My brow crinkled in thought. “How much time are we talking about?”
“A week – two, max.”
“Not a whole lot of time,” I noted. “And what happens after that? They show up with manacles and a rocket ship, giving me a Hobson’s Choice?”
“Ha!” Gramps chortled. “With your mother and grandmother around, I’d love to see them try.”
“That reminds me,” I said, noting that I couldn’t detect any nearby emotions besides my grandfather’s, “where is everybody?”
Gramps shrugged. “They went off to do some post-party, Caelesian princess thing. Your mother doesn’t know anything about it, so Indigo and Myshtal are teaching her.”
That news came as a bit of a relief. Basically, I was glad that they hadn’t been around to see that footage of what appeared to be me doing something heinous.
“Anyway,” I said, “did Dreiser say anything else?”
“No,” my grandfather replied, shaking his head. “But he did give me this.”
He held out a hand, palm open, in which sat the flash drive with the incriminating footage.
Chapter 31
It went without saying, of course, that the data on the flash drive was a duplicate. Dreiser wasn’t foolish enough to carry the original of something that important around with him, and he certainly wouldn’t have given it to Gramps, no matter how close their friendship was.
“So what’s our next step?” I asked.
“We try to get a better handle on what’s going on here,” my grandfather replied. “See what more there is to the story.”
“How?”
“I’ll reach out to some old friends. Make a few phone calls. If I can get in contact with the right people, maybe I can even stop this crazy talk about kicking you off the planet.”
His statement brought Gray to mind, who had once threatened to deport me off the planet as well. I hadn’t even told Gramps that he’d called me, but I did so now, swiftly bringing him up to speed on the conversation we’d had.
“You don’t think he’s behind this, do you?” I asked when finished.
My grandfather shook his head. “It’s really not his style. Gray tends to tackle things like this head-on.”
“In other words, he would have shown up and tried to toss me in the paddy wagon.”
Gramps chuckled softly. “Probably. But even if he isn’t directly involved, he obviously knows something. The timing of his call couldn’t have been a coincidence.”
“Agreed,” I said with a nod. “But back to your friends – do you really think they’ll help?”
“Of course. I’m still owed more than a few favors by some high-ranking individuals. I just need to call in some markers.”
“Great,” I effused. “What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing. Just sit tight while I go get my phone and start making calls.”
With that, he began walking out of the room while I smiled to myself, thinking how lucky I was to have such a great grandfather. He typically had good contacts, so it was almost a certainty that they’d be able to help us. I hated to think what would have happened if this mess had occurred a little later, after my mom and grandparents had left the planet. I’d be on my own then, and have to deal with the problem myself.
Suddenly I frowned as an entirely new line of thought pushed itself to the forefront of my brain.
“Wait,” I practically ordered, causing Gramps to turn around just as he was leaving the room. “Don’t do it.”
My grandfather frowned. “Do what?”
“Don’t call.”
Gramps seemed to ponder this for a moment, then asked, “You don’t want me to call my friends?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Why wouldn’t you want…?” he began, and then his eyes grew big as I felt something like dread arising in him. “Jim, you didn’t do this, did you?”
“What?!” I exclaimed. “No! We both know that’s not me on that video.”
“Then I don’t understand. Why don’t you want me to have my contacts look into this?”
I closed my eyes for a moment and let out a deep breath, trying to figure the best way to explain. “You, Mom, and Indigo are leaving soon. If this had happened when you were gone, it would be my problem. I’d have to handle it.”
“Well, we aren’t gone yet,” Gramps said, “and we’re not leaving before this thing gets resolved.”
He made his statement in a matter-of-fact tone, not even fazed by the fact that I knew about their plans. (Presumably Mom had told him, since he didn’t register any surprise when I mentioned her going with them.)
“Regardless,” I stated, “this is something I need to take care of. More to the point, you need to be comfortable with the idea of me tackling issues like this – and worse – while you’re gone, because that’s what’s going to happen. And if you can’t adjust to the notion of me dealing with these types of problems on my own, then maybe you shouldn’t leave.”
I had spoken more fiercely than I intended, and felt a little ashamed for talking to my grandfather in that tone. He hadn’t really done anything but offer to help, but it had suddenly occurred to me – as I’d stated – that I wasn’t going to be able to lean on him for much longer. I needed to start handling my own problems.
On his part, Gramps merely stared at me for a moment. Then he extended a hand in my direction, and I realized that he was holding out the flash drive. As I reached out and took it, he still didn’t say anything, but I felt a powerful emotion surging through him: pride.
Chapter 32
As with most dilemmas, I turned to the place where I was most likely to get answers: Mouse. Dismissing with formalities, I teleported straight to his lab (after promising Gramps that I would keep him and the rest of the family apprised of any developments).
I popped up in an exceptionally large room with numerous oversized worktables
