* * *
Hairo left his compromised flyer by the bunker, covering it with a camouflage net. We went back to our district in Willy’s flyer. The hauler actually wasn’t his. It had been salvaged from a junkyard after many owmers. Perfect for a onetime operation.
The hour or so of flight from the Rock} Mountains was the last relatively peaceful time I had. Relatively because Karina called. The girl was overjoyed and couldn’t wait to see me.
“I knew you’re special, Alex!” she beamed, embarrassing me in front of the boys and security’ officers. “We need to meet up soon! You can’t? What about after school? Not then either? Why not, babes? You want me to come to you…?”
She would never have ended the conversation willingly until I promised to meet her. I felt really uncomfortable because of what happened between us, but managed to hold my ground. All she got was a promise that we’d meet soon, sometime.
“I love you, babe!” Karina said an instant before I cut the call, cowardly deciding not to answer.
And again—no jokes, no teasing. I liked the girl, but this relationship was the last thing I needed right now! Hairo exchanged glances with Willy.
“You need to talk to her properly, Alex. Call her after school and explain the situation. Don’t let her get hurt, even for reasons in her head. If she’s found…”
“She doesn’t know anything,” I interrupted. “And what she does know—who I talk to and who I’m friends with—Liam has seen too. But I do need to talk to her.”
“Explain that she isn’t safe. If you want, we can take her with us,” Hairo added. “Being the Threat’s girlfriend will make her the third highest priority target after your parents’ for getting to you and tiying to force your cooperation.”
“In some people’s eyes, she might even be the highest. Nobody knows what’s between her and Alex in reality,” Willy added.
“She isn’t worth bringing with us,” I said, imagining Karina cooped up in some abandoned bunker with nowhere to sleep. “But I’ll talk to her again.”
“Alright,” Hairo nodded. “Have we tried to contact Melissa? Should we expect any unpleasant surprises from her?”
“She’s offline,” Ed answered. “Been trying to reach her since yesterday. But there’s no way she’ll betray us!”
“But she isn’t answering you…” Hairo said thoughtfully.
“The Ochre Witch,” Willy commented. “I guarantee it. I bet they went to some effort to make sure the girl keeps her mouth shut. Right now she’s an exclusive source of intel for the White Amazons, wiiich means for H interleaf.”
“And for Mogw’ai’s Elite,” I added. “Liam is there.”
“The nephew won’t go against the aunt,” Hairo shook his head. “He made friends with Mogwai at her urging anyway… Alright, descending. Alex, you go out first and take a community flyer. The rest will fly on…”
Hairo equipped us all with holomasks, but even with them, it wasn’t easy to get into school. We could take off straight from the roof, but could only get inside the building from the community flyer platform nearby.
Police droids swarmed the area. Bristling with forcefields, they kept back the raving crowd with their signs and banners. Journalists laid siege to the school’s entrance and media flyers whirled overhead. Hundreds of tiny drones buzzed around like flies, filming events.
The problem was that you couldn’t get in without showing your wrist to a scanner. I completed the identification process and my profile appeared on the screen. The electronic voice spoke loud enough for the crowd to hear: “Alex Sheppard, tenth grade. Identity confirmed. Welcome, Alex!”
For a few seconds, the crowd behind me fell silent, and then it roared. Thanks to that, Hung, Malik and Ed managed to slip by unnoticed—all attention was on me.
Hiding my face under my baseball cap and pulling up my hood, I walked past the journalists, saying ‘no comment’ a couple of times like Hairo had suggested. Inside, the boys formed a box around me, protecting me from students eager to hug me, clap me on the back or otherwise express their feelings.
My once close friend Aaron Quan expressed the wildest delight at the fact that his classmate was world-famous. Denise Le Bon was a done deal for him; he was sure that now she and I would be more closely acquainted, and then I’d set her up with Aaron! I didn’t want to look like an arrogant dickhead. I promised him that if I had the chance to talk to Denise, then she’d be sure to hear of my friend.
What happened after our victory in the Junior Arena paled in comparison with the fame crashing down on us now. My friends took their share too, but it brought them no comfort yet. There was more at stake, and not just money, but lives—our own and those of our families.
The bell rang, but the classes stood empty. Everyone was following us, streaming, shouting, asking questions about our plans, asking for autographs or to take a holo-selfie with us. We reached the office of the school principal, Mr. Fultz, with a crowd at our backs. Even the teachers didn’t dare obstruct the procession, aware that they were witnessing something extraordinary.
Mr. Fultz couldn’t help but come out to meet us. He was glowing! He and his school were getting their fifteen minutes of fame!
“Mr. Sheppard! Alex! Such an honor!”
He spread his arms and hugged me, clapping me on the back. I don’t know what I expected, but not that. But it worked to our advantage. We walked into the principal’s office as he bowed and scraped. I heard shouting from outside the door and saw media drones hovering outside the windows. Fultz frowned, pressed a button to darken the glass.
“To wiiat do we owe this pleasure, Mr. Sheppard?” He looked my friends up and down. “And yours, students?”
I explained why we were there. The director answered that although ordinarily the question of switching to distance learning would be discussed with the Department
