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  I had been looking down as I spoke, but I heard sniffling as if someone had a cold. It wasn’t a cold, though… and I knew what their expressions were this time. All of them had wet eyes, and Ms. Houng rested her head on Mr. Harutyunyan’s shoulder, big tears rolling down.

  Benji leaned forward and put his hand on my shoulder, but he said nothing for about a minute. When he spoke, he seemed a little shaky. “Sorry, mate. So, so sorry. I tried to talk to your daddy about it tons of times, but he refused… it was just too painful for him. You’re spot on, he threw himself into his work to save you, he hardly ever talked about anythin’ else. It gave him a reason, a focus. Truth is, none of us knew your mum except for Minh. She helped your daddy with programming when you were little, when he was still working on making life-like prosthetics for amputees. She put him in touch with Mard after… after the accident, and Mard knew of me through the grapevine. That’s how all of us came together, and your daddy convinced us of his vision for saving you. We knew the technology was unprecedented, but we all believed he could do it, and he believed he could do it because he would not let your… your mum or you down. He thought of everythin’, every contingency; none of us had ever seen the like. It was a real triumph of will. That’s why we stayed together; it gave the rest of us a purpose beyond ourselves as well, I reckon. We all had our parts to play in makin’ it work, but it wouldn’t have worked at all if your daddy hadn’t had the vision to make it happen. Minh, anythin’ you can tell Lukey about his mum?”

  Ms. Houng smiled, but it was weird because she still had tears coming down her cheeks. She wiped them away and said, “I met your mom five or six times. She was very nice, very friendly. When I came to US, I had no place to stay, and your dad took me to meet her. She helped me find a place and brought me food. I don’t think your dad knew, but she brought me food almost every week. She would drop off a bag of food and leave it on the doorstep. You were in the car; I see you through the window a couple of times. I babysit you one time; you probably don’t remember. Your dad got me a job, I do better and better. Then, when your mom died… I have to stay, help make you whole. I am responsible for you. I never let you go.”

  Then her face scrunched up and she cried again. Mr. Harutyunyan rubbed her back gently and said, “Every time you go, she cries like this. She doesn’t want you to know, doesn’t want you to feel bad. But now you know. We all wish we could tell you more about your mama, but she showed great kindness to this woman from another country she didn’t even know, helped her when she didn’t have to, and didn’t ask for anything in return. That should tell you enough. As Benji says, your papa would not talk about her because he couldn’t. We all knew it, so most of us did not bring it up. Benji, though, he couldn’t resist. We all have had tragedies, and as we know, the world is becoming much different right in front of our eyes, so we became a kind of family. Now we stay together, no matter what. I go to university in US; while I am there, they kill my own mama and papa in so-called regional conflict in Armenia. So, we suffer together, although we don’t talk about it. We don’t know where we will end up, but we will go there together. Yes, Benji?”

  “Bloody oath, mate. I reckon we’re stuck with each other, and now we have these additions, if they’ll have us. Tarni, Cheri, sorry to put ya on the spot, but as long as we’re puttin’ everythin’ out on the table, whatta ya say?”

  “I would raise my right hand, but I can’t,” said Cheri, “So I’ll just say this: I haven’t been at this as long as the rest of you, but I’m obviously committed. Or maybe I should be committed, I’m not sure which, but I’m in. Lucas and me, we’re a team, or at least we have been up to my acquiring 'ol’ stumpy’, here. Mr. Kane has allowed me to sort of ‘assign myself’ to you, and as long as that lasts, we’ll be fine. When he decides he doesn’t like that arrangement, it’ll be a little tougher. I’ll deal with it when the time comes, though.”

  “Well, that’s nice, I reckon, but what I was askin’, since we’re all tellin’ our stories, is what’s yours?”

  “Oh, that. Well, you’re not going to like it. I don’t really have a sad story to tell like the rest of you. I grew up in Sacramento, and my parents owned a couple of companies, including Advanced Security Consultants. Maybe you’ve heard of it. My parents were gone a lot, but they were rich so I could just kind of do what I wanted most of the time. School was easy for me and I was good at sports, but after a while I couldn’t see the point, so I graduated when I was sixteen and went into training. Boxing, judo, karate, you name it, and I started hanging around at the family business. I learned a lot; I just absorbed it all. Then I met Mike Marsh, and he introduced me to the Bright Hand, and that was all it took. He started training me when I was 'eighteen,’ as far as he knew, anyway. He could see that I had certain talents, and he’s the one who got me into disguises. Man, I miss that guy.”

  Standing and waving his arms, Benji said, in a too-loud voice, “Wait a bloody second, mate. Advanced Security Consultants? ASC? The ones who have private, for-hire 'security teams’ around the globe?”

  “Yeah, I know. I didn’t know at the time that they were basically mercenaries for lease, but I learned. That’s why I had to get out on my own. I didn’t want any connection with that, and aside from getting rich, I couldn’t figure out how my parents justified it. I don’t hate them, but I feel like I don’t know them. Still, look at what I’m doing now. It’s not that much different. Anyway, at least I’m not killing anyone.”

  After a few moments of silence, Benji said, “I reckon in a way that’s the saddest story yet. What about you, Tarni?”

  “Who, me? I don’t have much to tell, do I? Aside from always bein’ in my brother Jimmie’s shadow, him bein’ the genius and me just bein’ the cute one. It’s a bad feelin’ to always be inferior, to feel you’re just liked because of your looks. I reckon some Sheila’s trade on that, but not me. Sorry, mates, I guess I don’t bring too much to this party. Now let me ask you, Dr. Benji Walker: when did you turn into a bloody psychologist? And what about you? What’s your situation?”

  “Aww, it’s the same ol’ story, eh? Boy genius goes to the big city and conquers all, like bloody Godzilla. Nahh, I flew under the radar mostly, kept my best ideas to myself. Helped the nation get set up in their cavern, got the thorium reactors perfected, meanwhile workin’ on miniaturizin’ and alternate energy sources. Then when I met up with John-o and Lukey, I had to kick it into high gear, didn’t I? Personal tragedies, like you lot? I reckon I could make up some good stories, but truth is there’s not much. My parents are gone too, but nothin’ happened, they just got old.”

  Silence set in again, but eventually Benji stood and said, “Oi, I wish there was a Macca’s in this place. Anybody up for some tucker?”

  3

  DIRECTOR’S NOTES

  CONVERSATION WITH EM

  121151 16:15

  -Do we have the location of the target? I mean, exact location?

  -Get this. They had her in Goiânia, general pop, for ‘fomenting social unrest’. I’m sure they thought one of the other inmates would just kill her, but the opposite happened. The people are on her side, even in prison. Everyone knows they rigged the elections, and she was the rightful winner. Anyway, the other prisoners are protecting her. The president, Leitao, has sent assassins in to kill her, but the other prisoners have, shall we say, dispatched them before they could get to her.

  -Do we know what cell she’s in?

  -Another point of interest. Since the assassination attempts have been unsuccessful, they moved her. She is now the only prisoner in the whole country in solitary confinement. Underground.

  -Holy crap. Is there anything else we could do to make this harder? Some dragons, ghosts, something like that?

  -…

  -Never mind. What’s for lunch?

  ****

  A lthough I wasn’t hungry, I knew it was time to eat something, so we walked mostly in silence to the dining trailers. It was ten p.m. by then, but luckily f
or us the Bright Hand dining hall never closes. Maybe that has something to do with being underground most of the time; it’s easy to lose track of day and night. There were a handful of Bright Handers in the room, mostly sitting quietly in small groups and guzzling coffee, but the room started buzzing when we entered.

  “There he is,” one young man hissed to his table partners.

  “Do you think he eats?” another whispered.

  “Robots don’t eat,” someone replied.

  “He’s not a robot, you idiot,” said another.

  We went through the line, each one loading up platefuls. I got two pieces of toast and a hard-boiled egg, and we sat together near the door. I ate half of the egg, but I couldn’t really taste it, or I guess it didn’t taste the way I remembered. Eating seemed to pep up Cheri, though. She sat next to me, and with the aroma of her mouthful of a tuna sandwich tickling my nose, whispered in my ear: “We need to talk about the kind of tech you might need for this mission. One thing I was thinking about that might come in handy in a country like Brazil is a way to breathe underwater. I know Dr. Lazenbee and a few others have been working on artificial gills for a while. When we’re done eating, we’ll pay her a visit and see how far they’ve gotten.”

  “It’s, let’s see… ten-thirty-five. Will she still be working?”

  “I don’t know her much, but her reputation is that she never stops. We’ll go by her lab, and if she’s not working, we’ll go back later.”

  “Okay. But… why do you think I would need the artificial gills in Brazil?”

  “Well, who knows? You might have to go through some sewers or something.”

  “Through some what?”

  “Don’t worry, I’m just kidding. Not about the artificial gills, though. What else do you think you might need?”

  “I… hmm. I don’t know about needing more stuff, but I think mostly I need a plan. If I am going to get this lady out of prison, I’ll need some way to get in, and then some way to… I don’t know, I think we’ll have to figure out how to get enough of the military on my side to take down the president. There will be lots of complications. I know Ava will have some ideas, but this is why I need you to go with me too. Ava’s logical, like me, but sometimes people aren’t logical.”

  “Sometimes? Try most of the time. And in a place like Brazil, where things have kind of broken down, you’re likely to see lots of crazy stuff. We’ll need to include lots of plans B’s, C’s, and D’s.”

  “You are going with me, aren’t you?”

  “You don’t really want me to go, do you? I thought you were just trying to make me feel wanted.”

  “No, I need you to go. I can’t do it without your help.”

  Her face scrunched up as if she was going to cry, but then she giggled and smacked me in the shoulder. “Lucas, you have got to get better at recognizing when people are manipulating you. You’re too easy to take advantage of.”

  “What? No, I knew it. I was just playing along.” I wasn’t playing along… oh, boy.

  “Oh, talking about our plans reminds me. Ava said we need to go talk to Zoey Perez. She’ll have current information on Brazil that should help us. Do you think she’ll still be working this late?”

  “Oi, mates, yer havin’ quite the bloody private convo, eh? Let us in on it,” said Benji, his lips greasy from plowing his way through the most massive chicken leg any of us had ever seen.

  We told him about going to see Dr. Lazenbee, and then noticed that everyone at the table was leaning in. Laying down her fork and waving her finger, Ms. Houng grunted, “We all should go. Need to know more about what you are getting into.”

  Mr. Harutyunyan, his mouth so full he couldn’t talk, nodded in agreement, as did Tarni.

  Cheri shrugged her shoulders, and said, “I don’t see any reason we couldn’t all go. I don’t know her very well, but all she could do is tell us no, right?”

  We had made our decision, so the group began shoveling in the rest of their food, and we headed for the door while still chewing. I noticed the rest of the people in the dining hall watching us out of the corners of their eyes as we left, so I waved at them, and most looked away quickly. That’s weird… I was just trying to be friendly…

  Cheri led us to the north hall instead of one of the trailers, explaining that the tank of water needed for the artificial gill tests and other experiments needed more sturdy containment than one of the trailers could offer.

  “Lukey, I seem to recall that you can hold your breath for long periods. Am I right, or am I a bloody drongo? Wait, don’t answer that, mate. I might not like what ya have ta say, eh?”

  That confused me. Do you want me to answer the first question and not mention anything about being a drongo, or should I not answer at all? Luckily, Tarni understood. “Go ahead and answer, Lucas. Benji’s tryin’ ta make a joke, a bit unsuccessfully I’d say.”

  “Hey, it’s not my fault you lot have no sense of humor,” Benji grunted, with what looked to me like an exaggerated flap of his arms.

  “The longest I’ve held my breath is about fifteen minutes, but I could probably go longer if I needed.”

  “Oi, Cheri, ya really think there might be a situation in Brazil where Lukey would need to be underwater longer than fifteen minutes?”

  “Well, it’s hard to say, but we might as well prepare. Brazil’s a wild place, and if he needs it, we’ll be happy he has it, and if he doesn’t need it, no big deal, right, Lucas?”

  I nodded as we strolled into the artificial cave bored into the side of the massive cavern, and about a hundred meters in, passed the Bright Hand jail to the right side of the cave. Luther, the imposing guard for the jail, hailed us, and we waved as we trundled on. Fifty meters further, we came to a sturdy metal door on the left, with a simple ‘W’ affixed to the center of the door, and one of the hand sensor pads to the right.

  “W, stands for ‘Water Room’, get it?” Cheri giggled as she placed her hand on the panel.

  As we waited for the door to open, I covered my mouth and whispered, “Ava, what do you think? Is this something I’ll need on this trip?”

  “Well, you know life has a way of coming back and biting us in the booty, so better safe than sorry. I have a couple of other thoughts that may help us too, but let’s get through this first.”

  Better safe than sorry… oh, I get it. Yes! I’m getting better at this!

  “Don’t forget, sonny boy, what we have agreed to do nearly amounts to a suicide pact. We’re already swimming with sharks, and the killer whales are approaching, but it’s the jelly fish who will kill us all. We can’t get tricked into biting the poisoned apple.”

  Uh-oh, I’m not getting better at this after all… I didn’t understand any of that… oh, boy…

  As the metal door swung open, the scent of salt water, chlorine, and other less recognizable chemicals assaulted my nose. Standing in the doorway was a tall, slender young woman with unusually pink skin, long neck and totally bald head, wearing the customary grey scrubs.

  “Chi? Is that you?” she said, almost in a whisper, and in an accent I didn’t recognize.

  Cheri smiled and said, “Hi, Annika. Long time. I’m surprised you recognized me. I think the last time we saw one another I was wearing a male disguise, wasn’t I? Looks like you’ve been spending a lot of time in the water. Anyway, I think you probably have heard of these guys. This is Dr. Benji Walker, over here is Minh Houng, this big guy is Mardig Harutyunyan, here’s Tarni Early, and this young fellow is Lucas Taylor. We need to see Dr. Lazenbee.”

  Annika’s eyes flitted between me and Cheri. “This is him? He looks so… so real. How did they do it?”

  Cheri snorted and seemed to me to be almost angry. “Look, he’s not a robot or an android or anything like that, ok? He’s a real kid, just as real as you or me.”

  Annika backed up a step, and the bright overhead LED lights shone off her head as she said, “But everyone is saying… well, I’m sorry, it is just what I heard. I meant
no offense.”

  Benji stepped in front of Cheri and said, “No worries, mate. It’s an understandable mistake. Our Lukey is defo one of a kind, but there’s a boyo in there, I reckon. The two a’ you have some kinda history, then?”

  Annika’s eyes flicked to Cheri, then at the floor, as Cheri cleared her throat and said, “Um, it’s kind of a long story. Annika, can we come in? We really need to see Dr. Lazenbee.”

  As we waited, in the background we heard a constant stream of chatter in a booming voice, and then, “Annika! Let them in and close the door! You’re letting all my genius escape! Not like that could ever happen; I mean, come on, I have more than enough to go around, right? Step aside and let Superboy and his minions come in, would you? Sheesh! Come in, boy wonder and super-prodigy-virtuoso friends and family. Is Benji Walker with them? I’ve been wanting to meet that little bugger. Annika, shut the door!”

  A weird look came over Annika’s face that I could not identify, and she swung the door wide to allow us to enter. The room was vast and squared off carefully, with a huge clear tank filled with water, about four meters tall and thirty meters across; in the tank were three people swimming underwater, each with an odd-looking apparatus strapped to their face, along with dozens of fish of different sizes and two small dolphins. Through an open door behind the tank, another tank of the same size was visible in the next room. Along the walls were tables filled with workstations, with a dozen or so people of all sizes, genders, and ages peering into microscopes or working at computers.