Rex nodded. “Sounds like he’s been backed into a corner.”
Cai said, “I wouldn’t make any assumptions. Perhaps he’s backed into a corner, or perhaps he just wants us to think he is. If you’re right and he’s getting desperate, that only means he’ll be more dangerous to deal with. He might get impulsive.”
“Classic two-player, zero-sum game,” Ivan said. “Very tricky.”
Cai called a huddle.
Rex, Teo, and I joined her beneath one of the ancient artifacts lining the roof. We could look down at the roiling city below; the air was muggy and thick and all the lights of the passing cars seemed refracted in a million pieces. The sky was very dark, and I could not see any stars. It was as though we were inside a tunnel.
“This seems almost too good to be true,” Rex said.
“Because it’s Mexico City?” Cai asked.
“That,” Rex said, “and the fact that this ULTRA group seems almost too perfectly aligned with our own. I mean Ivan has the game theory lingo, Stella’s an engineer, and Javiera just happens to be a coding prodigy. Sounds familiar, right?”
“You suggesting this is a trap?” Teo asked.
“I’m suggesting there’s something going on here,” Rex said. “How is it that this ULTRA team has been after Kiran, mirroring our movements, and we haven’t heard a single peep about it?”
“They might not be the only ones,” I added.
That got everyone thinking for a few quiet seconds.
“I don’t think this is something Kiran came up with,” Cai responded.
“My friends,” I said, “I can assure you they are good people, incredibly smart, and dedicated to this cause. When I suggested that there might be other teams like them, I was in no way suggesting that as a bad thing.”
“So it’s what, then?” Rex asked.
“What we are seeing,” I said, “might be something quite incredible. Groups of young people like us, young people like the members of ULTRA who have read our work and are now following the same leads that we are. Young people who have discovered what Kiran is attempting and are dedicated to stopping him. I think this could be the beginning, omo.”
“Beginning of what?” Teo asked.
I gave my compatriots a winning smile.
“A truly inspirational partnership,” I said.
Turning away, Rex called to ULTRA, “Okay, we’re in.”
“Great.” Javiera grinned. “When can we leave?”
13. CAI
5 DAYS UNTIL SHIVA
“Next available flight to Mexico City isn’t until tomorrow morning,” Ivan said, looking at his cell. “It’s an early flight.”
“Excellent,” Tunde said. “But I am sure it is going to be quite pricey.”
Javiera pulled out her cell.
“I got this.”
Her hands moved quickly over the surface of her cell, typing even faster than I can. I watched her expression as she swiped across screens and filled in text.
While everything was being set up, I had to admit I was feeling anxious to see my parents. I’d only been in China a few days and already we were leaving again.
I understood Rex’s caution about ULTRA, but I believed Tunde was right. It didn’t change the fact that we had to focus on the plan at hand—whatever was happening out in the larger world, we needed to keep our sights on Kiran.
I was only an hour from my house, and my father had been released after a terrifying stretch behind bars. I knew that my time away, my lies and my deceptions, had harmed them. I’d spent weeks lying to my mother, I’d put my father in harm’s way, and, even though I hadn’t shown it to Rex and Tunde, I desperately needed closure with my parents. I wanted to apologize and make everything right again. And I wasn’t going to leave China until I had.
* * *
Javiera looked up at us and put her cell in her pocket.
“We have seven tickets to Mexico City at seven a.m. tomorrow,” she said. “Couldn’t get us in first or business class, sorry. And we’re not all together. But it’s a flight and it’s free.”
Rex nodded, impressed with her work.
I thanked Javiera for securing the tickets.
“No, thank you,” Javiera replied. “We’re just thrilled to be working with you.”
“Huge honor,” Ivan said.
We all turned and looked down at the city beneath the planetarium.
“Well, we’ve had quite a night,” Rex said. “What’s next?”
Tunde said, “I do not know about you all, but I am exhausted.”
“We need to move,” Teo replied. “Knowing Terminal, I’m sure they’re not exactly going to admit what they’ve done. They’re going to blame someone, anyone, else. They’re probably trying to set up the LODGE as we speak.”
“And that means the authorities,” I said.
“We have a safe house we crash at nearby,” Stella said. “But it’s small, can barely fit the three of us. I hate to say it, but do you guys have any place to go?”
Teo said, “We can go to my apartment, but it’s all the way across town.”
I already knew where we needed to go.
“I have a place,” I said.
13.1
My mother answered the door to our apartment and nearly fainted.
I should have warned her that I was coming home, but I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. Instead, I practically gave my poor mother a heart attack. She embraced me and then held me at arm’s length so she could look in my eyes.
“Cai,” she said, breathless, “what has happened?”
“I want to explain everything,” I said. “Tell me Father is okay.”
“He’s here, just got home only a few hours ago.”
I looked around my mother’s shoulders briefly to see if I could spy him sitting in his favorite chair or standing in the doorway to the kitchen, but I didn’t see him.
“Cai, tell me what is going on. I don’t understand any of this.”
“Mom,” I said, locking my eyes on hers, “I promise you I will explain everything that has happened, but first, I need to introduce you to some friends of mine. They need a place to stay for the night and…”
My mother glanced past me to see Rex, who waved sheepishly; Tunde, who was grinning ear to ear; and Teo, hanging back behind the other guys.
“All of them?” my mother asked, shocked.
“They’d happily sleep on the living room floor,” I said.
“I haven’t been shopping yet this week.”
“They’ll be fine,” I said. “Don’t worry about it.”
My mother considered the request for a moment, examining the people standing out in her hallway, before opening the door wider and bowing to invite them inside. I went first and Tunde followed quickly after.
He stepped into the room and shook my mother’s hand vigorously.
“My name is Tunde Oni. I am from Akika Village in Nigeria. It is truly an honor to meet you, Mrs. Zhang,” he said. “Your daughter has saved my life on several occasions. I assure you that I am not being factitious. You will never believe the adventures that we—”
I stepped in and interrupted Tunde. He understood, gave my mother another brisk handshake, and stepped aside.
Rex was next. He nodded to my mom and did something of a bow. I could tell he wasn’t sure what the right move was, but he was trying what he’d seen other Chinese people do. He was awkward. It was cute.
“I’m Rex,” he said.
“It is very nice to meet you, Rex,” my mother said. “Welcome.”
Teo was next. He introduced himself in Mandarin, and my mother was quite impressed. By the time we’d gone through introductions and everyone was standing in my family’s rather small apartment living room, my father emerged from his bedroom. He was wearing jeans and a soft button-up shirt, the sort of clothing he put on when he was relaxing at home. While he seemed quite surprised to see three foreigners standing in his apartment, he appeared most stunned to see me there.
I ran over to him and embraced him.
“I don’t know what to say,” I began. “I’m just glad it’s finally over.”
“How on Earth did you pull it off?”
I shook my head, tears already forming. “It wasn’t easy.”
My father looked at me, astonished. “I thought I was lost. I was sure they’d throw the book at me and I’d never see you or your mother again. It was terrifying. And then you walk in from out of nowhere. Seeing you there, I was worried. Never in a million years did I think you’d actually pull it off.”
“I couldn’t have done it without my friends,” I said.
“They have my eternal gratitude.”
After a moment’s silence, my father said,
“Your mother…”
I knew what my father was going to say. He was clearly deeply concerned about my mother. She’d been kept in the dark about everything—my initial travels to the Game, my father’s trip to Nigeria, his incarceration—and now it was time to let her in. There was no way I was going to leave again without telling her. More than that, I wanted her to know what we were doing. I knew she’d worry. But I also wanted her to appreciate what we were doing. I wanted her to be proud of me.
I separated from my father and took him by the hand to the couch.
I had him sit beside my mother while Rex, Tunde, and Teo sat on the floor as though they were students at an assembly.
Then, the only one standing, I turned to my parents.
“I am Painted Wolf,” I said.
13.2
I had divulged the will of heaven.
In China, that’s an expression that means: I let the cat out of the bag. My father, of course, was not surprised. My mother, however, was shocked. She turned to my father, her eyes wide, and demanded to know what he knew and how he knew it. My father demurred and turned my mother’s attention back to me.
“Mother, you’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you,” I said. “But I need you to know the truth. Not because I need to get it off my chest, though keeping the truth from you has been very difficult, but because we’re going to need your help.”
My mother leaned forward, with hands clasped together, and listened.
I began to tell our story where it truly started, with Painted Wolf. I explained to my mother how I became my alter ego. What I was attempting to do. I didn’t get into the level of danger involved or the risk that I’d taken, but I made clear how devoted to the cause I was. Then I explained how I met the LODGE.
Rex and Tunde told their stories. Teo added where he could. He was not shy about his “disappearance” and explained how he’d left his stable, happy life behind to try to shake things up. This led to Terminal and, in turn, to Rex’s creation of WALKABOUT. Tunde talked about the Game. I talked about Kiran and how we’d uncovered his plans with Shiva and Rama. It was so good to get the whole story off my chest that I took the time to go into great detail—how we escaped authorities in New York, how we defeated General Iyabo while Rex was in India surveilling Kiran from “behind enemy lines,” and how we wound up bringing down Terminal ourselves. The action, my illness in Akika Village, I told my mother and father about all of it—well, everything except how Rex and I had kissed. Several times.
When we finished, I realized we’d been talking nonstop for an hour.
My father looked exhausted; he’d been there for some of it and had experienced firsthand the chaos and the confusion. My mother, however, was on the edge of the couch, eyes locked on mine. She was enthralled.
With my throat dry, I sat down beside her on the couch.
She took my hands in hers and said, “I am very proud of you. You are so selfless, so clever, so kind, and so very, very brave. I could never have accomplished half the things that you’ve done in only a couple of weeks. But … you lied to me, and I’m very upset about that.”
A lump formed in my throat. I knew that it wouldn’t be as easy as me just telling my mother the whole story and her accepting it. That would have been too easy. From the moment I’d left the house for my first mission as Painted Wolf, I understood that there’d come a time when I’d have to account for my lies, to the deception that I’d caused, and face my mother’s disappointment.
“I’m sorry, Mother,” I said, “but it was the right thing to do.”
“Why didn’t you trust me?”
“I did, but … I knew you would try to stop me.”
“I’m your mother,” she said, crying now. “Of course I would have.”
“Mother,” I said, “I need for you to trust me and trust that my friends will take care of me. We’ve been around the globe, and they’ve kept me safe the whole time. We’re strong together, and we still have much to do.”
My mother’s hands tightened on my shoulders.
A moment passed between us, and we both came to a silent though mutual understanding—she would not be able to keep me safe at home and I would not be able to keep my activities a secret from her.
“Come,” my mother said. “Your guests look hungry.”
13.3
Rex, Tunde, and Teo stayed in the living room, talking to my father, while my mother and I went to the kitchen to prepare a meal.
There was nothing I could have wanted more at that moment.
Once in the kitchen, we were in complete sync, as though the past two weeks hadn’t happened. My mother suggested we make hot and sour soup, stir-fried tomatoes with scrambled eggs, Jing jiang rou si (a traditional dish of pork in sweet bean sauce), and a pickled meat dish that my father loved.
Surrounded by the smells of the kitchen and the cuisine, I was instantly at ease. My mother and I worked side by side, cutting vegetables and slicing meat, stirring and tasting the broths and sauces. While we’d eaten sparsely during our time in Beijing, a few scattered meals of dumplings and noodles, preparing this comfort food suddenly made me ravenous.
“Father’s name is clear,” I told my mother. “You don’t have to worry.”
She washed her hands and then, wiping them dry on a hand towel, turned to me. “He is a good man but he gets too ambitious. He wants more and better for us all the time. There is something of his ego in it, too. But I never thought he’d resort to—”
“It wasn’t his fault. He made some deals that looked too good to be true. At the end of the day, they were. Father never broke the law; he just got in over his head. He’s free and clear now, Mother. Everything is as it was.”
She considered that, knitting her brow, as she filled a bowl of water for the rice. After a moment, she said, “Your friends seem quite nice.”
“They’re wonderful.”
“And the one with unruly hair?”
I was scrambling the eggs and looked down at my whisk. “His name’s Rex.”
“He’s handsome,” my mother said.
I knew that I was blushing but kept my head down and my attention focused on the bowl in front of me. “Well, I don’t know about that,” I said, somewhat quietly, trying not to let any emotion slip into my words, “but he’s very smart. He’s a coder.”
My mother bumped my hip.
“I can tell he likes you.”
My father brought several folding chairs up from the storage room in the basement, and we all crowded around our small dining table. My parents sat on either side of me, with Rex by my father and Tunde by my mother. My mother seemed entranced by Tunde’s stories of life in rural Nigeria, while my father was impressed by Rex’s deep knowledge of digital camera programming.
Listening to everyone speak, watching them enjoy the food that my mother and I had prepared, I could not help but think back to the last big meal I’d had. It was in Akika Village with General Iyabo and couldn’t have been a more contrasting scene. There, we’d eaten in fear and discomfort, while at my home the air was filled with cheer and the sweet sound of enjoyment. Thinking back on it, I appreciated just how much we’d accomplished. That made my food taste all the better.
; “The eggs are delicious,” Rex said from across the table.
“Thank you,” I said.
“This is truly an incredible meal,” Tunde said as he stood, holding his teacup in his hand and raising it for a toast. We all raised our cups as well. “I want to thank our gracious hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang and their amazing daughter. I know that I speak for Rex, Teo, and myself when I say that I could not imagine a finer dinner and a more hospitable place to spend the evening. Truly, deeply, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you.”
We all clapped. My parents beamed shyly.
It wasn’t until after the boys had cleaned up the meal and we’d all had our fifth cup of tea that I realized how exhausted I was. I slept in my bed for the first time in weeks while Rex, Tunde, and Teo slept on the floor near the closet. Tunde and Teo were asleep first, both of them snoring heavily under a pile of duvets. Rex tossed and turned before quietly asking me if I was awake.
I was.
“I’ve been thinking about this whole crazy thing,” Rex whispered. “I’ve learned so much about myself doing this. I was kind of a brat before, determined to do my thing no matter the costs. I guess you showed me that everything we’re doing has so much more reach. It goes way beyond what I expected, and I’m proud of that.”
“I didn’t teach you,” I said. “You discovered it yourself.”
“You showed me, though.”
Rex carefully got up and crept over to me. He leaned down, kissed me, and then said, “You make me a better person, Cai.”
Then he snuck back to the floor and fell asleep.
I watched him sleep for a few minutes, my mind spinning. I thought about our upcoming trip to Mexico City, imagined how we might get inside the final black box lab and make our way past Kiran’s finest brain trust members, before my thoughts turned to the future. I wondered: What did my normal look like? Did I even have a normal life? Could I imagine myself going back undercover as Painted Wolf and creeping down air ducts and setting up surveillance cameras on rooftops?
Those thoughts tumbled through my head for a few moments.
However, I smiled before I fell asleep.
“Of course I can,” I told myself. “I’ll always be Painted Wolf.”
Genius--The Revolution Page 10
