Jade continued, “The subtraction is only the first half of the problem. It says until the rite does write. Forty-nine isn’t the answer—it’s the way to find the answer. Like a formula! It tells us that there are forty-nine more times, until a particular event takes place. The number we need is how many occurrences have already taken place. All we have to do is determine how many total occurrences there will be in the end, when that event takes place, and then simply subtract forty-nine from it. That’s how we get the answer we need.”
Cody’s head strained to wrap itself around his friend’s explanation. Math had never been his strong suit, but he was beginning to understand. “Well, that’s great. But we don’t know what the numbers are adding up to, so the number is still useless.”
Jade pointed back to the riddle. “That’s where this next part comes in. Until the rite does write. What do we know about Wesley?” Cody was confused by the random question. He knew a few things about Wesley: he had apparently lived a creepily long time, he was completely crazy, he had been brutally murdered, and he had apparently missed the memo that medieval swords were no longer fashionable. But none of these seemed to be of any relevance to the problem.
“Um, I don’t know. He was tall?”
Jade grabbed her forehead in frustration. “No, you thickhead, he was British!” She let the statement hang in the air a moment, as though it alone solved the mystery. Cody, however, was still lost and, now, incredibly frustrated. “Well, good for him, God bless the queen and all that rubbish . . .”
Jade shook her finger toward him, “Exactly!”
Cody frowned. He had meant the comment sarcastically, ”What do you mean?”
“The queen. She’s the key,” Jade iterated excitedly. “What does every British citizen receive from the queen on a certain day as a ceremonial act, or rite?” Like math, Cody also was weak in social studies. Luckily for him, Jade continued without waiting for an answer, “A birthday card.” Cody was fascinated; he had not known that. “So, every birthday you get a card from the queen if you’re British? That’s a pretty sweet deal.”
“No, not every birthday, just one special one. They get a signed card from the queen on their one hundredth birthday.” Now, it all was making sense to Cody.
“So the numbers in the message refer to years? Fortynine more years until one hundred makes our number . . .” Cody paused to think, “. . . our number is fifty-one.”
Jade stood up and began pacing back and forth. “Our train gate number was fifty-one and there was that British flag over Wesley’s bed. You see the answers have been in front of us the whole time.” Cody was not ready to celebrate yet. “Well, okay, so the number is fifty-one; what about all this other mumbo-jumbo about wars and iron?”
Jade returned to her bed. “Have you not figured it out yet? New war, it does not mean what we thought it did.”
For the first time in a while, Cody felt relieved. “Then what does it mean?” he asked, his attention now completely glued to his friend.
“It’s not talking about a physical war about to happen, at least not in the sense we were thinking it did. New war, what else could that mean?” Finally, something Cody could understand, the many hours spent playing video games coming in handy. “Could it mean new warfare style? Like weaponry? You know, atomic and chemical warheads and such?”
“Exactly! And where are we right now? Can you not think of anything that comes to mind in Nevada where new war technology is being done in a secretive, iron setting?” Suddenly Cody shoulders sunk, all the pieces finally had reached each other in his mind, “This isn’t good. Are you absolutely sure?”
“I’m positive” Jade responded confidently. Cody gulped,
“So the hidden passageway . . . is at Area 51.”
The Dwarf
Area 51. Although it lined up perfectly with the clues, Cody struggled to wrap his head around the fact that it was now their destination. Like most boys his age, Cody was wholly familiar with the mysterious U.S. army base and the overabundance of secrets supposedly held there. From the most cutting edge in technological warfare to the Roswell UFO conspiracy, it all existed within the secretive walls of the restricted facility. Whatever momentary relief there was in solving Wesley’s riddle was stiffly suffocated by the dense sensation of gloom—they were now going to have to break into the most secure location in the entire United States.
A loud knock interrupted his thoughts. Cody tensed up and dropped to his knees. “Do you think it could be Dunstan?”
Jade crouched down low beside him. “I don’t know. It could just be the maid.” Another burst of knocking, even louder than before, rattled the door. “Okay, so it’s definitely not the maid. What do we do?” They heard the creaking sound of the doorknob twisting back and forth. Cody froze, “Did you hear that?” Jade had just made the same observation, “The doorknob didn’t budge. The knocking isn’t coming from the front door!” Pivoting around, they stared at the side door connecting their room to the adjoining room. Someone was jerking that doorknob.
“Should we try to escape through the front door?” Jade suggested in a hushed whisper. The moment the words left her mouth she got an answer: a loud banging pounded on the front door. They were surrounded.
They began slowly backing up until they bumped against the pane of the window. Enclosed, and fifteen floors up, they could do nothing but simply wait for the inevitable. Above the banging a muffled voice barked from beyond the side door, “For heaven’s sake, Cody, open this blasted door!” At the same time the front door handle began to rattle with increased ferocity. It shook with the impact of a body colliding with it from the hallway.
Jade grabbed his hand. “They know your name?!” Giving her hand a quick squeeze, Cody pushed himself off the wall and grabbed the doorknob to the adjourning room. “Cody, what do you think you’re doing! Don’t . . .” She was too late; he had already unfastened the lock and opened the door. Framed in the archway stood a stubby man they had never seen before. In a blur of motion, the man’s arms shot out and clutched onto Cody’s collar. With a violent yank Cody was dragged into the room.
The stench of beef protruded from the assailant’s mouth as he slammed Cody onto the floor, his face settling inches away. Hazy eyed, Cody released a grunt as he lost his wind. Swinging up his fist, he jabbed the man square across the cheek. Dazed, the man loosened his grip. Squirming wildly, Cody struggled free of the man’s grasp and bolted back toward the door, but the man’s coarse hands latched onto his ankles sending Cody toppling back to the floor.
Jade emerged through the door and dive-tackled the man, his spine crunching under the pressure of her knees. “Let him go!” Jade commanded.
Reaching up to the nightstand, Jade yanked the alarm clock out of the wall and swung it with all her strength. It collided directly into the back of the man’s head. He let out a loud umph as his body went limp. “Come on, Cody, let’s get out of here. Follow me!” They ran to the room’s front door, leaving the man wheezing on the floor. Gasping for breath, the man called out, attempting to push himself up with his arms, “Stop, if you leave this room . . . you will . . . die . . . you must . . . trust . . . me. . . . Trying . . . help. . . .” Jade hesitated, her hand already grasping the doorknob.
Heavy pounding was still ringing out from the other room’s front door. Whoever was in the hallway was now ramming the door fiercely with their body. Jade knew they would soon break through. Time was no longer a luxury. Whatever she decided, she had to decide quickly. She let go of the door, “Speak quickly, man. What do we do? And don’t even think about standing up.” The man, still battling for breath, pointed to the door connecting the two rooms.
“Close . . . quickly . . . lock . . . ,” he wheezed. His words had been enough. Cody reached the door and slammed it shut, flicking the lock in the same motion. Corresponding with his action was a loud crash. The door in the other room had been breached.
“Shhhh,” whispered the man. Jade killed the lights and dropp
ed to the floor. She could feel her pulse pounding against her temple as she locked the breath in her lungs. Voices were muttering to each other in the other room, but it was impossible to make out what they were saying. Cody quietly stepped over and pressed his ear against the wall. The men on the other side did not sound pleased.
“I swear, Sir, I’m telling the truth!” said a rough, husky voice. “I saw them go in, and I never saw them go out,” he pleaded apologetically. A loud thump of something banged against the wall close to Cody’s position, sending dust soaring around his head. His nose crinkled. Cody bit his upper lip, sweat running down his brow, as he fought the uncontrollable need to sneeze. Jade shot him a death glance, informing him that it was not a battle he could afford to lose.
“It was a simple job,” said a second voice that scolded in a cold, authoritative manner. Cody concluded that it commanded its respect out of fear rather than love.
“I apologize, Sir, it won’t happen again,” the first piped in.
“Oh, shut up you whimpering rat. We hired you for one reason, to handle this matter, and you couldn’t do it. Perhaps you’d be better off making biscuits and tea for the rest of the boys when they return from actually doing their jobs. Or maybe . . .” His tone became chillingly serious, “you would like to explain this mishap to the master?”
The first man inhaled, “No, please, Sir. They can’t have gone too far. We still have time. I’ll find them.” The second man remained quiet for a moment, then replied frigidly, “Rendezvous with the others, have them stake out a watch around the hotel. Something tells me they are still here somewhere. They have yet to uncover the meaning behind the Book. They will be vulnerable. If they attempt to escape . . . shoot them.”
“Yes, Sir,” the first man marched toward the door.
“Don’t let me down again.”
The three stowaways in the neighboring room kept a panicked silence for several minutes longer, even after the sound of the two men’s footsteps had faded away down the hall. Jade was the first to exhale and end the nervous quiet. AH-CHOO! Cody’s head was cranked back by the force of his sneeze, “I thought I was going to implode!”
Jade was in no mood for joking. She knelt her knee onto the stranger’s neck and applied firm pressure. “We don’t have much time, man, so you better start explaining yourself and quick.”
During the frantic wrestling match neither Cody nor Jade had gotten a good view of the stranger. Now that the dust had settled, their eyes fixed upon him with fascination. He was at least an inch shorter than Cody, although his face revealed him to be at least a middle-aged man. Like a newly constructed bird’s nest, his hair was a dark gray, messy tuft on the top of his head. A sparse, unkempt beard formed around his thick chapped lips. Something was unusual about the short man, but they couldn’t determine what it was.
The man rubbed his head where Jade had connected with the clock. When he finally spoke, his voice was scratchy and irritated. “Well, I had intended to introduce myself like a civilized man, before the warrior-princess over there thought it would be a great idea to knock my wind out.” He brought his hand up to rub the carpet burn on his cheek. “Stupid children.”
“I’m sorry, we thought you were . . .” Jade began as she removed her knee, but the man interrupted her. “Well, you thought wrong. If foolish girls like you started attacking people every time they had a rogue thought, we’d have a world of cripples and lames. They’d be giving out wheelchairs with birth certificates.”
Jade felt her face flush. “How dare you say . . .” But the man paid no attention to her; instead he turned to face Cody.
“Do you have the Book?” he questioned matter-offactly. Cody subconsciously reached behind and felt the indentation of the book pressing against the edges of his backpack, grateful that he had not forgotten it in the other room. After all the adventures they had endured over the last two days, he realized that this was the first time anyone had acknowledged the significance of the Book since Wesley. It gave Cody a strange sense of assurance.
“The note!” yelled Jade. It had just dawned on her that they had left Wesley’s letter openly exposed on the nightstand. The short man grunted, “Never mind it; it’s worthless to you now. You already deciphered the riddle.”
“You were eavesdropping on us!” Cody accused furiously.
Again the man let out an irritated grunt. “Well, I wouldn’t have been forced to tap into your dull conversations had you not led me on the bloody Boston marathon throughout the streets! So uncivilized, you people . . .”
“So it was you who was tracking us from the station! But why?” Jade questioned.
“Ruddy well right it was me tracking you. And to save your toasty American bacon, that’s why. Which I just did if you hadn’t noticed. Not that my crushed ribcage made me feel unwelcome or anything.”
Jade knew it would be pointless to argue with the man. Mustering up all the friendliness she could manage, she offered him a smile. “Well, Sir, what would you have us do next?”
The man tossed his head back in disgust, “What do you think, hunny? I’m gonna bust your hinies outa this fifteenstory prison.”
Escape
Creaking soft as a cricket, the door inched open. Out of the opened crack stuck a small, roundish head. The bearded face scanned the hallway left and right before easing the door open fully. “Follow me, and don’t make a sound or I’ll kill ya myself,” he commanded to his cohorts as they crept down the hall.
He was sure that both the elevator and stair exits would be under close surveillance in the lobby. He pressed his hunched back against the wall to avoid the moonlight sneaking through the hallway windows; even at fifteen stories up, he was not willing to take chances. These people knew the truth about the Book. That fact alone made them an exceedingly perilous threat. It was going to take a lot of smart planning to get out of this one, and a whole lot of dumb luck, he thought grimly.
From behind, Cody and Jade followed him tentatively. Their newly self-appointed leader was a foul little man, but their gut told them that he was trustworthy. Besides, they didn’t exactly have an alternative option. The fact that he had remained nameless, though, was more than unsettling.
For the first time, the stranger turned back to examine his followers. “Okay, lads, we’re going to have to take the stairs. I have a car parked just outside the lobby in temporary parking. When we get to the lobby, let me handle things. I don’t want you brainless oafs ruining our already slim chances. When the coast is clear, get to the car and start the engine. We either leave here tonight in that car or in a body bag.” He tossed a set of keys toward Cody who boggled them in his hands.
“How are you going to distract . . .” Cody began, but the short man had already departed and was scurrying down the stairs. Jade leaned in close to Cody. “What do you make of all this? Is this man one of the good guys or the bad ones?” Cody made no reply; he had no answer. They passed by the tenth floor and kept moving. The man in front continued his constant, distasteful muttering. “You lads and your obsessive desire to build higher and higher . . .” The rest of his grumblings were incoherent. At last they reached the ground floor. The dwarf peeked through the window of the door. “Aye, I see three of those mindless goats there now,” he whispered. “Wait for my cue; then make a dash for it.”
“What about the others? It sounded like there might be more of them. What should we do if run into them?” asked Jade timidly. The man muttered a curse, “Use your own blasted head. You do got a brain swimming around in there, ain’t ya?” He grabbed the doorknob. “Oh, and lads,” he paused, “try not to get yourselves shot. . . .” Before they could protest the dwarf had pushed the door open and sauntered into the middle of the lobby. Cody and Jade knelt down, leaving the door slightly ajar, waiting anxiously for the man’s cue.
In the lobby were three men. A skinny, blond haired man was lounging on a sofa holding a Women’s Home Decor magazine as his eyes perused the lobby diligently. Another hefty man w
as propped up against the wall on the opposite side of the room doing the same. A third man, with a prominent scar across his left cheek, was standing casually by the front doors, peering out the glass at the people walking the streets. All three men were wearing long, black leather coats. Cody could just make out tiny wires coming from their ears.
“What a day! Don’t yous say gentlemens?” the dwarf called out obstructively loud, plopping himself down on the couch adjacent to the blond man. The coated man looked up, unimpressed by the intruder, before lowering his head back down to his magazine, ignoring the question altogether. The dwarf continued, uttering each word with a drunken lisp, “First I loses the family fortune on a fews games of blackjack, can you believes it?” The watchman again looked up from his magazine disdainfully. “Yes, tragic,” he snapped in a bored voice, indicating that the conversation had already reached a point further than he cared to hear. The second watchman continued to scan the lobby. His eyes paused momentarily on the staircase door. Cody winced. After several intense moments, the man looked away again, apparently noticing nothing unusual.
“Just whens I thinks the day can’t get any more interesting, can you guess whats I saw?” The dwarf continued, swaying back and forth dizzily, “Two teenagers, climbing outs their window!” At the mention of the teenagers, the eyes of the watchmen shot toward the speaker. “Just a walkings and a’ climbings down the ledge; don’t sees that everyday dos ya lads!” The scar-faced man by the front door quickly disappeared outside. The bulky sentry by the wall inconspicuously set down his brochure and moved swiftly toward the stairs.
“We need to hide!” Jade whispered to Cody, watching as the man came straight in their direction. They scanned their surroundings but there was nowhere to go. The man reached the stairway door. His callused hand wrapped around the handle and began to slowly twist it open. Cody braced himself to pounce.
Legend of the Book Keeper Page 7
