فصل 14

Chapter 14: Jar of Pennies

We followed Gervaso down the stairwell to the main floor, then crept out the back doors of the hotel to where he had parked his van. It was still dark as we drove off.

The drive to Tucson was just a little over two hours, though I slept for most of it, waking just as we reached the city limits. I had fallen asleep in the backseat of the van, lying against Taylor. As I sat up, she combed my hair back from my face with her fingers. “Your hair is getting long.” “Not a lot of time for haircuts,” I said.

“Too busy saving the world,” she said.

I sighed. “Yeah.”

We both looked out over the desert terrain and the approaching skyline. “That must be Tucson,” I said.

“The Old Pueblo,” Ostin said.

“The what?” McKenna asked sleepily.

“Old Pueblo. That’s Tucson’s nickname.” “What’s a pueblo?” McKenna asked. “A Mexican city?” “No,” Ostin said. “It’s an American Indian settlement.” “It looks Mexican to me,” she said.

“ ’Old Pueblo’ is a lame nickname,” Nichelle said.

“You think that’s bad,” Ostin said, “in the eighties the local newspaper ran a contest for a new nickname. The winner was ‘Tucson: The Sunshine Factory.’ ” “That’s even more lame than ‘Old Pueblo,’ ” Jack said from the front. “Sounds like a kids’ cartoon.” “Yeah,” Ostin said. “It never caught on.” “How does he know all this stuff?” Taylor asked. “His brain is like Google.” “He should be on a game show,” Nichelle said. “He’d win like a billion dollars.” “Then the Elgen would find him and kill him,” Taylor said.

“Yeah, that too,” Nichelle said. “But at least he’d die rich.” * * *

The sun was rising above the eastern horizon as Gervaso drove past a rectangular freeway sign that read WELCOME TO TUCSON.

“What’s the plan?” I asked Gervaso.

“I think everyone’s pretty tired, so first we’ll stop at a hotel and get some rest. Then we’ll see from there.” “I’ve got to walk around today,” McKenna said. “After all this travel I’m going stir-crazy. If the Elgen don’t kill me, I’ll die of boredom.” “Too much talk of death,” Taylor said. “It must be on our minds.” “It’s always on our minds,” I said.

“Can we stop and get some bagels?” Abigail asked. “Before I die of hunger?” “More death,” Taylor said softly.

“No problem,” Gervaso said. “I’m sure you’re all hungry.” “Isn’t there a university in Tucson?” Taylor asked.

“The University of Arizona,” Ostin said. “The Wildcats.” “We could hang out on campus,” I said.

“That’s a good idea,” Gervaso said. “You’ll blend in.” “It’s like that thing Ostin always says,” Jack said. “ ’The best place to hide a penny is in a jar of pennies.’ ” “I said it once,” Ostin said.

“When are we going to meet up with Ian and the others?” I asked.

“Not for a few days,” Gervaso said. “They’re not in Arizona.” “Where are they?”

“Someplace safe,” he said. “Someplace no one will find them.” “New York?”

“No,” he said. “Utah.”

We stopped for breakfast at a local bagel shop called the Bodacious Bagel. The place was crowded with college students. Even though a few of us looked a little young, Gervaso was right, we blended in. Afterward we drove toward the university looking for a hotel. We didn’t have to go far.

“This looks right,” Gervaso said, pulling off the busy street into the hotel’s driveway. The University Inn. He parked the van in front of the lobby doors, and we all got out. Gervaso opened the back of the van, then walked inside the hotel.

As Jack threw us our bags, Taylor said, “Oh, gross.” “What?” I asked.

“I think I got Elgen guard on my bag.” There was a dark brown-and-white stain on the side of her canvas bag. “Is that . . . pus?” “I’m going to throw up,” McKenna said.

“I just threw up in my mouth,” Taylor said.

A few minutes later Gervaso walked out of the hotel. “We’re set. Everyone, two in a room. Jack, would you mind rooming with me?” “It would be my honor,” Jack said.

As Gervaso handed out room keys, he said, “Everyone, let me know if you go anywhere. I’m in room 211.” “You can share a room with me, Nichelle,” Abigail said. Hearing this made me happy. I had really come to like Nichelle and her dry, self-deprecating sense of humor. I was glad Abigail had forgiven her, or was, at least, trying to.

“What do you want to do?” Taylor asked.

“Sleep,” I said.

“Me too,” she said. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.” When I got to my room, I was more tired than I’d realized. It seemed like I always was these days. I lay down on top of the sheets and hadn’t even gotten my shoes off before I fell asleep. Four hours later I was awakened by Ostin.

“Hey, we’re burning daylight. Let’s go do something.” I sat up, rubbing my eyes. McKenna was in our room, standing slightly behind Ostin.

“McKenna wants to walk over to the university,” Ostin said. “Then get some pizza.” “Where’s Taylor?” I asked.

“She’s still getting ready,” McKenna said. “She just got out of the shower. She’ll be here in a minute.” “Is anyone else coming?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Ostin said. “Jack left with Abi about an hour ago.” “What about Nichelle?”

“I haven’t seen her,” McKenna said. “She’s probably just in her room.” “Ask her if she wants to come with us,” I said.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll be right back.” She walked out of the room.

While McKenna was checking on Nichelle, I called Gervaso’s room. He answered immediately.

“Gervaso.”

“Hi, it’s Michael. We’re walking over to the university.” “Who’s we?”

“Me, Taylor, Ostin, and McKenna. Maybe Nichelle.” “All right. Just report by twenty hundred hours.” “When?”

“Eight p.m.,” he said.

“Sure,” I replied.

A few minutes later Taylor came up to my room, followed by McKenna and Nichelle. The University of Arizona was less than a mile from our hotel. The weather was scorching, with a dry breeze and a few puffy clouds in the sun-bleached sky.

In the center of the campus was a large, grass mall lined with tall palm trees on both sides. There were students everywhere, and it felt good to be out in the open without worrying that someone might be watching us.

Taylor took my hand. “Wouldn’t it be nice to actually be here, going to school, our biggest worry in the world our next midterm?” I nodded. “Unless you’re Ostin. Midterms are like Christmas morning.” “Christmas?” he said. “No, that would be finals.” I squeezed Taylor’s hand. “Yes, it would be nice.” As we walked toward the union building, we passed two hipsters with hair even longer than mine. One had muttonchop sideburns and a beret, and both of them had multiple tattoos. They were both a few years older than me. They were staring at me and Nichelle. One of them was sitting on the concrete rim of a trash receptacle, and the other was leaning against it. As we neared them, the guy sitting on the garbage said to me, “Hey, lightning dude.” I looked at him. “What did you call me?” He raised his hands as if in surrender. “No worries, bro. I called you ‘lightning dude.’ ” He pointed at my arms. “In reference to your awesome tat.” “Yeah,” his friend said. “Killer tat. And yours,” he said, turning to Nichelle.

“They mean our ‘tattoos,’ ” Nichelle said.

“Yeah, I got that,” I said.

“Where’d you get inked?” the second guy asked.

I hesitated. “Mexico.”

“Agua Prieta?”

I had no idea what he was saying. “What?” “Yeah,” Ostin said. “Agua Prieta.” “Lucky’s Tattoos,” the first said. “Lucky did this one.” He pulled his sleeve up over his upper arm, revealing two Chinese characters. “Cool, right? But he never showed me that design you’re styling. I’ve been thinking of getting a sleeve like that. Next time I’m gonna have to get me one of those.” “Yeah, do that,” I said.

“You guys want . . .” The guy stopped midsentence. He looked at his buddy. “What were you saying?” “What were you saying?”

“I wasn’t saying anything.”

“What are you talking about, dude?” “Bye,” Taylor said.

As we walked away, I said to Taylor, “Did you do that?” “Yeah. I couldn’t stand it anymore.” Ostin started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“That tattoo that dude showed us.” “What’s so funny about that?” Nichelle asked.

“The Chinese characters said ‘pig face.’ ” After walking the campus for a while, we stopped at a pizzeria named Magpies that was obviously very popular with students, as the line for a table was nearly to the door. It took us a half hour before we finally sat down and ordered our pizza.

Lined up across the front counter were a couple dozen bottles of assorted hot sauces.

“Look at these hot sauces,” Taylor said. “Toxic Tick.” “I should get that,” I said. “I tic.” “I think it’s the bug tick, not the Tourette’s tic,” Ostin said.

“Look at this,” McKenna said. “It’s just called Hell.” “Wait, this one’s Hotter Than Hell,” Nichelle said.

“I just beat you all,” Taylor said, holding up a bottle. “Scorned Woman.” She looked at me. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” “You win,” I said.

“No,” Ostin said. “McKenna wins. She’s hotter than all of them. Literally. And figuratively.” Taylor and I looked at each other.

“Did Ostin really just say that?” she whispered.

I nodded. “He did.”

“Well played,” she said. “Surprisingly well played.” Fifteen minutes later our waitress brought out our meal—two medium pizzas, one cheese and sausage, the other, the Whole Bird, was loaded with about everything on the menu. We also got an order of garlic bread and a large tossed salad with ranch dressing.

It was late, almost eight o’clock when we finally all met back at the hotel. Jack and Abigail were alone swimming in the hotel pool, and they waved us over.

“Hey, guys. Where have you been?” Abigail asked.

“We walked over to campus, hung out,” Ostin said, trying to sound cool.

“How was it?” she asked.

“We had some good pizza,” Taylor said.

“You can always find good pizza near a college,” Abigail said.

“Yo, Michael,” Jack said. “Gervaso said to call him when you got here. There’s a phone in the lobby.” “What room is he in again?”

“My room—211.”

I walked across the parking lot to the front office and called. Gervaso answered after just one ring. “Hello.” “It’s Michael. We’re back.”

“All of you?”

“Yeah.”

“Where are you?”

“We’re by the pool with Jack and Abi.” “I’ll be right down.”

A few seconds later Gervaso came down the outside stairs and crossed the parking lot to the pool. He looked around to make sure we were alone, then said, “I’ve heard from the voice. The Elgen are on the move. They’re about to launch their attack on Tuvalu.” I shook my head. We had almost died trying to stop them. For nothing.

“Can’t we warn the people there?” Taylor asked.

Gervaso shook his head angrily. “We’ve already warned them. You risked your lives by sinking the Ampere and bought them the time they needed to react. They chose to disregard the threat, so now they’ll have to suffer the consequences.” “There must be something we can do,” Taylor said.

“We’ve sent messages to the CIA, Britain’s MI6, and the United Nations. Beyond that, our hands are tied.” “So now what?” I asked.

“The voice wants us to rendezvous at our secondary headquarters. Christmas Ranch.” Taylor cocked her head. “Where’s Christmas Ranch?” “It’s in southern Utah near Zion National Park,” Gervaso said. “That’s where everyone’s gathered. Ian, Zeus, and Tessa arrived there this afternoon.” I was glad to hear they were safe. “How long will it take to get there?” “Las Vegas is about six hours from here. From Vegas it’s about a two-and-a-half-hour drive north.” “I’ve always wanted to see Las Vegas,” Abigail said.

“I’ve seen it,” Nichelle said. “That’s where I got my nose and ear pierced. The first time.” “We’re not going to have time to play,” Gervaso said. “We’re just driving through. If we leave early and don’t make too many stops, we should reach the ranch by early afternoon.” “What time do we need to leave?” I asked.

“We should leave here by six thirty. We’ll stop in Phoenix for breakfast. Everyone good with that?” “We’re good,” I said.

“All right. Get some sleep. You all look like you’re sleep deprived.” “Yeah, I wonder why,” Jack said.

Gervaso walked back up to his room. After he was gone, I asked Taylor, “Do you want to swim?” “No,” she said. “I don’t have anything to swim in.” Neither did I for that matter. I turned back to Jack and Abigail. “Where did you guys get your swimsuits?” “The hotel lost and found,” Abigail said. “They let me take one.” “That’s resourceful,” Nichelle said. “Kind of gross, but resourceful.” “What about you?” I asked Jack.

“I’m just wearing my boxers.”

“You’re in your underwear?” Taylor asked.

Jack smiled. “It’s all cloth, man.” “All right,” I said. “Good night. See you bright and early.” We went back to our rooms and slept.