by Brandon Mull
“Think she’ll be good?” Jace asked as the door closed and the cube brightened.
“She talks like it,” Cole replied. “I guess we’ll see.”
Luri stalked confidently toward the cylindrical robot with the bat at her side. She only raised it to deflect attacks. Her stride never sped up or slowed down. When she was close enough, without moving her feet much, she alternately hammered targets and smashed attacks away. Her padded bat swished through the air quickly and accurately: target-block-block-target-block-block-block-block-target-block-target-target.
Cole stared in astonishment. Her last three attacks were particularly quick, denying the robot any time to speed up. After she struck the last target, the robot went slack while lights pulsed and sparkled. Luri waited until a prize file emerged from the body of the robot. She retrieved it, then casually walked away.
“That was amazing,” Cole gushed. “You made it look easy.”
“Maybe it is easy,” she replied.
“Come on,” Jace said. “I’m sure practice helps.”
Luri gave a little shrug. “Probably. Still, a lot of people never get the hang of it. The owners prefer for me to play the toughest games on the hardest settings. I could take advantage of them by winning the easier games nonstop, but then they’d ban me, so that isn’t really winning. They don’t mind if I beat a few easy ones now and then. It gives the other players hope.”
“Are you the best player?” Cole asked.
“Nope,” she said. “One of the best, maybe. The best is Trickster.”
“What’s the hardest game?” Jace asked.
“P’Tang,” Luri said. “Want to check it out?”
“Sure,” Cole said.
Luri led them across the floor, passing numerous shooting and fighting games. At large tables, players manipulated the positions of their tiny soldiers and traded taking shots at the opposing army. Others guided metal balls through three-dimensional mazes with what had to be magnetic controls. Against a side wall stretched a huge obstacle course where players risked falling into a foam pit.
“What post did you guys come from this morning?” Luri asked.
“Who cares?” Jace replied.
“I’m interested,” she said. “Give me a number.”
“We’re trying to leave some trouble behind,” Cole said, hoping the answer was vague enough that it wouldn’t get them in danger but might strike a chord if she was connected to the Crystal Keepers.
“Trouble with . . . patrolmen?”
“Maybe,” Jace said.
“I love that kind of trouble,” Luri said cheerily. “Come on, spill. What are you guys really doing here?”
“We’re just checking out the place,” Jace said. “We don’t want a lot of attention.”
“Too late,” she said. “You have mine. Go on. Talk.”
Cole glanced at Jace, who looked uncertain. “What if you’re spying for them?” Cole blurted.
She laughed derisively. “As if the City Patrol were smart enough to use kids! Give me a break.”
“You don’t like the patrolmen?” Cole asked.
She stopped walking. Her mood became serious. “What are you guys looking for? I can help you. Just tell me. Or tell me where you came from. Or what you’re running from.”
Cole took a deep breath and finally decided to go for it. “Have you heard of the Crystal Keepers?”
“I knew it!” Luri said, her smile wide. “What’s his name?”
“Who?” Cole asked.
“The guy who got arrested,” she said. “His name.”
“What do you mean?” Jace asked innocently.
Luri shook her head. “It’s good to be careful, but it’s pointless right now. I just have to confirm this. I know his name. What is it?”
“Joe,” Cole said.
“There we go,” she said gratefully. “Last name?”
“You give us the last name,” Cole insisted.
“I’ll give you half,” she said. “Mac . . .”
“. . . Farland,” Cole completed.
“I take it his alias was somebody Boone?” Luri asked. “And you were posing as his relatives?”
“How do you know so much?” Jace asked.
“I’m not Luri,” she said. “Not any more than you’re Hampton or he’s Bubba. I go by Roulette.” She lowered her voice. “I’m one of the Crystal Keepers.”
Cole refrained from doing a happy dance.
“You’re a kid,” Jace said.
“And you’re about to get promoted to master detective,” she said, tapping him on the nose. “For the record, you’re both younger than me.”
Cole edged close to her and whispered, “Joe told us to come here and find the Crystal Keepers. We need to contact the Unseen.”
Roulette backed away and punched his shoulder lightly. “Don’t act so secretive. It draws attention.”
“I keep trying to tell him,” Jace said.
“Nobody cares what a couple of kids are saying at a gaming hub,” Roulette said. “Unless maybe they look suspicious. Where’s the girl?”
Trying not to look like he had a secret, Cole glanced at Jace.
“I’m on your side,” Roulette said. “I don’t know who she is. I don’t need to know. All I know is she matters. This came from the top, and it came fast. The patrolmen know some kids fled when Joe was taken, but they consider it a low priority. Our leaders feel otherwise. They care more about the girl than anything.”
“She’s not with us,” Jace said. “We scattered. I think she got away. She knows to come here.”
“That’s good news,” Roulette said. “City Patrol hasn’t picked her up. Just Joe.”
“You’re sure?” Jace asked.
“We have sources.”
“Do you know Joe?” Cole asked.
“A little,” she said. “He’s from Outside. An accidental transplant to the Outskirts. Like you.”
“Me?” Cole asked innocently. After a moment, he wondered, “Do you think we can help Joe?”
Roulette scratched the back of her head. “They took him to City Patrol HQ. It would be tricky.”
“Where’s the rest of your crew?” Jace asked.
“Around,” she said. “Some of them, at least. Things have gotten complicated over the past several weeks.”
“Complicated how?” Jace wondered.
“Harder to operate,” Roulette said. “Some people got caught. A bunch more went deep into hiding. The Grand Shaper has been cracking down like never before.”
“Sorry to hear it,” Cole said.
“You didn’t approach us by accident,” Jace said. “You were watching for us.”
Roulette batted her eyes. “Be glad I was. You two were kind of standing out.”
“Is it dangerous here?” Cole asked.
“Less dangerous than most places,” Roulette said. “Nowhere is safe. This is mostly a hangout for kids. The City Patrol knows kids get up to mischief sometimes, but they don’t take us seriously. That’s good for the resistance. We can still move around freely.”
“Are all the Crystal Keepers kids?” Cole asked.
“That’s the idea,” Roulette said. “Maybe you can join. You’ve got potential. Depends what the higher-ups want. Let’s check out P’Tang.” She started walking.
“What about the girl?” Jace asked, staying beside her. “Should we go look for her?”
“Others are watching for her,” Roulette said. “Where’d you get off the monorail?”
“Hanover Station,” Jace said. “She got out at Canal.”
“That’s kind of far,” Roulette said. “Does she have credits she can use?”
“No,” Jace said.
“But she knows to come here?” she checked.
“Right,” Jace said.
“She knows the name of this place and the street.”
“She could take lots of routes,” Roulette said. “Your safest bet is to wait for her to show up here. If we go out looking, we’ll probably miss her. Is she competent?”
“Yes,” Jace said.
“She’ll show. Let’s play.”
“Why do you care so much about playing?” Cole asked.
“We’re at a gaming hub, genius,” Roulette said. “If you want to fit in, you play games. It’s a bonus of having an ID card you can use.”
Against the back wall of the gaming hub, beneath a brilliant P’TANG sign, a wall of crystal let onlookers see into a series of identical rooms. Except for the transparent wall, the floors, walls, and ceilings were covered in gray panels. A number of fist-size holes pocked the floor and ceiling, and larger holes of varied sizes gaped in the far wall, labeled with numbers from twenty to one hundred.
“Here’s an empty court,” Roulette said, approaching a room.
From a nearby bin, Roulette claimed elbow pads, knee pads, goggles, and a pair of paddles to go with her padded vest and helmet. The long, rectangular paddles matched the color of the gray panels in the room and looked like the perfect instruments to provide a memorable spanking. The handles made Cole think of tennis rackets.
“Two paddles?” Jace asked.
“I’m a lefty, so the left one is for offense,” she said. “The right is mostly for defense. But I sometimes score right-handed. In this game, you keep going until a ball hits you.”
Roulette entered the room and used her ID card to close the door. She went to the center of the court, clapped her paddles together, and light flashed from a nearby hole in the floor. A ball emerged and hovered at about shoulder height. It looked to be made of black rubber and was about the size of a racquetball. Slapping the ball with her paddle, she sent it through a medium-size hole in the rear wall and fifty points appeared on her scoreboard.
After three more flashes, three more balls were in play. For every ball Roulette hit into a hole, two or three emerged. The room started to get busy. Whenever she missed a hole, the ball ricocheted around. She moved quickly and competently, scoring often. As the flurry of balls increased, Roulette began to take fewer shots and defended herself more. She had to deal with each new ball coming at her, plus the random balls that had missed holes bouncing around. Occasionally a ball slipped through a hole by accident, increasing her score.
Before too long, a stray ball hit her leg, the lighting in the room dimmed, and all the balls in play fell to the floor, bouncing less than Cole would have expected. Her score read 1160. She left the room.
“Not my best score,” Roulette said. “Not enough for a prize. But it shows you how the game is played.”
“How do the balls float?” Cole asked.
“Sophisticated magnetics,” she said. “P’Tang has the best tech of any game here.”
“How do magnets work on rubber?” Cole asked.
“The balls have metal cores,” she said. “The real magic is inside the walls and floor and ceiling. Want to try?”
“It has to take lots of practice,” Cole hedged.
“Consider this your first practice,” Roulette said. “It’s great for hand-eye coordination, reflex conditioning, spatial awareness, multitasking—so many benefits.”
“Why not?” Cole said.
She gave him her protective gear and paddles.
“Be careful not to smack the balls too hard,” Roulette warned. “The magnetics are set so they never slow down. You can get in trouble fast.”
“Is there a limit to how many balls can get going at once?” Cole asked.
“The court supports up to a hundred,” Roulette said. “It won’t spit out more until less than a hundred are in play. I just got up to about forty. I’ll be impressed if you reach ten.”
“What’s the most balls you’ve had going?” Jace asked.
“Eighty-seven,” she said.
“What about Tricker?” Jace asked.
“Trickster,” Roulette corrected. “He can last for a while with a hundred in play. He’s tidy.”
“Tidy?” Cole asked.
“You know,” Roulette said. “Cool. Skilled. Tidy.”
“Is he a Crystal Keeper?” Jace asked.
“One of the best,” she said.
“You said he was the very best,” Jace reminded her.
“At the games,” Roulette said with a grin.
“I get it,” Jace said. “You’re the best out in the real world.”
“Maybe,” she mused. “You said it, not me.”
With the protective gear in place, Cole held out his ID card.
“Keep yours,” Roulette said, handing him hers.
“Having fun?” a voice asked from behind Cole.
Whirling, he found Dalton and Mira standing there. “You made it!” Cole exclaimed, a heavy weight of anxiety lifting.
Dalton grinned. “I was worried you might be looking for us. I’m glad you got to play some sweet games.”
Cole looked down at his gear and his paddles. “I was just blending in.”
Dalton looked him up and down. “This is probably the only place in the world where that outfit would seem normal.”
Cole smiled. “You guys made good time!”
“We came together,” Mira said. “We found each other as we left the station.”
“Mira is brilliant,” Dalton said. “After we figured out how the levcars work, she told an older guy out on the street that we were supposed to meet our parents at Hanover Station but used up our credits going to the wrong place. He let us ride with him to Hanover, then we came here.”
“You got to ride in one of those cars!” Cole exclaimed.
“It was freaky,” Dalton said. “It seems like you’re always about to crash.”
“You guys are okay?” Cole checked.
“We got away fine,” Dalton said. “No real trouble.”
A boy and girl stood with them who Cole hadn’t met yet. They both looked fourteen or fifteen. “This is Bluff and Dazzle,” Roulette explained.
Bluff had his hair shaved short and stood half a head taller than Jace. He looked serious and tough. Dazzle had a dark complexion, fair hair, and light eyes. She was built short and strong, like a gymnast.
“More Crystal Keepers?” Cole asked.
Bluff gave a small nod. “Call us CKs in public.”
“We’re supposed to take her straight to zerobase,” Dazzle said.
“I heard,” Roulette replied. “They’re not kidding about her. I wonder who she is?”
“I’m right here!” Mira complained.
“Don’t tell us,” Bluff said hurriedly.
“I won’t,” Mira said.
“We’re not supposed to ask,” Bluff explained. “You guys are top secret.”
“Don’t look,” Roulette said. “But we’re being watched.”
“Who?” Dazzle asked with a casual smile.
“Undercover City Patrol,” Roulette said. “He’s up on the platform behind me. I’ve seen him before. Definitely CP. He’s pretending to watch a game of Smashball.”
Cole glanced up and briefly met eyes with a blond man on a platform a good distance across the room. The man turned and walked down a flight of stairs.
“Bubba,” Roulette whispered loudly. “I told you not to look. He knows we made him!”
Cole shriveled inside but tried not to let it show. The glance had been automatic as Roulette described the patrolman’s position. But what a stupid mistake! He should have followed Roulette’s instructions!
“Get out of here,” Bluff said. “Take separate levcars to zerobase. Dazzle will take the girl and Dalton. I’ll run interference.”
Bluff split off, heading toward the blond man. Roulette led the others in t
he opposite direction, across the gaming floor.
“Did you see him?” Roulette asked Dazzle.
“His reflection,” Dazzle said, holding up a small cosmetic mirror.
“Have you noticed him before?” Roulette asked.
“First time,” Dazzle said.
“He was probably following you,” Roulette said. “I know his face and didn’t see him until you guys showed up. Cole, lose your gear, we’re about to go out a side door.”
Cole started fumbling with the straps of the pads he had just put on. He felt flustered and off-balance. Dalton and Jace helped him as they walked.
As they reached a door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY, Cole pulled off his helmet, the final piece of gear.
“Drop the stuff,” Roulette advised as she opened the door.
Cole, Jace, and Dalton dumped the pads and paddles on the ground beside the door and followed the others through. Roulette and Dazzle broke into a run. Cole ran his hardest, trying to keep up.
They passed through another door onto a sidewalk beside a street. A busy stream of levcars zoomed by.
Dazzle glanced over at Roulette. “You have an untraceable ID?”
“Always,” Roulette said.
Dazzle put on a cap and a pair of sunglasses. “Use it.”
CHAPTER
10
GOOGOL
Cole found riding in a levcar even more nerve-racking than Dalton had conveyed. The ride was reasonably smooth, but Cole wasn’t used to cars crowding so tightly at high speeds, nor was he accustomed to vehicles working together with split-second precision to narrowly avoid accidents.
Sitting in the back beside Jace, Cole needed some time before he began to trust that the system actually worked. Over and over he braced himself for impacts that never came. When he closed his eyes, the ride seemed surprisingly uneventful, but that felt like cheating. As Cole got used to the experience with his eyes open, the overall synchronization made him think of a flock of birds or a swarm of bees.
Mira and Dalton had gone in one direction to get a levcar with Dazzle. Cole and Jace had gone the other way with Roulette, who summoned a levcar using an ID without a face on it. They had now been in the car for at least ten minutes, and Cole had seen no sign of Bluff or the blond patrolman.
