Grym had been taken to a hospital and later transferred to a city jail, awaiting a hearing and further transfer to a federal facility. There was no mention of him, or a briefcase, or a young woman in the news. It was as if none of what Steel had gone through had ever happened. There was one brief article on someone trying to rig the lottery, but that was all.
The science challenge was won by a dimple-faced, goofy-looking boy who, in his picture on the front page of the business section, wore a Hawaiian shirt. Steel remembered the nervous boy, and he smiled at his victory. Steel hoped to compete in next year’s challenge, though his own future was currently in question.
Steel said good-bye to Cairo, crated and ready for transport to the baggage car. They’d arranged adjacent sleeper cars so that Kaileigh and Steel could spend time together.
The two days on the train passed uneventfully. More than once, Steel had been cautioned to pay no attention to any briefcases or misplaced luggage, but he needed no encouragement. He and Kaileigh spent time with her computer, or playing cards, or reading. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had no problem with her being a girl, and he felt closer to her than friends he’d had most of his life.
So when it came time in Chicago to say good-bye, the words came with difficulty.
“I don’t know exactly how to say this,” Steel said.
“That’s because you’re a science nerd,” Kaileigh interjected.
“Yeah…but the thing is…in a weird way, I had a really good time.”
“A very weird way.”
“Obviously.”
“Me too,” she said. “And I’m sure we’ll see each other again. You’re going to the regionals in the fall, right?” Steel nodded. “So I’ll see you there.”
“The thing of it is…I’m not supposed to tell you this…but my father said our family may have to change our names and stuff. Move to someplace and start all over. This gang…they’re arresting them, but they’re not sure they’ll get them all. And even though this Grym guy isn’t talking, my father says I could be at risk.”
“Like witness protection?” she said, sounding excited.
“That kind of thing. Yeah.”
“So when I see you at a science challenge, I’ll pretend I don’t know you.”
“That would be good. I think. But not really.”
“Other people don’t need to know.”
“Exactly.”
“But we know,” she said. And the way she said it ran electricity down his legs and out his toes.
“Yeah, we know.”
“We’re a good team.”
“We are,” he agreed.
“And Cairo, of course.”
“Of course.”
She giggled. Her nose scrunched up when she laughed. He hadn’t noticed that before.
Kaileigh and Miss Kay took off across the station, with Kaileigh looking over her shoulder and meeting eyes with Steel, scrunching that same way again. He knew she was laughing, and that made him feel good inside.
“Ready to go home?” his mother asked.
“I suppose,” he answered. “Wherever home turns out to be.”
“Life’s an adventure,” she said.
With Cairo following on a trolley drawn by a haggard old man with big ears, they headed out into the parking lot, looking for their car, and the life they’d left behind.
Ridley Pearson is the award-winning coauthor, along with Dave Barry, of Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, and Science Fair. He has also written more than twenty best-selling crime novels, including Killer Weekend, and the young-adult fantasies Kingdom Keepers—Disney After Dark and Kingdom Keepers II—Disney at Dawn. He was the first American to be awarded the Raymond Chandler/Fulbright Fellowship in Detective Fiction at Oxford University.
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Prologue:
Chapter 1.
Chapter 2.
Chapter 3.
Chapter 4.
Chapter 5.
Chapter 6.
Chapter 7.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 9.
Chapter 10.
Chapter 11.
Chapter 12.
Chapter 13.
Chapter 14.
Chapter 15.
Chapter 16.
Chapter 17.
Chapter 18.
Chapter 19.
Chapter 20.
Chapter 21.
Chapter 22.
Chapter 23.
Chapter 24.
Chapter 25.
Chapter 26.
Chapter 27.
Chapter 28.
Chapter 29.
Chapter 30.
Chapter 31.
Chapter 32.
Chapter 33.
Chapter 34.
Chapter 35.
Chapter 36.
Chapter 37.
Chapter 38.
Chapter 39.
Chapter 40.
Chapter 41.
Chapter 42 .
Chapter 43.
Chapter 44.
Chapter 45.
Chapter 46.
Chapter 47.
Chapter 48.
Chapter 49.
Chapter 50.
Chapter 51.
Chapter 52.
Chapter 53.
Chapter 54.
Chapter 55.
Chapter 56.
Chapter 57.
Chapter 58.
Chapter 59.
Chapter 60.
Chapter 61.
Chapter 62.
Chapter 63.
Chapter 64 .
Chapter 65.
Chapter 66.
Chapter 67.
Chapter 68.
Chapter 69.
Chapter 70.
Chapter 71.
Chapter 72.
Chapter 73.
Chapter 74.
Chapter 75.
Chapter 76 .
Chapter 77.
Chapter 78.
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Prologue:
Chapter 1.
Chapter 2.
Chapter 3.
Chapter 4.
Chapter 5.
Chapter 6.
Chapter 7.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 9.
Chapter 10.
Chapter 11.
Chapter 12.
Chapter 13.
Chapter 14.
Chapter 15.
Chapter 16.
Chapter 17.
Chapter 18.
Chapter 19.
Chapter 20.
Chapter 21.
Chapter 22.
Chapter 23.
Chapter 24.
Chapter 25.
Chapter 26.
Chapter 27.
Chapter 28.
Chapter 29.
Chapter 30.
Chapter 31.
Chapter 32.
Chapter 33.
Chapter 34.
Chapter 35.
Chapter 36.
Chapter 37.
Chapter 38.
Chapter 39.
Chapter 40.
Chapter 41.
Chapter 42 .
Chapter 43.
Chapter 44.
Chapter 45.
Chapter 46.
Chapter 47.
Chapter 48.
Chapter 49.
Chapter 50.
Chapter 51.
Chapter 52.
Chapter 53.
Chapter 54.
Chapter 55.
Chapter 56.
Chapter 57.
Chapter 58.
Chapter 59.
Chapter 60.
Chapter 61.
/> Chapter 62.
Chapter 63.
Chapter 64 .
Chapter 65.
Chapter 66.
Chapter 67.
Chapter 68.
Chapter 69.
Chapter 70.
Chapter 71.
Chapter 72.
Chapter 73.
Chapter 74.
Chapter 75.
Chapter 76 .
Chapter 77.
Chapter 78.
The Challenge Page 18
