Kensy & Max: Freefall

by Jacqueline Harvey

  The children stood up too and walked to the door. Max opened it and he and Curtis left. Kensy stopped and turned around to face the woman.

  ‘I can’t believe you’re prepared to let innocent people die, Granny. Is this really who you are?’ she said then walked away without waiting for a response.

  Cordelia Spencer sat down and cradled her head in her hands. For several minutes she sat in silence, her thoughts swirling before a bone shuddering sigh racked her body. A lone tear slid the length of her cheek and dropped onto the table. ‘If this is what it takes to keep you safe, my darlings, then yes, I will do whatever is necessary.’ She pulled out a tissue and wiped her eyes then pressed a button on the underside of her desk. A computer screen rose from the flat tabletop.

  ‘Alex, bring up the site plan for the gala, please,’ she said. ‘I think this may take some time.’

  ‘I can’t believe that Granny is doing nothing,’ Kensy said as she stormed into Max and Curtis’s room and threw herself onto the end of her brother’s bed. ‘It’s not right. What if someone else dies?’

  Curtis sat down on his bed too. He was inclined to agree. It seemed a very strange decision.

  ‘Granny has to have her reasons,’ Max said. ‘Maybe she knows things we don’t. She said that sometimes we just have to trust her. I imagine there will be plenty of times when we’re working as agents that we won’t have all the answers and we have to trust our instincts and our counterparts.’

  ‘Stop defending her, Max,’ Kensy huffed. ‘What she’s doing is wrong and you know it! And as for blind faith, look at how that’s worked for us until now. How many times has someone tried to kill us?’

  Kensy lay back and raised her legs in the air then flung herself forward, launching onto the floor. ‘I’m not staying here.’

  ‘What are you suggesting?’ Curtis asked. He didn’t like the idea of going against Dame Spencer’s wishes. He wasn’t even a proper Pharos trainee yet.

  ‘Granny said that we’re not allowed to go out,’ Max said.

  Kensy smirked. ‘Who said anything about leaving the house? I have resources remember, and I think we should do a little bit of reconnaissance.’

  ‘Ferdinand?’ Max said.

  ‘You got it,’ the girl nodded. Kensy scampered off to her room and collected three pairs of glasses and the life-sized remote-controlled bee. She’d inspected him closely after stabbing Javier in the neck the day before and with Alex’s help had made some improvements to the creature’s sound capabilities.

  When she returned the trio made their way to the outdoor terrace on the top floor.

  ‘Okay, so my flying is going to have to be amazing – you two need to wear these and look out for anything I miss,’ Kensy said, handing the boys a pair of glasses each. She’d programmed them to see what Ferdinand could. Extra pairs of eyes would hopefully keep him out of trouble. She then jammed the new earpiece into her left ear.

  ‘Do you want me to fly?’ Max asked.

  Kensy looked at her brother with a deadpan expression. ‘After what you did to him in Paris – you must be joking?’

  The girl launched the creature off the balcony and quickly flew the tiny drone higher and higher, trying to spot the apartment building they had seen Javier enter, making a beeline, so to speak, for the windows. If they could glimpse Javier or that girl inside, then maybe they could see what the pair was up to.

  ‘It’s the one with the green awning,’ Curtis said, amazed that he felt as if he was flying along the street too.

  Kensy zoomed in lower and was about to swoop towards the front door when Max shouted, ‘Look out!’

  She zipped the little creature back into the sky, narrowly missing a tree branch as a high-top truck sped down the street.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said, bringing the bee down again. She hovered outside and almost copped a swipe from the doorman.

  ‘Hey, get outta here, you little pest,’ the man said and took another swing.

  But Kensy was fast. She flew the creature inside the open doorway and looked around. The foyer was far more stylish than the exterior of the red-brick building. There was an elevator off to the left and a polished staircase on the other side.

  ‘What now?’ Max asked. ‘We’re never going to find them. They’ll be inside an apartment. You should have stayed outside and checked the windows.’

  Kensy was about to turn Ferdinand around when the elevator bell rang and the doors opened. Two men got out and one of them was Javier. The other wore a uniform and looked like he was the building’s superintendent.

  ‘Thanks, Fenton. Really appreciate the help with all those boxes and collecting that suit for me,’ Javier said.

  Kensy had landed Ferdinand on the balustrade facing the pair.

  ‘What’s the other guy got in his hand?’ Curtis said, squinting.

  ‘Looks like an envelope,’ Max said.

  ‘Would you mind taking this for me?’ the man in the uniform asked.

  ‘Of course. I should be able to send a letter for you.’ Javier grinned as the other man passed it over.

  The lobby was suddenly crowded with people entering the building. Kensy lifted Ferdinand off the railing and flew him towards the door, but she was too slow. Javier had slipped out and by the time she reached the street there was no sign of him anywhere.

  ‘Darn!’ Kensy exclaimed, sending the little bee soaring into the sky.

  ‘Kensy, what are you doing?’ Max tried to grab the controller, concerned that Ferdinand was about to become roadkill.

  ‘Let go!’ The girl fought him off while Curtis watched the creature flying higher and higher.

  Max stepped back and Kensy calmed down.

  ‘Hey guys, can you see what I see?’ Curtis asked.

  ‘What? An old high-rise apartment building,’ Kensy said.

  ‘Go higher,’ Curtis implored the girl. ‘There!’

  Max spotted it first.

  ‘An eagle,’ the boy gasped. High up in the parapets on the side of the apartment block was a stone eagle. ‘Do you think it could be?’

  ‘The Eagle’s Nest,’ Curtis nodded.

  ‘Go in closer,’ Max said. Kensy flew the bee to the highest windows, but she couldn’t find a way in. The blinds were all closed too. She buzzed from one side of the building to the other, but there was nothing.

  ‘You know it’s not that unusual to have decorations like gargoyles and eagles and things on old buildings,’ Kensy said, a note of disappointment in her voice.

  ‘They’re here!’ The trio heard a voice float through the open patio doors behind them.

  ‘Mum!’ Kensy spun around and ran to the woman, momentarily forgetting about Ferdinand.

  ‘Kensy!’ Max shouted. She gasped and quickly regained control, taking the next minute or so to fly the bee back to the terrace where she landed him gently in her hand.

  ‘Let’s try that again.’ She grimaced and ran to her mother, although Max had beaten her for the first hug.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ Max asked as Ed and Fitz arrived and there were more hugs all round.

  ‘Hi Curtis.’ Ed walked over and shook the boy’s hand and Fitz followed suit.

  ‘Did Granny call you?’ Kensy asked, wondering if they were in trouble.

  ‘No, we decided to come early,’ Ed said. ‘Thought we’d surprise you.’

  ‘Actually we were missing you like mad,’ Anna said. ‘So I managed to bring my surgery roster forward and once I was done there was nothing to keep us in London. Except your father’s work and that’s never going to be any different. Besides we couldn’t let you lot have all the fun.’

  Curtis looked at Max and the pair grinned. Fun – is that what they were having?

  ‘And I thought I’d better get over and make sure that you haven’t been making Song’s life a complete misery,’ Fitz added. ‘I might have missed you a bit too.’

  ‘Naw,’ Kensy pouted then gave the man an extra hug. Truth be told she and Max had been missing Fitz more
than ever. The twins wanted desperately to tell their parents and Fitz everything that had been happening, but they’d promised their grandmother they wouldn’t.

  ‘So we’ve got the whole day tomorrow and then Granny’s gala tomorrow night,’ Ed said. ‘We’ll all go home together on Sunday, although I suspect your grandmother will whisk you all off to Alexandria again – which would be more exciting than staying home in London.’

  ‘Anyway, what were you lot doing up here?’ Fitz asked.

  ‘Showing Ferdinand to Curtis,’ Kensy said.

  ‘Shall we get something to eat?’ Edward said. ‘It smells like Song’s been baking and I’m famished.’

  Kensy linked arms with her mother and the pair headed off, but Curtis and Max lingered behind.

  ‘I’d love to get into that apartment block with the eagle and take a look around,’ Max said.

  Curtis nodded. ‘It seems a bit of a coincidence, don’t you think?’

  Max agreed.

  Ed looked at the boys. ‘What are you two whispering about?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Max grinned. It seemed like for now their investigations would have to wait.

  The family gathered in the kitchen around the giant island while Song made tea and coffee and cut large chunks of freshly baked Victoria sponge.

  ‘So what have you seen of the city so far?’ Ed asked.

  ‘The Rockefeller Centre and Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge and the carousel under the bridge,’ Max reeled off the places they’d been. ‘And we had lunch with Grandmère and Grandpère and Mim at the Boathouse in the park today.’

  ‘You must have exhausted them,’ Ed said. ‘Apparently they’re all upstairs, having a nap.’

  ‘I’m surprised you haven’t done more,’ Anna said. ‘I expected your grandmother would have had you traversing the length and breadth of the city.’

  ‘Granny had to go away for work,’ Max said.

  Ed looked at the boy. ‘When?’

  ‘She had to leave yesterday when we were at the carousel and she only just got back this afternoon,’ Kensy said.

  This was news to Ed. Cordelia hadn’t mentioned anything to him about a work trip and when he’d tried to call yesterday her phone had gone straight to voicemail at least three times.

  Max stared across the quartz benchtop at his sister. He was hoping she wasn’t about to say something out of order. Granny had to have her reasons – and she hadn’t let them down yet. Kensy stared at the boy then shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. Max allowed himself to breathe again.

  ‘Well, where would you like to go tomorrow? We can do something until mid-afternoon and then I’ve booked hair and make-up. I can’t go to the gala looking like something the cat dragged in,’ Anna said.

  Song looked at the woman and nodded his approval. ‘That is very sensible. Do you have a gown, Mrs Spencer?’ he asked.

  ‘I went shopping the other afternoon, but I’m not sure if it’s really me,’ the woman replied. ‘It’s lime-green and sparkly and I suspect I might look a bit like a glitzy tree frog.’

  Song screwed up his nose and Max shoved his hand in his mouth to stop from laughing. Kensy shuddered. Their mother’s fashion faux pas were well known.

  ‘Let me arrange for you to visit one of the local designers this afternoon,’ Song said. ‘I could accompany you if you like.’

  ‘Oh, Song, you’re so sweet, but do you really think that’s necessary?’ Anna said.

  She looked at her family who replied ‘yes’ in unison.

  ‘Please, Mum, let Song take you. He’s got great taste,’ Max said.

  ‘Mum, do it,’ Kensy said. The girl might not have trusted Song with their lives at the moment, but when it came to fashion, there was no one in the family better qualified – apart from Uncle Rupert perhaps.

  ‘You want to look your best around all of Granny’s friends,’ Max said. ‘I could come too.’

  That reminded Anna – she needed to make a call to confirm some arrangements. She was so excited that she’d managed to pull off the surprise without anyone knowing.

  ‘Well, that’s settled. Your mother, Song and Max are off to the shops and I think I might do some work for an hour or so,’ Ed said.

  ‘You mean have a sleep?’ Curtis grinned.

  The man frowned.

  ‘That’s what my dad always says when he’s going for his nana nap in the afternoon,’ the boy said.

  Ed gave Curtis a wink. ‘Your dad sounds like my kind of fellow.’

  ‘And what will you and Kensy get up to?’ Fitz asked.

  Kensy decided to see if she could cajole the man into taking her and Curtis out. Surely Granny wouldn’t object to their parents or Fitz chaperoning them beyond the front door.

  ‘Are you up for a visit to the Met, Fitz? I think it’s open for another couple of hours,’ Kensy said to him just as their grandmother swept into the room.

  ‘Well, isn’t this a wonderful surprise,’ Cordelia greeted Anna and Ed and Fitz with hugs and kisses.

  ‘You didn’t mention that you had to go away for work yesterday, Mother,’ Ed said.

  ‘Oh, it wasn’t anything important,’ she said. ‘I had some meetings in Boston. Nothing to worry about.’

  But Ed wasn’t convinced.

  ‘Now what’s this about a trip to the Met, Kensington?’ Cordelia said. ‘I think I’d like to join you, if that’s all right?’

  Kensy looked at Curtis. Something told them that this was not negotiable.

  ‘Of course, Granny. We’d love that,’ the girl said tightly.

  ‘Good, well, let’s get moving, shall we?’ the woman said. ‘Oh, and tonight I think we’ll dine at Le Bernadin. Song, could you make the arrangements please? The whole family for eight o’clock and you too of course. We might even walk home if it’s a pleasant evening.’

  ‘Certainly, Dame Spencer,’ he said. ‘Thank you for the kind invitation, but I was hoping to take some time for myself, if I may.’

  Max caught the man’s eye and he stifled a smile.

  ‘Whatever you’d prefer,’ Cordelia said.

  Song nodded. What he really would have preferred is for his boss to have made her decision about dinner a couple of hours ago before he’d peeled a kilogram of potatoes that were now sitting in the pantry sink.

  Thursday morning dawned grey and stormy. Max hoped it wasn’t an omen for something worse to come. He was still feeling uneasy about their grandmother’s decision to do nothing about Javier, but she clearly had her reasons.

  The family had trickled down to breakfast, having had a late night out. Hector, Marisol and Mim had opted for a quiet day at home, so they’d have plenty of energy for the gala that evening and Cordelia had already withdrawn to her study.

  The twins, along with their parents, Fitz and Curtis took a car downtown to the Museum of Mathematics called MoMath. Ed had heard about it from a friend and they weren’t disappointed – especially when they got to ride a square-wheeled bicycle that was smoother than your average limousine. They wandered among the interactive exhibits for a couple of hours before deciding to try the restaurant their taxi driver had recommended in Chinatown the other day.

  ‘Song would hate this place,’ Kensy said as she slurped her fifth soup dumpling.

  ‘Why?’ Curtis frowned. ‘These are delicious.’

  ‘My point exactly. He gets jealous if he thinks that anyone makes them better than he does,’ the girl said, grinning.

  ‘So what’s going to happen tonight at Granny’s gala?’ Max said. ‘Do you have to make a speech, Dad?’

  Ed nodded. ‘Apparently so. Now what to say about your grandmother?’

  ‘She’s bossy and sometimes she does what she wants and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks,’ Kensy said, garnering herself a glare from her brother. ‘Well, it’s true.’

  ‘I’ll second that,’ Anna said, then wished she hadn’t. ‘Sorry, that was mean. Cordelia is an amazing woman and I, for one, wouldn’t be able to deal with w
hat she does. She’s probably the toughest old bird on the planet.’

  ‘Well, don’t worry. My words are honest – and mostly kind,’ Ed said with a grin. ‘And let’s face it, there aren’t too many people who would have coped with what we put her through.’

  Fitz wiped his mouth with the napkin and stood up to pay the bill.

  ‘I think we should be heading home,’ Anna said. ‘I’m afraid you kids will have to amuse yourselves while I get zhooshed up for the gala.’

  ‘Your dress is gorgeous, Mum,’ Max said. ‘You’re going to look amazing.’

  Anna reached across and squeezed her son’s hand. ‘Thank you, darling. You know I never would have tried that on if it wasn’t for you and Song.’

  The earlier grey clouds had blown away and the sky was now a sparkling blue filtered through the skyscrapers.

  Back at the townhouse it was a hive of activity as Mim had booked a hair and make-up artist to take care of her and Marisol too. A makeshift salon had been set up in the conservatory on the roof. Song decided that was where they had the best light and so he had made arrangements earlier in the day to bring up some stools and mirrors.

  ‘What are you going to do this afternoon, Dad?’ Max asked.

  ‘Well, this time I’m not skiving off for a nap. I actually do have to get a bit of work done,’ the man replied.

  ‘Me too,’ Fitz said.

  The children were left at a loose end and although the house was full of people, it was eerily quiet.

  ‘Come on,’ Kensy said. ‘Downstairs. We have work to do.’

  The children hurried into the butler’s pantry and entered the fridge, arriving moments later in the underground bunker.

  ‘We still have to test Song,’ Kensy said. ‘He’s been acting like a total weirdo.’

  Max tried hard not to smile, but Kensy didn’t miss it.

  ‘What? Do you know something?’ she asked.

  ‘No,’ he replied innocently, hoping that Kensy’s twin lie detector wasn’t working as well as usual.