by Ron McGee
Dad made it out of Andakar with the help of Tasha Levi, the tough and irritable operative who had first told Ryan about his family’s involvement with the ERC. It had taken Tasha and Ryan’s father three days to make it back to New York. But when they arrived, Ryan was shocked to see Dad’s condition.
He was weak, barely able to move without help. Even worse, Dad couldn’t remember anything from the past several days. It was like his brain was scrambled. The strangest part of all was that he now had no memory of the whole Andakar experience.
Ryan couldn’t help but feel it was partially his fault—he wouldn’t have left his dad if he’d known he was in such bad shape. They were just lucky Tasha found his dad’s hiding place in the ancient temple and got him back home. If something awful had happened, Ryan would have never forgiven himself.
After one of his nightmares, getting back to sleep was almost impossible. Ryan’s mind was racing in a million directions. There’d been so much to take in over the last few weeks.
Ryan quietly opened his door and shuffled into the hallway. He was about to go into the bathroom to get a glass of water when he heard something.
Voices, from downstairs. It was after midnight, and that didn’t sound like his dad talking. Had someone broken in? Ryan moved to the stairway that connected all the floors of their home and listened.
But then he heard his mom. He’d recognize her French accent anywhere. She sounded worried. Ryan suspected it had something to do with whatever was going on with the ERC. He had to get closer.
The old brownstone where Ryan’s family lived had belonged to his grandparents. Ryan loved the place, full of dark wood, high windows and history, but it was difficult to walk around without making noise. He moved slowly, navigating around the stairs that creaked the loudest.
Closer now, Ryan could make out at least four people talking. They were down on the basement level. His grandfather Declan had built a huge study down there, complete with a hidden room where all the ERC’s secret files were kept. Last week, Ryan had wanted to read some of the files only to discover his dad had installed a new lock. Which didn’t make a lot of sense because Dad had taught him how to pick locks when he was seven years old! Ryan was sorely tempted to break in and read the files anyway. So far, he had resisted the temptation, hoping his parents would soon trust him enough to share everything without him going behind their backs.
As Ryan made his way down the last set of stairs to the basement, the voices became more distinct.
“… it can’t be a coincidence.” That was Dad talking. “Not two in one week.”
A woman’s voice responded. “The two incidents might be completely unrelated.”
“None of us believe that,” Mom said.
Ryan made it to the bottom stair. He could see the door into the study, the flickering light from a fire casting shadows around the room. But he couldn’t see the people talking.
“I also heard earlier today that Salim Shah didn’t show up for work this morning,” Dad said. “No answer at his home. We can’t confirm he’s missing yet, but it seems likely.”
“And no calls were made to the emergency number?” the woman asked.
“The emergency number has been disconnected. We didn’t realize it until today, and I have no idea how it happened. It may take a few days to get it working again.”
“It seems obvious that the ERC has been compromised.” This was the other man in the room. From his accent, Ryan thought he might be Indian or Pakistani. “We must have a leak.”
“We agree,” Mom said. “That’s why we wanted you here. We have no idea how they got their information, but—”
“Sneaky.” Ryan whipped around in surprise at the whispered voice in his ear—Tasha Levi was right behind him. Tough and temperamental, Tasha was one of the ERC’s best operatives. Somehow, she’d snuck up on him without making a sound. And now he was totally busted.
Tasha considered him a moment, then stepped around. “Lucky for you, I like sneaky.”
Ryan took a chance. “I heard them say there’s a leak. Who do you think it is?”
“Your parents don’t want you involved.”
“Maybe I can help.”
Tasha didn’t hide her amusement. “I think we can handle it. Nighty night.”
Ryan glanced at the door one last time. Inside, the planning continued. Frustrated, he headed back upstairs. He didn’t understand what was going on, but at least Tasha hadn’t ratted him out.
At the top, he turned back. In the darkness, Tasha stared up at him. She didn’t look amused anymore.
In fact, she looked pissed off.
CHAPTER
04
NEW YORK,
USA
She’s so into you, dude.” Danny slammed his locker shut and faced Ryan. “You should call and ask her out.”
Ryan rolled his eyes as they walked down the hallway. “Tasha’s, like, twenty years old.”
“Come on, she whispered in your ear.” He mimicked Tasha’s voice, giving it a ridiculous flirting quality, “‘Lucky for you, I like sneaky.’”
Ryan laughed. “She’d strangle you if she heard you do that.”
“Nah, I’d distract her with my charm. She wouldn’t stand a chance.” Danny’s expression suddenly changed. “So what do you think happened to those people your parents said are missing?”
“I don’t know.”
“Get me the names. Maybe I can uncover something online that will help find them.” Danny was an incredible hacker. He could access websites and databases that were strictly off-limits to civilians. He was always careful to cover his tracks, but Ryan was afraid that someday his friend would get into serious trouble. If these people were in danger, though, maybe it was worth the risk?
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Ryan said.
“This is exactly what we need. A way to prove to your parents that they should be making us part of the team.” Danny stopped in front of a classroom door. “All right, last exam for the semester. Next time I see you, we will officially be unshackled and on winter break!”
Ryan hurried to his English class. They’d just finished studying T. H. White’s The Once and Future King, and most of the final was supposed to be an essay on King Arthur. Ryan had loved the first part of the book where the wizard Merlyn changed young Arthur into lots of different animals—that sounded like a blast. But the last sections were pretty depressing. Arthur lost everything and was even betrayed by his family. He learned too late the lesson that Merlyn tried to teach him as a boy: A good leader understands that having power doesn’t necessarily make him right.
The kids in Ryan’s English class had plenty to say about that. There had been a lot of lively discussions. That’s what was so great about the International Community School of New York. Most of the students were the children of people who worked at the nearby United Nations Headquarters. They came from all over the world, and a lot of them had lived at least part of their lives in troubled countries.
As he turned the corner, Ryan stopped in surprise. His mom was standing outside the classroom, talking to Principal Milankovic. What was she doing here? Was he in some kind of trouble? As he got closer, Ryan could see they were arguing. Milankovic was a bear of a man; he towered over Jacqueline. But whatever they were discussing, she didn’t back down. She shook her head and held her ground.
Ryan wondered if the disagreement had to do with the odd comment Principal Milankovic made to him at the dance last month. “But you deserve the truth,” the principal had told him. “The truth about who you really are.” What did that even mean? And how could the principal know stuff about him since Ryan had only been going to school here a few months?
When he saw him at school a few days later, Ryan asked Milankovic about it. The principal had been uncomfortable, mumbling that he had confused Ryan with another student. It was obvious he was lying, especially since he’d gone out of his way to avoid Ryan since then.
As Ryan approached, Milank
ovic saw him and cut off whatever he was about to say. He was definitely angry. Jacqueline turned, and Ryan noticed that she had his duffel bag slung over one shoulder.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry to just show up like this. I know you have a test.”
“Which starts in less than a minute,” Principal Milankovic said, checking a pocket watch he carried. “Make this quick, please.”
He nodded curtly to Jaqcueline, then walked off.
“Were you guys arguing?” Ryan asked.
“Listen, I know this is short notice,” Mom said, dodging the question. “But Dad and I have to go to Chicago tonight.”
“Something else happened, didn’t it?” Ryan whispered. The last of his classmates passed into the room as the sixth-period bell rang. “Is someone else missing?”
Mom’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know about that?”
“I’d know a lot more if you’d just trust me.”
“No, you need to trust us. You may not understand our reasons, but we’re doing what we think is best.” The worry showed in her expression as she handed him the duffel bag. “We’ll talk more when we’re home, but we have to go check this out ourselves, okay?”
Ryan put the bag on his shoulder. “How long will you be gone?”
“Hopefully, just overnight. I called Danny’s mom and told her Dad had a last-minute work conference this weekend. You can stay with them. I packed everything I thought you might need. You should go. Your test is starting.”
“Take me with you.”
“Not this time.” Mom leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I’ll text you once we’re there. We’ll be back before you know it. I love you.”
She took a few steps away before he called out, “Mom!” Jacqueline turned back. “I love you, too.”
That brought a smile. She blew him another kiss. “Good luck on your test! Go, before you get in trouble!”
Then she was gone. Reluctantly, Ryan headed into the classroom. But King Arthur was the last thing on his mind now.
CHAPTER
05
NEW YORK,
USA
This is a bad idea.” Kasey glanced around like they were doing something illegal as Ryan unlocked the front door of the brownstone. It was still late afternoon, but the sun was already setting, evening coming early during the winter months.
“It’s his house,” Danny said. “He’s got a key.”
“So you’re not planning to go down to the study and snoop into all the ERC files?” Kasey looked between them, but neither boy met her accusatory gaze. “That’s what I thought.”
Ryan opened the door, and they stepped inside. “We just want to help.”
“If we can find the names of whoever’s missing,” Danny said, “there’s a chance I can track down something online that’ll help locate them.”
Kasey wasn’t convinced. “I want to be a part of everything just as much as you guys. But this doesn’t feel right.”
Kasey had a point. Ryan considered leaving now and just waiting for his parents to get back from Chicago. But he’d seen how worried Mom and Dad were. If there was even a chance of helping, shouldn’t they at least try?
Ryan turned to Danny. “Are you sure you can do these searches without anybody else knowing?”
“Positive,” Danny said. “I’ll create a virtual machine and use an encrypted private tunnel. Plus, I’ll make sure I only backdoor the databases using a botnet and some web filters.”
Ryan glanced at Kasey, who shrugged, then back to Danny. “I’ve got no idea what you said, but it sounds good. Come on.”
Ryan led them downstairs. With no fire burning, the study felt cold and uninviting. Flipping on a light, he headed to the far end of the room. The rear wall appeared to be made of solid brick. In reality, the whole wall was a large door that concealed the secret room where the ERC files and equipment were hidden. Ryan removed the fake bricks that masked the door’s handle.
Danny came up behind him. “Can you pick it?”
The lock Ryan’s dad had installed was a newer brand, designed to be resistant to lockpicks. But Ryan wasn’t worried. “Give me three minutes,” he said.
Ryan’s key ring held the brownstone keys and a strangely shaped metallic object his dad had given him on his twelfth birthday. A multipurpose tool, it could be used as a screwdriver, bottle opener, wire cutter, or tweezers. Hidden inside were thin strips of metal. One was a tension wrench, the other a lockpick with a hook at the end. Not what every kid got for their birthday, but it had been perfect for Ryan. With a delicate touch, he inserted the picks into the lock’s tumbler and got to work.
“Maybe if you jiggled it a little more … ?” Danny said.
Ryan didn’t look back. “Not helping.”
Danny reluctantly walked away, giving him room to work. The trick to picking was visualizing what was happening inside the lock, seeing the pins in your mind as they set into position. Ryan closed his eyes, concentrating only on what he felt with his fingertips. One by one, the pins clicked into place.
“You were a cute kid,” Kasey said. Ryan opened his eyes and glanced back. Kasey stood at the bookshelves, a photo album open in her hands.
“Kinda chubby,” Danny pointed out, looking over her shoulder.
“Just his tummy.” She smiled at Ryan. “You had a Winnie-the-Pooh tummy. Very cute.”
“Adorable,” Danny teased.
Click. Ryan felt the last pin set into position, and the lock sprung open. “I’m in,” he said, thankful for the distraction. He opened the door, revealing the small room beyond, as Danny joined him. “There are some files on the table. Maybe those are the people that are missing.”
Kasey came toward them, flipping the pages of the photo album. “Where are the baby pictures?”
“I thought you were looking at them.”
“I mean like when you were first born. You’re already about a year old in these.”
“Those are all of them, as far as I know.” Actually, Ryan hadn’t looked at the album in a long time. His family used to move so often that it was mostly kept stored in a box. Now that they were living here permanently, Mom was finally able to have it out. He glanced at the photo, embarrassed—Kasey was right, he did have a chubby tummy!
Ryan snapped the album shut, setting it aside. “No more baby pictures.”
“Hey,” Danny interrupted. “Your parents went to Chicago, right?”
“Yeah.”
“None of these files have actual names on them—everybody’s referred to by codes and stuff. But look at this.” Danny handed Ryan an article that had been cut from the newspaper. The headline read: “Local Teacher Missing, Police Request Public’s Help.” “This is from Chicago. It must be why they went there.”
Ryan nodded, when a loud thud from upstairs made them all jump.
Danny looked at the ceiling. “You don’t have a new cat we don’t know about, do you?”
Ryan shook his head. That was no cat.
Somebody was in the house.
CHAPTER
06
NEW YORK,
USA
Ryan grabbed a log from the wood stacked next to the fireplace. It wasn’t a great weapon, but it would have to do.
“Stay here,” he told Kasey and Danny.
“Uh-uh,” Kasey said.
“No way.” Danny grabbed a log and handed it to Kasey, then took one for himself. “Three’s better than one.”
Ryan could tell arguing wouldn’t help. “Okay, but if we see a gun, everybody run.”
“Sounds like excellent advice,” Danny whispered.
Together, the trio crept back up the stairs. The sun had set, plunging the brownstone into deep shadows. Near the top, Ryan paused, listening. He could hear someone moving quietly in the rear of the house. They must have broken into the kitchen from the back garden.
Ryan crossed the living room quickly, hoping to get to the light switch on the far wall before the intruder entered. W
ith the element of surprise on his side, Ryan might be able to disarm the thief.
He was almost to the switch when the wooden stair behind him creaked. Ryan spun around as Danny froze. But it was too late. There was no more movement from the kitchen. The intruder had heard the noise and would now be ready for them.
Ryan didn’t waste a second. He raised the log with one hand and stepped into the kitchen, turning on the lights.
“Yaaahhh!!” he yelled, trying to sound intimidating. Behind him, Danny and Kasey raced forward, also yelling like they were crazed Vikings.
The intruder screamed in terror! He stumbled backward, falling over one of the kitchen chairs and landing hard. He raised his hands and ducked his head as the three kids surrounded him.
Feeling empowered, Danny stepped forward. “We got him! Call the cops!”
As the man glanced up, though, Ryan saw confusion and fear in his eyes. He was in his early twenties and black, dressed in a gray suit and blue tie. Ryan thought he looked more like a young accountant than a thief. Kasey lowered her log, sensing he wasn’t really a threat. “Who are you?” she asked.
“The emergency number was disconnected,” the man said. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
Ryan set his log on the table, then looked to Danny. “I don’t think we need these.” He approached the young man, noticing now that his business suit was dirty and the knees were stained, probably from climbing over the back wall into the garden. “My name is Ryan. This is my house you broke into.”
“Wait, this isn’t Declan Quinn’s home?”
“It was. Declan was my grandfather.”
“Where is he?” he asked urgently. His English was accented; Ryan guessed it wasn’t his first language. “I have to speak with him.”
“I’m sorry. Declan died last year. My family lives here now.” Ryan felt Danny move up behind him. “But maybe I can help. What’s your name?”
“Lawrence Cain.” Ryan stood and held out a hand, helping him up. “I didn’t break in. There was a key hidden in the garden. Mr. Quinn said to use it if we ever needed to. I had to be careful no one saw me.”
