“No. It’s self-contained. It produces no more signal than a Bluetooth headset. Is it comfortable?”
Soren nodded. To Brendan he looked less and less confident. But then he stood up and pulled on his own backpack. “No time like the present.”
“Thank you,” Charlotte said. “This means a lot.”
“Text me before you go in,” Brendan said. Both he and Vlad wished him luck. Tina gave him a hug. And he was off.
Brendan noticed Lucille hadn’t said anything. She shook her head ever so slightly. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“You crack me up. Get all bent out of shape when you see me with Paul or Henry and how they act around me. I see it in your looks. But then you send Soren to do your dirty work like a faithful foot soldier.”
“What’s your problem?” Tina asked.
“No problem at all. Just don’t go taking the moral high ground with me, at least not in my presence. This is a cold play in my book. Your little friend there is out of his depth.”
“Soren just wants to help.”
“Of course he does. But that’s the cost of keeping friends like you. He’d do anything. And Charlotte here? She’s a stranger to him. He has no reason to do this but to make the rest of you like him.”
Vlad shook his head. “I don’t get you. You’re helping us, aren’t you?”
“I am. But I have my own reasons. I’m certainly not doing it for her.” She pointed at Charlotte.
Charlotte put a hand on Vlad’s arm and stepped up to Lucille. Lucille backed away, but Charlotte followed. She took Lucille’s hands, and with the warmest smile said, “For what you have done, thank you. I can’t give you anything but my gratitude. It’s true I don’t know Soren or any of you very well. I’m a stranger here. But to the extent that we have a chance to prevent further harm to others at this school and even another disaster, we need to continue to work together.”
“I…I…” Lucille stammered. Finally, she just nodded.
It gnawed at Brendan’s mind who Charlotte was reminding him of. Then it clicked. The nurse. This was how the nurse had spoken with Officer Foster both times. Something beyond the tone of her words resonated in the pit of Brendan’s stomach, an odd warmth that he didn’t want to end. Had Charlotte worked some sort of mind trick with him? He didn’t think so, but perhaps Paul and Henry felt the same towards Lucille. They understood they were being manipulated and didn’t mind.
“Is this where you vanish again?” Brendan asked.
“No,” Charlotte said. “No more vanishing. I’m here to finish the fight. I’m sorry your father got involved with this, and that he’s now being used to hurt you. We end this all tonight. Soren is our first move. For now, we just need to wait.”
Vlad checked his watch. “Well, do you mind if I catch my calculus class? I’m late, and I have a test.”
***
While inside the science building, Brendan couldn’t connect with the drone. He had to get closer to the admin building. It was agreed that Charlotte should continue to stay out of sight. Tina volunteered to stay with her. Lucille, Henry, and Brendan went to the restaurant, which turned out to be in range of the drone. He fired it up and accessed its camera feed. Soon enough he was hovering the drone in front of the headmaster’s office window, trying as hard as he could to keep it from bobbing.
“Motion attracts attention,” Henry said. He seemed especially interested in the operation of the drone and its software, as if waiting his turn for a game. But Brendan wasn’t about to hand his baby over. There was little wind, and soon he held it rock steady. But there was nothing to see but a portion of the headmaster’s office. The headmaster was there, but he was seated behind his desk and working at his computer.
It all quickly bored Lucille. She left and returned with a tray holding three cups of hot tea. “I added sugar and milk to them all.”
Brendan nodded his thanks but kept his eyes locked on the screen. Soren texted: “I’m in.” “Sitting down.” “Waiting…”
“Roger that,” he wrote back.
After a minute: “Got called in.”
“He’s going in,” Brendan said.
Soren appeared on the tablet screen, the image from inside the office pixelated but stable. The headmaster had his ring off and was rubbing lotion on his hands. Then he rounded the desk as he always did and leaned against it as Soren sat.
“He left his ring off,” Lucille said. “Why did he leave his ring off?”
“I don’t know. Now shut up, I’m concentrating.”
A breeze had picked up, pushing the drone away from the window and down. Brendan worked the controls but overcompensated, sending it too high. He thought it would crash into something out of sight on top of the admin building, but he sent it higher still and got it stabilized.
“Does Henry need to take over?” Lucille asked.
Brendan didn’t reply. He got the drone oriented with the office’s window, and then dropped down ever so slowly. How his father managed to automate a dozen of the things astounded him. They were still speaking, but no audio could be picked up. The ring still rested on the desk. The headmaster stood and offered his hand. Soren took it, and the headmaster pumped it up and down. Charlotte’s bracelet wouldn’t do anything at that range with the ring not even on the man’s hand.
“He doesn’t have the ring on,” Lucille said.
“I know. Wait.”
But she was right. The meeting was over. The handshake ended. The headmaster held a hand towards the door, and Soren was getting up.
Brendan only had a moment before their chance would pass. He pitched the drone forward into a dive towards the window. It slammed into the glass, the image becoming a jumble. He worked the controls, trying to get it to fly up again. All he saw was a blur, and then the headmaster’s face filling the screen. The headmaster shook his head slowly. He wore an expression of disappointment as he did something to the drone. The screen went black.
“What happened?” Lucille asked.
“I crashed the drone into the glass.”
“Why?”
“To get his attention. But he knows it was me. I have to assume he’ll send security looking for me.”
“Let’s go.”
Brendan messaged Soren. “Get out of there. Meet at last spot.”
He got no reply. He waited a moment, willing Soren to respond. Nothing. He had allowed Soren to visit the headmaster. Soren had no reason to be involved. It should have been him.
“I’m heading up there.” He got up and ran from the restaurant. Crossing the pathway between buildings, he saw a pair of security officers walking among a pack of students, but they were speaking with one another and didn’t appear interested in him. Just before he got to the admin building doors, Soren came hurrying out. He looked pale, nervous, and wide eyed. Brendan grabbed him by the elbow and led him away.
“I got it,” Soren said with a nervous laugh. “I got it, I got it, I can’t believe I got it.”
“What, you didn’t actually steal the ring, did you?”
Soren shook his head. “No. But when you crashed the drone into the window I picked the ring up, rubbed it on the bracelet, and put it back. He didn’t see me.”
“You did good. So, I need to ask: are you you?”
“I hope so. I’d be terrified if I became someone else.”
Brendan sighed in relief. “Me too. Don’t ever change.”
***
“You guys get to have all the excitement,” Tina said. “Charlotte had us tour the school basements.”
“I took pictures on the tablet,” Charlotte said. “Let’s see if it matches up with where you saw your father being held.”
They sat together in the front-row seats of the drama theater. None of them had classes there, so Brendan reasoned it would be a good place to meet. Vlad was late, and Lucille had messaged “brt.”
“Lucille’s coming,” he said.
Soren gave the bracelet to Charlotte, handling it like it was an
egg. Charlotte accessed it via her tablet, and a program popped up displaying a fixed-wave pattern.
“Did he get it?” Brendan asked.
Charlotte tapped a few commands and nodded. “He got something. The pattern’s locked in, and I think we’re in business. But there’s always a chance it’s not right. We won’t know until we go back in and test it.”
“And what happens then?”
“We can use his machine and open the door to his world.”
Tina examined the tablet screen but didn’t look impressed. “But we’re not even certain of that, are we? We don’t know what it opens to, or if it does anything. It’s not like we discovered his vulnerability and he’ll dissolve into a puddle of goo.”
“That’s her dad you’re talking about,” Brendan said.
Charlotte chuckled. “That’s not what will happen. All we accomplish if it works is we open a door. Then I go through.”
“Not alone.”
“I guess I won’t be able to talk you out of it. I know you have to find your father. But this could be a dead end. We could get stuck there and not have a way back.”
“It’s all we have to go on. So you have pictures?”
Charlotte swiped the tablet screen and showed Brendan the photos they had taken of the school basements. Several of the shots looked like where his father was being held, with white paint and the same kind of plumbing. There had been so little else to identify. His could be anywhere. But then he pointed at the screen.
“He’s not here. These fire extinguishers are red. The one I saw in the video with my dad were yellow.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It doesn’t matter. He has him. If I can’t get to him to get him back, I’ll find something to use as a bargaining chip. Your dad will have something to break or steal.”
“Remember that he built a machine that destroyed a city. You can’t just start breaking things. It’s too dangerous. If you come with me, I need to know you’ll be careful.”
Brendan just nodded. He felt the old anger rise.
Soon the last period chime sounded and Vlad joined them. He apologized a few times, saying that he’d had some assignments to turn in. Brendan tuned him out. Grades and schoolwork were the furthest things from his mind. He rubbed his temples, closed his eyes, and thought about what else he could do to prepare.
“You dear children.”
Brendan opened his eyes and saw Nurse Dreyfus standing there. They were all surprised to see her there, except for Charlotte, who rose and gave the woman a hug.
***
The nurse hugged Charlotte back firmly and then addressed them as a group. “I understand some of you might be going on a journey.”
Like well-seasoned conspirators, they feigned confusion. Brendan looked at Charlotte and asked, “What did you tell her?”
“She knows,” Charlotte said. “She’s on our side.”
“There are no sides,” the nurse said. “Some just walk without guidance. We all suffer through such periods in our life. It is for us to choose when to abandon our course, even if we don’t realize the path is there open to us.”
Vlad whispered, “What’s she talking about?”
Brendan motioned for him to shush. “What do you know about the headmaster that can help us?”
“I know that he’s come a long way to get here, and that you might be the one who helps him realize his path must be corrected.”
“You’re the first staff member who knows about this. He’s kidnapped my father. He’s behind the attack on the school and did something to Poser and Paul. This is too much for us to handle. You need to help us by calling the police for us.”
“If only it were so simple,” she said. “The authorities won’t be able to help. They won’t see what you’ve seen, even if you show them. The headmaster has taken measures to ensure that. I’ve done what I can to limit the harm he can do to you and your fellow students. If all you wish is to remain safe, I can help. But he and I are at an impasse. His building is where he is strongest, and there I can do little. If your wish is to save your father, you will have to risk all and go there, and I can’t recommend this course.”
“There’s a video on his phone,” Brendan said. “And there’s got to be some evidence linking him to the men that attacked the campus.”
“All this evidence will vanish, if it hasn’t already. I’ve been to the police station. Everyone involved has already been transferred by people Sperry controls. I managed to keep all of the children safe after the attack, except for Paul. He was exchanged for a double from the headmaster’s world. Even now, the headmaster’s looking for you, but he thinks you’ve left campus. The guards will try to apprehend you if they see you.”
“Are you from his world too, like Charlotte says she is?” Tina asked.
“No, dear. But I knew Charlotte was special from the first time I saw her here.”
“Then what can you do to help?”
“Let me take you from here to someplace safe, away from here and away from harm. I can offer you protection, if you accept it. Then I can try to answer some of your questions.”
Tina scowled. “You’re suggesting we not help Brendan.”
“No. I’m offering all of you sanctuary. But it would mean leaving school grounds. Giving up what you seek to do here. I would put you out of harm’s way. That I am able to do.”
“This is all very vague,” Brendan said. “But let me hear the bottom line. What can you do to help me find my father? I’m not running or hiding. Now that we have a way to find out what the headmaster is doing, I’m going to go over to his world and stop him.”
The nurse opened a small clutch. She produced a vial and a set of needleless syringes.
“Charlotte told me you would be set on going. If that is the case, I can give you this.”
“You want to give us drugs?” Tina asked. “No thanks.”
Brendan took the vial and examined it. It was as clear as water, and there was no label. “What is it?”
“Think of it like a vitamin,” Nurse Dreyfus said. “It will have little effect on you here. But when you step over to his world, it will keep you from being at a disadvantage. You will survive the journey without it, but it will be more difficult. Even with the medicine, you’ll find the other side challenging and disorienting. This will help.”
“No way am I injecting anything,” Vlad said.
“It’s not an injection. The syringe is for a measured dose. You simply squirt it on the tongue and swallow.”
“I’m not doing that either.”
“Explain how taking this will help,” Brendan said.
Nurse Dreyfus nodded. “Some Earths are parallel to one another and are close enough to be connected. They are either downstream or upstream. We all consider our own Earth as normal. The headmaster’s home is upstream. When he comes here, or when anyone from his world sets foot here, they bring with them part of their own world that puts them at an advantage. This fades with time as your world aligns them and normalizes them. What I’m offering is a taste of something upstream from his own world that will grant you a benefit to aid you. It’s only temporary.”
Both Vlad and Tina launched into questions about where the nurse procured this mysterious liquid and what it actually was.
Brendan gave the vial back to the nurse. “Set me up.”
As the nurse filled the oral syringe with an ounce of the medicine, Tina said, “Brendan, don’t take that.”
Charlotte was watching Brendan carefully, a look of determination on her face. Brendan took the syringe from the nurse and considered it.
“It will pass through your system in a few hours,” Nurse Dreyfus said. “If you’re going tonight, take it now.”
“Bottoms up.” He squeezed the liquid onto his tongue, expecting anything from a burning sensation to some sort of awful flavor, but all he detected was a hint of a metal taste that reminded him of the tap water back home. Maybe that’s all it was, part of some mind gam
e Charlotte was playing, a ruse to bolster his confidence in his upcoming suicide mission.
Vlad and Tina looked worried.
“I’m fine. So, what’s next?” he asked.
“I could try again to talk you out of this, but I don’t want to waste your time. I’ll do everything in my power to protect you, but once you’re across you will be alone…except for whoever goes with you.”
Brendan looked over at the A.V. Club. “The ask keeps getting bigger.”
Tina held her hand out to the nurse. The nurse filled another syringe, and Tina swallowed it. When she looked at Vlad, he shook his head.
“In case it’s poison, one of us should stay off of it,” Vlad said.
“Smart,” Brendan said.
Nurse Dreyfus looked at them all. She gave a second vial of liquid to Charlotte, then kissed her forehead. “Find me in my office if you decide not to go. All of you.” And then she left.
They stood there for a moment. Charlotte was staring at the theater door as it auto-closed ever so slowly. Brendan watched it too, knowing that as the seconds ticked by, his opportunity of taking an alternate course was fading quickly.
“You’re not buying all this, are you?” Vlad asked.
“Bought it and swallowed it,” Brendan said.
Tina flexed an arm. “When do the superpowers kick in?”
22. The Break-In, Take Three
“I’m on the roof,” Soren texted. “Coast clear.” “Office dark.” “OMG. Heat signature is back!”
“He says we’re clear,” Brendan told the others. “Which could mean the headmaster is inside his special doorway or has left it on. We just need to wait for Lucille.”
She still wasn’t there. Brendan sent her a text.
“Meet you there,” she replied finally.
“Is she coming?” Tina asked.
“She said she was. She didn’t say anything else.”
“Well, I hope she’s not getting cold feet. She still has the card key.”
Supervillain High Page 18