Project Chimera

by Lisa McMann

  Ms. Sabbith blew out a consternated breath. “I have everything I need from Dr. Sharma’s list except for one crucial component,” she said. “It’s being delivered to me at our lab on Saturday—I have to do it over the weekend so no one else here intercepts it. As soon as I’ve got it, I’ll fly right out to you with all the equipment. Has Quinn been able to communicate at all with you since the first time?”

  “Not really,” Mrs. Wilde said. “We’re still trying.”

  “If you can somehow give them a sign to wait to make a move until Monday that would be great. Maybe you can put something up in the window for them to see. Then we’ll cross our fingers that Kelly doesn’t do anything else and hope that Gray isn’t paying attention to what she’s already done. I know that’s a lot of wishful thinking, though, so you should be prepared to make a move without me, just in case the scientists have to make a break for it.”

  “Gosh, I hope we’ll be ready,” Mrs. Wilde said, her voice grim. “But the situation seems stable over there, and Jack isn’t moving around very quickly yet. Fingers crossed that things go our way.”

  Wednesday was filled with new developments at home base.

  “I have an idea for the window sign,” said Maria when they arrived. “Your dad likes phone number puzzles, right?”

  “Yes,” said Charlie. “What’s your idea?”

  “Well, we don’t want Dr. Gray or the soldiers to suspect anything if they happen to glance out the window and see it, so we can’t just write, ‘Don’t try escaping until next week!’ or anything obvious.”

  “Right.”

  “So, what if we do a cipher in the form of a For Lease sign using a fake company name? Then the phone number can be the date?”

  “I’m not sure I get it,” said Charlie.

  “I’ll show you what I mean.” They found a large piece of cardboard. Maria carefully wrote, “Grand Escapes Leasing Co,” on the top in block letters, then paused. “Monday is March thirteenth,” she said. “March is the third month, so we can make the phone number (313) 555-0313. What do you think?”

  Charlie nodded. “That’s perfect. It even looks like a professional company phone number, so the soldiers and Dr. Gray wouldn’t think anything of it. But if Dr. Sharma sees it in our window, she’ll know it’s got to be a message.”

  They showed it to Charlie’s mom for her approval. Then they removed part of the window film that Ms. Sabbith had put up and slid the sign behind it, propped on the sill.

  While the girls worked on that project, Mac finally found a way to get the dragonfly into the lab through the vents. He kept it hidden, balancing on the grates above Mr. Wilde’s workstation. Now the group could hear conversations, but so far the only talk was about mundane things like the weather or what was for lunch or vague references to supplies needed to continue the work. None of the soldiers discussed anything secretive, probably because the scientists were in earshot, and none of the scientists would talk about anything risky at all, most likely because the soldiers were hovering around them constantly.

  If only they could figure out how to get Dr. Sharma’s attention and let her know the camera was in the lab now. There seemed to be more opportunities here for instructions to get whispered in passing or written on notes and held up to the camera but only if the scientists knew the dragonfly was there.

  Once, around lunchtime when there were only a few soldiers in the lab with the scientists and all was quiet, Mac tried making the dragonfly’s wings buzz against the metal grate. It sounded ridiculously loud to them, but that was because the microphone was right there. But Mr. Wilde didn’t look up. Mac thought about having the dragonfly swoop down to get their attention but didn’t dare risk being seen by anyone else. They needed this camera and couldn’t afford to lose another one. So they waited. Like always. But at least while they waited the kids could train. And it was time to dig in and take their training to the next level—somewhere Mac’s claws could dig in deep without destroying the office building.

  That afternoon Mrs. Wilde drove the kids to the Superstition Mountains nearby and parked at one of the trails that didn’t seem to have many hikers. They set out to find a private area where they could test out their skills. As soon as they saw an area of huge boulders near a sheer rock wall a little ways off the trail, they went toward it. Mrs. Wilde stayed behind to keep a lookout in case anyone started toward them.

  “I did some more research on the pangolin,” Mac said to the girls. “Their claws are supposed to be able to dig through concrete.”

  “That’s amazing!” said Maria.

  “I can’t wait to see what you can do to this mountain,” said Charlie.

  Mac beamed. He used his inhaler, then tapped his device to release the liquid suit. When it hardened, he clicked through his bracelet screen to find the claw feature. Once his fingers transformed into claws, he tapped hard against the mountainside to see what would happen. They made a small divot in the rock. He wound up like a pitcher and slammed his claws into the rock. They sank in deep.

  He tugged, but they were stuck fast. “Uh-oh,” he said under his breath. He pulled and wriggled until they came free, and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Maybe not quite so much force,” he said. He hit the mountainside again, and this time the claws sank only a little way. He bent his knees and hung by one hand, testing their ability to support him. He held. Then he did the same with his other hand and slowly began climbing. He used the claws on his feet, too, trying to get used to that strange feeling.

  Maria climbed the boulders, still looking like her normal self. When she reached the top, she grinned back at the others, then cringed and ran off the edge, changing into a weremonkey in midflight. She landed and looked around cautiously, then jumped to a lower boulder. A natural hunk of rock jutted out of the rock face above her. She leaped and swung from it. With her other hand she clicked her bracelet into Turbo Mode. When her legs, arms, and tail were fully extended, she continued swinging, jumping, and climbing all over the area.

  It was fun for Charlie to watch her friends figure stuff out for the first time, but she knew that she needed more practice too. So after a few minutes she kicked off her shoes and followed what Maria had done: climbing up the boulder pile and jumping off but toward the rock face instead, letting the bracelet kick in on its own. With fingers and toes tingling she hit low on the side of the mountain and stuck there, then worked on becoming more quick and agile with her climbing.

  They spent the afternoon working on their various skills. Mrs. Wilde came to watch their progress for a while. “You’re doing great!” she called out to them. “I’m trying not to have a heart attack watching you. Charlie, aren’t you a little high off the ground? No?”

  Charlie laughed and crawled down the rock face to the ground. Then she went over to her mom. “That was fun,” she said, her face streaked with dirt and sweat. The others followed, turning off the enhancements that they could.

  Once Maria had changed back to normal, they went back to home base to check the cameras. With the roach cam destroyed, the dragonfly keeping eyes and ears on the scientists, and the ladybug on the window with a different view of the lab, there was no longer a camera in Dr. Gray’s office. Mac occasionally brought the elevator spider cam out into the hallway. They caught Dr. Gray going into his office and not coming out for several hours at a time, and they debated whether to try to put the spider cam on him in there. But ultimately they decided it was more important to keep tabs on who was coming and going, especially now that new soldiers seemed to be showing up. They needed to get a solid count of them in order to know what they’d be facing when they went on their rescue mission.

  On Thursday the kids returned to the Superstition Mountains and spent much of the day training, then they went to home base for the evening.

  “It’s good we’re learning to use our devices better,” remarked Charlie, “but I still don’t know how to throw a punch very well. I always feel awkward.”

  “Same,” said Ma
c. “I bet we can teach ourselves, though.” While they were resting up, he pulled up some videos on self-defense and martial arts, thinking that if they just learned some key moves it would help. After watching several videos, they started practicing techniques.

  On the other side of the room Mrs. Wilde skimmed through the day’s footage, finding nothing of note, then held the dragonfly poised on the ceiling grate for an opportunity to alert Mr. Wilde to its presence above them.

  Meanwhile, Mac activated his device. “Try punching me,” he said to the girls. “It won’t hurt.” The girls practiced throwing punches like they’d just learned. Once they figured out punching, they moved to doing kicks on Mac.

  When they grew tired, Charlie offered the same opportunity to Mac, so he could get some basic training in too.

  “What? No! I can’t punch you,” Mac said.

  “Don’t be silly,” said Charlie. “I’ll work on blocking your punches. And if you accidentally hurt me, the pain won’t last long. I’ll heal right away.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Mac, looking skeptical. “My mom would kill me if she heard I punched my friend.”

  “We won’t tell her. Besides, you need to practice too.”

  Finally Charlie convinced Mac to fight her. He worked on his punches and kicks, with Charlie trying to block them. Slowly but surely they were learning how to use their devices and their fighting skills like experts.

  When Mac unintentionally landed a well-placed punch to Charlie’s jaw, knocking her to the floor, Maria gasped. Mrs. Wilde looked up from the drone controls, then jumped to her feet, upsetting the laptop, and ran over to make sure Charlie was okay.

  The dragonfly teetered on the edge of the ceiling vent grate, then it fell through and plopped onto Mr. Wilde’s workstation, directly in front of him.

  CHAPTER 30

  A Gift from Above

  Charles stared at the insect on the lab table in front of him, startled by its abrupt landing. It didn’t move. He looked up at the ceiling and noticed the grate. His eyes widened as he realized what it must be. Swiftly he cupped his hand over it and swept it into his lab coat pocket. His heart raced as he tried to be casual about checking around him to see if anybody had noticed.

  He glanced at Quinn, who was bent over her station, doing some precise measuring. Jack was occupied too. When his eyes landed on Zed, he saw she was watching him, but she looked away quickly. Had she seen it? No one came over. No one said anything.

  Charles dropped his gaze and refocused on the device he was working on. His heart pounded as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Quinn had told him that the dragonfly camera was in Dr. Gray’s office. And she’d managed to share with him and Jack the incident with the roach camera and what that whole ruckus with Prowl was about. They’d all been devastated by that. Victor wasn’t giving them any opportunity to talk privately in his office at night.

  Charles knew about the ladybug camera as well, but Dr. Gray seemed to get fidgety when the scientists were away from their stations, and for any of them to go and stand by the ladybug window for a few moments seemed suspicious. Still, Quinn had caught a glimpse of the sign that someone had put in the window across the street, and she’d told him and Jack to take a look when they had a chance. Throughout the previous day they thought they’d figured it out, and managed to whisper about it for a minute at breakfast. Grand Escapes—that was clear enough. And 3/13 was this coming Monday.

  Now that Charles had the dragonfly camera, he could tell Diana and Charlie that they got the message. He hoped the drone hadn’t been broken by the fall, because it certainly wasn’t moving or acting alive.

  Once he’d gathered his wits, he signaled to Braun that he needed to use the restroom. The soldier grunted and walked with Charles, then stood outside the door to wait.

  It was a small bathroom and not soundproof. There was a crack under the door, and Charles could hear the restless man shuffling his feet on the other side. Still, he had to take a chance. He lifted the dragonfly and looked into the camera. “Diana,” he whispered. “I hope you’re there. We’re doing okay.” He paused to listen, but all seemed clear. “We saw your sign. Jack’s feeling stronger every day, and we’re planning our escape for Monday. Let’s try for the evening, once we’re settled into Gray’s office for the night. We’ll have to get loose of our ropes, but we’ll only have one guard in the immediate area to overcome. And hopefully by then we can convince Victor that we’re solidly on his side and he doesn’t need to tie us up anymore.” He glanced away, then looked back at the camera. “I’ll fill you in on more whenever I can. I hope you’re all doing okay.”

  Charles knew he didn’t have much longer before the soldier would get impatient. Just as he was about to tell Diana he loved her, voices erupted in the hallway, and he could hear Dr. Gray sounding angry. Braun pounded on the door. “Hurry up!” he said.

  Charles quickly put the dragonfly back into his pocket. He flushed the toilet and ran the water, then emerged, seeing a few other soldiers heading for the lab. “What’s going on?”

  “Dr. Gray just called a meeting,” said the soldier. “Come on.”

  Fear struck Charles. Had Zed told him about the dragonfly? Braun grabbed Charles by the arm and they hurried into the lab, where everyone was gathered around the head of the operation. Braun pushed Charles to the front of the group and let go of him. Charles stumbled and righted himself just a few feet from Victor. His throat tightened.

  Dr. Gray held his hands up for silence and looked around the room. “We have a situation, scientists,” he said gravely.

  Charles swallowed hard and stared at Victor, trying not to flinch. Then, in the quiet, a slight whirring sound came from his lab coat pocket. The dragonfly began to move.

  CHAPTER 31

  Communication Breakthrough

  It hadn’t taken long for Mrs. Wilde and the others to realize that the dragonfly wasn’t where they’d left it. When they’d heard Mr. Wilde whispering to them through the computer speakers, they’d run back to the controls, Charlie’s injured jaw forgotten. But by the time they’d gotten there, Charles had stopped talking.

  Mrs. Wilde looked at the screen and saw that it was mostly dark and fuzzy. “What happened?” she muttered. “What are we looking at?” The four of them could hear a muffled voice, but they couldn’t really see anything. Mrs. Wilde quickly touched some keys to try to get the dragonfly to pivot. The voice in the lab ceased, and all was quiet. Mrs. Wilde turned the dragonfly’s face upward and soon the screen grew lighter. They could see part of a person.

  Charlie gasped when she realized who it was. “Mom, stop!” She pointed to the screen, which was now a partial shot of Mr. Wilde’s shoulder and face. “The dragonfly is in Dad’s pocket. Don’t make it move! Somebody might notice!”

  Mrs. Wilde froze. “How did it get in there? I was only away from the controls for a couple minutes!”

  “We can watch the tape back later to figure that out,” said Mac. “But Charlie’s right. It must have fallen from the grate. I hope nobody else saw.”

  “Shh,” said Maria as they heard Dr. Gray’s voice break the silence again, clearer now that the microphone wasn’t pressed against the fabric of Charles’s lab coat.

  Mrs. Wilde moved over and motioned for Mac to take the controls. Expertly he adjusted the ladybug on the window to try to get a better view of the gathering, since the dragonfly gave them only a partial, limited view of Mr. Wilde’s face and not much else.

  “Everybody’s there,” he whispered.

  Maria counted them all, saw a few unfamiliar faces, and made a note in the log book while they listened.

  “There’s a girl in the news who’s doing heroic things,” said Dr. Gray angrily, “and she’s wearing one of our devices. It isn’t your daughter this time, Charles.” Dr. Gray held up a tablet and played the clip of Kelly’s TV interview in Cabo.

  Mr. Wilde glanced into his pocket, his eyes wide, then looked away.

  “Dad must rec
ognize Kelly,” said Charlie quietly. She bit her thumbnail anxiously. “He saw her in the musical.”

  When the clip finished, Dr. Gray narrowed his eyes at Charles. “Obviously she’s one of your daughter’s friends who stole the prototypes from the warehouse. But she’s being quite a bit more of a pest than Charlie was. At least your daughter knows not to talk about the bracelets. This one can’t shut up.”

  Charlie stared at the screen.

  Mr. Wilde didn’t say anything.

  Gray went on. “If she finds out where we are, she can lead people straight to us.” He glared at Charles. “We can’t let that happen.”

  Charles lifted his chin. “It won’t. Nobody knows we’re here.”

  “Don’t play games, Charles. Braun and Mega saw Charlie and your wife and one of the other juveniles. Prowl fought them when they were with Dr. Sharma. So they know we’re in this area.”

  “They also know better than to tell anyone about it,” said Charles, trying to appease him. “Obviously they’ve listened and agreed to your request—and they know what the consequences are. So I don’t think you need to worry about this twelve-year-old leading anybody to us. Besides, according to the news interview, she’s not even anywhere near here. And she didn’t mention the bracelet, so I think we can remain calm.”

  Dr. Gray looked shiftily from Charles to Quinn and back to Charles again, as if he was trying to decide if he could trust that this wasn’t a big deal. “But if this girl keeps up her antics, and people learn about the device and want to know where she got it, it wouldn’t take much for her to lead them to your family . . . and your family can point them to me, or at least give them my name. If that happens, don’t forget it’ll be you who suffers.”

  “I know.” Charles’s face didn’t waver. “And they know. It’s not going to be a problem.”

  Dr. Gray seemed to want to believe him. He studied the scientists a moment longer. “I do not want to move this operation again,” he muttered. Then he barked, “Work faster!” He turned on his heel and went out of the lab. A couple of soldiers followed him. The rest dispersed around the room.