vertically into the sky, but was bent completely parallel to the rocky beach and suspended only five feet above the ground. Seconds later, the arching funnel of clear water became mixed with streaks of brown mud that was a much darker shade than the beach sand. Maggie had a clear side view of the entire funnel, but from her angle she could not see inside the top of the funnel that was facing inland towards the highway. The funnel held its position in mid-air for the next few seconds, it's base was about one foot in diameter as it became visible from the shallow depths of the ocean and arched inland about 40 feet to the mouth of the funnel that was about five feet wide. The spinning vortex didn't change position. Only the color of the funnel increasingly became a darker shade of brown. Then without notice, the funnel disappeared back into the ocean without a sound or splash. That's when Maggie heard the wail of a crying baby.

****

Chapter Three

This World of Knots  
Or  
Not of This World

Saturday, 28th March, 1998 KE

Maggie took out the flashlight and shined it toward the crying sound. She held the flashlight in her left hand and was still recording with the camera in her right. It seemed to her the crying emanated from the position that was directly below where the top of the funnel was just moments before. Maggie waved the flashlight around to see if anyone else was alerted to the crying or the massive whirlpool of water that had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. She saw no one. She then directed the beam into the ocean at the spot where the funnel had sprung out of the water. But the waves rolled in, toppled over, and retreated back just as they did over the past hour.

Maggie began to walk toward the sound, but she did not take a direct route. She took a wide berth around where the water funnel had been, just in case it decided to reappear. She walked inland a bit and then across the rocky beach toward the cry. As Maggie got closer to the sound, she first saw white vertical slats like a narrow white picket fence. She edged nearer and then could make out the slats formed a rectangular box shape like a baby's crib. Drawing a few steps closer, Maggie confirmed that it was indeed a baby's crib and increased her pace.

One end of the crib was battered with broken slats and an array of nicks and gouges. The other end was covered in mud. Maggie looked inside and saw the source of the crying. A baby was pressed up against the muddy end of the crib amongst small bits of broken glass and still screaming at the top of its lungs. Maggie turned off the camera and the flashlight and put each item in opposite pockets. She reached in and carefully lifted the baby out. She wiped the mud from the baby's face with her hand. Holding the baby, she looked around the scene again. She thought surely the mother or father would be running towards them in a fit of panic. But still, there was no one else there but the two of them.

After about a minute or so, the baby had quieted. Maggie found that the blanket in the crib wasn't too muddy. She shook out the glass and swaddled the baby in it. The only other thing in the crib, besides the mattress, was a mobile of the solar system that had broken off its base and lied at the bottom of the crib. The strings from each planet were in a ball of knots and tangles. Maggie picked up each of the two-dimensional cardboard planets and Sun with her free hand, took one last look around the empty beach, and started up the trail towards the highway.

When she reached the highway, Maggie knocked on the doors of the two houses to the north of the vacant lot as well as the two houses to the south. All four of the occupants answered their doors, but none of them knew anything about the baby nor did they hear or see anything out of the ordinary over the past hour. Maggie insisted on leaving her name and phone number with each occupant in case the baby's parent or guardian came looking. She apologized to each of them for interrupting them at such a late hour, and returned to her car with the baby in her arms.

Maggie drove back to Santa Monika with the baby secured in the front passenger seat as best she could without a car seat. She drove very cautiously, the entire time placing her right hand on the baby's torso as an extra safety precaution. She had the car radio on and tuned to the local 24-hour news station, but no reports of a missing baby broke the airwaves.

The baby was sleeping when Maggie arrived back at her house. She gingerly maneuvered the car over the curb and onto the driveway, taking extra care to soften every bump and dip along the way. It was late, almost 11:00pm, and Maggie had decided to care for the baby overnight and do more investigating in the light of the following day.

Maggie carried the baby straight to her bathroom to clean off the mud. She took off his shirt and disposable diaper, and then realized that she didn't have a replacement diaper. She shrugged and thought, Oh well, too late now, as the adhesives on the diaper's fasteners completely tore the sides of the diaper.

"So you're a little boy!" she said in her sweetest little baby voice. "And a cute little baby boy at that!"

The baby boy stared up at her as she ran a warm wet washcloth over his skin to wipe off the mud that was now dried and caked on his body. He was a cute little baby, with bright brown eyes, brown hair, and pale white skin. The baby boy didn't cry. He seemed to be enjoying the warm water and gentle strokes of the washcloth on his skin.

"What's your name, little boy?" Maggie was actually relieved that the baby didn't talk back. He looked to be only about a year old, and she didn't need anything more out of the ordinary happening that night.

"We need to get you a new diaper," Maggie said to the baby but really just thinking out loud, and she picked up the baby and laid him down on her bed. She left the room and came back with a cotton dish towel and two safety pins. "Now, let's see if I can make a diaper for you."

She managed to make a fairly functional diaper out of the dish towel on her second attempt. She placed the baby on what used to be Thomas' side of the bed, put the covers over his body, and then let out a huge sigh. Maggie just realized how exhausted she was. She lied down next to the baby and flicked off each of her shoes with her opposite foot. She laid her head sideways on her pillow and stared at the baby boy. The baby turned his head to the side towards Maggie, and she saw his eyelids droop and heard the cutest little baby sigh. Maggie smiled, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

Maggie got an early wake-up call when her new bedmate started fidgeting and squeaking at 5:15 in the morning. Maggie changed his dish towel diaper, managed to feed the baby some oatmeal, and put him in the smallest t-shirt she could find which still fit him like a dress. She went back to the bathroom to see what size diaper and shirt the baby boy needed. The diapers were size 3. The shirt was size 12-18 months, but that is not what Maggie saw that made her smile. She ran back to the bed where she had put the baby down and said, "Will! Your name is Will! Will C. My name is Maggie, Maggie B. It's so very nice to meet you!"

Maggie's plan was to stock up on a few baby supplies and then take the baby to the police station to find out what the protocol was for a found baby. She borrowed a car seat from her neighbor who had kids that had outgrown it, and set off on her to do list.

Maggie went a little overboard on the shopping; getting enough diapers, food, toys and clothes to last for weeks instead of days. She found that diapers come in packs of 30, and she had no idea what baby food Will liked to eat, so she got one of everything. She also had no idea what the police would say, and prepared to have to care for the baby for an extended time until the parents could be found. It had been less than twelve hours, but Maggie was getting quite attached to Will C.

She secured Will back in the car seat and put the baby items in the back seat next to Will. She then saw the baby mobile of the solar system had fallen off the back seat and onto the car floor, its strings still tied up in a ball of knots. She picked it up and got back into the driver's seat. But Maggie just sat in the parking lot. She knew the next step was to drive to the police station and alert the authorities, but she also knew that going there might mean the baby would be taken from her on the spot. She was not ready for that. She wanted to spend a little more time with Will before she had to give him up.

She looked in the rear-view mirror and saw Will playing with the toy rings she had just bought. He was so cute and even in the short time she had spent with Will, he seemed to be very well behaved compared to other babies she interacted with in her limited experience. Maggie watched Will play for many minutes, picking up the rings and handing them back to Will every time they were tossed out of his reach. She then decided she had to go to the authorities. She thought, Will's parents will be overcome with grief and worried beyond belief.

Maggie started the car, but before she put it in gear, she noticed the mobile of the planets again. She picked up the stack of cardboard cutouts of each planet and started to unravel all of the knots and tangles in the fishing line. Each cutout had the name of the planet printed across the top. Even though they were out of order, Maggie held up each planet one at a time so that Will could see them and read the name printed on each one.

"Neptune. Saturn. Mercury." She thought to herself, that's a strange spelling for Merkury? She continued aloud, "Jupiter. The Sun. Uranus. Pluto." She paused and whispered under her breath, "I guess they don't consider that a full-fledged planet anymore." She continued, "Mars. Venus. And..." She stopped. The planet didn't say Aqua like it was supposed to. It said Earth. She examined the cutout closer. It sure looked like Aqua. One side had the western hemisphere of North and South Amerika, the other side of the cutout had Europe, Asia, Afrika and Australia. "Why would it say Earth and not Aqua?" she asked herself. "Who made this?"

Maggie sat frozen in her car as her mind raced. Many thoughts and deductions flooded her mind at the same time. Maggie didn't need to go to the Police. Will's parents would not be able to be contacted. This mobile didn't come from this world. Will didn't come from this world. Will came to Aqua through that funnel from another place; another world. A world named Earth.

And every one of her thoughts and deductions were exactly correct.

****

Chapter Four

Will's Cup Runneth Over  
Or  
A Coupe Runneth Over Will

Monday, 9th January, 2012 KE

"Do I have to go back to school? I've gotten so used to sleeping in and watching TV all day," kidded 14 year old Will C. Banks.

"You know the answer to that, young man," replied an old lady's voice from another room. "Did you get all of your reading done for History over the break?"

"What reading!" Will joked. Knowing this would get a rise out of Maggie which he loved to do. "Of course I did," he added after a short pause.

"I never know when you are joking," said Maggie as she entered the kitchen where Will was finishing making his lunch and putting it in a brown paper lunch bag. "I know I must have asked you a million times if your homework was done, but I'm old so don't toy with me and just answer the question next time I ask it."

"Sorry Maggie," Will said. And he meant it, even though he still had a smile on his face.

Maggie was now 72 years old. Her hair had thinned and was completely grey, and she didn't move around as well as she used to. She had raised Will in her Santa Monika home since he was a one year old baby, converting her late husband's home office into a boy's bedroom. She had boxed up all of Thomas' astronomy books and equipment and stored them in the attic of the small house. It was a single story, two bedroom and one bath house with a comfortable living room, small kitchen, and even smaller dining room.

Will tossed his lunch into his backpack, zipped it up, and headed for the door.

"Don't I get a kiss goodbye?" asked Maggie.

Will stopped, rolled his eyes a little bit – making sure Maggie was watching, and then gave her a big hug and a kiss. "Bye Maggie."

"Remember I won't be here when you get home. I have the charity dinner this evening and I have to help set-up."

"I know. I'm on my own for dinner tonight. No problem."

Will's house was on a nice, quiet tree-lined street less than 15 blocks from the beach. His neighborhood was gradually changing through the years from the majority of buildings being small, single family residences like his, to many of those houses being bulldozed in favor of two and three story apartments. Will's house was only seven blocks from his High School, so he walked to and from school.

Will was an average height for his age, with neatly cut but wavy light brown hair and brown eyes. He was a ninth grade freshman and a very good student. Will was fairly good at everything he tried; he just didn't try many new things. Will didn't make too many friends either. It wasn't that he was unlikable, he was very likable. He just didn't bother to go up to people and get to know them. Will was happy to do his schoolwork, take care of Maggie and the house, and watch TV. Will had all the book smarts; it was the street smarts that he was lacking.

Will's first period class was in a ground floor classroom with nice window views of the quad, the large open grass area in the middle of the school. The subject was Science with Mr. Euroauster, whom everyone called Mr. E. Will sat in his regular seat near the front of the class but not the first row, because he liked to blend in and not be too conspicuous. Mr. E. rolled in alongside the rest of the students, right before the bell rung. The Science teacher was confined to a wheelchair and was in his early forties. He was starting to lose his hair on top, so he compensated by growing it longer in the back. He never could grow a full beard, but he always wore a nicely trimmed, short goatee on his chin. The hair he had remaining had once been black, but was now speckled grey in more places than he liked. Mr. E. didn't usually wear glasses, but he kept a pair in his shirt pocket and used them to focus on close-up objects or to read small print.

"OK. Calm down people. We have a new unit we are starting today and I'd like you all to break yourselves into pairs. Please make sure you find someone you are willing to work with for several weeks. Also, you may be working on things away from school, so try to make sure you live fairly close to one another. All the students sprang into action and the volume in the class spiked to peak levels. Will stood up and looked around, but he didn't make a move toward anyone nor did anyone make a move toward him. After a minute or so, Mr. E. calmed the class back down and asked, "Does everyone have a partner they can tolerate? Raise your hand if you don't."

Will was the only one to raise his hand.

"Will Banks. How can you be the only one without a partner? We have an even number of students in this class."

A girl named Denise near the back of the room answered, "We made a group of three, Mr. E."

Mr. E. was about to say that one of them had to split away and be Will's partner, when he was interrupted by a pretty girl with naturally sandy blonde hair and big, bright blue eyes. She walked into the classroom holding a note and handed it to Mr. E. He already knew by the color of the note that it was a Klass Transfer Slip. Mr. E. put on his glasses and noticed that the "Transferred From" column was blank and there was a full slate of classes in the "Transferred To" column, including his class in the "Period 1" row. He looked up at the name: Pikabo Rivers.

Mr. E. curled his index finger and beaconed to the girl to bend down so he could whisper in her ear, "How do you pronounce your first name, Ms. Rivers."

"PEE-KA-BOO," she whispered back.

Mr. E. then took off his glasses, rotated his chair to face the class and announced, "Class, it is my honor to introduce a new student to Santa Monika High School. This is Ms. Pikabo Rivers."

There were a few chuckles in the back by some of the girls, but the boys didn't care what her name was. They were all just staring at Pikabo and then giving each other the I-saw-her-first look.

Mr. E. continued, "Ms. Rivers, you can take a seat next to Will. We just created our lab partners and Will was still in need of one. Mr. Banks, do you have any objections?"

A few of the boys around Will quickly tapped him on the shoulder and offered to trade partners, but Will ignored them and responded to Mr. E. in the coolest voice he could muster, "No problem Mr. E."

Pikabo was handed back the Transfer Slip and then proceeded to sit down next to Will. Her clothes were nice but not trendy, and she didn't wear any make-up, not even lip gloss. She was a very confident girl that seemed to have no worries in the world. She turned to Will and looked him straight in the eyes. She stuck out her right hand and said, "Nice to meet you Will."

Will shook her hand and forced out of his mouth, "Nice to meet you too," forgetting to take a breath first. He then took an uncommonly deep breath and blurted out, "I'm Will C. Banks." Will didn't know why he felt so strange and nervous all of a sudden. He had worked with girls on assignments before and usually had no trouble communicating. He quickly concluded that none of those girls seemed as interesting as Pikabo, or as pretty.

Unflinchingly, Pikabo inquired, "What does the C stand for?"

Will composed himself and began speaking in his normal tone. "I actually don't know what the C stands for. Maggie, that is my adopted mother, always told me that the C was an important part of me. She said the only name on the adoption papers was Will C., so I never leave out the C when meeting new people."

"That's very cool," Pikabo said casually. "My dad tells me to be proud of my name too. And I am."

"Cool." That word was all that Will could come up with, but he tossed it about in his mind afterward and decided that it was an appropriate, but not original response.

Will and Pikabo worked well together for the remainder of first period. The science unit was Astronomy, and Will was happy to share with Pikabo that Maggie's late husband was an astronomer and he had lots of astronomy equipment and books stored in his attic. Will and Pikabo also learned that they shared four of their six classes together and Pikabo made a point of trying to sit close to her new friend in each one. The only classes they didn't share were periods four and six. Will had PE in fourth period and Pikabo had English, and vice versa in sixth period.

Near the end of third period, Will and Pikabo agreed on a place to meet for lunch. Will usually ate lunch alone in a quiet place on campus, but he had no problems in breaking his routine this day. They had a nice lunch together. Will let Pikabo do most of the talking – not that he had much choice in the matter. Pikabo seemed to be able to talk at length on any topic, and sound interesting doing so. She told Will about her childhood. Her mother had passed away when she was only six years old. Santa Monika High was now the sixth school she had attended since kindergarten: Two elementary schools, two middle schools, and now two high schools. She explained that her father moved around a lot in his line of work. He was a Cryptographer, and he freelanced at many different places including universities, government agencies, and private corporations.

Will managed to interject a question during one of Pikabo's short breaths, "What does a Cryptographer do?"

"A Cryptographer is someone studied in the science and techniques of secret writing, especially codes and ciphers. In other words, my dad is hired to either break secret codes or create ciphers for the government or corporations to securely communicate or store information. But what my dad really likes to do is teach Cryptography. That's why we moved to Santa Monika. My dad got hired as an adjunct professor at UKLA to teach a course in Cryptography. I've sat in on many of his classes. He really makes it fun and exciting."

The bell sounded signaling the end of the lunch period. Will and Pikabo walked together to their fifth period class, World History. On the way, Will gave Pikabo a verbal summary of the reading he had over winter break for the class. Will's quick lesson to Pikabo proved to pay off immediately. Mrs. Montgomery quickly quizzed Pikabo on parts of the reading to gauge whether or not she would be able to jump right into the lesson or not. Pikabo passed with flying colors. As if for payment, she gave Will a winsome smile and a knowing wink.

Will felt a tingling sensation run up his back to his neck and scalp. He casually patted down his hair, feeling like it was standing on end. Will didn't know what he was feeling. All he knew was that he had never felt this way before, and he liked it.

After sixth period PE, Pikabo met up with Will afterschool.

"I have to purchase gym clothes so I can participate in PE," she stated to Will.

"If you've got cash, I can take you right now to the student store. Or I can just spot you the money and you can pay me back," Will offered.

"Thanks for the offer, but I've got some cash."

Will led Pikabo to the store and she purchased the standard grey t-shirt with gold print and royal blue shorts that made up the PE uniform. Will then built up the courage to ask Pikabo if she'd like to grab something to eat. Pikabo's response was warm and pleasant, "Sounds good. But I still won't let you pay for me."

"We can go to the burger place near my house. It's just six blocks away. What time do you need to be home?" Will asked.

"My dad said he'd be late and I'm on my own for dinner, so burgers sound great."

"Maggie said I'm on my own for dinner, too."

They headed off campus and down the street towards Tom's Burger Shak and Will's home.

"Why do you call her Maggie if she's your adopted mother?" Pikabo asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"That's what Maggie wants to be called. I asked her the same question when I was five and found out that everyone in kindergarten called their mothers Mom. She said to me that she was never a Mom and it just felt more comfortable for her to be called Maggie."

"Sounds perfectly logical," Pikabo said.

"Do you live around here?" Will asked.

"So far we are walking towards my apartment. I live six or seven blocks away. We might be neighbors."

"That would make it very convenient for working on our Astronomy project," Will stated, trying to mask the exuberance he felt inside.

As they continued to walk down the sidewalk, Will started to daydream about how Pikabo was the first girl he found at all interesting. And it wasn't even that she was a girl. She was the first person his age, boy or girl, whom he found interesting. He couldn't believe his luck in her coming to his school, becoming his science partner, sharing most of his classes, and now possibly being his neighbor.

"Will!" Pikabo screamed.

The scream woke Will from his daydream. His surroundings quickly came back into focus and he realized he was at a corner intersection and had stepped from the curb into oncoming traffic. He quickly jumped back onto the curb and smiled at Pikabo, turning a little red in the face with embarrassment.

"What are you smiling about!? You could have been killed! That car clipped your leg and ran over your foot!" cried Pikabo.

"No it didn't. I'm OK. The car missed me. See." And Will started flexing both legs and jumping up and down. "I'm fine," he said nonchalantly.

The driver of the two-door sports coupe had made a right turn at the intersection and pulled his car to a stop. He opened his driver's side door, stood up, and shouted at Will over the roof of his car, "Son, are you OK?"

Will shouted back, "I'm fine." Will then did another quick knee bend and a couple jumps for good measure.

The driver shook his head, got back in his car, and drove away.

Pikabo didn't believe it. She saw Will's right leg get hit by the front bumper of the car as it was making a right turn and then both front and back tires ran over his right foot. She actually started to become a little angry. She knew what she saw, and even with Will's denial and apparent good health as evidence to the contrary, she didn't like to be fooled, deceived, or lied to. She took a few moments and weighed all of the evidence in her head. She quickly regained her composure and deduced that maybe the accident wasn't as bad as she had originally thought.

"Are you sure you're OK?" she asked earnestly.

"The car must have missed me. I feel fine. Come on, the light's green now."

Will and Pikabo safely crossed the street and continued to the burger place. Will didn't know if the car missed him or not. It was awfully close to him when he was awakened from his daydream, but he didn't feel anything.

Ten minutes later, the driver of the sports coupe reached his destination, got out of his car, and inspected the front end of his car. The right-front corner of the solid chrome bumper was completely bashed in and embedded two inches into the right-front fender of his sports coupe.

****

Chapter Five

The Moon Will Rise and Fall  
Or  
The Moonrise and Will's Fall

Monday, 9th January, 2012 KE

"Can I have a chili-cheeseburger, no onions, fries, and a soda," Pikabo placed her order at the counter and handed over a ten dollar bill. The cashier issued her change and handed Pikabo a receipt and an empty paper cup.

"I think I'll have the same thing," Will said to the cashier. He then turned and smiled at Pikabo. He thought about winking too, but thought better of it and simply raised his eyebrows instead. Will followed Pikabo over to the soda dispenser, filled up his cup after her, and together they sat down at an empty booth.

"So when do you want to get started on our Astronomy project?" Pikabo asked.

"We should probably start doing the observations tonight since it will be a full moon. Mr. E. wants us to take weekly notes on the Moon's waxing and waning over the course of a full month's lunar cycle, and starting with a full moon makes sense," Will surmised.

"Good idea. A new moon might be better, but that's still two weeks away and we can't wait that long to get started. Do you know when the Moon rises and falls tonight?" Pikabo asked.

"I think I remember seeing it rise last night just after sunset. So we should be able to see it any time after sunset tonight."

Will and Pikabo finished their burgers and agreed to meet at Will's house at 8:00pm to start their observations. They left Tom's Burger Shak and went their separate ways to their respective homes. Will's house and Pikabo's apartment turned out to be only one street apart but on the same city block. They were not back to back, but the back corners of their respective lots shared a common point. So they were not backyard neighbors exactly, but diagonal backyard neighbors.

Will had a little extra lift to his step. He arrived at his home without remembering how he got there because he again was daydreaming about how normal Pikabo seemed to be. Or was she normal? If she was the exception to the rule, wouldn't that make her abnormal? No, normal sounds better, Will thought. Everyone else must be the abnormal ones.

Will did the homework for his other classes, looking up at the clock every five minutes to see if it was 8:00pm yet. His homework was fairly light for the first day back after winter break and he finished it in good order. He turned on the TV and started flipping channels. He would usually watch something he had recorded on the DVR, but he had caught up on all of his recorded shows over the break, and he was now dreading having to sit through commercials.

Will was saved from watching another uninteresting show when Maggie walked in the door at 7:30pm.

"How was your first day back at school?" she asked.

Will usually didn't have much to tell Maggie and would normally give her one of his canned responses of Fine or Good, but not today.

He proceeded to tell Maggie a little bit about each class, but wasn't able to figure out a way to insert Pikabo into his recount. Will thought to himself, how do I refer to Pikabo? Is she a friend, classmate, lab partner, neighbor, new girl, fellow chili-cheeseburger lover, or just someone interesting? I guess she's all of these things. He paused for a moment, deciding to just go back to first period and introduce Pikabo into his story this time, but Maggie asked a new question.

"What did you have to eat?"

"I went to the Burger Shak with a," he paused then continued, "With a new student from school. We're lab partners in Science."

"That's nice," Maggie smiled.

"We're actually meeting here tonight to start the project Mr. E. gave us in the new Astronomy unit I told you about.

"What time are you meeting?"

"8:00pm." Will looked at the clock and was happy to see it was five minutes to 8:00.

As Maggie walked out of the living room and into her bedroom she said, "Can't wait to meet him."

Will was about to say that he was a she, but just shrugged and decided that Maggie would find out soon enough.

8:00pm came and went and every minute thereafter felt like five minutes to Will. He thought nothing of it until it became 8:05 and he started to get a little worried. Then the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Will shouted as he jumped up from the couch.

Will answered the door and Pikabo was standing there. She was in the same clothes as earlier in the day, but there was something different about her.

Will said, "Welcome to my humble home," a line he had been rehearsing in his head among many other lines for the past ten minutes. And even though he knew this wasn't the line he had decided upon, he couldn't remember the other ones when he opened the door.

Pikabo walked in with a blank expression on her face that Will hadn't seen before.

"Is everything alright?" Will asked, concerned.

Will thought he was going to get an answer when he saw Pikabo's expression light up.

"Hello, Ms. Banks! It's very nice to meet you!" Pikabo walked into the living room with her right hand extended.

Now Maggie was the one with a blank expression on her face. But she quickly put on a polite smile and shook Pikabo's hand. "Please call me Maggie," she offered.

"Hi Maggie. I'm Pikabo Rivers. What a lovely bracelet!" Pikabo was just trying to make a good first impression, and she learned that flattery, when used subtly, was an effective tactic. The bracelet did make a bold statement. It was a hollow silver plated cuff bracelet almost an inch wide.

"Oh, thank you. I started wearing this the week I brought Will home. My husband died a few weeks before I adopted Will and this bracelet is a reminder of the precious circle of life. I never take it off."

"That's really nice," gushed Pikabo, "I hope Will has told you I was coming over?"

"He mentioned that his new lab partner was coming over, yes," Maggie replied. She then gave Will a private, one-eyebrow-up look and a dramatically slow, but approving wink. Will rolled his eyes.

"I'll leave you two to get to your project then." She then turned to Will, "Don't forget to be a good host and offer your guest something to drink."

Will this time rolled his eyes so that Pikabo could see as Maggie walked out of the room. He was about to ask Pikabo if she wanted anything from the kitchen when he again noticed her facial muscles drop as if it was a strain to put on a happy face.

"What's wrong?"

Pikabo made sure Maggie was out of earshot and said in a quiet voice, "It's my dad." Pikabo walked over to the couch and slumped into the cushions, then continued, "Like I told you, I didn't expect to see him tonight because he was working late. So when I got home I tidied up a bit, did what little homework I had, and read a few chapters in a book I'm reading. But just when I was going to leave to come here, I saw this note on the pillow of my bed."

Pikabo pulled out a folded up piece of paper from her jacket pocket. "It's a hand written note from my dad. He had to go away on business. But it just feels funny. I don't know what it is. He's had to go away on a moment's notice before, usually on a secret government assignment, but this is the first time he's told me in a letter."

"Can I read it?" Will asked.

"Yes, but please read it to yourself. I don't want anyone to overhear that a 15 year old girl will be home alone."

Will guessed that she must mean Maggie, but didn't take any offense from her request. Will sat down next to Pikabo on the couch, unfolded the paper, and read.

Hi Pikabo,  
Eternally sorry that we are not able to speak  
like we should in person, but I have to take a  
direkt flight out of the kountry tonight. I will  
be returning in 3 to 4 weeks. I kannot tell  
you where it is that I'm going. I know I keep  
flying away and leaving you by yourself to  
imagine where I've gone. I know you will  
eventually forgive me, but please know that I  
really trust and appreciate your independenc  
or I would never ask you to stay home alone.

Love,

Dad

Will folded the letter and asked, "Why do you think it feels funny? You said yourself that he has gone away before on secret government business. I would just assume this is the same thing. That's why he can't tell you where he is going or for exactly how long."

"I know he's done this before and I know I can take care of myself. That's not it. It's how he wrote the letter. It's not how he would talk," Pikabo was thinking aloud.

"I don't know your Dad, so I don't know how he normally talks. But other than the simple mistake of leaving off the e in independence, it all sounds perfectly unfunny to me."

Pikabo gave Will a wry smile. "I guess so," she said with a heavy sigh.

"Shall we go outside and check out the Moon!" Will said in an energetic tone, trying to diffuse the somberness of the situation.

"We shall!" Pikabo exclaimed, obviously mimicking Will, and she gave Will a sharp punch in his shoulder. She immediately felt sorry for the playful punch as it was a lot harder than she had intended. "Sorry!" she added expectantly.

"Sorry for what?" Will said.

"OK, I know I'm just a girl, but I punched you pretty hard."

"I didn't feel it."

Pikabo didn't know if Will was kidding around or not, so she decided to let it go.

They each grabbed their backpacks and headed outside to look for the Moon. They didn't see it. Will's house faced west and the Moon had just started its rise from the east a few hours earlier, so it wasn't very high in the sky and their view was being blocked by Will's house. Will walked to the gap between his house and the one next door and saw the Moon.

"There it is!" Will yelled back to Pikabo. "We just need to get a little higher and we'll be able to see the full moon over my house."

Pikabo didn't say a word and scampered up the tree in front of Will's house like a squirrel that had found a nut. Will's jaw dropped. He just stood in place marveling at how quickly Pikabo climbed. He wasn't going to say anything to Pikabo, but he had never climbed any tree that quickly.

Will climbed the tree as quickly as he could and joined Pikabo on a large branch about 25 feet up. They took out their science notebooks from their backpacks and each made detailed drawings of the Moon, took measurements of the angle of the Moon at prescribed periods of time, and jotted down notes of any visible planets or constellations. They were up in the tree for the assigned half an hour, but when their work was done, they decided to stay in the tree and talk.

"Are you going to be OK staying at home alone without your Dad?" Will asked.

"Yeah. I have a copy of our ATM card so I can pull out money from the bank as needed. And I'm the one who does the grocery shopping, cooks all of our meals, washes the dishes, and does the laundry."

"You know you can come over here anytime," Will offered.

"Thanks. I just may do that." Pikabo started to shift her weight and reach for her backpack. "This has been fun, but it's getting late. We should both get home."

Will put on his backpack and thought about how he would tell Pikabo that he had a fun time too. He was just about to say something as he stretched out his left leg to reach the branch below. By the time he realized that sitting on a tree branch for an hour had made him lose all feeling in his leg, it was too late. His leg buckled and he fell forward. It wasn't a pretty fall.

Will's forehead banged against a lower branch as he cascaded toward the ground. The contact with the lower branch reversed Will's tumble and he flipped backwards almost completely upside down when his head, then body, hit the sidewalk below.

Pikabo jumped into action and scampered down the tree just as fast as she had climbed it. Along the way, thoughts raced through her head of what she would need to do. She wouldn't move him; he probably had a neck or spinal injury. She would make sure he was breathing and then call emergency services.

Pikabo's feet hit the ground and she cringed in anticipation of the horrible sight she would see. She looked down at Will. He wasn't there.

Will was a few feet away from where he hit the ground, standing on his right leg and shaking his left to make the numbness fade away. He didn't have a scratch on him.

****

Chapter Six

Strong Hold  
Or  
Stronghold

Monday, 9th January, 2012 KE

Pikabo stood still, dumbstruck. Will's expression was no different. They both stared at one another trying to make sense of what just happened. Pikabo spoke first, but too soon to get her thoughts in proper order and still breathing heavily from sprinting down the tree.

"You... headfirst... standing... impossible... how?"

Will ran his hand across his forehead where he hit the branch and then the back of his head where he hit the ground. He didn't have a scratch, and after he thought about it for a few seconds, he realized he wasn't in any pain either.

"How am I standing here? How am I OK? I just fell two stories on my head."

"I know. I saw the whole thing. I was terrified. I think I'm shaken up more than you are." Pikabo ran the images of Will's fall through her mind, tried to process what she saw, and acted on her first hypothesis.

"Will, sit down on the grass. Maybe your adrenaline is masking your pain and injuries," Pikabo instructed.

Will did as he was told. It was as good a theory as any. Pikabo sat down next to him. After about a minute, Pikabo broke the silence.

"How do you feel now? Any change?"

"I feel fine. Honestly, I'm just embarrassed more than anything."

After another minute of silence, Pikabo started a line of questioning.

"Have you ever had a broken arm, leg, finger?" Will shook his head.

"Have you ever been to a hospital emergency room?" The question prompted another shake of the head from Will.

"Do you remember a time when you thought you were injured but ended up OK?" Before Will could answer, Pikabo continued, "Because I've now seen it twice in one day. You know, earlier in the day when that car hit you and ran over your foot? I knew I wasn't seeing things."

Will answered, "A few months ago, Maggie thought she had shut the car door on my hand. She went a little haywire and made me run my hand under cold water and everything. Until now, I just thought I had pulled my hand away in time. Now I'm not so sure."

"Have you ever been sick? Have you ever had the flu or a childhood disease?" Pikabo continued the questioning.

"Yes. I've had a few bouts with the flu. And Maggie says I had chicken pox when I was two years old."

"Cuts, scratches, stitches?"

"I've never had stitches, but I'm sure I've had scratches and cuts." Will's voice trailed off. He started to look over his body, surveying his arms and legs. He tried to remember the last time he had been scratched or cut. He couldn't remember one time.

Pikabo interrupted his thoughts, "Do you even own a first aid kit?"

"Of course we own first aid supplies. We keep those things in the bathroom medicine cabinet." Will's voice trailed off again. He began to realize that he had only used the first aid supplies on Maggie. "But I can't remember a time that they were used on me," Will added.

"Have you ever had a splinter!" Pikabo was now exasperated.

Will raised both his palms up in the air, shrugged, and shook his head.

"Alright Mr. Invincible, I'm not done with you yet. But it's getting late and we've both got school tomorrow. Do you think you can make it inside without killing yourself?" Pikabo answered her own question, "Of course you can. What am I thinking!?"

She stood up and swung her backpack over her shoulder. As Will stood up, Pikabo punched him in the shoulder. "See you at school tomorrow," she said.

She started to walk down the sidewalk. Will stood and watched. When she was a few houses away, Will yelled out, "Pikabo!" She turned and looked at Will but continued to walk backwards down the sidewalk.

"I had a good time too!" Will shouted. Pikabo gave him a quick wave of acknowledgement, turned back around, and continued around the corner and out of sight.

Over the next three weeks Will and Pikabo were inseparable. Early on, they took steps to make it easier to get to each other's homes over the six foot back corner wall that separated each lot. They leaned a four foot step ladder in the back corner of Will's backyard, and propped up an old wooden pallet against the corner wall on Pikabo's side and used it as a ladder. When it came to testing out the system they had put in place, Pikabo let Will be the guinea pig saying, "If you fall, at least you won't get hurt!" It became their private joke.

Almost daily, Pikabo invented a way to test a different aspect of Will's invincibility power. Her first test was the day after Will fell from the tree. Pikabo didn't have any time to set anything up or bring any props, but she was curious as to how Will wasn't knocked to the ground when the car hit his leg. On their walk to school, they stopped at a red light and waited for the WALK sign. Without telling Will to prepare, Pikabo took a three-step run-up and pushed Will with all her might. Will lost his balance only slightly and had to take a short step to regain it.

"What'd you do that for!?" Will contested.

"I'm testing how easily you can be knocked off balance when you're not prepared for an attack," Pikabo said with a straight face, but a few seconds later she broke into a smile. She then added, "But I admit I did enjoy that a little."

Will lowered his brow and glared, but he too broke into a smile a few seconds later.

"But seriously," she said, "This time try to anticipate my push and see if you can keep your balance."

"OK."

Pikabo stepped back a couple paces and ran at Will again, but this time her arms buckled upon contact and her face crashed into Will's chest. She fell back onto the ground.

"Are you OK?" Will rushed to her side.

Pikabo looked up with a dazed look on her face. She blinked a few times and then focused on Will. "I'm OK." She raised her hand and Will pulled her up.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"I don't know. I just closed my eyes and imagined myself as a big boulder. When I opened my eyes, you were already bouncing off me and onto the ground."

"You didn't move an inch! It was just like running into a wall. Thank goodness I didn't pick up a lot of speed."

The first week without Pikabo's dad had passed fairly quickly as she kept herself busy with her new project of testing Will's abilities. In her second week at her new school, she got to know other students better and many of them started asking her why she spent so much time with Will. Most of these interactions were honest and pleasant, but some were mean-spirited and cruel. She knew it was a classic stereotype, but all of the cruel comments came from the football jocks; the ringleader of the football jocks was the team captain, Travis Shift.

Even though he was a senior, Travis shared two classes with Pikabo: Science and English. The first time Pikabo heard him attempt to answer a question in class, she knew why this senior was in a freshman class. He was probably in the class for the fourth time, having failed in each of his first three attempts. Travis had the athletic body that college football scouts drooled over. He was six foot four, 195 pounds, with very little body fat. He had pale blue eyes and straight blonde hair that was stylishly cut short on the sides and moussed up to a peak in the middle.

Travis Shift was always surrounded by three of his fellow bonehead football players, and the freshman Science class was no different. Sandy Tankersley and the Smart twins followed Travis wherever he went. Sandy was aptly nicknamed "Tank", and no one but his mother dared call him Sandy unless they wanted a good beating. Tank was five feet eleven inches and 200 pounds of muscle. He had brown hair with a natural reddish tint and brown eyes. The Smart twins were anything but smart. They were identical in every way, standing at five feet ten and weighing in at a very rotund 250 pounds each. They both had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and always wore a confused, vacant expression. No one actually knew the twins' first names, and even if they did they couldn't tell them apart. Depending on who you were talking to, they were only referred to as the Smart twins or the Dumb twins. The only sounds that ever came out of their mouths was a grunt, a snort, or a barely distinguishable, "Good one, Travis," with the inevitable high-five to follow.

In only seven days of school, Pikabo was asked out by Travis seven times. With each polite no thank you from Pikabo, Travis became more pushy and demanding. He never asked her out to the movies, the arcades, or a restaurant. His proposals were always along the lines of, "Ya wanna come watch me lift weights," or "Why dontcha come watch me work out," or "Me and the boys are gonna watch the cheerleaders practice, wanna come?" Pikabo would tell Will about each proposal after school and they would both get a good laugh out of it.

The eighth time Travis approached Pikabo was during lunch. Will and Pikabo were together as usual when Travis, closely followed by Tank and the dumb Smart twins, lumbered up to her.

"Hey! Uh, why dontcha come with me to detention and later we're gonna go to the, uh, swimming pool and check out, er, watch, er, support the girl's diving team."

"No thank you, Travis," replied Pikabo politely.

"I'm captain of the football team. I can bench 250."

"That sounds very impressive, but I'm still not interested."

"What. You gonna hangout with this dweeb. You doin' some kinda, uh, charity work?"

"Good one, Travis," the Smart twins said in unison, then gave each other a high-five, Clap!

Pikabo stood up. "Will's not a charity case. He's my friend. Now I've been polite up to this point, but maybe subtlety doesn't work on you. Let me be blunt. I'm not interested in going out with you. Ever."

"Every girl wants to go out with me. What are you, a retard or somethin'?"

"Good one, Travis," and a Clap! was heard from behind Travis.

Will stepped in front of Pikabo, "She said she doesn't want to go out with you. Now leave her alone."

"You gonna make me, dweeb?"

"Good one, Travis." Clap!

Travis stomped up to Will, towering over him by almost a foot.

"I don't want to fi—." Will had to cut his response short. With no notice, Travis threw a big right cross towards Will's chin. Will caught the punch five inches from his chin with his right hand and held it there. Travis threw a massive left hook towards Will's right ear. Will crossed his left hand over his right and caught that punch too. Travis tried to pull his fists away from Will's strong hold. They didn't budge.

"Don't just stand there, get him!" Travis commanded to his entourage.

Tank got behind Will and the Smart twins boxed him in on the sides. Tank went for a choke hold from behind.

"Will! Look out!" Pikabo yelled.

Still gripping Travis' fists in his hands, Will ducked and pulled Travis' entire body over his head. Travis flew over Will and crashed heads with Tank with a cartoonish Thump! The collision slammed Tank to the ground and Travis landed completely on top of him.

"Double Bulldog Blitz!" shouted Travis to the Smart twins while clutching the open gash on his forehead.

The Smart twins rushed Will from the sides as quickly as their chubby bodies could move. With 500 pounds of jiggling flesh closing in on him, Will took a quick jump forward.

Thump! The twins collided head first and fell to the ground.

All four football players had deep, bloody gashes on their foreheads and writhed in pain on the ground, whining in high-pitched whimpers.

Will and Pikabo looked around. Nobody reacted. It all happened so fast that no one in the area saw what happened. The school bell sounded the end of the lunch period. Will and Pikabo quickly vacated the area and hustled off to their History class with Mrs. Montgomery. Unbeknownst to them, Mr. E. saw everything from his Science Room window. He called the main office and alerted them that four boys had gotten into a fight and needed medical assistance.

After two and a half weeks of testing Will's abilities, Pikabo and Will made the following conclusions: Will felt minor aches and pains but only momentarily. He was very strong, but got tired or worn down when over-exerting himself like anyone would. However, he recovered from over-exertion in a fraction of the time of the average person. When concentrating, he could become immovable like a brick wall. Will had no special power when it came to tolerating heat, cold, smoke inhalation, or chemical fumes. Although they didn't test it again, they also knew that Will could fall from a great height and come away unscathed.

Nearing the end of the third week of testing, Pikabo had exhausted all of the land-based tests she could think of. She went over to Will's home early in the morning before school.

"Will, I think it is time to do some water tests."

"I've already told you I never really learned how to swim properly. I'm more of the splash-around-in-the-shallow-end kind of guy."

"Bring your swimsuit and towel to school today. We're going to go for a little swim after school."

Will knew when it was pointless to argue with Pikabo, and this was one of those times. She was very confident, usually right, and when a matter was up for debate, she usually won.

It was a Friday, two days after Will's fight with Travis Shift and his posse. None of the four boys had come to school on Thursday. Will and Pikabo wondered if they would come this day. Will and Pikabo walked into the Science room and immediately got their answer.

Travis, Tank, and the Smart twins were all sitting in their usual back row seats. Each of them had an identical rectangular white bandage taped to their foreheads. When they saw Will walk into the classroom, they each lowered their heads, like they all found their desktops terribly interesting all of a sudden.

Mr. E. rolled in, "OK, Calm down people. Just a reminder, you have two more weeks to complete your Moon observations. Also around that time, you should have chosen a research topic with your partner and started your research. Now, let me take roll and we can get started with today's lesson."

Mr. E. didn't call out names. He always looked at the empty seats in the class and knew who was missing. He noted the one empty seat on his roll sheet and then addressed a student sitting in the second to last row.

"Ignacio Quemador, you missed my class again yesterday. I believe that's five times in the two and a half weeks since you came to Santa Monika High. Did you bring a note to the attendance office?"

A small, dark haired boy dressed in all black responded, "Yes, Mr. E. I had another doctor's appointment."

"I hope everything is OK?"

"Thank you. I should be able to attend school more regularly." Ignacio paused and then added, "The doctor visit went very well, thank you."

"Very good." Mr. E. then switched his attention Travis, Tank, and the Smart twins. "I see our back row isn't as empty as it was yesterday. Are you boys alright?"

Will saw Mr. E.'s focus move from the back row to directly at him.

Travis spoke for the foursome, "We're all good, Mr. E. Football training just got a little rough, that's all."

"I see," said Mr. E.

Then Mr. E. looked at Will. Will thought he saw Mr. E. give a slight grin and nod of approval. Will looked at Pikabo, but she, like the rest of the class, was still looking towards the back of the class.

The school day finished without incident. Pikabo was relieved not to have any interactions with Travis, and Will noticed all four boys took a wide berth around him all day. Will met Pikabo outside the swimming pool locker rooms.

"You ready to take the plunge?" Pikabo grinned. She knew Will wasn't very excited about this test.

"Let's get this over with," Will conceded.

"Get changed and I'll meet you inside."

Will and Pikabo went into their respective locker rooms. Will changed into his swimsuit and met Pikabo on the swim deck of the indoor pool.

"Let's start at the five foot depth and you can show me your splash-around-the-shallow-end prowess," Pikabo chuckled.

"Good one, Travis," Will said in his best Smart twins' voice and raised his right hand for a high-five.

Pikabo smiled, gave Will the high-five and said, "Jump in, bruiser."

Will jumped in and stood at the bottom of the pool with his head tilted up so he could breathe out of his mouth.

"Try to tread water without touching the bottom," Pikabo instructed.

Will started to furiously kick his legs and do hand circles underwater. Even with all his effort, he barely kept his nose and mouth above the surface. He struggled for only ten seconds and stood again.

Even though it was kind of funny, Pikabo didn't laugh. She could tell Will was giving it his best effort.

"Try to inflate your lungs with as much air as they can hold and float on your back."

Will took a huge breath of air, closed his eyes, and arched onto his back. He sank like a stone. Will hit the bottom of the pool and stood up again.

"How long can you hold your breath underwater?

Will took another huge breath, lifted his legs, and plummeted to the bottom of the pool. He held his breath a respectable 65 seconds, but showed no extraordinary ability.

"Can you try to swim across?"

The pool was only 25 meters wide. Will pushed off the side of the pool and started swimming... Or at least attempted what he thought was considered swimming. Will had his own version of the Australian crawl. His arms didn't cut through the water with any semblance of glide or grace. They rotated like two blades of a weed whacker, alternately slapping the water with grand explosions of splashing water. His legs didn't propel him at all. Even though he was kicking as hard as he could, they were being dragged behind like a loose anchor. After almost a minute of turbulent effort, Will made it to the other side. He grabbed hold of the pool gutters as if his life depended on it, which it did, and gasped for air.

Pikabo met him on the other side. "I think I've seen enough. Get dressed and I'll meet you outside. I'm very proud of you."

Will was already breathing normally, having recovered from his exhaustion in seconds instead of minutes. He climbed out of the pool, dressed, and met Pikabo outside.

"Are we done with the tests now?"

"For now we are. Next we have to find out why or how it is you have these powers. But I haven't yet figured out how to do that."

Over the weekend, Pikabo drilled Will with every question she could think of that might shed some light on his extraordinary powers. She was still in the dark. On Sunday night, she was over at Will's house for dinner. Maggie, with Pikabo's help, had prepared a nice meal. Having exhausted all of Will's knowledge, it was Pikabo's plan to question Maggie in hopes that some information as to Will's powers would be gleaned. Neither Will nor Pikabo wanted to spill the beans of Will's abilities, so Pikabo knew she needed to tread lightly.

"Thank you for having me over for dinner, Ms. Banks."

"It's our pleasure dear, and please call me Maggie."

Pikabo took a chicken breast from the plate and handed the plate to Will. She started cutting her meat and casually commented, "On your memory wall, I saw some really cute school photos of Will through the years. Do you have any photos with him in little league or other sports growing up?" Pikabo already knew that Will didn't play sports, but she wanted to get Maggie talking.

"No, Will wasn't into any sports. He never showed any interest."

"Was he a good baby, or did he cause you lots of trouble?"

"He was a good baby boy. Sure he got dirty and played rough now and again, but he never got in so much trouble as to hurt himself." Maggie smiled as she thought back to Will's early childhood.

"He didn't get hurt as a baby?" Pikabo quickly questioned. She got a raised-eyebrow glare from Will and immediately knew that she may have gone too far.

Luckily, Maggie took the question in stride, "No, he's always been a healthy boy. He had chicken pox when he was two and the occasional cold, but no broken bones thankfully."

Pikabo concluded that Will may have had these powers at birth. She knew Maggie wasn't the birth mother, so she started asking about Will's adoption.

"Will tells me he doesn't know what the C stands for in his name. Something about how the adoption center had limited information?"

Maggie was confused at first with the mention of the adoption center. That subject hadn't come up for ten years. She took another bite of food and chewed it for an extended period of time. She was giving herself time to put her ten year old fabricated story back in order in her head.

"Yes, the orphanage had a fire and all of their records on the children were burned. All they knew about Will was from the clothes on his back. He was wearing a shirt with Will C. written on it. That's where the C comes from.

"I didn't know that," interjected Will.

"That's right Will," Maggie continued, "So we don't really know your exact birthdate either. We celebrate your birthday on the day I found–," Maggie caught herself, "—the day I picked you up from the orphanage. Anyone care for dessert?" Maggie wanted to change the subject. She stood up, grabbed her plate, and sped off to the kitchen as fast as a 72 year old woman could.

"Where was the orphanage?" Pikabo asked.

Maggie didn't answer. Although she heard the question, she acted as if she was out of earshot. Unluckily for her, Pikabo entered the kitchen and asked again.

"Where was the orphanage?"

"Um, the orphanage? The orphanage was in, um, the orphanage was in Malibu. Just about 20 minutes north of here." It was the only place that came to Maggie's mind. She had tried to come up with any other city, but nothing could push Malibu from her thoughts. "I'm getting tired dear. Do you think you and Will could clean up?" Maggie started to visibly shake and her voice had a nervous quiver.

"Of course, Maggie. No problem. Will and I will handle everything."

Will and Pikabo cleared the table, put the leftovers in the refrigerator, and put the dishes in the dishwasher. They didn't talk about the conversation with Maggie that night. They didn't want Maggie to overhear.

On her way out, Pikabo said, "Come over to my apartment in the morning and we'll walk to school. We'll have to do the Moon observation during the day because it doesn't rise until after 10:30am."

"OK, see you tomorrow," said Will.

Over the past two weeks, Will and Pikabo had to move their weekly Moon gazing sessions to early in the morning before the Sun came up, because the Moon didn't rise until after midnight. They did early morning observations for the third quarter moon on January 16th, and the new moon on January 23rd. On January 30th, they did the observation for the first quarter moon during lunchtime at school.

January 30th also marked the third week since Pikabo's dad had been away. She was in an anxious mood all day as it was the first possible day her dad may return home, according to his letter. Pikabo and Will walked home together as usual, this time going straight to Pikabo's apartment. Pikabo was deflated when saw that there was no sign that her dad had returned.

"In the past, did he usually come home earlier or later than he estimated?" Will asked.

Pikabo pursed her lips, nodded, and said, "Later. He's almost always later than he estimates. I was just hoping that this time it would be different."

But this time would be very different. The men that captured and held Pikabo's dad in the underground stronghold had no intention of ever letting him go.

****

Chapter Seven

O Captain! My Captive!  
Or  
O Captive! My Captain!

Tuesday, 31st January, 2012 KE

"What did they do to you!?" exclaimed Dr. Steven Rivers as he rushed over to the man that was just thrown into the room.

Dr. Rivers helped the man up and into a chair and looked at his injuries. The man had obviously been beaten, and recently. His clothes were torn and stained with blood. The man's wrists were worn raw and the back of his shirt was stuck to his skin with lines of blood seeping through. He was a victim of torture, probably by a whip to the back while being strung up by the wrists.

The man didn't make a sound except for his breathing. He slumped in the chair with his head between his knees, still laboring for every breath of air. Besides his two captors, this was the only other person Dr. Rivers had seen in his three weeks of being held captive. From intermittent conversations with the victimized man over those three weeks, Dr. Rivers learned that the man had been held captive for many months, not weeks. Upon the strict rules of the captors, the man was only to be referred to as Captain, and Dr. Rivers as Doctor.

The Captain wasn't a big man; only about five foot nine when standing. For being a captive, he still kept himself in good shape with a nice muscle tone. The Doctor was told that the Captain did exercises in his cell to keep fit. The Captain had dark brown eyes and dark black hair that was starting to turn grey on the sides. Dr. Rivers guessed that the Captain was at least five years his junior.

The Doctor was a year shy of his fiftieth birthday. He didn't like to think about his birthdays, especially the milestone birthdays. It was on his fortieth birthday that his wife died, leaving him a single parent of a then six year old girl. Little did he know that on that birthday nine years earlier, it would be his daughter Pikabo that handled the death more maturely and ultimately saved him from years of grief and depression. Like his daughter, the Doctor had blonde hair and blue eyes, but he let his hair grow long and curl wildly. The Doctor didn't put too much thought into his appearance even before he was held captive. His daughter helped him shop for clothes and he usually wore whatever was at the top of the folded stack of newly laundered shirts and pants.

Dr. Rivers was abducted from the university parking structure on a Monday morning three weeks earlier. He was blindfolded, thrown in a van, and driven for approximately 40 minutes to his current location. He was pulled out of the van and escorted by force through a series of twists and turns, but through all of that confusion, he knew he ended up many floors underground as he felt the sensation of a multiple-floor descending elevator ride.

When his blindfold was finally removed, he found himself in a small prison-like cell with only a sink, a toilet, and a cot. The cell door was solid metal with a small eight-inch square window at eye level. It was the only window in the room and the metal shutter on the outside of the door window was immediately slid shut a few seconds after he entered the cell, plunging him into darkness.

Dr. Rivers sat in the darkened cell for what felt like three hours with no contact from anyone. He used the time to reenact his abduction and take a mental note of everything he saw before he was blindfolded, and everything he felt and heard after the blindfold. Dr. Rivers was blessed with a near photographic memory and a keen ability to piece seemingly unrelated and trivial information into a plausible construct. It was a skill that put his name on the top of the list in the cryptography community.

He deduced that he was transported by a van. His clues included the sound of the sliding side door opening and closing. By the sound of the engine, he dismissed the possibility that he was in a diesel powered big-rig or a four or six cylinder mini-van. He knew the sound of a V-8 engine. When being led into and out of the vehicle, he didn't bump into, and wasn't forced around anything inside the van. He and a kidnapper sat on a carpeted floor, so he deduced that the back of the van had no seating. The cornering capability of the vehicle and the radiant sound of surrounding traffic all supported a common, solid paneled work van with a sliding side door.

Dr. Rivers took this information one step further and thought back to when he pulled his car into his parking space and the few seconds he had to look around when he stepped out of his car before he was blindfolded. He saw the back end of a white van parked directly across from his parking space, the proximity of that van to his car was consistent with the number of steps he was forced to take by his kidnappers before he entered his captor's vehicle. He didn't see the license plate as one of his two captors was blocking his view.

Dr. Rivers further rewound the memories in his mind back to entering the parking structure. He entered the structure and proceeded up to level three where his assigned space was located. He pictured making his final turn before pulling into his parking space. There it was. The side view of the white van. Written in bold italic red letters on the side of the van were the words, Fiero Institute.

After three hours alone in his dark cell, Dr. Rivers was jolted from his thoughts when the ceiling light bulb alit and one of his captors entered his cell. Dr. Rivers recognized the man as the kidnapper that was blocking the view of the van's license plate. He was a short man, about five feet eight, with dark hair, dark eyes and a muscular build. He threw a notepad and pen onto the cot.

"You must write a short note to your daughter. Tell her you must go out of the country for three to four weeks. Do not tell her why. Make it believable." The man spoke as if he was reading from a script.

"And what if I don't?" Dr. Rivers contested.

"If you don't, we will kill her. If she suspects anything, we will kill her."

Dr. Rivers grabbed the notepad and pen. "What is going on here? Why have you abducted me?" Dr. Rivers tried to stay calm but his voice trembled.

The man ignored the questions. "I will return in 15 minutes. Write the note," he said and left the cell.

Dr. Rivers spent the full 15 minutes writing the note to his daughter. He took extreme care in making sure that no choice of word would raise the suspicion of his captors. The short muscular man returned 15 minutes later, took the notepad and pen from Dr. Rivers, and left the cell without reading the note.

"Please don't hurt my daughter!" pleaded Dr. Rivers as the metal door slammed shut and the sound of the deadbolt engaged. The ceiling light went out and he was again sitting in darkness.

"Doctor," the Captain whispered. The tortured man sat up in his chair and attempted to speak louder, "Doctor."

Dr. Rivers walked over to the Captain, "What do you need, Captain?"

"Water," the Captain whispered.

Dr. Rivers was not in his cell, but in a fairly sparse lab room with only two chairs, a desk, and a computer. The computer was only connected to a local server with no capability of outside contact. It was the only other room besides his cell that he had been in for the past three weeks. On the left side of the room was a large mirror. Dr. Rivers knew his captors were on the other side of the mirror, watching him. The captors took him here every day for 10 to 14 hours each day to work. Dr. Rivers walked over to the counter where a half-full case of bottled water laid and grabbed one. He untwisted the cap on his way back to the Captain, sat down next to him, and tilted the bottle over the Captain's open mouth. Half of the bottle emptied before the Captain gasped for air.

"What did they do to you?" Dr. Rivers repeated the same question from ten minutes earlier.

"They tortured me. I didn't have answers to any of their questions. All the questions were about you and the work they have given you. I didn't know the answers. I couldn't know the answers. But they tortured me just the same."

"What questions? What do you mean the questions were about me and my work?" asked Dr. Rivers.

"They want to know if you are stalling. They think you aren't cooperating in your fullest capacity. They want those codes deciphered."

"I've told them the problem in deciphering those codes. The encryption is impossible to crack without the key. I've told them everything I could about the structure of the cipher. But decoding it without the random one-time pad is impossible."

"There must be something more you can tell them," pleaded the Captain.

Dr. Rivers had no immediate answer for the Captain. It was true; He had seen this structure of code before, but not for 25 years. But at that time he had the one-time pad, or key that could unlock the code. His memory was good, but after two and a half decades he could only remember one of the over 50 lines of code he deciphered, and he wasn't even sure that he remembered that line correctly. He knew the codes, once decoded, were all specific points around the globe, and he told his captors as much. But he hadn't told them that he remembered one of those locations from 25 years ago.

"You must tell them something," reiterated the Captain. "They say I am just an example of what they will do to your daughter if they don't see some progress."

Dr. Rivers had spent many hours with the Captain over the past three weeks. The Captain would show up approximately every other day and spend a few hours in the lab room. The Captain told him that he had been held against his will for over a year, but was not allowed to tell him what he was being held for. The Captain said his cell was similar to Dr. Rivers' cell, but on a different floor. The captors used the Captain to relay instructions to Dr. Rivers and be of assistance should the Doctor be of need. Up to this point, the captors only used threats of violence, but the Captain's injuries provided evidence that their tactics had escalated.

Dr. Rivers walked over to the desk and wrote down the latitude and longitude coordinates of a beach in Malibu.

"This is the only thing more I can give them, and it's highly doubtful that it has anything to do with their lines of code." Dr. Rivers held up the paper and continued, "They must know that I would do anything to keep my daughter safe."

Ten minutes later, the Captain was removed from the room. Ten minutes after that, the taller and thinner half of the two captors, standing about five foot ten, entered the room. He too had dark hair and dark eyes, but wasn't as muscular as the shorter captor.

"The Captain has told us that you have new information," he said in a monotone voice, but didn't sound as scripted as the other captor.

"I have a coordinate in the same structure as the codes you have given me to decipher. It is a location that I remember from a similar set of codes I deciphered many years ago. I haven't given it to you before because it most likely doesn't have anything to do with your set of codes. But it is the only information I can give you that I haven't given to you weeks ago."

The captor walked over and took the paper with the coordinates. He turned and walked directly towards the door.

Dr. Rivers pleaded, each sentence getting increasingly louder until he was at a full scream, "You can't hurt my daughter. She has done nothing. Hurt me instead. I don't know anything else. I can't do anything more without the key!"

The captor never turned, but continued to walk out of the Lab room and slammed the door shut behind him.

Down the hall in an adjacent room to the Lab room stood the Captain and the two captors. The Observation room had a one-way mirror with a full view of the Lab room. The Captain's shirt was off and the shorter captor was wiping off the make-up from the Captain's wrists and back.

The taller of the two captors handed the Captain the paper with the coordinates.

"What are your orders, Captain?" asked the taller captor, standing at attention.

"Find out the location of these coordinates. You two will investigate immediately."

****

Chapter Eight

One, Two, Three, Four  
Or  
Four to One = Three

Wednesday, 1st February, 2012 KE

The school bell sounded the end of fourth period and Will was finishing up changing out of his P.E. clothes and back into his school clothes. He tied his school shoes, threw his gym shoes and clothes into his locker, and headed out of the locker room to meet up with Pikabo on the quad for lunch. Pikabo obviously had different plans, as Will saw her running up to him outside the gymnasium.

"What's up? I thought we were meeting on the quad?" Will asked.

Pikabo took an extra moment to catch her breath and said, "Travis and his gang are up to it again."

"What did they do to you?" Without realizing it, Will clenched his fists.

"Me? No. Not me. They are picking on that new boy, Ignacio."

It took Will a few seconds to calm down from thinking that Pikabo had been the victim of some sort of attack, then a few more seconds to remember who Ignacio was.

"That kid in Mr. E.'s class that always dresses in black?" he asked.

"Yes, Ignacio Quemador. He's actually in all of my classes and therefore he's in four of yours." Pikabo found it hard to believe someone so smart could be so oblivious to his surroundings. She held up a fist and raised a finger for each class she named, "Science, Geometry, Spanish, History." With four fingers now raised, she counted them, "One, Two, Three, Four."

"Really?" asked Will, finding it hard to believe the boy was in so many of his classes.

"Yes, really, but we don't have time for that now. I overheard Travis saying that he and his gang were going to jump the boy at lunchtime," Pikabo said with a very worried sound to her voice.

"And you think I should do something about it?" asked Will.

Pikabo just glared at Will. Will rolled his eyes.

"OK, OK, where do we go?" Will conceded.

"Follow me."

At a quick jog, Pikabo led Will through the quad, past the cafeteria, and down the path that led to the part of the school called the bungalows. For the most part, the layout of the school was square, but the bungalows were the exception as they broke away from the square forming a panhandle on a map of the school. The bungalows were thus isolated from the rest of the school, including being isolated from school security that tended to stay near the quad during the lunch period. Behind the last bungalow, they saw a large crowd of students gathered and they forced their way to the inside of the circle of onlookers. Pikabo's worries were founded. Little Ignacio stood in the center and was outnumbered four to one, being surrounded by Travis, Tank, and the Smart twins. By the size of the crowd, it seemed the fight had been going on for some time, but there wasn't a mark on the undersized boy. Travis and Tank seemed to be in the middle of an argument.

"Hold onto him so I can punch him!" commanded Travis to Tank.

"I – I'm trying. But he keeps making me let go," stammered Tank.

"You gonna let the 98 pound weakling get the better of you?

"Good one, Travis," said the Smart twins. They couldn't high-five as they were separated on either side of the boy, so they gave each other an air-five instead.

Tank grabbed Ignacio from behind and incapacitated the boy's arms. However, seconds later, Tank screamed and let the boy go.

"What are you doin'!?" Travis yelled at Tank. He then looked at both of the twins and commanded, "You guys grab his arms."

As the twins closed in on Ignacio, the boy looked into the crowd and saw Pikabo and Will. A flash of panic showed on his face. The boy hadn't shown any emotion up to this point, not even a look of fear or worry. The panic quickly erased from the boy's face, replaced by the total submission of his entire body. He was grabbed by the twins and let his body go limp.

Travis was surprised by the change in body language and looked in the direction that caused the face of panic. Travis scanned the crowd and saw Will, who had stepped into the circle. Travis' face went pale.

"Uh, forget it guys. This puny runt isn't worth it," Travis said.

"Good one, Travis," said the Smart twins.

"No. Let him go," Travis corrected the twins, he then added, "This is his lucky day. I'm hungry. Let's go."

If it were possible, the dumbfounded look on the Smart twins turned a little dumber, but they each released their chubby handholds and let go of Ignacio. The circle of students made an opening as Travis, quickly followed by his gang of three, stomped though the crowd and strutted off towards the cafeteria. The crowd of students dispersed, all except for Pikabo and Will.

"Are you OK, Ignacio? Did they hurt you?" asked Pikabo.

"I'm fine. They never actually threw a punch. I kept, um, I kept squirming away from the big guy that was grabbing me from behind."

"Ignacio, I'm Pikabo and this is Will." Pikabo held out her right hand and offered to shake the boy's hand, but Ignacio took that moment to retrieve his backpack which was on the ground a few steps away.

He swung his backpack onto his shoulder, put his hands in his pockets, and replied, "Hi, please call me Iggy."

The threesome started walking down the bungalows path and Iggy continued, "Thanks for your help back there. I thought I was gonna get beat up for sure once those twins got ahold of me." Iggy then turned to Will, "I think the main guy, Travis? I think Travis changed his mind after he saw you. Why'd he do that?"

"We had a little run-in last week and I think I put up more of a fight than he expected," Will paused for a moment, thinking of a way to deflect the question without telling the real story. "You know how bullies are, if you show any kind of resistance, you know, make it difficult for them, they give up and look for easier prey. It's all about perception for them. They only attack those they think they can beat, especially when there's an audience."

"Do you think they'll jump me again when you're not around?"

The question was directed at Will, but Pikabo answered, "Iggy, you're not going to have that problem. Hang with us for a few days and those bullies will give up on you and move on."

Will wasn't very happy with Pikabo's plan, but he tried not to show it. He was quite happy as a twosome the past three and a half weeks. The old adage of twos company but threes a crowd came to mind. But after a moment of quick reflection, Will knew that Pikabo was right once again.

"That's right Iggy. Hang with us," Will confirmed. He then looked at Pikabo through his peripheral vision to see if she had any reaction, but he didn't see one.

"That's alright, guys. I don't want to be a bother," Iggy said.

"Too late. The decision's been made. We'll all have lunch on the quad and then walk together to History," stated Pikabo, taking charge of the situation as usual.

Their lunch was a repeat of Will and Pikabo's first lunch three and a half weeks earlier. Pikabo dominated the conversation with information on her childhood. Will did manage to add a few of his life's details when Pikabo took a breath, but Iggy was tight-lipped. Both Pikabo and Will simply reasoned Iggy's silence was because he was uncomfortable and maybe nervous in a new situation. With only five minutes left in the lunch period, Pikabo switched subjects and asked Iggy about how his Science project was going.

"I don't like my lab partner at all. Mr. E. put me with Deshondra. She was part of a three-person group, and all she does is hang out with her two ex-lab partners. They say we are going to work on the project, but they end up going to the mall and just walking around. It's really like they're still in a group of three, and I'm on the outside looking in."

"That's not right. Just because you come to school in the middle of a term, you shouldn't be forced to partner with the one oddball in class," said Pikabo, clearly taking a friendly jab at Will.

"Hey!" protested Will. He gave Pikabo a playful glare.

"Present company excluded, of course," Pikabo grinned. She then gave Will a punch in the arm. Returning to a more serious tone, she continued, "What do you think if we propose this: Tomorrow morning, the three of us go up to Mr. E. and ask him if you can join our group. Those three girls can go back to being a group of three, and we'll become a group of three."

"Would you guys do that?" asked Iggy.

Pikabo looked at Will. Will said nothing. Pikabo leaned into Will, tilted her head slightly to the side, and opened her eyes wide and raised her eyebrows.

"Sounds like a plan!" declared Will.

The bell sounded and they walked together to History. They decided, really Pikabo decided, that Will would walk them to sixth period P.E. before he went to his English class. Will would also meet up with Pikabo and Iggy outside the gym locker room and escort Iggy to his ride home. Even though Iggy stated multiple times that the escort wasn't necessary, Pikabo insisted and Iggy relented. Like Will, Iggy quickly realized that Pikabo won more than her fair share of debates. Afterschool, Iggy led them all to the street corner outside of school where his car was waiting.

"There's my car," Iggy said.

"Where? Behind the limo?" Will asked.

"No, it is the limo," Iggy stated.

Will and Pikabo took a quick look at each other, but both quickly wiped the surprise off their faces.

"Great," Pikabo said. "We'll see you tomorrow, Iggy."

"OK, see you," said Iggy.

"Bye," said Will.

The limo was painted black with dark tinted windows, making it impossible to see inside. Iggy's driver, who was dressed in a dark suit and tie, dark sunglasses, and wore the traditional black chauffer's cap, was standing at attention outside the back passenger door with a stoic expression.

"Hi, Billy," said Iggy to the driver.

Without a word, Billy opened the door for the boy, shut it behind him, and proceeded around to the driver's seat.

The limo pulled away leaving Will and Pikabo standing on the corner, staring. They didn't move until the limo was out of sight. They smiled at each other and said simultaneously, "A limo!"

What Will and Pikabo both failed to notice was the personalized license plate on the back of Iggy's limo that read, FIERO 1.

****

Chapter Nine

Report of the Contort  
Or  
Contort of the Report

Wednesday, 1st February, 2012 KE

"Was that the girl?" asked the man sitting in the rear facing seat of the limo.

Iggy was startled. Other than Billy the driver, there was never anyone accompanying him home from school.

"Yes sir," replied Iggy.

"Your instructions were to watch the girl from a distance and report on her activity. Your instructions were to blend in with the other students. Not to stand out."

"Yes sir," replied Iggy. He wanted to explain, but he knew if the questioner wanted more information, he would ask.

"Your report then," the man commanded.

"Yes sir." Iggy usually had the entire 45 minute limo ride to compile the day's events in his head, put them in order, and be prepared for his daily report. He didn't have that luxury today, as the man pushed up the timetable considerably.

"Start at the beginning."

"Yes sir. I arrived at school at o-seven hundred. I stationed myself in my assigned location across the street from the subject's usual route to school. At o-seven thirty-five, subject was acquired. She was travelling on-foot and accompanied by schoolmate one as usual.

The man interrupted, "Any pushing or other contact observed similar to day one of your mission?"

"No sir. But I was stationed several hundred feet away on day one and not in the best vantage point to be 100 percent certain of what I observed."

"Noted. Continue."

"Yes sir. Subject and schoolmate one made their two usual stops at their respective lockers before entering period one classroom at o-seven fifty-five. Period one commenced at o-eight hundred and period one leader gave normal oral instruction."

The man interrupted again, "Any further development on your lab partner situation with schoolmate two?"

"Yes sir. Events that occurred during intermission two will illuminate development on said situation."

"Continue."

"Yes sir. Observed S.O.P. for period two, intermission one, and period three. Regretfully report the emergence of a possible compromising incident in period four."

The man shifted in his seat, as if to adjust himself to get into the optimum listening position.

Iggy continued, "Schoolmate three, accompanied by four, five, and six which comprise the totality of coterie one began to—," Iggy stopped. He found it too cumbersome to continue in military-speak. "Permission to speak candidly, sir."

"Granted. Continue."

"Yes sir. During the end of English class, Travis Shift and his gang started to harass me. I didn't do anything to provoke them. Travis took offense that I was called upon by the teacher to answer a question, which I successfully answered after he failed to give the correct answer. He turned to me and said, 'You're goin' down.' His comment was heard from other students in the class who started a chain of whispers that resulted in a fight or jump being scheduled for the lunch period, or intermission two. I did my best to extricate myself from the situation, but failed. I was surrounded by the four members of coterie one when English class ended. They took me behind the bungalows and surrounded me. A crowd of students –"

Iggy was interrupted by the man, "Where is the subject at this time?"

"Yes sir. Subject was observed vacating the bungalows area double time towards the center of campus."

"Continue."

"Yes sir. Coterie one surrounded me and a crowd of students formed a ring around them to spectate. Travis, that is schoolmate three, began to taunt me, belittle me, and tell me how he was going to hurt me. I remained silent. Schoolmate four, that's Tank, attempted several times to incapacitate me from behind but I managed to free myself at each attempt."

The man sat up in his seat and glared down at Iggy. "Just how did you manage to free yourself?"

Iggy felt like he was on the hot seat. He felt that he was now the subject of an interrogation. He thought about his options as to how to answer the question, and decided on self-preservation. Iggy decided to lie.

"I managed to squirm and contort my body to free myself from his hold." Iggy immediately felt the pressure of his lie. Dangerous thoughts raced through his mind. What if he was the subject? What if someone was watching him? Would that observer realize he didn't just squirm and contort? No, I'm just being paranoid, Iggy thought to himself.

"Continue."

"Yes sir. The attempts to hold me went on for a minute or so when Travis and Tank, that is schoolmates three and four, began to argue. Schoolmate three decided that numbers five and six should attempt to incapacitate me.

The man began to get annoyed with the military speak, "Speak candidly," he commanded.

Yes sir. Travis decided that the Smart twins should attempt to hold me down. This is when the possible compromising incident occurred."

"Continue."

"Yes sir. I saw Pikabo enter the ring of student spectators accompanied by Will."

"You reported that the subject had vacated your location?"

"Yes sir. She returned with Will. That is, subject returned with schoolmate one."

"You may speak candidly for the remainder of your report."

"Yes sir. Upon seeing Pikabo and Will, I decided to submit to the impending beating in an attempt to minimize the damage. In other words, I thought the fight would end faster and the crowd would disperse sooner if I let the bullies beat me up."

"I don't see any marks on you."

"No sir. Coterie one disengaged," he corrected himself, "Travis, Tank and the Smart twins decided not to beat me and they let me go. The four of them just walked away."

"Why?"

Iggy decided to lie again. It wasn't a complete lie, but he decided to leave out some of the truth. "I don't know sir. Travis said he was hungry and that it was my lucky day."

"The appraisal that this is your lucky day is very much in doubt," quipped the man. He thought for a moment and asked, "How does all of this possibly illuminate your lab partner situation?"

"Yes sir. Pikabo and Will insisted that I spend the lunch period with them. Pikabo dominated the conversation, with small contributions from Will. I divulged nothing. Pikabo proposed that I join their lab group. Her plan is to meet tomorrow morning and request the switch from the teacher."

"I'll have to think about the fruitfulness of this proposal. I will do so and issue new orders in the morning. Do you have anything further to report?"

Iggy wanted to report that Will and especially Pikabo were very nice to him and that he would like to become their friends, but he knew this information could never be divulged.

"No sir. The remainder of the school day was S.O.P. except for the subject and schoolmate one accompanying me to my transport which you have already observed."

"Yes, transport will have to be altered in the future. This change will be included in your new orders. As you were." Iggy knew that these words had ended the briefing.

"Thank you Father." Iggy knew immediately that he had overstepped his bounds by referring to the man so familiarly.

Iggy's father again sat up straight in his seat and commanded in his deepest voice, "You will not use that title when addressing me. You will address me as Sir or Captain like everyone else in my command!"

"Yes sir."

****

Chapter Ten

Dual Search  
Or  
Search Duel

Wednesday, 1st February, 2012 KE

Following orders from the Captain, the two henchmen had taken the Fiero Institute van and were crossing the city to the coast. They had taken the coordinates given to them by the Doctor and typed them into a global positioning system device. The GPS device zeroed in on the location at a point along the Malibu Beach coastline. Their orders were to do a thorough search of the surrounding area for any clues they could find. Should no clues be found, they were to question anyone who frequented the area, including joggers, sun tanners, surfers, and residents, over a 48 hour time period. The Captain had issued them a script of questions and instructions:

Hello. We are from the Fiero Institute, a non-profit think tank. We do research and advokate for a klean environment and klean energy. We have two questions that will only take a minute of your time.

1. Have you or anyone you know witnessed any of the following events or anything that would resemble these events in this area: Lightning Strike, Massive Explosion, Ring of Fire, Whirlpool or Waterspout, Tornado, Hurrikane, Tidal Wave, Mudslide, Flash Flood, Sand Storm, Volkano, Lava

2. In your experience in this area, has anything happened that you or anyone you know found strange or out of the ordinary?

If they answer "No" to these questions:

Thank you for your time. This konkludes our survey.

If they answer "Yes" to either question, follow up with:

Who witnessed event? – Names, phone numbers

What happened? – Get details

Where did it happen? – Proximity to koordinates

When did it happen? – Date and time

Has anyone other than us asked about this event?

Thank you for your time. This konkludes our survey.

"It's nice to get outta the dungeon and get some air and sunshine for a change," said the driver. He was the shorter but stockier of the two men.

"Yes. I hope we don't uncover anything too early on and have to return. These two days will be like an extended vacation," replied the passenger.

The two men were both 43 years old and had known each other for 22 years. They met each other in the Navy during basic training. Their first post was together on a battleship where they first met the Captain. The Captain at the time was not a Captain or an officer of any kind, but an enlisted man of the same rank as the two men, the rank of Seaman. That time was a lifetime ago for the two men. So much had changed since their days in the Navy.

"Should we stock up on some food first?" suggested the driver.

"No, I think we go to the coordinates and do the search first. If we find a strong lead, then we would have to return immediately. If we don't find a lead, then I say we go to a local market and stock up on food and supplies for the two days."

"Alright, search first it is," agreed the driver.

Will and Pikabo stopped at Tom's Burger Shak afterschool. Neither of them ate much of their sack lunch because the first half of the lunch period was taken up with Iggy's jumping, and the second half was spent talking about it.

"Can you believe he gets driven around in a limo?" laughed Will. "Do you think he's rich?"

"Why? Does that matter to you?" Pikabo asked with a straight face.

Will backtracked and stammered, "No. I didn't mean... I don't think... I'm not that—"

Pikabo let him off the hook and laughed out loud. "I'm just kidding around with you! See, you're not the only one of us that can kid now and again."

"OK. I guess I deserved that." Will changed the subject, "Our last Moon observation is less than a week away. Do you have any ideas for what we should do our project on?"

"Now that Iggy may join in on our project, shouldn't we wait until tomorrow and make the decision between the three of us?" Pikabo reasoned.

"At first I thought we should do that, but two things changed my mind and made me think we should maybe select a project idea without him," Will said.

"OK, what are they?"

"First, I wanted to check out my attic and look through the astronomy stuff of Maggie's late husband. I haven't been up there in years, but I remember he had lots of books and equipment. Maggie says he devoted his life to astronomy."

"How do you devote your life to astronomy?"

"I don't know. How does your dad devote his life to cryptography?"

"OK. Good point. But why can't we wait and check out the attic with Iggy?" Pikabo asked.

"That brings me to the second thing." Will paused, trying to think of a delicate way to say what he wanted to say. "We just met Iggy."

Pikabo lowered her left brow and simultaneously raised her right one.

"OK, OK, you have known of him for three weeks, but it feels like today we both really met him. Other than his affinity to wear all black, we don't know anything about him, really. And I don't know if I'm comfortable letting a semi-stranger into my house and rummaging around in my attic."

"You welcomed me into your house on the first day we met," Pikabo stated.

"Come on, that's different," Will contested.

"How so?" questioned Pikabo.

"Yes. You're right. We met the same day I invited you to my house," Will paused again. He would have to tread more delicately with this topic. "But we had spent the entire school day together, and then met afterschool right here in this restaurant."

Pikabo gave him a blank stare and an unqualified, "Yeah, so?" She was again just kidding around with Will, but this time she didn't plan on letting him off the hook so easily.

"Come on. Do I have to say it?" Will waited for an answer that didn't come, forcing him to answer his own question. "We hit it off! We became instant friends!" Will's face turned bright red.

Pikabo couldn't keep a straight face any longer, and seeing the embarrassment on Will face, she smiled and said in her sincerest voice, "Yes we did. Best friends."

The white Fiero Institute van pulled over to the shoulder of the Pacifik Koast Highway. They checked the GPS device. It showed the point to be due west of their position. They got out of the van, both wearing grey jumpsuits with Fiero Institute embroidered on the front.

"Grab a clipboard. You always look more credible if you carry a clipboard," said the taller man. If there were a smarter, cleverer one of the pair, it was the taller man. Back in Navy basic training, he scored better on all of the written tests. This didn't make him a scholar by any means; he had only slightly above average intelligence. As it had always been since his days in the Navy, the man was only known by his last name: Tavarez.

His partner was the more physical one. He was much stronger and performed better on the Navy's physical tests. He did have above average strength, but below average intelligence. He also liked to be the driver whenever the two of them drove somewhere. This arrangement meant he didn't have to control the GPS device, which he had no idea of how to operate. His name was Sanchez.

They waited for a break in the traffic along the four-lane highway and ran across. A new house, probably constructed within the past few years, was blocking their direct path to the specified point.

Tavarez walked north and Sanchez walked south to see if there was a gap in between the houses that led to the beach. Tavarez was the first one to call out, "Sanchez! We can go through here!"

Sanchez caught up with Tavarez and they both walked between two houses and down to the rocky beach.

Using the GPS device, Tavarez found the exact point of the coordinates.

"You start here and go that way," Tavarez instructed Sanchez as he pointed south. "Make each pass from the water to the houses, move down the beach three feet, and make another pass from the houses to the water, move down three feet and so on.

"What are we looking for," Sanchez asked.

"I'm not really sure. The Captain just said look for anything out of the ordinary," replied Tavarez, then he added, "But the Captain didn't sound too confident that we'd find anything."

"Great," Sanchez said sarcastically and then asked, "When do we stop?"

"When we find something or when I tell you to stop. It will probably take a couple of hours."

The men spent almost two hours canvasing the beach. Each three-foot wide pass took about a minute to perform, and they managed to search the beach the width of six houses in each direction. Tavarez was satisfied that they had gone far enough, and started to walk back. He was too far away from Sanchez to get his attention by yelling, but less than a half of a minute later, Sanchez looked up and saw Tavarez walking back and waving his arms.

"Did you find anything?" inquired Tavarez when they came together.

"Sand, rocks, seaweed, one of those round sea creatures that closes when you touch the middle—"

"A sea anemone," Tavarez stated.

"Right, a sea enemy, some candy wrappers, soda cans, and six cents," Sanchez finished.

"Did you inspect the trash?" asked Tavarez.

"What do you mean?

"Did you recognize all the pieces of trash? Did they all look normal to you?

"I recognized each piece of trash. Nothing out of the ordinary," replied Sanchez. Even though Sanchez wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he followed orders well and always did the best job he could. "How did you do?" he asked.

"The same type of stuff, nothing out of the ordinary, but I made 32 cents," Tavarez said as he showed Sanchez the coins in the palm of his hand.

"Great," he said sarcastically again, "That makes," he paused, obviously laboring to add 32 and 6 together, "That makes 38 cents to go towards our dinner. I'm thirsty too, can we go get something to eat and drink now?" Sanchez asked.

"Yes. I think we've earned an early dinner. Then we'll stock up the van with some food and supplies and head back here to start our questioning.

"Good, I'm starving," said Sanchez.

After finishing their meals at the burger place, Will and Pikabo went to their respective homes. They planned on meeting up at Will's house an hour later. Pikabo wanted to go home to her apartment first to see if her dad had returned from his trip. 55 minutes later, Will heard a knock on his back door. He clicked off the TV, walked into the dining room, and opened the back door to let Pikabo in. Will noticed that she had changed her clothes. She was now wearing a pair of old, faded blue jeans and an old t-shirt from the San Diego Zoo. Both her pants and shirt were covered with drips, blotches, and stripes of dried white paint.

Will ignored the clothes and asked, "Any good news?"

"No. No sign of him. Knowing my dad, it could be another month."

"Sorry about that. You want to watch some TV or head up to the attic now?"

"I'm excited to check out your attic. I came dressed and ready."

"I noticed that. I guess you're thinking that it will be dirty and dusty. It didn't even cross my mind, but you're probably right. Give me a second and I'll change too." Will walked into his bedroom and closed the door.

"Take your time," said Pikabo, and she sat down on the couch and waited, then she yelled, "Where's Maggie?"

Will yelled back from behind his bedroom door, "She's at another charity event and spending the night at a friend's house. She won't return until about noon tomorrow."

Will came out a couple of minutes later wearing some old sweat pants and a Death Valley T-shirt.

"We'll need the step ladder from the backyard, and maybe some flashlights," Will said, as he headed out the back door to retrieve the ladder.

When he returned, Pikabo asked, "Isn't there a light up there?"

"I don't remember. But if there is, the bulb would most likely be no good anymore. Check that drawer; we should have a light bulbs in there. And that drawer over there is where we keep the flashlights," Will pointed to two drawers in the kitchen.

Pikabo looked in the drawers, "Yep! I'll bring a new light bulb and two flashlights."

"Bring them into my room." Carrying the ladder, Will walked into his bedroom followed closely by Pikabo.

Pointing to the ceiling, Will said, "This is one of the two access points to the attic. The other is in Maggie's room. I may need to give you a boost, so I think you'll need to go first."

"OK," said Pikabo. She climbed to the top of the ladder and reached up to the ceiling to the square recessed attic door. She pushed up on the door and slid the thin square of plywood to the side and into the attic.

"Hand me a flashlight," she asked Will. Will did so.

Pikabo grabbed the sides of the attic opening and lifted her right foot off the ladder.

"Grab my foot and give me a boost," she asked.

Will took hold of her foot and pressed Pikabo high over his head with ease. Pikabo easily climbed into the attic and disappeared into the darkness. Will saw a flash of light.

"What was that?" he yelled.

"I pulled the string to turn on the light bulb. You were right, it burned out instantly. Hand me the new one."

Will grabbed the light bulb and looked up. Pikabo was lying on her stomach with her head and arms hanging down through the attic opening. He handed her the light bulb and she disappeared again. A few moments later, Will saw a steady light shining through the opening.

"Come on up!" Pikabo yelled.

Will climbed the ladder, grabbed the sides of the ceiling opening, and easily lifted himself into the dusty attic.

The attic was quite large, spanning the entire dimensions of the house. Separating the front of the house, above Will's room and the living room, from the back of the house, Maggie's room, the dining room, and the kitchen, were thick beams of wood that supported the pitched roof across the center of the house. The height spanning the center of the attic was a comfortable six feet high and sloped down towards the front and back of the house where the roof met the attic floor. The boxes and equipment were stacked in the front half of the attic, which made sense because Will's room used to be Dr. Thomas Bank's home office. The boxes were stacked neatly along the center support beams. It looked like there was only one row of boxes, but the row was 15 boxes wide and the boxes were stacked three to four boxes high.

"There must be 50 boxes up here," estimated Pikabo.

"Yeah. Not counting that equipment over there." Will pointed across the attic to a space that was above the living room. Against the far wall was a mound of odd shaped equipment hidden under a dusty blue tarp.

Pikabo took charge, "You start at that end and I'll start at this end." Pikabo was pointing to each end of the row of boxes. "What do you see in the first box?" she asked.

Will walked over to the top box at the end of the row of boxes above the living room and opened it. "Books," he said.

Pikabo opened the first box on her end. "Same here," she echoed. "Let's get through these boxes as quickly as we can and only pull out books that are on a subject we find interesting. When we're done, we'll see what we have and decide on a project topic.

"Sounds like a plan," said Will.

Pikabo and Will systematically opened boxes, scanned the books, and moved on to the next box. Occasionally, they would pull out a book and call out the title to each other. The other would respond with a quick evaluation.

"Jupiter's Moons," Will blurted.

"Maybe," Pikabo responded. "Pluto, the Ninth Planet from the Sun," she added and laughed.

"Probably a little out-dated," Will responded.

"The Rings of Saturn," Will suggested.

"No. I think other groups will choose that topic. I want ours to be unique," Pikabo responded.

"Martians and other Extra-Terrestrials," Will said with a straight face. Pikabo tilted her head and glared back. Then they both got a good chuckle out of it.

"Here's one, Tidal Force – The Moon's Pull on Aqua's Oceans," Pikabo proposed.

"Sounds interesting," said Will.

After a half an hour, they met in the middle and scanned the last box's contents together. They finished the box, put the lid back on, and looked to see how many books they pulled. They each had five books selected.

Pikabo, as usual, came up with a plan. "Why don't we each look over the other's stack and pull out the one book we find the most interesting."

Will nodded and walked over to Pikabo's stack as Pikabo made her way over to Will's stack. They both returned to the middle of the attic under the light bulb.

"You go first," said Will.

"It was close between Venus: Aqua's Sister Planet and Jupiter's Moons. But I think I like Jupiter's Moons the best out of your stack. What did you pick?" Pikabo asked.

"There was one book that just jumped out at me. Not only do I find the title interesting, there's something else."

"Enough of the suspense already! What it is?" Pikabo asked.

"Drumroll please," said Will. Pikabo punched him in the arm.

"It's Tidal Force – The Moon's Pull on Aqua's Oceans," Will finally stated.

"I like that one too. What else did you find interesting about it?"

"Drumroll?" he requested.

"Sure," Pikabo said. She held out her fists as if she was holding two drumsticks, but instead of drumming, she punched Will in the arm twice with a one-two punch. "Just tell me!" she commanded.

"It's the author: Dr. Thomas Banks, Maggie's late husband."

"Oh, wow! That's great," said Pikabo. "I didn't notice that when I pulled it out of the box. Let's see what's under this tarp and then we can get out of this dust."

Will pulled the tarp away from the mound revealing an assortment of medium sized tools and instruments that neither of them recognized, a fairly large telescope resting on a tripod, and a model of a basketball sized Aqua and a tennis ball sized Moon.

"I've seen that model before," said Will. He grabbed the Tidal Force book and pointed to the back cover. "There's Dr. Banks with the model sitting on his desk."

"Perfect," said Pikabo. "Let's take the model, the telescope, and the book and get out of this dusty place."

Pikabo grabbed the model and the book and set them down next to the opening to Will's room. Will did the same with the telescope. Will climbed down first and Pikabo lowered the items down to Will.

"Come on down feet first and I'll make sure your feet find the ladder," instructed Will.

"Let me get the light first."

Pikabo walked over to the light and pulled the string. The light went out and she pulled the flashlight from her back pocket and turned it on. She waved it around the attic one last time and saw something small reflect back near the opposite access door above Maggie's bedroom.

"I'll be down in a minute. Let me check out one more thing," she yelled down to Will.

Pikabo turned the light back on and moved a stack of boxes from the middle of the room to make an opening to the other side. She shined her flashlight on the object that reflected back and walked to it. She found that it was a small video device that was reflecting the light back. The camera was resting on a large, leather-bound book with pages and pages of hand-written entries. Pikabo took the book and the video camera, turned out the light, and walked over to the opening to Will's room.

"Will, take these and then help me down." She handed Will the book, camera, and flashlight.

Will helped her down and asked, "Where did you get these?" pointing at leather-bound book and video device.

"They were on the other side," she responded.

Will looked at the new items, "This is a video camera, but what is this leather book?"

"It looks like a journal or log book of some kind. It's old, look at the date of the first entry," suggested Pikabo.

"1956!" Will exclaimed.

"Now look at the date of the last entry."

Will started at the back of the book flipped through a few empty pages until he found an entry.

"Seventh of March, 1998," he said. The date didn't immediately register any significance to him, but a few seconds passed and it hit him, "That's two weeks before Maggie adopted me!"

"Isn't it also the month and year that Maggie's husband passed away?" Pikabo asked and then added, "Take a look at the inside front cover."

Will looked and read, "Field Book of Dr. Thomas Banks."

Sanchez and Tavarez returned from their early dinner and supply shopping at 5:20pm. The Sun was setting over the Pacifik Ocean, and neither man wanted to admit that they were enjoying the view on their drive back up the coast to Malibu.

"So what's the plan? Are we going to split up or stay together for these interviews?" asked Sanchez.

"Let's begin by staying together. You just stand behind me and hold the clipboard and I'll do all the talking," replied Tavarez.

The men were still dressed in their Fiero Institute jumpsuits. Tavarez took the script that the Captain had issued and placed it on a clipboard of his own.

"That's the house in front of the coordinates, but let's start six houses down and work our way north," said Tavarez.

The two men systematically knocked on all twelve houses. No one answered the doors of half of them, and the replies they received from the people who did answer their doors weren't very encouraging.

"Lightning Strike? Sure, the church on the hill was hit by lightning about ten years ago," said a resident.

"How far from here is that church?" Tavarez asked.

"About three or four miles."

"Thank you for your time."

"Flooding? Yes, the Johnsons had flooding just last year," said another resident.

"And where do the Johnsons live?" Tavarez asked, slightly encouraged.

"The Johnsons live on the Sakramento Delta."

"That is not in this area," said Tavarez.

"No, but you also asked if anyone I know had flooding. And I know the Johnsons very well."

"Thank you for your time."

"Massive Explosion? Do my husband's bowel movements after he's had chili count?"

"Thank you for your time."

Sanchez and Tavarez sat in the van for a few hours. Their plan was to go back to the houses that didn't answer around 8:00pm. Five of the six remaining houses answered their doors on this attempt, but the men were no closer to finding any clues. It wasn't until they questioned the resident that lived two houses north of the center house that they managed to garner any type of clue.

Tavarez read from the script, "In your experience in this area, has anything happened that you or anyone you know found strange or out of the ordinary?"

The lady thought for a minute, "No, not recently."

"It could have happened at any time, ma'am," clarified Tavarez.

"Well, I'll never forget this one lady. It must have been ten or fifteen years ago now. She knocked on our door late one night, not unlike yourselves, and asked if we had seen anything out of the ordinary that night."

"Did you see anything out of the ordinary that night?" Tavarez asked.

"No. I told the woman so."

"Do you remember anything about this lady?"

"She was kind, but a little frazzled. The baby she was holding was a little fussy."

Tavarez reached for his pen for the first time all day. "A baby you say?"

"Yes, when I first opened the door and saw her holding a baby, I thought she must have had car trouble or something. But she just asked if I'd seen or heard anything odd that night."

"Did the lady introduce herself, give you her name perhaps?"

"I don't remember her telling me her name, no." The woman paused, "Wait a minute, she wrote something on a piece of paper and told me to give it to... to someone? I don't remember. Is it you that I'm supposed to give the paper to?"

Tavarez didn't miss his chance, "Yes, ma'am."

"Let me see if I still have it. I would have put it in this drawer." The lady turned and was looking in a desk drawer in the entryway of her house. "Is this it?" she asked herself. "No," she answered. "Wait, yes, this is it." The lady walked back to Tavarez and handed him the scrap of paper.

He unfolded the paper and read it.

"Thank you for your time. Good night," Tavarez said to the lady.

Tavarez walked back to the van and Sanchez followed. Once inside, Sanchez asked, "What does the paper say?"

"It says a woman's name and a phone number. We need to find a Maggie Banks."

****

Chapter Eleven

Dying to Try  
Or  
To Die Trying

Thursday, 2nd February, 2012 KE

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Pikabo was knocking hard on Will's back door. Will had fallen asleep on the living room couch and awoke with a start. He rushed to the door and let Pikabo in.

"Its 7:45!" she burst. "You were supposed to meet me at my apartment 15 minutes ago!"

"I... I fell asleep on the couch. Sorry," Will said, rubbing his eyes.

"We have to rush now. Grab your backpack and let's go. You can explain yourself on the way."

They rushed out the front door.

"What happened?" Pikabo asked.

"I stayed up almost all night reading the field book. It's fascinating," Will said.

"What's fascinating? Can we use it as a reference for our research project?"

"No, not that... Well, maybe? No," stuttered Will.

"Huh?"

"Sorry, I'm still waking up. I don't think the field book will help us with our research report. Anyway, that's not why it's fascinating. It's a log of Dr. Bank's work over the years; kind of a blow-by-blow account of his work and thinking process. He was a brilliant man – a little strange, maybe crazy – but brilliant."

"How so?"

"He dove headfirst into every project he undertook. He left no stone unturned. If it meant traveling to Tibet or Japan, he did so. He followed every lead, no matter how small. He consulted all of the necessary experts. He didn't let a project die unless he proved it right or wrong, ran out of leads, or..." Will trailed off.

"Or what?" Pikabo asked.

"Or died trying," Will finished. "The last project mentioned in the book; he actually died trying to prove it."

"He was killed?"

"No. He died from a blood disease. He just ran out of time to test his hypothesis." Will thought to himself for a moment and then continued, "There's so much I want to show you in the field book. There's not enough time now. We'll be at school in a couple min—Oh shoot!" Will shouted.

"What now!"

"The field book. I wanted to bring it to school. I was looking at it on the couch when I fell asleep this morning. I left it on the couch. Oh, well. I did copy something from the book that I wanted you to look at. At least I put that in my backpack."

"OK. Show me later."

"Do you have the Tidal Force book and the video camera?" Will asked.

"I have the book but I left the video camera back at my apartment. I tried all of the battery chargers we had. None of them worked. We'll have to go to an electronics store to find a compatible charger if we want to see what, if anything, is stored on the camera."

Will and Pikabo entered the school with only a minute to spare before the bell sounded.

"We need to get to Mr. E.'s class or we'll be tardy," said Pikabo.

Will and Pikabo hustled to Mr. E.'s classroom. When they reached the door, they both saw a small boy dressed in all black waiting for them. They glanced at each other with an identical, I totally forgot we were supposed to meet him look.

"You guys ready to talk with Mr. E. about me joining your research group?" Iggy said, much more enthusiastic than he was the day before.

Pikabo was first to process the situation. "We sure are," said Pikabo, "Here comes Mr. E. now." Pikabo stepped in front of Mr. E. as he was attempting to enter the classroom.

"Mr. E., we need to ask you something before you go inside. Iggy – I mean Ignacio is having trouble with his lab partner. We wanted to know if he could join our group and Deshondra could go back to her group of three."

"If you three agree and it's alright with the other three girls, I don't have a problem with it," said Mr. E.

"I'm sure they'll be ecstatic," commented Iggy.

"OK, done deal then. You have until next week to come up with a project topic," said Mr. E. as he rolled into the classroom just as the bell sounded.

Sanchez and Tavarez were back in a car and driving back towards the coast. They had returned to Fiero Institute late the night before, managed to get a few hours' sleep, and met the Captain in their kitchen on sub-floor three to brief him on their mission to Malibu. If the Captain was pleased with the briefing, he didn't show it. He stoically took the scrap of paper with the name and phone number, told the two to stay and await further orders, and left the kitchen. The Captain returned less than an hour later with their new orders, which they were now undertaking.

"I wish we were able to take the van. It's stocked up with snacks," complained Sanchez from the driver's seat of an unmarked black sedan.

"The orders were quite specific regarding this matter," replied Tavarez.

"Traffic is horrible this time of day," whined Sanchez.

"The Captain has his reasons for the timing of everything." Tavarez had the GPS device out and was tracking their progress to their destination. "You'll be exiting the 10 at Kloverfield," he directed.

They exited at Kloverfield. "Make a left here and a right at the next signal."

Sanchez made the turns as directed and drove straight for a number of blocks, awaiting the next instruction.

"Turn right at the next street and find parking seven or eight houses down."

Sanchez completed the instructions and put the car in park.

"We'll enter the house from the backyard. Put on your gloves and follow me around to the back."

Both men were proficient lock pickers, but they immediately realized that those skills would not be needed. Will, in his waking stupor, had neglected to lock the back door to his house after letting Pikabo in.

"Come in behind me, but be very quiet. We'll do a sweep of all the rooms to make sure no one is home," instructed Tavarez.

Tavarez and Sanchez quietly entered the dining room through the back door. Tavarez went to his right and did a sweep of Maggie's bedroom. He tip-toed out of the room and signaled to Sanchez to sweep the bathroom as he went into Will's room. They both returned to the middle of the house and swept the living room and kitchen together. Once satisfied that no one was home, Tavarez spoke in a normal tone.

"Go through the drawers and closet in the master bedroom. You are looking for anything related to science research and, you know, transport vortexes. Also take anything small that's of value. We need to make this look like a typical robbery. After that, search the bathroom and the rest of the house. I'll start in the boy's room. There is also a ladder in there that leads to the attic, so I might be up there for a while." He pointed to the ceiling. Tavarez then walked to the kitchen and grabbed the heaviest frying pan he could find. He carried it to the back door that was still open. He stepped outside and slammed the frying pan down on the outside doorknob. It broke away from the door and fell to the ground. He stepped back inside, pulled the door closed, and said, "Again, we have to make this look like a robbery."

Sanchez smiled.

"I didn't see Iggy in Geometry, I thought you said he shared all of your classes," Will said to Pikabo during the break after second period.

"He told me he had another doctor's appointment. He may be back later in the day."

"Mr. E. said yesterday that he has missed a bunch of school for doctor's appointments."

"Yeah. Iggy said he only came to school for first period so he could meet us and get his lab partner changed. He did also mention that he didn't want to miss another of Mr. E.'s classes."

"What do you think is up with all the doctor visits?"

"I don't know. I'm sure it is very personal and he'll tell us when he's more comfortable."

"You're right." Will was getting very used to saying that Pikabo was right. He changed the subject, "Hey! Let me show you what I copied from the field book. It's a bunch of letters and numbers. I think it's some sort of code. You said you took some of your dad's cryptography classes. I thought you could look at it and maybe figure out what it says."

"Let me see it," Pikabo said excitedly. She liked puzzles.

Will handed her two sheets of paper, each with multiple lines of random numbers and letters. Will pointed to the first paper and explained, "I copied these lines of gibberish from a page in the field book that was written in 1975." Will pointed at the second paper, "These lines came from a 1987 entry."

Pikabo looked at the papers as Will kept talking, "The first page is 66 lines long and each line contains exactly 28 characters. The lines on the second page are also 28 characters long, but there are only 52 lines."

"What are these two symbols here in the margins?" Pikabo pointed to the first page at the symbols "φ" and "λ".

"Those symbols were written in the margins of the field book on the same page as the coded message."

"Hmm, very interesting," murmured Pikabo.

"What? Do you know something?" asked Will.

"The symbols are phi and lambda from the Greek alphabet. I don't know what they represent here, but I have a hunch about the codes. It's based on the fact that each line of the two sets of codes are of equal length, but even if I'm right, it will take me a while to figure everything out."

"How long?" Will asked.

"Um. We still have this minor inconvenience called school so..." Will cut her off.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm dying for you to try to break the code. And you really need to read that field book. There's some crazy-interesting stuff in it."

"I look forward to it," said Pikabo.

Sanchez started in Maggie's bedroom as he was instructed. He opened every dresser drawer and dumped the contents of each onto the bed. He found nothing but clothes. He moved on to the closet. He took all of the clothes that were hung on hangers and threw them onto the bed. He kicked around the shoes on the floor and found nothing of interest. There was a shelf in the closet about six feet above the floor. Sanchez jutted his hand into one side of the shelf and with one long, sweeping motion he knocked all of the items resting on the shelf to the floor. He immediately saw a small, red jewelry box that had sprung open. The contents of the jewelry box were minimal; only a thin gold necklace, a broach, two sets of earrings, and a man's wedding band. Sanchez scooped up all of the items of jewelry and put them in his pocket. The only unchecked places in the room were the nightstand and under the bed. He opened the single drawer of the nightstand and dumped the contents onto the floor. He saw nothing of interest. That left only under the bed to be searched. Sanchez didn't kneel down. Instead, he lifted the box spring and pushed everything over until the mattresses were leaning against the far wall, knocking over the nightstand. He was able to look through the bed frame to the underside of the bed. There was nothing under the bed. "At least I got a good workout," he said to an empty room.

Tavarez had completely gone through all of the storage spaces in Will's room. He wasn't being careful by any means, but he made a lot less mess that Sanchez. Tavarez found nothing of a value or of a scientific nature except the telescope, which he planned on taking. Tavarez used the ladder and climbed up into the attic. He found the light string, turned on the light, and surveyed the space. He immediately went over to the blue tarp, threw it aside, and examined at the astronomy equipment. He didn't know too much about astronomy, so he picked up each item and dropped it through the attic opening, making sure each item landed on Will's bed to soften the impact. He then looked at the 50-plus boxes of books. "This might take a while," he said to himself.

Iggy left school after first period ended. He didn't have a doctor's appointment. Iggy had eavesdropped on the morning conversation his father had with Sanchez and Tavarez. Iggy overheard the address that the two henchmen were to search, and knew immediately that it was Will's house. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to spy on the break-in, but he convinced himself that it was only seven blocks from school and way better than going to his Geometry and Spanish classes.

Iggy arrived at Will's street 30 minutes before the unmarked black sedan arrived. With great stealth, he climbed the very same tree in front of Will's house that Will and Pikabo climbed three and a half weeks earlier. He found a leafy part of the tree that best hid him from view and waited. 30 minutes later, the black sedan pulled up, parked, and the two men disappeared behind the house. Numerous times Iggy wanted to climb down and try to get a better vantage point. Perhaps somewhere in the backyard, he thought. But every time he reasoned that he could not risk being detected, and decided to stay in the tree. Iggy waited another 20 minutes and began the joke to himself that it would be a shame to miss lunch, when the sight before him made all of the blood in his extremities race to the core of his body. He was in shock.

A faded blue, midsize sedan pulled into the driveway. Maggie Banks had returned home much earlier than expected.

Tavarez was in the attic, sweating through his clothes on the unseasonably warm February day. "Ten boxes down, 40 more to go," he said to himself. He had an appreciation for books, and took his time handling each one. He had to be sure that none of the books had anything hidden inside them. He held each book by the binder and joggled and flipped through the pages to force any loose note or item to fall out.

Sanchez was in the bathroom. He was opening the medicine cabinet and dumping all of the contents into the sink and pulling each of the three drawers in the vanity out and dumping their contents onto the floor. He was making such a racket, he didn't hear the car park in the driveway or the front door unlock and open.

Maggie walked into the house. She had a bag of groceries in hand and made her way to the kitchen. On her walk by the bathroom, she saw a man ransacking the toiletries strewn on the floor. Her flight instincts immediately sparked and she made for the back door. She didn't want to cross back in front of the bathroom again for fear that the robber would see her. She set her grocery bag down quietly on the dining room table and reached for the doorknob. She twisted the doorknob and pushed. The door didn't budge. She twisted the knob again and it spun around in a complete circle loosely in her hand.

Maggie needed a plan and she needed one immediately. She saw the phone in the kitchen. Too exposed, she thought to herself. My bedroom! Use the phone in my bedroom, she thought. She stepped quietly into her bedroom. Her heart sank. The phone was completely inaccessible with her mattress and box spring thrown on top of her nightstand and phone.

Maggie could still hear the man in the bathroom. She didn't want to be cornered in her bedroom with nowhere to escape. She decided to try the phone in the kitchen and call the police. She tiptoed through the dining room and into the kitchen. She heard the thud of something being dropped above her. There's someone in the attic too! She was horrified.

She grabbed the phone. Her hands were shaking, making it difficult to dial. She misdialed. She hung up the phone and lifted it again, waiting for a dial tone. She calmed herself and concentrated on pushing the correct buttons. She raised her right hand to dial again, but stopped before her fingers could reach the buttons.

"We don't want to make any phone calls now do we ma'am," said Sanchez in a slow, evil voice. Sanchez had grabbed Maggie's right wrist and held it away from the handset in her left. Maggie's fight or flight instinct switched to fight. She took the phone handset in her left hand and smashed it into the Sanchez' nose. Sanchez released her right hand and grabbed his nose with both hands. Maggie saw the heavy frying pan lying out on the kitchen counter and grabbed it with both hands. She closed her eyes and swung the cast iron frying pan at the man's head. Sanchez saw it coming at the last second and partially deflected the frying pan with his raised hands. The blow was still strong enough to knock him to the floor. Maggie made a run for the front door as fast as her 72 year old legs could take her. She didn't get very far.

Sanchez was enraged. From the floor he grabbed Maggie's left ankle and pulled her to the floor. Maggie instinctively put out her hands to break her fall. Snap! A bone in her right arm broke. Crack! The right side of Maggie's face hit the floor and her orbital bone around her right eye shattered. Bleeding and blind in her right eye and with a broken arm, Maggie still had some fight in her.

She kicked Sanchez in the face, freeing herself, and started to crawl towards the front door. Sanchez was now a wounded animal out for revenge. He peeled off his gloves and threw them to the floor. He got onto his feet and easily cut off Maggie who was dragging herself towards the door. Sanchez grabbed Maggie with both hands around her neck. But he didn't tighten his grip or choke his victim. He just held his hands firmly around her neck and stared fiercely into her one good eye with the expression of a crazed lunatic. Smoke began to escape from between his fingers and the smell of burnt flesh filled the room. Maggie lost consciousness from the pain.

"Sanchez!" shouted Tavarez as he ran out of Will's bedroom.

Sanchez released his grip. Maggie slumped to the floor. Unconscious. Unmoving.

"What have you done!" barked Tavarez.

"I... I had to stop her. She was calling the police," Sanchez answered in a begging tone.

"So you punched her in the eye and burned her?"

"She was getting away," Sanchez whined.

"We'll deal with you later. We need to get out of here. Did you find anything?"

"Only some jewelry. I haven't searched the kitchen or the living room yet."

"Search the kitchen. I'll check the living room. You have 30 seconds."

Sanchez ran off to the kitchen and Tavarez started rummaging through the living room. Tavarez made a sweep around the perimeter of the room and was ready to leave when he tossed a few throw pillows aside on the couch. His eyes brightened.

He flipped through the pages of the field book and smiled, "This may get us out of the hot water you have thrown us into," he said to Sanchez, holding up the field book.

Tavarez did a last cursory look around the scene and somehow managed to see the gloves on the floor.

"Get your gloves and let's get out of here," he commanded.

"What about grandma?" he asked.

"She's as good as dead if she hasn't died already."

The two men calmly opened the front door, walked to their car, and drove away.

****

Chapter Twelve

A Breath of Fresh Air  
Or  
Fresh Breath of an Heir

Thursday, 2nd February, 2012 KE

After going their separate ways for fourth period, Will and Pikabo met for lunch on the quad. They found a nice spot on the grass with some dappled shade from a young tree.

"Did you put any more thought into how you can break the codes I gave you?" Will asked, and then took a big bite of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"No. You know how busy we were in Spanish, and my English class was even busier," she answered.

Still chewing his sandwich, Will said, "Taag ouud da papuuwz n sow may waa youwa tinging."

"What! How 'bout you try again in English this time?"

Will scraped the roof of his mouth with his tongue trying to get the last bit of peanut butter swallowed.

"Sowwy." He rolled his eyes and swallowed again, then said, "Sorry. I said: Take out the papers and show me what you're thinking."

Pikabo obliged and took out the papers.

"You already pointed out the similarities between the two messages which started my line of thinking. Each line of code in each message is exactly 28 characters long. And the two messages are of similar length, with one message slightly longer than the other." Pikabo paused and took a bite of her lunch.

"I also said they were written in different decades. Do you have any thoughts on that?"

"Yes, I'm getting to that. Unlike some people, I like to swallow my food before I speak." Pikabo smiled.

"Sorry. I'll try not to interrupt again."

"Like I was saying, I..." Pikabo was cut off.

"And what about..." Will interjected, then apologized, "Sorry, couldn't resist."

"No problem." Pikabo reached over to her backpack, acting like she was getting something out and instead slugged Will in his arm.

"I wish you could feel that! I have to come up with another way to punish you when you're being annoying."

Will gave a sheepish grin, but quickly broke into a laugh.

"Are you done?" Pikabo scolded.

"I'm done."

"As I was saying," Pikabo continued, "Being that they were written or at least discovered at different times, in this case different decades, it tells me one of three things." Pikabo paused to see if Will was going to butt in again. But he didn't so she went on, "One, this could be one long list of something that was simply continued after this lengthy amount of time has passed – Probable but unlikely. Two, these two messages have nothing in common and it is just coincidence that they both are written in 28 character lines – More likely. Or three, the shorter one is the ciphertext, or message written in code, and the longer one is the key, also known as the cipher or one-time pad that decodes the ciphertext."

"OK. You lost me at ciphertext, but what do you think is the probability of the third option?"

"Hard to say. I think it's more likely than the first option, but probably less likely than option number two. The good news is, if it is a one-time pad, then I should be able to decipher the code rather easily. I'll just need a few hours in a quiet room to work out the modular addition.

"You lost me again... But I won't make you explain it to me. As long as you know what you're doing, then it's fine with me." Will smiled.

Pikabo smiled too, but it wasn't in response to Will. She was looking passed Will and saw Iggy approaching from across the quad and waved.

Iggy had been very busy the past few hours. He waited in the tree until the black sedan turned the corner and drove out of view. He climbed down the tree and ran into Will's house through the unlocked front door. He immediately saw Maggie lying face down on the floor. He thought she was dead. Maggie was lying in an awkward position on the floor with a bloodied eye, a bruised arm showing rings of purple, pink, black and blue, and severe second and third-degree burns on her neck.

Iggy rushed to Maggie's side and checked if she was breathing. He leaned in and held his ear less than an inch in front of Maggie's nose and mouth. He listened. At first he heard nothing, but then he heard a faint high-pitched wheezing sound. Iggy knew immediately that Maggie wasn't getting enough air. He took the calculated risk of moving the injured person and rolled the elderly woman onto her back and listened to her breathing again. He heard a slightly longer wheeze on the first breath, but then the next two breaths were progressively shorter. Iggy repositioned Maggie's head and neck to try to open her airway. He placed one hand on Maggie's forehead and the other below her chin and did a head-tilt, chin-lift. He placed his mouth over the victim's mouth and gave two quick, sharp breaths. He knew immediately that the breaths didn't make it to Maggie's lungs. The severe burns on her neck had swollen her air pipe shut, choking her to death. She was suffocating.

Iggy had to act fast. Without air, he knew Maggie only had minutes to live, and even less time to escape brain damage. Iggy knew the paramedics and ambulance wouldn't arrive in time.

"I've got to buy this woman some time," he said aloud.

Iggy had very good knowledge of first aid and emergency situations. Before living with his father for the past year and a half, Iggy's mother raised him in a fairly normal home in Florida. What wasn't normal was the money. Iggy's mother came from an extremely rich family, and Iggy was her only heir to the family fortune. What was normal was that he had friends, enjoyed sports, and even spent two years as a Boy Skout. In earning his Boy Skout rank of Sekond Klass, Iggy learned what to do for the hurry cases of stopped breathing, serious bleeding, and ingested poisoning. Those skills had helped him so far with Maggie, but if he was to stop her from dying, he needed to go beyond first aid.

Iggy jumped up and ran to the kitchen. He kept mumbling, "Not enough time!" and "Iggy, what are you doing!" under his breath. He saw a wood block of knives on the kitchen counter and selected a small, three-inch paring knife. Further down on the counter he saw a jar holding pens and pencils. He dumped the contents out on the counter and selected a retractable ball point pen. He untwisted the pen and deconstructed it until he held only the four-inch clear hollow tube. With the tube, the knife, and grabbing a roll of paper towels, Iggy ran back to Maggie. He leaned his ear down to her face and listened again for breathing. He heard nothing.

He grabbed a small throw pillow from the nearby couch and placed it between Maggie's shoulder blades. The pillow tilted Maggie's head back and spread out the skin of her exposed neck.

"Here goes nothing," Iggy said to himself.

Without hesitation, Iggy took the paring knife in hand and cut a vertical slit into the center of Maggie's throat just above her chest bones and below her burns. A good amount of blood flowed from the cut, ran down Maggie's neck, and onto the floor and throw pillow. The sight of the fresh blood made Iggy gag and taste his own vomit in the back of his own throat. He swallowed back the vomit, calmed himself, and went back to work. He dabbed the bloody incision with the paper towels and pulled the skin apart to look into the new wound.

"I don't think that's deep enough."

Holding the incision open with the fingers of his left hand, Iggy took the knife in his right and cut deeper into the throat. He dabbed up the blood and looked again into the open throat.

"I hope that's good enough."

Still spreading open the incision with the fingers of his left hand, Iggy took the hollow tube of the pen and pushed it into the center of the slit.

Whoosh! Iggy heard the relieving sound of whistling air passing though the tube. Maggie was still unconscious, but she was breathing.

Iggy rushed back into the kitchen and picked up the phone receiver that was lying on the floor and called Emergency Services. He only told the dispatcher the address and that medical help was needed. He wiped the phone with a dishtowel and dropped it onto the counter. He also wiped his fingerprints from the jar that held the pens and pencils. He then washed the blood off his hands in the kitchen sink. He saw some mint candies in a dish on the counter. That will help this horrible taste in my mouth, he thought, and he grabbed a couple and stashed them in his pocket. He then ran back to Maggie to check her condition.

"She's alive and breathing," he said.

Iggy picked up the knife, wiped his fingerprints off the handle with a paper towel, and dropped it to the floor. Leaving the front door slightly ajar, he casually exited the home, tossed two mints in his mouth, and walked back towards school. He was two blocks away when he heard the sirens.

"How was your doctor's appointment? Is everything OK?" Pikabo asked as Iggy joined her and Will on the quad.

"Huh? Oh. I think I... I think the doctor did what he needed to do. I think everything's OK," Iggy said and then added, "How much time do we have left before fifth period?"

"About 15 minutes," they responded in unison, and then looked at each other and grinned.

"Good, 'cause I'm starving – Oh, shoot! I left my lunch in my locker."

Both Pikabo and Will reached into their lunch bags and pulled out something for Iggy to eat.

"No, I couldn't," he said.

"We insist," they again said in unison and broke into a laugh.

Iggy accepted the food and sat down on the grass.

Pikabo started a new conversation. "We found a book we think is very interesting."

Will started choking on his food. He locked eyes with Pikabo and tried to convey the thought, don't tell him about the field book, with blinks and eyebrow contortions.

Pikabo ignored Will, reached into her backpack, and pulled out the Tidal Force book.

"We were thinking of using this book for our project in Science." She handed the book to Iggy.

"This looks great. I'm sure my old lab partner would have insisted we do research on werewolves or how comets influence shopping at the mall."

They laughed.

"Do you want to hang out afterschool at the library or something and do a brainstorming session for the project?" Pikabo asked the two boys.

Iggy answered immediately, "No. You should go straight home. No, what I mean is my driver needs to take me straight home afterschool. Can we set something up for afterschool tomorrow?"

"Sounds good," said Will. He wanted to give Pikabo the quiet hours she needed to work on breaking the code anyway.

They heard the bell sound the end of lunch.

Iggy stood up quickly. "I've got to go to my locker to get my backpack for Mrs. Montgomery's class. You guys go without me and I'll meet you there." Iggy ran off.

Pikabo and Will headed off to History.

"Oh! Speaking of going straight home, there was something else I wanted to tell you about the field book. It mentioned Maggie in the last entry. There was no mention of her earlier in the book anywhere. This makes sense because Maggie has told me many times how she wasn't at all interested in her husband's work. He only mentions her at the end because he was dying, and he needed Maggie to do something for him after he passed away."

"Oh, wow. That's interesting. What did she need to do?"

"I don't know. It doesn't say. That is, it only says she needs to go somewhere and that something was going to happen."

"What's going to happen?"

"It doesn't say. I can't wait to go home and ask Maggie. She should have returned home around noon today."

"Can I come with you?"

"Of course you can."

Pikabo, Will, and Iggy met up afterschool and they walked Iggy to his ride home. On the corner where they saw the limo a day earlier, was an older, four-door sedan with silver paint that was oxidizing and flaking off the hood and roof.

"Where's the limo?" Will asked.

"That was a one-time thing. The car was in the shop and my dad rented a limo for the day." Iggy lied, following the instructions of his father.

"Oh," Will said, finding it difficult to mask the let-down he was feeling. Maybe he's not as rich as I thought, Will said in his head.

"See you tomorrow, Iggy," Pikabo said.

"See ya."

"Bye," said Iggy. He got into the car and it drove away.

"Let's go straight to my house and ask Maggie about the field book," said Will, excitedly.

"Definitely," agreed Pikabo.

They walked the seven blocks towards Will's house and turned the corner down Will's street.

"Is that a police car and yellow caution tape?" said Pikabo, looking ahead.

"It sure looks like it," said Will. "And it looks like the car is parked in front of my house!" Will took off in a run and Pikabo followed.

A police officer was standing inside the yellow tape on Will's lawn. He was a large, Afrikan Amerikan man standing six foot four and he held up his right hand as he saw two high-schoolers running towards him.

"Stop right there, you two," the officer said to the pair.

"I live here!" blurted Will, quickly catching his breath. He looked at the officer's name tag. "Officer Winters, you can ask Maggie, my adoptive mother. She must be inside, I see her car right there." Will pointed to the blue sedan in the driveway.

"Son, there's been an accident. Your mother was hurt and has been taken to the hospital," Officer Winters said in a calm voice.

"Hurt? Maggie was hurt?"

"She was a victim of an attack. She has some very serious injuries. I'm told she is alive but in critical condition."

"Critical?"

"Stable, but critical condition," the officer clarified.

Will dropped to his knees on the lawn. Tears started flowing down his face. Pikabo knelt down beside him and put her arm around him. She then looked up at the officer and addressed him.

"Can he see her? Can you take him to the hospital?"

"Yes. I can arrange for another officer to take him to the hospital. We will then have to arrange for foster care, unless he has an adult to stay with."

"Officer Winters, he can stay with me." Pikabo quickly corrected herself, "...and my dad. He can stay with me and my dad. We are close family friends. We live just behind his house in those apartments." Pikabo pointed to her apartment building.

"That should be fine," said Winters. "Son, I'm going to call another car to come take you to the hospital. When I come back, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Yes officer. Thank you officer," Will wiped the tears from his eyes and stood back up.

Pikabo and Will watched the officer take a few steps away and talk into his walkie-talkie clipped to his uniform near his left shoulder. The short conversation with the dispatcher ended about 15 seconds later and the officer returned to Will and Pikabo.

"Son, was your mother," he corrected himself, "Was Maggie home when you left for school this morning.

"No. She stayed at a friend's house last night. She was coming home today around noon."

Winters had his notepad out and jotted down some notes.

"Have you seen anyone suspicious hanging about on this street over the past few weeks?"

"No, sir."

"Do you or Maggie have any enemies?"

Will thought about Travis Shift and his gang but immediately dismissed the idea as he knew all four of them were at school all day. "No, no enemies," he said.

"OK, good," Winters said calmly, "Son, in a few moments I'm going to escort you inside the house. I want you to look around but not touch anything. You need to tell me if anything was taken from the house. I'll let you retrieve some clothes and anything you may need for school. Do you feel up to it?"

"Yes, officer."

"Young lady, you'll need to wait here. If the other car arrives, you can tell that officer what we are doing inside."

"OK officer," said Pikabo.

Will followed the officer. They stopped just outside the front door.

"Son, your house has been tossed about a great deal. There was also a struggle between Maggie and the assailant or assailants. There is some blood on the floor. Are you going to be OK seeing that?"

"I think so, sir."

They entered the house. Will immediately saw the blood on the floor, but the living room didn't look too bad.

"Son, there was some evidence left here on the floor and also in the kitchen, so we cannot step near those areas. Do you see anything in this room that may have been taken?"

Will looked around the living room and didn't notice anything. Officer Winters took him into his bedroom. He saw the attic panel was open and the astronomy instruments covering his bed.

"Those instruments were in the attic, but I don't know if any of them were taken."

"Was there anything else in the attic?"

"Just books."

"Very well, anything else missing from this room?"

"I don't notice anything, sir."

"Let's check the other bedroom."

The officer led Will around the blood-stained floor and into Maggie's bedroom. Will was shocked at the mess.

"I don't know if I can tell what's here and what's not here," said Will.

"Let me show you the items on the closet floor. Do you recognize that open box?" The officer pointed to the red jewelry box.

"Yes, sir. It's Maggie's jewelry box."

"We didn't find any jewelry in this room. Do you know what was in the box?"

"Not exactly. I think she kept her earrings in there and her broaches." Will thought for an extra moment. "And her late-husband's wedding ring," he added.

"That is very helpful, son. I'll take you back to your room and you can grab some changes of clothes. I can't let you get your toiletries, as we still need to dust the items in the bathroom for fingerprints."

Will was led back to his room. He grabbed some clothes and walked back into the living room. He then noticed the throw pillow on the floor covered in blood. His eyes darted to the couch. He thought to himself, the field book!

Will scanned the room in search of the field book. The officer must have noticed and asked, "Do you remember something that's missing?"

Will was about to say yes but changed his mind at the last second and said, "No".

"Are you sure?"

Will quickly thought about how he should answer. He was given a second chance to respond truthfully. He thought to himself, the field book is full of secrets... secret codes and private research of a brilliant man. Even if the police found the field book, they would never let a teenager see it again. And he desperately wanted to read it again, and for Pikabo to read it for the first time.

"Yes, I'm sure. I was looking for my backpack, but I remembered that I left it out on the lawn," Will lied.

"Very well then. Let's see about that ride to the hospital."

The officer led Will back out to the lawn where Pikabo was standing. A second police car was parked behind the first. Winters opened the back door of the new police car and motioned for them both to get inside. Will thought the officer was going to close the car door but instead he leaned his head into the car and addressed them.

"One more thing before I let you go. You said you didn't have any enemies. But you may have a guardian angel. We have reports from a neighbor that saw someone enter the house, stay inside for about two and a half minutes, and leave again just minutes before the paramedics arrived. From what we've been able to put together, we think that this person performed life-saving heroics on your mother and called emergency services. The paramedics say this person saved Maggie's life."

"What did this person look like," Will asked.

"He was described as a boy approximately your age, slightly shorter, with dark hair. He was dressed in all black."

****

Chapter Thirteen

Break to the Key  
Or  
Key to the Break

Friday, 3rd February, 2012 KE

Dr. Rivers was left alone in his cell for three days. He hadn't seen anyone in that time, not either of the two captors or the Captain. Twice a day, his cell door opened for a few seconds and food and water was slid inside. He would take those few seconds to beg for his release, question why he was being held, or ask if his daughter was safe, but instead of an answer the cell door would just be slammed shut. Being left alone didn't bother him. Not knowing what was happening in the outside world, specifically with respect to his daughter, was driving him mad.

His cell door was opened again and he expected to see his food and water slid into the room. However, the door swung completely open and the shorter captor, Sanchez, stood in the hallway.

"Get up," he ordered.

As the Doctor stood up he begged, "When are you going to let me go? I want to see my daughter. I need to know she's OK!"

Sanchez ignored the Doctor, "Follow me," he said.

Dr. Rivers followed the orders. As he approached Sanchez, he had a good view of the captor's face. The man had dark bruising under both eyes and a gash across the bridge of his nose, but his forehead looked even more painful. Above the man's left eye and just below his hairline was a golf ball sized bump protruding from his skull.

"What happened to you?" Dr. Rivers asked, holding back the smile that was trying to crack through.

"I will never tell you and if you speak of it again or even look at me the wrong way, you'll regret it," Sanchez retorted.

Sanchez pushed the Doctor into the lab room with much more force than usual.

"Sit down and await further instructions," Sanchez said and he turned towards the door.

"What about my daughter! Is she OK? I can't take this anymore!"

Sanchez stepped out of the room and slammed the door shut.

An hour later, the Captain was pushed into the room. He was walking on his own. Only the bandages around his two wrists showed any evidence of the visible injuries displayed three days earlier.

"You are looking much better," said the Doctor.

"Thank you. I'm feeling much better. They've left me alone since the torture and allowed me time to heal. They've even changed my bandages." The Captain held up his wrists to show the Doctor.

"That's good to hear."

"Doctor, they've instructed me to give this to you. They believe it's the key you said you needed to break the code." The Captain handed the Doctor a sheet of paper with 66 lines of code neatly printed on the page.

The Doctor didn't take the paper. "If I do this, they'll let me go, right? Did they say they would let me go? Do you know anything about my daughter?"

"Doctor, these things are not discussed in my presence. I am only the messenger."

"I know. You're right." Dr. Rivers stood up, took the page, and counted the number of characters in each line.

"28. Yes, I think this is the one-time pad. I think it's the key."

"I've been instructed to assist you. What do you need to decipher the code?"

"Assuming this is the key, all I need is a pencil."

The Captain walked over to the desk, pulled open the drawer, and selected one of the three pencils in the tray.

"Oh, I didn't realize those were there, thank you." The Doctor took the pencil from the Captain and sat back down at the desk. Already on the desk was the page with 52 lines of ciphertext staring back at him just as it did over the past four weeks. He placed the 66 line key alongside the 52 line coded message, gripped the pencil between his thumb, index and middle fingers, and got to work.

Iggy didn't go to school on Friday. He was on a commercial flight to Miami, Florida to spend the weekend visiting his mother. Iggy didn't get to visit his mother very often. Although he asked for his father's permission to visit her almost monthly, he was almost always turned down. Iggy was physically and mentally spent after the traumatic events of Thursday. When he returned home from school that day, he noticed his father was in an exceptionally good mood. From Iggy's perspective, the break-in at Will's house was a disaster. His father obviously had a different perspective, as Iggy noticed the usually stoic man had a spring in his step and a smile on his face. Iggy took this rare opportunity to ask for an impromptu vacation, and he was granted permission almost immediately.

Once the airplane leveled off and the seat belt signs turned off, Iggy leaned his head against the plane's window and fell asleep.

Although she raised her only son just outside of Miami, Iggy's mother Sophia Quemador was now retired to a private island in the Florida Keys. Of the more than 1,700 islands that make up the Florida Keys, Iggy's mother inherited five islands ranging in size from 17 acres down to five. She now owned three islands: two were small, uninhabited islands of five and six acres respectively; the other a nine acre estate that she now called home. The island estate had everything: a 5,000 square foot mansion, two swimming pools, a tennis court, private boat dock, two guest houses, and servant's quarters. The island also had a helipad; Iggy traveled to and from the island and the Miami airport via his family's private helicopter.

Sophia's grandfather, Francisko Quemador, emigrated from Mexiko in 1920 and settled in the vast and dry desolation of Pekos Kounty in southwest Texas. After years of struggling financially as a rancher, on a whim Sophia's grandfather invited an oil company to explore his land for oil. The first exploratory well hit a rich productive zone, followed by rich oil deposits being found throughout his ranch. Francisko instantly stopped being a rancher and became one of Texas' first oil tycoons, eventually becoming a billionaire and passing the business and inheritance down to Sophia's father Ignacio, Iggy's namesake. By the time Sophia was born in 1966, her father had diversified the family's investments into many different ventures, most of which generated even more money.

While Sophia was a graduate student at the University of Miami, she helped convince her father to sell off all of the Texas land and oil business holdings and focus on clean energy. Oil had made the family billions, but Sophia believed that her family's riches should benefit all the people of Aqua for generations to come. In the early 1990s, her family began to offer sizable grants to the non-profit organizations that had clean energy at the forefront of their mission. One of the earliest and largest grants was awarded to an upstart non-profit organization, the Fiero Institute, in 1991.

Fresh out of college, Sophia moved to Los Angeles and worked closely with the Fiero Institute and its founder and CEO, Bradley Marsh. Publicly, Marsh stayed out of the limelight and was thought of as a recluse. Privately, he was a charismatic man with an unbridled drive to succeed. Even though there was a physical attraction, Marsh saw Sophia as his meal ticket and cash cow. And like everything Marsh set his mind to, he sought out to woo the impressionable heiress with undeniable ferocity. Sophia was enraptured by him; both unable and unwilling to resist his charm. After only working with the man for four months plus a short, two month engagement, Sophia became Mrs. Bradley Marsh in 1992.

Together, but mostly relying on Sophia's hard work and perseverance, the young couple advanced the Fiero Institute into a recognized leader of clean energy research and development. In a landmark deal with the nearly bankrupt City of Los Angeles, they procured a rundown, 58 year old observatory that sat atop the Hollywoodland Hills with views of the Los Angeles basin and the Pacifik Ocean 15 miles away. The deal gave the City an injection of funds that temporarily alleviated its financial woes and allowed the local government to continue to go over-budget for the decade that followed. The observatory shut its doors to the public and became headquarters for the Fiero Institute and home to Mr. and Mrs. Marsh and the two members of the Institute's security, Sanchez and Tavarez.

Over the years of their marriage, Sophia had to endure the death of both her parents as well as her failing relationship with her husband. Sophia realized she had put all of her time and effort into the Institute and didn't realize that her marriage was loveless. After three years, the Fiero Institute think tank was growing, but their relationship was dead. Sophia divorced Bradley Marsh in October of 1995. She left the Institute and moved back to Florida. She waited until after the divorce was final to tell her ex-husband that she was pregnant with a boy.

Bradley Marsh couldn't have been more jubilant. His plans couldn't have turned out for the better. Not settling for grant money worth only a tenth of one percent of the Quemador fortune, he now had a settlement for over 40 percent of the estate. Bradley Marsh was a billionaire. He lived and worked in one of the most iconic edifices in Southern Kalifornia. He no longer had to endure the sham of a marriage. And the cherry on top: he was going to have a son, and he didn't even have to help raise him.

Iggy was born the 15th of June, 1996. Sophia insisted that Iggy be named after her father and have the Quemador name. He lived with his mother in Miami until he was thirteen and a half years old. If it were up to him, he never would have left his mother or his friends in Florida. But in 2010, a freak accident left his mother a paraplegic. She was confined to a wheelchair and by her definition she was no longer able to be a proper mother to Iggy. When Iggy was growing up, she never acted in the high-societal, entitled way her family fortune afforded her. She was a mother and treated it as a full-time job. She drove Iggy to and from school, spent weekends at Iggy's baseball and soccer games, and was even the Den Mother for Iggy's Kub Skout pack.

In the summer of 2010, a few months before his mother's accident, Iggy made his annual visit to Los Angeles to spend a week with his father. Over his first twelve years, Iggy had visits with his father for only one week each year. But in those visits, he only saw his father for one or two hours each day. But the visit in 2010 was different. Iggy's father spent an inordinate amount of time with Iggy, much of which involved physical tests and mental agility tests. It was during this week that Iggy learned he was special.

After his mother's accident, Iggy's father proposed that he take his son to live with him in Kalifornia. Iggy resisted at first, but his mother expressed to Iggy that she wanted to move away from the city and live on their island in the Keys. Iggy knew that living in the Keys meant he would have to be homeschooled, and would no longer be around kids his age. He was sad to leave his mother, but he did look forward to starting a new life in Los Angeles, getting to know his estranged father, and learning more about his special abilities.

Iggy had now been living with his father for a year and a half, but didn't see his father much more than before. Iggy was placed in military school and only saw his father during winter, spring and summer breaks. Knowing that the language of the military was the preferred language of his father, Iggy did his best to conform and finished at the top of his class in his first year. In 2011, Iggy started his second year at the military school but didn't return after winter break. In what he thought was a rare negotiation and compromise between him and his father, Iggy was given the opportunity to attend a regular public high school in exchange for observing and reporting on a girl at the school.

Iggy awoke when the plane touched down in Miami. He retrieved his only bag from the overhead compartment and shuffled off the plane with the rest of the passengers. At the gate, he was greeted by a Jamaikan man holding a sign that read, "Quemador." The man escorted Iggy to his family's private helicopter and he was landing on his mother's island estate in less than an hour.

Iggy had a nice visit with is mother, telling her about his new school and his new friends, Pikabo and Will. As with most weekend breaks, the 48 hours he spent on the key was over in a flash. Iggy kissed his mother goodbye and was whisked off by helicopter and then by airplane back to Los Angeles.

Dr. Rivers was finishing up deciphering the lines of the coded message. The Captain was very interested in the process and asked the Doctor to explain what he was doing.

"With the one-time pad, the process of decoding the message uses simple arithmetic known as modular addition. Being that this code uses letters and numbers, there are 36 different characters that can be used: the 26 letters of the alphabet and the ten numbers zero through nine." The Doctor looked at the 52 lines of code and decided to walk the Captain through a shorter, simpler exercise.

"Let me start from the beginning with a very simple message. I'll show you how to use a one-time pad, also known as a cipher or key, to code a message and then use the same key to decode it," proposed the Doctor.

"OK," agreed the Captain.

"Let's try to code and decode a short message that uses numbers and letters. Let's use the phrase, LUNCH AT 12."

There are nine characters in this code, so we need a one-time pad that is at least nine characters long. The one-time pad should be totally random. Give me ten numbers and letters at random."

"A X 8 H 1 Z Z 2 S Q," said the Captain. The Doctor wrote them down.

"Great. This will be our key. Now we need to assign a number to each character in our message and our key. The letters of the alphabet are usually assigned the numbers 0 through 25. So we will use those assignments and then assign the characters zero through nine the numbers 26 through 35."

"Why wouldn't you use 36 if there are 36 characters?"

"Good question. It's because we are starting with the number zero, not the number one."

"OK," said the Captain.

"OK. I'm now going to write down the message and the key so one is above the other. I'll make a table of rows and columns to make it easier to do the math."

L U N C H A T 1 2 – Message  
A X 8 H 1 Z Z 2 S Q – Key/Cipher

"Why is the key longer than the message?"

"I just wanted to show you that the key must be as long, but can be longer than the message," the Doctor answered. He had answered all of these questions many times before in his cryptography classes. He continued, "Now let's write down the number assigned to each character to the left of that character."

11(L) 20(U) 13(N) 2(C) 7(H) 0(A) 19(T) 27(1) 28(2) – Message  
0(A) 23(X) 34(8) 7(H) 27(1) 25(Z) 25(Z) 28(2) 18(S) 16(Q) – Key/Cipher

"Now we will add the message number with the key number. If any number is 36 or higher, we simply subtract 36 from that number and get the code number. In other words, the number 36 will be zero, 37 will be one, and so on. If the number is 35 or lower, we just carry it down to the code number."

11 43 47 9 34 25 44 55 46 – Message+Key  
11 7 11 9 34 25 8 19 10 – Kode #

"And the last step will be writing down the character that is assigned to the code number."

L H L J 8 Z I T K – Ciphertext

"L H L J 8 Z I T K becomes your ciphertext, or coded message. Only someone with the key, or one-time pad, can decode it," lectured the Doctor.

"Aren't there computer programs that can decode this message without the key?" asked the Captain.

"No. That is the beauty of the one-time pad. As long as you use the key only one-time for one message, you cannot break the code without the key. Let me show you how I can come up with a totally different, but logical message using the same ciphertext." The Doctor quickly made another chart.

D I N N E R A T 6 – Message  
I 9 8 6 5 I I A O – Key/Cipher

3(D) 8(I) 13(N) 13(N) 4(E) 17(R) 0(A) 19(T) 32(6) – Message  
8(I) 35(9) 34(8) 32(6) 30(5) 8(I) 8(I) 0(A) 14(O) – Key/Cipher

11 43 47 45 34 25 8 19 46 – Message+Key  
11 7 11 9 34 25 8 19 10 – Kode #

L H L J 8 Z I T K – Ciphertext

"So this message has the same ciphertext of L H L J 8 Z I T K, but those same characters can say DINNER AT 6 just as easily as they can say LUNCH AT 12. So any computer program can come up with multiple, logical messages from the same ciphertext if it doesn't have the correct key."

While the Doctor went back to decoding the last lines of the 52 line message, the Captain stared at the DINNER AT 6 chart and the LUNCH AT 12 chart. He was holding up his hands and counting on his fingers and mouthing his ABC's and 123's at the same time. 20 minutes later, the Doctor broke the silence.

"I'm done. All 52 lines are decoded, but I'm not going to give it to them unless they release me."

The Captain walked over to where the Doctor was working, leaned onto the desk and whispered in the Doctor's ear, "I don't blame you. This may be your only bargaining chip."

The Captain stood up. "May I see your work?"

The Doctor saw no harm in letting his fellow captive see the decoded message and handed the papers to him. Dr. Rivers then stood up to get a bottle of water from the counter.

Still holding the decoded message, the Captain collected all three pencils from the desk and started walking towards the door.

"What are you doing? I need the papers to bargain for my release.

The Captain stopped and turned around towards the Doctor.

"Doctor. You have done exceptional work. But I can't let you leave," said the Captain.

"I know you can't let me go. You're being held captive too. You need to tell the captors that they have to let me go or I'll destroy the message."

"No, Doctor. That won't be happening," said the Captain.

"What are you talking about?"

"I can let you go. But I won't. I am not a captive; I can come and go as I please. I don't ask the captors anything, I tell them what to do." The tone of the Captain's voice was turning sinister.

"You're not making any sense," Dr. Rivers whined while shaking his head.

The Captain started taking off the bandages on his wrists and said, "Doctor, I am not a captive. I am the one holding you. I'm in charge."

The lab door opened and both Sanchez and Tavarez walked in and stood at attention behind each of the Captain's two shoulders. With the bandages now off, Dr. Rivers could see no scars or bruising on the Captain's wrists. He was speechless.

The Captain paced the room as his henchmen stayed at attention.

"I brought you here to decipher the coded message. You have now done so. In return for a job well done, and since you'll never leave this stronghold alive, let me end the charade and be honest with you. Outside of the people in this room I am known as Bradley Marsh, CEO of the Fiero Institute, champion of clean energy, and all-around do-gooder. But I've not always been this person. You see, I – well I should say we..." the Captain turned and gestured to the two men standing at attention, "We are not from this place. The place we come from is cruel, difficult, unyielding. This place is nice, weak, and easily manipulated. No one here can match our power."

The Captain gritted his teeth and shook his right fist.

Dr. Rivers now understood the situation. He thought, this man is crazy and I've been deceived from the start. These three men are my captors. But worst of all, I've lost my only bargaining chip. I'm now expendable. I must do something; say something to keep myself alive!

Dr. Rivers took a gamble, "I know where you found the key! Dr. Banks. It came from Dr. Banks."

Dr. Rivers looked at the Captain for any kind of reaction. The Captain released his jaw muscles and unclenched his fist. The Doctor thought, that's the reaction I needed.

"Dr. Banks kept a book. The book has notes on all of Dr. Banks' research," said Dr. Rivers.

"We know of this book. We have this book already. You are grasping at straws," said the Captain, returning to his sinister voice.

The Doctor was grasping at straws. He was desperate. He decided to take one more gamble. He thought, this will either keep me alive a little longer... or they may kill me on the spot.

The Doctor said, "There are mysteries in the book: Hidden information, coded messages. I can find the information; I can decode the messages."

Silence.

No one spoke or moved for 30 seconds. The silence was excruciating. Dr. Rivers had no idea what was in Dr. Banks' book. He had never seen it.

The Captain was fuming with anger. It was abundantly clear that he didn't like surprises.

The Captain forced an overly calm voice and broke the silence, "Doctor, you will regret this day if I learn that you're lying to me. I was only going to kill you. But if you don't come through with your promises, I will bring your daughter here and you will watch her suffer and die before your very eyes."

The Captain held out the three pencils in a fist in his left hand. Crack! The pencils burst into flames and crumbled to ashes. As the ashes floated down to the floor, the Captain ordered, "Take him back to his cell." He spun around and exited the room.

****

Chapter Fourteen

Puzzled for Peace  
Or  
Pieces for Puzzle

Sunday, 5th February, 2012 KE

"You are going to go to school tomorrow, right? You missed school on Friday and you've been in this hospital for practically three straight days. The doctors told you that Maggie is in a medically induced coma to give her injuries time to heal. She is stable. I know you want to be with her, but it may be weeks or even longer before they revive her," pleaded Pikabo. She was sitting next to Will in the visitor's lounge of the hospital.

"I just feel so helpless," said Will.

Pikabo sat still and listened. She wanted Will to work out his feelings.

Will continued, "What's so great about my strength and healing powers when I can't even protect my own mother? If only I could've been there at home, I could've prevented the attack. But no, I had to be at school and learn geometry. A lot of good that geometry knowledge is doing Maggie right now."

Pikabo just listened.

"And who was this thief; this assailant? Why rob our house? And all for some worthless jewelry. It doesn't make sense."

After an extended silence, Pikabo stood up and spoke in a new tone. She no longer had a tone of sympathy, but a tone of revelation, "You're right! It doesn't make sense."

Will noticed the new tone and looked up at Pikabo.

"Nobody breaks into a random home and spends 30 minutes ransacking every room and only takes a couple pieces of jewelry." She paused in a blank stare of thought. Ten seconds later, Pikabo's blank stare transformed into one of piercing focus and she continued, "But that is not all they took. The field book is gone, and you said all of the astronomy equipment that was stored in the attic was lying on your bed. They wanted to take that too. But something stopped them. Maggie stopped them. They didn't plan on Maggie returning home. They thought they had much more time."

"They?" Will asked. "Why do you now say they instead of he or she?"

"Yes, they. They were on a mission. They were professionals. They didn't leave any fingerprints. They searched every room systematically. And no one would trap themselves in the attic without a lookout; an accomplice."

"OK, but they didn't take the astronomy instruments. The policeman said Maggie was lying on the floor, unconscious. Once they incapacitated her, they had plenty of time to take the equipment from the bed," Will proposed.

"Unless..." Pikabo said. Will could almost see the gears turning in her head.

"Unless, what?"

"Unless they found something better. Maybe the item they were looking for in the first place." Pikabo looked at Will with anticipation.

It took him a few extra seconds, but Will caught up to speed.

"The field book," he said.

"The field book," Pikabo confirmed.

"You know, I didn't tell the officer that the field book was taken."

"I know, but you can tell him now. He gave me his business card. I have his phone number back at the apartment. Let's go, we can call him now." Pikabo was hoping this would be enough to lure him away from the hospital. It wasn't.

"No. I want to stay here. I don't want to leave Maggie," Will said.

Pikabo knew she only had one more thing that might get Will to leave the hospital. If it didn't work, Will might stay put for another week or more. She had to gradually gain his interest and then hit him with the big news in hopes that it would get Will moving again.

"Oh! There's something else," Pikabo used her most energetic voice. "You know I've been working on breaking the code and it's been harder than I thought it would be."

"Yes," Will raised his head.

"I spent a few hours earlier today trying to work on it."

"And?" Will turned to look at Pikabo.

"I focused on the two symbols you wrote in the margin of the shorter message; the Greek letters phi and lambda."

"Right." Will turned his entire body to face Pikabo.

"I researched those letters and discovered something very interesting."

"What?" Will stood up.

"The Greek letters phi and lambda are used as a type of shorthand in cartography."

"Map making." Will started nodding his head.

"Right. Map making. It turns out that phi is shorthand for latitude and lambda is shorthand for longitude." Pikabo took a few steps down the hall.

"Really?" Will took the same steps.

"Yes. And from that, I looked back at the code and found that latitude and longitude can fit into the structure of the first 20 characters of the code." Pikabo was now walking slowly down the hall towards the exit of the hospital.

"No way!" Will was walking at Pikabo's side.

"Yes way! Nine characters for latitude and eleven characters for longitude. But I still had no idea how the final eight characters of the code fit into the structure."

"Oh." Will stopped walking.

"But I think I figured that out too," Pikabo added quickly.

"You did?" Will caught up with Pikabo.

"Yes. I thought about a map. It's a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object." Pikabo kept walking.

"Aqua is not flat, it's round," Will stated, now in-step with Pikabo.

"Right. So what's missing?"

"I don't know." Will followed Pikabo out the door.

"We know the north/south."

"Latitude," Will stated.

"We know the east/west."

"Longitude"

"We are missing the up/down."

"Up/down?" Will was confused.

"The height. The elevation," Pikabo answered.

Pikabo and Will had walked through the hospital parking lot and were walking down the sidewalk. Pikabo's apartment was within walking distance, less than a mile away.

"Elevation! So you figured it out?" Will was walking at a good pace.

"Yes and no. I still had to figure out the unit of measurement and what exactly the height number represented."

"Keep going."

"I deciphered that the first two digits of every eight digit height number started with a six and a three. Was this 63 feet, inches, miles, kilometers? I had no idea."

Will stopped. Pikabo thought she had said something wrong.

"Pikabo," Will said, "Now that you've lured me out of the hospital and we're on our way to your apartment, you don't have to keep leading me on. You've been so kind and understanding. I appreciate it very much. I'm back on track with this adventure and with you. You can finish your tale without any more pauses."

"When did you figure it out?"

"I must admit, I didn't figure it out until we walked outside. But at that point, you had me hooked."

"Glad to have you back. I'll finish the story. Back to the number 63: I finally figured it out that it was kilometers and it was exactly 63 hundred kilometers. More research showed me that Aqua is between 6,356 and 6,378 kilometers thick, measuring from the center of the planet. It's thicker at the equator than it is at the poles."

"That only accounts for four characters. I thought you said there were eight?"

"Decimals. The code is only numbers and letters. It doesn't tell you where the decimal point is. It doesn't show any scientific notation symbols or punctuation. The longitude and latitude characters didn't show the degree symbol or the minutes and seconds symbols."

"Wow. How did you figure this out?" Will said, shaking his head.

"I had a lot of time on my hands this weekend. My best friend left me alone in my apartment."

"Sorry about that," Will said, earnestly.

"No worries, Will. You had other things on your mind. I totally understand."

"Thanks."

"Let me show you the structure of the code. Maybe seeing it will help." Pikabo reached into her pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper with four lines of handwritten symbols and notations. She showed it to Will.

φ Latitude: ##º ##' ##.##" b/a  
λ Longitude: ###º ##' ##.##" or/oc  
Distance: ####.#### [kilometers]  
9 + 11 + 8 = 28

"OK. This does help," Will said, "But what is the b/a and the or/oc?"

"It's Latin."

"Latin? How?"

"It stands for North/South and East/West. North in Latin is borealis. South is australis. East is orientalis. And West is occidentalis. They're all abbreviations in Latin.

"You. Are. Amazing."

"Thank you. But now it's your turn to be amazing. When we get back to my apartment, I think you should write down everything you remember from the field book."

"OK. How do you think it will help?" Will asked.

"We now know a bunch of points around the globe. But what does it all mean? You said Dr. Banks finished all of the projects he ever started."

"Or died trying," Will added.

"Or died trying, right. Let's assume you're correct: He proved or disproved all of his other theories and projects. But he mentioned one project that remained unfinished: The project that he asked Maggie to complete. It stands to reason that this may be the only project he never finished."

"OK," nodded Will.

"So anything you remember reading in the field book that can't be connected with a finished project must have something to do with the one, unfinished project."

"Sounds logical," said Will.

"So do you remember if this coded message, that we now understand to be coordinates on a globe, is connected to any of the finished projects mentioned in the field book?" Pikabo asked.

Will thought for a long moment, "No," he said.

"So we have a couple pieces of the puzzle: These coded coordinates and the task that Maggie was asked to perform. Every other isolated entry in the field book will be another piece of the puzzle. And unless we can get that field book back, you are the only living, conscious person that has recently read that field book.

Pikabo's logic and deductions were correct on every count, except one. The person currently in possession of the field book was reading it cover to cover for the third time this weekend. Even before he possessed the field book, the Captain already had most of the puzzle pieces. The pieces of information he took from the field book gave him a nearly completed puzzle. The Captain was now only missing one, very important piece.

****

Chapter Fifteen

Orders Disconnecting a Parent  
Or  
Connecting Apparent Disorder

Monday, 6th February, 2012 KE

Pikabo woke up early Monday morning. She was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for her and Will. It was 7:00am and she hadn't heard a peep from her father's bedroom where Will was sleeping.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Pikabo pounded the bedroom door. "Get up sleepyhead! I made you breakfast."

Will emerged from the bedroom a few minutes later wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Thanks for waking me. I didn't get much rest last night. I kept lying in bed and a new part of the field book that I hadn't yet recalled would jump into my head. I'd get up and jot it down and then try to go back to sleep when it would happen all over again. I guess the good news is I think I remembered quite a bit of what I read. The bad news is my recollections jump all over the place. I'll have to take those notes and try to rearrange them into some kind of order."

"Great," Pikabo replied. "I made you some eggs and bacon and there's O.J. in the fridge."

"Thanks, it looks great," Will said.

"Afterschool today, I think we should go to an electronics store and finally get a charger for the video camera we found in your attic. I also want to get a GPS device so I can plot all of these coordinates on a map," suggested Pikabo.

"OK. What did I miss at school on Friday?" Will asked.

"Not much. We had a quiz in Spanish, but I'm sure Mrs. Garcia will let you take it today."

"Oh! I know what I wanted to ask you. What about our little friend in black? Did you talk to him to see if it was him that was at my house on Thursday?"

"I still don't know why you think its Iggy. There are a lot of boys who wear black. And Iggy had a doctor's appointment. How can he be in two places at once? Anyway, he wasn't at school on Friday."

"I don't know. If I see him at school today, I'm gonna ask him about it."

"OK, detective," Pikabo joked. She then handed Will a handwritten note.

"What's this?" Will asked.

"Open it and find out."

Will opened the note and read:

To Whom it May Koncern,  
Please exkuse my son, Will C. Banks from missing klasses on Friday, 3rd February. He was ill.  
Maggie Banks

"You're forging signatures now?" Will asked.

"It's either that or you get sent to some horrible foster family."

"You're right... Again. Thanks."

Iggy had returned to the Fiero Institute late on Sunday night. He was running a little late on Monday morning and didn't make it up to the car that usually drove him to school until 7:15am. Billy was leaning against the car, reading a newspaper.

"Let's go, I'm late," Iggy said.

"Mr. Marsh says you aren't going to that school anymore," said Billy.

"What? Why?" Iggy was taken aback.

"Dunno," said Billy. "Why don't you talk to him." Billy motioned over Iggy's shoulder.

Iggy's father was walking towards them. Iggy thought of the worst case scenario: He found out that I spied on the break-in and helped Ms. Banks. Iggy didn't know if he should run, hide, or hug the man.

"Ignacio, you'll be returning to the military academy as soon as I can make arrangements for your reenrollment."

"Yes sir. May I ask why sir?"

"Your mission is completed. Your orders have been rescinded."

Iggy knew this meant that he no longer needed to observe and report on Pikabo. But he didn't know why.

"Permission to speak freely, sir" Iggy asked.

"Granted."

"Sir, we are more than halfway through the school year. I am actually learning much more at the new school than the old school. I request that I be allowed to continue at Santa Monika High. At least allow me to finish ninth grade."

Iggy's father thought about his son's proposal. After a moment, he said, "Very well. I will postpone reenrollment at the academy. However, you will return in the Fall... or sooner if you get into any more altercations. My current project will require all of my time. Your standing orders are to continue your schooling with little to no contact with me."

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir. Permission to be transported to school now, sir?

The Captain nodded his head at Billy the driver, turned, and walked away.

Will and Pikabo were sitting in Mr. E.'s classroom when the bell sounded.

"No sign of Iggy," whispered Will to Pikabo.

Pikabo nodded with a look of concern.

Five minutes later, Iggy walked into the classroom. He had a spring in his step and a permanent grin on his face. Iggy couldn't have been happier with his current situation. He was going to a normal school. He no longer had to spy and give reports to his father. He was free to do what he really wanted to do: work on fostering relationships with Pikabo and Will, whom he hoped would become good friends.

"Mr. Quemador, nice of you to join us," quipped Mr. E.

"Sorry Mr. E. Car trouble," said Iggy. He smiled and gave a short wave to Pikabo and Will as he made his way to his seat.

At the end of first period, Will rushed over to Iggy to bombard him with questions. Pikabo, however, stepped in front of Will and spoke first.

"I missed you on Friday. I hope everything's OK," she said.

"Everything is great!" replied Iggy, sounding happier than they had ever heard him sound.

Will started to open his mouth when Pikabo stopped him with a question of her own.

"Great? What's great?" she asked.

"I visited my mom this weekend. I hadn't seen her for a very long time."

Pikabo and Will looked at each other. Iggy had never spoken about his family before.

"Where does your mom live?" asked Pikabo.

"In Florida. She lives on a small private island in the Florida Keys."

Will opened his mouth again, but not to speak. His jaw dropped open with surprise.

Pikabo was shocked too, but recovered before Will and said, "That sounds nice. So you had a nice visit?"

"Really nice. I'll tell you guys all about it at lunch," said Iggy, still excited. He then looked at Will and asked, "How's your mom?" Iggy knew he made a mistake immediately. He wasn't supposed to know that anything happened to Will's mom. He knew he may eventually have to tell them about the break-in, but now definitely wasn't the time.

"What do you mean, how's my mom? Do you know something about my mom?" Will accused.

Iggy backtracked, "No. I... I just meant, you know, how's your mom." He paused and then added, "You asked about my mom so I was just being friendly and asking about your mom." He paused again, "And I know Pikabo lives with her father so I couldn't ask her about her mom."

Will stared at Iggy. He thought, that's either a really nice cover for misspeaking or a genuinely friendly question. He gave Iggy the benefit of the doubt.

"My mom is actually in the hospital. She had an accident on Thursday."

"Really? Oh no. I'm so sorry to hear that. I never would have asked so bluntly." Iggy was a fine actor, but he hated to deceive his friends, or at least the people he hoped would become his friends.

"No, it's OK. The doctors say she will recover. We'll talk more at lunch," Will said.

They didn't get to talk at lunch. The Spanish teacher made Will and Iggy take the quiz they both missed on Friday during the lunch period. Afterschool, the three of them walked Iggy to his car.

"I wish I had a chance to tell you more about my trip to Florida. And sorry to hear about your mom," Iggy said.

"We'll talk tomorrow," Will said.

"Iggy," Pikabo added, "Tomorrow night, Will and I are going to do our last observation of the Moon. Would you like to join us?"

"That sounds great. I'll need to get permission. I'll let you guys know tomorrow."

"OK. Bye Iggy," said Pikabo.

"Bye," said Will.

Iggy's car drove away.

"Burger Shak?" Will proposed.

"Maybe later. Remember, we need to go to an electronics store for the charger and the GPS," Pikabo reminded.

"That's right. There's a Radio Shak in the mall," Will said.

"Lead the way," said Pikabo.

The walk from school to the mall was actually slightly shorter than the walk from school to Pikabo's apartment, but it was in the opposite direction. Pikabo had brought the video camera with her and was able to find both a charger and a cable that would allow them to watch whatever was on the camera on a TV. Pikabo and Will decided to grab a bite to eat while at the mall and managed the long walk back to the apartment just before darkness fell.

"Why don't you start putting all your notes on the field book in order and I'll plug in the video camera and then start plotting the coordinates on a map of the world with the GPS," suggested Pikabo.

"Sounds like a plan," said Will.

Pikabo used an outlet in the kitchen to plug in the camera and laid out a map of the world on the small table in the breakfast nook next to the small kitchen. The only working surface that remained available to Will was a long rectangular coffee table that sat between the couch and TV in the living room. Other than the small kitchen, breakfast nook, and living room, the only remaining rooms in Pikabo's apartment were the two bedrooms and a small bathroom.

After 30 minutes of quietly working on their respective projects, Pikabo broke the silence.

"How's it going over there? Remember anything interesting?"

"It's all incredibly interesting. I've laid out all my notes and I'm putting them in piles of related information. I don't know if Dr. Banks was a genius, just crazy, or both. How are you doing?

"Good. The coordinates are really spread out around the world. Some are on land, some are on water, and a couple are in very interesting places."

"What interesting places?"

"I'm almost done plotting the points, and so far I've marked places in or near 30 different countries. They are on oceans, lakes, deserts, mountains, and islands. And this last one is right up the coast from here on a beach in Malibu." Pikabo continued to type in coordinates on the GPS as she was talking. "But this is monotonous. Tell me something interesting, something crazy."

"Alright," Will said, and he picked up the pile of notes he had stacked on the right side of the table. "Dr. Banks proposed that when certain energies are combined and focused, a bridge can be created between two universes."

"You mean like that TV show where the team goes to different worlds every episode?"

"Not exactly. The field book proposed that there are alternate universes, or alternate worlds, that occupy the same time and space. The bridge is more of a portal, or window to the same point in time and place, but in a different world or alternate reality."

"I think I've seen this movie too, where every decision a person makes creates a new timeline and alternate reality so that there are an infinite number?

"No. Dr. Banks' research states there are only four worlds, each based on the four elements."

"But there are over 100 elements."

"Those are chemical elements. The field book talks about the four classic, or ancient elements: wind, fire, earth, and water."

"Your project seems more interesting than mine." Pikabo added, "Wait. I may have spoken too soon. This point is in the middle of a volcano."

"That's hot," joked Will.

Pikabo looked up at Will and rolled her eyes. Will and Pikabo continued to work diligently on their projects in silence for the next ten minutes, when Will was startled by an excited Pikabo.

"Oh my gosh. Oh My Gosh! OH MY GOSH!" Pikabo shouted out.

"What is it?" Will shouted back, concerned.

"Will, you've got to see this."

Will had already jumped off the couch and was standing next to Pikabo in the kitchen.

"I started watching the video. I'm not sure what I saw. Let's plug it into the TV. Maybe it will be clearer on a bigger screen."

Pikabo grabbed the video cable and hurried over to the TV, bumping her leg on the rectangular table and knocking some of Will's notes to the floor.

"Is it really so interesting that you have to plow through the room?" Will said jokingly.

"Yes," was all Pikabo said as she was plugging in the cable to the video jacks and grabbing the TV remote to select the proper video input setting.

"Got it," she said when "Video 2" appeared on the TV screen. "I'll start from the beginning again. At about 20 seconds it gets real interesting."

Pikabo pressed the PLAY button. Will was about to sit down on the couch when he noticed Pikabo was going to stay five feet from the TV and watch it standing up. Will remained standing beside her and watched.

"OH MY GOSH!" Will shouted. But he was joking. He only saw a panoramic view of the inside of his house.

"Don't make fun of me." Pikabo slugged Will in the arm. "You just wait and see."

The video completed the 360 degree pan of Will's living room, kitchen, and dining room. It then zoomed in on some handwritten papers.

Will commented, "That handwriting looks familiar... And that's Maggie's hand, I recognize the wedding ring. Maggie is taking the video."

"Just wait, here it comes," Pikabo said.

The scene cut to a beach at night. A huge, clear funnel of water was spinning across the TV screen.

"What is that?" they both said at the same time.

They watched the horizontal funnel of water spin. It sprouted from the ocean and was suspended in the air about five feet above the rocky beach.

"It's getting darker... Is that mud?" commented Pikabo.

The funnel vanished.

"Where'd it go?" said Will.

"Quiet. Listen," ordered Pikabo, she turned up the volume on the TV.

"Is that a baby crying?" they both said simultaneously.

About ten seconds passed. The videographer was panning from where the funnel was to the ocean waves and back again.

"Oh good, we're getting a closer look," said Pikabo.

The camera's angle momentarily tilted down and to the left and they saw a woman's hand holding a flashlight.

"That's Maggie's wedding ring again! She's taking this video?" said Will, astonished.

"It appears so," whispered Pikabo, her eyes glued to the screen.

"It's a baby's crib!" exclaimed Pikabo.

"I think you're right," said Will.

The videographer was closing in on the crib, only ten feet away.

"I hope we get to see inside," said Will.

The video's angle tilted up and over the railing of the crib and then down inside. The video showed a crying baby wedged to the back of the crib and covered in mud. The TV screen then went black.

"What happened? Did the battery die?" asked Will.

"No. The camera is still on. I think that's all that was recorded," answered Pikabo.

They looked at each other and said simultaneously, "We need to watch that again."

They watched the video several more times. After the second viewing, they only reversed the video to when it cut to the beach scene.

"It's definitely water spinning in a funnel. Why do you think it gets darker?" asked Will.

"I still think it looks like the water is getting mixed with mud. It's too dark to be sand," she proposed.

"And the baby was covered in mud. So that makes sense."

"You think any of this makes sense?" Pikabo took a moment for a deep breath, "So what do we know? The video starts in your house."

"And it's Maggie that's taking the video," added Will.

"There's a handwritten letter on the couch."

"Oh, I remember why I recognize the handwriting! It's from the field book. It must be Maggie's husband who wrote the letter."

"Good. Then it cuts to a scene on the beach," Pikabo continued.

"A crazy scene," added Will.

"There's a funnel of water that looks like it sprouts from the ocean."

"It's suspended horizontally above the ground. It must be 40 feet long."

"It gets darker with what looks like mud."

"It disappears without a sound."

"Or a splash."

"We hear a baby crying."

"There's a baby in a crib in the middle of a rocky beach."

"The baby is covered in mud. And that's all we know," says Will.

"No. There has to be more. Let's see if we get a focused view of that letter."

They watched the part of the video that zoomed in on the letter a few more times.

"It never focuses on the words long enough for us to read it," said Pikabo.

"Can we slow it down?" asked Will.

"I can pause it."

Pikabo played the video and tried to pause it at the split second the letter's words came into focus. Play, pause, play, pause... the words were always too blurry.

"It's impossible."

"Can we view it frame by frame?" Will asked.

"There are only six buttons. On the top row there's REW, PLAY, and FF. On the bottom there's STOP, PAUSE, and REK. I don't see a frame by frame button."

"Try pressing PAUSE and then the FF button," Will suggested.

She tried it. It worked. She then slugged Will in the arm.

They found one frame of the first page of the letter that was in focus, but it was when Maggie placed her hand over the sheet to reveal the second page below. Many of the words were covered up with the hand, but they could still read some. They walked up to the TV screen and took turns saying and pointed out interesting words and phrases.

"Lokations," said Pikabo.

"Koordinates," followed Will.

"Points skattered."

"Korrelating a point in time."

"The 28th of March!"

"That's my birthday!" exclaimed Will.

"No!" said Pikabo, "Maggie said that was the day she picked you up from the orphanage."

"That's right. You're right."

"You know Maggie was acting a little strange when the topic of your adoption came up."

"I think she said she was just tired," said Will.

"Well, maybe. I did a little research anyway. I didn't find an orphanage in Malibu, and one of the points I just plotted on the map is on a beach in Malibu." Pikabo let Will think about it for a few seconds and then said, "Will, I think you're the baby in the video."

Will alternated between nodding his head and shaking it. He kept changing his mind from thinking, all the evidence supports that I'm that baby, to thinking, I can't be that baby; this is all nonsense.

He then spoke his thoughts aloud, "If this is all related to Dr. Banks' research, then that funnel of water may be the bridge he was referring too."

"That's what I was thinking," agreed Pikabo.

Pikabo looked at Will and saw his eyes widen and jaw drop open.

"What?" she asked.

"I just remembered something else from the field book. Dr. Banks theorized that the combination of energies that create the bridge or portal would do two things. One, it would fry all electronic equipment that touched the portal or came close to it, much like an electromagnetic pulse would."

"Which is probably why Maggie was positioned about 30 feet away. What's the second thing?"

Will raised his head and looked straight into Pikabo's eyes, "Depending on the concentration or potency of the energies, the portal could alter the molecular structure of a living organism."

Will and Pikabo stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Your powers?" Pikabo proposed.

"My powers," Will confirmed.

The two let this revelation sink in for a moment, when Pikabo changed the subject.

"Let's see if we can get a good focus on the second page," she suggested.

She hit the FF button repeatedly. The first page was moved and revealed the second page. She continued to hit the button 30 to 40 more times until Will shouted.

"Stop! Go back one."

Pikabo hit the REW button. The entire second page of the letter came into focus. Pikabo read it aloud.

Please drive to the lokation I have pinpointed on the map and arrive no later than 8:45pm. Park in the lokation I have designated and make your way down to the shoreline by 9:00pm. If anything of interest is to be witnessed, it should happen very klose to 9:30pm. Please have the video rekorder at the ready should you see or hear anything out of the ordinary.

If nothing happens by 10:00pm, then my theory is most likely false or my time kalkulations were flawed and you kan return home and forget this matter in its entirety. However, should my theory prove korrect, I will need to ask an additional favor of you. You will need to find an old kolleague of mine. His name is Dr. Steven Rivers...

Pikabo stopped reading.

"Oh my gosh!"

"What? Don't tell me that Dr. Steven Rivers is a relative of yours?" Will asked.

"No... Well... I mean yes."

"Which is it, yes or no?"

"Yes. Dr. Steven Rivers is my father."

"Oh my gosh," Will echoed. But he wasn't making fun of Pikabo this time.

Pikabo stood frozen in both surprise and thought. Will finished reading the letter aloud.

...Unfortunately, I've lost touch with him over the years. The last time I saw him was at a seminar in San Diego in 1987. At that time, he was a young adjunkt professor at the University of San Diego. It was Dr. Rivers who helped me decipher the list of koordinates many years ago, but I have not kept in touch with him since. Please try to trak him down and show him the video. If he shows interest you kan also show him my leather-bound field book.

Maggie, it is impossible to express how much you mean to me in a short letter. Just as you are my beginning and my end, I will simply end this letter where it began:

Thank you and I love you

With all my love,

Thomas

When Will finished, Pikabo put a voice to her thoughts.

"Everything is connected. This letter, the coded coordinates, Malibu," she paused for another moment of thought and then continued, "Maggie, Dr. Banks, my father." Another pause, "The baby, you, your powers." She then finished with, "The field book, the break-in, the boy in black"

Will was trying to connect the all the dots when Pikabo shouted, "MY FATHER!"

She ran into her bedroom and came out moments later with a piece of paper. She unfolded the paper and stared intensely at it.

"That's the note from your father telling you he would be away for a while," said Will.

"Yes. But remember I said it sounded funny. There must be something more. Everything is connected. Everything is connected. Everything is connected."

Pikabo kept repeating the same phrase over and over while studying her father's note in every conceivable way. She held it up to a light. She read it backwards. She read every other word. She folded the note vertically, then diagonally. She folded in the corners. She folded it in thirds. She did a fan-fold back upon itself.

She lowered the letter and stared at Will with her big, blue eyes.

"Oh my gosh, how did I not see it before?" she said.

"What is it?"

"I guess I'm connected too," said Pikabo, not answering the question.

"What did you see? How are you connected?"

"My father wrote a hidden message to me down the sides of the note."

"What does it say?" pressed Will.

"Held by fiero. Kall police."

End of Part One

****

Interlude

Battle Stations  
Or  
Stationary Battles

Year 1990, Month 12, Day 2

"ALL HANDS ON DECK!" shouted a Lieutenant into the cramped sleeping compartment. He spoke in Spanish, the common language of the Southern Alliance.

"Blast it! Our shift just ended two hours ago and they're calling us back!" bawled Tavarez, also in Spanish. He proceeded to kick the bunk above him and yelled, "Get up Sanchez. We're back on duty."

Sanchez moaned, "I haven't gotten more than a few hours' sleep this entire week. Does the Northern Alliance ever take a break from attacking us?"

"It seems not," replied Tavarez. "Now get up. They want us on deck immediately."

Tavarez and Sanchez were young and spry; Tavarez just turned 22 and Sanchez was 21. They both were in fit shape with dark black hair shaved in a crew cut as all military men wore. The two men sprang from their bunks, tied their boots, and slipped their life preservers over their heads. They ran out of the compartment and through two other sleeping compartments on their way to the up-ladders. Their bunks were eleven levels below deck and they climbed 88 rungs each time they were called to duty.

They reached the deck and saw the now familiar sight of smoke billowing from the aft of the ship. The battleship had sustained severe damage over the past month, the most recent being four days earlier when a torpedo disabled one of its four main engines. A second engine had been disabled over a month earlier when a pressure tank exploded, hurling shrapnel throughout that engine compartment that killed three men and injured four more. Under only half power, the battleship now limped along the 11th parallel north in the Pacific Ocean, defending the land and sea south of this invisible line from the northern attackers. The ship's current position was approximately 2000 miles east-southeast of the Sandwich Islands and more than 1000 miles from the nearest mainland, which unfortunately for them was the southern coast of Mexico, an ally of the enemy Northern Alliance. The nearest port held by the Southern Alliance was nearly 3000 miles away on the coast of Equador. In its current state, the odds were much better that this battleship would find a permanent port at the bottom of the ocean before it found one on dry land.

It was mid-afternoon. The Sun was only a few hours away from setting in the east, and a full moon was already starting its rise in the west. Sanchez and Tavarez filed into line on the deck of the battleship. In a sight not seen since the battleship left port nearly eight months prior, all three shifts of sailors were standing at attention on the deck. Two levels above, Captain Marcos Jimenez stepped forward to the railing and addressed his men by loudspeaker.

"Men, you have all served loyally, valiantly, heroically. Fleet Admiral Alvarez has publicly commended the fine work you have all done. We have held the 11th parallel for over six months. We are wounded and depleted, but we are not done!" Captain Jimenez paused as the men gave a cheer. "Our enemy thinks we are a sitting duck; a lamb waiting idly to be taken to slaughter. This could not be further from the truth!" Another cheer broke out from the sailors. "Yes, we are limping along on only two of our four legs, but we still have some fight left in us!" More cheering. "Men, I daresay we have the upper hand. We have a weapon that our enemy does not know exists, and Fleet Admiral Alvarez has chosen us to deliver its first blow. Our weapon is named Fat Boy, and it packs a mighty punch that will turn the tide of this war!" The men were in a cheering frenzy. "Behind Fat Boy, the Southern Alliance will wipeout our enemy to the North, control the Pacific Ocean, and then take over and control the entire world of Ignis!"

Captain Jimenez let his men cheer for a full minute. He stood on his perch above the men and soaked in the exultation. He truly believed the words he spoke. It was true, there was an untested, experimental weapon that could turn the tide of the war, but the scientists who designed Fat Boy knew it could just as easily malfunction and vaporize its own ship and everyone on it.

"BATTLE STATIONS!" Captain Jimenez ordered through the loud speaker.

The men on the deck scattered in all directions. Minutes later, the sailors were at the ready for the imminent attack. Sanchez and Tavarez manned a small cannon located on the starboard aft section of the boat, three levels above the deck. All three shifts of Seamen were cramped in the bulkhead of their designated cannon. Tavarez was just about to seek out his Lieutenant to question him about the congestion when a Lieutenant Commander addressed him.

"Seaman, you are overstaffed here. Select a second man and follow me."

"Yes sir," Tavarez barked as he saluted the officer. He then grabbed Sanchez and they followed the Lieutenant Commander back down to the deck and across to the port side of the ship. Lieutenant Commander Rodriguez collected three more men from the overstaffed communications station along the way, Petty Officer Second Class Gonzalez, Seaman Marquez, and Seaman Montez.

The six men congregated on deck next to a small rubber pontoon boat that was suspended over the water from a hydraulic hoist.

"Men, these orders come directly from Fleet Admiral Alvarez. He wishes to document this historic battle that will surely mark the turning point of this war. We will equip ourselves with two video cameras, two still cameras, and a directional sound recorder. Who has experience with a video camera?"

Tavarez and Gonzalez both stepped forward and Rodriguez handed each a video camera.

"All three of you have used a still camera before I presume?" Rodriguez questioned the three remaining Seamen.

Marquez and Montez stepped forward. Sanchez stayed at attention.

Rodriguez issued the two men still cameras and addressed Sanchez, "You will operate the sound recorder. All you have to do is point the microphone where the action is."

"Yes sir," barked Sanchez.

"I will pilot the boat and man the radio," added Rodriguez

The five enlisted men were ordered into the small boat closely followed by Lieutenant Commander Rodriguez. Rodriguez signaled to the hoist operator to lower the boat to the water. Once the small boat splashed down and the men disconnected the hoist cables, Rodriguez started the small engine and steered the boat away from the massive battleship. He positioned the small boat 300 yards from the battleship's port bow and killed the engine.

Rodriguez pointed to the north and said, "Men, our enemy approaches. When they are within striking range, Captain Jimenez will order deployment of our special weapon. Have your equipment at the ready. I will signal when we are to start recording the event." Rodriguez then keyed his handheld radio and informed the battleship that they were in position.

Many minutes passed before Seaman Marquez broke the silence, "Permission to speak freely, sir."

"Granted."

"Sir, won't the enemy draw its sights on us and blow us out of the water?"

"It is a possibility, Seaman, however the Captain and I both believe the enemy will have its hands full attacking our battleship. This will be the greatest moment in our naval history. You are the privileged few with the honor of documenting this historic event."

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir. I would just feel better if I had any kind of a weapon sir," said Marquez, while eying the only weapon on the boat, the Lieutenant Commander's sidearm pistol.

"I daresay that if it comes down to me having to use this sidearm, this battle will have taken the ultimate turn for the worse and we will all meet our demise," responded Rodriguez.

20 minutes later and with the enemy's ship closing rapidly, Rodriguez' radio came to life, "Deployment of Fat Boy in t-minus two minutes."

Rodriguez ordered, "That's our queue, men. Turn on your video cameras, ready the still cameras, and point the microphone at our ship."

"Deployment in t-minus 90 seconds."

In a flood of bravado, Rodriguez ordered Tavarez and Sanchez to point their equipment at him. He stood up and spoke in a deep, controlled voice.

"This is a great day for the Southern Alliance; A day that will go down in history as a turning point in the war against the North. The mighty Battleship Fiero has been holding the 11th parallel for over six months and has taken many hits and suffered heavy casualties, but we are still afloat and today we fight back. Today we strike fear in our foes; a fear that will spread like wildfire through their fleet."

"Deployment in t-minus 60 seconds."

Rodriguez ordered Marquez to take some photographs of him giving his speech and signaled to Tavarez to keep the camera recording on him. He continued, "In less than one minute, Fat Boy, the greatest weapon ever created will show its potency. A single weapon will do the work of thousands and destroy an entire battleship with one blow."

Boom! Boom! Boom! Three cannon blasts from the approaching enemy ship were heard. Rodriguez shouted, "Cameras on me! Keep rolling!"

"Deployment in t-minus 30 seconds."

Rodriguez stood up straight and continued his speech, "Their puny cannons are no match for our—"

KA-BOOM! KA-BOOM! KA-BOOM! The three bombs from the enemy cannons impacted the water all within 50 yards of the small boat, each with a blast radius of 50 feet and sending up 200 foot columns of water into the air. The shockwave knocked Rodriguez to the floor of the small boat.

Rodriguez sat up in the middle of the five men, "Ha! They missed the battleship by nearly 300 yards!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! A second volley of three more cannon blasts were heard.

Marquez dropped his camera, pushed his way to the engine in the back of the boat, and shouted, "They're not aiming at the battleship, sir. They're aiming at us!"

"Deployment in t-minus ten seconds."

Marquez started the engine.

"Nine."

Marquez gunned the throttle and the boat sped off in the direction it was facing, back toward the Battleship Fiero.

"Eight."

"You're heading into the teeth of the battle!" shouted Tavarez.

"Seven."

"We just have to get as far away from that spot as we can!" Marquez shouted back.

"Six."

KA-BOOM! KA-BOOM! KA-BOOM! The second volley of three bombs impacted the water exactly where the small boat had been.

"Five."

After the impact of the second set of bombs, Marquez slightly altered course away from the Battleship Fiero. He was attempting to re-establish the 300 yard cushion between the small boat and the massive battleship while maintaining maximum speed.

"Four."

Boom! Boom! Boom! A third cannon volley sounded.

"Just keep moving!" shouted Tavarez.

"Three. Bay door open," sounded the voice from the radio.

Boom! Boom! Boom! A fourth cannon volley from the enemy ship followed just a second after the third.

"There! Point the cameras there!" Rodriguez pointed to the five-foot square bay door opening on the side of the Battleship Fiero.

"Two. Ramp locked."

A metal ramp could be seen arching down from the bay doors to the surface of the water ten feet below.

"One. Propulsion engaged."

"Keep filming, men! Keep filming!" said Rodriguez.

"Fat Boy deployed!"

The shiny silver, egg-shaped bomb the size of a 400 pound man slid down the metal ramp. Fat Boy was propelled by a three-bladed propeller welded onto the pointier end of the egg. Fat Boy splashed into the water and disappeared.

"Did it sink?" shouted Tavarez.

A second later, Fat Boy bobbed back to the surface of the water and leveled off only inches below the surface, leaving a small wake as it sped across the expanse of sea toward the enemy ship. The small, six-man boat was in a good position to get excellent video footage of the Fat Boy, as it would speed by very close to their boat in few more seconds.

KA-BOOM! KA-BOOM! KA-BOOM! The third volley of bombs impacted the water around the small boat. The third bomb entered the water only ten feet from the small boat. The underwater explosion blew the small boat apart and sent the six men hurtling over 100 feet into the air.

Just after the six men reached the apex of their skyward blast and started to fall back down to the water, the forth volley of bombs hit.

KA-BOOM! KA-BOOM! No one heard the third bomb hit. The second bomb impacted close enough to Fat Boy to detonate it. In a fraction of a second, Fat Boy superheated and burned through the water around and below it, instantaneously vaporizing a massive crater of water around it. In the same fraction of a second, it then inhaled a huge breath, sucking in everything around it resulting in a vacuum bubble.

The six men were plummeting down, just above Fat Boy's detonation. In the fraction of a second that Fat Boy sucked in everything around it, including pulling the men down with over 15 times the force of gravity, a whirlpool of water and flames burst open in the center of the vacuum, its mouth suspended in mid-air ten feet above the ocean's surface. Five men dropped through the rapidly expanding opening of the whirlpool. Marquez entered the narrow opening by only the slightest margin. Sanchez, Tavarez, Montez, and Rodriguez followed in order as the opening expanded. The whirlpool of flaming water then vanished without a sound before Gonzalez entered it. Another fraction of a second later, Gonzalez and all the sailors stationed on the open decks of the two battleships were vaporized by the now rapidly expanding, devastating explosion of Fat Boy.

The five men splashed into the warm tropical water. Marquez was the first man to surface. He pulled the cord on his life jacket and it inflated. Marquez looked around and saw three more heads pop-up from the water. Each man inflated their life jacket to stay afloat. Marquez looked around. He saw nothing but open water in all directions. The battleships were gone. There was no sign that the ships were ever there.

"Where's Montez and Gonzalez?" Tavarez shouted.

"Here!" Sanchez shouted. He took a few strokes over to a body that was floating face-down in the water. Sanchez pulled the cord on the unconscious man's life jacket and tilted the man's head back to see his face.

"It's Montez. He's dead," said Sanchez.

"Does anyone see Gonzalez?" barked Rodriguez, finally taking charge of the situation.

"No sir," answered the three Seamen.

"What happened!" shouted Rodriguez.

No one answered. No one knew what happened. One second they were all flying 100 feet into the air, the next second they were plummeting down and saw a flash of bright light below, but before they could process the lights and sounds around them, their falls were cushioned by a strange force and they dropped into the serene water as if they jumped in from a height of only ten feet. The full moon was still rising in the east and the Sun was still setting in the west, but there was no sign of any battleship, any battle, or of Fat Boy.

"Check your radio, sir," said Marquez.

"Right. The radio," said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez pulled out the handheld radio and pushed every button and turned every knob, but they heard nothing, not even static.

"May I try, sir? My expertise is communications," said Marquez.

Rodriguez handed the radio to Marquez. After 30 seconds of button pushing and knob turning, Marquez opened the battery compartment and did his best to dry-out the connections. He noticed that the insulation around some of the wires was singed. He put it back together and fiddled with it a little longer, but could not make it work.

"The insides seem to be fried, sir. It won't work until we are able to replace some of the burnt out wires." He clipped the radio to the top of his life jacket to keep it dry and turned back to Lieutenant Commander Rodriguez.

"Your orders, sir?" requested Marquez. He knew that Rodriguez, nor anyone for that matter, would immediately know what to do next. Tavarez also knew this was the case, and he gave Marquez a puzzled look.

"At ease, Seaman," responded Rodriguez.

Hours passed as the four men floated five feet from each other. There was no current, no wind, and a minimal ocean swell. Montez also floated nearby; facedown and lifeless. The Sun set and Marquez broke the silence.

"Tonight the temperature will drop and we'll need to battle the cold. The warm tropical waters will be of some help, but that also means we may have to battle sharks," said Marquez.

"Kicking them in the snout will be our best defense, but they may return in greater number," added Tavarez.

"Let's just hope they don't come at all," whined Sanchez.

"If we survive the cold of the night, we'll need to get rescued in the light of day before the Sun sets tomorrow. We have no chance of surviving two nights, and we have no way to signal a passing ship if one passes in the night," finished Marquez.

The silence from the other three men was as good as a verbal acknowledgement. They all knew they were dead men floating unless a ship passed close enough to them in the twelve hours of sunlight the following day. Two hours into darkness, a shivering Rodriguez ordered the men to huddle together to conserve and share their body heat. Marquez, Tavarez, and Sanchez did as they were ordered, but none of them felt the bite of the cold like Rodriguez. Within minutes of the three Seamen surrounding the Lieutenant Commander, he stopped shivering.

Five hours later, the men were still bundled together. All of them were comfortably warm in the water, even though the air temperature had dropped 30 degrees. Three of them had nodded off to sleep when Sanchez spoke.

"Is that a light?" He asked in in a quiet tone. None of the men responded and continued sleeping. He waited another minute until he confirmed what he thought he saw.

"I see a light! A ship is approaching!" he shouted. The three men opened their eyes, loosened their grip on each other, and looked in the direction of the light.

"How do we get its attention?" asked Sanchez.

"Sir!" Marquez addressed Rodriguez. "It's a longshot, but you can try to discharge your firearm."

Rodriguez reached underwater and down to his hip and unclipped the holster on his sidearm. He raised the weapon to the air and pulled the trigger.

Click. The hammer struck the firing chamber but nothing else happened.

"It's too wet. It's useless," said Rodriguez, and he threw the gun into the darkness and the men heard it hit the water with a splash.

"If only we had a match. We could light Montez on fire," said Marquez, referring to the dead sailor that kept bumping up against them as they floated in the huddle.

Tavarez gave Marquez another puzzled look. Although he eventually came to the same conclusion that lighting their fallen comrade on fire would be a prudent course of action if they had a match, the idea of burning the dead man was said much too dispassionately.

The light continued to get bigger on the horizon. The men could all gauge that the ship would pass less than 100 feet from them. They also all knew that the full moon that had once given them some hope of being spotted had just set in the west.

Marquez was furious. He started to splash and curse like a baby that just had his candy stolen. Even though he had separated himself from the other three men, the tantrum was not appreciated.

"Marquez!" shouted Rodriguez. "Control yourself!"

Except for the light of the approaching ship, the night was pitch black. No one could see the internal battle Marquez was fighting, his clenched fists, or his crazed facial contortions. Then the sound of splashing and cursing ceased. The three men were relieved, but now wondered what happened to the lunatic. Marquez was crazy, but he was focused. He stopped splashing and cursing but was still red in the face with clenched fists. In his mind, Marquez was praying to any god that would listen. He was bargaining with the devil to bring him fire. He was summoning up his inner strength to produce fire from his pores. Marquez didn't know which one of his desperate ploys worked, but when he opened his fists, a steady fire burned in his palms.

"What the hell!" shouted Tavarez.

The three men could now see Marquez by the small flickering flames. He was floating about 20 feet away and had somehow produced fire. Marquez had Montez floating a few feet to his side and lit the dead man's back on fire. The flame took instantly and within seconds, a steady blaze about five feet high burned through the darkness.

The ship was very near now. The sound of its engines made it difficult for the men to communicate. Regardless, they all threw caution to the wind and began yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs to get the attention of anyone on the ship. Even with the five foot flames only 100 feet off the ship's starboard side, the ship continued to plow through the water without slowing.

The men stopped yelling and just stared. They readied themselves for the approaching waves being churned up by the ship. They each turned their backs to the oncoming waves so the impact wouldn't splash in their faces. Just as the first wave hit, the ship's engines were cut.

Silence.

The men began to scream again, this time mixing in hoots and hollers of joy. Five minutes later, a small inflatable boat, much like the small boat the men were in twelve hours earlier, approached the beacon of flames.

"Hello! Is there anyone out there?" shouted a man in English.

The exuberance of the four men evaporated. They all had the same thought: We have been rescued from death, but we are now all prisoners of war of the English speaking Northern Alliance.

"Si! Yes! Aqui! We numero four!" shouted Tavarez in broken English.

Between the four men in the water, only Tavarez and Marquez spoke passable English. Marquez quickly surmised that his English was better than Tavarez'. Rodriguez knew some words, but Sanchez didn't speak the foreign language at all. The man in the boat cut off his engine and drifted toward the sound of Tavarez' voice. The flames from the back of Montez had consumed all of the dry clothes on his back, leaving only faint glowing embers.

"What on Aqua are you doing out here?" asked the man.

"We had un accidente. Our boat had un explosión. It sank before we radio for help," lied Marquez. This was the first time Marquez lied in the English language – It would be a skill he would come to perfect.

"You must be freezing. Let me help you guys out of the water."

Rodriguez and Sanchez had no idea what was going on. They still expected to be looking up the barrel of a rifle. Instead, they were offered a hand by the English speaking man. All four men were pulled into the boat.

"What about that guy?" asked the man. He pointed to Montez.

"We can leave here. He want to be in ocean after he dead. We had funeral words," lied Marquez again.

"OK," said the man. He didn't want a corpse in his boat anyway, so any excuse to leave the dead man in the water was good enough with him.

"Let's get you guys warmed up and into some dry clothes."

The man started the engine and steered back to his ship. After the five men climbed onto the back of the ship, the man hooked the rubber boat to a hoist, pushed a button, and winched the small boat into the back of the ship. The ship was a 55 foot yacht with all the bells and whistles. The man seemed to be the only one on board.

"Follow me."

The man led the four sailors below deck and into a guest bedroom with four beds and a big screen TV mounted on the wall. He walked into the adjoining bathroom and returned with four towels.

"Go ahead and get out of your wet clothes. You can throw them on the floor of the bathroom. Here are some towels to dry off. There are robes and slippers in the drawers below each bed. In the morning, I can bring you some of my clothes to wear," he paused and looked at Sanchez. "Except you. I don't think I have anything that will fit you. We'll have to dry out your clothes in the sun tomorrow, sorry."

Sanchez had no idea what the man said, but he said it with a smile on his face so Sanchez smiled back.

Marquez and Tavarez had each deduced that this man was not their enemy. They each had similar thoughts: By now this man should know we are from the Southern Alliance; our uniforms and our speech give it away. Who is this man? Everyone on Ignis is involved in the world war. There are no private yachts just passing through a battlefront. Where are we?

"Thank you for saving us. How do you travel here?" asked Marquez.

"It's very lucky for you that any ship passed through this part of the ocean. It's not a regular shipping route. I just spent a week vacationing in the Marquesas and I'm on my way back to San Francisko. If I didn't spot your fire, I would have steamed right on by."

"Yes, thank you," said Marquez. "Are you Captain of ship?"

"I guess you could say that. I'm the only one on this ship, that is, before you four came on board."

"Let me introduce you us. I am Marquez. This Tavarez, Sanchez, Rodriguez."

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Marsh, Bradley Marsh."

****

**  
Part Two – Recovery**

Chapter Sixteen

Firing Questions  
Or  
Questioning Fire

Tuesday, 7th February, 2012 KE

"I still don't know why we didn't call the police," said Will, walking to school with Pikabo the day after she discovered the hidden message from her father.

"We just may have to, but we need to investigate first. As soon as we call the police, they may separate us and put us in Child Protektive Services. Are you prepared to tell them about the field book, the coded coordinates, and alternate worlds? Everything is connected." said Pikabo.

"No. You're right. We would probably be laughed at and sent to the loony bin."

"Exactly."

"So why are we going to school? Shouldn't we start investigating?" asked Will.

"We are starting the investigation. There is a certain person at school that we need to question," answered Pikabo.

Will caught on. "The boy in black?"

"The boy in black," confirmed Pikabo.

In an ironic twist unknown to Will and Pikabo, they were the ones standing outside of school waiting for Iggy to arrive. They got to school at 7:30am, a half hour before school started. While they waited, they talked about the hidden message from Pikabo's dad.

"Have you ever heard of the word fiero?" Pikabo asked.

"It sounds familiar, but I don't know where I've heard that word before. It sounds Spanish. Have we heard it in Spanish class?"

"I don't think we've heard it in class, but I thought the same thing so I looked it up in a couple translation dictionaries we have. My dad travels a lot to foreign countries. The closest translation is wild in Spanish and proud in Italian."

"So he's being held by someone who is wild but proud?"

Pikabo just glared at Will. "This isn't a subject to make jokes about," she said.

"I know. I'm sorry." Will gave himself a fake punch in his own shoulder.

Pikabo cracked a smile.

At a quarter to eight, they saw Iggy's car pull up to the school. He was again dressed in all black, and he ran to them once he got out of the car.

"Great news. I can do the Moon observation tonight with you guys. The only thing is Billy isn't available to pick me up that late, so I would need to crash with one of you guys."

Will and Pikabo looked at each other.

"Give us a second," said Pikabo. She and Will walked ten feet away from Iggy and discussed the proposal.

"We can't have him over. Neither of our parents is around, and we left all the information from the field book strewn all over your apartment," whispered Will.

"I know. But this would give us the perfect opportunity to grill him with questions," Pikabo whispered back.

"Well, he knows Maggie is in the hospital. I guess we can tell him that your dad is on a business trip or something. We'll propose a sleepover at your apartment. That would make sense."

"One of us will have to stall him outside the apartment while the other hides all of our notes on the field book."

"Sounds like a plan," said Will.

"And remember: You catch more flies with honey than vinegar," whispered Pikabo.

"Huh?"

Pikabo rolled her eyes, "We'll get more information from Iggy if we question him nicely instead of firing repeated questions and accusations at him."

"Got it."

They walked back to Iggy.

"Alright, Iggy. We can have a sleepover at my apartment."

Iggy gave them a big smile. He then turned and gave a thumbs-up to Billy. The driver honked twice and drove away.

The three headed off to Science class with Mr. E.

"OK, calm down people," said Mr. E. as he pushed himself into the classroom. "Actually, before you calm down, everyone change seats so you're sitting next to your science partner."

A ruckus of shouts and school desks being dragged across the floor ensued.

"OK, calm down people," Mr. E. said again. "Today I want to go around the room and narrow down the topic that each pair," he looked at Will, Pikabo, and Iggy, "or group of three will be doing their research project on. Who wants to start?"

A pair in the middle of the room raised their hands and Mr. E. called on them.

"The rings of Saturn!" they announced.

Three other groups audibly groaned. It was obvious that the rings of Saturn were their topics too.

Mr. E., who had taught this class for many years, was prepared for this situation.

"How many groups selected Saturn's rings as their topic?

Four pairs of hands rose.

"That's OK," said Mr. E. "It's OK because that topic is much too broad. It needs to be more specific." Mr. E. looked at the first pair, "What interests you about the rings of Saturn?"

"Why does Saturn have rings and the other planets don't?"

"Perfect!" said Mr. E. "That's your topic."

He looked at the second pair of students, "You two: same question."

"We just think they look cool," said a boy in the back.

"OK. How about you research what makes the rings look cool. What are they made of? Why are they different colors? Why are they round?"

The class period carried on in a similar manner. Mr. E. had to do the same exercise with the Smart twins and the pair of Travis and Tank. The two pairs of football players had both selected Jupiter's big red spot as their topic.

Will's group went last. Will simply read the title of Dr. Bank's book, "Tidal Force – The Moon's Pull on Aqua's Oceans."

"Excellent!" Mr. E. cheered and then said more seriously, "You know, I've read that book. Dr. Thomas Banks was a brilliant man." Mr. E. then gave Will a private wink as he rotated his wheelchair and pushed himself to the chalkboard.

Pikabo rolled her eyes and thought, don't tell me he is connected too!

The remainder of Science and the next two class periods kept Will and Pikabo very busy, making it impossible to question Iggy. After third period, Will and Pikabo went to different classes and agreed that they would try to get some information out of Iggy at lunch.

At the end of fourth period, Will quickly changed back into his school clothes from his PE clothes and jogged to the quad where Pikabo and Iggy were already sitting down to eat.

Pikabo and Iggy were quietly eating their lunches. Will had noticed that Iggy had been very chipper for the last day and a half, but he now got the sense that Iggy was struggling with something personal. During third period and now at lunch, Iggy was being very quiet and reserved like he had been when they first met. Will still wanted to start asking Iggy questions, but with the personal nature of Maggie's attack, he knew he was at risk of interrogating Iggy instead of being nice. But Will was clever, and he found a way to start Pikabo asking nice questions.

"Pikabo, do you have any honey?" he asked.

"No Will, I don't have any honey." She rolled her eyes but got the hint.

"So Iggy," she said, "Tell us more about your trip to Florida visiting your mom."

There was a long pause before Iggy answered. There were a few moments when both Will and Pikabo thought Iggy was about to speak, but Iggy would close his mouth and lower his head again. Iggy was struggling with something. Since third period, Iggy was debating with himself on when and how he was going to come clean and be honest with his new friends.

Iggy said under his breath, "I guess sooner is better than later."

"What's that?" Pikabo asked.

"Guys, I haven't been completely honest with you. There are some things I really want to tell you, but I don't know how to. And I'm a little scared that you'll take everything the wrong way and not want to be my friend anymore."

Pikabo felt empathetic and wanted to comfort Iggy. Will wanted to start interrogating. But they remained still, ate their lunch, and listened.

"I'm so happy to be at this school. It reminds me of my school in Florida when I lived with my mom. Everything was fun. Everything was normal. Since I moved to Kalifornia my life changed. It became so regimented. It wasn't fun and it wasn't normal. Before I came to this school, I was put in a military school for a year and a half. I was taught to follow orders. When I was told to do something, I did it without question. If I didn't follow my orders, there were severe consequences. I learned that the quickest way to succeed in that school was to do what I was told to do and not ask questions."

Iggy paused, thinking of the best way to proceed. Pikabo and Will waited patiently.

"That is the same type of behavior expected of me from my father."

Iggy paused again. Both Pikabo and Will could see he was obviously struggling.

"Pikabo, I was ordered to keep an eye on you."

Pikabo coughed while drinking her juice box.

Iggy quickly continued, "I don't know why. I never asked why, but I was told to observe you while walking to school, during classes and passing periods, during lunch, and to make sure you headed back to your apartment after school."

Will couldn't contain himself any longer. "Why!" Will then realized that Iggy had just said he didn't know why, so he changed his question. "Who told you to do this?"

"My father did. But I'm not doing it anymore!"

"And you don't know why he ordered you to spy on Pikabo?"

"I don't. Honestly. I won't lie to you guys ever again. I promise. But I don't know why my father wanted that information."

"What did you tell him?"

"That's just it. I didn't tell him anything out of the ordinary." Iggy turned and looked directly at Pikabo. "You never did anything out of the ordinary. I reported that you hung out with Will most of the time, but you always headed back home afterschool. I have no idea why anything you did or didn't do would be of concern to my father."

"What did you tell him about me?" interrogated Will.

"Nothing! That is, my father was never interested in you. I swear! He only asked about Pikabo.

Pikabo spoke for the first time, but her tone had no trace of honey in it.

"Interested in me! Your father is interested in me?" Pikabo was red in the face. Iggy was about to speak again but Pikabo cut him off. "What do you know about my father?"

"Your father? Nothing. I mean, only what you told me about him in our first lunch together. You said he's a cartographer or something."

Pikabo just stared at Iggy. She did get the sense that Iggy was in fact telling the truth, but that didn't mean she liked what she was hearing.

Will wasn't happy either. He looked at Pikabo and said, "I think it's time for some vinegar."

"Definitely," said Pikabo.

"What do you know about the break-in at my house and the attack on my mother?" Will interrogated.

Iggy wasn't surprised by the question but didn't respond immediately.

"We know you were there. Answer the question," added Will.

"I'm not dodging the question. I'm just thinking of the best, most honest way to respond," said Iggy.

"Start from the beginning. Tell us everything you know," ordered Pikabo.

"OK. I didn't go to a doctor's appointment after first period that day. No, let me back up. Earlier that morning, I overheard my father give orders to two of his men to break into Will's house and search for something. I don't know what they were looking for, and I don't know what they ultimately took, if anything. I decided to go to your house after first period and see what they were doing. I didn't see much. I hid in the tree in front of your house the entire time. I saw the two men arrive and walk around to your backyard. I didn't see them again until they walked out the front door 30 minutes later. But 20 minutes after they broke in, your mom returned. I didn't know what to do. I just stayed in the tree."

"My mom was beaten! She is in a coma in the hospital! You could have stopped them! You could have called for help!" pressed Will.

"Will, I'm very sorry for what happened to your mom. I had no idea those men would do that to anyone. I can only be honest with you now and tell you that I was still very worried for my own safety. If those men saw me there, I would probably be in the hospital next to your mother. Actually, we might both have been killed."

Will glared at Iggy. Pikabo said, "Go on."

"Your mom entered the house through the front door. About ten minutes later, I saw the two men calmly walk out of the house. I didn't see them take anything. If they did take something, it must have been fairly small. I waited for the men to drive away and I ran into your house. Your mom was on the floor. She had been beaten badly and was barely able to breathe because her neck and throat had been badly burned. I tried mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing on your mom to help her breathe, but the air didn't go in. Her throat had swollen shut from the burns. I needed to do something or she was going to die. I did a tracheotomy."

"What's that?" asked Pikabo.

"I cut a hole through her throat and put in a hollow tube so she could breath."

"What? You're a spy and a doctor now?" spat Will.

"I'm not either. Well, I guess I was a spy but I'm not a doctor. I know a good bit of first aid, but I've never even seen this procedure – I'd only read about it and seen pictures. But I knew this was her only chance to stay alive."

"Why didn't you just call the paramedics?" asked Pikabo.

"I did. But not until after I got her breathing again. She would have suffocated to death if all I did was call the paramedics. No one can go without air for that long. And that's it. After I called for the paramedics, I left your house and came back to school."

The bell sounded the end of the lunch period.

"We are going to talk more afterschool," demanded Will.

"Good," said Iggy. "I want to come clean on everything."

They didn't talk at all for the remainder of the school day. Pikabo and Will were replaying the confession in their minds and trying to process the information. Iggy was also replaying what he divulged, gauging how he thought the session went, and coming up with a plan on how to come clean on everything still unsaid. On the walk to Pikabo's apartment, Will was the first to speak.

"Iggy, thank you for what you did for Maggie. The police officer relayed to us she would have died had you not stepped in. What you did was amazing."

"Thanks Will. I had no idea that anyone would get hurt. I'm just sorry that my father is involved."

"We're going to talk about him when we get to the apartment," said Will.

They came to Will's street and Will had an idea of how to keep Iggy out of the Pikabo's apartment long enough for her to collect the field book notes and store them out of view.

"Pikabo, you go ahead to the apartment. Iggy and I will head down to my house. I want him to show me his point of view from the tree. We'll just be a few minutes behind."

"Sounds like a plan," agreed Pikabo.

Pikabo continued one more block ahead as Will and Iggy turned down the street towards Will's house. Pikabo hustled to her apartment and started to gather anything having to do with the field book. She gathered Will's notes from the coffee table and unplugged the video camera cables from the TV. She picked up the map and the page of coordinates from the breakfast table and hid all of the material at the bottom of her underwear dresser drawer in her bedroom. She walked back into the living room and took another look around.

"Dad's note!" she said out loud to nobody. She picked up the note from the top of the TV and hid it in the underwear drawer. She sat down at the breakfast table and waited for the boys to arrive. She expected them to be only about two minutes behind, and after five minutes had passed, she started to worry that Will might have lost his temper and hurt Iggy. With Will's super strength, Iggy doesn't stand a chance, she thought. She had no idea how close that fight would be if it ever came to pass.

Another three minutes passed and Pikabo finally heard a knock at the door. She opened it and her jaw dropped. She would have been surprised if she saw Iggy battered and beaten. But that is not what she saw. She saw Will and Iggy laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Iggy asked about the honey and vinegar talk from lunch. I told him your line that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar," said Will.

"That's not supposed to be funny."

"I know. But Iggy said if you tear off the fly's wings he'll have to eat whatever you feed him."

"You guys think that's funny?"

"I guess you had to be there," said Will.

Iggy then added, "But then Will reminded me that I was the fly was in this scenario."

"Oh," Pikabo said, concerned.

"I was just joking," said Will. Then he added, "Maybe."

They sat down at the breakfast table.

"Alright, tell us about this father of yours," said Will.

"I actually don't know him all that well. As you now know, I grew up with my mother in Florida and only spent a week each year with my father. But I didn't really see him much in those weeks until two years ago. That week we spent a lot of time together. For the first time in my life, he seemed really interested in me. He ran me through a bunch of tests."

Pikabo interrupted him, "What kind of tests?"

"Like a doctor's physical and IQ tests. But that's not the interesting part that I want to tell you guys."

"OK. We're listening," said Will. He was no longer in the joking mood.

"I learned that I have some special abilities."

Will and Pikabo didn't turn their heads but shot wide eyes at each other.

Iggy continued, "I have the ability to heat things. And my father taught and tested this ability." Iggy paused waiting for another question, but none came. Will and Pikabo were both in shock. "He taught me how to concentrate to produce heat from my hands... actually any part of my body. He has the ability too, but much stronger than mine. He thinks my ability will strengthen the more I grow and practice. Do you want me to show you?"

Will nodded but Pikabo asked, "Is it safe?"

"Yes. I'm not that strong. Before last night, I would show you how I can make water boil. But that takes like three minutes. Last night I practiced and tried to produce a flame."

"No way," they both said.

"Yes way. Let me see if I can do it again.

"Can you stand in the kitchen just in case," said Pikabo.

"Sure."

Iggy stood up and stepped into the kitchen. He held up the index finger of his right hand, took a deep breath, and focused. With a faint crack, he quite easily produced an inch high flame from the end of his finger. Both Will and Pikabo shot up from their chairs to get a closer view of the fire. They both circled around Iggy as he continued to hold his lit finger up in the air.

"You just did that for the first time last night? How are you doing it so easily right now?" asked Pikabo.

"Once I figure out how to do something, it gets easier to do it again," explained Iggy.

"Try to make a flame from two fingers," suggested Will.

Iggy raised the middle finger next to his lit index finger and formed the peace sign. Crack. A sound like a singular crackle of a campfire spark was heard and two inch-high flames burned atop Iggy's two fingers.

"How long have you had this ability?" asked Pikabo.

Still holding a steady flame from his two fingers, Iggy answered, "Since my father has the ability too, I guess I was born with it, but I didn't know it until he started testing me two years ago."

"All five fingers," said Will.

Crack! A sound three times as loud was heard and tiny flames emanated from each finger of Iggy's right hand.

"Can you remember back to a time when something you did or something happened to you that couldn't be explained or understood then, but now can be explained because of your power?" asked Pikabo.

Still burning five flames, Iggy said, "Um, let me think about that. Wait! Yes! When I was about ten years old, my mom knocked a hot frying pan off the stove and it burned her arm. It would have spilled hot oil all over her, but I caught the pan in mid-air and set it back on the stove."

"You caught the handle of the pan?" asked Pikabo.

"No. I grabbed each side of the frying pan with both hands. I should have been badly burned, but there wasn't a mark on me."

"The palm of your hand," suggested Will.

Iggy extinguished the flames by closing his fist. He took another deep breath and opened his fist, palm up.

CRACK! A rounded, three-inch ball of flame was cupped in Iggy's right hand. He quickly closed his fist and leaned against the kitchen counter, breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" asked a concerned Pikabo.

"It's very tiring. I need to take a break," said Iggy, as he sat down.

"So your father can do this too?" asked Will.

"Yes. I've only seen it once, but two years ago he produced a foot-high flame from both his hands when he demonstrated the skill to me."

"Wow. OK, what else can you tell us about your spying father?" requested Pikabo.

Iggy was surprised at how well Will and Pikabo accepted his abilities. He thought his fire show would at least generate some skeptical comments, but they both accepted the ability as rather mundane.

"My father," Iggy resumed. "My father's name is Bradley Marsh. I have my mother's last name, Quemador. They divorced when my mom was pregnant with me. My father is the CEO of a non-profit think tank that does research in the field of clean energy. His laboratory is under an old observatory atop a hill that overlooks Los Angeles. We also live there."

"It's not that observatory in the Hollywoodland Hills with the large center dome and the two smaller domes on the sides?" asked Will.

"That's the one."

"I thought it was owned by the city. Isn't it rundown and closed to the public?" asked Will.

"My mother told me it's still technically owned by the city. The Institute took it over before I was born in a 99 year lease. It's actually not closed. In the lease agreement, it has to be opened to the public two times a year."

"I thought you said you lived there. How do you open it to the public?" asked Pikabo.

"We live below the main floor. My father added a number of floors underground after he took it over. The main floor still has working exhibits, and the planetarium is still functional.

"How many underground floors did he add?" asked Will.

"I don't know. I'm only allowed in sub-floors one and two. There are at least a few more.

"You're only allowed on certain floors?" asked Pikabo.

"That's my father. That's how he is about everything. It's all very regimented."

"Tell us more about the non-profit think tank." asked Will.

"It's called the Fiero Institute."

Will and Pikabo shot their heads at each other. Seconds passed. Pikabo thought, maybe I heard that incorrectly.

"The what Institute?"

"Fiero."

****

Chapter Seventeen

Subordinate Coordination  
Or  
Coordinate Subordination

Tuesday, 7th February, 2012 KE

Brooke Baines sat in her office on the main floor of the Fiero Institute and stared at the clock. It was five minutes to five. Five minutes, she thought, and he's never late. Brooke was 39 years old, dark skinned, and in incredible shape for her age. She was a divorced, single mom living about eight miles south of the Institute in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles. Brooke was hired by the Fiero Institute straight out of college. It was the first and only job she ever had. At first, Brooke was hired to be the assistant for Sophia Marsh, but two years later upon the Marsh's divorce and the abrupt departure of Mrs. Marsh, Brooke assumed all of Sophia's duties of running the day-to-day operations of the think tank.

The Fiero Institute had curtailed its operations considerably since the turn of the century. For a number of years after she took over the operations, Brooke kept the volume of activity at a level comparable to the high volume during the time under Mrs. Marsh. But in 1999, under the orders of Mr. Marsh, no new grant monies were sought. At that time, the Institute was working on nearly ten grant projects concurrently. But under orders, Brooke did not renew any of those grants and let them expire while not seeking any new ones. By 2012, there were only a couple of projects left that the Institute still worked on, and those only remained because their contracts didn't elapse until 2013 and 2015, respectively.

Brooke straightened the items on her desk for the fifth time in the last 15 minutes in nervous anticipation of the scheduled meeting with her boss, Bradley Marsh. Brooke, known as BB to her friends, would have normally left the Institute a couple of hours earlier had it not been for this meeting that had been on her calendar only since yesterday. She didn't know why she got so nervous before these meetings. She was extremely competent and organized. In her 17 years of working at the Institute, all of the meetings she had with Mr. Marsh went very smoothly.

She heard a couple polite taps on her office door and glanced at the clock. Five pm on the dot; right on time as usual, she thought.

"Come in."

Bradley Marsh entered the room and shut the door behind him. As was usually the case when they met, he was dressed in a well-tailored business suit and entered with a smile.

"Please have a seat," offered Brooke with an open palm pointing at both of the two chairs that faced her desk.

"Thank you, Ms. Baines," Marsh replied, and he sat in the closer of the two chairs. "Ms. Baines, I want to keep this meeting short as I know it is much later in the day than you normally stay."

"It's no problem, Mr. Marsh," she responded, convincingly. In reality, it was a bit of a problem. She normally left work at 3:00pm in time to pick up her seventh grade twins from school. She learned of this meeting late the day before, and had to scramble to find someone to shuttle her kids home.

"Ms. Baines, what can you tell me about our contractual obligations regarding our biannual open house."

"In what regard, sir?" responded Brooke while opening a file drawer and pulling out her copy of the lease agreement with the city government.

"I need our next open house to be very low key. I will be doing quite a bit of travelling over the next few months and may not be present for the next one. I know we usually advertise the day and time of our open house, but does anything in the contract stipulate that we must advertise it?"

"Let me take a look at the agreement." Brooke flipped through the pages of the agreement and quickly refreshed her understanding of the terms of the contract. "Sir, it doesn't stipulate anything regarding advertising. The minimum requirements state that we open to the public two times each year, once in each half of each year. It only states that we need a minimum of 30 people to pass through our doors for each event."

"So it doesn't state that the public need to be adults, nor does it state that there is a minimum time the doors need to be opened?"

"Correct, sir."

"OK. This is good. Being that I'll probably be away, let's make this open house small. We'll invite a small school group of 30 to 40 students to spend an hour looking at the exhibits and maybe another hour seeing one of the computerized laser shows in the planetarium. Would this satisfy the terms of the contract for this half-year?"

"Yes. According to these written terms, that would be satisfactory," said Brooke.

"Good. I leave you to coordinate everything. You'll be entirely in charge of contacting a school group, inviting them here, and handling them on the day of the event. We'll even pay for their lunch while they're here. Schedule it sometime in March, that way it will be over and done with in the first quarter of the year. Notify the City of the event after it takes place. This keeps it low profile, and keeps the City government off our backs at least until the end of the year."

"Very well, sir. I'll take care of everything. May I ask, where will you be traveling to?" asked Brooke very politely.

Marsh stood up, adjusted his jacket, and then responded. "It's of a personal nature, Ms. Baines."

"I apologize, sir. I'll take care of everything while you're away, sir."

"Thank you," Marsh said, and he left the office.

Personal nature? I've never known him to do anything of a personal nature since before his divorce, thought Brooke, as she stood up from her desk chair. She kissed her fingertips and touched the photo of her twins sitting in a frame on her desk. "I'm coming home, kids," she said to the photo. She gathered her purse from her desk drawer and left the Institute.

Bradley Marsh walked to the back, southeast corner of the Fiero Institute's main floor. He stood outside the elevator door and pressed the call button. The doors opened and he stepped inside. The elevator panel showed three floors to choose from:

M: Main Floor

S1: Offices

S2: Living Quarters

Instead of choosing one of these options, Marsh pulled out a circular key, inserted it into a slot in the panel, and twisted it in two quarter turns. With the first turn, a sliding door in the panel opened and revealed three more options:

S3: Staff Quarters

S4: Storage

S5: Observation

The second quarter turn revealed two more:

S6

S7

The second turn of the key was unnecessary for this elevator ride, but a force of habit for Marsh. The two sub-floors it revealed had no description.

Marsh selected S5. As the elevator doors closed, Marsh's expression and body language changed. He transformed from a mild-mannered, good-natured CEO back into his natural look. His chest and shoulders raised, his brow lowered, and his smile vanished. He was again the Captain.

The Captain exited the elevator and walked down the hallway. He entered the first door to his left marked OBSERVATION. Both Sanchez and Tavarez were sitting inside and immediately stood at attention.

"At ease," commanded the Captain as he walked into the room. He gazed through a large, tinted window on the right side of the room and saw Dr. Rivers sitting alone in the Lab Room. "Have you copied and redacted the field book per my instructions?"

"Yes sir," responded Tavarez. "On your desk you'll find the original book, an unaltered copy, and a redacted copy as per your instructions, sir."

The Captain walked over to his desk and picked up the redacted copy of the field book. The previous day, he had instructed Tavarez to make these two copies, and he was checking to see that the portions of the field book that he wanted kept unseen by others were completely blackened-out.

"Very good," said the Captain, "How long has the Doctor been in the Lab Room?"

Tavarez looked at his watch. It read, 17:28 in military time. "Almost nine and a half hours, sir."

"He is equipped with supplies?"

"Yes sir. Three pencils, a pad of paper, and a case of bottled water sir," barked Sanchez.

The Captain turned to Tavarez. "I begin my investigations of the coordinates tomorrow. Depending on how many days I spend at each location, I could be gone for up to two months. The Doctor is to work for eleven hours each day from O-eight hundred to 19 hundred hours. He must leave all of his work and notes in that room at the completion of each day. Feed him enough to keep him alive, no more. I will contact you as I deem necessary. You will not be able to contact me. Understood?"

"Yes sir," said Tavarez.

"As you were," commanded the Captain. He gathered both copies of the field book as well as the original and left the room.

Sanchez and Tavarez waited for the door to close before they looked at each other and smiled.

"Two months!" whispered Sanchez.

They gave each other a silent, slow-motion fist-bump and looked through the one-way glass and saw the Captain enter the Lab Room.

Dr. Rivers was startled when the lab door swung open and the Captain entered.

"Captain... or should I say Marsh?" questioned the Doctor still seated in the chair at the desk.

"You can call me Captain for the remainder of your days, however limited they may be."

"Is my daughter alright? Is she safe?"

"Your daughter is living her life as though you never existed. But what you do in this room will determine whether or not she keeps her life."

The Captain dropped the redacted copy of the field book onto the desk. The Doctor quickly flipped through the pages and acted as if he had seen them before.

"This is Dr. Bank's notebook, but many key passages are hidden," said the Doctor.

"Yes. But you don't need to see those passages."

"Those passages might hold the key to unlocking any secret messages."

The Captain was not used to anyone questioning his orders or testing his patience and became physically agitated.

"If you wish to prolong your life and save yourself from witnessing your own daughter's death, you will uncover any secret messages without those passages. Do not tempt my patience!" The Captain recoiled his right arm like a shot-putter. He opened his fist and produced a flaming fireball the size of a large grapefruit, CRACK! He shot his arm forward and threw the fireball just over the Doctor's head. It sped across the room and exploded into the case of water on the counter. Water burst into the air and showered that half of the room.

The Doctor fell out of his chair.

"Get to work, Doctor." The Captain spun around and exited the Lab Room.

The Captain walked back down the hall and pushed the elevator call button. A ding announced the elevator's arrival and he entered, turned his key two turns, and selected S6. The elevator descended one more level. The Captain exited onto sub-floor six into the corner of a large rectangular room. The ceiling lights automatically flickered on. The near wall to the Captain's right was lined with floor to ceiling electronic equipment with hundreds of knobs, buttons, and flashing lights. The longer wall on the far side of the room had three huge, eight feet by eight feet louvered grates that were part of the room's cooling system. The shorter wall across the room and opposite the electronic equipment was bare. And the wall with the elevator in the corner had two, 12 feet high by 14 feet wide steel doors, both in the closed position and locked with heavy duty padlocks.

The Captain flipped the handle of the main breaker switch. The drain of power made the ceiling lights dim for a second. Ten times the number of flashing lights and spinning dials came to life on the electronic equipment, and the deafening sound of huge fans could be heard from behind the three louvered grates. The Captain sat at a desk near the wall of electronics. He reached for a small switch that was in the down position and flipped it to the middle position. He put on a pair of headphones that cancelled out the reverberating noise of the cooling fans. He reached for the table-top microphone stand and dragged it towards the center edge of the desk, placing the microphone directly in front of his mouth. Both the headphones and the microphone were connected to a beat-up handheld radio; the same radio he was given when he was floating in the Pacifik Ocean almost 22 years earlier. He stared at a small instrument panel to which the old radio was wired and waited.

Two minutes passed and an indicator light in the center of the panel changed from red to yellow. He reached for the same switch and flipped it to the up position. A crackle of static was heard in his headphones and he adjusted the volume with a knob on the instrument panel. He again stared at the panel and waited.

Another few minutes passed before the yellow indicator light changed to green. To the right of the green light, a digital timer came to life and displayed 67 seconds and was counting down. Above the timer read, "ESTIMATED POWER REMAINING." The Captain heard the hiss and crackle of static eliminated in his headphones and replaced by a distant voice.

"Captain Marquez. Do you have a status report?" requested the voice in Spanish.

The Captain depressed the button on the microphone and responded in Spanish, "Yes Fleet Admiral Alvarez."

"Proceed," commanded the Fleet Admiral.

"Sir, I have decoded the message. It is a list of coordinates around the globe."

"Is there any significance to these coordinates?"

"Unknown, sir. This is the main purpose of my communication this evening. I am personally going to investigate each location to see if I can determine if any one coordinate is subordinate or superior to another. My theory is that each point is a location of a past or future event. I will try to associate a timeline to these events. My goal is to be able to forecast the exact time and place of a future event, sir.

"Excellent news, Captain. How long will you be out of communication?"

"Approximately two months, sir. Give or take a week."

"Very good, Captain. The troops are ready and primed for a long-awaited victory. If that world is as defenseless as you allege, this will be the conquest we've been dying for. If your investigation of the coordinates goes well, when do you estimate our invasion to begin?"

"That is difficult to say, sir. My preliminary hypothesis is that these events only occur once or twice a year. The best case scenario is that our troops on Ignis are able to invade Aqua within the next six months, hopefully sooner."

"Good luck, Captain. We'll be ready."

"Thank you, sir. Captain Marquez: Out."

****

Chapter Eighteen

Hid in Underwear  
Or  
Hidden Under Where?

Tuesday, 7th February, 2012 KE

"Iggy, we need to get into the Fiero Institute," pressed Pikabo.

"Sure. Yeah. No problem. I'll find out when the next open house is," said Iggy, indifferently.

"No. You don't understand. We need to get into it now," she said.

"Huh? Why?"

Pikabo looked at Will. Neither of them knew how much they could trust Iggy. They both thought, how much do we tell him?

Will spoke up, "Iggy, what else can you tell us about the Fiero Institute? What goes on there? Who works there? Does anyone live there besides you and your father?"

"Wow," said Iggy.

"What wow?" asked Pikabo.

Iggy shook his head. "I can't believe you guys are asking me more about my home than about my ability to create fire. I just never expected either reaction. I thought you guys would go crazy about my ability and not care where I lived... but it's the opposite."

Pikabo didn't feel comfortable deciding by herself how much to tell Iggy. She and Will were a team. She needed to talk to Will in private.

"Iggy, please don't take this the wrong way, but could you step outside for a few minutes. I need to talk to Will privately."

"Um, OK," said Iggy, and he walked out of the apartment and shut the door behind him.

"Where'd you hide the stuff?" asked Will.

"Stuff? Oh, you mean the map and field book notes. I hid them in my underwear drawer. But who cares? What do we do? Do we trust Iggy? Do we tell him about my father, your powers, or the field book?"

"I don't know if we can trust him. He's probably living where they're holding your father hostage. That wouldn't be someone I would think I could trust."

"But he has come clean on a lot of things today. And he has powers like you. The more we get into this whole mess, the more everything is connected."

"Before you asked him to step outside, I asked him some questions. I think we need to hear his answers and then decide if we should trust him. If it sounds like he's not holding anything back, I don't think we'll have a choice not to trust him."

"Nice double negative," needled Pikabo.

"You know what I mean," said Will.

"Yes. You're right. Let's get his answers to your questions and then decide. We don't have to tell him everything, just enough to get the help we need to rescue my father."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll go get him."

Will opened the apartment door. Iggy was standing ten feet away.

"Come back inside, Iggy."

They all sat back down at the breakfast table.

"Iggy, we appreciate that you've come clean on the spying and your amazing ability. Will and I have talked, and we just want to ask you a few more questions. We'll be up front with you on this: There are some things we'd like to share with you, but it all depends on how you answer these questions."

"Great. Go ahead, shoot. This is what I want to do," said Iggy, quite convincingly.

"OK. Who lives with you at the Institute?" asked Will.

"I live on sub-floor two with my father. There are offices for the Institute workers on the floor above me. And the main floor has all of the old science exhibits as well as the office for the head of the Institute."

"I thought you said your father was the head of the Institute?" interjected Will.

"Yes, he is. I mean the office for BB. That is, Ms. Baines. I actually don't know what her title is, but she basically runs the day to day operations of the Institute.

"Does she live there?" asked Pikabo.

"No, she lives down in the city. Just my father and I live there." Iggy paused in thought for a few seconds. "You know, there are the two men that my father orders around all the time. They could live in one of the lower floors that I'm not allowed on."

"Are these the same two men that beat up Maggie?" fired Will.

Iggy looked at him straight in the eyes and nodded, "Yes. I'm sorry Will, but it was those men."

Pikabo tried to break the tension with her own question, "Who else works there?"

"Other than my driver, I don't see anyone else besides my father, BB, and those two men. Wait. That's not correct. A few weeks ago, I ran into someone on the elevator."

"Was it a man? Late forties, blonde hair, blue eyes, about six feet tall?" blurted Pikabo.

"No. It was a woman in her twenties... but I think her hair was blonde," said Iggy.

Will raised an eyebrow at Pikabo and gave her the let's not be so impulsive look.

Iggy continued, "She must work on sub-floor one. BB tells me the Institute isn't as busy as it used to be. She says sometimes she's the only one there for days, besides me and my father."

"And they work on clean energy?" asked Will.

"I guess so. I'm really not there during the day. I'm at school. And before I came to your school, I was away at military school. I don't really know anything about the operations other than what I've told you."

"You said you've never been below sub-level two. What do you think goes on down there?" asked Will.

"I actually said I'm not allowed below sub-level two. I actually snuck down to sub-level three last week for the first time."

"You did? What did you see?" asked Pikabo.

"It looked like the same layout as sub-floor two where I live. There were what I assume to be bedrooms down one side of the hall and a kitchen, bathroom, and living room on the other side, just like on my level. It was outside that kitchen that I heard my father talking to the two men that ultimately broke into Will's house. I eavesdropped and heard my father mention your address as well as the time they were to break in." Iggy turned to Will, "That's how I knew to be waiting outside your house."

"This was the first time you snuck down to that level? Why haven't you gone down there before?" asked Will.

"The only way I know to get down to sub-level three is by the elevator. But it takes a special key to go below sub-level two. When I got in the elevator that morning to go up to my ride to school, I saw a ring of keys hanging from the elevator panel and three more floor buttons to choose from: S3, S4, and S5. I selected S3 and it took me down a level. I wandered down the hall and heard voices in the kitchen. I stood outside in the hall and listened. After I heard the orders my father gave to those men, I got back in the elevator and left for school. I'm in that elevator every day. That was the only time I've ever seen keys left hanging from the panel. I didn't know you could select lower levels until that day."

"Did you see anyone else held down there?" asked Pikabo. In her haste, she didn't use the best choice of words.

"I didn't see anyone. I just heard my father's voice and the voices of the two other men."

"Did you hear anything else; anyone else?" pressed Pikabo.

"No. I didn't stay long enough to hear anything else."

Pikabo looked at Will and raised her eyebrows, showing her bright blue eyes. Will shrugged and said in code, "Underwear?"

Pikabo rolled her eyes and then politely asked Iggy, "Can we ask you to step outside again?"

"No problem."

Once Iggy was outside, Will said, "I think we have to trust him. I didn't spot any holes in his story."

"Me neither, but we need to be careful. How do you want to go about this?" asked Pikabo.

"I guess we can tell him only what he needs to know in order to get into the Fiero Institute. If he cooperates and everything goes smoothly, we can tell him more."

"That may be difficult. I've already slipped a few times alluding to my dad being held there," said Pikabo.

"What do you suggest?"

"Let's go with your plan and tell him about the missing field book. That's why we need to get into the Institute, because it was stolen from your house when they broke in. Technically, it's not a lie... it's just not telling the whole truth."

"What about your father? What about my special ability?"

"I don't think we offer that information up. If he asks about it, or it comes up in conversation, then we tell the truth, but no more than we need to say at this point. Again, we need to be careful. You have super strength and both Iggy and his father have this fire ability. Who knows what other powers we may run into?"

"Sounds like a plan," said Will, "I'll go get him."

Iggy walked back into the apartment and said, "If anyone still cares, the full moon is now high enough in the sky to see."

"The what? Oh yeah, right," said Pikabo. She looked at Will and pursed her lips.

She was debating something inside her head. Iggy's comment about the full moon wasn't at all expected, but it was the final sincere, innocent statement Pikabo needed.

"One second Iggy," she said to Iggy with one finger in the air. She wanted to talk to Will in private but didn't want to make Iggy go outside for a third time. She turned to Will, "Will, can I see you in my room?"

Will followed Pikabo into her bedroom. Pikabo whispered, "Alright. I've changed my mind. Let's just tell him everything. Let's get it all out in the open. We won't have to dance around any subjects with him and it just may get him on our side."

"That sounds much simpler. And simpler is usually better," Will whispered back.

Iggy was waiting patiently at the breakfast table. He was looking at two photos in frames on the wall. One had Pikabo as a five year old with both her parents. The other photo was more recent with Pikabo and her dad at a beach. Iggy saw Pikabo and Will emerge from the bedroom both carrying some items.

"Is this a picture of your first day of kindergarten?" Iggy asked.

"It is," said Pikabo.

"Your mother was very pretty," said Iggy.

"Thanks. Iggy, we're gonna tell you everything we know. Are you ready for our story?" she said, as she and Will dumped the map, the decoded coordinates, Will's notes on the field book, the video camera, and Pikabo's father's note on the table.

CRACK! A hundred tiny sparks emanated from all over Iggy's back, neck, shoulders, and head.

"What was that!" shouted Will.

"I don't know. That's never happened before. You know sometimes when you're really happy and you get a tingling sensation run up your back to your scalp? That just happened to me. But what made that sound?"

"You did!" both Will and Pikabo answered.

"And you had tiny sparks shoot out from all over your body," added Pikabo.

"I did?"

"Yeah, you did," said Will.

"I don't know what to say. I saw you guys come out of the bedroom and say you were going to tell me your story. I got very excited – you know, I got that warm and fuzzy feeling. I feel that you guys have accepted me. I feel we're really gonna be friends. I haven't felt this way in a long time."

"We're happy too. But let's try to control the sparking thing. Deal?" said Pikabo as she held out her right hand.

Iggy shook it, "Deal," he said. "So what's all this stuff?" Iggy picked up the note from Pikabo's father that was lying on top of all the other stuff.

"That's a note from my father. But it has a hidden message," said Pikabo.

"It does!? Can I look at it?"

"Yep. We're going to go through all of this stuff with you," said Pikabo.

Iggy looked at the note for about 20 seconds and mumbled, "Fiero." A few seconds later he said aloud, "Held by Fiero. What does that mean?"

"We think Pikabo's father has been kidnapped. We think he's being held in the Fiero Institute," said Will. "But how did you find the hidden message so fast?"

"I don't know. The word fiero just jumped out at me. What do you mean he's been kidnapped?"

"We think it has to do with this," said Pikabo as she fished out the decoded message with the list of coordinates. "We think someone... well I don't know how to put this... We think your—" Pikabo was cut off.

"My father kidnapped your father," finished Iggy. "You said your father broke codes for a living. He's not a cartographer but a—"

"Cryptographer," Pikabo finished.

Iggy lowered his head and shook it. "No wonder you guys didn't trust me. My father is worse than I could've ever imagined. First he had me spy on you, then he has those men break into your house and nearly kill your mom, and this whole time he's been holding your father against his will? He's evil!"

"We trust you now," said Pikabo, and she patted Iggy on his back.

"Welcome to the team," added Will.

"What do you want me to do? I'll get you into the Institute. We'll find your father if I have to burn the place to the ground."

"Not so fast. Let's fill you in on everything we know and then together we'll come up with a plan," said Pikabo.

Pikabo and Will spent nearly an hour going over everything they discovered, deduced, and pieced together. They talked about the field book and Will's notes on its contents. Pikabo walked Iggy through her process of decoding the list of coordinates using the one-time pad. She showed Iggy the map of the world where she plotted each coordinate and pointed out the Malibu beach location. That led them to talk about Maggie's video, the whirlpool of water suspended in mid-air, and the baby. Lastly, they talked about Will getting hit by the car and falling out of the tree but being unhurt.

"That's kinda like me when I caught the hot frying pan and didn't get burned," commented Iggy.

"Yes. Exactly," said Pikabo, "But that's not all." She looked at Will. "Why don't you show him something?"

Will looked around the apartment. He walked into the kitchen and squatted down in front of the refrigerator.

"What are you doing?" asked Iggy.

"Just watch," said Pikabo.

Will grasped the bottom front corners of the refrigerator and stood up.

"What the..." said Iggy.

The refrigerator was pinned up against the kitchen ceiling, four feet above the floor.

"Now I see why you guys weren't freaked out by my fire," said Iggy.

Will lowered the refrigerator back down to the floor, smiled and said, "You know, I think I'm getting a little stronger."

"My father did tell me my powers would grow stronger as I grew and practiced," said Iggy. "I'm sure it's the same with you and your powers."

Iggy looked at Pikabo with wide eyes, expecting her to show-off her powers next.

She held up both her hands and said, "Sorry, but I'm just a normal, everyday girl."

"You are not normal," said Will, trying to compliment Pikabo, but failing.

Iggy covered for him, "What he means to say is that you are extraordinary. I don't know anyone who could have decoded those coordinates and put so many other pieces of this puzzle together in just a few weeks."

"Yeah... What he said," confirmed Will.

Iggy continued, "And all with the pressure of your father being hidden under the dome home."

"Hidden under where?" Will and Pikabo asked simultaneously.

"The dome home. That's what BB calls the Fiero Institute. Whenever she sees me return from school she says, welcome back to the dome home."

"Alright," said Pikabo, "The next step is for you to get us into the dome home. We can't wait until the open house, unless it's in the next few days."

"But we need access to sub-floors three, four, and five. We know Pikabo's dad isn't held on any of the floors that Iggy is allowed on," inserted Will.

"Right. So Iggy, you need to get us that elevator key or find us some other way down to the sub-levels," directed Pikabo.

"I've searched pretty much every part of the three floors I'm allowed on. The elevator is the only way I know that has access to the sub-floors. But I know how important this is. I'll find a way down there."

"Great! I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving," said Will.

"We still need to do that Moon observation and start our research for our science project," said Pikabo.

"You guys are still going to do your schoolwork with all of this going on?" Iggy pointed to the mess of papers strewn all over the breakfast table.

"Life goes on," said Pikabo.

"And we still gotta eat," added Will. "I'm sure we can see the Moon from the Burger Shak."

"Sounds like a plan," said Pikabo. "I'll bring the Tidal Force book too. Maybe we can brainstorm about our project."

The three grabbed their backpacks and headed out to Tom's Burger Shak a couple of blocks away. Will and Pikabo were surprised to hear that Iggy had never tried a chiliburger before. Iggy told them that his mother made his lunches and cooked his dinner every night when he lived with her in Miami, and in military school, he always ate in the mess hall. Now that he was living in the hills overlooking Los Angeles, Iggy was too far away from any restaurant and had to make his own meals in his kitchen.

At the Burger Shak, Will ordered a Kombo #1 for everyone that consisted of a chiliburger, fries, and a soda. Even though the Sun had set, the night air was still very comfortable so they decided to eat at the outdoor tables so they could do their Moon observations as they ate. The full moon had traveled 60 degrees above the eastern horizon and was clearly visible in the cloudless sky.

"Oh boy, am I stupid," said Iggy.

"What?" said both Pikabo and Will.

"I'm 15 years old, why has it taken me this long to discover a chiliburger? This is so good."

"Next time we'll get an order of chili-cheese fries. If you think a chiliburger is good, wait until you try that," said Will.

"Really? Oh no, I can't wait until a next time. We're getting some right now," said Iggy, and he jumped out of his chair and walked back into the Burger Shak.

Pikabo and Will laughed. They took advantage of the free moment without Iggy and talked.

"So what do you think about him?" asked Pikabo.

"He's growing on me. I think we made the right decision. He's a good guy," said Will.

"I think so too," agreed Pikabo, "But you know, I never could have made it through this past month of my father being away without you, Will. You are the best friend I've ever had."

Will was thankful that the lighting outside was too dim for Pikabo to see him blushing.

Pikabo continued, "When I think of you, it's hard to believe it's only been a month since we met. It seems much longer. But when I think of my father, I feel like I just saw him less than a week ago. And it's because of you. You've kept me going without my dad. I owe you a lot."

Will couldn't see it, but tears were welling up in Pikabo's eyes.

"I feel the same way," Will said. "There's no one else in the world but you that could have pulled me out of that depression I was feeling in the hospital."

Will felt like reaching his hands across the table to hold Pikabo's when Iggy returned with a plate of chili-cheese fries.

"Wow, these look amazing," said Iggy, "I grabbed three forks so we could all share."

"You two go ahead," said Pikabo, "I'm going to sit inside where the light is better and look through this book." Pikabo pulled out the Tidal Force book and walked into the Burger Shak.

Outside, Will and Iggy spent the next 20 minutes trying to finish the plate of chili-cheese fries, while inside, Pikabo had her nose glued to the book. When they finally finished the fries, the boys cleared their table and Will walked back inside the Burger Shak to throw away their trash.

Will stood next to Pikabo and asked, "Are you ready to head back?"

Pikabo didn't look up from the book. She raised a finger in the air and replied, "Give me a minute."

"We'll be outside," said Will.

Will returned outside but didn't see Iggy. Iggy had stood up from the table and was leaning against the side of the building. With no lights shining on him and all dressed in black, Will didn't see him until he spoke from the darkness.

"Are we ready to go?" asked Iggy.

"Pikabo said she needed a minute. Hey Iggy, why do you always wear black?"

"I don't know. I got in the habit at the military school."

"Well, I think you need to change your wardrobe," suggested Will.

"Why?"

"The police officer told us that witnesses saw a boy dressed in all black leaving my house the day of the attack. I know all you did was save Maggie, but the police may have other ideas."

"Oh. I didn't know anyone saw me. Maybe you can give me something with more color to wear to school tomorrow."

"Sure thing," said Will.

A few minutes later, Pikabo jumped up from the table and rushed outside to meet up with the boys.

"I think I found something!" she said.

"What?" said the boys, as they started walking back to Pikabo's apartment.

"There are two major factors that affect the ocean tides: The gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun. Even though it is much smaller, the Moon has the greatest effect on the tides because it's so much closer to Aqua than the enormous Sun. It's the position of the Sun and Moon in relation to Aqua that affects the high and low tides around the world."

Pikabo took a quick breath and then continued, "And here is where it all gets very interesting. The book devotes an entire chapter on two specific things that affect the ocean tides the most: syzygy and perigee."

Both Will and Iggy slowed their pace and had identical blank expressions on their faces. Pikabo understood.

"I didn't know what those two things meant either. But it's very simple. Syzygy is when three celestial bodies line up. In this case, it is the Sun, Moon, and Aqua. When the Sun and the Moon lineup and combine their gravitational pulling powers on Aqua it creates the highest and lowest tides of the month called spring tides. Are you following me so far?"

Pikabo looked over at both Will and Iggy who were both giving small head nods.

"OK. Then there is perigee. That's when the Moon is closest to Aqua in the cycle of its orbit. It stands to reason that when the Moon is closest to Aqua, its gravitational pull is greater. Are you still with me?"

Both Will and Iggy nodded again.

"Good. So what do you think happens when the Sun, Moon, and Aqua are in syzygy causing spring tides and the Moon is closest to Aqua at perigee?

"I don't know. Does the world explode or something?" laughed Will.

"No!" barked Pikabo as she hit Will in his shoulder. Then she reconsidered, "Well, sort of actually. It doesn't explode, but when those two factors happen at the same time, it exerts the strongest pull on Aqua causing the highest tides. But it doesn't only affect the ocean. The gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun also pulls on the atmosphere and on the land and actually distorts the shape of the planet. The term the book uses when these two factors happen at the same time is a perigean spring tide."

"So how often does this happen, once a month or every hundred years or something?" asked Will.

"There's actually a chart in this chapter of the book that shows the date of the next 50 perigean spring tides since the book was first published 25 years ago. It looks like it happens every seven or eight months," said Pikabo.

"This is interesting. So this is what you'd like to do our project on?" asked Iggy.

"No. Well maybe, but I'm not talking about our project." Pikabo turned to Will. "Will, what was the date Maggie said she brought you home from the orphanage – The date that happens to be the same as the Malibu beach video?"

"28th of March, 1998," said Will.

"I don't think it's a coincidence. That's the exact date of one of the 50 perigean spring tides listed in this book."

They all stopped in their tracks with wide eyes.

"From decoding the coordinates, Dr. Banks knew exactly where Maggie had to be to witness that water funnel event. He also knew the exact day of the event from his perigean spring tide chart. He could predict when these events happen. We can now predict when the next event will happen."

"When?" asked both Will and Iggy.

"The 6th of May, 2012. Three months from yesterday."

"Where?"

"I don't know that yet," said Pikabo, "but I hope we can figure that out."

****

Chapter Nineteen

Shoe Prints and Fingers Crossed  
Or  
Fingerprints and Shoes Across

Wednesday, 8th February, 2012 KE

"You can let me out here, Billy," said Iggy, "I need to talk to Ms. Baines."

Billy slowed the car to a stop near the front entrance to the Institute and Iggy got out. Normally, Billy would pull the car around to the back for Iggy to enter through the back entrance closer to the elevators, but he saw no harm in Iggy talking to Ms. Baines.

"See you in the morning, Iggy," said Billy. He then pulled the car in a U-turn and sped back down the hill.

On the short walk to the front entrance, Iggy was twisting his head back and forth. Spending the night on Pikabo's couch had given him a crick in his neck that had lingered throughout his entire day at school and the drive home. He entered the tall double doors and walked straight to Ms. Baines' office.

"Hi BB. I'm glad you're still here," said Iggy as he walked into her office.

"Welcome back to the dome home," said BB. "Wow, wearing a colorful new shirt today I see."

"Yeah, I thought it was time to ditch the all-black thing," lied Iggy.

"Iggy, I'm only still here because I needed to talk to you. Your father will be away for a couple months and he asked me to get you some things. I've bought you some groceries and had them put in your kitchen. The meals are very simple; almost everything can be heated up in the microwave. Billy will continue to take you to and from school. I won't usually be here when you get home from school, but here is my home number in case you need anything."

BB handed Iggy a Fiero Institute business card with her home number written on the back.

"That's very nice of you. Thank you," said Iggy as he took the card.

"You said you were glad I was still here. Is there something else I can do for you? I still need to pick up my kids."

"Yes. I wanted to ask you something about the open house. Do you have a date yet for the next one?"

"I was going to schedule it on the 30th of March. But it won't be our usual open house this time. Your father wants to keep it small. He told me to invite a school group to spend a few hours here."

"An entire school? That doesn't sound small."

"No, just 30 to 40 students. This afternoon, I was going to ask the principal at my kid's school if he wanted to send a class here."

Iggy quickly processed the information and came up with a rudimentary plan.

"My science class would love to come. We're in the middle of a unit on astronomy right now."

"OK. It makes no difference to me. I'm sure my kids don't want to come. How many students are in your science class?"

"About 35."

"Perfect! I'll type up an invitation and send it to your school. What period is your science class?"

"It's first period with Mr. E. Thanks so much BB. And thanks again for getting me the groceries."

"No problem. Do you need anything else? I need to run," said BB, pulling her purse out of her desk drawer.

"No. I'm good. Go get your kids. Bye," said Iggy, and he walked out of the office and across the main floor of the institute towards the elevator. Iggy pushed the call button and the elevator doors opened immediately. Iggy stepped inside but didn't push S2. Instead, he looked above and below the control panel searching for something.

It's got to be here somewhere, he thought. He stepped to the other side of the elevator. As he was doing so, he heard BB's footsteps walking out. He was just about to call out to her when he thought better of it, No, the fewer people involved in this the better. I need to do this myself. On the opposite side of the elevator from the control panel he saw what he was looking for. Inside a rectangular cutout of the brushed metal elevator wall was a three by five inch card behind glass.

KEK  
Kalifornia Elevator Kompany  
P.O. Box 3838  
Santa Ana, KA 92711-3838  
(714) 555-LIFT  
For Maintenance, kall (714) 555-5440 and  
have your Elevator # and Sekurity Kode

Elevator number and security code, thought Iggy. Where do I find those? He stepped back to the other side of the elevator and looked again at the instrument panel. He saw #2132 engraved at the top. That must be the elevator number, but where do I find the security code?

Iggy stepped out of the elevator. If everything was normal, I would ask BB, he thought. He pulled out the business card from his pocket and stared at it. But everything is not normal. BB wouldn't know the security code off the top of her head. She would have to look it up.

Iggy walked back to BB's office. The door was closed. I hope it's not locked, he thought. He twisted the door handle and the door sprung open. Iggy closed his eyes and visualized himself walking up to BB and asking her for the elevator security code. His imaginary BB reached out her left hand and started flipping through her rolling index file. Iggy opened his eyes and saw the index file of phone numbers and business cards on the desk. He spun the knob on the side of the rolling index file and flipped to the K's for KEK. Nothing. He flipped back to the E's for Elevator and saw what he was looking for on the first index card. The card had the same information printed on it as the larger card in the elevator. But there was something different about this card. Written in pen at the bottom of the card were two numbers: 2132 and 3342.

Iggy sat down at the desk, picked up the phone, and dialed the maintenance number.

"Kalifornia Elevator, this is Tina. How can I help you?" said the woman's voice on the other end of the phone.

Iggy summoned the deepest voice he could muster and said, "Yes. Thank you Tina. I'm having some trouble with my elevator. Can I get someone to take a look at it?"

"Do you have the elevator number and security code?"

"Yes. 2132 and 3342."

"One moment please."

Iggy could hear the typing of computer keys, a long silent pause, and then Tina spoke, "Yes, sir. This is the Fiero Institute?"

"That is—" Iggy forgot to lower his voice. "That is correct, Tina," he said in his lowest tone.

"What is the nature of the problem you're having with the elevator?"

Iggy wasn't sure if he should tell Tina that he had lost his key or if he should make up a different reason. He was worried that Tina would tell him that the maintenance men do not work on the keys, so Iggy decided to make up a different problem. I'll have more luck persuading the maintenance guy – they don't always play by the rules, he thought.

"Um, one of the buttons on the instrument panel isn't working right," he said.

"I'm sorry to hear that, sir. I can have someone out there tomorrow. Would you like the 10:00am to 2:00pm window or the 2:00pm to 6:00pm window?"

"Um. After 4:00pm would be best," said Iggy.

"I'll make a note of that here, sir." Iggy could hear keys typing. "Very good, sir. I have a technician scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday the ninth, during the two to six window. And I've made a note that you prefer him to arrive after four. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

"No. Thank you, Tina."

"Thank you for calling Kalifornia Elevator. Have a pleasant day."

Iggy was very pleased with himself. He leaned back in BB's chair and basked in his accomplishment. Ten seconds of self-congratulation was all Iggy could risk. He sat back up and wrote the elevator number and security code on BB's business card and then put the KEK index card back in BB's rolling file. He returned the items on the desk to their proper place and alignment and left the office.

Iggy woke up early on Thursday morning. He couldn't wait to get to school and tell Pikabo and Will what he had accomplished. He searched his closet and found some non-black clothes to wear. He made himself some toast for breakfast and headed to the elevator. When Billy crested the hill and drove to the normal parking space near the back door of the Institute, Iggy was waiting for him.

"Billy, do you think you could bring two of my friends here afterschool?" asked Iggy.

"I can bring them here. But I can't wait around to take them back to their homes," said Billy.

"That's OK. They are going to sleep over tonight. You'll be able to take us back to school in the morning, right?"

"Sure. That won't be a problem."

Billy drove Iggy to school and dropped him off 30 minutes before school started. Iggy waited near the entrance to the school for Pikabo and Will to arrive. At about ten minutes to eight, the threesome was reunited.

"I've got some things to tell you guys," said an excited Iggy.

"So do we," said Will. "You go first."

"I have news about the open house. I talked to BB and I got her to invite our science class to the Institute."

"Wow. When?" said Pikabo.

"The 30th of March. BB is going to send an invitation to the school. But that's not all. I also did some work on getting to the lower sub-floors."

"You did? How?" asked Will. "I thought you needed a key."

"I called the elevator company and they're going to send out a technician this afternoon. I thought we could all go to the Institute after school. Billy said he would drive us all there. I'm hoping we can talk the technician into giving us a key or at least taking us down to the lower levels."

"What about your father?" asked Will.

"That's the best news of all. My father is away for two months!"

Will smiled and looked at Pikabo. She was standing still with a serious look on her face. Tears started to well up in her eyes and she jumped at Iggy and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you, Iggy. This is great news. Maybe I can get my father back." Pikabo wiped her eyes with her sleeves.

Iggy asked, "You said you have something to tell me?"

"Pikabo thinks she's figured out how the locations match up with the perigean spring tides. She thinks she may be able to determine the location of the event on the sixth of May. But your news is better."

The five-minute warning bell sounded.

"We better get to class," said Pikabo. She put her arms around the shoulders of both Will and Iggy and they walked off to their first period class.

During lunch, they planned out how they were going to deal with the elevator technician. Pikabo told the boys that if she put on some make-up and lipstick, she could pass as an 18 to 20 year old. They decided that Pikabo would pose as Ms. Baines and explain to the technician that Will and Iggy were interns for the Institute assigned to getting the elevator fixed. They were all quite confident in their plans until the start of fifth period.

The threesome walked into History class and saw a police officer talking to Mrs. Montgomery. Will and Pikabo immediately recognized the man as Officer Winters, the policeman who first notified them of Maggie's attack.

Officer Winters recognized Will and walked up to him.

"What happened? Is Maggie alright?" blurted Will.

"Son, I just checked on her this morning. I thought you might be asking about her. There's been no change. The doctors say they're still several weeks away from reviving her from her coma. She's doing well, considering. No, I'm here regarding the investigation of the break in. We just received results back on the fingerprints we lifted from the attic. There are two sets of fresh fingerprints and we'd like to check them against yours."

"OK. But I can tell you that Pikabo and I were up there the night before the break in, so they are probably ours," said Will.

"Yes. One of the sets belongs to your friend. We already have her fingerprints on file. However, we didn't find a match for the other set of prints. We need to check yours to tie off this loose end of the investigation."

"OK. Here you go." Will stuck out both his hands with his fingers spread apart.

"Sorry, son. We need to take you down to the station. We have some other questions we'd like to ask you down there.

"Will it take long? I have plans after school."

"I'll personally take you home after we're done. It should only take two to three hours."

"Two to three hours! That's too long. I have plans," pleaded Will.

"You're going to have to change those plans, son. Police investigations tip the scales when weighed against teenage after school plans. I'll pick you up right after school," said Officer Winters, and he left the classroom.

The bell sounded and Will was on edge for the remainder of fifth period. When the period ended, Will met with Pikabo and Iggy before they went their separate ways for period six.

"I won't be able to go with you guys to see if the elevator plan works," stated Will.

"I don't want to go without you," said a worried Pikabo.

"Iggy is who you need there anyway. He knows his way around and we've both seen what he can do. He can protect you. I want to be there so bad you don't know. But I can't. And we can't miss this opportunity to get that elevator key. Go with our plan, get the key, and that's it. Don't do anything else, it's too risky."

"He's right," said Iggy. "This is our best shot to get access to those sub-floors."

"I don't like it," said Pikabo, "But I think you're both right. Will, go straight back to my apartment when you're done with the police. I'll call you there at seven o'clock to let you know we're OK. If we don't call by 7:30, you won't have any option but to call the police. And you'll need this." Pikabo fished her apartment key out of her pocket and handed it to Will.

"Be safe," said Will.

"You too," said Pikabo, and Will walked off to his English class.

After school, Officer Winters was waiting for Will outside of his English class. They drove to the Police Station and Will was told to sit in the waiting room until he was called in. After nearly an hour of waiting and watching a parade of uniformed police officers, handcuffed criminals, lawyers, and bail bondsmen march through the waiting room, Will's name was finally called by the sergeant behind the desk. He was taken by a uniformed officer and had his fingerprints taken. From there, he was placed in a holding room. Will could tell it was a typical room where the police interrogated the alleged criminals. He was sure the large mirror on the side of the room had people watching him from the other side. Will waited for another 30 minutes before a plain-clothed female detective knocked on the door and stepped into the room.

"Will, I'm Detective Shore. I'm the lead detective investigating the break in at your house and the attack on your mother. Thank you for coming down to the station."

Will wanted to say that he didn't have a choice, but he thought better of it and simply nodded.

"Can I get you anything? Water? Soda?"

"No, I'm fine," said Will.

"It's now been a week since the break in. How are you coping with your mother being in the hospital?"

"I'm doing OK," said Will, trying to sound as realistic as he could.

"That's good. Will, can you think of any reason why someone would target your home for a break in?"

I can do better than think, thought Will, I can tell who, what, where, when, why, and how. But he was ready for a question like this one and was prepared to lie. "No," he said.

Will and Pikabo had talked about the possibility of involving the police over the past week, and they concluded that the negatives outweighed the positives. The only thing substantially positive about involving the police was their sheer number of officers. Pikabo, Will, and now Iggy were only three people. But there was no guarantee that the police would use the proper number of officers to break Pikabo's father out of his prison, which would ultimately put her father at greater risk of being injured or killed. And would anyone really believe in alternate worlds and super-powers, especially without the field book? No. Both Will and Pikabo agreed that their small team was the best chance Dr. Rivers had of being rescued. And the only way their team could stay together was to limit what they said to the police. They could continue to work together towards discovering more about portals to other worlds and their powers, and they could hopefully rescue Pikabo's father in the process. Ultimately, they decided only to call the police after they exhausted all other options, or their lives were in immediate danger.

Detective Shore continued her questioning.

"You walked through the house with Officer Winters after the break in. At that time, you determined that only a small amount of jewelry was stolen from your mother's bedroom. Now that you've had a week to think about it, do you think anything else was taken?"

"I don't think so. I can't think of anything else," lied Will.

"Let's talk about the attic. By the number of shoe prints on the dusty floor, it looks like three people have been up there recently. What do you know about that?"

"As I told Officer Winters, my friend and I were up there the night before the break in. We were looking through the boxes of books trying to find a topic for our science project." Will was relieved to finally tell the truth.

"You were up there with a friend only a night before the break in. Let's talk about this friend. Are we talking about Ms.," the detective paused and tried to pronounce the name in the file she was reading, "Ms. Pick-a-bow Rivers?"

"Her name is pronounced Pee-ka-boo," corrected Will.

"Fine, Ms. Pee-ka-boo Rivers. How long have you known Ms. Rivers?

"About a month. She started at my school a month ago." said Will, honestly.

"Only a month, I see. And what do you know about the background of Ms. Rivers?"

"What do you mean?" asked Will.

"Her background. Where did she come from? Why did she start at a new school mid-term?

"Her father started a new job at UKLA so they moved to Santa Monika over winter break."

"What does her father do?"

"He's a cryptographer. He teaches how to write secret messages and decipher codes."

"And he teaches this class currently at UKLA?"

Will knew this line of questioning was leading down a path he didn't want to tread. He also knew he couldn't lie about things that could be easily checked by the police. He was beginning the think this detective already knew some of the answers to her questions. I have to tell the truth, he thought. But how much of the truth? He quickly answered his own question. Tell as little of the truth as possible without getting caught in a lie.

"I don't know when his class starts," Will said, truthfully.

"A month ago" said Detective Shore. "His class was supposed to start a month ago, but the head of his department at the university received a letter from Dr. Rivers stating he would not be able to teach the class because he was called by the government to work on a top secret case. Do you know anything about this, perhaps from Peeeee-kaaaa-booooo?"

The detective was now clearly making fun of Pikabo's name. Will didn't like Detective Shore from the start, but degrading someone she didn't know and never even met made Will dislike her even more.

"No. I don't know anything about that," he said. I don't know anything about that because it's a lie, thought Will. Dr. Rivers' captors must have forged that letter.

Detective Shore looked at the papers in the file she was holding and then looked at Will again. Her stare made Will very uncomfortable, but he tried to stay cool.

"Thank you, Mr. Banks. We may want to ask you some more questions. Can you stay longer?"

Do I have a choice? That was what Will wanted to say. But he chose the more polite tact, "I'd like to be home before 7:00. What time is it now?" Will found it difficult to track the passage of time with all of the waiting he had to endure.

"It's about six o'clock," said the detective.

Detective Shore left the interrogation room and closed the heavy door with a loud thud. Will was left in the room alone, thinking, I can't miss the phone call.

Before Billy drove Iggy and Pikabo to the Institute, they stopped at Pikabo's apartment for her to grab a more professionally appropriate change of clothes and her makeup. Billy dropped them off near the front entrance to the Fiero Institute, but they found the front doors locked and had to walk around to the back entrance.

"That's good news," said Iggy. "It means BB has already left for the day and our plan for you to impersonate her hasn't failed before it even started."

They walked directly to BB's office and found her door unlocked.

"So far so good," said Iggy.

"I need a room so I can change and put on some make-up. Is there a bathroom around here?" asked Pikabo.

"Yes. Back down the hall we came from. There is a bathroom across from the elevator."

Pikabo walked out and left Iggy to prepare the office for their ruse. Iggy found two framed photos of BB's kids and stashed them temporarily in a desk drawer. He sat back in the chair and waited. Pikabo returned a couple minutes later, but Iggy had to do a double-take to recognize her.

"Wow. I didn't know who you were. You're a different person," said Iggy.

"No. It's just little ol' me," said Pikabo as she curtsied like a little girl in a new dress.

Pikabo was wearing a black dress with a red sash and matching red high heels. She had released her ponytail and brushed out her blonde hair. She parted it on the side to give it more body as it fell a few inches onto her shoulders with a gentle wave. She brushed mascara on her upper and lower eyelashes making her bright blue eyes brighter and bluer. The final touch on her transformation was a warm shade of red lipstick that made her perfect white teeth sparkle when she smiled.

"I think you're in my chair," said Pikabo.

Iggy jumped up and said, "Sorry, Ms. Baines. My apologies."

"Don't let it happen again!" joked Pikabo.

It was a few minutes past four o'clock and they were as ready as they could be. Iggy waited by the office window. From that vantage point, he could see anyone driving up to the Institute. They waited and waited and waited. They were about to call the elevator company when at 6:25, a white van with the letters "KEK" on the side drove into the parking lot. Iggy saw one man step from the vehicle and approach the front entrance.

"He's here," said Iggy. "I'll bring him to you."

Iggy walked out of the office to the large double door entrance. He unbolted the inside lock and opened the door for the elevator repair man.

"Thank you for coming," said Iggy. "Right this way."

Iggy politely tapped the closed office door.

"Come in," said Pikabo from behind the desk.

The repair man looked at his watch. "Sorry I'm late. I saw that you requested a later time so I saved you for last, but the appointment before you had some complications."

"Not a problem," said Pikabo as she stood up from the desk and shook the man's hand. "I'm Ms. Baines and this is my intern, Mr. Black. Shall we escort you to the elevator, Mr....?"

"Steve. Just call me Steve. Yes, let's take a look at the elevator." They headed out of the office and Steve asked, "What problems are you having?"

"It's the key that reveals the options for the lower three floors, some of our employees are having problems."

They arrived at the elevator and Steve pressed the call button. When the doors opened, he grabbed a triangular block of wood from his tool bag and wedged it into the open door to prevent it from closing. He stepped inside and both Iggy and Pikabo followed him in.

"Let me have one of your keys so I can troubleshoot the problem."

Pikabo was prepared for this question. She just hoped their planned answer was sufficient. "Mr. Black, give him your key," she said.

"Um. I'm sorry, Ms. Baines. I lost my key."

"How have you been accessing the lower levels?" said Pikabo in an authoritative voice.

"I've been meeting up with Charlie and we've been using his key."

Pikabo turned to Steve, "I'm terribly sorry, Steve. Can you troubleshoot the problem without a key?"

"Shouldn't be a problem, ma'am. One of my master keys should work"

Pikabo smiled. She wasn't sure if she was more pleased that their plan seemed to be working or that she was referred to as, "ma'am."

The repairman reached deeply into his tool bag and fished out a ring of keys from the bottom. He looked at the elevator number and spun the key ring in circles until he stopped at a group of keys he liked. He mumbled, "Should be one of these three..."

The first two keys he inserted didn't turn. He inserted the last key, "Third time's the charm..." Click. The key turned and the sliding door on the panel dropped revealing three more buttons labeled Staff Quarters, Storage, and Observation. He turned the key back and forth making the door slide up and down numerous times.

"It seems to be working fine for me. Maybe their keys have worn out," said Steve.

"That's probably it. Can we get a new key from you?" asked Pikabo with a smile. She had both of her hands behind her back and was crossing all of her fingers.

"I only have this master and I can't give it up," answered Steve.

Both Pikabo's and Iggy's hearts sunk. They didn't know what to do, but after a few seconds, Steve continued speaking.

"But I can put in an order for you," he added.

"That would be great," said Pikabo.

"Let me just see which master key this is."

Steve reached for the key and turned it to get a better view of the engraved number. It turned the second quarter turn revealing buttons for sub-floors six and seven.

"Oh, wow. This has a second level of security. That's very rare. Should I order level-one or level-two keys and how many of each?"

Pikabo thought fast. "Level-two keys will access all of the floors?"

"That's correct," said Steve.

"We'll only need level-two keys. Three copies should do," said Pikabo.

"Very good. I'll put that order in right away. Should they be mailed to you, Ms. Baines?"

"Being that we are so remote, the Institute uses a P.O. Box in the city, but it would be great if you could just send it to my home?"

"Not a problem. I just need an address."

Pikabo gave her apartment address in Santa Monika.

"How long will it take to receive the new keys?"

"Six to eight weeks, ma'am," said Steve.

Pikabo's heart sank again. She stepped out of the elevator and began pacing the hallway, lost in thought. Everything was going so smoothly up to this point. How can I wait six to eight weeks to rescue my father?

"Is there any way to get them sooner. Can you put a rush on it?" asked Iggy.

"No, I'm sorry son. It usually takes the full eight weeks. Would you like to select one of these lower floors before I pull out my master key?

Pikabo locked eyes with Iggy. Will said not to go down there without him, she thought. But he also said that Iggy could protect us. This may be our only chance to get down there for eight more weeks.

"Ma'am? Would you like to select a floor before I leave?" asked Steve again.

"Um, yes. The Observation floor, please," said Pikabo, taking a semi-wild guess at the floor her father might be held on.

"Very well," said Steve. He pushed the S5 button and removed his key. The panel door slid back up. "Put your shoes across the threshold. I need to take my wedge back."

Pikabo and Iggy each stepped a foot across the threshold and blocked the elevator doors from closing. The repairman pulled out his wedge and zipped up his tool bag.

"You're my last stop." He looked at his watch. "It's 6:55, I may make it home for dinner if I hurry. Glad I could be of service."

Steve picked up his bag and walked toward the front doors. The elevator started to beep. Steve turned and shouted back to Iggy and Pikabo, "That means you have 15 seconds for the doors to close or your floor selection will be cancelled. Have a nice evening." He walked out through the tall double-doors and was gone.

Beeeeeeeeeeeep.

"What do we do? I told Will we would call him by 7:00," said a distressed Pikabo.

Beeeeeeeeeeeep.

"But we have until 7:30 before he calls the police. This could be our only chance," reasoned Iggy, and he removed his foot from the doorway and stood inside the elevator, leaving only Pikabo's foot holding the doors open.

Beeeeeeeeeeeep.

"We're running out of time! Are you in or out?" urged Iggy.

Beeeeeeeeeeeep.

"IN!" she yelled.

She jumped into the elevator. The beeping stopped, the doors closed, and the elevator descended.

****

Chapter Twenty

Ring Delay  
Or  
Ding Relay

Thursday, 9th February, 2012 KE

The door opened and the form of a large man cast a shadow into the opening. A strong, dark hand reached in.

"Watch your head," said Officer Winters as he helped Will out of the police car in front of Pikabo's apartment.

"What time is it?" Will asked.

"It's about five minutes before seven," said the officer.

"Thanks for the ride. I gotta get inside. I'm expecting a—," Will was going to say phone call, but he thought better of it. "I'm expected for dinner," he lied.

"Have a good evening, son," said Officer Winters, and he got back into the squad car and drove away.

Will rushed into the apartment and immediately went to the answering machine. The red digital display showed an unblinking zero. I didn't miss the call, he thought, relieved. He grabbed the wireless handset from the phone cradle and sat on the couch. He stood the telephone upright on the coffee table and stared at it, waiting for it to ring. It stared back. I'm not gonna win this staring contest, thought Will. He stood up, paced the room, and looked at the clock. Three minutes to 7:00. I hope they don't leave me waiting.

The phone rang. Will leapt over the couch and answered the phone.

"Are you OK? Is everything alright?" he burst out.

Will waited a few seconds that felt like an eternity when the phone speaker finally came to life.

"Yes sir. Thank you for asking. Are you unhappy with your long distance service? If you switch to—."

Will quickly ended the phone call and slumped back on the couch. His heart was beating through his chest. The only other time he had felt this anxious was exactly one week earlier when he found out Maggie was critically injured. He hated the feeling; hopeless and out of control. Thoughts bombarded his mind. I should call a taxi and go to the Fiero Institute. I should call the police now; waiting a half an hour may be too late. No, I can't miss the phone call. I'll stick to the plan. The next 30 minutes may feel like a lifetime, but I have to trust that they will stick to the plan and not do anything dangerous without me.

Will was half right and half wrong. The 30 minutes did feel like a lifetime, but Pikabo and Iggy did not stick to the plan.

Sanchez was sitting alone in the Observation Room looking at the pictures in a magazine. Occasionally he looked up and peered through the one-way mirror at Dr. Rivers in the Lab Room. He looked at the clock. Almost 19 hundred hours. He walked out of the Observation Room, locked it, and turned left down the hall. He opened the next door to his left and stuck his head into the Lab Room.

"Two minute warning, Doc. I'm gonna hit the head and then it's back to your cell for the night."

Sanchez grabbed both the inside and outside knob of the lab door and double-checked that the inside knob remained locked and the outside knob turned freely as he pulled the door shut. He walked back up the hall passed the Observation Room on his right toward the bathroom on the left, which was directly across from the elevator like on many of the floors at the Institute. He pushed the bathroom door open and stepped inside, not noticing that the elevator doors had just opened behind him.

Iggy was standing front and center with Pikabo behind him as the elevator doors opened, and he saw the back of Sanchez just before he disappeared behind the bathroom door.

Iggy whispered to Pikabo, "That was one of my father's henchmen going into that room; probably a bathroom." Iggy pointed across the hall to the bathroom. "We have to be quiet and move fast."

Pikabo looked down at her feet and saw her red high heeled shoes. She quickly slipped them off, held them in one hand, and whispered back to Iggy, "Ready."

They stepped out of the elevator and noticed the hallway was a dead-end to their right. Iggy looked down the hall and saw four doors on the right, including the bathroom door, and two doors on the left, not counting the elevator doors. They quickly tip-toed down the hall and checked the first door they came to on the left marked OBSERVATION. It was locked. The next two doors on the right were both locked, but each had metal shutters covering an eight inch square window. They each took a door and lifted its respective shutter and peered inside.

Pikabo whispered, "Mine looks like a prison cell. It has a bed, a toilet, and a sink."

"Mine too, but it doesn't look lived in."

"Mine either."

There were two more doors down the hall, one to the left and one to the right. They went to the one on the right, thinking that it would be a prison cell like the others on that side of the hallway. They lifted the shutter and peered inside together.

"Did your other one have a pillow and blanket?" whispered Pikabo.

"No," said Iggy. "This one is different – looks lived in."

"But my father isn't inside," whispered a dejected Pikabo.

"We've got one more door to check, and then we need to get out of here."

They backtracked a short way up the hall to check the last door. Iggy reached for the door knob and twisted. It turned. He signaled to Pikabo with his other hand for her to stay behind him.

"Let me check it out first to see if it's safe," he whispered.

Iggy started to crack the lab door open when they both heard the sound of a toilet flushing from back up the hall. They were totally exposed in the hallway and the only place to hide was through the cracked open door.

"Inside!" Pikabo commanded in a whisper-shout, and she pushed Iggy into the Lab Room and quickly followed him in and closed the door.

"Just one second. I'm just now finishing up," said Dr. Rivers without taking his eyes off the redacted field book on the desk.

"Dad!" whisper-shouted Pikabo.

Dr. Rivers turned in his chair and tried to comprehend what he was seeing.

"Pikabo? Is that really you?"

Dr. Rivers got his answer as Pikabo dropped her high heels on the floor, raced across the Lab Room, and embraced her father and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. A tidal wave of questions flooded his mind as he tried to make sense of the sight of his beautiful daughter juxtaposed in his month-long hell hole.

"You're OK? I'm so glad you're alive. Have you been captured? What are you doing here?

"We came looking for you – to rescue you," said Pikabo.

More questions flooded Dr. Rivers' mind, but he decided on the most pressing questions.

"What about the guard? He said he'd be right back. Do the police have him?"

"No police, Dad. It's just us. And I think the guard is in the bathroom."

Pikabo was taken aback by the frightened look on her father's face.

"He'll be back any second. You've got to hide." Dr. Rivers looked around the room and saw nowhere that would conceal a person much less two people.

"The three of us can handle one guard," said Pikabo, "Iggy is stronger than he looks."

"No. You don't understand. These guards have special abilities. They can throw fireballs and melt skin with their bare hands."

In the silent moment it took Pikabo and Iggy to comprehend how ill-prepared they were to rescue Dr. Rivers, they heard footsteps approaching from up the hallway.

Dr. Rivers pushed Pikabo away.

"Behind the door. Hide there. I'll keep his attention on me," directed Dr. Rivers.

Pikabo and Iggy pressed themselves against the wall near the hinges of the door. The footsteps were louder; almost on top of them. Pikabo locked eyes with her father in a silent exchange of love, empathy, and concern. Pikabo then saw the big lipstick kiss on her father's cheek. She quickly pointed to her lips and then vigorously rubbed her own cheek. Dr. Rivers got the message and rubbed away the lipstick. The doorknob turned just as Iggy pointed to the red high heeled shoes lying in the middle of the floor. The door started to crack open as Dr. Rivers jumped forward and swept the shoes across the floor to Pikabo with a kick. But his weakened body collapsed to the floor from the awkward angle he put it in. The fall, fortuitously, served as the attention-grabber Dr. Rivers needed to keep Sanchez' eyes on the Doctor and not on the rest of the room.

"Whatcha doin' on the floor?" said Sanchez, still holding the outside doorknob and thus keeping the solid metal door between him and the two hidden figures.

"Just tripped getting out of the chair," lied Dr. Rivers.

"Well get up and let's go."

Dr. Rivers started to get up but fell again across the threshold of the doorway, this time intentionally.

Sanchez literally kicked the man while he was down and barked, "Get on your feet and stop wasting my time!'

The doctor got on his feet and was taken down the hall. The cell door was unlocked and the doctor was pushed in. Pikabo and Iggy heard the cell door slam, the jingle of keys, and then the guard's footsteps walk back past the lab door and up the hallway.

"What do we do now?" said an emotionally distraught Pikabo. "Are we locked in here?"

Iggy went to inspect the door lock, "No. There's a pencil in the doorway keeping the door from closing all the way. Your father must have put it there when he fell the second time."

"What about the guard?" asked a more composed Pikabo, feeling better that at least the second fall was planned by her father.

Iggy opened the door and poked his head out just enough to see up the hallway. He saw Sanchez step into the elevator.

"He's gone. He got in the elevator."

"Let's get my dad and get out of here," said Pikabo as she collected her shoes and ran down and across the hall to her dad's cell. She found the cell door locked so she opened the metal shutter. Dr. Rivers stood only two inches away but it might as well have been a mile as they were separated by solid metal and bulletproof glass.

"We'll get you out of here, Dad. Iggy has powers too."

"The boy you're with has powers? Then you can't trust him. He's with them," said Pikabo's dad in a distressed voice.

"No. We can trust him. Will and I made sure of that," said Pikabo.

"Who's Will?"

"I'll explain everything once we get you out of here." Pikabo turned to Iggy who was watching her with his head poking out from the Lab Room. "Iggy, can you burn through this lock or something?"

Iggy stepped out of the Lab Room and looked back up the hall as he approached Pikabo.

"I don't know, Pikabo. I don't think flames will do anything and they would burn the paint and leave a mark. If we don't succeed, they'll know we were here." He paused for a few seconds and then added, "But I'll try to heat up the doorknob and locking mechanism inside... that shouldn't leave a mark; there's no paint there."

Iggy grabbed the metal door handle with his left hand and placed his right hand on a metal plate where the bolt would be inside the door. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

"Pikabo," her dad said, "You can't stay out here in the hallway. That was just a change in shifts. The other guard will be coming down here any second now and bringing me my dinner. And this guy's not an idiot like the last guy."

"We have to try," she said through the square window. She turned to Iggy, "How are you doing, Iggy. Do you feel any movement inside the lock?"

Iggy tried to wiggle the knob in his left hand, it didn't budge.

"I'll try for a little longer, but your dad's right, we're too exposed here. We need to get off this floor or at the very least, get out of this hallway."

"Leave now, Pikabo," said her father, "I couldn't bear it if you got hurt or captured. Just seeing you alive and well has lifted my spirits. I'll be fine in here. I know what they want and I'll give them little pieces of information. That will keep me alive. Now go. Get out of here."

"Any change, Iggy?" asked Pikabo.

Iggy tried to turn the doorknob. "No."

"Dad, try from the inside," said Pikabo.

"Wait! No!" blurted Iggy, but it was too late.

"OW!" yelled Dr. Rivers. "It's burning hot!"

"Sorry," said Iggy, "I tried to warn you." He turned back to Pikabo, "We should go."

Pikabo continued to stare into her dad's eyes. Both father and daughter had tears welling up in their eyes. Not turning away from her father, she responded to Iggy.

"Alright. Let's go. But we'll be back. We'll get you out. I promise."

"It's too dangerous, Pikabo. Don't do it."

"I love you, Dad."

"Love you too, Pikabo."

They ran side by side up the hallway, but Pikabo pulled Iggy back into the Lab Room that was still cracked open with the pencil.

"What are you doing? Your dad said there was another guard coming."

"Give me 30 seconds," said Pikabo.

She ran over to the desk and opened the redacted field book.

"We can't take that. They'll know we were here. They'll take it out on your father... torture him," said Iggy.

"I know. I'm gonna write him a note. Quiet!" spurted Pikabo.

She turned to a page in the field book that had room to write and quickly jotted a note in pencil.

Dad,

We will get you out, but the next opportunity may not be until 30 March. We will be stronger next time. Stay alive until then.

Love you. Pikabo.

Pikabo read the note back to herself and then added a short post script.

Today is 9 Feb.

She closed the book. "Let's go."

Iggy stashed the pencil in his back pocket and peaked up the hallway.

"Coast is clear."

They ran up the hall towards the elevator. Iggy was just about to push the call button when they heard the elevator was already moving. The other guard, they both thought.

Iggy grabbed Pikabo's arm and pulled her into the bathroom opposite the elevator. The bathroom door closed and they heard the elevator lurch to a stop, the double doors slide open, and the footsteps of the guard walking out and down the hall. Tavarez walked with longer strides but more softly than Sanchez. After about ten steps, neither Iggy nor Pikabo could hear his footsteps any longer.

From their perspective, the bathroom door opened inward with its hinges on the right which allowed them to crack the door open slightly and peer down the hall. Iggy did so and Pikabo crouched down below him for her own view. They could see the elevator call button across the hall about eight feet way. Ten feet further down and across the hall they could see the Observation Room door. It was closed. The last door they could see was about 40 feet down and across the hall; it was the Lab Room door they had just come from. They could not see any of the cell doors on the right side of the hall, nor could they see the guard, but they knew he was outside of Dr. River's cell when they heard the jingling of his keys unlocking the cell door.

"Dinner time Doctor," said Tavarez.

Neither Iggy nor Pikabo could make out Dr. River's reply if there was one. All they heard was the cell door slam shut and the keys jingle again. A few seconds later, they saw the tall form of Tavarez walking back up the hall toward them. They silently closed the bathroom door and pressed their bodies against the inside bathroom wall near the door. They thought that if the guard came into the bathroom, they may be able to slide out without him noticing. They didn't get that chance.

Tavarez stopped at the Observation Room. Iggy and Pikabo heard the keys jingle, the door open, and about four more footsteps followed by the slight squeak of a desk chair in protest of the weight it was forced to endure.

Iggy cracked the door open for a split second and saw that the Observation door was propped open.

Iggy whispered, "He's in the room across the hall, but he's left the door open. Should we call the elevator and make a run for it?

"Maybe," whispered Pikabo, "But we could hear the elevator from the hallway. Do you think he can hear it from that room?"

"I don't know. Do we have a choice but to try? We can't stay in here forever," said Iggy.

"That option will still be open to us in a few minutes. Let's see what we have to work with in this bathroom, figure out our options, and then decide what to do," reasoned Pikabo.

They looked around the bathroom. It was small; only about one-third the size of the bathroom on the main floor and half the size of Iggy's bathroom on sub-floor two. It had one sink, one toilet inside a stall, and a urinal. All of the pipes were exposed, running across the ceiling and down the walls instead of inside the walls. There was a bucket and a mop stored in the corner.

"Do you think that mop handle is long enough to reach the call button?" asked Pikabo.

Iggy tip-toed over to the mop and sized it up.

"It's only five-feet long. The hallway is about eight. We'd have to step completely into the hallway to make it reach. Do you think I should try?" answered Iggy.

"No. Not yet. I've been thinking about the call button. Does it ding like other elevators when someone calls it?"

"It didn't ding when the guard just came out," said Iggy.

"No. But it wouldn't ding then because no one on this floor pushed the call button. I think they only ding when someone pushes the button."

"I think you're right," agreed Iggy, "And the ding would relay to the guard that someone is on this floor, and being only 15 feet away he would catch us for sure; especially if he had fire powers like your dad said. What are we gonna do?"

"Let's see what else there is in here" said Pikabo; thinking out loud and not expecting an answer from Iggy. He answered anyway.

"Nothing," he whispered.

Pikabo stood in the center of the room and did a few 360 turns. She was about to do some more out-loud thinking when they heard a ruckus down the hall and the guard's running footsteps.

Iggy cracked the door open but saw nothing. The guard had run too far down the hall and out of his view. Pikabo returned to her crouched position at the bottom of the door.

"Should we try now?" whispered Iggy.

"Not if he's still in the hallway. He may see us push the button and be able to get to us before the elevator was even close to opening. Let me risk a better look."

Pikabo laid flat on the bathroom floor and pulled the door in wide enough for her to poke her head through. She had a complete view of the hall and saw the guard standing outside her father's cell and speaking to him through the square glass window.

Tavarez was calm and composed and spoke in a smooth but controlling voice, "What have you done, Doctor? You've flooded your cell. The water is all over the hallway. Don't you know I have the shut-off valve right here outside your door? All I need to do is turn this valve and you'll have no running water. Think about it Doctor. No more flushing toilets. Is that what you want?"

Pikabo kept her head peering out of the bathroom and strained to hear her father's response, but she couldn't hear him from so far away. Tavarez continued after Dr. Rivers' unheard response.

"Very good, Doctor. Now I'm going to mop up this water and then station myself directly outside your door should you choose to misbehave any further. Trust me, if I have to dole out punishment, it will be much worse than a filthy, non-flushing toilet."

Pikabo retracted her head back inside the bathroom like a frightened turtle and turned to Iggy.

"He's coming in here to get the mop!" she whisper-shouted. "We have to hide!"

They both knew the only hiding place was the toilet stall. They hurried into it and stepped up on each side of the toilet seat. They squatted down to lower their heads below the six foot high stall walls and grasped each other's forearms to keep their balance. Tavarez' footsteps quickly came within earshot and they heard the bathroom door swing open. They held their breaths.

Tavarez grabbed the mop handle and pulled the bucket on wheels out of the bathroom and down the hall.

"Should we try for the elevator now?" asked Iggy.

"No. He'll be in the hallway and even if he doesn't see us push the call button, he'll surely hear the ding. Let me peek out the door to see if and when he returns with the mop. "

Pikabo did so and Iggy waited outside the stall door, ready to jump inside on Pikabo's queue. Pikabo watched the guard mop the floor. After a little over a minute, he started to roll the bucket and mop back up the hallway.

Without words, Pikabo and Iggy again assumed their squatting positions on the toilet and waited. And waited. And waited. They heard wheels rolling up the hall; a few seconds later, they heard wheels rolling back down the hall.

After a minute, Pikabo risked speaking and whispered in Iggy's ear, "I think he changed his mind and rolled the mop bucket back down the hall?"

"Sounded that way to me too," agreed Iggy.

"I'll check it out."

Pikabo slowly cracked open the bathroom door but immediately closed it and turned to Iggy.

"The mop and bucket were left in the hallway outside the Observation Room," she whispered.

"Then what did we hear rolling back down the hallway?"

Pikabo shrugged, lied back on the floor, and poked her head through. Again, she immediately pulled her head back and closed the door. Iggy feinted towards the bathroom stall but stopped when Pikabo shook her head.

"No, it's OK" she assured him in a whisper, "He's sitting on a rolling desk chair and reading a magazine. Unfortunately, the chair is faced up the hallway towards us. Any sound and he will look up and see us."

Iggy's head dropped as he shook it in despair. He looked up at Pikabo.

"I know your father was trying to create a diversion so we could get away, but it looks like it's backfired on us. We are now directly in the guard's line of sight."

Pikabo didn't immediately agree or disagree with Iggy. She gazed around the bathroom again like she did just before her father's diversion. She was looking and pointing at things in the bathroom and mouthing unspoken words. After about 30 seconds, Iggy couldn't bear the silent mouthing and pointing and wanted to know what Pikabo was thinking.

"What?" he whispered.

"No," she whispered back.

"No, what?"

"No, my father's diversion hasn't backfired on us."

"How so?"

"The guard is no longer only 15 feet away from the elevator. He's now closer to 80 feet away."

"So? Now he has a direct view of us. We can't even risk pushing the call button."

"Yes. That may be problematic. But at least now he may be far enough away that even when he hears the ding of the elevator, he may not be able to get to the doors before they close."

"That sure is a lot of mays," whispered Iggy.

"I know," nodded Pikabo.

Iggy started shaking his head again.

"I'll go," whispered Iggy. "I'll run down the hall and distract the guard so you can get away."

Pikabo smiled but then shook her head, "No. Where would I go? I don't know my way around this place. The guards would chase me down and we'd both be captured. No, I have another plan."

"I'm not going to let you distract the guard to let me get away," said Iggy.

"No, that's not my plan. It's a longshot, but if it works we'll both get away and the guard won't know what he saw."

"Let's hear it then," whispered Iggy, "We don't know how long it will be before this guy's bladder needs relieving."

"Right," agreed Pikabo. "You see this pipe." Pikabo pointed to an exposed pipe to the right of the bathroom door that ran down from the ceiling along the inside of the bathroom wall.

"It's a water pipe that probably brings water from the floor above us. It looks like it diverts the water here," Iggy pointed at a perpendicular T-joint in the pipe, "and distributes it to the urinal and toilet."

"Right, but the pipe continues down and then bends into the wall towards the hallway. It looks like it travels just below the floor and across the hall. It probably brings water to the Observation Room across the hall."

"Yeah, I would agree with that. But how does that fit into your plan of our escape?"

"That's where you come in. I want you to kneel down next to the bottom of that pipe and try to heat it up."

"What good is that going to do?" protested Iggy.

"Just start doing it and I'll explain my plan to you."

Iggy knelt down and grabbed the turn in the pipe with both hands. He closed his eyes and concentrated on heating the pipe.

Pikabo, as promised, explained her plan, "I want you to try to heat up the section of pipe that crosses the hallway, so if you can focus your heat in that direction, that would be great."

Iggy repositioned his hands and kept concentrating.

"Good. Now what I hope will happen is the pipe will get so hot that it will start to heat the air above it. This should create a heat haze effect. From the 80 foot distance the guard is positioned down the hall, this wall of heated air should distort what he sees behind it."

Iggy took his hands off the pipe.

"Won't that bring the guard right to us? We'll be trapped in here."

"No, I don't think so. Right now all he sees is the blank wall at the end of the hall. He probably won't notice the heat haze as it will only be distorting the blank wall."

"And you think a distorted blank wall will just continue to look like a blank wall."

"I think so," nodded Pikabo.

Iggy put his hands back on the pipe and closed his eyes. Pikabo continued her explanation.

"I'll peek out the door and try to see when the heat haze takes effect. Then one of us will have to risk pushing the call button without the guard noticing. Once the elevator arrives at our floor it will ding and open its doors. We'll have to quickly run into the elevator and push our floor selection. We'll need those elevator doors to close as quickly as possible because the guard will surely be running up the hall to get us."

Iggy stayed in his kneeling position with his eyes closed and simply nodded his approval to the master planner. Pikabo laid on the floor, cracked the door open, and waited. After eight minutes Pikabo whispered to Iggy that she thought she saw the start of a heat haze. After ten minutes, she told Iggy it was definitely working. Iggy was sweating profusely and nearing the point of utter exhaustion.

"Try to focus the heat for a couple more minutes and then I'll push the call button."

Iggy nodded.

After 90 seconds, Iggy released his grip on the pipe and collapsed on the floor.

"Are you alright?" said Pikabo.

"Yes. Give me about ten seconds to rest and then try to push the button."

After ten seconds, Iggy got onto his feet and pulled the door open wide enough for Pikabo to slip through. Pikabo looked down the hall and saw the guard still sitting in his chair and reading a magazine. From her vantage point, the heat haze only had a small effect on her ability to focus on the guard. I hope from where he's sitting the haze has a larger effect, she thought. She didn't share her concerns with Iggy, however. She could easily tell he couldn't generate any more heat.

"Here I go," she whispered, and she slipped out the bathroom door, took three quick but quiet steps across the hall and pushed the button, and returned.

Both Iggy and Pikabo listened for any sign that the guard was aware of their presence, but they could only hear the beating of their own hearts in their chests. Iggy pulled the bathroom door open wider so that they could sprint across the hall once the door opened. They waited. A few seconds passed and then they heard the rumble of the elevator cables in the elevator shaft. They both crossed their fingers in hopes that the guard couldn't hear.

DING!

The sound instantaneously relayed a message to the guard: Come here! There are trying to escape! But the guard didn't immediately come running. He stood up from his chair but didn't move, thinking it was his partner coming down to pay him a visit; not immediately realizing that the elevator wouldn't have dinged if that had been the case. The doors opened but instead of seeing someone exit the elevator, the guard saw two blurred shapes scurry across the hall and into the elevator. Tavarez took off running.

Iggy selected his floor and they waited for the elevator doors to close.

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! The hallway reverberated with the sound of the guard's quick, elongated strides.

Pikabo and Iggy stood at the back of the elevator and stared out, hoping the doors would close before they saw the guard.

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! The footsteps were much closer.

It had only been a couple seconds, but Pikabo risked exposing herself and stepped up to the elevator panel and repeatedly pushed the >|< button.

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

The elevator doors started to close and Pikabo could see that the guard hadn't even reached the heat haze yet. The guard stopped running.

"We're gonna make it," said Pikabo.

Iggy smiled at her but saw her expression change from relief to fear.

A fireball burst through the heat haze toward the elevator, and it was going to make it in before the doors closed. The flaming ball of fire was speeding straight at Pikabo's chest.

****

Chapter Twenty-One

Squeezed Tight  
Or  
Tight Squeeze

Thursday, 9th February, 2012 KE

BANG! The slam reverberated throughout the room. After 30 minutes of waiting for a phone call that didn't come, Will was a bundle of nerves and he released his anxiousness, fear, and helplessness on the coffee table by slamming it with his fist. His super-strength split the solid oak table in half and it crashed to the floor of Pikabo's apartment. The telephone handset tumbled off the now two-legged table. Will picked it up from the floor and walked back into the kitchen. He stared at the clock on the microwave. 7:29 PM shined back on the green digital display. Like a spectator at a tennis match, Will's focus shifted back and forth between the microwave clock and the handset in his hand. With one last turn of his head, the clock changed: 7:30 PM.

Will let out a growl of frustration and indecision. For the past half hour, Will debated with himself on whether or not he should call the police at 7:30 or not. On one hand, Will reasoned that he should call. He should follow the plan. Pikabo and Iggy may be counting on him to do just that. On the other hand, he reasoned that he shouldn't call. Would the police believe the story of a not-quite 15 year old boy, especially a story as outlandish as his? All he would succeed in doing is alert the authorities that he's been living without an adult guardian for a week and be taken away to Child Protektive Services.

Will placed the phone on its cradle and started to pace the kitchen. He stopped in front of the refrigerator and focused on a photo of Pikabo with her father. In the photo, Pikabo was pointing to something out of the frame and her father was trying to look in that direction. It looked to be a beach scene on a bright sunny day.

"What should I do?" asked Will of the picture of Pikabo. "You would want me to stick to the plan. And your plans have been pretty good."

Will was just about to turn and continue his pacing when he noticed a business card that was stuck to the refrigerator with a magnet. It was the card of Officer Winters from the first day they met him one week earlier. Will focused back on Pikabo's photo.

"He sure seems easier to talk to than Detective Shore," Will said out loud to the photo. "Do I call him?"

Will thought he got an answer when he looked at the photo again.

"You're pointing at the business card," Will said.

He took the phone off its cradle and walked back to the refrigerator.

Will started to dial but then stopped. I can't believe I'm so frazzled that I'm taking directions from a photograph taken at least a year ago, he thought.

Will was about to redial when the telephone rang. He was taken slightly off guard but managed to answer before the second ring.

"Hello?" he said.

"Will! It's Iggy. Everything's OK. We'll tell you all about it at school in the morning. Gotta go!" Click.

"Hello?" said Will.

There was no answer, but Will was relieved. He put the phone back on its cradle and walked back to the refrigerator. He took the photograph and meandered back to the couch without taking his eyes off of Pikabo. He collapsed onto the couch, feeling more emotionally drained than he had ever felt before. Lying on his back, he held the photo in the air and gazed at the girl he had only known for one month, but it felt like so much longer. He smiled, closed his eyes, and fell fast asleep.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Will was awakened from his sleep by someone knocking at the door. It's the middle of the night, he thought, and rubbed his eyes. But through the drawn curtains on the apartment window he realized it was morning as the sunlight was filtering in.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Will opened the door and was immediately the victim of an arms and legs death grip by a woman in a black dress. He was about to hurl the woman across the room when he heard a familiar voice in his ear.

"I'm so happy to see you!" said Pikabo as she released her full body hold on Will.

"You too... I mean me too," mumbled Will, still trying to wake up.

"We've got so much to tell you," said Pikabo as Iggy followed her into the apartment.

"What time is it?" Pikabo answered her own question by looking at the clock on the microwave. "Great, we've got some time before we have to head off to school." Pikabo took a dramatic pause and stood still, looking directly into Will's eyes.

"We saw him. We spoke to him," she said.

"That's great," responded Will, unsure of what she was talking about, "You spoke to who?"

"Whom," corrected Iggy.

"Whatever," said Will.

"I spoke to my father. He's OK. He's still being held but he's OK." Pikabo was flittering about the room with nervous energy. She froze in front of the broken table and stared at it for a moment. Will was about to apologize and explain when Pikabo simply shrugged and continued, "We went down there; down to the sub-floor where he's being held."

Pikabo spent the next ten minutes explaining to Will about the elevator and how they gained access to the secure lower level. She described the layout of sub-floor five, the prison cells, the Lab Room, the Observation Room, and the bathroom. She filled Will in on her father's diversion and the heat haze. When she got to the fireball headed straight for her, Will interjected.

"Fireball! The guard has powers like Iggy and his father?"

Pikabo just nodded and Will turned to Iggy for an explanation.

"I didn't know," said Iggy, but his head movements changed from a shaking to nodding. "But I should have known. I didn't put the pieces together until we were already down there. I should have known last week when they hurt your mother. The skin around her neck was so badly burned. I should have realized it was done with their bare hands."

Will started to lay into Iggy with an irrational verbal attack when Pikabo interjected.

"Will, he saved my life. If it wasn't for Iggy, I would have died last night."

Will calmed himself down and listened.

"That fireball was heading straight for me. I was frozen in fear. Iggy somehow managed to jump in front of me and take the full brunt of the fireball. It hit him straight in the chest and the impact knocked us both to the floor as the elevator doors closed, but we both got up without an injury. Iggy burned a big hole in his shirt, but his body absorbed the fire like a sponge absorbs water."

"Did you know you could do that?" asked Will.

Iggy shook his head.

In that moment, Will realized that Iggy risked his life to save Pikabo's. Any reservation he had about how much he could trust Iggy vanished. Will spread both of his arms wide and beckoned in his now two closest friends for an embrace that he hoped both expressed how relieved he was that they were alive, and that there weren't two other people in the world that he would want at his side. On Pikabo's side, the embrace could be categorized as a friendly shoulder hug; on Iggy's, it was more of a big brother putting a playful choke hold on his younger brother. But nonetheless, Will marked this moment in his mind as the time he knew he would do anything for these two people that only one month earlier, he had never met. Will punctuated his revelation moment with a few words.

"I'm just glad you're both alright." He released Iggy from his choke hold but kept Pikabo squeezed tight and added, "We'll get your father back. I promise."

"And I promise to never go into danger again unless I have both of you standing at my side," said Pikabo. And she meant it; even though it was a promise she would be forced to break in the near future.

Will turned to Iggy. "Your phone call last night: First of all, calling it a little close to the time deadline, weren't you?"

Iggy just shrugged.

"And why were you so rushed? Why didn't you stay on the line longer?" added Will.

Pikabo responded, "Wait 'til you hear the rest of our story. Go ahead, Iggy. You tell him."

Iggy picked up the story from where Pikabo left off. "So I got hit by the fireball. I thought I was dead, but as you know, we both survived. I pushed the buttons for all three floors so the elevator would open at S2, S1, and the main floor before it would go back down to S5 and pick-up the guard. We knew we didn't have much time to call you before 7:30, so we decided to go straight up to the main floor and use the phone in BB's office. My father doesn't allow me to have a phone in my quarters. The elevator got to the main floor and I sprinted to the phone while Pikabo held the elevator doors open with her foot. I had to rush my phone call to you so I could get back to the elevator and back down to S2 to hide Pikabo."

"But that's not the exciting part," interjected Pikabo.

Iggy continued, "We got off at S2 and we knew we had maybe 30 seconds before the guard would come looking for the intruders. Pikabo hid under my bed. I know it's not terribly clever but it was effective. The guard didn't come immediately to our floor. I think he first went to the main floor and searched the museum and the grounds and at some point the other guard joined the search. Less than ten minutes later, the shorter guard, who I later learned is named Sanchez, barged into my bedroom. I'm lying on the bed and pretending that I'm reading a book. Pikabo was still under the bed. Sanchez was like, have you seen anyone down here? And I told him no, jumped off the bed, and asked how I could help. He didn't say anything and started to look around my room. Of course, I didn't want him to look under the bed so I told him I thought I heard a noise in my father's bedroom. We both rushed out of my room. Sanchez unlocked my father's bedroom and looked around. I acted like I was looking too."

Pikabo interjected, "Save the good part until the end."

"I will," said Iggy, and he continued, "We didn't find anybody, of course, and I told him it was probably the faulty water heater that I heard. I helped him search the kitchen, living room, and bathroom before I told him I should get back to my homework. He left to meet up with the taller guard, who I later learned is named Tavarez, on another floor and I went back to the bedroom."

"That's amazing! You guys are safe," Will concludes.

"Yes and no," said Pikabo.

Iggy agreed, "Right. I remembered what Pikabo's father said about the guards. That one of them was an idiot and the other wasn't. We saw each of them enough to realize that the short one, Sanchez, was the idiot, and that the tall one, Tavarez, may not give up the search so easily. And I was right. Tavarez came back and did a more thorough search."

"And he didn't see Pikabo under the bed?"

"No... because she wasn't there anymore. After the dumb guard completed his first search of my floor, he got back in the elevator and went to a different floor. I went to get Pikabo and hid her in my father's bedroom which is always locked."

"Tell him how you got in," said Pikabo, excited.

"Yeah, how did you get in if it was locked?" asked Will.

"I used the pencil trick that her dad used. After searching my father's room with Sanchez, I followed him out but faked like I tripped and fell to the floor. I placed the pencil from my back pocket in the doorway and then followed him to the other rooms to continue the search. So Pikabo was now in my father's bedroom and I went back to my room. It turns out that I was just in time, because the Tavarez entered a few minutes later and looked everywhere, in the closet, behind the dresser, and even under the bed. This is also when I learned the two guard's names. Tavarez introduced himself and Sanchez as Institute Security.

"Did either of them suspect you as possibly being one of the two intruders?" asked Will.

"I don't think so, but I didn't give them a chance. I think I did a pretty good job acting like I was glad to see them. I told them things like how scared I was being at the Institute at night when my father wasn't around and the strange noises I would hear. I think they bought it. I told them I'd feel more comfortable if I could join them on their search and they allowed me to do so, but only on sub-level two. So I followed the two guards out of my room and down the hall towards my father's bedroom. Tavarez tried to open the door but it was locked. He turned to Sanchez and asked, was this door locked before you searched it? Sanchez said yes and I was relieved because I thought Tavarez was going to move on without searching the room again. But he grabbed his keys, unlocked the door, and did another thorough search. I thought we were doomed."

"So how was Pikabo not discovered?"

"I'll let her tell this part."

Pikabo continued the story, "I was in the room for a few minutes when I heard the guards re-searching Iggy's room. They were not being very quiet. I figured that his father's room might be next. I knew I had to find a better place to hide than under the bed, but there wasn't much to the room: just a bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. There wasn't even a closet like in Iggy's room, even though the rooms were the same size. I decided that I would pull the dresser away from the wall and hide behind it, hoping they wouldn't notice."

"But you said they looked behind the dresser in your room," Will blurted to Iggy.

"Let me finish," said Pikabo, "I'm getting to the good part. When I reached under the dresser to slide it away from the wall, my fingers felt a switch. I flipped the switch and you wouldn't believe what happened."

"Don't tell me the floor opened up and you slid down a hidden slide," quipped Will.

"No. But close," smiled Pikabo. "I flipped the switch and a panel on the wall popped open near the floor. It was in the same place in the room as where the closet should have been. I swung the panel open and it revealed a small cubby hole about the size of a two and a half foot cube. I knew it'd be a tight squeeze, but I was running out of time and didn't have any other options. I stuffed myself into the cubby hole and pulled the panel shut. The guards entered the room about 30 seconds later but never found me."

"No way!" said Will.

"Way," said Pikabo.

"I couldn't believe it," added Iggy. "I think I started searching the room more closely than the guards. I had no idea where Pikabo was."

"Now, are you ready for the good part?" said Pikabo.

"That wasn't the good part!" said Will with wide eyes.

"Wait until you see this," said Iggy, unable to conceal his giddy smile.

With her back turned to Will, Pikabo opened her backpack and pulled out a leather-bound book. She turned and showed it to Will.

"You found the field book!"

****

Chapter Twenty-Two

Follow Mysteries Up  
Or  
Mr. E.'s Follow-Up

Thursday, 8th March, 2012 KE

Another month passed and the threesome fell into a fairly normal routine; normal with the exceptions that they were researching about alternate worlds and other fantastical things in the field book, none of them had a parent or guardian around, and two of them had special powers. Will had practically moved into Dr. River's bedroom, having snuck into his own house to retrieve most of his remaining clothes and personal effects. Iggy didn't move in, but he stayed overnight two or three times a week and slept on the couch. And Pikabo did what she'd been doing since her mother passed; she prepared meals, paid bills, and did the laundry, but also started to delegate some of the domestic work to Will.

Even though Maggie was still in a medically induced coma, Will, usually accompanied by Pikabo and sometimes Iggy, would visit the hospital three times a week. Working collaboratively, the threesome finished their homework and other school projects in a fraction of the time they would have spent had they done the work alone. Whenever they had some free time from chores, schoolwork, and visits to the hospital, they would dig deeper into the alternate world theories of the field book. Before Pikabo recovered the book, Will had only one night to read and digest its contents. Now that they had the book for a month, they were quite discouraged to realize that Will had retained almost all of the of the book's knowledge after that one overnight reading. One of the only substantial, but depressing things they did learn was that two pages were missing. After reading the entries in the book for the umpteenth time, Will had the feeling that key information was missing. Upon physically inspecting the binding of the field book, he discovered that two pages had been torn out of a key section of the book. Both Pikabo and Iggy proposed that Iggy's father had torn out the pages, but Will was adamant that the book was as intact as the first night he read it, and that the missing pages must have been torn out before it was stored in Maggie's attic.

When they weren't involved with the field book, they would talk about how they could rescue Pikabo's father from the Fiero Institute. However, every rescue scenario they proposed relied on gaining access to sub-floor five and they always came back to needing the special access key to the elevator. Every day after school, the first thing they did was check Pikabo's mailbox, but the keys still weren't due to arrive for at least two more weeks.

Pikabo woke up the boys early Thursday morning. Their presentation on the Moon's effect on the ocean tides was scheduled to go first in that day's Science class. Iggy had slept over so that he could help gather their notes and props and set up their presentation in Mr. E's room before school. Pikabo carried the presentation board. Iggy packed his backpack with an experiment consisting of weights and strings that they were going to use to show how heavy objects exert gravitational forces on each other. And Will took the heaviest, most cumbersome object, which was the globe and moon model they found in Will's attic that he had brought back to the apartment when he collected his remaining clothes from his house.

Just past 7:00am, they headed off to school. Even though her item was by far the lightest object, Pikabo had the most trouble carrying the large presentation board because it blocked nearly all of her forward vision. The boys kept her safe by positioning themselves in front and behind her, with Will leading the way. When they were three blocks from school, Will saw a similar sight.

"Ha! I guess Travis has his presentation this morning too. He has a huge display board just like you." Will said to Pikabo behind him.

"What's his project on?" asked Pikabo.

"All I can read is the top line of his title, it says Mysteries Up..."

"What do you think the full title is?"

"Knowing Travis, it's probably Mysteries Up-Yours!" joked Will.

" Ha, Ha. Very funny," smirked Pikabo, "Is he having as much trouble seeing where he's going as I am?" complained Pikabo.

"Actually, yes. The way he's holding the board, I don't think he can see anything to his left."

"That's not safe. Not with all these cars speeding about. I think we should follow Mysteries Up," commented Pikabo.

"I was thinking the same thing. Let's increase our pace a little and maybe I can run interference for him as well as you."

"Wow," said Pikabo.

"Wow, what?"

"With your history with Travis and his gang, I'm a little surprised in your willingness to help.

"Maggie always told me, what goes around comes around."

Two blocks from school, Will's increased pace brought him within 20 feet of the half-blinded Travis Shift who was at an intersection waiting for the light to change. The signal changed to green and Travis stepped into the street.

HONK! The horn of a Santa Monika city bus blared its warning at Travis as it was late crossing the intersection, but Travis never saw it coming. Travis, with his well-above-average athletic ability, jumped back on the sidewalk curb in time to escape the collision. Will, who was still 15 feet behind and thus too far away to have been any help to Travis, kept up his increased pace. Travis cursed at the bus, shifted the presentation board to his right side, and crossed the street.

"That was a close one," Will said to his friends as they crossed the intersection. "Travis almost bit it. That wouldn't have been pretty."

"What happened? Was it the bus?" deduced Pikabo as she saw the bus come into her peripheral vision as it sped away to her right.

"Yep. The bus was only half way across the intersection when its light turned red. Travis never saw it but managed to jump–"

Will cut short his explanation when he saw an old Kadillak backing out of a driveway directly in Travis' blindside to his right. The car was moving at a fast pace and the driver was looking into the bright glare of the rising Sun and never saw Travis, nor did Travis see the half-ton vehicle. The car was going to plow through and over Travis. Will dropped the heavy model he was carrying and took off running. He only had about twelve feet to make up but only a fraction of a second to do so. Pikabo and Iggy were oblivious to the developing disaster and kept their normal pace.

"Look out!" Will shouted, still eight feet from the impending collision.

All the warning managed to do was stop Travis in his tracks directly behind the oncoming Kadillak. Pikabo lowered her presentation board to see what was going on as Travis looked back to see Will rushing toward him.

In the split second he had to develop a plan, Will could come up with no other option but to put himself between Travis and the car and take the impact himself. Will took one final running leap, bumped Travis away from the car, and planted his two feet on the ground almost simultaneously with the impact.

CRASH!

Will tried to soften the damage to the car with his outstretch arms. He forced the car to a stop and still had the presence of mind to fake the force of the impact and fall to the ground.

It took Travis longer to piece together what had happened than it did Pikabo and Iggy, which gave the pair a chance to spring into action and minimize the damage. Not minimize the damage to the car, but the damage to the secrets of Will's abilities.

Pikabo ran to the scene and leaned her board against the back of the car to block Travis' view of the substantial dents in the car's bumper and trunk. She then ran over to the driver's door.

"Stay in the car. You could be injured," she said to the driver, an old man in his seventies. "Everyone else is fine. Let's make sure you're OK."

"Um, OK," said the man, reaching for his neck.

Iggy put himself between Travis and Will to block the football player's view of the lack of injury Will had sustained.

"Travis, are you OK," asked Iggy.

Travis still didn't know quite what had just happened but answered, "Yeah. I'm fine."

Then Iggy turned to Will and said in an overly loud voice, "Will, I'm sure glad you were able to get the driver's attention and make him stop, that car could've really hurt you and Travis." Iggy then whispered in Will's ear, "That was quite an impact. You better fake a limp or something."

Will acted as though it was a struggle to get to his feet and walked around with an exaggerated limp of his right leg.

"Are you OK," asked Iggy, again projecting his voice far more than the normal.

"I banged my knee pretty good," lied Will, and he started to rub his left knee.

Iggy whispered in Will's ear, "You're limping on your right leg. Try rubbing your other knee."

Will switched knees and Travis finally caught up to speed on what he thought just occurred.

"Uh, I had it all under control, dude. But, you know, I hope your leg is alright," he said, and he carried off to school with his presentation board.

Iggy and Pikabo helped the driver back his Kadillak out of the driveway and watched him drive away. Will fake-limped back to where he dropped the globe and moon model and collected it, but it was now broken into three pieces.

"Oh no, it broke," commiserated Pikabo.

"I think it can be repaired," said Will, "We can just hold up the pieces for our presentation."

"You are OK, aren't you?" asked Pikabo. "That car did hit you really hard."

"I'm fine. Let's get to school. I don't want us to be here if the Kadillak comes back looking for who caused all that damage."

They made it to Mr. E.'s room, set up for their presentation, and rehearsed each of their roles for the last time. This was the fourth day of oral presentations and they didn't want to be one of the many groups that mumbled and stumbled. Their classmates started strolling in and Mr. E. was the last to enter the room when the bell sounded.

"Alright, calm down people. Two more days of presentations and then I can get back to lecturing you, handing out homework, and giving you pop quizzes."

The class moaned in unison. Mr. E. grinned and continued, "One announcement and then we'll jump right into today's presentations. This class has been selected to go on a very special field trip."

Mr. E. let the volume level of the excited class rise and fall and then continued, "We've been invited to attend a private tour of the Fiero Institute."

The class was silent; no one except Will, Pikabo, and Iggy knew what the Fiero Institute was.

"The Institute is the three-domed observatory that sits atop the Hollywoodland Hills. It has great views of all of Los Angeles and Santa Monika and I am told still has all of its functioning science exhibits as well as a working planetarium."

The class became excited again but Mr. E. cut the chatter short, "Alright, calm down people. The tour will take place in three weeks on Friday the 30th of March. You'll need your parent's permission. Don't forget to take a trip slip permission form home with you today. We'll be meeting here for first period, but you'll be missing all but your sixth period classes on that day."

That news sent the class into an uproar. Nothing was better to high school students than excused absences from their classes, except maybe a snow day, but Santa Monika High School had never had one of those.

"Alright, calm down people. I see Ms. Rivers, Mr. Banks, and Mr. Quemador are eager to present, so let's give them our undivided attention.

The threesome took turns talking about their project. Pikabo gave the introduction and talked about the items on their presentation board. Will did the play-by-play announcing of Pikabo and Iggy performing their weight experiment that showed how smaller objects gravitate towards larger objects around them. And Iggy summarized all of their project findings in the conclusion of the oral report. Their presentation was well received and sparked many interesting follow-up questions from the class, but also generated the inevitable, I need to show the teacher that I'm participating so I'll just reword their conclusion into a question questions from a couple of the students. Mr. E. usually asked a very basic final question to the presenters so that their project would end on a high note, but he didn't lob a softball question this time.

"I have a two-part follow-up question: You told us how the Moon's orbiting cycle affects the ocean tides, but the Sun is much larger. Doesn't its gravity exert even more pull on the tides? And what happens when the Sun and Moon line up and combine their gravitational pull on Aqua?"

All three of them were shocked and frozen stiff for a moment. They couldn't believe that of all the follow-up questions Mr. E. could ask, he would focus on the very thing not only related to affecting ocean tides, but also to creating portals to alternate worlds. Will and Pikabo looked at each other and communicated with their eyes that Will would field the questions.

"Yes, the Sun's gravity does also influence Aqua's tides, but because it's so much farther away from Aqua than the Moon, its gravitational effect is not nearly as great as the Moon's. But to answer your second question, when the Sun and Moon line up, which happens about two times each month during a full moon and new moon, the combined gravitational pull causes the highest and lowest tides on Aqua."

"So what happens when the Moon's orbit passing closest to Aqua coincides with the Sun and Moon lining up with Aqua?" asked Mr. E., clearly following-up more in depth with them than with any other group this week.

Will let Pikabo field this follow-up question.

"When any three heavenly bodies line-up with each other they are in syzygy. When the Sun, Moon, and Aqua are in syzygy, it creates what is called spring tides, or tides that are 20% higher than normal. When spring tides coincide with the Moon being at perigee, or closest to Aqua, it creates what is termed a perigean spring tide. This happens about every seven and a half months and generates the highest tides of the year."

"With that much gravitational force combining their powers, I'm sure it creates more than just high tides," added Mr. E. The threesome stood rigid again and simultaneously thought, does he know it also creates portals to other worlds, but was relieved when Mr. E. moved on, "Something to think about. OK! Very good! Thank you for such a well-conceived and superbly delivered presentation."

Mr. E. then produced a hall pass and handed it to Iggy as he said, "Leave your presentation board here, but go ahead and store your presentation items in the teacher's lounge for the remainder of the day." Mr. E. then addressed the class, "Next we have Mysteries Up In Space with Mr. Shift and Mr. Tankersley. Boys, you can start setting up as soon as these three take their items away."

Pikabo moved their presentation board to the side of the room where the other boards were stored and then helped Iggy gather the weight experiment. Will carried the model and they all stepped out into the hallway.

"What was that all about?" asked an exasperated Pikabo.

"I don't know. Those weren't just random questions. Mr. E. knows something about perigean spring tides that he's not letting on to," answered Will.

Iggy then piped-in, "Didn't Mr. E. say that he read the Tidal Force book?" Both Will and Pikabo nodded. "So he knows about the chapter devoted to perigean spring tides. I'm sure he was just referring to that chapter when he asked those questions. He can't know about vortexes and portals to alternate worlds. How could he? That research isn't in the Tidal Force book; it's in Dr. Bank's field book, and he hasn't read the field book."

Will and Pikabo nodded again.

Iggy was right. Mr. E. had never read the field book, so he couldn't have learned about portals to different worlds from it. But what the three didn't account for was that there were other paths one could travel to gain this knowledge. Mr. E.'s travels had taken away the use of his legs, but had also opened some doors to the mysteries of the universe.

****

Chapter Twenty-Three

Power of Presents and Gifts  
Or  
Gifts of Presence and Power

Wednesday, 28th March, 2012 KE

Three more weeks went by and even though spring was upon them bringing very pleasant weather, nothing else seemed to be going well for Will, Pikabo, or Iggy. For Will, he spent most of his free time at the hospital. Over the past couple weeks, Maggie's condition wasn't improving and the doctors were worried that she may take the ultimate turn for the worse. They still had her in a medically induced coma but there was talk about reviving her to see if her condition would improve naturally. Will knew he had to rely on the professional wisdom of the doctors, but he had the feeling that their plans to wake Maggie from her coma was akin to grasping at straws.

Pikabo wasn't faring much better. Their plans to break her father out of his captivity always hit the same obstacle. They still didn't have the elevator key. She and the boys tried to devise plans that didn't involve stealthy elevator access to the lower floors, but even the most promising of their back-up plans involved life-threatening plunges down the elevator shaft or dangerous explosives; neither of which they had the skill to perform or ability to acquire.

And even though Iggy was still a happy-go-lucky, colorful t-shirt wearing teenager without his overbearing father around, his helplessness and empathy for his two friends was effecting his mood. Iggy combed every nook and cranny in and around the Fiero Institute trying to find alternate access to the sub-floors, but he found none. When he stayed at the Institute, he would call the elevator almost every waking hour in hopes that either Tavarez or Sanchez had absentmindedly left their keys in the control panel, but to no avail.

After sixth period English, Will walked to the quad to wait for Pikabo and Iggy coming from P.E. Leaning on the tree in a daydream, Will was tapped on the shoulder by a large hand.

"Son."

"Officer Winters, is everything alright? Is Maggie OK?" asked Will.

"Son, that's why I am here. I received word this morning that your mother was revived from her coma."

"Is she OK?" Will blurted.

"It's all good news so far. The doctors say she is weak but responding well to their stimuli tests. It's a remarkable recovery they say. I saw her three hours ago and she looked extremely alert to me."

"Can I see her?"

"That's why I came. She's been asking for you. I've come to take you to the hospital."

"OK, great. I need to tell my friends. They should be here any minute now," said Will.

"Your friends will not be allowed in the Intensive Kare Unit. Only family is allowed to visit the IKU," clarified Officer Winters.

"Oh, OK. Let me just tell them what's going on. Here they come now."

Pikabo and Iggy were approaching at a jog.

"What's up?" asked Pikabo.

"Maggie is awake! Officer Winters is going to take me to the hospital. He says she's doing well."

"That's the best news we've heard in a long time," said Pikabo. "We'll come too."

"Only family is allowed in the IKU," explained Will.

Pikabo paused for a moment. It was abundantly clear that she was formulating another plan.

"OK. Iggy and I will go back to the apartment and put together an overnight bag for you. You'll probably want to stay at the hospital overnight. We'll meet you there in a little over an hour."

"Sounds like a plan," said Will.

An hour and a half later, Will was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital when Pikabo and Iggy arrived.

"How is she doing?" asked Pikabo.

Will looked up with tears in his eyes. Pikabo and Iggy were too scared to speak. The apprehension then evaporated when Will smiled.

"She's doing great. She's doing so well they're moving her right now out of the IKU and into a regular bed. We should all be able to visit her soon," he said.

"That's great," said both Pikabo and Iggy simultaneously. Will stood up and gave them both a hug and they all sat back down with big smiles on their faces.

Pikabo was the first to speak, "I guess this is as good a time as any," she said, and she pulled out a wrapped present for Will to open. "Today is the day you usually celebrate your birthday, right?"

"I haven't thought about my birthday since," he paused to think, "since Maggie's attack."

"It's something small. I picked it up about a month ago at a store in Venice Beach."

"You didn't have to get me anything," said Will, although he was clearly excited to receive a present. It was the first present he had ever received that hadn't come from Maggie.

"Open it!" blurted Iggy.

Will tore open the wrapping paper, opened the box, and unfolded the tissue paper. He pulled out a red t-shirt and held it up. In big, bold letters was printed WILL POWER.

"It made me think of you, in more ways than one," said Pikabo.

With happy tears welling up again in his eyes, Will gave Pikabo another hug and said, "Thank you. I love it," and put it on over the shirt he was wearing.

Pikabo then quickly tilted her head at Iggy giving him the it's-your-turn-now head nod.

"I got you a gift too. It's small, but I think you'll like it," said Iggy, and he handed Will a small wrapped gift the size of a ring box. "Open it!" he blurted again.

Will tore open the package and looked inside the small box. He pulled out a paper clip and at the end of the clip was a circular key.

"Is this what I think it is?" asked Will, excited.

"I didn't have time to get a proper key chain. But I liked it so much, I got each of us the same gift," said Iggy, and both he and Pikabo dangled their own elevator keys from their own paper clips in front of Will.

Will didn't say anything. He saw how happy both of his friends were that he just stood up and grabbed them both around the necks and pulled them in for another hug.

A nurse entered the waiting room. "Will C. Banks," she called.

Will raised his hand and said, "Here."

"Your mother is settled in her room. She's asking for you. She's three floors up, room 3408. The elevators are down the hall."

"Thank you," replied Will.

Will quickly threw away all of his present wrappings in the trash and the threesome walked down the hospital hall towards the elevators.

"I got to see Maggie for only 15 minutes before they kicked me out of the IKU to start preparing her for her move upstairs, but I told her how close friends we've all become. She's looking forward to seeing you again, Pikabo; and to meeting you, Iggy," said Will with a rapid excitement in his voice.

Iggy raised his eyebrows with an unsure look.

"Do you think she'll recognize me from the day of the attack?" asked Iggy as they arrived at the elevator and pushed the call button.

"Didn't you say she was unconscious when you arrived?" questioned Will.

"Yes. She was. You just never know, you know," said Iggy as they stepped into the elevator.

"Hmmm," said Pikabo to herself, but loud enough for her two friends to hear in the silent elevator.

"What, hmmm?" asked Will.

"I was just thinking," said Pikabo, "The day I met Maggie was the day I lost my dad. But then I thought about you, Will. The day you met Maggie was the day you lost both of your real parents."

"You know what," added Iggy, "The day I met Maggie was the day I lost my dad."

Will and Pikabo gave him uncomprehending stares.

"You know, for me, it was the day I determined that my father was an evil man and decided to disown him," explained Iggy.

Any possible response from Will, but more likely from Pikabo, was thwarted when the elevator doors opened on the third floor and they saw on the wall that room 3408 was down the hall to the right. Will rushed out of the elevator and down the hall as Pikabo and Iggy trailed behind. But Will stopped suddenly, still ten hospital rooms away from 3408, and was nearly trampled from behind by his friends.

"Why are you stopping?" asked Pikabo.

"Look down the hall. That's a police detective, Detective Shore. It looks like she's coming out of Maggie's room."

"And how is that a bad thing?" said Pikabo, "This is probably the first chance they've had to ask her about the men who attacked her."

"I know. But she's the same lady that interrogated me on the day you almost got killed at the Fiero Institute. She just isn't very nice and I have no yearning to get questioned by her again. And Iggy was there the day of the attack; who knows what the detective will do if she sees him. Let's just take the long way around to Maggie's room so we don't cross paths."

Will led them up a middle hallway and then turned right down the next hall. They passed by rooms 3301 through 3315 before they were headed back in the right direction towards Maggie's room. After checking with the nurse's station to make sure it was OK to enter, they walked into Maggie's room.

"Someone got a big promotion to a corner office. Nice view," said Will, jokingly.

"Yes, but I'm going to fire my new secretary. She just let in the meanest police detective," retorted Maggie in the same joking manner.

"Detective Shore?"

"Yes. How'd you know?"

"We saw her leaving your room. We took a little detour so we didn't have to run into her. I don't like her either."

"Well, I'm not going to dwell on the bad people in life. Come in here and let me see you with some natural sunlight," said a chipper Maggie, even though she had a white eye-patch bandage taped to her right eye, a cast on her right arm, and gauze wrapped around her neck.

Will obliged and stood in front of Maggie.

"Will power," Maggie read Will's t-shirt aloud. "Yes, I rely on that quite a bit, in more ways than one."

Will and Pikabo shot a look at each other, both thinking how uncanny it was for Maggie to express the same feelings about the common phrase. Will didn't dwell on the thought, however, as he wanted to bring his friends into the conversation.

"Maggie, you remember Pikabo from before the—, well, you know. And this is our friend Iggy." Will waved them into the heart of the room so Maggie could see them with her good eye.

"Well Pikabo, you've grown more beautiful since last we saw each other. And Iggy, you are quite handsome," gushed Maggie.

"Thank you, Mrs. Banks," said Pikabo.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Banks," said Iggy.

"Please call me Maggie," she insisted. "And sit down so we can talk."

There were only two chairs in the room, so Will fetched a third from the hall and they all sat down to the left of Maggie's bed so she didn't have to crane her neck to see them. Maggie wanted to hear all about Pikabo's and Iggy's families as well as what had been happening in their lives over the past eight weeks. They each took turns telling their stories to Maggie, but always skirted around anything having to do with Pikabo's father's abduction, Iggy's father's evilness, or the mysteries of the field book. They also didn't mention that half of the people in the room had special powers.

They talked for nearly 45 minutes when Will started on the topic of their science project presentation. Will didn't mention that they used Maggie's late husband's Tidal Force book as key research material because he felt that it was somehow related to the field book, and he wasn't sure how Maggie would react to the mention of her late husband while in her less-than-intact physical and mental state. But the taboo subject of the field book and Dr. Banks was broached when Will turned down the wrong road of his tale and described his team's presentation items and mentioned the globe and moon model he found in their attic.

Maggie had been fairly attentive with all of the stories up to this point, but actually raised the angle of her hospital bed when the attic was mentioned.

"You went up to the attic? What else did you see up there?" she asked. Her good eye then shot straight down to her left wrist and then scanned the room as if looking for something.

Up to this point, Will was OK with leaving out key bits of information, but he would never lie to Maggie.

"Yes, we found it up in the attic. Pikabo and I went up there. We saw lots of books," he responded, honestly.

"Yes, you would find lots of books... science books and science equipment. Science, especially astronomy, was Thomas' life when we weren't together. He knew I wasn't interested in that stuff and we managed to separate that part of his life from our lives' together. We shared many great times and trips together, but we also allowed each other to pursue our individual drives. He took trips researching his science stuff; I liked all the touristy things. Everything I had stored in the attic was from that part of Thomas' life that he lived apart from me," said Maggie. Then she reconsidered, "Well, almost all apart from me."

Will saw an unexpected opening and quickly decided to try to jump into it.

"You did something science related together with your husband?" he asked.

"No," was her short response. Will thought he saw the opening start to close when Maggie punched it wide open. She continued, "No, it wasn't together. It was after he passed."

Maggie was now sitting straight up in her bed and stared directly into Will's eyes. Will looked straight back at her, but was afraid to make a sound.

After a short moment, Maggie carried on, "Will, I've wanted to tell you some things about your past but the time never seemed right. At your last three birthdays, I was prepared to tell you things but didn't. I always talked myself out of doing so by saying you were still too young; that I would tell you on your next birthday."

Will didn't make a sound and continued staring at Maggie. They both broke contact, however, when they heard a different voice in the room.

"Mrs. Banks. I'm sorry, Maggie, today is the 28th of March," said Pikabo.

"It is? It is! Will, it's your birthday! Come give me a big hug and kiss," exclaimed Maggie. Will did so and then Maggie deflated and added, "I didn't get you anything."

"What are you talking about?" argued Will. "You got me the best present I could ever get. I got my mother back. I've never wished harder for anything in my life. I'm just happy to be in your presence again. I've missed you so much."

Maggie smiled and said, "I'm very happy to be back. But I'm still going to get you something. In the meantime, I think it's finally time to tell you about your past." Maggie paused and stole a few quick looks at Pikabo and Iggy. Will understood that Maggie had reservations about his friends hearing this information.

"It's OK. I want Pikabo and Iggy to hear too. To be completely honest, we already figured out some things about my past while you were in your coma."

"You did? How could you?" She paused again in thought and lowered her head. She then snapped up straight in revelation. "The attic. You found more than science instruments and books in the attic."

"Yes. We found the video device and your husband's field book," confirmed Will. "We know I came through a portal on the night of the 28th of March, 1998 on a beach in Malibu. I was a baby about one year old. You were there and recorded the entire event. And we learned from the field book that there are four worlds that occupy the same point in time and space, but each has its own reality, making four alternate realities or alternate worlds. And each of these worlds is based on one of the four classic elements: wind, fire, earth, and water."

"Yes," said Maggie. "That is all true. And you obviously understand it much better than I ever could. I read that field book several times, but finally gave up and stored it in the attic."

Maggie paused again and looked at her left wrist and then around the room.

"Where are my things? Where are the clothes I was wearing when I was attacked? Did I still have on my bracelet?"

"I don't know. I was at school when you were attacked," said Will.

"You had your bracelet on," said Iggy.

Maggie was confused and Pikabo explained, "Iggy saw the attackers leave your house. He ran in and called the ambulance. That's when he saw what you were wearing." Pikabo didn't want to say too much, but told enough of the truth to put Iggy at the scene.

"Thank you," said Maggie while staring straight at Iggy.

"You are very welcome."

"So my bracelet and clothes must be here somewhere. Help me find my bracelet," said Maggie.

"Why do you need your bracelet? How could it possibly help right now?" asked Will.

"It's more than just a silver bracelet. It's Thomas' soul. It's his life's work all summarized on two pages," said Maggie.

"Two pages?" said Will aloud. "Are you saying that you have the two missing pages from the field book?"

"Missing?" said Maggie, "I guess you would say they are missing. But for me, they are just the key pages of the field book that I tore out for safe keeping 14 years ago."

"We have to find that bracelet!" shouted Will, a little too loud for a hospital. The nurse ran in.

"Is something wrong?" the nurse asked.

"My mother wants the things she came into the hospital with. Her clothes and her jewelry," said Will.

"We keep all personal effects with each patient. We store them in a clear plastic tub." The nurse turned, opened a cabinet near the doorway, and pulled out the container. They could all see her clothes and shoes inside.

"Thank you, nurse," said Will, as he took the container from the nurse.

"It's no problem, but you'll need to keep your voices down."

"Yes. Sorry. We will," said Will.

He waited until the nurse left the room before rummaging through the container looking for the bracelet. Everyone in the room was on pins and needles before Will finally said, "Found it!"

Will inspected the silver bracelet. It was a hollow cuff bracelet about an inch wide with a small gap that precluded it from being a full circle. Will held the bracelet a few inches from his eyes and held it up to the light on the ceiling.

"Yes. I think I see some paper wedged inside. But how do you get it out?"

"You have to fish it out with a paper clip. I glued a tiny ring to the paper. You need to hook the ring with a bent paper clip and then you should be able to pull the papers out," instructed Maggie.

Iggy was sitting closest to the foot of the bed and saw Maggie's hospital chart hanging from it. "There's a paper clip here on the doctor's chart." Iggy removed the clip and handed it to Will.

After several attempts to hook the tiny ring inside, Will managed to fish the folded papers out of the hollow. He started to unfold the papers but stopped and asked, "Maggie, I don't want to rob you of saying what you wanted to say. What are we going to find out?"

Maggie took a deep breath and let it out in a dramatically loud, quick exhale. "Again, I think you will understand the information on those papers better than I ever did. But what you'll find are all of Thomas' theories and conclusions with regards to the alternate worlds as well as the portals that are created between them. The portals have extreme energy, and that energy affects the things that may pass through the portals. From what I can piece together from those papers and my own experiences on that day and the days that followed exactly 14 years ago, you come from a world named Earth, but the papers call your world by its Latin name, Terra. There is so much more information there, but I only tried to remember the parts that are about you."

"Earth! I come from a world that is named after dirt! That's stupid. At least Aqua means water. Water gives life; that makes some sense. So what do they call the wind and fire worlds?" asked Will.

"I don't remember. I only cared about where you were from and what may have happened to you by going through that portal.

"Do you know what happened to me?" asked Will.

"I know a couple things that are written on those pages that I have confirmed through my years of raising you. You don't get physically hurt and you are stronger than the average kid your age. I have to admit, I feel a little guilty now."

"How so?"

"I steered you away from anything that would have showed off your strength. I kept you away from sports. I didn't let you do karate. I didn't even let you go on play dates or play with other kids at the playground. I was so scared that someone would notice your abilities and take you away from me." Maggie was now crying. Her eye pad on her right eye was growing heavy with the weight of her tears. She dabbed her face and the eye pad with her bedside tissue.

Pikabo was tearing up too, and she took a few tissues for herself and said, "You did the right thing. You did a great job raising him. He's a loyal, selfless friend. And there are people out there that would exploit his powers if they found out about him."

"Should I read the papers now?" asked Will.

Maggie blew her nose and then replied, "No. Not here. I'm exhausted. I know I've slept for eight weeks, but I'm somehow still tired. You take the papers and go home with your great friends. Let me rest. I'm well taken care of here."

Pikabo and Iggy said their goodbyes and Will followed them out of the room a minute later.

The Sun was setting when they exited the hospital so they decided to walk straight back to the apartment before it got too dark. They reached the apartment and Iggy was the first to burst out with a question.

"I'm dying to know what the other two worlds are called. I know you didn't see me, but I bust out in silent laughter when you said your world was named after dirt."

"Let's all sit down at the table and read the papers together," said Will.

"I was born here on Aqua. But I still hope that the fire world isn't named Hell or Hades," joked Iggy.

"I'm going to make us some dinner. It is Will's birthday, after all. You guys read the papers and then fill me in on the highlights," stated Pikabo, who received no arguments from either of the boys.

Will and Iggy read through the papers a few times as Pikabo made them spaghetti and a tossed salad. The boys were fairly quiet throughout their reading, except for when they got to the names of the other two worlds.

"Ventus and Ignis," blurted Iggy when he came across the information. "The wind world is named Ventus and the fire world is named Ignis."

After about 20 minutes of cooking, Pikabo set a big bowl of spaghetti and another bowl of salad on the table and sat down with the boys. "Alright. You two have been too quiet. Make yourselves a plate of food and then give me the highlights."

Will spoke first, "So we know the names of the worlds; at least the names Dr. Banks thought were the names of the worlds. They are Ventus, Ignis, Terra, and Aqua, which are the Latin worlds for wind, fire, earth, and water. An interesting thing about those names is the acronym they spell.

"VITA?" said Pikabo

"Yes, VITA," confirmed Will. "Vita in Latin means life."

Pikabo almost choked on her food, "Wow! That can't be a coincidence."

"No. Dr. Banks didn't think so either," said Will, "Dr. Banks concluded that it was the balance of the elemental properties of these worlds that maintains the life on each world. And that's where the portals between these worlds come in. He concluded that the portals are necessary to maintain the balance between these worlds; both the balance of these elements as well as the balance of energy. These portals, which we have already deduced, happen approximately every seven and a half months at every perigean spring tide. They are powered by the gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon which distorts the shape of each world to such an extreme that enables it to momentarily break away from its lock in its own reality and form this portal between worlds. A portal is generated at an exact location where two of these classic elements naturally combine, but in an energetic, sometimes violent manner."

"Combine how? What do you mean by energetic and violent?" asked Pikabo.

"Well, the weakest example is probably how I came to Aqua. In that case, earth had to combine with water during this tidal event. Dr. Banks admits that he was purely guessing, he called it hypothesizing, that this type of event would be like a massive mudslide. But that educated guess seems to be supported by the video of my portal. You remember when the water funnel looked to start to turn brown and muddy. I think that's when the mudslide hit the vortex and somehow pushed me through while inside my crib."

"As crazy as this all sounds, I can't find a hole in anything you've said so far," admitted Pikabo.

Will turned to Iggy, "I'm starving. Iggy, tell her about the other types of portals."

Iggy finished swallowing his bite of food and continued, "Like Will said, the elements that combined would determine to and from which worlds the portal would link. Dr. Banks tried to form a table of information that listed his best guesses on how each element would combine. Let's start with Aqua. According to Dr. Bank's best guess, it can connect back to Terra when water combines with earth. He proposed a flash flood or a tsunami. To connect with Ignis, he didn't have a great guess, he just listed that it was probably some event that produced massive amounts of steam when water suppressed a massive fire. And lastly, he guessed that in order to connect with Ventus, water would have to combine with wind. He listed this as a water tornado or waterspout."

Iggy took a breath and then another bite of his spaghetti. "You wanna hear the others?" he said while chewing.

"Of course!" said Pikabo.

"OK," said Iggy, "Let's make it a game. I'll tell you the event; you tell me what worlds connect."

"Sounds like fun! Go for it."

"Tornado," quizzed Iggy.

"Um, that would be wind touching down on earth, so it would be a portal connecting Ventus to Terra" guessed Pikabo.

"Correct. How about a sand storm?"

"I guess that is the opposite, earth mixing with the wind."

"Right again. What about lightning?"

"Hmm, I guess that would be like the air catching on fire?"

"Yep. A hurricane?"

"Wind churning water."

"A volcano?"

"That's like the earth catching fire."

"Right. OK, last one. How about a forest fire?"

"Wouldn't that be the same as a volcano? Earth catching fire."

"Yes and no. He differentiated between which element is acting on or moving into the other element. For a volcano, he proposed that the earth was moving into the fire, but for the forest fire, the fire was moving across the earth. He thinks each portal only travels in one direction. So a volcano would create a link that travels from earth to fire, or Terra to Ignis. And a forest fire would move fire across earth, creating a portal from Ignis to Terra." Iggy took another bite of spaghetti.

Pikabo asked, "So what does it say about people travelling through these portals and giving them superpowers?"

Iggy looked at Will. "I guess it's my turn again," said Will. "It actually says plenty about people and powers, and based on what Iggy and I can do, he pretty much nails his hypotheses. Let's start with Iggy and Ignis. Hey! I just put that together."

"Well, Iggy means fiery one, so I guess I'm appropriately named," said Iggy.

"I guess so," said Will, and he continued, "It says that if a person travels through a portal, the energy created from the event horizon, that's the vortex opening, would alter the molecular structure of the person. So if travelling from Ignis, the person would, I guess you could say, have fire running through his veins. This person would be gifted with the abilities to create fire, manipulate fire, and not be harmed by fire. Or do exactly what we've seen Iggy, his father, and Tavarez do. And we assume Sanchez has these powers too."

Pikabo reached across the table and grabbed Iggy's arm. "You're not hot. You feel normal."

"Well, he doesn't have real fire running through his veins, but it's really the best way to describe it," said Will, "But there's more. Dr. Banks proposed that there would be a correlation between the concentration of power inside the event horizon to the magnitude of power the person receives when he or she travels through the portal. In other words, if the event horizon is small, then the power is concentrated and therefore more potent and transfers a higher magnitude power to the person. If the event horizon is large, then the power is diluted and the power transfer is lessened."

"So did your funnel of water have a big event horizon or a small one?" asked Pikabo.

"We have no way of knowing since it is the only vortex we've seen, but I'm getting sidetracked. We were talking about the powers from each world. So Iggy has fire running through his veins."

Pikabo interrupted, "So what do you have, dirt running through your veins?"

Iggy spit his mouthful of water across the table and then fell to the floor laughing.

"Ha, ha, very funny. No, I don't have dirt in my veins. You could say I have gravity or density running inside of me. That's the main property of the classic element, earth. This extra gravity or density is the gift that makes me somewhat indestructible and is also what allows me to impart my will, no pun intended, upon other objects I come in contact with. In other words, it gives me my super-strength.

"So what would someone who comes from the water world have?" asked Pikabo in all seriousness.

"Well, you might have guessed they would have water running through their veins. They would be gifted with the abilities to create and manipulate water, or probably any type of liquid. These pages make other guesses like the person may be able to breathe underwater or make things cold like a radiator keeps an engine cool.

"Cool," said Pikabo.

"And then there are people who come through a portal from Ventus. They would be able to create and manipulate wind. Dr. Banks went as far as to state that if the event horizon was concentrated enough, they may be able to fly by manipulating the air around them and lifting themselves off the ground.

"Now that's cool," said Iggy. "Who doesn't want to be able to fly?"

"I agree. That sounds like the coolest power, or at least is tied with water power," said Pikabo, as she was secretly daydreaming of swimming across the Pacifik Ocean to Hawaii, being propelled by a wave of current she was producing behind her.

"Pikabo!" shouted Will.

She shook herself out of her dream. "What?"

"Nothing. You just went kind of catatonic there for a few seconds," said Will.

"Alright," said Pikabo, "This is all amazing stuff and knowing what we know, I still can't find any holes in any of the theories. Can someone get more than one power if they go through more than one portal?"

"Dr. Banks doesn't think so," said Will. "He hypothesizes that once a person's molecular structure is altered, it's locked in."

"Interesting," said Pikabo. "Does it say anything else of interest?"

"It does," said Will, simply. He then paused for dramatic effect.

"What! What does it say?" persisted Pikabo and she punched Will in the shoulder.

"It has a list of 52 dates and times with exact locations, exact times, and the Dr.'s best guess as to what natural phenomenon has occurred or will occur that creates each vortex and what two worlds it will connect."

"Explain that again?"

"Well think about it. There are twelve possible directions these portals can go, and only six, or half of them will involve Aqua. There's a 50/50 chance that the next portal might not involve Aqua at all. It could be a portal from Ignis to Terra or from Ventus to Ignis," explained Will.

"I'm not following," said Iggy, "How are their twelve portals?"

"Remember that the portals are one-way, either outgoing or incoming. The easiest way to count how many different types is to only count one direction, like only the outgoing ones. It stands to reason that if a portal is outgoing from one world, it is also incoming to another world. Counting only the outgoing direction will insure that you won't double-count a portal. So there are three outgoing portals from each world, and there are four worlds. Simply multiply three times four and you get twelve."

"Let's get back to the 50/50 chance that the next portal on the 6th of May involves Aqua," requested Pikabo.

"It does," answered Will. "And it's an outgoing portal."

"Where does it go?" asked Iggy.

"It goes from Aqua to Ventus," said Will, "But there's more. The location of the portal could be on any continent or in any ocean of the world, but it just so happens that it will be relatively close to us." Will paused again for dramatic effect.

"Where?" both Pikabo and Iggy asked.

"I believe Iggy is familiar with this place."

"Where!" they both shouted again.

"In less than six weeks there will be a waterspout to Ventus off the southern coast of Florida near the Florida Keys."

****

Chapter Twenty-Four

In Her Rumor Circles  
Or  
Inner-Circle Rooms

Friday, 30th March, 2012 KE

"I can't believe this day has finally come," said Pikabo, pouring herself some cereal.

"I know. I don't think I've ever been this nervous," replied Will from the kitchen table. He then bit into his buttered toast and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm nervous too!" agreed Pikabo. "I couldn't sleep last night. But we're good. We're prepared. We've gone over every conceivable scenario. We have back-up plans to our back-up plans. As long as we three stay together, we're prepared for anything."

It was field trip day to the Fiero Institute. The last pieces to their plan arrived two days earlier in the form of three elevator access keys. They had their backpacks provisioned with every conceivable item that could possibly aid them in the rescue attempt of Dr. Rivers. Iggy spent the night in his sub-floor bedroom to make sure there were no last-minute changes at the Institute. If there was, he would have called Pikabo's apartment from BB's office phone, but no phone call was received.

Even though the field trip would take him right back to his home, Iggy planned on having Billy drop him off at school in the morning and he would head back to the Fiero Institute with the rest of his classmates on the school bus.

"Let's go," said Pikabo. "Its 7:30 and we told Iggy we would meet him outside of school in case there were any last-minute updates."

Will dropped his half-eaten toast into the trash, grabbed his backpack full of supplies, and followed Pikabo out the door. They met Iggy outside of school as planned and all were relieved to hear that everything at the Institute looked to be normal and their plan was a Go.

They headed off to their Science classroom when Will nervously blurted, "You forgot to call the taxi company to confirm!"

"No I didn't," replied Pikabo. "I called them this morning before you even got out of bed. They'll have a car waiting in the area we designated. I've even pre-paid them for the day with my father's credit card. They are confirmed."

"Oh. OK. Good," said Will.

"It's a good plan, Will," said Iggy. "Pikabo and I managed to survive without a plan the first time. We are much better prepared this time, and we have a secret weapon."

"Secret weapon?" said Will, confused.

"He means you, Will. We have you this time. You're the secret weapon," explained Pikabo.

"Right," said Will with a nervous laugh. "We're good. We're ready. We're –"

SLAP! Pikabo slapped Will across his face as hard as she could.

Will shook his head and smiled, "Thanks, I needed that."

"OK, calm down people! Enter the bus with your lab partner. They'll be your buddy for the day," shouted Mr. E. as his students loaded onto the school bus.

Everyone sat two to a seat with their lab partner including Travis and Tank and the Smart twins. The only exceptions were the two groups of three: Will, Pikabo, and Iggy and the mall-loving girl group. They sat three to a seat, but none of them complained as the girls liked to gossip with each other and Will, Pikabo, and Iggy didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation.

The bus wasn't handicap equipped. Mr. E. was just happy the school district allowed him to get any bus at all for his field trip with all of the budget cuts. He was in a lightweight, fold-up wheelchair today for easier loading and off-loading to and from the bus. Showing impressive upper body strength, Mr. E. managed to pull himself up the entry steps of the bus and into the front bench seat across from the driver with relative ease. The bus driver folded up the wheelchair, stashed it in the empty first row seat behind him, and they pulled out of the Santa Monika High parking lot towards the Hollywoodland Hills.

The road trip was only 19 miles but took the school bus almost an hour to complete. The bus crested the final inclined turn up West Observatory Road and lurched to a stop in front of a well-manicured spacious lawn with a walkway to the Institute entrance. Brooke Baines was standing on the walkway, prepared to welcome her guests.

The bus driver unfolded Mr. E.'s wheelchair and placed it outside the bus door. Mr. E. easily breezed down to the chair.

"OK, people. Exit the bus and stand in line next to your partner," instructed the Science teacher. He then pushed himself over to BB who handed him a schedule of their activities for the day.

"When are we going to do this?" whispered Will into Pikabo's ear, even though he knew the answer.

"First chance we get. You know that," she whispered back.

All of the students made their way off the bus but none of them lined-up with their partner. Most of them scattered to the edge of an overlook and gazed at the sprawling City of Los Angeles below and the Hollywoodland sign above. Mr. E. called them all back over to the walkway and made a few announcements.

"OK. Calm down people," he shouted. "This is Ms. Baines and she's informed me of a few rules before we enter the Institute. First rule: No running. Second rule: Stay with the group. And rule number three: No bags or backpacks allowed inside the Institute. If you brought a bag or backpack, you must put it back on the bus now."

"Strike one," whispered Will to Pikabo, "We're definitely going to break rules one and two, but we'll have to abide by rule three in order to get inside," and he gathered her backpack as well as Iggy's and put them back on the bus.

Once the students with bags had returned to the walkway, Mr. E. resumed addressing the class, "Now, Ms. Baines has put together a special day for us. We'll spend about an hour looking at over 100 exhibits. We'll then break for lunch as the Fiero Institute will be feeding us a nice meal on the south patio with tremendous views of Los Angeles, Santa Monika, as well as Palos Verdes and the Pacifik Ocean. Lastly, we'll be taken to their fully functional planetarium and be taken on a journey through time and space. We'll then all get back on the bus by 1:30 and make our way back to Santa Monika in time for your sixth period classes."

The students gave a half-hearted moan at the mention of returning to school, but most were genuinely excited to enter the Institute and check it out. BB led the students down the walkway and Mr. E. brought up the rear. The students scattered left and right once they entered the Institute, with Will, Pikabo, and Iggy the last students to enter. They walked in together but Iggy froze in his tracks just inside the door. Mr. E. rolled into the back of Iggy's legs, not expecting him to stop.

"Sorry, Ignacio," said Mr. E., "I didn't expect you to stop. Is something wrong?"

Iggy stood frozen. Neither Will nor Pikabo knew what was going on with him. A polished man in a sharp black suit was standing in the entrance hall next to BB and started to walk up to the foursome bunched-up at the door.

"Ignacio! Ms. Baines just told me that it is your Science class that is visiting the Fiero Institute today. How truly wonderful!" gushed the man who was flashing his winning smile around the room. "Well? Don't just stand there. Please introduce me to your teacher."

Iggy stayed frozen until Pikabo elbowed him in his gut.

"Uhg! Oh, yes. Mr. E., I'd like you to meet my father, Mr. Bradley Marsh."

"Mr. Marsh, very nice to meet you," said Mr. E.

"The honor is mine," said Marsh. "As I'm sure Ignacio has told you, I'm the founder and CEO of the Fiero Institute. Welcome. Please give me the honor of giving you a private tour of our laboratories below on sub-floor one."

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline, Mr. Marsh. I need to stay with my students," explained Mr. E. He then gave Iggy a questioning look because he had never been told that his student had ties to the Institute.

"Perhaps another time then," said Marsh. "Sir, Ignacio has seen these exhibits more times than he can count owing to the fact that we live here. May I take him away from your group? I've been away on business for an extended time and would love to take this opportunity to reconnect with my son."

Iggy, Will, and Pikabo screamed NO inside their heads.

Mr. E., however, couldn't hear their thoughts and answered, "Sure! Of course. No problem."

"Thank you, sir," said Marsh, "Come along, Ignacio. I want to show you something." Iggy and his father walked to the back of the east wing of the Institute and turned left down the back hall towards the elevator.

"Strike two!" whispered Will into Pikabo's ear.

Pikabo didn't waste a second on second thoughts, "We proceed with the plan. I'm not leaving without my father. And I've still got my secret weapon," she said, as she and Will walked off to one of the exhibits, but without their fiery friend.

Pikabo and Will milled about the exhibits for the next ten minutes trying to look inconspicuous. Every few minutes they would try to ease their way to the back of the east wing of the Institute where the elevator was, but each time either Mr. E. or Ms. Baines had them in their direct line of sight.

"I know they aren't just looking at us, but it sure feels like we can't catch a break here," said Will.

"I know. They both seem to be watching everyone like a hawk," agreed Pikabo.

"We could sure use Iggy right now. We need a third party to create a diversion," said Will, thinking out loud.

"You just gave me an idea," whispered Pikabo.

"But you can't be the one causing the diversion, we need to stay together," said Will.

"Just trust me. Stay here," said Pikabo, and she meandered across the Institute floor to the west wing exhibits.

A few minutes later, Pikabo returned to Will's side.

"What did you do?" asked Will.

"I planted a few little rumor seeds with one of the gossip girl trio. News travels fast in her rumor circles. I think the seeds rooted quite well. Give it a few minutes, I think my rumor flowers will bloom soon," said Pikabo, smiling.

"How will we know if it works?"

"Trust me. We'll know."

Will and Pikabo continued their act of looking at exhibits in the east wing. Every ten seconds or so, Will would look around and see either Ms. Baines or Mr. E. looking at the students in their direction. Pikabo, however, was focusing her attention on the trio of girls with which she planted her rumors. A minute later, she smiled as she saw the girls banding together and making a beeline toward Travis, Tank, and the Smart twins.

"Get ready to move," she whispered to Will.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Wait for it. Wait for it," said Pikabo, not taking her eyes off the girls.

Then it happened. The girls confronted Travis and his gang and the fireworks started.

The trio's leader, Denise, put her hands on Travis' chest, pushed him and yelled, "My butt does not look fat in this dress! And what are you looking at my butt for in the first place!"

The entire east wing stopped looking at the exhibits and gazed over to the other side of the Institute to see what was going on.

The second girl, Deshondra, stomped up to Tank and pushed him and yelled, "And I do not have an eating disorder! I work out every day to look this good!"

The west wing students started to form a circle around the three girls and the football players. The east wing students started running towards the commotion. Ms. Baines was yelling, "No running!" And Mr. E. was wheeling to the west wing also.

The third girl, Desiree, put herself between the two Smart twins and pushed them both back and yelled, "And what do you mean you two want to shake my pompoms? You better step off!"

There was no one left in the east wing. But more importantly, both Ms. Baines and Mr. E. were in the middle of the melee going on in the west wing and neither of them saw that both Will and Pikabo had made their way to the elevator, pushed the call button, and stepped inside.

"Brilliant!" was all Will said.

"Now it's your turn, muscle man," said Pikabo, and she pulled out her elevator key and inserted it into the panel. She paused before turning the key, "Let's hope the eight week wait for this key was worth it."

Click. Whoosh. The key turned and the sliding panel door of the elevator control panel slid down revealing three more sub-floor options, S3, S4, and S5.

"So you remember the layout of the Observation floor, right?" asked Pikabo, hesitating to select a floor. "The bathroom will be directly across the hall. To the right will be a dead end. To the left will be a long hallway. The three doors down the hall and to the right are containment cells; my father's cell is the last one. There are two doors down the hall and to the left, the first is the Observation Room and the second is a large Lab Room where my father is put to work."

"Yes. I got the layout. We think a guard will be in the Observation Room. I'm going to station myself outside the Observation Room while you go down the hall and find out if your father is in his cell or the Lab Room. If your father is in the Lab Room like we think, once you enter, the guard will see you through the one-way glass of the Observation Room. He'll come running out and I try to knock him out."

"But be prepared for the guard to be anywhere. And don't forget there could be a second guard. Remember to act fast no matter what. Without Iggy, we have no defense for their fireballs." Pikabo was about to select sub-floor five, Observation, but turned back to Will, "And also remember that Iggy's father is now somewhere down there, but so is Iggy, so let's hope they keep each other occupied. Here we go." Pikabo selected S5. The doors closed and the elevator descended.

It opened on sub-floor five and Will quickly stationed himself outside of the Observation Room door, which was closed, as Pikabo quietly tip-toed down the hall.

Sanchez was fuming mad, quite literally. He sat in the Observation Room, staring through the one-way glass mirror at Dr. Rivers, as flames burst through his skin whenever he thought back to the early morning tongue-lashing and undressing he received from the Captain who had just returned from his trip. Upon hearing Sanchez' and Tavarez' report on the two intruders that managed to escape the Institute weeks earlier, the Captain went on a tirade. Not only did the Captain hurl verbal attacks at his two Lieutenants for their ineptitude, he also hurled fireballs at the men. Their bodies were immune to the burning spheres, but the Captain burned through all of their clothes leaving them naked, embarrassed, and disgraced.

Dr. Rivers knew something was different about his muscular captor when he was awakened earlier that morning. The guard was on edge and handled Dr. Rivers with less regard for his health than ever before. Upon unlocking the cell door, Sanchez didn't wait in the hall for Dr. Rivers to stand and walk out. Sanchez stomped into the cell and pulled Dr. Rivers from his cot and pushed him out the door. After being thrown into the Lab Room, Dr. Rivers noticed that the guard had burned holes through his clothing wherever the irate guard touched him. Dr. Rivers also knew the date was the 30th of March, and that his daughter might try another rescue attempt, and he hoped that the guard's bad mood wasn't a bad omen.

Iggy was sitting on his bed in his room on sub-floor two. His father had told him to wait there while he changed his clothes. Iggy's bedroom door swung open and his father, now transformed back into the Captain dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt, beaconed Iggy to follow him. Together they strolled up the hallway toward the elevator.

"Tavarez and Sanchez tell me that you helped them search the rooms of the Institute when they thought they had an intruder," said the Captain.

"Yes sir. I wanted to help."

"Of course you did," agreed the Captain. "Ignacio, these last two months I've circled the globe many times in search of answers. Travelling so much in so little time is a tiresome activity that is best kept to the young. This made me ponder my remaining time in this world and my legacy. Tavarez and Sanchez are basically my age and none of us are getting any younger."

"Yes sir," said Iggy, afraid to say anymore.

The Captain pressed the call button for the elevator and resumed his talk with Iggy.

"How old are you now? 16? 17?"

"15 sir."

"Right, 15," echoed the Captain, not really listening to Iggy's answer. "Ignacio, I think it's time to fold you into my inner-circle. Teach you about what's going on here at the Fiero Institute. I'm going to take you down to the rooms that only those in my inner-circle know about. Would you like that, son?

"Yes sir," answered Iggy, as if he had any other choice.

"Hmmm, what is taking this elevator so long?" commented the Captain.

Ding!

"Oh, good. Here it is." The Captain, followed by Iggy, stepped into the elevator. The Captain inserted his key and selected S5, Observation.

Cold chills ran down Iggy's body at the sight of the floor selection. He thought, Pikabo and Will could be on the Observation floor right now. I've got to do something!

"I've never seen these buttons before," lied Iggy, and he ran his hand over them and mistakenly on purpose pushed both the S3 and S4 buttons. "Oh, sorry sir."

"That's alright, Ignacio. I'm pleased that you're excited," said the Captain.

He's pleased that I'm excited, thought Iggy, I'll have to use this to my advantage.

The elevator opened on S3, Staff Quarters. "This is sub-floor three where Tavarez and Sanchez live. It is similar to our quarters on sub-floor two. We'll stay in the elevator and start our tour on sub-floor four, since you've already pushed the button, and work our way down from there.

I hope I bought Pikabo and Will the time they need, thought Iggy.

Will remained plastered against the hallway wall outside the Observation Room and about ten feet from the elevator. Pikabo was 80 feet away looking through the open shuttered window of her father's cell, finding it empty. Will heard the distinct sound of the elevator cables spinning, swaying and rattling. The elevator is moving. Someone is coming, thought Will. He wanted to shout out a warning to Pikabo, but knew he couldn't make a sound. He had to be prepared to take out any guard running out of the Observation Room and at the same time be ready to incapacitate whoever was riding the elevator.

The cables stopped rattling, and Will stepped closer to the elevator in preparation to tackle anyone who exited it. He held his breath, waiting for the doors to open. They didn't open. But a moment later the cables started to spin and rattle again. Will tried to get Pikabo's attention to tell her not to try to go into the Lab Room, even though their plan was for her to enter and for him to subdue the guard that would probably run out from the Observation Room. I can't knock out two people coming from two different directions at once, he thought. Will waved his arms over his head like a crazy man and managed to get Pikabo's attention. Pikabo was walking back up the hall to the Lab Room door when she stopped and held out her arms from each side of her body with her palms up giving the universal what's going on signal. Will crossed his forearms in an X and then held out his arms forward with open palms signaling for Pikabo to stop and wait. At this time they both wished they had worked on non-verbal communication before they were 80 feet apart in the den of evil.

Will heard the unmistakable sound of the elevator settling its massive weight on his floor. He stepped closer to the elevator and prepared to knock out whoever exited. The cables stopped rattling and the elevator doors opened. Will bent both of his knees, ready to spring at the first person he saw. Pikabo saw his body motion and froze outside of the Lab Room door. Seconds passed and Will stayed ready. No one exited. Will couldn't wait any longer and sprinted into the elevator ready to plow through the person inside. Pikabo lost sight of her only protector and wanted to yell out to him.

But Will ran into an empty elevator. He slid back out to the hallway just as the elevator doors closed behind him. Will gave Pikabo the I don't know what that was signal, which unfortunately looked extremely similar to the what's going on signal. Will stationed himself again outside the Observation Room door and rotated his right hand in a circle, trying to give Pikabo the carry-on signal. Pikabo interpreted it as either resume mission or roll down the window. She decided to resume the mission.

Pikabo grabbed the doorknob of the Lab Room door and tried to turn it. It was locked. It was unlocked from the outside last time, she thought. There are probably tighter security measures in place because of our last break-in. She waved her arms in the air to get Will's attention. Will gave the what's going on signal. Pikabo alternately rotated her arms and hands in circles toward her trying to give the come here I need you signal. Will thought Pikabo was either calling him to her or shooing away a swarm of bees. He decided to go to Pikabo.

Will tip-toed down to Pikabo's side and whispered, "We really should have worked on these signals."

"Tell me about it!" whispered Pikabo. "You need to break this door knob. Hopefully it won't alert the guard and you can hurry back to the Observation Door before I push this door open."

Will understood and placed his right fist inside his clenched left hand and swung down at the doorknob. The outside of the doorknob broke into pieces and Pikabo managed to catch the largest piece before his clanged onto the floor. The smaller pieces did make some sound and both Will and Pikabo stared up the hallway to see if they alerted the guard. They stood silently and listened for any guard footsteps or opening doors. They didn't hear anything. Will started to tip-toe back up the hallway and was about halfway back when the elevator doors opened and Iggy stepped out.

For a fraction of a second Will was happy to see Iggy. That was until Iggy raised his voice and sent it echoing down the hall and throughout the Observation sub-floor.

"Captain!" Iggy was nearly shouting and both Will and Pikabo could tell his excitement was forced. "What do you observe on the Observation floor? Do you do experiments down here?" Iggy had both of his hands behind his back and was waving at Pikabo and Will to get cover.

Will sprinted back down the hall and pushed Pikabo and himself into the Lab Room. At the same time, Sanchez burst out of the Observation Room to investigate the loud shouting taking place in the hall, not noticing the two intruders entering the Lab Room.

In his perturbed mood, Sanchez was going to throw Iggy up against the hallway wall, but stopped short of following through with his anger when he saw the Captain step out from the elevator.

"At ease, Lieutenant. I am simply showing my son the inner workings of our operation." The Captain turned back to Iggy, "Ignacio, I believe you have met Lieutenant Sanchez?"

"Yes sir."

"Sanchez, is everything secure down here?

"Yes sir," barked Sanchez.

"You haven't seen any hallway mirages or fuzzy bodies roaming the halls?" The Captain was clearly making fun of the report regarding Pikabo's and Iggy's escapades on sub-floor five two months prior.

Sanchez simply replied, "No sir."

"Very good," said the Captain. "I'm going to show my son what we have in the Lab Room. Please open it for us."

Iggy did the only thing he could think of, "Bathroom! I need to use the bathroom!"

"It's right through that door," said the Captain as he motioned to the bathroom door.

"Don't go in the Lab Room without me. I want to be the first one who goes in." said an overly excited Iggy, and he ran into the bathroom.

Iggy was breathing heavily and sweating through every pore of his body. I can't believe the excited evil-kid-in-training act is working, he thought. Now I've got to figure out how to steer my father away from the Lab Room to give them a chance to escape.

Two minutes later, the Captain and Sanchez were still standing in the hallway when Iggy opened the bathroom door and asked for help.

"I think I used too much toilet paper. The toilet is starting to overflow. It's making a stinking mess all over the floor," said Iggy. He had stuffed every sheet of toilet paper down the toilet to make it back-up, and even though there was no stinking mess to speak of, he knew his father wouldn't enter the bathroom but command Sanchez to take care of the problem.

The Captain hit the call button on the elevator and turned to his minion. "Sanchez, take care of the problem. I'm going to show my son the low—I mean the other levels of the Institute. We'll circle back and tour this floor after you've cleaned up that mess."

"Yes sir," said Sanchez.

Ding!

The elevator door opened and Iggy followed the Captain inside as Sanchez entered the bathroom.

"Dad!" exclaimed Pikabo as she rushed toward him.

"Pikabo!" said her father with open arms.

Will stayed by the door and held it slightly ajar trying to listen to what was going on up the hall.

Will turned to Pikabo and Dr. Rivers and whispered, "I don't think the guard saw us enter. He's up the hall with Iggy's father. Iggy bought us some time by saying he had to go to the bathroom."

"Who's this?" said Dr. Rivers.

"Dad, this is my best friend, Will. He's going to break you out of here," said Pikabo.

"And Iggy was the boy you were with last time? He's the one that could heat-up metal?"

"Yes. He's here too, but he's stuck with his father," said Pikabo.

"His father – good, at least you brought an adult this time," said Dr. Rivers.

"No Dad. Iggy's father won't help us. You probably know him as, The Captain."

Dr. River's face turned white as a sheet. "The Captain's a madman. Pikabo, what have you done!"

"I'm not saying any of this is going to be easy, but Will is super-strong. He's from the earth-world, Terra. Do you know what that is? From the field book?"

"The field book I've read has many passages blackened out, but there were enough contextual clues to tell me that people from other worlds have special powers. And I deduced that the Captain and his guards are from the fire-world" summarized Dr. Rivers.

Will, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation that was taking place up the hall, interrupted Pikabo and Dr. Rivers, "He did it. Iggy and his father got on the elevator and left. The guard is in the bathroom. It's now or never."

"Let's go Dad. Let's get you out of here!" said Pikabo as she pulled her father up from his chair and to the door.

"I think we just make a run for it. We'll have to wait a bit once we call the elevator, but I'll stand just outside the bathroom and knock the guard out when he comes out. As long as I'm in close proximity to those fire-throwers, my strength powers should negate their fire powers," said Will.

The threesome ran out the Lab Room door and up the hall, but they didn't make it even halfway to the elevator when Sanchez came out of the bathroom. Not knowing where else to go, the threesome instinctively retreated back down the hall to the Lab Room.

Sanchez was primed and ready to let loose his powers. "Stop!" he yelled and he hurled fireballs alternately from both hands as he ran at the attempted escapees.

Will, who had been leading them up the hall, was now in the rear of their retreat back towards the Lab Room. "Look out!" he yelled to Pikabo and Dr. Rivers, as fireballs screamed passed him. The first three balls of fire managed to miss their targets and impacted on the wall at the end of the hallway. But the fourth fireball clipped the left heel of Dr. Rivers who was halfway through the Lab Room door. He collapsed to the floor and tried to crawl into the room. Will grabbed the back of his belt and lifted Dr. Rivers like a rag doll into the room.

"Behind the table!" shouted Will as he lifted the solid metal table onto its side to be used as a bunker. The papers that were resting on the table flew into the air and the computer monitor dropped to the floor.

Sanchez burst into the room hurling fireballs ahead of him, two of which exploded on the surface of the metal table but caused no further harm to the three hiding behind it. Dr. Rivers was writhing in pain from the injury to his left foot.

"You are trapped," shouted Sanchez from just inside the door. "There is no escape unless you go through me, which is impossible. I have nice accommodations across the hall for each of you. You can each have your own room." Sanchez saw the top of Will's head momentarily pop above the table and he hurled two more fireballs that scraped the edge of the table and caromed up to the ceiling.

Will picked up the redacted field book that was lying on the floor next to him and threw it at Sanchez, but a single fireball burst the book into flames and it cascaded to the floor in fire and ash. What good are my powers if I can't get close to him, thought Will.

"Stand up, boy. Let me see who thinks throwing books at me will do any good. I know the girl must be the Doctor's daughter, but who are you?" commanded Sanchez.

Will raised his hands over his head and slowly stood up behind the overturned table.

"I know you. I've seen you before... in photos," said Sanchez, thinking out loud, "I've seen you in photos in the old woman's house. You must be the Banks' boy. What are you doing? Have you come to seek your revenge for me killing your mother?"

Up to that moment in time, Will didn't know which of the Captain's henchmen had injured Maggie. Now that he had a face for Maggie's attacker, he did start to feel the yearning for revenge. But he also kept his wits about him. If they think Maggie is already dead, then she is safe from further attacks; safe from further retribution, he thought.

"How did it feel killing a defenseless, 72 year old woman? Did it make you feel like a big man?" baited Will.

"Let me show you how it felt when I put my hands around her neck and melted her throat."

Sanchez started to walk closer. Will knew his only advantages were close combat and the element of surprise. He had a plan and was nearer to initiating it by getting his attacker to come closer; then it would be time for the surprise. Will picked up the computer monitor, acting as if it was a struggle.

"What are you going to do with that!" laughed Sanchez. "Even if you were strong enough to throw it at me, I'll blow it up in mid-air," and Sanchez generated another fireball and held it in his hand. The guard was now only ten feet from the table and closing. Will put his plan into action.

Will lifted the monitor completely above his head and threw it with great velocity, not at Sanchez, but at the one-way mirror separating the Lab Room from the Observation Room. The glass exploded into thousands of tiny pieces.

"GO!" yelled Will to Pikabo and Dr. Rivers, commanding them to jump out the new exit he had just created. Will then dropped below the table and pushed it along the floor toward Sanchez, using it both as a shield and a battering ram.

Sanchez was able to let loose a couple fireballs at the escapees' general direction before the table plowed into him. Will didn't stop moving. He stayed below the top of the table and continued to drive his legs like a football running back pushing for one extra yard to gain a first down. The table pinned Sanchez' legs against the wall and sent his upper body down towards Will. Will threw a massive uppercut to Sanchez' chin, reversing the guard's momentum and crashing his head against the wall. Sanchez was knocked unconscious as his body slumped over the table, unconscious.

"That was for Maggie!" shouted Will as he turned to catch up with Pikabo and Dr. Rivers in the Observation Room. But the father and daughter didn't make it through the broken one-way glass opening. Dr. Rivers was lying on the floor, lifeless, and Pikabo was checking him for a pulse.

"He got hit again by one of the stray fireballs," said Pikabo, "I think he passed out from the pain; he still has a pulse."

"Go call the elevator. I'll carry your father," said Will, as he lifted the 200 pound man over his shoulder like it was a ten pound bag of potatoes, being careful not to touch the new second and third degree burn wound on the back of the doctor's right thigh.

They took the elevator to the main floor and ran out, expecting to have to dodge the students of their Science class on the way out the main entrance. But the exhibit halls were empty; the students were all on the south patio having lunch. They burst through the tall double doors of the Fiero Institute and out to the front lawn. Instead of running back up the walkway to the bus, they veered right and headed for East Observatory Road where their taxi was waiting, as requested.

Pikabo opened the back door of the taxi and Will gingerly slid her father inside.

"What's going on!" yelled the taxi driver.

Will responded, "This man is injured. You need to take him to the hospital." Will paused for a moment, thinking, and then continued, "But don't take him to a local hospital. Take him further away. Take him to Santa Monika Hospital."

Will then turned to Pikabo, "Get in the back with your father in case he wakes up."

Pikabo got in the back seat and rested her father's head on her lap. Will closed the back door but didn't get in the taxi.

"What are you doing? Get in the front seat!" shouted Pikabo through the rolled down back window.

"No. I can't leave Iggy in there alone," explained Will. "Once his father learns of the escape, Iggy and the rest of the students will be in danger. I've got to go back."

Pikabo knew Will was right and simply said, "Be safe!"

"I will. I'll see you later at the hospital," said Will. He then spoke directly to the taxi driver, "Go straight to the Santa Monika Hospital Emergency Room."

The taxi sped off down the hill and Will turned and ran back up East Observatory Road and back into the den of evil.

****

Chapter Twenty-Five

Father Catching Up with Son  
Or  
Catching Son with Father Up

Friday, 30th March, 2012 KE

Tavarez was in the kitchen of the staff quarters on sub-floor three preparing lunch for himself, Sanchez, and Dr. Rivers. Normally he would simply slap some cold cuts inside some bread to feed the prisoner, but after speaking with the Captain earlier that morning, Tavarez was convinced that this could be Dr. River's last meal. The Captain expressed to Tavarez privately that from what he learned over his two months of travel, it was highly doubtful that anything the Doctor might have deciphered from the field book would be of any use.

Tavarez was preparing a special lunch consisting of a grilled tuna sandwich, a side of fresh fruit, and a soda. Being a soldier, he didn't have any guilt or remorse for the Doctor whom he simply categorized as a prisoner of war that was soon to be killed in action. However, if the roles were reversed and this was his last day to live, he would want a decent last meal.

Two floors below Tavarez, Sanchez was pinned against a wall by an overturned metal table, unconscious. The blood that was once gushing out of the back of his head and from the tongue he bit through as the result of Will's uppercut was finally congealing.

One floor below Sanchez, Iggy had just finished the grand tour of sub-floor six, and was now straining to listen to a radio conversation between his father and someone named Fleet Admiral Alvarez. The three enormous cooling fans made it difficult to hear, coupled with the fact that the conversation was being spoken in Spanish. Luckily, Iggy spoke and understood Spanish very well, being taught the language by his mother and using it often while growing up in Miami.

Only the Captain's side of the radio communication could be heard by Iggy, who was acting as though he couldn't hear anything.

"Yes Fleet Admiral Alvarez."

"Mission was a success, sir. I have confirmed the conditions necessary for inter-world transport."

"Conditions rely on the positions of the Moon and Sun."

"When the Moon is at perigee and lines up with the Sun and Ignis. These conditions occur approximately every seven months, sir."

"Ignis to Aqua? Next natural occurrence is in 2014 on month 1, day 1. But the location of natural event is still unknown, sir."

"Artificially, next opportunity is month 5, day 6; approximately five weeks from today."

"Will your Science Division be ready to generate the artificially powered portal?"

"Understood, sir. Southern Alliance invasion of Aqua set for 2012, month 5, day 6, at o-six-hundred hours local time. I will coordinate transport ships and troop barracks on this world. We will be ready, sir."

"Agreed, sir. The island in the Florida Keys will be an ideal base and launching point for the attack. The warm water is perfect for troop transport.

"Thank you, sir. Captain Marquez: Out."

Iggy was appalled by what he heard, but he tried not to show the intensified distaste he had for his father and kept a blank, unknowing expression on his face.

The Captain removed his noise-cancelling headphones and powered down the radio link with his home world of Ignis. The cooling fans were still spinning at full speed so the Captain motioned to Iggy to get back into the elevator. Once the elevator doors closed, the Captain spoke.

"Son, were you able to hear and understand any part of my communication?" asked the Captain.

Iggy wasn't sure how to respond. Truthfully, he heard and understood everything that was said on his father's side of the conversation and inferred much of what was spoken on the unheard side. However, Iggy decided it would be safest to tell his father that he couldn't hear the conversation at all. This way, if his father wanted him to know what was said, he could just repeat the conversation now that they were in a quieter environment. But if his father wanted the conversation to be private, that scenario, however false, was kept intact.

"I'm sorry, sir. With the fan noise, I couldn't hear anything that was said," lied Iggy.

"At this time," said the Captain, "that's probably for the best."

The elevator opened on sub-floor seven, but only allowed the Captain and Iggy to walk eight feet into a tiny, cement encased room approximately the size of the elevator they just exited. Directly in front of them was a thick metal door resembling that the door of a bank vault. The Captain punched in a series of numbers into an electronic keypad and spun a large wheel counter-clockwise, disengaging the vault door's thick metal tumblers from their locked position in the thick cement. The Captain pushed the door open and stepped through.

Iggy thought it was time to bring back the excited evil-kid-in-training act that worked so well for him earlier. "Wow! This is like one of those deep underground war rooms you see in the movies! You've got like 30 wide-screen TVs on the wall, communication stations for like 50 people, and this cat-walk that oversees everything below. This is awesome!"

"I am pleased you like it, son. One day, this heavily secured control room bunker will be fully operational, and you can be at my side commanding our forces. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Right now, I only want to give you a vision of what's to come. But before I can show you our future, I need to fill you in on the past. Let's take a seat in this office."

The Captain led Iggy into the first room of a series of rooms that could be accessed from the cat-walk. The room had a large angled window that looked over the control bunker below.

The Captain began his story, "Son, I want to catch you up on how I came to this world and became Bradley Marsh."

Iggy no longer had to put on an act; he was truly excited to hear this story.

Will burst back through the Fiero Institute double doors ready for a fight, but the exhibit wings to both his left and right were still empty. What do I do now, he thought. I have no idea what floor Iggy or his father is on, nor do I know where the second guard is or if the first guard has regained consciousness. He stood just inside the entrance contemplating his next move when a woman called out.

"Young man!" called Brooke Baines, "Why are you not on the South Patio having lunch with your group?"

"Oh, uh, I needed to use the bathroom but got a little turned around trying to make my way back. This place is confusing," replied Will.

BB gave Will a doubtful look and then pointed straight to the back of the building, "It's straight through those doors. Please remember my rules and stay with the group from now on."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you," said Will, and he walked to the back of the Institute and joined his class on the South Patio.

Most of the class was finished eating and milling about the patio looking at the sprawling views of the city below. Will saw a table with a few remaining boxed lunches. He took a box and sat down at an empty table that had a direct line of sight of the Institute's main hall through the glass doors he just exited. Will wasn't in the mood to eat, but he spread his food out on the table and tried to conceal the fact that his focus was inside the building.

"Five more minutes, people, and then we'll go down into the planetarium for the show," shouted Mr. E. above the sound of the students talking and the light breeze blowing through the patio.

Five minutes, thought Will. Maybe in the move to the planetarium I can break loose from the group again.

Pikabo's taxi was on the freeway travelling towards Santa Monika. With his head on Pikabo's lap, Dr. Rivers was starting to show signs of regaining consciousness.

"Dad, you're gonna be alright. I'm taking you to the hospital," said Pikabo.

"What? Where am I? OW!" screamed Pikabo's father, who moved his leg for the first time and felt searing pain shoot through his body.

"Don't move. Stay still," instructed Pikabo. "You've been badly burned on the back of your right leg and your left foot. We're in a taxi on the way to Santa Monika Hospital. We'll be there soon. Just try to stay still."

"How did we get away? We were trapped. Where's your friend?"

"Will got us out, but he went back to make sure Iggy and the rest of the students are OK."

"The rest of the students? What are you talking about? OW!" screamed Dr. Rivers again. This time the searing pain was too much to handle, and he passed out again.

Pikabo could no longer contain her emotions. She broke down in tears. Her dad was severely burned and unconscious, her best friend was in the most dangerous place imaginable, and her newest friend was being courted by a madman that happened to be his evil father. She thought, I got my father back, but at what cost?

Tavarez finished making the lunches on sub-floor three and began to stack the food on a tray to take down to Sanchez and the Doctor on sub-floor five.

Iggy was on sub-floor seven and in the middle of his father's story about how he came to Aqua and became Bradley Marsh. So far, Iggy was told that his father came through a portal to Aqua from the world of Ignis. The portal was created when an atomic bomb exploded in the ocean directly below him. He and four other men fell through the portal and found themselves floating in the middle of the ocean with no sign of either their ship or their enemy's ships.

Iggy was told that one of the five men, Montez, was found dead in the water, which left Lieutenant Commander Rodriguez and Seamen Tavarez, Sanchez, and Iggy's father, Seaman Marquez. Rodriguez had a handheld radio with him, but they found that it was completely dead. The Captain informed Iggy that it was the very same radio that he had just used when they were on sub-floor six.

Iggy learned that it was his father who discovered that the portal gave them all special powers of fire, which is how he signaled the passing boat that rescued them. The sole crewman of the rescue boat was a wealthy man named Bradley Marsh who was returning to San Francisko from his vacation in the Marquesas.

During the multi-day journey to San Francisko, a rift emerged between Lieutenant Commander Rodriguez, the highest ranking officer remaining, and Seaman Marquez, Iggy's father.

"Ignacio, it seemed that I was the only one who realized that we were on a new world, and the chain of command of our old world didn't apply here. I'm not extremely proud of it, but I got in a heated argument with Rodriguez which ultimately ended with him falling overboard," explained the Captain.

Iggy, quite correctly, assumed that his father wasn't telling the entire truth and Rodriguez didn't just fall overboard. I'm sure this fall involved some sort of push, thought Iggy. Iggy decided to pull out his excited evil-kid-in-training act and said, "Aw, come on. Tell me that you got in a fight with him and threw him overboard!"

"Quite right!" laughed the Captain, "I guess I don't need to sugar coat this story now do I! Alright, we got in a heated argument about following orders and I told him that the only chain of command that mattered in this world was power, and I blasted him with fireballs that I had been practicing to create over the past couple days. The fire burned through the Lieutenant Commander's clothing, but caused him no other harm. I had to knock him overboard so that he didn't poison the relationship I was forming with Bradley Marsh."

"It was on this day that both Tavarez and Sanchez pledged their allegiance to me and my superior power. It seems that since I went through the portal first, my powers are stronger. Sanchez' and Tavarez' powers are similar, but I would give the edge to Sanchez, even though Tavarez has used his intellect to hone his skills to rival those of Sanchez."

"But I have powers too!" said Iggy, overly excited.

"Yes! We discovered a year or two ago that my powers have been passed down to you. Have you been practicing and honing your skills?" asked the Captain.

"A little, sir; when I'm alone. I can't make a fireball quite yet, but I can keep a steady flame in my hands now." And Iggy showed his father about a five-inch flame in his right hand, even though he knew he could produce much, much more.

"Excellent! What do they say around here? You're a chip off the old block!" gushed the Captain. "Now where was I in my story?"

"You didn't want to poison the relationship you were forming with Bradley Marsh," said Iggy.

"Right. By the time we arrived in San Francisko, I had earned the trust of Marsh. He took the three of us in. He housed us, fed us, and began to use us to carry out his deeds. Bradley Marsh didn't like the public eye. With me becoming his right-hand man, he started to become a recluse. For the next six months, I handled all of the day to day operations of his business endeavors. I became the face of Marsh's enterprises to such a degree that many people started to mistake me for Bradley Marsh. I must admit that I liked being this man of power, and I didn't correct the people who thought I was Marsh. It was then that I started planning to actually become Marsh; to take over his enterprises, steal his identity, and acquire his wealth."

"I took a trip to Los Angeles and set up a meeting with some Southern Kalifornia businessmen and elected officials, posing as Marsh. This was a trial run, an experiment, to see if I could actually pull off being him. It worked like a charm. They all accepted me as Bradley Marsh and supported my idea to move my enterprises to Los Angeles."

"I returned to San Francisko and received the full support of Tavarez and Sanchez. I won't go into the details, but I completed the theft of Marsh's identity and, let's say, I removed the real Marsh from existence. I relocated to Los Angeles, brokered a deal with the city to acquire this Institute, and met your mother. And although the relationship with your mother didn't work out, we created you. And years later, you are now by my side and we are on the brink of total world dom—"

A deafening siren started blaring and red lights began to flash. The Captain sprang from his chair and pushed a series of buttons on the wall intercom system. The alarm silenced but the red lights kept flashing. He depressed a white button and spoke into the intercom. "What's going on!? Who sounded the alarm?"

A few seconds later Tavarez' voice bellowed through the speaker. "There's been a fight! Sanchez is unconscious in the Lab Room and the Doctor is gone!"

"What! How can that be? I'm on my way," barked the Captain. He turned to Iggy, "Come with me!"

The Captain and Iggy ran back through the vault door, called the elevator, and pressed S5 once inside. Iggy saw the fury in his father's eyes and was afraid to say or do anything that may direct that infuriation towards him. He decided to keep a safe distance from his father, stay as quiet and invisible as possible, and make a run for safety if an opportunity presented itself.

The elevator doors opened on the Observation floor. The Captain sprinted out and ran down the hall. Iggy stepped out of the elevator and saw his father disappear inside the Lab Room. "Goodbye father," said Iggy to himself, "I hope I never see you again," and he stepped back into the elevator and selected the main floor.

The students were 15 minutes into the 45 minute planetarium show when the siren sounded, the red lights flashed, and the show was automatically stopped. Mr. E. and BB ushered the students out of the emergency exits and they were put directly on the school bus. Mr. E. counted the students as they loaded the bus but came up seven bodies short. Travis Shift and his gang of football players were the first to come to mind, followed by Will, Pikabo, and Iggy. Mr. E. knew some of the history between these two groups of students and assumed there was some foul play involved. Perhaps the football players ganged up on the smaller, younger threesome, he thought. Perhaps one of them sounded the alarm because they were in need of help. Mr. E. instructed the bus driver to wait for him to return and he rolled back to the Institute at breakneck speed, only slowing down momentarily to notify BB of the missing student situation. They reentered the Institute and decided to each take an exhibit wing to start their search for the missing students.

Will wasn't able to break away from the group of students when they made their way down to the planetarium. Both Mr. E. and Ms. Baines were watching everyone extremely close. But in all the commotion sparked by the alarm and flashing lights, Will managed to slip away and reenter the main exhibit hall without either Mr. E. or Ms. Baines noticing.

Will was thankful that his classmates were now safe on the bus, but he still didn't know where he needed to go to help Iggy. He decided to call the elevator, go down to Iggy's quarters, and start looking for him there. Will pushed the elevator call button and then hid in the bathroom that was across the hall. Will didn't want to be standing out in the open for Mr. E. or Ms. Baines to see him, or worse, have one of the guards or Iggy's father riding the elevator to the main floor.

Ding! The elevator announced it had arrived on the main floor, but Will stayed in the bathroom and listened for the sound of anyone exiting. He didn't hear anything, but that was because the person in the elevator was trying not to make a sound. Will opened the bathroom door and smiled.

"Iggy!" he whisper-shouted.

Iggy spun around with a confused look on his face. "You're still here? I thought you and Pikabo rescued her father and were long gone by now."

"Pikabo and her father are safe. They took the taxi. I came back for you. Now, let's get out of here, we can probably take the bus back to school if we hurry."

"Will, we can't leave," said Iggy. "Not yet. We have to stop my father... or at least do something to slow him down; Sabotage or something."

"What are you talking about?" pleaded Will.

But before Iggy could answer, the red lights in the Institute stopped flashing and turned to solid amber. Seemingly from all angles, they heard a loud bang and the hiss of multiple hydraulic actuators engaging. Then all at once, metal shutters clamored down on every perimeter door and window of the building. The Fiero Institute was on lockdown.

"We have no choice now. I'll explain down below. Follow me!" said Iggy, and they jumped into the elevator.

Sanchez had regained consciousness and explained to the Captain and Tavarez what had happened. When the Captain heard it was two high school students that aided in the escape of their prisoner, he initiated the lockdown of the entire Institute. All exits, doors and windows were barricaded with high tensile strength steel shutters. Sanchez explained that one student was the Doctor's daughter and the other was the Banks boy, but he still didn't realize that Will had any special powers. Sanchez just thought that the boy got the jump on him and threw a lucky punch.

The Captain ordered his two henchmen to search the Institute, not caring that Sanchez was still badly injured with a severe concussion. The Captain said he would search their current floor, sub-floor five, and instructed his men to start on sub-floor four and work their way up, floor by floor. What the Captain didn't tell them was that he would continue his search on the floors below, sub-floors six and seven; floors that neither Tavarez nor Sanchez even knew existed because their elevator keys didn't give them access below sub-floor five.

When the first alarm and flashing red lights had come on, Travis saw Will sneak out of the planetarium and back into the exhibit hall instead of evacuating out to the bus like the rest of the students. He wanted to know what Will was up to, so he got the attention of Tank and the Smart twins and they all snuck out the same door as Will. But they were a few seconds too late to see Will call the elevator and hide in the bathroom, and they instead headed off to the east exhibit wing where Travis saw Will hanging out with Pikabo when they had first arrived at the Institute.

The football players were deep into the east exhibit hall when they heard Mr. E. and Ms. Baines burst into the Institute. Travis signaled to his gang to hide, and they each found an exhibit to crouch behind. But they knew that anyone would be able to see them if they entered the exhibit hall deep enough. It was Mr. E. that was searching the east wing, and he was almost on top of Travis when the lockdown happened. The shutters rained down and Mr. E. wheeled back to the entrance hall to see if Ms. Baines knew what was going on. She said this had never happened before and they both went into her office to call the police.

"We are like sitting ducks here," whispered Travis. "It's only a matter of time before we're found out here in the open."

"But all the exits are blocked, where do we go?" asked Tank.

"I saw an elevator in the back hall. We'll go to another floor. Banks is probably down there anyway and I'd sure like to know what he's doing sneaking around this place," said Travis.

The foursome ran to the elevator, pushed the call button, and entered. Without the elevator access key, they only had two other options other than the main floor that they were on. Travis selected S2, Living Quarters.

Back in Ms. Baines' office, neither she nor Mr. E. called anyone, as they found the telephone lines were dead. They headed off to the planetarium to resume their search for the missing students.

Iggy took Will to sub-floor seven, the war room. He was fairly sure that in the haste to get to sub-floor five, his father neglected to close the vault door to the control room bunker. They were descending in the elevator when Iggy started to explain to Will what the excited evil-kid-in-training had discovered from his evil father.

"He's planning an attack," said Iggy, who found it difficult to form longer sentences with his heart racing and his heavy breathing caused by all of the commotion in the last few minutes.

"Who's planning an attack? What kind of attack?" asked Will.

The elevator doors opened on sub-floor seven and Iggy gave a sigh of relief in seeing that the vault door was left ajar.

"My father is planning an attack." Iggy paused for a breath. "He's communicating with a military Admiral from Ignis."

"He's communicating with Ignis? How?"

They stepped out of the elevator and slipped past the vault door onto the war room cat-walk.

"One floor above, on sub-level six, my father has a room full of communications equipment that somehow powers a radio link to Ignis. We'll go there next."

"Where are we now? What is this place?" asked Will.

"My father called it a control room bunker where he and I would command our forces," quoted Iggy.

"I'm not following. Start from the beginning," requested Will.

Iggy explained to Will the one-sided radio conversation he heard his father have with someone named Fleet Admiral Alvarez.

"They're planning an invasion of Aqua from Ignis?" asked Will.

"Yes. And it's going to happen on the 6th of May, the day of the next perigean spring tide. They've obviously figured out a way to create an artificial portal from Ignis to Aqua. It's going to happen somewhere in the Florida Keys. My father said there was an island there that would be ready to house the invading troops coming through the portal."

"This is crazy!" shouted Will.

"Yes, I know. My father is crazy. We have to stop him."

"How?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead, but I brought you here to explain the situation and maybe destroy this equipment."

"How are we going to destroy this equipment?" said Will, clearly speaking before putting any thought into what he was saying.

Iggy just stood there, created a ball of fire in his hand, and said, "I think you have some powers that would come in handy right now."

"Right!" said Will, and they both ran down the stairs from the cat-walk to the floor of the war room.

"I think you should go around breaking everything in sight and tearing things apart. I'll follow you around and burn and melt all the wires and connections inside and between the equipment. I don't want to create too much flame in case the smoke detectors go off, which may alert the guards or my father to our location."

"Let's get to work!" said Will, and he picked up a chair and smashed it into one of the 30 large screen TVs. After ten minutes of Will smashing and ripping apart metal and Iggy melting plastic and miles of wires and cables, the war room was a junk yard.

"That's done, but how do we get out of here? I don't think even I can break through those metal shutters on the main floor," said Will.

"There may be another way out. When my father took me to sub-floor six, the radio room, I saw a pair of steel doors that resembled heavy duty garage doors. They were closed and locked, but I think with your strength you have a much better chance of breaking through those doors than the steel metal shutters we saw on the main floor. Those doors must lead to somewhere. Here, take this metal bar, you should be able to use it as a crow bar," said Iggy, and he handed Will a solid iron bar that Will had ripped apart from one of the machines.

Will took the bar and used a phrase usually reserved for Pikabo, "Sounds like a plan."

On the main floor, both Mr. E. and Ms. Baines were searching for the missing students and looking for a way out. Travis and his gang had found Iggy's kitchen on sub-floor two, and were helping themselves to the food in the pantry and refrigerator. Tavarez and Sanchez had finished searching the Storage rooms on sub-floor four and the Staff Quarters on sub-floor three and were taking the elevator to sub-floor two, the Living Quarters. Neither Will nor Iggy knew where any of these people were, but they were about to find out the location of their most feared person.

On sub-floor seven, Iggy pushed the elevator call button as will listened to the cables rattling.

"Sounds like the elevator just stopped, but it doesn't sound like it was a floor near to us," said Will.

"Let's hope it wasn't picking up one of our enemies and bringing him down here," said Iggy, and the thought made both Will and Iggy take defensive postures, ready to pounce on whoever may be in the elevator.

Ding! The doors opened and both were relieved when they found the elevator empty. They stepped inside and Iggy inserted his key and pressed S6. They again took defensive postures in case the doors opened and revealed one or more of the people they were trying to escape from. The elevator completed its short trip up one level and the doors opened.

Iggy took the lead and didn't see anyone so he stepped out of the elevator, followed closely by Will. Iggy said, "I'll try to disable the radio equipment while you try–"

"Disable the radio equipment?" said a sinister but familiar voice. Iggy's father stood up from hiding behind the radio desk. "Ignacio, I had such high hopes for you. I guess my desire to have a legacy blinded me from seeing the truth; that you are as weak-minded and complacent as everyone else on this world. Growing up on Aqua has poisoned you; brainwashed you into a life of following and doing what you think is right instead of leading and taking what you want. This will be a painful lesson for you to learn and for me to give, but power is the only thing that matters, and power only comes to those with the ability and desire to take from the weak."

Iggy took a step to his left in an attempt to shield Will from his father and then tried to take small steps back to the elevator.

"And who do you have with you?" continued the Captain. "This must be Will Banks, pretty Pikabo River's boyfriend. Maybe she got away, and her father too, but it doesn't matter. I'll track them both down and they'll meet the same end as both of you."

The Captain then threw two fireballs at the boys which Iggy absorbed with his hands. Iggy returned the volley with fireballs of his own. It was not your usual father/son game of catch.

"You've been holding out on me, boy," said the Captain as he easily absorbed the balls of fire. "Your powers are greater than you've owned up to, but I will always be more powerful." And both of the Captain's arms ignited in flames and two jet streams of fire shot out like lasers at Iggy, who was forced off balance by the blasts but managed to contain them and protect Will.

"How are you holding up?" whispered Will into Iggy's ear.

"I'm not sure. Those hurt a little," replied Iggy.

Will couldn't compete in their flaming game of catch, but he had a different game of catch he wanted to play. "Try catching this!" he yelled, and he threw the solid metal rod at Iggy's father at nearly twice the speed of an all-star pitcher.

The Captain didn't have super-human reflexes and had no chance of completely dodging the projectile. But being 40 feet away, he did manage to duck and sway enough for the rod to miss being a fatal blow to his chest and instead impact his left shoulder, completely shattering his humerus bone. He didn't find it funny in the least as the impact sent him hurtling 15 feet backwards and slid him to an abrupt stop against the back wall of the room.

Iggy and Will ran into the elevator and pushed the >|< button. With his good arm, the Captain managed to throw one last fireball at the elevator which Iggy absorbed as the doors closed.

"What floor?" barked Iggy.

"He'll be expecting us to go to the main floor, so pick any floor but that one," reasoned Will.

Iggy, perhaps out of habit, selected S3, Living Quarters.

"We'll get out on that floor and then give the elevator time to go back down and pick up your father and take him to the main floor. Then we'll get back in the elevator and go right back to S6 and try to break through those doors," said Will.

"Sounds like a plan!" smiled Iggy.

They stepped out of the elevator on sub-floor three. The doors closed and they heard the sound of the elevator descending.

"Your father has already called the elevator," said Will. "Now all we have to do is wait for the sound of the elevator rising past this floor and we can call it back."

"I don't think so!" shouted Sanchez who walked out of Iggy's bedroom and into the hall, followed by Tavarez. They were about 30 feet away and Sanchez hurled a fireball at them. Will ducked behind Iggy who absorbed the blast with his hand.

"Ah! I see you have fire powers like your father! But you can't protect the Banks boy from both of us!"

Sanchez and Tavarez hurled fireball after fireball at Iggy and Will. They were coming faster and faster and Iggy couldn't stop them all.

"Alright!" yelled Iggy with his hands up, getting the onslaught of projectiles to pause, at least momentarily. "I give up. I surrender."

"Lie down on the floor with your arms and legs spread," commanded Tavarez. "We can't give you the opportunity to throw another lucky punch... but I hope you try!"

Will and Iggy dropped to the floor face-down and spread their limbs.

"Sorry Will. I couldn't stop the fireballs from both of them," said Iggy.

"That's OK. You tried. At least Pikabo got away with her father," said Will.

Tavarez stepped over to the hallway wall and pushed the red intercom button.

The Captain's voice answered, "What's your status?"

"We've caught them sir, both your son and the Banks boy. Sub-level three," said Tavarez through the intercom.

"Very good. Hold them there. I'll be down in a minute. I have a couple guests up here on the main floor I have to deal with first."

****

Chapter Twenty-Six

Blows to the Head  
Or  
Head to the Blows

Friday, 30th March, 2012 KE

"Did I hear them say that they found some students?" asked Mr. E. who was wheeling toward the Captain with Ms. Baines trailing behind him.

"Yes," said the Captain in his nicest Bradley Marsh voice. "I will go down and collect them. You two can just wait here." The Captain did not want them to see what was going on down on sub-floor two.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Marsh. Those are my students. I am responsible for them. I insist that I accompany you," pressed Mr. E.

"I don't think –"

"I insist," repeated Mr. E.

"Mr. Marsh," interjected Ms. Baines. "What's going on with all of the exits and windows being barricaded?"

"Automatic response system," lied the Captain. "The missing students must have entered a restricted area and set off the alarm. The lockdown automatically initiates after a certain period of time. The computer system thinks they are intruders or thieves. But I'm sure it's just a couple kids being kids."

"Shall we go down to get the students now?" urged Mr. E.

"Very well. If you insist."

"I'm coming too," stated BB.

"Ms. Baines, I don't think it's necessary."

"This school tour is my responsibility. I should be the one handling issues like these," she said.

The Captain was tired of trying to dissuade them from coming. It's your funeral, he thought. I needed to get rid of you in the next five weeks anyway. "Very well. Let's go."

Sanchez and Tavarez waited in the hallway of sub-level two with their eyes locked on Will and Iggy who were lying face down on the floor 30 feet away. Behind the guards, Travis and his gang were down the hall and hiding in the kitchen. They didn't see the battle, but they knew that Will and Iggy had lost.

Travis huddled up with Tank and the Smart twins and whispered, "You two run the Double Bulldog Blitz, Tank and I will be right behind you to finish them off with blows to the head."

Without warning, both guards were tackled from behind by the Santa Monika High School starting linebackers. Sanchez and Tavarez were instantly brought down and pinned to the floor by the 250 pound twins. Travis and Tank were right behind their teammates and followed the blindsided tackles with knees to the sides of each of the guard's temples, knocking each one out.

Travis stood up and looked at Will, "We're even now Banks. This makes up for you helping me with that Kadillak."

Will and Iggy got up off the floor and walked towards Travis. Will said, "This more than makes up for that! But there's more trouble on the way. Big trouble. You guys need to hide."

"You know, you're alright, Banks. We'll help you take care of this big trouble," said Travis.

Will was about to say, "You don't understand," but was interrupted by Tavarez regaining consciousness, moaning, and lifting his head off the floor.

Travis dropped to one knee and punched Tavarez in the face. Tavarez' head dropped to the floor with a thud.

"Good one, Travis," said the Smart Twins. Slap!

Will was about to again tell the high school seniors to hide when the elevator doors opened. Will and Iggy turned around and saw the Captain step into the hallway. The Captain saw Will and Iggy standing side by side in the hallway about 30 feet away with his Lieutenants unconscious at their feet. The football players were behind Will and Iggy, but the Captain's view of them was blocked.

The Captain went on the offensive. His good arm burst into flames and he shot a jet stream of fire down the hall. Ms. Baines started screaming from inside the elevator. Iggy stepped in front of Will; the football players dropped to the floor behind the unconscious guards. Iggy did his best to absorb the inferno, but was being driven back and enduring an escalating amount of pain.

Iggy and Will then felt a blast of wind and realized that the Captain's stream of fire was being blown off target. The fire was being blown up and down, left and right. The Captain's expression showed he was having difficulty controlling his aim. He tried to compensate for the wind, but the air seemed to be constantly changing direction.

Will didn't know why the Captain had suddenly lost the control of his aim, but he didn't stand still waiting to figure it out. He did his best linebacker impression and sprinted up the hall toward Iggy's father. The flames swirled around Will. He could feel the radiant heat of the flames as well as the soothing wind redirecting the jet stream around him. Five feet from the Captain, Will left his feet and plowed into the evil man's chest, sending both of them flying through the air and into the wall at the end of the hall. The Captain took a blow to the head against the wall and his errant stream of fire went out as he collapsed to the floor.

Will stood up and surveyed his own body. A few singed arm hairs but otherwise no worse for wear, he judged.

Mr. E. was sitting in his wheelchair just over the threshold of the elevator. He was holding his head and breathing heavily. He regained his focus and quickly counted the students in the hall.

"Six," he said. "There are only six students here. Where is Pikabo Rivers?"

"She's gone," answered Will. "She left in a taxi." Will wasn't sure how much information he should divulge, but was surprised when Mr. E. took his statement unflinchingly and moved on.

"OK. What's up with the other two men on the floor," asked Mr. E. about Sanchez and Tavarez.

"They work for him," said Will pointing to Iggy's father. "They've been knocked out as well."

"OK people, we've got to get out of here. These men won't stay unconscious forever. Ignacio, do you know a way out of here?" asked Mr. E., taking charge.

"I think so sir. Down on sub-level six," said Iggy.

"The elevator only goes down to S2," stated the Science teacher.

"I have a key that will take us to S6," responded Iggy.

"Very well. OK people, into the elevator!" shouted Mr. E.

Ms. Baines was still pressed up against the back corner of the elevator, shaking. She was joined by Will, Iggy, the four football players, and lastly Mr. E.

When they arrived at sub-floor six, Mr. E. entered the radio room but told everyone else to stay in the elevator except Iggy and Will.

Iggy directed Will to the large steel doors.

"They have padlocks on the left and right locking them to the floor. I could sure use that metal bar," said Will.

"It's over there," said Iggy, pointing to the back of the room where Will threw the bar at Iggy's father. "I'll go get it."

Iggy retrieved the bar. Will slid it through the loop of the first padlock, grabbed both ends of the bar and twisted. Snap! The lock broke almost instantly. Will broke the lock on the other side and together, Will and Iggy lifted the roll-up door and peered through. It was too dark to see anything. Iggy created a steady flame in his hand and used it as a torch. He saw a control panel just inside the large door and flipped all six switches. One by one, ceiling lights lit up in succession revealing a tunnel that extended straight for about 100 feet and then turned left.

Mr. E., who had been watching from inside the radio room, took charge again, "OK people, everyone out of the elevator and into the tunnel."

Everyone did so, except Iggy and Will. They waited for everyone to enter the tunnel, out of earshot, and then Iggy addressed Mr. E. "I've got to do something before I leave," he said, but he didn't wait for permission. Iggy ran over to the radio desk and took the beat-up hand-held radio.

Will slapped the metal bar into the palm of his hand and asked, "Do you want me to tear the room apart?"

"No. You don't have to. I just realized that all we need to do is take this and he won't be able to communicate," and he held up the radio.

"OK people! If you're done here, let's go!" pressed Mr. E.

Will and Iggy ran down the hallway followed by Mr. E., who quickly blew by the two boys in his wheelchair with his hands on his lap. After a series of turns and long straightaways, the seven person group caught up to Mr. E. who was waiting at the end of the tunnel by an identical pair of double garage doors just like the pair Will broke through before they entered.

Will broke the padlocks that secured one of the doors and lifted it open.

Daylight.

The tunnel opened up onto a narrow road that accessed the Institute. Will immediately recognized it as East Observatory Road because the taxi Pikabo and her father escaped in had been parked only about 100 feet away. The tunnel entrance was hidden behind natural looking shrubbery, but upon closer inspection they could tell they were fakes.

"The Institute is up this road," stated Will.

Mr. E. didn't ask him how he knew, he just ordered everyone to walk up the hill.

"We need to get these students back on the bus and back to school," he added.

When the Institute came into view but the bus was still hidden around the last bend in the road, Mr. E. told everyone to stop.

"OK people. This is what's going to happen," said Mr. E., matter-of-factly. "Mr. Shift, you and your friends are going to get on the bus and be taken back to school. I'm going to stay behind with Mr. Banks and Mr. Quemador and wait for the authorities to arrive.

"Why do they get to stay," whined Travis.

"Because the authorities will want to question them; I want to question them too," replied Mr. E. "And I don't know what kind of special effects we saw down there, but no one other than the authorities needs to know. It may be a matter of national security. Do you all understand?

The four football players all nodded in unison.

"Now, Ms. Baines, do you think you can do us a huge favor and be the adult chaperone on the bus?"

"OK. But how will I get home?"

"Here are my car keys. It's the only green minivan in the teacher's parking lot. But I have another favor to ask. May we borrow your car?"

"Sure. Yes. I guess so," said BB, and she handed Mr. E. her car keys.

"Great. Thank you. Now please take these boys to the bus and tell the bus driver that I will remain behind with the three remaining students. I know I'll only have two, but we know one of my students left early in a taxi and that fact will only serve to further confuse an already complex situation."

BB nodded.

"One last thing, Ms. Baines," said Mr. E. "I think you're going to have to find a new job and perhaps a new place to live."

"I know," she replied, "I'm never coming back here. As soon as I deliver these children to their school, I'm picking up my children and leaving town. Come along boys!" She led the football players around the final bend in the road and onto the bus. Mr. E., Will and Iggy waited for the bus to pull away down West Observatory Road before they made their next move.

"It's time for some straight talk, boys. First we're going to get as far away from this place as possible, and then we're going to have a conversation."

"We're not going to wait for the authorities?" asked Iggy.

"No Ignacio. From what I just witnessed from you two and Mr. Marsh, I don't think the authorities are going to be of any help. For now, let's just say I know it wasn't special effects. Now let's find Ms. Baines' car and get out of here."

"I know where she parks it," said Iggy. "Can I help push your wheelchair?"

"No, thank you. Out here in the open air, I get around just find by myself. Just lead the way, I'll be right behind you," answered Mr. E.

Iggy, closely followed by Will, started walking briskly up the remainder of the hill towards the back of the Institute. Iggy looked back and saw that Mr. E. was right behind them in his wheelchair, gliding up a slight incline without putting his hands on his wheels' push rims.

"You can pick up the pace," said Mr. E., "I'll keep up."

Iggy and Will started to run, and sure enough, Mr. E. was right behind them.

BB's car was a silver, mid-sized sedan. Mr. E. pressed the unlock button on the key and asked, "I can manage if I have to, but do either of you two know how to drive?"

Will gave a questioning look at Iggy, but Iggy responded, "I do, but I'm not very comfortable on the freeways."

Mr. E. unlocked the trunk and threw Iggy the keys. "Very well Ignacio, you drive. Will, please put my chair in the trunk." Mr. E. then opened the passenger side back door and pulled himself into the back seat as if floating on a cushion of air.

Will stored the wheelchair in the trunk and joined Mr. E. in the back seat.

Iggy started the car and backed it out of the parking space. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"I don't know yet. Just get us off this hill," said the Science teacher.

"Mr. E.," said Will, "Can we go to Santa Monika Hospital? That's where Pikabo is with her father."

"Very well. Mr. Quemador, head in that direction. You can stick to the surface streets. Mr. Banks, tell me what's going on. Start with how Ms. Rivers and her father are involved."

Will, with a little help from Iggy, divulged everything to Mr. E. during the 50 minute drive to the hospital. Will was quite relieved to finally share the secrets of the past three months with an adult he felt he could trust. Surprisingly, Mr. E. never looked confused or cynical. He stayed quiet, listened attentively, and only nodded. Will covered the abduction and imprisonment of Dr. Rivers, his and Iggy's special powers, Maggie's attack, the field book, the four alternate worlds, the portals, the planned invasion from Ignis, and was just finishing the telling of that day's events at the Fiero Institute when Iggy pulled the car into the hospital parking lot.

"...if it weren't for Travis, Tank and the Smart twins, I don't know if we would have made it out of that place," said Will. "And at the time, I didn't have a clue why the aim of Iggy's father's fire stream was so erratic, but I think I know now. Mr. E., was it you making the wind blow?"

Iggy parked the car and shot a confused look at Will.

Mr. E. nodded for the final time and said, "You have been honest and up front with me about your stories and I owe it to both of you to tell my story in return... but not now. Suffice it to say that I believe every word you've said, and I'm one of the few people on this world that would. Now Mr. Banks, please get my chair from the trunk and let's track down Ms. Rivers and see how her father is doing."

Pikabo was in the ER waiting room pacing back and forth when Will, Iggy, and Mr. E. arrived. She saw Will enter and ran over to hug him with tears streaming down her face.

"I was so worried! But you're OK. Iggy too!" Pikabo then saw Mr. E. She stopped talking and looked at Will with her big, bright, tearful eyes.

"It's alright. Mr. E. knows everything. He saved us in the end," said Will. "How's your father?

"He's in recovery. The nurse just told me that the doctor would be out soon to talk to me." Pikabo looked over Will's shoulder and saw a doctor approaching. "I think that's her now."

"Ms. Rivers?" asked the doctor.

"Yes," said Pikabo.

"Ms. Rivers, I'm Doctor Furst. Your father was severely burned on the back of his right thigh and on the heel of his left foot. We've treated the wounds and bandaged him up. He's going to be fine. We just need to stave off infection. Can you tell me how it happened?"

Pikabo didn't know how to answer but Mr. E. interjected, "I can answer that."

"And who are you?" asked Dr. Furst.

"I am Ms. Rivers' science teacher. I was performing an experiment in class and Dr. Rivers had volunteered to assist me. We had an unfortunate accident and the experiment fell to the floor igniting around his foot. He lost his balance and started to fall to the floor resulting in the fire burning the back of his thigh."

"How horrible, I'm sorry to hear that," said Dr. Furst. "Can you tell me the fuel that was burning?"

"Yes. It was hydrogen. Pure hydrogen," stated Mr. E.

"Thank you. This will help in our treatments," said the doctor. She turned back to Pikabo, "Ms. Rivers, your father is being moved to the IKU. I'm sure you want to see him, but you'll need to wait until he's settled. The nurse will let you know when you can go in."

Dr. Furst walked out of the room and Pikabo turned to Mr. E. "How do you know what the fuel was that burned him? He was hit be fireballs!"

"I saw the color of the flames produced by Ignacio's father. They were a distinct bright orange/red color which is unique to hydrogen alone," stated Mr. E. "I understand that your father wasn't attacked by Mr. Marsh, or whatever his real name is, but I'm certain that all of the people with these fire powers, including Mr. Quemador here, burn hydrogen."

Everyone wanted to ask Mr. E. more questions, but they all knew the waiting room was not the place to do so. They all sat down in a corner of the room. Mr. E. stayed in the middle of the room, thinking. After about a minute, he wheeled over to his students.

"I'm going to call the school and make sure the bus returned safely. I need to make a few other phone calls too. I'll meet back up with you three in 30 to 45 minutes," stated Mr. E. "Do not leave this hospital without me," he added.

"OK," said Will for the group. He then added, "We'll either be with Pikabo's dad or we could be visiting my mother, who is also in this hospital. She's in room 3408."

"Very well," said Mr. E. "Stay safe," and he wheeled out of the room.

"So what does he know? What did you tell him? He believed you? How did you get out of the Institute? How –" Pikabo was cut off.

"Easy, easy. One question at a time," interjected Will. "To answer your first question, he knows everything. I've spent the last hour telling him everything we've done and learned over the past three months. And yes, I think he believed everything. There's something we need to tell you about Mr. E. that will answer your last question."

"What?"

"He has some sort of powers too. He can manipulate the air or something."

"He's from Ventus?" proposed Pikabo.

"That's what I think," continued Will. "It's the only thing that makes sense. Anyway, he saved us from Iggy's father by making the streams of fire that were aimed at us go awry."

"And he can push his wheelchair without touching the wheels," added Iggy. "It's like a gust of wind pushes him along."

"Wait a minute," said Pikabo, "Iggy's father shot fireballs at you?"

"Not just fireballs," said Will, "He also shoots streams of fire from both arms, well now just one, that are much more potent than the fireballs, according to Iggy."

Will and Iggy spent the next 20 minutes filling Pikabo in on everything that had happened at the Fiero Institute since she left in the taxi. Their recount was almost complete when the nurse walked into the waiting room.

"Your father is settled and awake. You can see him now," said the nurse.

All three of them stood up when the nurse added, "I'm sorry. Only Ms. Rivers can see him. Family members only allowed in the IKU."

Will turned to Pikabo. "Iggy and I will wait outside the IKU."

"No, that would just be a waste of your time," said Pikabo. "Why don't you guys use this time to visit Maggie. I'll meet up with you there after I see my dad."

"Sounds like a plan," said both Will and Iggy simultaneously.

They all chuckled. The nurse and Pikabo went one direction as Will and Iggy headed towards the elevators.

"Where's the lovely Pikabo?" asked Maggie after Will and Iggy said their hellos.

"She's actually visiting her father downstairs in the IKU," said Will. "There was an accident and he was badly burned."

"Oh my! Is he going to be alright?" asked Maggie.

"Yes, the doctor said he'll recover. How are you doing?"

"They say I'm doing well and may be ready to go home in about a week. But if you ask me, I'm ready to go home right now."

"That's great!" said Will.

Will and Iggy continued to chitchat with Maggie. Will didn't feel Maggie was in the proper place mentally or physically to tell her about the rescue of Dr. Rivers or the fact that three very dangerous men were now after them. After 30 minutes, Pikabo entered the room with Mr. E.

"How is your father, dear?" asked Maggie.

Pikabo shot an unsure look over to Will. She wasn't sure what Will had told her. "Um, he's going to be OK. The doctor said they just have to be careful about an infection, but there's medicine he is getting for that."

Will understood Pikabo's unsure look and added, "I told Maggie there was an accident." The simple sentence updated both Pikabo and Mr. E. that Maggie had been left in the dark about the real happenings of the day.

After Will introduced their Science teacher to Maggie and they all spent a few more minutes chitchatting, Mr. E. asked Maggie for her pardon so he could speak to his students in private. He added that the conversation was related to his Science class and she needn't be bored.

Mr. E. led them to a nearby room that was vacant and shut the door once they were inside.

"I've been very busy," started Mr. E. "I know I need to fill you all in on my story, but for now you just need to trust me. I think you'd all agree that you're in danger of retaliation from those men at the Fiero Institute?

They all three nodded.

"Right. I also believe that your loved ones, specifically Maggie and Dr. Rivers, are also in danger. I've taken the liberty of speaking to my contacts and have arranged for both of them to be transferred to a secure facility. Their care will be equal to if not better than the care they are currently receiving. That leaves you three. You cannot stay in Santa Monika or anywhere near Los Angeles. Ignacio, in the drive over here, you told me that your mother and father divorced before you were born and she moved to the Florida Keys. Do they stay in contact?"

"No, sir. As far as I know, they only communicate when they are discussing where I will be living or when I will be visiting the other, and then only through my mother's lawyer."

"Good. Do you think she would take you three into her home and keep it secret?"

Iggy smiled. "Yes sir. I think she would love that."

"Good. Now next week is spring break. I owe you all a story and I would also like to read this field book you have spoken about. With your permission, I would like to join you on your journey to Florida. We'll spend the better part of next week together. This gives us time to devise a course of action moving forward. Would this be acceptable and if so, Ignacio, would your mother accept me into her home for a few days?"

They all nodded enthusiastically and Iggy said, "I don't think she would mind at all. She's actually told me that she wished she could meet you when I told her about your class."

"OK people. We have no time to waste. We need to immediately swing by your homes and quickly pack your belongings before these bad men are able to track us down. And don't forget that field book."

"I won't," said Will.

"Good. Mr. Banks, say goodbye to Maggie. Make it fast. We will then head down so that Ms. Rivers can do the same to her father. When I can arrange it, you'll both be able to stay in contact with them by phone. I've already taken the liberty to reserve some train tickets cross country. They won't be able to track us if we travel by train as opposed to a plane. The train has stops in Chikago, Illinois and Kapitol City in the Distrikt of Kolumbia and won't arrive in Miami, Florida until Tuesday, which gives Iggy's mother ample time to prepare for our arrival." Mr. E. looked at his watch. "Train leaves in less than two hours. Let's move people!"

****

Chapter Twenty-Seven

History of Mr. E.  
Or  
His Story of Missed Terri

Saturday, 31st March, 2012 KE

"I remember the full moon. It was bigger and brighter than I had ever seen it before. It was the night of the 22nd of December, 1999, and there were three of us leaving the island that this world calls Puerto Riko. We were in a small, eight passenger plane that was filled to the gills with electronic sensor equipment. I was the pilot and knew nothing regarding the mission itself except the heading and elevation at which I was to fly the plane and the coordinates I was told to reach at a specific time. I was young and confident, over confident really. I thought I could control our small plane through any storm."

Mr. E. paused in the telling of his story and Will took the opportunity to add some color commentary, "That date is on the list of dates from the pages of the field book that Maggie had in her bracelet. The Moon was at perigee that night, so it would look quite large."

"Yes," nodded Mr. E., "I'll never forget that Moon..."

Will, Pikabo, Iggy, and Mr. E. all woke up early after spending their first night on the train. Mr. E. had bought tickets for a private sleeping compartment that had two sets of bunk beds. Will and Pikabo took the top bunks with Iggy and Mr. E. below them, respectively. After the physical and mental stress each of them had put their bodies through on the day prior, once they had boarded the train and had found their compartment, they all crashed in their bunks and slept through the night.

In the morning they grabbed some breakfast items from the dining car and returned to their compartment. Mr. E. finished his pastry and began to tell his story that he had promised to tell to his three students.

"...The two men in the plane with me were a navigator, his name was Mr. Vestri, and the leader and financier of the expedition, Mr. Circio. I got the feeling that Vestri knew more about the expedition than I did, but it was Circio that was the brains of the operation. I'm not proud of it, but I took the pilot job just for the money, which was considerable, but no amount of money would make up for what I ended up losing. But I'm getting ahead of myself."

Mr. E, then smiled and some of the life in his voice returned. "Vestri was a character. For the first half of our flight, all he would talk about was how we were entering the Devil's Triangle. I think they call it the Bermuda Triangle on this world. He knew all of the supernatural explanations of why boats and planes would go missing: UFO's, alien abductions, leftover technology from the extinct civilization on Atlantis." Mr. E. was laughing, "Ha! Vestri was a riot."

The smile faded from Mr. E.'s face, "Let me get back to my story. We started from Puerto Riko because it was directly south-south-east of the coordinates and the perfect starting point for the usual prevailing winds to be on our tail. The storm we were heading into was listed as a tropical depression, but was upgraded to a tropical storm just before we took off. Remember, this was late December, and hurricane season usually ends no later than mid-November, so we weren't terribly worried that this tropical storm would ever become a hurricane. We were dead wrong.

"30 minutes after takeoff, we entered the clouds. The glorious Moon that lit up surface of the ocean and made it so easy to fly the plane was gone, and I had to stay level and on course by relying on the plane's instruments. Staying on course wasn't easy. The winds were picking up and our small plane was being tossed about, but I remained confident and managed to stay on course.

"About an hour into the flight, everything changed. The cross winds died down as we escaped the clouds. The big, bright Moon reappeared and we all thought we had made it through the storm. But we hadn't. We didn't know it, but the tropical storm that just an hour prior was only a tropical depression had upgraded to a hurricane, and we were in its eye. We were also just minutes from the designated coordinates. Mr. Circio was practically jumping for joy when he realized that our timing was perfect. He unclipped his seatbelt, sprang from his seat, and started flipping every switch and turning various knobs on his electronic sensor equipment.

"Just before we reached the designated coordinates, Vestri started a countdown from ten as Circio was taking notes from the readings on his equipment. At T-minus eight seconds of Vestri's countdown, the plane quickly lost altitude due to an extreme down-force of wind, but I managed to keep control. At four seconds, which is the last number of the countdown that I remember hearing, all of the plane's instruments went dead and the down-force of wind completely took hold of our plane. We were going down.

"I tried to keep the plane level, but failed. The engines cut out and the plane began to spiral and topple in the wind. The last thing I saw was the full moon directly in front of me. The plane at that moment was facing straight up. That's when things became really strange.

"We were plunged into total darkness, but the spiraling and toppling of the plane seemed to stop. The plane was no longer plummeting to the ocean; its velocity was slowed, softened. The best way I can describe it is that the plane was a trapeze performer being caught by a safety net below, but there was no recoil; no spring back. We came to a full stop, the Moon returned, and we found ourselves in the plane floating on the ocean surface. The light of the Moon illuminated the sky and sea for miles in every direction. The hurricane was gone.

"But now our plane was sinking. I turned to Vestri in the co-pilot's seat but he was dead. I think a heavy piece of equipment got loose as the plane was spiraling and it smashed into his head. I looked back at Circio. He was still alive, but barely. He had cuts and gashes all over his body. I unbuckled my seat belt and tried to get out of the pilot's chair. That's when I realized that I too was injured. During the violent turbulence when the plane was being tossed about, my L4 vertebrae in my lower back partially severed my spinal cord. My legs were paralyzed, but I managed to pull myself to the emergency exit and open it. I was able to grab the inflatable emergency raft and I threw it into the ocean. I pulled the cord and it inflated automatically. I then grabbed Circio and pushed and pulled both of us into the raft just before the plane sunk."

Mr. E. paused in his story. There was an uncomfortable silence that was broken by Pikabo, "That's what you meant by no amount of money could make up for what you ended up losing: the use of your legs."

Mr. E. shook his head. He tried to speak but he found it too difficult. Tears started to well-up in his eyes. It took him well over a minute, but he finally addressed Pikabo's comment, "No. It wasn't losing the use of my legs. It was losing my family. I took that job to be able to better provide for them, but in the end, I lost them."

"Who did you lose?" asked Pikabo, who was now also crying.

"I lost my wife Terri and my three year old daughter. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of them. I miss them both very much. I was sent to a different world and my family was left on Ventus, and they have no way of knowing what happened. They probably think it was the Devil's Triangle. I guess they wouldn't be that far from the truth."

"What's your daughter's name?" asked Pikabo.

"I don't know. On Ventus, it's customary not to name your children until you learn their personality. Children are usually named when they are between the ages of two and four. Terri and I were going to name her when I returned from that trip," explained Mr. E.

Another minute of silence and sorrow filled the room. Mr. E. then pulled himself together and resumed his story, "Circio didn't make it through the night, but before he died, he tried to tell me something. But all he managed to do was repeat the same series of words: Moon, Chomolungma, tablets, and portal."

"Chomo-what-ma?" interjected Iggy.

"Chomolungma is the name of the highest peak on Ventus that this world calls Mount Everest," explained Mr. E.

"Do you know what he was talking about?" asked Will.

"No," said Mr. E., "At the time, the only thing I could think of was that he was having a near-death experience. You know how you hear stories of people who are clinically dead but come back to life. They say they see a bright light and see themselves rising out of their own bodies and up into heaven. I thought he was just giving me the play-by-play of his experience. The Moon was definitely a bright light, and Chomolungma would be the highest point you would see on Ventus before you entered heaven, which would be the portal."

"And the tablets?" asked Will.

"At the time, I didn't have a clue," replied Mr. E. "But since then I think I've figured out what he was really saying. The portal is of course the window between worlds. It's how Will and I both came to Aqua from Terra and Ventus respectively. And over the past 13 years, I've researched the Mount Everest here on Aqua and I found a translated transcript of an interview with one of the Tibetan guides who accompanied an expedition to the top of the mountain. He mentioned a stone tablet with hundreds of markings, but only one marking was shown on the transcription. There wasn't anything else I could glean from the interview, and I haven't found any mention of a tablet in any of my other research on Everest or the Moon."

"Hmmm, for some reason I think I've read the word tablet somewhere. I can't think of it now," said Will. "Do you remember what the marking looked like?"

"Yes," said Mr. E, and he drew the symbol on a piece of paper.

Will looked at the symbol and burst out, "That symbol is in the field book! It's on one of the pages from Maggie's bracelet!"

"And next to that symbol, Dr. Banks wrote the word Cipher," added Iggy.

"But how can that symbol be a cipher?" asked Will. "It's too simple to be a coded message or the key to break a coded message."

"That's only two of the meanings for the word Cipher," said Pikabo. "A cipher can also be a combination of letters or initials put together to form one design." Pikabo focused on the symbol for a few seconds. "It is a cipher!" Pikabo traced four letters hidden in the symbol with her finger as she called them out, "V – I – T – A. It's a cipher for VITA which we learned from the field book is the acronym for the four alternate worlds, Ventus, Ignis, Terra, and Aqua."

"Which are all the Latin words for Wind, Fire, Earth, and Water; and VITA in Latin means life," added Will.

"Fascinating," said Mr. E., "I must read that field book, but first, let me finish my story. Where was I?"

"You're floating in a raft in the middle of the Atlantik Ocean at night," said Pikabo.

"Right," said Mr. E. "I was actually very lucky. Early the next morning, I was picked up by a fishing boat, given warm clothes and fed. They took me to a town just outside of Miami where I stayed with the family of one of the fishermen, the Famosa family. The local clinic took x-rays of my back and informed me that I would be paralyzed for life. The Famosas were so kind. They located a used wheelchair and continued to house and feed me. After a week of getting used to the wheelchair, I was given a job at the family's fish market scaling and deboning the fish. It was in the course of this work that I discovered my powers of creating and manipulating the wind. Being in a wheelchair, I had difficulty reaching things, but found that if I concentrated enough, I could make those items come to me. At first I thought I had telekinesis, but soon realized it was the air that was being manipulated.

"After about two months, I managed to save enough money to purchase a new identity. With some very shady men, I arranged to get a driver's license and a social security number. I stayed with the Famosa family for a few more months and then had enough money to relocate and start a new life. I still stay in touch with the Famosas and visit them from time to time.

"I bounced around a few different cities in the early years; both trying to keep my head above water financially, but also researching how I came to this new world, Aqua. I eventually settled in Santa Monika, and that wasn't by chance. My research led me to read everything Dr. Banks ever published, and once I read the unpublished field book, I'll probably have read everything he ever wrote. I wanted to be close to where he did his work and research, and be close to the people he worked with. He lived in Santa Monika until his death, so I moved there too and have been there now for... well it will be ten years this August."

"Did you know about me? That I too came from another world?" asked Will.

"No. In talking with some of Dr. Bank's colleagues, I did learn that his widow adopted a son, but I had no idea that she actually witnessed you coming through a portal. The first time I thought you may be special was when I witnessed you taking on Mr. Shift and his three heavies on the quad."

"Oh, you saw that?" interjected Will.

"Yes, and you defeated them quite easily. That's when I started watching you closely, but you were very good at keeping your abilities hidden."

"If you don't mind me asking," said Pikabo, "What can you do with your powers?"

"I don't mind," said Mr. E, "but I'd also like to see more of what you two boys can do."

Will and Iggy both nodded.

"OK, I'll start," said Mr. E. "My ability to move or lift objects depends on a few factors. Can I get air underneath or behind the object to move it in the direction I want? Will the surface of an object catch the wind like a sail? Or is the object so aerodynamic that the air is bent around the object? Moving something like fire is easy because it has no mass. Moving something heavy or bolted down is nearly impossible. And my ability is much stronger when I have more open air to work with, so being outside is better than being in a small room."

"Can you fly?" asked both Pikabo and Iggy simultaneously. They both laughed.

"I can't sustain flight," said Mr. E. "I can create short bursts of wind that aid my movement, but my ability is not strong enough to actually make me fly."

"What about distance? Can you move something that is miles away?" asked Pikabo.

"No, I need to be fairly close to the air that I'm manipulating, and more importantly, there can't be a barrier between me and the object I want to blow the wind at. For example, I can move something in this compartment, but I can't move anything outside the window of this train, unless the window was open."

"So Will and Iggy got to see some of your powers, can I get a demonstration?" asked Pikabo in her sweetest voice.

"Sure," said Mr. E. "Let's do an experiment, shall we? Ignacio, why don't you make a small fire in your hand and Will, you stand in the middle of our compartment. Ms. Rivers, you can stay seated in your bunk."

Will stood up and Iggy held a small handful of fire.

Mr. E. lifted his hands and made small movements with them. Pikabo's hair blew straight up, Iggy's fire was extinguished, but Will stood motionless. Mr. E. angled both of his hands at Will. Everyone could hear the whistling of the wind swirling around Will, but he never moved.

Mr. E. dropped his hands and said, "Interesting. You're an immovable object. It's like your feet are bolted to the floor. I couldn't even make you sway!"

"I think I can control my own gravity," said Will.

"And he's super strong and doesn't get hurt," added Pikabo.

"Well," said Will, "Impacts don't hurt me, but we know that things like fire and chemicals can. And I don't do very well in water."

"That's good to know," said Mr. E. "Ignacio, can you create the streams of flames I saw your father generate?"

"I haven't practiced that," said Iggy. "I just found out yesterday that jet streams of fire were even possible. I can create fireballs and throw them, though."

"And fire doesn't hurt him," added Pikabo.

"Except those fire jets from my father were getting more and more painful the longer he focused them on me."

"This is all very good information to have. Thank you," said Mr. E. "Mr. Banks, if you have no objections, I'd like to get a look at that field book of yours. Do you mind if I start reading it?

"No sir, I don't mind," said Will, and he pulled the book from his bag and was going to hand it to Mr. E. when it flew up and out of his hands and down into Mr. E.'s.

"Cool!" said Iggy.

Mr. E. spent the remainder of Saturday and the morning of Sunday reading the field book multiple times, including the two pages that had been torn out and stored in Maggie's bracelet. Will, Pikabo, and Iggy, spent the time walking about the different cars of the train, talking and messing about. The train was scheduled to reach Chikago at 3:15pm on Sunday, and they had a two and a half hour layover before they boarded a new train to Kapitol City, DK. As they were all gathering their bags to depart the train in Chikago, Mr. E. told them that once they were settled on the new train, he wanted to hold a meeting to discuss their plans moving forward.

They didn't have enough time to leave the train terminal during their layover, so Will, Pikabo and Iggy milled about the terminal and sat down for an early dinner in one of the train station's many restaurants. Mr. E. spent his time making phone calls and using a computer in an internet café. They all met up in their new sleeping compartment and the train left for Kapitol City, DK as scheduled at 6:10pm. Once everyone was settled, Mr. E. addressed the group.

"I've read the field book several times and think I have a good understanding of Dr. Bank's theories regarding the portals, the worlds, and the powers. As you three have probably already figured out, every one of Dr. Banks theories and suppositions with regards to these alternate worlds appears to be 100 percent correct. But my main worry and the topic I think we need to discuss does not involve the field book. It involves the invasion of Aqua from the military forces on Ignis."

"Do you think the invasion will still happen?" asked Will. "Iggy took the radio. They have no way of communicating."

"Ignacio has told me exactly what he remembers being said by his father in the radio transmission he overheard. It sounds to me that many of their plans for the attack were already worked out. They were just waiting for word on the date and time of the attack, and that information was relayed in that last transmission. What we still need to figure out are, one, exactly where in the Florida Keys will they create this artificial portal? Two, how can the portal be stopped or disabled? And three, how can we get close enough to stop the attack?"

"Did you say how can we stop the attack?" asked Iggy.

Mr. E. paused for a moment to let the information sink in.

"The invasion is coming," he said, "and I believe we are the only ones on this world with the abilities to stop it."

****

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Friends, All Eyes Make Four  
Or  
Friends Make for Allies

Tuesday, 3rd April, 2012 KE

"Report!" barked the Captain who was sitting at Ms. Baines' desk. Both Sanchez and Tavarez were standing at attention in front of him. "Tavarez, start with the Doctor."

"Sir, Dr. Rivers was treated at Santa Monika Hospital on the 30th of March, but was transferred later that same day," reported Tavarez.

"Where was he transferred to?"

"Unknown, sir. The hospital's written records as well as computer entries only stated the time of his transfer. They had no record of where he was transferred to. I repeated my search of all the hospitals in Southern Kalifornia and even expanded my search to the entire continent, but there was no record of Dr. Rivers, or anyone matching his injuries being treated or admitted to any other medical facility."

The Captain slammed his fist on the desk. The varnish on the wooden surface started to smoke from the intense heat.

"Sanchez, report on my son and his two friends." The Captain said the word friends with disgust.

"Sir, subjects were last seen at the Santa Monika Hospital on the 30th of March, but their current location is unknown. I've searched and staked out both the Banks' home and the Rivers' apartment, but no one has been in or out of either location. The airports have no record of them taking any flights."

"What have you found out about the teacher?"

"Sir, I've searched and staked out the residence of Mr. Euroauster," replied Sanchez. "There's been no sign of him. His minivan was seen in his school's parking lot on the 30th of March, but it was not there later that afternoon."

"Did he report for work yesterday or today?"

"Sir, the school is on break for the week. There is no one there," responded Sanchez.

The Captain shot a fireball at the window that set the drapes aflame.

"Sanchez, take care of that," ordered the Captain.

"Tavarez, report on Ms. Baines."

"Sir, Ms. Baines' residence is empty," said Tavarez. "Her car has been located at Union Station downtown, but as you know the rail and bus companies do not require identification to board their vehicles and there's no record of Ms. Baines in either their written or computer files."

The Captain torched the opposite set of drapes on the other side of the window. Sanchez ran over to put out the flames. The Captain sat quiet at the desk and the varnish started to smoke again where his hands were. Sanchez finished extinguishing the fires and returned to standing at attention in front of the Captain.

"Very well," said the Captain in an overly calm and calculated manner. "None of this matters. We have a new mission to undertake. You both thought your jump in rank from Seaman to Lieutenant was good, how does the rank of Commander sound? Pack your bags. We leave for Florida tonight."

The 99 and a half hour cross-country train ride ended when the train pulled into the Miami station at 6:55pm on Tuesday.

"My mother always sends a helicopter to pick me up when I visit her, why aren't we taking one now?" asked Iggy.

"Helicopter flights in and out of an airport are tracked," explained Mr. E. "We can't leave any trace or clue that we've been in Miami or worse, have been shuttled to your mother's island. No, I have arranged a different mode of transportation; one that I know will be kept secret, and we can have a fine home-cooked meal in the process."

After a 45 minute taxi ride, they reached a small fishing village on the coast south of Miami.

"Grab your bags from the trunk, they've been holding up dinner for us," said Mr. E. with a smile on his face he couldn't hide if he wanted to.

The Famosa house was not handicapped equipped with only stairs accessing the front door, so Mr. E. motioned to his students to follow him around to the back. He opened the side gate and rolled down a slight downslope to the back yard.

"Amigo!" shouted 25 Famosas all at once. Four generations of Famosas were milling about the backyard and upon seeing Mr. E., everyone over the age of 15 came over to him and gave him a hug and a kiss.

"Siéntese! Sit everyone!" said Maria Famosa, the matriarch of the family. "Amigo, you and your estudiantes sit at the end so everyone can see you."

Mr. E. rolled his wheelchair up to the head of the table where there was no chair. Pikabo noticed that all of the girls and women sat on one side of the long table and the boys and men on the other, so she motioned to Will and Iggy as to where they should sit.

Maria's husband Juan-Karlos, the fisherman that pulled Mr. E. out of the water over twelve years ago, blessed the food and everyone dug in.

"So why do they all call you Amigo?" asked Pikabo.

"I guess I skipped over that part in my story. I was very confused and skeptical of where I was and who they were so I didn't tell them my name for a few days. They all called me Amigo and it just stuck," explained Mr. E.

The food was some of the best any of them had ever had. They all helped themselves to seconds and cleaned their plates. Will, Pikabo, and Iggy went off to play with the younger children who dragged them away from the table. Mr. E. was in the opposite corner of the yard talking to Juan-Karlos and a few other fishermen.

With their guests' late arrival, the young children's after dinner playtime was cut short and they were told to go to bed after only 20 minutes of running around. Mr. E. finished up his conversation with Juan-Karlos and met up with his students.

"Mr. Famosa will be taking us to Ms. Quemador's island early tomorrow morning on his fishing boat. The boat departs at four in the morning, but we're still adjusting to east coast time, so it won't be so bad. Mrs. Famosa has laid out some bedding in her living room. We'll sleep there," instructed Mr. E.

"Pikabo and I would like to know when we could talk to Dr. Rivers and Maggie," said Will.

"Yes, of course," replied Mr. E. "I'll arrange for them to call when we arrive at the Quemador estate."

"Thank you," said both Will and Pikabo.

They all were exhausted and headed straight to bed. Wake-up time was less than five hours away.

They awoke Wednesday morning before the Sun was up, quickly gathered their bags, and were given fruit and sweet bread to take and eat on the boat. The Famosa's main fishing boat could not afford to miss even one morning of fishing, so Juan-Karlos captained a smaller fishing vessel with only two other crew members to shuttle Mr. E. and his students to Iggy's mother's island. Even at full speed, the trip took many hours, and all four of the land-lovers had deposited their breakfast into the sea before the boat had even reached its halfway point.

The Quemador estate was about 100 nautical miles from the Famosa's shipyard outside of Miami. Located in the Middle Keys, the estate was about 40 miles down the 100 mile Overseas Highway that ran between Key Largo and Key West. The highway, however, did not access any of the Quemador's three keys, nor did it connect to the two keys Sophia Quemador lost to her ex-husband in her divorce settlement. All five islands were only accessible by boat or helicopter.

When they finally arrived on the nine acre Florida key, the head caretaker of the Quemador estate, Mr. Henry, was on the dock to meet them with his 13 year old daughter, Kozzie. Mr. Henry was of Jamaikan descent and served as caretaker of the island estate for over 20 years. He was in charge of a staff of three, which included his wife Zola.

Iggy was the first one off the boat to greet Mr. Henry and Kozzie.

"Mr. Henry, how are you?" asked Iggy.

"Lookin at yu, di betta one," replied Mr. Henry in his Jamaikan slang. "Pop story gi mi!"

Iggy looked at Kozzie with a look that said, as usual, I don't understand what he just said. Can you translate?

Kozzie obliged, "He says he is not doing as well as you are. Then he asked you to tell him a story, you know, tell him what's up."

"Oh, um," Iggy stammered, "We came to visit my mom. We're on spring break."

Will, Pikabo, and Mr. E. had all come ashore and joined Iggy.

"Let me introduce my friends, this is Pikabo, Will, and our teacher, Mr. E.," said Iggy. "Guys, this is the caretaker, Mr. Henry and his daughter, Kozzie."

Mr. Henry and Kozzie shook everyone's hands and Mr. Henry looked at Mr. E. and asked, "Yu come wid yu two long han?"

Will, Pikabo and Mr. E. looked at Iggy. Iggy looked at Kozzie.

Kozzie translated, "He asked if you came with your two long hands. He means to ask if you came empty-handed, without bags?"

"Oh no," said Mr. E., "Mr. Famosa is unloading our bags right now." They all turned and saw four bags on the dock and Mr. Famosa approaching.

Juan-Karlos walked up to Mr. E. and said, "We need to be going, Amigo. We have a long journey back and we still may be able to catch something along the way."

"Very good, Juan-Karlos," said Mr. E., "I can't thank you enough. I'll stay in touch. Please thank Maria again for that wonderful meal last night."

Juan-Karlos nodded and said, "Adios." He jogged back to his boat and it departed as soon as he was aboard.

Kozzie addressed the 15 year olds and said, "I'll help you with your bags."

As the four teenagers walked back down the dock to retrieve the bags, Mr. Henry stared at Mr. E. and asked, "Frah wha pawt yu deh?"

Mr. E. correctly translated part of the question as, from what part you, and looked straight back at Mr. Henry and answered, "Kalifornia. Santa Monika, Kalifornia." He then asked Mr. Henry, "How long have you been living here?"

"From mi yeye deh a mi knee," said Mr. Henry.

Luckily for Mr. E., Kozzie heard the answer and translated, "He said from my eyes were at my knees which means from when he was very young. My grandparents used to be the caretakers on this island. He's lived here since he was five years old."

Mr. Henry again stared at Mr. E. and said, "Yu Fren'. All yeye mek four," and he turned and started to walk away. But after a few steps he looked back and said, "Follow back a mi."

They started following the caretaker and Mr. E. looked at Kozzie who said, "He considers you a trustworthy friend because between your two eyes and his two eyes, all eyes make four. You know, you make direct eye contact. And you've already guessed that he wants you all to follow him."

They followed Mr. Henry into the 5,000 square foot mansion and were led into the spacious dining room where Iggy's mother was already seated at the head of a table set for five. Upon seeing his mother, Iggy ran to her and gave her a big hug and kiss. "Please sit everyone. Lunch is about to be served," said Ms. Quemador.

Iggy sat on one side of the table at the setting nearest his physically disabled mother. Will and Pikabo sat across from Iggy. Mr. E., like Ms. Quemador, sat in his wheelchair at the other end of the table. Ms. Quemador then told Iggy to introduce his travel mates which he did.

"Ms. Quemador, you have a lovely home," said Mr. E.

"Thank you, and please call me Sophia," she said. She then rang a small bell signaling her staff to bring out the first course.

They all had a very nice three-course lunch and the topics of conversation remained light and frivolous. They talked about school and schoolwork, especially Mr. E.'s Science class. However, when they finished their meals, they were all surprised when the conversation turned more serious; not by one of the four cross-country travelers, but by Sophia Quemador.

"Well you four sure do take the cake. We sit through a very pleasant meal and not one of you divulges why you are really here. I wasn't born yesterday. This isn't your normal spring break trip. You take a four-day train ride instead of an airplane to Miami. Then you arrive to this island by fishing boat. Who is going to tell me why you're really here?"

The high-school students' eyes widened as they stared at each other. They then all turned their gazes at Mr. E., but he too was at a loss for words.

Sophia Quemador then surprised them once again. "This has to have something to do with my ex-husband. He's a loathsome and nefarious man. I know too well the aftermath of associating with him; the devastation he leaves in his wake. You want to get as far away from him as possible and you don't want him to find you."

The other four at the table remained silent and still, amazed at the seemingly clairvoyant things they were hearing.

"You got in the middle of one of his plans; maybe you saw something you weren't supposed to see? I know too well his ruthlessness. I thought I got out in time. I thought I put myself and my unborn son far enough away from his poisonous grasp. But he managed to snake his way back into our lives. At first it was only taking our son for one week a year, but something changed two years ago. He wanted Ignacio full-time, but I refused."

Sophia kept a somber visage throughout the diatribe against her ex-husband, but just for a moment, her stone-faced appearance broke down and she had to pause to regain her composure.

"I refused and he retaliated. I'm certain it wasn't an accident that put me in this wheelchair and took away my ability to care for my only son. It was a calculated attack with no regard for anything or anyone except himself and his goal of having Iggy for himself. I don't think I was supposed to live through that accident, but I ended up losing my son and that was all he really wanted. Now I've learned to stay quiet and keep to my little island. He seems to tolerate my existence on these terms."

Tears welled up in Iggy's eyes and he couldn't sit quiet any longer. He stood up and gave his mother the longest hug he had ever given. When they finally disengaged, Iggy looked at Will, Pikabo, and Mr. E. and each of them gave him a nod to go ahead and fill his mother in on why they had come. Iggy started his story with his orders to spy on Pikabo at school. That led him to talk about the capture and imprisonment of Pikabo's father. Each new aspect of Iggy's story cast his father in a more evil shadow, including Maggie's attack, the multiple physical attacks on the three of them by the guards during their two rescue attempts, the lockdown of the Fiero Institute when over 30 students were visiting, and finally the two face to face battles he and Will had with the Captain himself.

Iggy didn't mention anyone's special abilities or the alternate worlds. Nor did he mention that one of these alternate worlds was planning an invasion of Aqua with his father pulling the strings. But Sophia's surprises kept on coming.

"Did your father or his two security guards display any special knack with fire?"

Iggy's jaw dropped open and he shot a quick look at Will, Pikabo, and Mr. E.

Ms. Quemador saw his reaction and said, "I think I have my answer. You've seen their ability with fire." She paused and saw that each of them had bewildered expressions. "Yes, I've caught my ex-husband and his evil henchmen playing with fire in their hands when they didn't think I was around. I'm sure they've used this ability to inflict pain and control people against their will. Is that what they did in these attacks?"

"Yes," said Iggy.

"Right. So you've come across the country to my sanctuary to escape them. How long do you think it will be before he finds you? Or I guess the real question is how badly does he want or need to find you? What did you see or hear that he didn't want you to? Was it more than just rescuing this lovely girl's father? I know him better than anyone. He'll stop at nothing to get what he wants. He tried to murder the mother of his child. With the exception of Iggy, he doesn't even have a blood relationship with any of you. He'll snuff you from existence with all the remorse of snuffing out a candle."

Everyone was silent. No one knew how to respond. After an extended period of awkwardness, Mr. E. downed the remaining water in his glass and took charge of the illuminating situation.

"Sophia, that was a lovely lunch with pleasant conversation. But I am particularly stimulated by your observations regarding your ex-husband as well as your astute deductions as to our predicament. It seems as though we have stumbled upon an unexpected ally and we owe you nothing less than to be completely up front with you," said Mr. E.

Sophia nodded and Mr. E. continued, "I will only be able to stay for a few days and have a lot of research and heavy thinking to do. I shouldn't delay this any further. With your permission, I request to be excused from the table so that I may undertake these tasks posthaste. I leave you in the more-than-capable hands of my three students who each know more about the answers to your questions than I do." Mr. E. shifted his gaze and addressed his students. "Will, Pikabo, Ignacio, please tell Sophia what you told me in the taxi. Leave nothing out. Then fill her in on why we're here and what we need to stop from happening." He returned his gaze to Ms. Quemador, "Sophia, with your permission, is there a quiet room I can use preferably with internet connection and a phone?"

"You can use the study. It's just across the entrance hall. Please, do what you need to do," said Sophia.

"Mr. E.!" blurted Will. "You said you were going to arrange for Maggie and Dr. Rivers to call us?"

"Yes, that's the first thing I am going to do now. I'll come get you both when the call comes in," said Mr. E., and he rolled off to the study.

Will, Pikabo, and Iggy spent the next 45 minutes taking turns retelling the events of the past three months and summarizing what they'd learned from the field book. Ms. Quemador listened quietly and remained emotionless until they reached the topic of the military invasion that would happen somewhere near her island.

"Is that possible? Can they create an artificial portal and transport troops to this world?" she asked.

"Mr. E. thinks it's possible," said Will. "That's probably one of the things he's researching right now. He's trying to figure out how he'd go about creating an effective heat source that would combine the elements of fire and water to create a safe and steady portal from Ignis to Aqua. We know an atomic explosion created the portal that your ex-husband and his henchmen came through, but we also know the event needed precise timing to be effective; and even then, only four of the five men coming through that portal survived. Four people do not constitute an invasion. We think the portal will need to be opened for several minutes to allow for the number of troops that would constitute an army to come through. Mr. E. is researching alternate power sources."

"My thesis in college was about alternate power sources. That was my field of study," said Ms. Quemador. "I think I'll join him and see if I can help." But before she pushed away from the table, Mr. E. poked his head into the dining room.

"Will, Pikabo, you have a phone call," he said.

Will and Pikabo rushed into the study. Will let Pikabo talk to her father first, and after 20 minutes he was handed the phone and spoke with Maggie for another 20 minutes. Both Dr. Rivers and Maggie said they were doing great and being well taken care of. Dr. Rivers still had bandages on his burns which were starting to itch, and the doctors said that was a good thing. Maggie was receiving physical therapy treatments on her right arm and said her vision in her right eye was improving. Both parents said that Mr. E. had filled them in on what was going on and both understood that they could not go back to their homes in Santa Monika. Each conversation ended with lots of love-you's and miss-you's and the parents saying that they couldn't wait to see their child in about a month.

Except for meals, Will, Pikabo and Iggy didn't see Mr. E. or Ms. Quemador for the next two and a half days. Sophia had been working side by side on research with the teacher, and they developed a friendly relationship. In that time, there wasn't much for the students to do, so Iggy showed them all of the amenities of the estate. They spent most of their free time on various watercrafts including a speedboat and a small sailboat, but their favorite was the pair of personal watercraft they could speed around the island on. Kozzie would join Pikabo on one Sea-Runner and Will and Iggy would ride tandem on the other.

It wasn't until breakfast on Friday morning that Mr. E. and Sophia shared their research with the students.

"I'll be leaving in about an hour," said Mr. E. "Sophia has arranged that I accompany Mr. Henry on his weekly supply-gathering trip to the mainland. We'll take a boat to a nearby island that has access to the highway, so our presence here will remain undetected. I need to get back to my lab in Santa Monika and do tests on the theories Sophia and I have come up with. We know the heat source for the artificial portal cannot be electric because all portals disable electrical objects. We also don't think it can be an explosion simply because the mortality risk is too high and it's not a sustainable reaction. We agree that the only viable and reliable heat source will be a chemical reaction. I need to test various chemical reactions on a very small scale and record the heat each produces. Once I narrow down the chemicals that are likely to be involved, I then need to test how we'll be able to counteract and stop the reaction. I must get on an airplane today so that I have the weekend to run these tests before school resumes on Monday. It will be much too dangerous to attempt with a school full of students, faculty, and administration – although losing the school administration wouldn't be a great loss."

"You're travelling by airplane? I thought they can track us if we go by airplane," interjected Pikabo.

"Let's just say I have alternate identification that will not flag that the person traveling is me," answered Mr. E. "Now as I was saying, I will not be returning to teaching, but I have to make a few more contacts and other arrangements before I can return here. We'll stay in contact by phone. Now, none of this will do us any good unless we know exactly where the artificial portal will be produced."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Iggy.

"Interesting that you would be the one asking, for it is you that has hopefully made it possible. We have the handheld radio from Ignis that you took from your father," said Mr. E.

"That was super-powered by a wall of electronic wires and circuits," said Will.

"Yes. We think the extra power was to boost the signal to cover the distance from your father's location on Aqua in the Hollywoodland Hills to wherever this Admiral Alvarez was located on Ignis. The normal range of that handheld radio is only about 400 to 1000 feet, and because it was made on Ignis, it only communicates with that world. We've tested every frequency and all it receives is static on this world... at least on this island. This brings me to what you guys need to do while I'm away."

Mr. E. took a sip of water as his students sat at the edges of the seats in anticipation.

"You need to go out and find a signal from Ignis. You'll need to cover as much open water as you can." Mr. E. pulled out a GPS device and a map of the Florida Keys and tossed them to Will. "Here's a map and a GPS. Go quadrant by quadrant testing every frequency and then cross out that section of the map. Remember the minimum range is 400 feet."

"That's like trying to find a needle in a haystack!" said Pikabo.

"You are correct," answered Ms. Quemador, "But I've circled two islands on the map where you should start your search. They are the islands that my ex-husband was given in our divorce settlement. I've also circled two other uninhabited islands that I own. Mr. Henry is out right now stocking my islands with the extra fuel and provisions that you will need so you'll be able to travel so far away from this island and be able to return."

"This may work," said Will. Pikabo and Iggy nodded.

"It has to," said Mr. E. "But remember, Ignacio's father and his henchmen are out there too. You'll need to spot them and hide before they can spot you. The good news is that they won't be looking for us because they don't know we're in their backyard. But if they identify any of you, our entire plan as well as our lives will literally go up in flames."

****

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Keep Out of Danger  
Or  
Danger! – Keep Out!

Saturday, 7th April, 2012 KE

Will, Pikabo, and Iggy woke up early on Saturday morning to plan the quadrants they were going to cover. They didn't cover many quadrants the day prior because they had to go out on the Sea-Runners. The speedboat wasn't available because Mr. Henry was using it to transport Mr. E. to the Overseas Highway. The range of the water scooters was limited, so they only ventured around the Quemador estate. Today they had the speedboat, so they would be able to increase their range considerably.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, they unfolded the map on the breakfast table.

"OK," said Will, "The two islands owned by Iggy's father are circled in red and are 13 and 25 miles away in opposite directions. But lucky for us, the two islands that Iggy's mother owns, circled in blue, are in good locations to serve as refueling stations."

"Even though the western island is much bigger and would therefore house more troops, the eastern island is closer to both the mainland and the highway. So they both have their pros and cons for being the staging area for an invasion. Let's start with the waters around the closer island; the one east of us," suggested Pikabo. "We won't have to refuel as often and we'll be able to cover more area."

"Sounds like a plan," said both Will and Iggy, looking at each other first so they'd be in perfect unison.

"None of these islands have names. Shall we name them so it's easier to talk about them?" suggested Iggy.

"OK," said Pikabo. "Let's start with your father's islands. This eastern island is shaped like a horseshoe, let's call it Horseshoe Key. The big island farthest to the west looks like..."

They all stared at the shape of the big island.

"I kind of looks like the shape of Kalifornia," said Will.

"Yes," agreed Pikabo. "I can see that. We'll call that one Kalifornia Key. Iggy, what do you want to call your mother's two islands?"

"Well, let's see," said Iggy, looking at the map. "The one to the west doesn't have a distinctive shape, but it's very close to the Seven Mile Bridge so why don't we call it Bridge Key. And our island to the east is shaped like a tadpole."

"So Tadpole Key it is!" confirmed Pikabo.

"Great," said Will. "Now that we have the speedboat we'll start our search around Horseshoe Key, but we'll stop at Tadpole Key first to see what supplies we have and to top off our gas tank."

Pikabo and Iggy looked at each other and said in unison, "Sounds like a plan!"

They spent the next week circling wider and wider around Horseshoe Key. They took turns driving the boat, navigating with the GPS, and cycling through the frequencies of the handheld radio. With each circle around the island, they increased their radius by 800 feet, owing to the fact that the minimum range of the radio was 400 feet. On the seventh day, the wide circle took them so long to complete that they only had enough daylight and gas to complete one trip around the island.

Mr. E. called and spoke to them on Friday evening, the 13th of April. He said he was making progress on narrowing down the possible chemical reactions that could be used to generate the portal. He was also progressing towards ways to stop each reaction. He told his students that it would take him some time to track down and acquire the materials they needed for their mission. He said he hoped to return to the Quemador estate by the 29th of April which would give them one week to plan their mission to stop the invasion. Mr. E. ended the phone call by reiterating how important it was for them to locate a radio signal from Ignis and to keep out of danger.

Later that same evening, Dr. Rivers and Maggie called again and spoke to Pikabo and Will respectively. Everyone said they were doing fine and were just happy to hear each other's voices. Each conversation again ended with plenty of heartfelt love-you's and miss-you's.

On Saturday, April 14th, Will, Pikabo, and Iggy decided to refocus their search for Ignis radio transmissions around the island they named Kalifornia Key. Kozzie, who attended boarding school on the weekdays, had returned to the Quemador estate for the weekend and asked them if she could join their expedition. None of them objected and all were happy to have somebody new to talk to.

The western islands proved to be much more difficult to get to. Not only was Kalifornia Key twice as far from the Quemador estate as Horseshoe Key, but their refueling island, Bridge Key, was also further away from Kalifornia Key. After breakfast, they headed west parallel to the Overseas Highway checking for radio transmissions every 800 feet. When they came alongside the Seven Mile Bridge portion of the highway, they turned south, passed under the bridge, and refueled at Bridge Key.

From Bridge Key, they sped northwest to Kalifornia Key. When the island came into view with the naked eye, Will cut the engine to speak to his friends.

"OK, just like the first day circling Horseshoe Key, we're going to spiral in closer and closer to the island counter-clockwise. We don't want it to look like we're heading straight towards the island in case someone on the island is watching. Everyone keep an eye out for boats on the water or people on the island. If anything looks suspicious, we'll slowly alter our course away from the island until we're out of sight."

Will accelerated the speedboat to a comfortable speed and kept his eyes trained on the island while Pikabo was in charge of the GPS and Iggy the radio. Kozzie sat in the front of the boat and scanned the horizon for other boats. When they finally spiraled in close enough to be able to make out the larger trees, they were traveling south down what would be the Kalifornia coast if it really was a tiny state of Kalifornia. Will turned left at San Diego and made his way east along the southern border that would be Mexiko.

When they turned again and headed north along the Kolorado River, they noticed that the east side of the island was spotted with some nice sandy beaches, but the interior of the island was densely populated with tall trees. Will continued north at safe distance along what would be western Nevada when he thought he spotted something.

"Is that a dock?" shouted Will over the sound of the boat's engine. Everyone stopped looking at their handheld devices and looked at the shoreline.

"I'm not sure," said Iggy.

"Me neither," said Pikabo. "We're still too far away to make out much more than trees."

"Iggy, anything on the radio?" asked Will.

"Still nothing but static," said Iggy.

"OK, our next pass around the island will be closer. Everyone keep their eyes peeled. This will have to be our last pass before we'll need to refuel," said Will.

Will continued north and turned west around the north coast of the island and then back south down the west coast. This side of the island was extremely rocky; no boat would be able to go ashore on the west side of the island.

When they bent around the bottom of the state and headed back north along the eastern shore, they were now twice as close as their previous pass.

"If there's someone on that island that we don't want to run into, we shouldn't get any closer than this," shouted Will. "We're coming up on what I thought was a dock. Everyone keep a lookout."

Will slowed the boat slightly and kept his course north up the coast of the island. As they approached closer to what Will thought was a dock, his suspicions were confirmed by everyone.

"The dock looks to be big enough for a 75 to 100 foot boat to tie to," said Iggy.

"Or a fleet of smaller boats carrying a squadron of troops," deduced Will.

Iggy and Pikabo both nodded.

"Wait! What's that!" shouted Will. And he pointed due west at a point inside the island. "It's glass! I see small flashes of the Sun being reflected by glass that's hidden behind the trees."

"I see it too," said Pikabo

"Me too," said Iggy.

They all stared into the interior of the island when they were startled by a shout.

"Boat!" yelled Kozzie. "I think I see a boat approaching us from the east."

They all spun around and tried to see what Kozzie saw. After a few seconds, they each focused on the correct point on the horizon to see the boat.

"If that's Sanchez, Tavarez, or worse, Iggy's father, we need to hide," said Pikabo.

"It's coming right at us. Surely they've already seen us," said an exasperated Will.

"Yes," agreed Pikabo, "they've seen our boat, but we're too far away for them to see how many of us are on the boat. We're not going to hide the boat; we are going to hide us."

Pikabo turned to Kozzie, "Kozzie, you drive the boat while the three of us try to find hiding spaces. Two of us should be able to fit inside the two bench seats in the front of the boat. One of us will have to hide in the recess below the passenger side windshield and have Kozzie throw some life jackets and towels over them.

"I'll hide under the windshield," said Iggy. "I'm the smallest."

Will and Pikabo flipped up the cushions on the front bench seats and emptied out the extra life jackets that were stored inside.

"Kozzie, use these life jackets and anything else you can find to cover Iggy up," said Pikabo.

"What do I say when they catch us?" asked Kozzie, acting very composed for a 13 year old girl.

"Tell them you're lost and you need to get back to the city of Marathon," said Will.

"OK. You guys better hide, the boat's getting closer," warned Kozzie.

Sanchez and Tavarez were at full speed traveling west in a 30 foot boat named Little Fiero. They were returning to their island headquarters after a long day of preparing the transport zone to be ready to receive the soldiers. They were going to pull Little Fiero into the camouflaged manmade canals just north of the dock when they spotted the speedboat travelling parallel to the island in front of them.

"Looks like there's another party boat out for a joyride around our island," said Sanchez.

"Probably, but we better go check it out. I don't want to find out what would happen if the Captain uncovered that we ignored it," said Tavarez.

Sanchez altered the boat's course slightly and increased his speed to maximum. A minute later, they pulled alongside the other speedboat and both boats cut their engines and drifted to a stop.

"Hello," said Tavarez.

"Greetings," replied Kozzie.

"Is everything OK?" asked Tavarez.

"Everything cook and curry. Yu naa bandulu, nuh true?" replied Kozzie in a thick Jamaikan accent; saying everything is just fine. You're not criminals, right?

Neither Tavarez nor Sanchez understood what Kozzie said, but Tavarez kept asking questions, "What are you doing here? This is a private island."

"Mi always inna crosses," said Kozzie. She then added in very slow, laboring speech, "Mi lost. Dun know how godeh gates, um, how go home. Mi des." She said I always have bad luck. I'm lost. I don't know how to go home. I'm desperate."

"Where's your home?" asked Tavarez, biting the lost Jamaikan girl routine, hook, line, and sinker.

"Marathon. No memba godeh gates."

Tavarez answered, "You're going the wrong way. Marathon is southeast of here. You need to head that way." Tavarez pointed southeast of their current position.

"Mi undastan. Mi muss a go kill mi dead. Tanks, Jake and Johnny," she said, which meant, I understand. I'll get there no matter what. Thanks random Amerikans.

She started the engine, hit the gas, and turned the boat around; only looking back to wave goodbye when she was hundreds of feet away. Sanchez and Tavarez didn't follow.

Kozzie then yelled to her hiding passengers, "Wait another minute until our boat disappears from their view. I'll tell you when." Once they reached the south end of the island, she turned the boat to a southeast heading and yelled, "We're clear! You can all come out now!"

They all escaped from their hiding places and surrounded Kozzie.

"You were amazing!" said Pikabo.

"Great!" said Will.

"Wow!" added Iggy.

Will turned to Pikabo, "Can you give us a heading to Bridge Key from the GPS? We need to gas up."

Pikabo punched a few keys on the device and pointed slightly to the right of their current heading, "We need to go that way," she said.

Once they reached Bridge Key and refueled, they decided to head back to the Quemador Estate even though there was still four hours of sunlight remaining. None of them wanted to push their luck any further.

They didn't talk much on the return trip. They were tired and it was too difficult for all of them to hear what anyone said at the speed the boat was traveling. When they docked the boat and made it back inside the Quemador mansion, they sat in the living room and debriefed about what they just did.

"First of all," said Will, "Kozzie, you made me believe you were a lost little Jamaikan girl – Brilliant. Now, I think the reflecting glass we saw were the barracks that are supposed to house the troops coming over for the invasion. That island is nearly a half mile long and the glass we saw must have been five or six stories high. I think the entire interior of that island is housing for thousands of troops, if not tens or hundreds of thousands."

"Yes, but we haven't received any communication from Ignis on the radio. We don't know where the portal is going to be," said Iggy.

"No, but being stopped by Sanchez and Tavarez might have been the best thing that could have happened to us."

"How?" asked Iggy.

"They were approaching Kalifornia Key from due east. Where were they coming from? Looking at the map, there's nothing but open water."

Iggy and Pikabo both nodded immediately.

"They came from the site we're looking for," said Iggy.

"And it's probably not that far from Kalifornia Key if they have to shuttle the incoming troops there," added Pikabo.

"Exactly," nodded Will.

Kozzie added, "I really don't know what you guys are talking about... but you all seem happy, so I'm happy too."

Everyone laughed.

Will's face then turned serious again, "But now they know what our boat looks like. I don't think we can risk being seen in it again. We'll need to use the Sea-Runners, but they can't make it down to Bridge Key on one tank of gas. We'll need to tow them there and that will take a full day."

"So we'll tow them down on Sunday and come back Monday to do the recon on the Sea-Runners," offered Pikabo.

"I think we need to wait until next weekend," said Will. "Spring break is over. I think three kids on water scooters in the middle of the Florida Keys on a weekday will stand out like a sore thumb. We need to blend in with the weekend warriors, you know, wait for the public to be in and around the area so we're not so conspicuous. And that won't be until Saturday, the 21st."

"That only gives us a week before Mr. E. returns. By then we need to have the exact location of the artificial portal so we can plan how to stop it," said Pikabo.

"I know. It's a big risk, but I think it's a risk we have to take. But if everyone else wants to do it on a weekday, I'll go with the group vote."

Pikabo looked at Iggy. They both shook their heads.

"No," said Pikabo, "You're right. We need to wait a week. The closer we get to the 6th of May, the better our chances of intercepting an Ignis radio broadcast anyway. So what are we going to do for a week?"

"We'll need to spend a day picking up the remaining supplies Mr. Henry left on Tadpole Key, and another day taking those down to Bridge Key. Then next Friday we'll take the Sea-Runners down to Bridge Key too. That leaves three days of free time."

"I don't know about you," said Pikabo, "but I'm going to lay out by the pool and maybe read a book."

Will looked at Iggy and they both nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

Another week went by and they completed all of the tasks they set out to do. Mr. E. called again that Friday and Will updated him on their progress and their plans to go out on the Sea-Runners the next morning. Mr. E. agreed that waiting for the weekend was the safe thing to do, but with their deadline approaching fast, they all needed to start taking some calculated risks if they were to have any success.

Will, Pikabo and Iggy woke up early on Saturday morning. Kozzie was home for the weekend again, but they all agreed it was too dangerous for her to join the recon this time. The threesome boarded the speedboat and raced down to Bridge Key. There they changed watercraft, with Will and Pikabo sharing one Sea-Runner and Iggy going solo on the other. Pikabo sat behind Will and navigated using the GPS. Iggy put the handheld radio in a sealed plastic bag and strapped it down to the seat between his legs so he could toggle through the frequencies with one hand.

They left Bridge Key and travelled due north, a heading that would keep them over a mile east of Kalifornia Key. As they had hoped, it was a very sunny spring day and the weekend warriors were everywhere. There were party yachts, speedboats, sailboats, and catamarans, but most of the watercraft were water scooters like theirs.

"OK," shouted Pikabo into Will's ear, even though they were inches apart. "We've intersected the route we saw Sanchez and Tavarez on last week."

Will cut his engine and Iggy did likewise and they drifted to a stop next to each other.

"Pikabo says we're in the east/west route between Kalifornia Key and the portal location. Why don't you cycle through the frequencies on the radio and see if we get a signal?" asked Will.

Iggy did so but they only heard static as usual.

"OK," said Will, "We'll head east and stop every 800 feet to check the radio. Let's make it look like we're out for a good time. You know, jump over each other's wakes and do donuts and stuff."

"That shouldn't be a problem!" said Iggy as he started up his Sea-Runner, turned the handlebars away from Will and Pikabo, and gunned the throttle. His scooter took off and produced a wall of water that drenched Will. Pikabo's legs got wet, but she managed to keep her head, body, and the GPS dry by hiding behind her driver.

"Don't try to get him back for that," advised Pikabo. "We can't risk getting the radio wet or worse, having an accident and breaking it completely."

"OK," conceded Will, "but I'll get him back later!"

The threesome made seven more stops covering over a mile of water along their route away from Kalifornia Key, but only heard static from the radio. At their eighth stop, they didn't hear anything different, but they thought they saw a buoy floating in the water due east of their position. They made two more stops at 800 feet intervals and were on their way to their eleventh stop when they rode up to the buoy.

"Iggy, look for a signal here," instructed Will. "Pikabo and I will read what's written on the buoy."

Will puttered up to the buoy. Pikabo read the sign aloud that was printed in both English and Spanish.

Danger! – Keep Out!  
Restrikted Area  
Government Sanktioned Testing Area  
Authorized Vehikles and Personnel Only  
Trespassers Subjekt to Imprisonment

"What does the fine print say at the bottom?" asked Will as he maneuvered his Sea-Runner so Pikabo could get a close look.

Pikabo read, "A Klean Energy Projekt Funded by the U.S. Dept. of Energy and Kondukted by the..." she paused and let out a huge sigh.

"Conducted by who?" pressed Will.

"...the Fiero Institute."

"Wow, he's good," said Will. "He's got the government unknowingly funding the invasion of their own country." He turned to Iggy and shouted, "Iggy, you get anything?"

"I don't know, maybe," said Iggy. "Channel nine still has static, but I think I hear faint clicks and squelches too.

Will looked to the north and the east and saw identical buoys lined up approximately every 300 feet for as far as his eyes could see in both directions.

"I don't think we'll have enough fuel to make it around this perimeter. Let's head back to Bridge Key, gas up, get something to eat and drink, and then come straight back to this point."

"Sounds like a plan!" shouted Iggy as he sped off.

They returned two hours later and travelled east outside the southern boundary of the restricted area. They did their best to act like weekend warriors just out for a good time by making lots of turns and spraying each buoy with water as they passed. Every 800 feet they stopped and had Iggy check the radio. Channel nine continued to show promise with barely audible variations in the static. About halfway between their sixth and seventh radio checkpoint they reached the last buoy along the southern boundary and turned north along the eastern boundary with another series of buoys every 300 feet.

They completed the recon on the eastern edge of the restricted area and were at their fourth stop along the northern boundary when Iggy shouted at Will and Pikabo.

"Quiet!" he yelled as he pressed his ear against the radio speaker.

Will and Pikabo immediately stopped their random chit-chat and stared at Iggy. They could see him mouthing words but couldn't hear anything themselves. After over five minutes, Iggy raised his head from the radio and looked at his friends.

"Remember everything I say!" Iggy commanded. "Oxyacetylene test a success." He didn't know how to spell the word but remembered it as oxi-asset-uh-lean. "Burns over 3000 degrees under water. 100 foot diameter aperture. Fleet Admiral Alvarez. Rear Admiral Velasquez."

Will and Pikabo repeated what Iggy told them over and over in their heads until they were confident they would remember. Will then asked, "Did you hear anything else?"

"Yes," said Iggy. "A half million troops ready for transport."

****

Chapter Thirty

The Beginning of the End  
Or  
The End of the Beginning

Sunday, 29th April, 2012 KE

"A half million troops! Five hundred thousand? Are you sure you heard that correctly?" asked Mr. E., who returned to the Quemador estate exactly one week before the invasion.

"Yes sir," answered Iggy. "I heard that number twice in the communication between Fleet Admiral Alvarez and Rear Admiral Velasquez. That's their maximum goal, although it sounded like neither man expected to succeed in transporting that many."

They were all sitting around the dining room table. Sophia Quemador and Mr. E. were in their wheelchairs at the ends of the table, with Will and Pikabo on one side and Iggy on the other.

Mr. E. started to think out loud, "If the underwater apparatus they use is 100 feet in diameter and we assume the portal mouth is just as wide, I guess they could transport up to 200 troops through at a time. In order to mobilize that many men, it would take at least two seconds between each group. So that would be 100 troops each second. They would need to keep the portal open for almost an hour and a half. I don't think the portal can be maintained any longer than 30 minutes, so that would be..." Mr. E. looked to the ceiling and did some math calculations in his head, "180,000 troops."

He looked across the table at Ms. Quemador. "A surprise attack of 180,000 troops would be able to roll through any continent on Aqua; especially considering that each soldier will have fire powers."

"But there were over 25 million troops attacking from the Central Powers during the Great War and they were defeated," said Pikabo.

"Yes, but the Great War was nearly a hundred years ago and Aqua hasn't had a major war since," explained Ms. Quemador. "Our world has been at peace. There is no country with more than 400,000 active troops today, and none of them have special powers. I agree with Mr. E., if 180,000 fire-retardant soldiers invaded any nation on Aqua today, they would be successful."

"And if each soldier had the power to throw fireballs, they could conquer much more than one nation," added Mr. E.

"So you still think they'll be able to create an artificial portal?" asked Will.

"Now that you all have discovered that they'll be burning oxyacetylene, I'm even more confident that they'll be able to. Acetylene has the third hottest flame of any natural chemical compound. The oxy part of the compound is oxygen which helps it burn."

"Why wouldn't they use the first or second hottest compound?" asked Will.

"Dicyanoacetylene burns the hottest, but it's a liquid and therefore would be difficult to discharge and burn evenly under water. The second hottest compound is cyanogen. It's a gas like acetylene, but it's very toxic. The troops would die if exposed to cyanogen at the concentration needed for this sustained reaction."

"So how do we stop them from creating the artificial portal? How do we put out a fire on another world?" asked Iggy.

"Two very good questions, Ignacio," said Mr. E. as if he was teaching his Science class. "Let's first talk about how we'd put out a chemical fire on this world. To understand how to do that, we first need to understand the four components that are needed to sustain a chemical fire. They are fuel, oxygen, heat, and a chain reaction. If we can stop or suppress any one of these four components, the fire will go out. Our fuel and oxygen components are the oxyacetylene. The heat is simply the spark or match that initially lights the fuel. The chain reaction is the combustion of the chemical that feeds more heat to the fire and allows it to continue."

"So which component are we going to block?" asked Iggy.

"Another good question," said Mr. E. "The short answer is that we're going to try and block all four."

"What's the long answer?" asked Will.

"Being that we're on another world from where the actual reaction is taking place, we don't know if any of our attempts will work. That's why we'll try multiple ways to put out the fire."

"But the portals are one-way," said Will. "How can we do anything on Aqua that will affect Ignis when this portal will only go from their world to this one?"

"Well we know that radio transmissions can go back and forth between worlds even without a portal. I'm hoping that one of our fire suppression tactics here on Aqua also affects Ignis whether it travels backwards through the portal or permeates through like a radio signal," explained Mr. E."

"So what are our tactics and how are we going to get close enough inside the restricted area to carry them out?" asked Pikabo.

Mr. E. smiled at Pikabo and then around the table at everyone, "I've spent the last three weeks gathering the equipment and materials we'll need for each fire suppression tactic. To answer the second part of your question, we'll need to work together over the next seven days and come up with the very best plan we can."

Six days later, their plan was set. Will, Pikabo, Iggy, and Mr. E. were each responsible for carrying out a different tactic to stop the 3000 degree fire on Ignis. On the eve of the perigean spring tide, Will, Pikabo and Iggy drove the speedboat down to Bridge Key with the two Sea-Runners in tow and spent the night under the stars. Mr. E. stayed at the Quemador estate. He would join his students early the next morning in the restricted area.

The threesome awoke early on the 6th of May before sunrise. They topped off the gas in each vehicle and departed Bridge Key heading north. Iggy drove the speedboat and Will and Pikabo were on the Sea-Runners. The speedboat was unaltered. The only piece of equipment not normally on the boat was the Ignis handheld radio that Iggy had clipped to his belt. Each Sea-Runner, however, was weighted down with a pair of four-foot long solid metal tanks. The tanks resembled long welding tanks and were laid horizontally in each of the Sea-Runners' foot wells. Both Will's and Pikabo's knees were bent up to their chests because their feet were resting atop the metal tanks instead of comfortably down in the foot wells of their water scooters.

They arrived just outside of the restricted area at the exact location where Iggy had received the radio communication from Ignis eight days earlier. It was 5:30am, 30 minutes before the portal was planned to be generated. Iggy unclipped the handheld radio from his belt, turned it on, and selected channel nine. The radio came to life with short communications between many different people, all in Spanish.

"What are they saying?" asked Pikabo.

"They're going through a series of system checks in preparation for igniting the gas," said Iggy. "I haven't heard the voices of either Alvarez or Velasquez yet."

"Alright, keep listening," said Will. "Mr. E. said to wait until 5:45 before making contact. Have you been practicing your Captain Marquez voice?"

"Yes Fleet Admiral Alvarez," said Iggy in his best impression of his father's military voice. "Thank you, sir. Captain Marquez: Out."

"Pretty good," commended Pikabo, "You're gonna do just fine."

"Thanks," replied Iggy. "Are you guys ready? Are all of your connections still secure?"

Both Will and Pikabo checked the fittings on their hoses that connected both of their metal tanks to a heavy duty nozzle that resembled the end of a fire hose.

"Mine's good," said Pikabo.

"Mine too," added Will. He looked at his watch and said, "I guess Mr. E. should be about ready to take off. He –" Will was cut off by Pikabo.

"The radios!" blurted Pikabo. "Mr. E. said he would contact us by radio when he was within range. We need to put them on."

"I've got them here in this bag," said Iggy as he opened a bag and handed the small radios to his friends and put one on himself. Each radio consisted of a small, battery powered black box that they put in their pockets and a wireless earphone/microphone combo headset that they each fitted to their heads.

"Testing one-two," said Pikabo.

"I hear you loud and clear," said Will.

"Confirmed," said Iggy.

At a 5:45am, Will looked at his watch and told Iggy it was time.

Iggy waited for a pause in the communication he was hearing through the Ignis radio and then spoke into it in Spanish with his best Captain Marquez voice. "Captain Marquez for Fleet Admiral Alvarez. Do you read?" There was five seconds of silence so he repeated his transmission. Five more seconds passed when the speaker crackled to life.

"Captain Marquez! This is Admiral Alvarez. You have missed our last two communication appointments. Explain."

"Sir, I had a radio malfunction on my end. It took me some time to repair," said Iggy in his deep Spanish voice.

"Very well," said Alvarez, "We are proceeding with the transport whether you are ready or not. Holding this position so far above the 11th parallel has taken many lives. We will not be able to hold it even one more day. We are at T-minus 14 minutes from ignition."

"Acknowledged sir," said Iggy. "We are prepared to proceed as well. I can be your eyes and ears as to the status of the portal on this world, sir."

"Very good," said Alvarez, "Stand by."

Iggy lowered the Ignis radio and looked at Will and Pikabo, "So far so good!"

The threesome continued to listen to the chatter on the Ignis radio as Iggy translated. After ten minutes, they heard Mr. E's voice over their headsets.

"I'm on approach. Do you copy?"

"We copy sir," said Pikabo, "We can confirm that the Ignis fire is at T-minus four minutes."

"Close your perimeter to 300 feet once you see me pass overhead. I'll be there in about three minutes," instructed Mr. E.

"We will," said Pikabo.

Iggy had the Ignis radio held up to his right ear opposite the headset earphone that was covering his left. He translated the countdown he heard over the Ignis radio. "Three minutes... Two minutes... 60 seconds, 59, 58, 57."

They all heard a low hum and rumble approaching from the north. A helicopter with both side doors removed flew by only 20 feet above the ocean's surface and passed directly over their heads.

"That's Mr. E.," said Will. "Let's move in."

The component of the chemical reaction that Mr. E. was responsible for trying to stop was heat. His helicopter was equipped with a huge tank of liquid nitrogen that he was going to drop onto Aqua's end of the portal. Their hope was that the subfreezing temperature of the liquid nitrogen would cool down the heat of the reaction on Ignis and put out the flame and shutdown the portal. In a perfect scenario, the liquid nitrogen would also freeze the underwater metal burners that were dispelling the oxyacetylene. The instant change in temperature would make the metal brittle and ultimately shatter. But this would be a perfect scenario and Mr. E. had explained that it was highly unlikely.

Iggy's speedboat and the two Sea-Runners were in position 300 feet from what was to be the portal's location. They each had a distant but clear view of the site both Sanchez and Tavarez had been preparing for over a month. They saw hundreds of wooden lifeboats all tied together to their right. In the middle of the lifeboats was the 30 foot Little Fiero boat that they saw Sanchez and Tavarez in two weeks earlier. 200 feet to their left they saw a larger boat approximately 45 feet long. And overhead, directly above their current position, they saw Mr. E.'s helicopter, hovering.

Iggy resumed translating the countdown, "7, 6, release gas at medium output, 4, 3, 2, initiate spark." Iggy paused, hearing nothing over the Ignis radio and seeing nothing from his vantage point on Aqua. Then he heard and translated, "Flame on. Flame now burning in complete circle."

From their watercraft, Iggy, Will, and Pikabo stared at a point on the ocean that was centered between their enemies' two larger boats. Then the ocean erupted like a volcano in a perfect 100 foot diameter circle. A massive geyser of water was propelled 85 feet into the air. Gravity brought the water back down and it landed on a circular surface about ten feet above sea level and cascaded back into the ocean like a 100 foot diameter circular fountain. Once the cascading water returned to the sea, they could all see a massive spinning vortex made of water and flame protruding 10 feet above the ocean's surface.

Mr. E. was no longer hovering overhead. He left his position the second the water erupted and was now less than 50 feet away from the vortex.

Iggy was listening to the Ignis radio and heard, "Vortex established. Move first squadron into position three and ready first test subject."

A few seconds later, the helicopter slowed to a hover directly over the vortex's opening and released its entire tank of liquid nitrogen. The helicopter didn't wait around like a sitting duck and flew away from the vortex. Neither the Captain, Sanchez, nor Tavarez had time to try and stop the helicopter before it was already flying away.

Pikabo spoke into her headset, "It didn't work. There is no change to the vortex. The liquid nitrogen just flowed over the sides and into the ocean.

Iggy knew it was his turn to get back on the Ignis radio and resume his Captain Marquez impression. "This is Captain Marquez here on Aqua. No vortex on this end," he lied, "Recommend increasing the fuel supply to maximum."

This was the plan to combat the fuel issue. They figured that the Ignis Southern Alliance brass wouldn't simply turn off the gas and go home if they were asked to. So instead, the plan was to have them burn the gas faster. The portal would therefore be open for a shorter time, and fewer troops would be able to invade Aqua.

The plan worked as Iggy heard, "Acknowledged. Increase fuel output to maximum."

Iggy relayed this minor success over his headset. Mr. E. responded, "Very good. Will and Pikabo, it's time to try to knock down the vortex with the Purple-K and foam combination."

In the tanks below Will's feet in the foot wells his Sea-Runner was a powdered chemical called Purple-K. This violet colored dry powder attacked the chain reaction part of the chemical fire. If it could come in contact with the oxyacetylene that was burning, the fire would be put out.

In Pikabo's tanks was a chemical that turned to foam once it mixed with the air. The foam's job was to choke the fire, or decrease the amount of oxygen that was feeding it. Pikabo's job was to follow Will and put down a layer of foam after he sprayed the Purple-K.

As Will and Pikabo sped towards the vortex on their water scooters, Iggy heard Fleet Admiral Alvarez over the radio asking Captain Marquez if there was a visible portal on Aqua. Iggy started his stalling routine, and acted as if his radio was cutting in and out.

"Sorry si-... unable... see... -ortex... nothing hap-... on Aqua."

"Captain, you are cutting in and out. If you can hear us, we are sending the first test subject through the portal in one minute regardless of whether or not you see a vortex on your end," said Alvarez.

Iggy lowered the Ignis radio and shouted into his headset. "They're starting in one minute! This better work!"

Will, followed closely by Pikabo, had just reached the perimeter of the 100 foot wide vortex. He lifted his nozzle and opened its valve full bore. The purple powder shot out of the hose and Will aimed it alternately at the sides of the vortex and up into its mouth. Pikabo did the same with the foam. They completed an entire revolution around the vortex but saw no change in the giant funnel.

Mr. E. was hovering safely nearby and reported what he saw from his eye in the sky, "I see no change in the vortex. Keep circling and use up everything in your tanks. It's our last hope."

"First test subject entering vortex in 30 seconds," voiced a scientist through the Ignis radio.

Iggy relayed the information, "30 seconds until they send the first soldier through!"

"OK!" yelled Will into his headset. It was difficult to hear his own voice with the sound of the vortex spinning, his engine whining, and the purple powder blasting.

"Look out!" shouted Mr. E.

A fireball narrowly missed both Will and Pikabo and passed directly through the gap between them. Sanchez had thrown the ball of fire from the bow of Little Fiero and Tavarez was at the helm closing in on the two Sea-Runners. Mr. E. saw the fireball miss his students and instead hit the outside wall of the vortex. Mr. E. did a double take when the flame hit the funnel because he saw the entire vortex do a quick shake and the top of the vortex dip a few feet. But after a fraction of a second, the vortex returned to its perfectly straight 10 foot height.

"15 seconds!" shouted Iggy.

Mr. E. said to himself, of course, just like the radio signal from the Ignis radio; the only things that can pass through to Ignis are the things that come from Ignis.

"Ignacio, throw a fireball at the vortex," instructed Mr. E.

"I can't throw a fireball 300 feet," said Iggy.

"That's OK. I'll give it a little wind to help it get there. Throw it now and then move your boat closer to the vortex."

Iggy threw a fireball and just before it was going to lose altitude and crash into the ocean, a gust of wind carried it another 200 feet into the side of the vortex. For a fraction of a second, the vortex buckled slightly but then recovered.

"5 seconds until the first soldier comes through!" shouted Iggy as he sped his boat closer to the vortex.

Will and Pikabo were out of Purple-K and foam but were still circling the vortex. They were using the huge funnel as a shield to hide behind and escape Sanchez' fireballs.

"Ignacio, throw as many fireballs as you can at the vortex. I'll make sure they get there," shouted Mr. E. over their radio link.

Iggy threw a barrage of fireballs at the vortex. Each one made the funnel shutter, but it recovered before the next fireball hit.

Will and Pikabo had a clear maneuvering advantage over the 30 foot boat and managed to extend their gap away from Sanchez and Tavarez. They broke from the vortex and were heading away when Mr. E. shouted more orders over his radio, "Will/Pikabo, you need to go back to the vortex and slow down so the boat behind you has a clear target."

"What are you talking about!" protested Will.

"You need to draw their fire. I'll keep you safe. I'm going to redirect their fireballs at the vortex," explained Mr. E.

Iggy shouted over their radio, "There sending the first soldier through!"

All four of them looked at the portal and saw a man rise out of the mouth of the vortex and spill over the side and into the ocean. He was clearly alive as his arms and legs were flailing about during his ten foot drop to the water. Unfortunately for the test subject, a three-foot layer of foam from Pikabo's tanks was still floating on the water's surface, making it impossible for the soldier to take a breath of air.

Iggy heard the voice of Alvarez over the Ignis radio "Captain Marquez, can you confirm that the soldier made it through alive?" Iggy ignored the question and continued to throw fireballs at the vortex. However, Iggy didn't realize that the real Captain Marquez and the 45 foot boat named Fiero II were closing in on him. The Captain shut down Fiero II's engines and drifted to a stop only 20 feet from Iggy's speedboat. Iggy's attention was still focused on hurling fireballs at the vortex. He didn't notice his father standing on the bow of his boat and directing two streams of fire directly at Iggy's back. Iggy was knocked down to the floor of his boat, his t-shirt was burned off, and his boat caught on fire. Iggy ignored the burning interior of the boat and managed to stand up and return fire at his father.

Meanwhile, Will and Pikabo had turned around and slowed to a stop alongside the spinning vortex funnel. Little Fiero also slowed to a stop and Tavarez joined Sanchez on the bow of the boat.

"There's no surrendering today, children," sneered Sanchez. "Any final words?"

"Hit us with all you got then," said Pikabo.

"You two are just lackeys; you're just doormats compared to the Captain," added Will.

The two lackeys summoned up all of their strength and threw their strongest fireballs at Will and Pikabo. The 15 year olds closed their eyes, but the fireballs were redirected into the vortex by Mr. E. from above. The integrity of the vortex was substantially compromised with those two blasts, as it dipped and wobbled for nearly ten seconds. But it again returned to its 10-foot height, and a second soldier was spit out and dropped into the foam-covered ocean.

"You are no match for my power!" boasted the Captain as his fire streams swallowed Iggy's fireballs. "You're pathetic! Weak like your mother. I'm going to kill you and your friends and then finally finish off your mother like I should have years ago."

Iggy became angry. He felt his blood start to boil. He didn't want to believe that his own father tried to kill his mother, but now it was confirmed.

"I'm stronger than you think!" shouted Iggy, and he stopped throwing fireballs, raised both his arms, and produced two streams of fire like his father.

The four fire streams met in the middle and scattered small balls of fire in every direction. After a few seconds, Iggy's streams were overtaking his father's as the intersection of scattering fire began to creep closer to the larger boat, catching it on fire. But the Captain doubled his concentration and the meeting of the streams reversed direction towards his son.

Mr. E. glanced away from Will and Pikabo for a moment and saw the duel between Iggy and his father. He barked into his headset, "Will, Pikabo, you need to evade the fireballs on your own. I need to focus my attention on Iggy."

Will and Pikabo ducked two fireballs that were aimed at their heads, started their Sea-Runners and sped off. Tavarez ran back to the helm of Little Fiero and resumed his pursuit.

Mr. E. saw that Iggy only had a few more seconds before the Captain's power would overtake his young student. He redirected the wind and bent the intersection of the four fire streams toward the vortex. Both Iggy and the Captain continued to focus their hatred at each other, ignoring the fact that the connection of their streams was beginning to bend in the middle.

"Will/Pikabo, try to get one more barrage of fireballs to hit the vortex now!" shouted a straining Mr. E. He was near the point of exhaustion from the overuse of his powers.

The connected, bursting flood of fire from Iggy and his father edged nearer and nearer to the vortex. The once straight funnel seemed to have a mind of its own as it began to cower and bend away from the approaching firestorm. With one final gust of wind from Mr. E., the fire streams penetrated the vortex. At the same time, Will and Pikabo were playing a game of chicken with Little Fiero and they managed to steer clear of Sanchez' fireballs at the last moment. The fireballs impaled the funnel and were the final straw. The vortex wobbled off its axis beyond the point of recovery like a child's top that lost its spin. The flames could be seen travelling down into the vortex.

The spinning funnel of water and fire imploded into itself and disappeared under the surface of the ocean. A second later, a huge plume of water exploded into the air like an enormous geyser. Although Iggy was too preoccupied with his father to notice, the chatter from the Ignis radio turned to panicked shouts and then to static. The energy from the imploding artificial vortex released its deadly wrath on everyone on Ignis that was within 1000 feet.

Back on Aqua, Mr. E. smiled at the sight of the imploding vortex and momentarily let his guard down. Only at the last second did he see the speeding fireball from Tavarez heading for the cockpit of his helicopter. Mr. E. managed to redirect the ball of fire away from the cockpit, but it hit the tail of his whirlybird and destroyed the tail rotor.

The helicopter started to spin out of control and even though he was on the verge of collapse from exhaustion, Mr. E. managed to compensate for the lack of a tail rotor by manipulating the wind.

"I've been hit," he said into his headset. "I've got to set down in the ocean somewhere before I crash or pass out. I'm sorry. I can't help you guys anymore."

Iggy was still battling his father aboard the speedboat that was now engulfed in flames. Iggy managed to hold onto the railing around the bow of the boat as its stern end began to sink. Fiero II was also burning, but was staying afloat. The bow of Iggy's boat was now pointing 45 degrees into the air and Iggy was using it as a shield to protect him from his father's fire streams. But the fiberglass shield wasn't going to hold out much longer from the onslaught it was taking.

"I'm going down too," said Iggy into his headset. "You guys try to get away."

Hanging from the bow, Iggy's feet were now getting wet. The boat was sinking fast. Iggy heard Will's voice in his ear.

"Look behind you!"

Iggy turned and saw Will on his Sea-Runner speeding toward him at maximum velocity. The bow of Iggy's boat was now only four feet out of the water as Will ran his water scooter up the 45-degree ramp. With his super-strength, Will grabbed Iggy with one arm while launching the Sea-Runner 15 feet into the air. In mid-air, Will set down Iggy onto the seat behind him and stuck out his right foot. The scooter skipped on the bow of Fiero II and Will planted his outstretched foot into the Captain's chest and kicked hard. The Captain was sent flying. He twisted and tumbled in the air, completely sailing over the entire 45-foot boat and splashing into the water. Will landed the Sea-Runner hard on the water's surface and Iggy was bounced off his seat. While holding onto the handlebars of the scooter with one hand, Will caught Iggy with his other hand and pulled him back to the water scooter.

"Get out of there!" shouted Pikabo into her headset. "Sanchez and Tavarez are heading your way!"

Will saw Pikabo 100 feet away. He gunned his throttle and headed in her direction. Sanchez and Tavarez quickly fished the Captain out of the water and into Little Fiero and resumed their chase of the kids that just foiled their plans of world conquest.

The Sea-Runners had nearly a 300 foot lead on the pursuit boat, but in the open sea, the small water-jet powered scooters were no match for the 30 foot boat's massive engine.

Iggy looked back and said, "They're gaining on us. At this rate, they'll be on top of us in less than three minutes. Pikabo, if you're leading us to the Seven Mile Bridge or Bridge Key we'll never make it."

Pikabo's voice was heard in the boy's headsets, "What time is it?"

Will didn't know how the time made any difference to their predicament but looked at his watch and shouted back in his microphone anyway. "It's 6:17, why?"

"No time to explain," said Pikabo. "We just might make it. It's our only chance. Follow me." And Pikabo changed her southern course to an easterly one.

"Mr. E., can you still hear us?" shouted Pikabo.

"Yes, but I can't help you," answered Mr. E. "My helicopter is down. I'm in a life raft and it will take me hours to blow myself to the nearest shore once I get my strength back."

"I know. I'm sorry," said Pikabo. "Mr. E., promise us that you'll continue to look after our parents and keep them safe; my dad, Will's mom, and Iggy's mom."

"I will," said Mr. E., "but you three have to keep fighting. Don't give up. You can still get away."

"We're not giving up," said Pikabo, "but we only have one chance I can think of to escape."

Iggy interjected, "They're closing on us! We may only have just over a minute!"

"Iggy," shouted Pikabo, "You have to stall them. Throw fireballs at them or something. You need to buy us another minute!"

Iggy turned backwards in his seat and started lobbing the biggest fireballs he could conjure at the approaching boat, making it swerve left and right. One minute later, the pursuit boat had only made up half of the distance.

"I think I can hold them off for only about 40 seconds more," shouted Iggy as he hurled another lob shot at the boat.

"That's got to be enough," said Pikabo.

Will had finally caught up to Pikabo and looked at the open expanse of ocean in front of them. He thought to himself, where could we possibly be heading? There's nothing we can get to in less than a minute. Then he saw a dark spot on the ocean starting to form directly ahead of them and it came to him.

"The waterspout," he said into his microphone, "You're leading us to the waterspout aren't you?"

"It does us no good to just lead you to the waterspout," said Pikabo. "Our only chance is that I lead you into the waterspout. We just need it to be a long one. They usually don't last longer than 20 seconds, and we're still probably 25 seconds away."

As Pikabo finished her sentence, the dark spot of water started to swirl and condensation formed a vertical spinning tube of water between the ocean and a cumulus cloud hundreds of feet in the sky.

"They're gaining on us," shouted Iggy. "They'll be on top of us in about 20 seconds! Stay low, they're starting to throw fireballs!"

Iggy used his own fireballs to intercept the ones being thrown at them.

Pikabo and Will bent low and pointed their water scooters directly at the waterspout.

Mr. E. had been listening to his students through his headset and understood what they were about to do. "Find my wife and daughter," he said. "Tell them what happened to me. They will help you. Tell them I love them and that I'm sorry."

"We will!" shouted Pikabo.

There was only 50 feet to go to the waterspout, but both Pikabo and Will could tell it was starting to die off. Sanchez, Tavarez, and the Captain had decided that throwing fireballs was doing them no good and now had their sights set on running over the tiny watercraft with their 30-foot boat.

The waterspout was only 15 feet away when the massive V-bottom of Little Fiero rammed into the back of Will and Iggy's Sea-Runner. Only Will's great strength kept the tiny scooter from losing control.

All three watercraft entered the waterspout and were lifted off the water, but just as fast as they felt the lifting sensation, they were softly lowered back down to the ocean. All three watercraft lost power and most of their momentum. The mass of the larger boat sent it drifting past the two water scooters by 20 feet. Both Pikabo and Will tried to restart their engines but their efforts failed. They looked up at Little Fiero and saw the Captain, Sanchez, and Tavarez racing to its stern.

Above their approaching enemy they saw a cloudless sky. Behind them, there was no trail of churned-up water from either of the jet-powered scooters or the propeller of Little Fiero, nor was there any remnant of a waterspout. The ocean was as calm and serene as if they had been adrift for hours.

The three men reached the back of their boat and looked down at the two powerless Sea-Runners. The Captain flashed his sinister smile and held a ten foot flame in his hand. "There's no escaping us now. Our boats are dead in the water, and you three will soon be dead in the water too. Son, your powers have improved, but there's no mystery wind to help you now. Sanchez/Tavarez, we'll kill them one at a time starting with my misguided son. We'll save the girl for last. I want to hear her scream as she watches her friends burn.

The three men from Ignis shot fireballs and streams of fire at Iggy. Pikabo didn't give them the satisfaction of a single scream. Iggy did his best to send fire back at his attackers, but he wasn't strong enough to take on all three of them. He lost his power to fight back and was also losing his ability to resist the burning flames. Iggy's body went limp and he was just about to lose consciousness when a wall of water shot up from the ocean between Iggy and his attackers. The balls and streams of fire were snuffed out on contact with the water. The liquid mass then started to grow and move toward the big boat. It gained size and speed and crashed down on the boat like a tidal wave, pile-driving the men headfirst to the deck of the boat and knocking out each of them.

Will's mouth gaped open as he looked over at Pikabo who was sitting on her Sea-Runner ten feet away. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled. Pikabo then rode over to Will and Iggy, powered by a small wave behind her scooter that appeared out of nowhere.

"Iggy, are you OK?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'll be OK, but it's gonna take me a little longer than usual to recover," said Iggy without lifting his hanging head.

Will was still at a loss for words. With his mouth still agape, he shook his head and gave Pikabo the what-just-happened? arm signal.

"I guess you guys are no longer the only ones with powers," said Pikabo with a wink.

"Well welcome to the club!" said Will.

"Thank you," said Pikabo. She looked at Iggy and then back at Will, "Iggy's too weak to hold onto you. Hop on my scooter and put Iggy in the middle."

Will helped his worn-out friend over to Pikabo's Sea-Runner and then transferred boats himself, wedging Iggy between himself and Pikabo.

"Shall we head to the closest island and hope the people of Ventus welcome us?"

Iggy raised his head and in harmony with Will said, "Sounds like a plan!"

Pikabo produced a wall of water behind her Sea-Runner and they gently rode the wave east towards the rising Sun.

###  
END OF BOOK ONE

Life On Ventus  
The Illusionist's Enigma  
Book Two of the VITA Cycle  
Available Now

About the author:

Rob De Hart was born and raised in West Los Angeles, California. He went to High School in Santa Monica, CA and earned a BA in Psychology from UCLA. He is married and has two teenage children. Life On Aqua – The Astronomer's Cipher is his first book, and the first book in the four-part VITA Cycle.

Connect with Rob De Hart online:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VITAcycle

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lake_Erphan

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/RobDeHart
