by K. E. Rocha
Aldo came to stand beside Spencer. “Last time I was on the TUBE, I was the guard member making the security check. I didn’t expect to go from checking the train to riding it so soon.”
“Last time I was on the TUBE, I had to hide in a cardboard box to even make it out of the station,” Spencer replied. “At least this time I’m on the team from the beginning.” He noticed Aldo was chewing on something. “What are you eating anyway? It smells … spicy.”
“Ginger root,” Aldo answered, sending a puff of the sweet and spicy scent right into Spencer’s face.
“Gross!” Spencer waved the bear’s breath away.
“It doesn’t taste much better than it smells,” Aldo shrugged. “But Pinky told me ginger root eases pain. And it does make my teeth feel better.”
“What’s wrong with your teeth?” Spencer tried to peer into Aldo’s mouth. The bear sealed his lips together, hiding his fangs.
“Just another toothache,” he growled after a few seconds. “The honey’s sweet enough to be worth a little tooth pain, though.” Aldo added. He licked his lips theatrically.
Spencer laughed. If he loved honey half as much as Aldo did, he’d probably have a toothache, too, and plenty of cavities.
B.D. and Professor Weaver emerged from the front car of the TUBE, deep in conversation. Spencer and Aldo straightened up as the older bears approached.
“Aldo, Spencer, we’ll start the briefing soon,” Professor Weaver said, before stepping onto the passenger car himself. “Time to board the train, operatives.”
Spencer and Aldo hurried across the platform. Boarding the TUBE, Spencer was impressed all over again by how cool the passenger car was. He especially liked the seats shaped like nautilus shells. The segmented hood on top of each seat could be pulled down to seal a passenger inside a reclined, pearly cocoon.
Yude’s green cloak was draped over the side of one of the seats, and Spencer chose to sit as far from the sour bear as possible. He sank into his own cozy shell just as B.D. slid the door at the front of the passenger car open. “We’ll be moving in the next five minutes.” He glanced out the window. “But we might as well begin the briefing.” He disappeared back into the car he had just come from. Spencer, Aldo, Yude, and Professor Weaver left their chosen seats to follow him into the dining room.
Raymond was at the front of the dining area, circling around a tower of boxes. Each box was marked with the image of a chef’s hat. “This is all of it, B.D.,” the chef bear said when the team of operatives entered the car.
“Were you able to include any salmon nuggets, Raymond?” Professor Weaver asked. “For the return trip?”
Spencer eyed the boxes of Raymond’s meals. He hoped there were some salmon nuggets in there. Salmon nuggets were Kate’s favorite food. He knew how happy they’d make her. Obviously, Professor Weaver knew, too.
“There are more salmon nuggets in those boxes than a single cub could eat in a week,” Raymond answered. “But I’d better get off this train before you pull out of here.” The bear lifted a claw to his chef’s hat in a gesture that looked something like a salute, and headed for the door.
“Thank you,” Professor Weaver called after the chef.
As soon as everyone was seated facing B.D., the bear began. “At seven o’clock tomorrow night we will arrive at the TUBE station in Florida. We’ll be met by Evarita, who has already arrived. She’s scouting the site now, testing how we can enter Moon Farm undetected, and arranging our transportation from the TUBE station. Yude, she will be in communication with you regarding strategy.”
“Of course.” Yude’s voice was stronger and more enthusiastic than Spencer had ever heard it. Strategy must be Yude’s specialty.
“This is an overnight mission,” B.D. continued. “We’ll go in after dark and be out of Moon Farm before dawn. The focus of this mission is not to try to stop all of Moon Farm’s operations. We are there to get Kate out. We’ll review the specific details of the mission once Evarita and Yude have been able to communicate. They will download to us what Evarita scouted tonight and combine it with Yude’s prior knowledge of the Moon Farm floor plan.
“But here’s what we already know: Each Moon Farm product is marked with a gold foil tag in the shape of a bear.” B.D. held up a teddy bear with a shiny tag attached to its ear. “Each bear operative going into Moon Farm will have one of these tags attached to their ear. All BEAR-COMs will be left on the TUBE. We’ll be using Ear-COMs for this mission.” Spencer and Aldo exchanged a look. As scary as this mission was starting to sound, Spencer couldn’t help but feel excited. He’d get to use one of the bears’ cooler pieces of equipment for the first time. “Spencer.” B.D. interrupted Spencer’s thoughts. For a second, Spencer thought he was about to get in trouble for letting his mind wander. “Professor Weaver has to put the finishing touches on your Ear-COM tonight, but you will have one by the time we arrive.”
“I’m reprogramming one of your mother’s Ear-COM’s for you, and making it a bit smaller, of course,” Professor Weaver explained.
“Thanks!” Spencer could hardly believe it. He was getting his own high-tech, bear-made operative equipment. Well, almost his own … but that it was once Mom’s made it even more awesome. Spencer imagined himself on a rescue mission with Mom and Dad—three Plain operatives working together, communicating through Ear-COMs … He stopped himself. Before he could go out on bear rescue missions with Mom and Dad, Mom and Dad had to make it back to Bearhaven. Spencer gave his jade bear a quick squeeze. Hopefully, wherever Uncle Mark was, he was getting closer to bringing Mom and Dad home. He had to be.
“Ear-COMs work similarly to BEAR-COMs,” the professor continued. “They translate Ragayo to human language, and vice versa. The Ear-COM is intended to be a more covert device than the BEAR-COM, so it’s much smaller and fits directly into your ear. In order for your words to be heard by another member of this team, you must first say their name. When you say another operative’s name, your Ear-COMs will connect and your words will transmit directly into the ear of your teammate. Of course, if you say multiple names, your Ear-COM will connect with multiple operatives. And finally, to connect to the Ear-COMs of all the operatives on this mission, say ‘team.’ In order to disconnect your Ear-COM, say ‘disconnect.’ It’s as simple as that.” The professor looked to B.D.
“Thank you, Professor. Aldo and Spencer, you are the only operatives who don’t have experience with the Ear-COMs. If you have any additional questions, please speak with Professor Weaver after the briefing.”
Can I keep it? was the only question Spencer could think of. He’d be sure to ask Professor Weaver later.
“The final order of business this evening,” B.D. continued, “is mission packs.”
Mission packs? Spencer had no idea what those were, but they sounded awesome. He hoped there was one for him.
The door behind B.D. opened and Marguerite, the TUBE’s attendant, stepped into the car. The large, dark brown bear was wearing her blue cap and matching blue vest with gold trim. Her honey-colored muzzle was stretched into a wide smile, and she pushed a rolling cart into the car ahead of her.
“ ‘Mission packs’ was my cue to enter,” she said brightly, winking at Spencer. “I’ll leave these with you, B.D.”
“Thank you, Marguerite.” B.D. took the cart.
“Once you’re through with the briefing I’ll come around with tea and a bite to eat,” Marguerite said, then left the way she’d come.
“You will each carry a mission pack tomorrow night,” B.D. said, picking up where he’d left off. “They’re filled with tools and emergency supplies you may need.” Yude, Professor Weaver, and Aldo padded up to the cart. Spencer followed, watching as B.D. passed the bears their mission packs. Each pack was covered in fur that matched the bear who was supposed to wear it. When the bears slipped their head and one leg through the loop, they looked as if they were putting on a messenger bag. Once the mission pack was on, it practically disappeared because it blended so well
with the bear’s fur. It just looked as though each of the bears had gotten a little lumpier on one side.
Maybe I don’t want a mission pack, Spencer thought. It will look like there’s a koala riding on my back!
To Spencer’s relief, when B.D. retrieved Spencer’s mission pack from the cart, it wasn’t furry like the others. It was just a regular black backpack.
“Thanks.” Spencer took the backpack and returned to his seat.
“All right, operatives.” B.D. stood back on his hind legs. “Familiarize yourselves with the contents of your mission packs and get some rest. We have a long ride ahead and you all need to be sharp if—when—we’re going to get Kate out of Moon Farm tomorrow night.”
Spencer stepped into the wardrobe car with his mission pack slung over one shoulder. He couldn’t wait to open it and see what was inside.
The wardrobe car was empty, just like Spencer expected. Only human operatives ever came in here. The bears had no reason to. After all, there wasn’t much anyone could do to make a bear look like anything other than a bear. Mom, Dad, Uncle Mark, and Evarita, on the other hand, could hide their identities behind all kinds of disguises.
Full-length mirrors lined the sides of the car, and on either end there was a big closet, one for women, the other for men. The door to the women’s closet stood open. Spencer could see shelves full of wigs in every length and color, and beside them, a chest of drawers filled with the prosthetics the human operatives used to completely change their appearances. The chest looked just like the one Uncle Mark had shown him in the men’s closet the last time Spencer was on the TUBE.
The last time Spencer saw Mom, he hadn’t recognized her. Not at first. She’d been totally transformed by prosthetics. It had been an accident he’d seen her at all, but on the last rescue mission—getting Ro Ro and her cubs away from Jay Grady’s—Spencer had stumbled into a room where Margo Lalicki was having a video conference call with her boss, Pam. Spencer had been in the room with Margo, on Margo’s side of the call, and Mom had been on the screen, right next to Pam.
Spencer shuddered. Just thinking about Pam’s long nails that curled in an imitation of bear claws made the hair stand up on Spencer’s arms. That man was creepy. And seeing Mom waiting on him—even if she was undercover, and just pretending to be a maid—made Spencer’s stomach twist into angry knots.
Spencer turned to leave the women’s closet. Shelves filled with shoes stretched from floor to ceiling on either side of the door. One of the shelves caught Spencer’s eye. Instead of shoes it was filled with framed photographs. Spencer took a step closer. In one picture, Mom and Dad were both dressed as police officers. They stood on either side of a silver-colored bear. Wait … Spencer looked more closely. The bear between Mom and Dad was Bunny! It must have been taken on the way back from her rescue mission.
Spencer scanned a few more pictures. Mom and Dad were in almost all of them, and Uncle Mark was in some. Spencer looked at the faces of all the bears on their first trips to Bearhaven. He recognized several of the bears, and each picture made him more and more proud of Mom and Dad. They’d saved so many bears, giving so many animals better lives.
Spencer spotted a picture a little farther back on the shelf. He pushed the other frames aside, eager to get a closer look. It was different from the others. Mom and Dad weren’t in disguises, and they weren’t on a return trip. They were in Bearhaven—Spencer could see the Lab right behind them—and there wasn’t a bear standing between them, but a little boy.
Spencer squinted at the picture. He picked it up and stared at the boy’s face. There was no question, the boy was Spencer. But that didn’t make any sense! Spencer had never been to Bearhaven before Mom and Dad disappeared and Uncle Mark brought him there a little over two weeks ago. Had he?
“Then how … ” Spencer whispered. Wait. He suddenly remembered the very first thing Bunny said to him when he arrived in Bearhaven. She’d hugged him and said: “We haven’t seen you in so long.” At the time, her remark hadn’t registered. Spencer had still been in shock, barely used to the idea that bears were actually talking to him, let alone welcoming him to their home.
Suddenly, he heard a bear huff.
“More meddling?” a BEAR-COM translated. Spencer was so startled he dropped the picture frame. The glass shattered when it hit the floor. Spencer looked down at the photo of his family, now surrounded by broken glass, thanks to Yude. Spencer grit his teeth, frustrated. “And more destruction,” Yude added. That was the last straw. Spencer was suddenly furious. He stormed out of the closet.
“WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?!” he yelled. Yude was sitting back on his haunches in the middle of the wardrobe car, his smug expression reflected over and over again by the mirrors that lined the sides of the car. “Why do you have to be so nasty all the time?!” Spencer’s hands were balled into fists, and the satisfied look on Yude’s face was only making Spencer even angrier. “I GET IT, okay?! My parents didn’t rescue you. You don’t owe humans anything. You’re some kind of genius for finding Bearhaven on your own. Congratulations! You don’t need me or my family, so why don’t you just LEAVE. ME. ALONE!”
“You don’t get anything, Spencer,” Yude growled threateningly. He made a popping sound with his jaw. “You’re a spoiled child with no idea about the consequences of your own actions. Kate isn’t the only bear whose life you’ve damaged.” Pop.
Spencer took a step back. What did Yude mean? He didn’t know the consequences of his own actions? Kate wasn’t the only bear … ?
Pop! Yude’s eyes were locked on Spencer.
Spencer took another step back. He knew that sound. Jaw popping was a warning. It was one of the ways bears in the wild showed they were angry, and if whatever was making them angry didn’t stop, it meant the bear could become aggressive and attack.
Spencer knew better than to fight with Yude right now. Mom and Dad always said interactions between humans and bears went badly only because of misunderstandings. If humans understood bear behavior better, and bears understood human behavior better, they’d know how to react to each other’s signals. If they could just communicate, so many lives—human and bear—wouldn’t be lost. Yet here Spencer was, listening to Yude’s jaw pop and recognizing all the signs that Yude was getting angrier and not backing down. He couldn’t help himself.
“I think you’re just a grumpy, old, human-hating bear,” Spencer shot back through gritted teeth.
Yude snarled. He took two quick paces toward Spencer, his teeth flashing way too close to Spencer’s face. Spencer opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. Yude stepped even closer and gave a deep growl. Then it happened.
The images that always made Spencer panic when he climbed ropes in gym class back home or trees in Bearhaven hit him all at once. But for the first time, the images came in order, creating a complete, terrifying memory.
Spencer saw Yude’s face up close to his own. The bear grabbed Spencer, whose head knocked against the metal BEAR-COM around Yude’s neck. Then Spencer’s head started to bleed. Yude grabbed Spencer and carried him—roughly—up into a tall tree. Mom and Dad were screaming up to them from the ground below. Spencer thrashed against Yude, who carried him higher and higher. Then suddenly Yude wasn’t carrying him anymore. Spencer was falling, and fast. He crashed through branches and leaves as he careened toward the ground.
“AHHHHH!!!” A scream tore out of Spencer’s throat, and he realized his eyes were squeezed shut. He forced himself to open them.
“And you wonder why I don’t like humans,” Yude growled. “What’s the matter with you?”
The bear was sitting back on his haunches. There was no sign of the jaw popping Spencer had heard before—Yude looked calm and unamused.
“What happened the first time I came to Bearhaven?” Spencer demanded. “Why did you try to kill me?”
“If I’d wanted to kill you, trust me, you wouldn’t be standing here right now, so be careful what you accuse me of,” Yude snapped. “You don�
��t remember what happened?”
Spencer shook his head, bracing himself for whatever Yude had to say.
“Well, then. That changes things,” Yude began. “You came to Bearhaven for the first time just after I arrived there myself.” His tone was matter-of-fact, as though he was reciting food choices on Raymond’s menu. He drew his green cloak tighter around himself and continued, not looking at Spencer. “I’m not proud of what happened, but recovering from the kind of abuse I suffered was not easy for me. Many of Bearhaven’s bears have suffered at the hands of humans, and recovery is difficult, and different, for each of us.
“I escaped a circus where things were … terrible. I was still adjusting when you and your family came to visit. Being around humans was still hard for me. Even though I knew about your family’s work and involvement in creating Bearhaven, it brought back a lot of pain and anger and confusion to see humans in a place where I was just starting to feel safe.” Yude glanced at Spencer. Spencer stayed silent, his hand wrapped around the jade bear in his pocket.
“You were very young. I don’t know human years well enough to say exactly how old, but you were much smaller than you are now. Your parents were walking you through Bearhaven when they stopped to watch a group of Bear Guard recruits practicing tree climbing. I was one of the recruits. It was one of my first days of training but I was already determined to be the Head of the Guard one day.” Yude’s voice got quieter, and for the first time, Spencer could hear some emotion in it. “I wanted to protect the one place that had started to feel like home to me. Somehow, you got close enough to grab a fistful of my fur. You yanked on it and I reacted without thinking. Everything was clouded by my experience in the circus. I panicked. I grabbed you and climbed up into a tree. You were obviously afraid—so was I—and you squirmed out of my grasp and fell.”