Diego and the Rangers of the Vastlantic
Page 19
“Same here,” Paige said. “I know these guys are supposed to be pirates, but they feel more like military. This place is like a base.”
“I was thinking that, too,” Diego said.
“If they were real pirates,” Lucy said, “wouldn’t they be in alliance with the Aeternum, rather than against them?”
“Yeah,” Petey agreed. “And I know they’re getting paid for this, but it doesn’t seem like they care about money. Doesn’t it feel like they’re fighting for something else?”
“It does,” Lucy said.
“Guys,” Diego said. “Isn’t the fact that these guys are soldiers a good thing? I mean, I told you about that photo of Balsamic. He’s a decorated war veteran.”
“Yeah,” Paige said, “but I’d bet blood to bones that they’re not telling us everything.”
“That’s what’s been worrying me,” Lucy said. “I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.”
“Hold on a sec,” Diego said. “Paige, did you say ‘blood to bones’?”
“It’s something Ajax always says. Like while we were trying to shoot down that Zero, he said”—Paige imitated Ajax’s low, monotone voice—“‘By blood to bones . . . I’ll see you in hell!’ What of it?”
“I heard him say that too,” Diego said, “but that’s weird.”
“Why?” Lucy asked.
“Because I heard my mom say something like that,” Diego remembered. “Before she fired at the Aeternum agents in New Chicago.”
“Well, she was in the military,” Lucy said. “Perhaps it was a common phrase during the Chronos War.”
“Maybe,” Diego said, but that seemed like quite a coincidence. He thought of his dad’s capture—Magnus and Balthus had known him. Siobhan had said that they’d worked together in the past. This was another connection, albeit a small one, between two more of the people involved.
The four joined up with the rest of the crew in the map room, sunlight filtering through the windows. Everyone stood around a wide, heavy table. It was covered in charts, but atop the papers lay one giant map, expertly sketched. It was marked with the seal of the Mapmakers of the Vastlantic and signed with over twenty names.
“Here,” the captain said, laying a thick finger on the map where he had placed three small model ships. “This is where Magnus is located and where he’s taken your people.”
“Yorktown?” Petey asked, reading the name above the small cluster of islands at the northern reach of the Islands of the Great Eastern Wall.
“What is left of the former city of New York,” the captain said. “We believe that Magnus is attempting to restore an underwater Elder power station. This is why he needed your family members.”
“My father and brother will never agree to help him,” Lucy said.
“Why would he want to do that?” Diego asked.
“This is no ordinary generator,” the captain said. “The reactor is capable of producing a kind of power that would allow Magnus to control the world, to make it to his liking.”
Diego looked up at the captain, expecting him to continue, but he didn’t. Diego glanced at Petey, who raised his eyebrows like the same question was on his mind: what kind of power was this?
But when the captain spoke again, he moved on. “According to Wallace’s spies, the Aeternum are making runs for supplies while Magnus works. He will have six weeks before the Vastlantic summer storms begin. At that point, Magnus will either have to ride out the summer in Yorktown or rejoin his forces in the European territories. We estimate that Magnus will need five weeks to finish the repairs.”
“If he is on schedule, he’ll depart before the storms,” Gaston added.
“This is not much time for us to find and train new recruits,” Ajax said.
“No,” the captain said. “But if we time our raid right, we can defeat Magnus and rescue our people with a small force.”
“How small?” Paige said.
“Fourteen years ago, Magnus attacked New Chicago with six warships and thirty planes, only to be turned away by a handful of well-trained children not much older than yourselves. One fighter plane with an untested, sixteen-year-old girl at the controls single-handedly destroyed a third of his air squadron and two of his ships.”
Diego found Lucy looking at him with a smile. He felt his face getting red. It was always weird to hear the woman who made him meals and nattered at him to get his homework done spoken of in such a heroic way.
“Numbers alone do not determine victory,” the captain continued. “Courage, determination, and a superior plan win the day. Now, get some rest, and in the morning I will show you how Magnus can be defeated.”
“This mission sounds crazy,” Petey said as they walked back to their room.
Diego agreed, and yet, the thought of his mother beating bigger odds filled him with courage. “We’ve come this far, haven’t we?”
“I guess.”
The two readied for bed, then chatted for a while. Eventually, Diego heard Petey’s breathing settle down to a slow, even rhythm, and soon he was asleep as well.
Only to bolt awake moments later. Diego sat up, breathing hard. He’d had it again.
The dream.
Fly.
The gravity board, Dad disappearing, the girl, the chase through New Chicago to the clock tower, and then everything exploding around him.
But something had been different this time. Even worse. When Diego had looked down at the crowd, he’d seen Paige, Lucy, and Petey there. And then when things fell apart, he lost them too, along with everyone else.
Diego sat there, breathing deeply, reminding himself that it had only been a dream. When he realized that sleep would not be returning anytime soon, he got up and headed to the kitchen. Maybe Siobhan’s trick of warm milk would help.
He was outside the kitchen door when he heard voices: Gaston, Lucy, and Paige. He was about to enter when the door swung open and Paige and Gaston walked out together, both smiling. Paige was holding a sextant.
“Where you two off to?” Diego asked.
“Gaston is taking me out on the balcony to teach me how to take a reading of the moon with the sextant,” Paige said.
“Oh right, a moonlight training session. Is that what they call that on the South side?” Diego asked, chuckling.
“Oh, you’re so funny, Ribera,” Paige said, crossing her arms. “I thought all you North-side pansies were supposed to have good manners. Didn’t your mommy and daddy teach you anything?”
“They taught me how to take a joke, something that you can’t seem to do.”
“Yeah, well, you need to learn to respect your elders, fool,” Paige snapped.
“She does have a point, petit frère,” Gaston said.
“I respect my elders, Paige, but you aren’t my elder. You don’t count. . . . You’re only a little older than me. Do you know what respecting your elders even means?”
“How can you talk about respect? You mean like the respect you showed your father when you yelled at him at that power plant—telling him off? And how you didn’t want to be like him? Was that the kind of respecting you’re talking about?”
Diego felt the heat rise in his face. Words locked in his throat.
“Come along, Paige, the moon and stars await,” Gaston said, pulling on her arm. Paige hesitated, but said nothing and left.
Diego stood there frozen for a second, then rushed into the kitchen.
Lucy looked up from the counter where she was sipping a mug of tea. “Hey—”
“You told her about my dad!” Diego shouted. “The fight—what I said!”
Lucy’s eyes went wide. “Diego, wait. . . .”
“Dammit, Lucy! How could you do that? I mean . . . I didn’t tell anyone else. I trusted you!”
“I—”
“Forget it.” Diego walked out.
“Diego, wait!” Lucy called, but Diego didn’t stop. He ran through the great hall, down the stairs, and straight out of the castle.
He hurr
ied through the dark, fists clenched, muttering to himself. He’d thought she was someone he could trust. But clearly he’d been wrong. That was the last time he went telling anything important to some traitorous girl.
Diego emerged on the beach. Waves lapped at the sand. Moonlight dappled the water. A symphony of insects harmonized from the trees, in all directions. He trudged down to the water’s edge and kicked at the little waves. Then something caught his eye. He turned to see a giant silhouette sitting a little ways up the beach.
“Redford,” Diego said, walking toward him.
Redford’s big head turned, and he offered a short puff of steam.
“Why aren’t you in the hangar, buddy?” Diego asked.
Redford nodded to the sand beneath him.
Diego crouched down beside him. “Oh, good eye. That’s pretty cool.” He traced his finger across the markings in the sand. “A lot of sea animals build nests like these to protect their young. Maybe tonight’s the night . . . you can never tell with Mother Nature.”
Redford turned toward the castle, and Diego heard footsteps padding quietly on the sand.
“You two want some company?”
Diego turned away from Lucy. “What do you want?”
“A chance to explain myself.”
“What’s there to explain? You told Paige about the fight I had with my dad. I didn’t tell anyone about that—not Petey, not my mom. I thought I could trust you.”
“Yes,” Lucy admitted, her voice barely above a whisper, “but . . . you can. I mean, yes, I did tell Paige, but it wasn’t like that. She’s my best friend; we talk about everything, and I didn’t think. . . . I know that doesn’t make it proper, Diego, but it was because I was telling Paige how you were different from what either of us thought. How you and I were actually a lot alike and how we both didn’t agree with what our fathers wanted of us. . . . That’s how it came up. You have to believe me.”
“Oh yeah, I believe you. I believe you were gossiping with your friend, and you told her something I never wanted anyone to know about.”
“Diego . . .”
“You said we were friends,” Diego said, “but . . . you’re a liar. A real friend wouldn’t have told anyone my secret. And . . . we are nothing alike. At least I had the courage to tell my dad what I thought about what he wanted for me. But you, you’re a fake. You act all tough . . . a secret rebel who dresses up and skateboards when her daddy isn’t looking. But you’re a coward. You run and hide from telling him who you are or what you want.”
“That’s—ugh! Stop being such a jerk!” Lucy stomped the sand, and tears glistened in her eyes. “If you really think that, then you’re the one who’s been lying this whole time, acting like a good and decent boy when really you’re self-centered and cruel.”
Lucy stomped off hurriedly, but then stopped and turned around. “I thought you were an amazing boy, and I told Paige what happened with your dad because I wanted her to see that she was wrong about you. To like you too, and to know that . . . you’re a kid with the same kind of problems. But I was wrong—you are exactly what she said you’d be.”
This time, she didn’t turn back.
He sat there, stunned. Part of him wanted to run after her and apologize, while another part of him never wanted to see her again.
There was a creaking of gears, and Redford crouched, looking at Diego.
“What?” Diego said. “Did you hear what she said? Man, she’s a piece of work. She—”
Redford nudged Diego onto his side with his finger.
“Hey,” Diego said, getting to his feet. “What’s your problem?”
Redford extended his finger again, this time pushing Diego backward. He stumbled into the waves.
“You—”
Redford pushed him again, and this time he toppled into the water on his butt.
“Redford!” Diego jumped up, shivering. “Okay, so I was harsh with her, but come on—”
Another push. This time, Diego didn’t go down, but he splashed out up to his knees, the spray soaking him further.
“Okay, fine, I get it. Stop, okay?”
Redford nodded. He turned around and began carving his finger through the sand.
“What are you doing?” Diego asked, shaking as he trudged out of the water. Redford had etched wide lines into the sand. Diego couldn’t make out the shape, so he swung up the side of Redford’s leg until he could stand on his hip. From here, he could easily make out the words Redford had written:
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Turtles and Tactics
Petey and Diego woke the next morning to clothes landing on their beds and Gaston standing in the doorway. “I had to guess at the sizes,” he said. “Captain wants us on the beach in ten minutes. You can grab food on your way past the kitchen.”
“Ten minutes?” Petey asked, rubbing his head. “Why didn’t you wake us sooner?”
“I thought it best if you came down after the others, to avoid any fireworks in the dining hall,” Gaston said. He smiled at Diego. “Petit frère knows what I mean.”
“What gives?” Petey asked.
“I’ll tell you on the way.”
They dressed in the training clothes and headed downstairs, grabbing muffins from the kitchen. As they hurried down to the beach, Diego explained the short version of his fight with Lucy.
“Man, some best friend you are,” Petey said. “You told Lucy about your fight with your old man but you couldn’t tell me?”
“Jeez, Petey, I’m sorry. It was embarrassing, and I felt terrible about it. It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you. I hadn’t told anyone, not even my mom, but then it slipped out when me and Lucy were hanging out.” But he had also felt something . . . different about Lucy.
Petey nodded. “I guess I’m cool with it. But you know you can tell me anything, right?”
“I know,” Diego said. “I won’t make that mistake again.”
Petey slapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, who knows? Maybe she’ll be over it?”
But when they arrived at the beach, Lucy and Paige turned their backs to the boys.
They were lined up along with Gaston and Redford. Seahorse was parked by Redford, and behind the captain was an old World War II navy seaplane.
“You two are late,” the captain said.
Diego glanced at Gaston, but he was standing there, casually looking forward.
“Sorry, sir,” Petey said. “It won’t happen again.”
“Twenty push-ups,” the captain ordered. “Now.”
Diego and Petey dropped to the sand.
“Not just them,” the captain said. “All of you. You are a unit. If one of you is late, you are all late.”
“Fools,” Paige muttered as she and Lucy also dropped to the sand. “You can use your knees,” Paige said to Lucy, showing her how. “You’ll get stronger, stronger than these two for sure.”
“As strong as you, I reckon,” Lucy said, straining between push-ups. “Maybe stronger.”
“That’s my girl!” Paige then proceeded to whip off her twenty in the traditional style. Both girls finished before Diego and Petey.
When they stood up to get in line, Diego and Petey had to move down to the end. There was only a narrow strip of sand left beside the water.
“Hey,” Petey said to Paige, “can you guys give us a little space?”
Paige glanced over coldly. “He can get his feet wet.”
“It’s fine,” Diego said, stepping into the ankle-deep water.
“There will not be time for us to find new recruits and train them before Magnus leaves Yorktown. This mission will be up to us,” the captain said. “So, I have a task for each of you.”
“What’s the plan, sir?” Gaston asked.
As Diego listened, his breath shortened. It was one thing to find yourself in trouble; it was quite another to plan on getting into trouble, to know that danger was coming. He could see it on Petey’s face, and Lucy’s, maybe a glimpse on Paige’s, too.
They took off down the beach, their boots digging in the soft sand. Diego was surprised to see Redford bounding along behind them. Diego heard a bark. Daphne sat in the big robot’s operating chair. Watching.
“At least someone’s having fun,” Petey said, already out of breath.
Diego was nearly seeing spots after the run, feeling like he would never catch his breath. And they’d barely returned before Gaston was ushering them into the water. They took off their boots, dove out past the waves, then swam across the harbor. Diego’s arms burned, and his legs began to ache. He’d never swum so far. He didn’t think he would even make it to shore, but he kept checking on Petey, who looked at him with the same worried expression, and somehow they pushed each other onward.
After a brief rest to dry off in the sun, Diego joined Ajax and the captain at Seahorse, while everyone else went to work on their pieces of the rescue plan.
“You must be able to drive this bot faster and more precisely than ever before, as well as master its deep-water maneuvering capabilities,” the captain said as they loaded inside. “We will have precious little time during the rescue, and there will be no margin for error.”
They spent the rest of the morning practicing diving and breaching, and after a quick respite to wolf down a sandwich, everyone reconvened on the beach for combat training.
Diego noticed Gaston and Paige laughing as they returned from their training, Gaston saying something quietly that led Paige to push him away, grinning.
He also noticed Lucy stalking back to the beach with Petey talking to her, but whatever he was saying, she didn’t want to hear it.