Chapter 39
The next person on my list was Smokey. Initially, I tried to locate him the same way I’d pinned down Electra: by going to his school and searching for him empathically. It didn’t work; Smokey wasn’t at school – at least not as far as I could tell.
Strike one, I thought.
Reflecting on it, I supposed he could have been on a field trip, out sick, or anything in between. In essence, there are lots of reasons why a student might not be in school on a particular day. That said, the situation was serious enough that it warranted me putting a little thought into trying to ascertain my best friend’s whereabouts. And then I laughed as the truth hit me.
Of course Smokey wasn’t in class. I had completely forgotten what Mouse had told me: Smokey was in the same boat I was in terms of being AWOL regarding his academics. He and I would be going through the crucible of being instructed by Mouse together, so he wouldn’t be wandering the hallowed halls of his high school any more. More than likely, he was at home.
Pulling out my cell phone, I gave him a call. It rang several times, then went to voicemail. The same thing happened when I tried a second time.
Strike two. I put my phone away without leaving a message and then spent a moment thinking about what to do next.
The fact that Smokey hadn’t answered didn’t necessarily mean anything. In today’s society, with technology so prevalent (especially communication devices, like cell phones), it’s easy to simply assume that people are always in a position to take a call. That, however, is far from true. The person you’re calling could be in the shower, taking out the trash, or just have their phone off. Thus, Smokey failing to pick up wasn’t anything I could assign meaning to, but I still needed to talk to him.
With that thought in mind, I teleported to Smokey’s neighborhood, popping up about a block from where he lived – evidence, once again, of my attempt to avoid excess attention. I then sauntered towards my destination in a leisurely fashion, thinking about the conversation I’d had with Sarah.
In truth, it wasn’t my business, but I had promised I’d speak to Smokey on her behalf. He might tell me to butt out (and that was his prerogative), but I didn’t think he would. Previously, when he’d thought I was mistreating Electra, he hadn’t hesitated to let me know what he was thinking. I felt certain he’d appreciate the same candor from me.
By this time, I was on the sidewalk in front of Smokey’s house. I put the issue of Sarah on the backburner momentarily as I reached out empathically in the direction of my friend’s home.
Strike three, I muttered internally a few seconds later. No one was home.
That shouldn’t have been completely surprising. Smokey’s parents worked and his siblings were, presumably, at school. That just left one question: where was Smokey?
I stood there on the sidewalk for a moment, debating. Smokey could take care of himself, so I wasn’t too worried – plus I had the issue of my evil twin, which was the whole reason I was here. I didn’t need to get distracted, but at the same time this was all so uncharacteristic of Smokey that I couldn’t help being slightly worried.
The sound of footsteps striking the ground in a rhythmic pattern drew my attention. I turned in the direction of the sound and saw what I assumed to be a fairly new mother, jogging towards me while pushing a stroller. She eyed me with deep suspicion as she went by, and I suddenly realized what I must look like: a kid who obviously should be in school but instead was standing out there on the sidewalk, unmoving, not dressed for the weather, seemingly staring at a house whose occupants were all gone for the day. She probably thought I was planning to burgle the place, and would call the cops as soon as she put some distance between us. (In fact, she appeared to be pulling out a cell phone at that very moment…)
I sighed. I didn’t need any more misunderstandings regarding who I was or my intentions. That being the case, I decided to put the Smokey question on the backburner for now and began swiftly walking – almost high-stepping – in the opposite direction of the jogger. I turned as soon as I reached the corner, and teleported the moment I was out of her line of sight.
Chapter 40
I popped up at League HQ – in the residential section. More specifically, I was outside Li’s apartment. I rang the bell and then waited. Approximately fifteen seconds later, it was answered.
Li opened the door wearing a black Mandarin shirt with matching pants – pretty much the same ensemble that he was wearing when we had first met. I smiled, thinking back to that time, when Li had proven himself to be a strong and resourceful ally, as well as a great friend.
“Please come in, Jim,” he said, motioning for me to enter.
“Thanks,” I said as I went inside. His quarters were generally a replica of mine in terms of layout, so I went to the living room and plopped down on the couch.
“Is this a social call?” Li asked as he closed the door.
“Not exactly,” I replied as Li came over and took a seat in an easy chair. “I’m dealing with an unusual issue…”
As he was an android, I couldn’t share anything with Li telepathically. Still, it only took a few minutes to lay everything out for him, including the reason for my visit.
Li seemed to ponder for a moment after I finished, then said, “So you think this individual may have attempted contact with your friends and associates in an effort to glean
