by Felice Arena
‘Um, I don’t know.’ Andy shrugged. ‘It’s just a gift I suppose.’
‘Spoken like a true artist,’ gushed Mr Delaware. ‘May I go and photocopy it for my files?’
Andy nodded as his teacher rushed out of the room. Reggie gave him a knowing grin, but was distracted when he saw what Gabriella had drawn.
‘You drew your dad digging on a sedimentary site!’ he said. ‘That’s so cool!’
‘Thanks!’ Gabriella smiled, turning away from Andy. ‘And, let me guess…Yours is Einstein, right?’
Reggie’s face lit up and he looked completely love struck. To Andy’s surprise, Gabriella seemed pleased.
Andy shook his head. Judd was going to be furious. But he had something else on his mind. What new apps do I have? he thought. And what trouble am I going to get myself into when I find out?
‘So what did she say? Did she love it? I bet she loved it! Is she missing me?’ Judd fired question after question at Andy when he returned home after school. ‘Come on, dude. Hit me with the details!’
Andy hadn’t even put down his backpack. ‘Relax! Let me get a drink first,’ he said, pushing past Judd and wondering how he was going to tell him that Gabriella still wasn’t interested in him.
‘So I found out today I have a new power,’ Andy said, trying to change the subject. ‘I’m having some technical difficulties – I totally freaked out. And now, apparently, if you ever want your portrait done, I’m the guy to call. I can draw anything.’
‘Stop stalling,’ Judd said. ‘What about Gabriella?’
‘She loved the rock,’ said Andy. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t exactly the truth either.
‘Knew she would!’ Judd grinned, popping some gum in his mouth. ‘Too bad I’m expelled. It’s the first time I’ve really wanted to be at school. Whatevs! I’ve got a plan.’
Judd’s plans always made Andy slightly nervous. Just as Andy was about to ask, loud revving sounds roared from the front of the house. Andy couldn’t believe it. He knew that sound – it was a Ducati 1199. Andy had been a motorcycle fan as long as he could remember. He could identify any bike by the sound of its engine, and this was his all-time favourite.
Andy ran to the garage.
Agent Granny was pulling her helmet off as he raced through the door. ‘Whoa! You took out the Ducati?’ Andy said.
‘What?’ said Agent Granny, switching off the engine.
‘I thought you only rode the Triumph, never the Ducati,’ said Andy, stepping forward for a closer look. ‘This is awesome, Agent Granny.’
‘Stop right there,’ she ordered. ‘What did I tell you about getting close to my bikes? Both of you! Keep away. Do not touch or come near my prized possessions. If you lay even your pinkie fingers on this, I swear on my forty years in this business you will pay for it. Do not unleash the fury in me, boys – you got that?’
Andy stepped back. You didn’t mess with Agent Granny. She was tough as nails. Andy wondered how she got away with pretending to be Judd’s sweet old grandma.
‘And, Andy,’ she said. ‘Call me Agent Granny one more time and I’ll rip out your wires or batteries or whatever it is that makes you tick. For the last time, it’s Bev!’
Andy nodded.
‘Right. I’m heading upstairs. Master Mechanics is on tonight, so you two stay out of my way.’
‘Just as long as you stay out of ours,’ Judd said, as soon as Agent Granny was out of earshot.
Andy laughed. ‘Pretty brave,’ he said, sarcastically.
‘Let’s get out and do something!’ said Judd. ‘I’ve been going stir crazy, stuck in here all day.’
‘Now?’ asked Andy. ‘I have some homework. And weren’t you suppose to be keeping a low profile?’
‘Homework?’ snorted Judd. ‘You sound like Reggie.’
Living with Judd was like one endless carnival ride, Andy thought. He could do whatever he liked.
At first it was awesome, having a trampoline in the house, access to a gazillion computer games, and being able to order in pizza and tubs of ice-cream every night. But now Andy was beginning to yearn for a little more structure and normality. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was really starting to miss his parents.
‘Dude, I told you before, this is your time to let loose,’ Judd said. ‘I’m just trying to pump some fun into our lives. With what we’ve been through, we deserve it.’
Andy nodded. ‘What do you have in mind?’
Judd grinned and slipped on his sunglasses. ‘Meet me back here in an hour. I’m just about to reach level seven on Mutantville. I’ve been playing it all day and I’m about to smash my record.’
Andy was happy to have some time to himself, and he needed to feed Brad, his pet rat.
Brad was actually the prototype his parents had created before they operated on him – a partly bionic super-rodent. Andy didn’t want to find out what Brad would do if he skipped his afternoon feed. But more than that, there was something Andy had been desperate to do since he’d moved in with Agent Granny and Judd. Someone he needed to contact.
Andy sat on his bed, his heart racing. He opened his left hand, swiped his right finger across the red line that appeared and tapped on Molly’s video-chat caller ID.
Andy took a deep breath. He knew he wasn’t supposed to make contact with her – the General and his parents felt the risk was too high. But he’d promised Molly, and seeing her face in his portrait today had made him long to talk to her.
I’ll just make it a really quick call, he thought.
‘Hello? Andy? Is that you?’ Molly whispered, her smiling face popping up on the screen on Andy’s hand.
‘Hi,’ Andy said nervously. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘I’m fine,’ she whispered. ‘I’m just at school, in the library.’
Andy had totally forgotten about the time difference. Molly was on the other side of the country.
‘Oops! Sorry!’ he said. ‘I’ll call back later.’
‘No! It’s okay, no one’s around at the moment,’ she said. ‘So how are you? Where are you?’
‘Um, I’m all right. But I can’t really tell you where I am or what happened. It’s a long story, and it’s kind of complicated.’ Andy wished he could be honest with her.
Molly looked concerned. ‘I’m glad you called. Two men stopped me outside the school gates the other day. They asked all these questions about the gorilla attack. They wanted to know everything about the masked boy at the zoo.’
Andy felt his heart beat faster. He wasn’t nervous anymore, just worried. ‘What did you tell them?’
‘Nothing,’ she said. ‘They really creeped me out. They took off when my dad turned up. I’m guessing it’s got something to do with you, Andy. But I won’t ask you to tell me anything if it will put you in danger.’
Andy knew that the men must have been Dr Baffi’s goons. A wave of guilt washed over him. He shouldn’t even have called her. Molly was already in danger if the Triple S were sniffing around.
‘I’m so sorry, I’ve gotta go,’ he said. ‘But you did the right thing by not telling those guys anything. Just, please, keep away from them, okay? I’ll be thinking of you…’
‘So! Are you ready to party?’ said Judd, busting in, just as the image of Molly’s face flashed off. Andy hid his hand behind his back.
‘I thought I was meeting you later,’ said Andy.
Judd was dressed in biker leathers and boots. ‘Change of plans,’ he said. ‘Bev’s snoring in front of the telly. We’re taking her Ducati for a spin!’
Andy watched as Judd wheeled the Ducati down the street. ‘When she wakes up and discovers it’s gone she’s going to go ballistic! She’ll kill us!’
‘Relax.’ Judd shrugged. ‘We’ll push the bike well out of earshot. And if she does wake up later, she’ll roll off the couch and go to bed without even checking whether we’re there. Trust me.’
‘I don’t know,’ Andy said nervously. ‘We’re not even old enough to drive.’
<
br /> ‘Dude. You’re a motorbike tragic. This is your dream bike. You’re telling me you don’t want to try this baby out?’
When they were several blocks away from the house, Judd pulled two helmets off the back of the bike.
‘Go on – I might not have a licence, but I know how to handle myself on a bike.’
‘May as well celebrate, I guess,’ said Andy, thinking of his birthday.
‘Celebrate what?’ asked Judd. ‘What so special about today?’
‘Nothing.’ Andy shrugged. He didn’t want Judd or Reggie or anyone else fussing over him. It felt weird that for the first time he wouldn’t be celebrating with his parents.
‘Come on,’ Judd pressed.
Andy couldn’t resist. He grinned and swung himself onto the glossy red superbike.
Judd revved the turbine-powered engine. ‘Oh, yeah!’ he cried. ‘Let’s see what this sweet ride can do. Time for some serious speed.’
‘WOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOO!’ cried Andy, as he and Judd roared down the street.
Judd turned onto a freeway ramp and accelerated to a jaw-dropping speed.
‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?’ yelled Andy.
But Judd didn’t hear him. He just put his head down and revved the bike to go even faster. Everything flashed by them in a blur. They were zipping past cars as if they were standing still.
‘YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!’ Andy hollered.
This was turning out to be one of the greatest thrills of Andy’s life.
It reminded him of when he’d just discovered his powers and he was running super fast and jumping super high, just for the fun of it. That was before he knew that he needed to avoid being seen.
This wasn’t like the times he’d used his powers in a crisis – when he was frightened, or acting without thinking. This was just awesome fun. Maybe Judd’s on to something, he thought. Letting loose and having fun might be the best thing that could happen to me right now.
Then he heard the sirens…
Andy looked over his shoulder to see the flashing lights of a police car in hot pursuit.
‘I don’t believe it,’ he muttered.
Judd flipped up his visor. ‘Want to see if we can lose ‘em?’ he hollered.
Andy gulped. ‘No! Pull over! Are you nuts?’
The wind muffled most of his words, but Judd slowed and pulled over.
‘Well, you boys are in a lot of trouble,’ the officer grumbled as he walked up beside them. ‘Get off the bike now.’
‘Sir, before you say anything else,’ Judd said, quickly pulling out what looked like a black credit card from his top pocket, ‘this is for you.’
The officer grabbed the card and looked shocked when he took a closer look at it.
‘Is this what I think it is?’ he said. ‘I’ve heard about these, but I never thought I’d actually see one…Wait here a minute.’
The officer walked back to his patrol car.
‘What was that?’ asked Andy.
Judd shrugged. ‘It’s my card to freedom. Just one of the many perks to being a government agent.’
‘Well, it checks out,’ said the officer when he returned. ‘Here’s your card back, sir.’
‘Sir?’ said Andy, only to get an elbow jab in the ribs from Judd.
‘Just try to keep your speed close to the legal limit, okay?’ said the officer.
‘I’ll try,’ said Judd, switching on the ignition.
‘He treated you like royalty,’ Andy said. ‘What else does that card allow you to do?’
‘It’s funny you ask,’ yelled Judd over the revs of the bike. ‘Cos you should see where we’re going to use it next!’
‘I don’t believe it,’ said Andy.
‘You said that – like about ten times already,’ Judd said, grinning.
‘And I’ll say it again,’ said Andy, biting into a candy apple. ‘I can’t believe we have courtside tickets to a National Basketball League game. This is totally awesome.’
‘I told ya, being an agent definitely has its upside.’
‘Then maybe I want to be an agent too,’ Andy said, waving over a guy selling giant foam hands. ‘Except for the killing part. I don’t know if I could ever do that. No matter how bad the bad guys are.’
Judd looked at Andy over his shades. ‘Really?’ he said. ‘Dude, you have the power to take on a whole army if you want to. Are you serious?’
‘Yeah,’ said Andy, pointing at Judd with his big foam finger. ‘I am.’
‘But what about when Zloy had me at gunpoint? He was about to shoot me. What if you could have taken him out with your laser? What if it was him or me?’
‘I don’t know.’ Andy suddenly felt sad, even as loud upbeat music kicked in and cheerleaders took to the court. ‘I knocked him out so I didn’t have to find out. Have you ever had to…to…’ Andy wasn’t quite sure how to ask that question.
Judd shook his head. ‘But if I ever came face to face with the guys who killed my parents, I wouldn’t think twice about letting ‘em have it.’
Judd turned away from Andy and crossed his arms. Andy didn’t mean to upset his friend. This was all getting a little too intense. He decided it was best to change the subject.
‘Look who’s sitting five seats down from us,’ he said. ‘Is that…?’
‘Yep, the one and only,’ said Judd, as the announcer began to introduce the teams. ‘I see movie stars here all the time.’
When the game got under way, Andy was totally caught up in all the excitement. Every so often a Mexican wave would flow through the crowd and they would jump up and scream their lungs out. Whenever their team made a basket, nearby fans turned around for a high-five.
Andy was having the time of his life. That is, until he began to hiccup.
‘Whoa, that’s weird,’ he muttered to himself. ‘That was no ordinary hiccup.’
‘Way to go, team!’ screamed Judd, not noticing that Andy had stopped cheering.
There it is again, thought Andy, as his shoulders shook with another hiccup. And there’s a sound. A tiny sound…like a bird squawking.
Andy hiccupped again. And again he heard a strange echo from his vocal chords – only it was a little louder. In fact the volume of the squawk had increased each time.
‘What was that?’ asked Judd, who had noticed it this time, even with all the loud cheering in the stadium.
‘It’s me,’ said Andy. ‘I can’t control it! Every time I hic–’
Heads were turning as other spectators heard the freaky sound.
Judd jumped back startled. ‘That sounded like a pterodactyl with a toothache! What are you doing?’
‘I can’t help it,’ said Andy. ‘I think my sound-mimicry function has gone into meltdown.’
‘Well, can’t you just turn it off?’ Judd asked, relieved to see that most of the people around them had turned back to the game.
‘That’s what I was trying to tell you after school. Nothing’s working properly. I can’t switch off and I can’t just start tapping on my palm screen with a gazillion eyes on me. I’ve gotta go to a private place where I can –’
This time the entire stadium heard Andy’s uncontrollable screech as it rang over the top of the cheers. Even the players stopped dead in their tracks and turned towards them.
‘This isn’t good.’ Judd was panicking. ‘Look!’
Andy glanced up to the big screen hanging from the stadium ceiling and saw a gigantic close-up of Judd and himself.
Judd quickly pulled the big foam hand in front of their faces.
‘We’ve got to get outta here,’ he said. ‘Move! Move! And keep your face hidden.’
Judd and Andy got out of their seats and shuffled for the nearest exit.
‘And that’s not helping!’
‘I can’t control it,’ said Andy.
The boys ran out of the stadium and across the parking lot to Agent Granny’s motorcycle. Andy reached the bike in a matter of seconds.
‘Seriously, you should try out for t
he Olympic track team,’ Judd puffed heavily as he jogged up beside Andy a couple of minutes later.
‘Sorry. I panicked in there, especially when I saw you freak out,’ said Andy. ‘You never freak out.’
‘Dude! We were captured on the big screen. We’re supposed to be keeping a low profile. Even I can’t cover that up. If anyone saw us, we’re in deep trouble.’
‘You mean with the General?’ asked Andy, starting to regret that he had allowed Judd to talk him into this.
‘Yeah, you wish,’ said Judd, hopping on the Ducati and revving the engine. ‘I was talking about Baffi and his goons!’
‘Are you sure this is going to work?’
‘I’ve done this a million times…just keep an eye out for the old lady in case she wakes up. And don’t hiccup! That sound would wake the dead.’
Andy nodded. His hiccups had stopped, but he had no way of knowing if they would come back.
Judd rolled the Ducati back to its spot in the garage – exactly where Agent Granny had left it – and attached what looked like a metallic mobile phone over the speedometer.
‘So what is that?’ asked Andy. ‘Does that contraption rewind the kilometres?’
‘Yep – you can thank your dad for this little beauty. He invented it,’ said Judd.
‘He did?’ Andy smiled proudly, wondering how his father was doing. But he also felt guilty. His parents had asked him to be careful and stay hidden. He wished he had a contraption that would rewind the last few hours.
I shouldn’t have called Molly, he thought. I shouldn’t have gone out with Judd. And we shouldn’t have taken Agent Granny’s bike.
‘Now pick up those rags from over there,’ added Judd. ‘We’ve gotta clean this bike.’
‘BOYS!’ Agent Granny’s angry voice boomed throughout the house. Judd and Andy exchanged worried looks over their bowls of cereal.
‘You said she wouldn’t find out,’ said Andy.
‘How could she know?’ said Judd. ‘The bike’s perfect.’
