“I’ll make contact later, I promise,” said Myron. “Don’t call. Maybe we’ll come to some sort of agreement. Maybe you and me and your dad could even work together at something.”
“It was you. You murdered that scientist before coming here.”
He smiled. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Did you hurt my dad?”
“That would be like hurting myself, wouldn’t it?”
He backed away from the table and exited the restaurant. Everything Myron wore was his father’s clothing, down to the gold chain around his neck. Brendan made it outside in time to see him pull away from the curb in his father’s Camaro.
***
Brendan had Tina call Sperry, but one of the security guards answered and told them to wait there. One of the headmaster’s men picked them up and brought them back to school. He told them to stay on campus but wouldn’t answer any questions as to whether Sperry was okay.
School security was on high alert and manning the front of each dorm. Brendan walked Tina back to her dorm and then called his mother. He told her to call the police if Myron contacted her. He couldn’t answer her questions and felt bad when he abruptly ended the conversation.
“I love you,” he said. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
The sun had set. The night air felt exceptionally warm for mid-fall. The dorm lobby was loud so he and Tina stayed outside in view of the guard. They took a bench.
“He didn’t believe you when you told him he was stuck here,” Tina said. “Maybe Sperry told him that too. Think Sperry’s okay?”
“I don’t know. It’ll sink in eventually. He’ll be forced to acclimate. This time he really has my dad. It’s not a trick. Maybe he’s killed him.”
“You don’t know that.”
“But he’ll have nothing to lose once he understands the situation. It’ll be complicated for him to keep my dad around while trying to fill his shoes.”
“Sperry’s people are on high alert, at least. I guess there’s no easy way to get the police involved with this beyond letting them know your dad was sighted here.”
Brendan shook his head. “‘Known fugitive kidnapped and held prisoner by other-dimension double?’”
She didn’t laugh, and she took his hands. For some reason he couldn’t muster tears. He didn’t believe his father had conspired with Myron. You don’t just willingly give up your clothes and car to a mystery doppelgänger. He had fought Not-Earth’s Myron Reece before. Now that the gates were all closed, the playing field would level out.
“I don’t want to sound like your mom,” Tina said, “but you should probably get some rest.”
“Later. I’m heading to the lab. I’ve got a project to start. I’ve wasted too much time on Charlotte’s gadgets. Time for some of my own.”
Security tried to stop them. When Brendan explained where they were going and told the guard to check with the headmaster, the guard made a call. Soon another guard came and escorted them across campus.
Vlad and Poser were already there, their own guard waiting just outside the door to the lab.
“Got your text,” Poser said.
“Aren’t we extra special tonight?” Vlad said, smiling as Brendan and Tina’s guard joined the first outside. “Are you guys okay?”
“We’re fine,” Brendan said. “You ready to get to work?”
“I’m not missing out on getting some payback,” Poser said.
Tina plopped down on a stool and watched as Brendan and Vlad took out their tools. Brendan brought out the glove. He picked up a screwdriver and proceeded to take it apart. Poser adjusted a lamp on an adjustable arm for better light.
Brendan let out a long sigh and forced himself to concentrate. Charlotte was gone. She had chosen to stay and confront the remaining warlords. Brendan understood that he had left her and knew he had no choice now but to live with his decision. But Myron Reece had done something with his father.
Brendan removed the plate that covered the glove’s battery pack. Charlotte’s elegant design could be put to other uses besides opening gates. He would be fighting for his world now, and he needed every advantage he could find.
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Author’s Note
This concludes what I have informally been calling my “Headmaster Trilogy.” These stories would have been impossible to finish without the help of my editor, Brittany Dory. I’m also grateful to my beta readers and supportive fans.
Brendan, Tina, Vlad, Lucille, and Poser will be back in The Dark Academy which will send them on a new adventure, pitting them against a ruthless government agent investigating the strange events surrounding the headmaster’s machine. A rival school with its own group of talented students has also set its sights on Dutchman Springs Academy. A grudge match football game between the schools will become the first battle of a conflict that may turn Brendan’s school into a warzone…
Other novels by Gerhard Gehrke:
Nineveh’s Child
Supervillain High
The Headmaster’s Shadow
A Beginner’s Guide to Invading Earth
House of the Galactic Elevator
The Supervillain High Boxed Set: Books One - Three of the Supervillain High Series Page 68
