Twinepathy (Part 43/44): Some Trouble

Hullo, everyone! Guess what, I remembered to post today! Will wonders never cease! It’s been a while since I last posted, so I figured I’d post an extra part as an apology. If you’re new, start at the beginning!

43

Blaze grimaces. “Ah, yes, we did leave kind of suddenly, didn’t we? I guess we should head back.”

Oh yes we should. We never told Denver we were leaving, and Mom and Dad didn’t know either… oh boy. This is a big mess.

I follow Blaze to the meeting room and that’s when I get smothered in a Brooklyn hug. “What happened? You scared me so much! What were you even thinking?” She’s definitely in mother hen mode now. Finally, she lets go of me and holds me still for an inspection. “You look all right.”

“We weren’t in too much danger.” Mostly. Just a little bit. “Volt was the one who was really in trouble.” I give her a meaningful look.

Brooklyn’s face stays blank for a second, and then realization dawns on her face. Her eyes widen. “Oh no! Is she okay?”

I shrug. “She’s with Data, resting.” I purposefully don’t give any details. No need to worry her until we get somewhere private and I can tell her the full story. “But we need to get home before they try to put us on some missing people list.”

Brooklyn’s eyes widen again. “Oh, I totally forgot!” She motions for Maddie to come, and now I notice that Finch and Keller are here.

Blaze nods and turns towards Finch and Keller. “If Data asks, tell her I’ll be back soon.” And with that, we teleport.

We don’t land in the bedroom, like I expected. Instead, we’re in a deserted alley. Blaze points toward a main street. “Head that way. You should know your way from there, and you’ll be home soon. Anything else before I go back?”

I desperately want to ask him about that beach we landed on, but I figure it’s best to wait on that. Might as well get out of the doghouse first. All three of us shake our heads, and Blaze disappears.

I look at Brooklyn and Maddie. “Well… might as well get this over with.”

Blaze was right – it doesn’t take us long to get home. When we step inside, I get the sinking feeling that we’re in even bigger trouble than I thought. We check the whole house from top to bottom, but no luck. No one’s here.

Brooklyn calls Mom, and I wince when I hear Mom through the speaker, even though it’s not on speaker phone. I think Brooklyn will do much better in this delicate situation than I could. We haven’t worked out a story yet, but Brooklyn says something about helping Ezra and not having a chance to call them.

I give her a look. That might be too close to the truth. She waves her hand dismissively. I guess it’s a good enough story. If anyone asks Ezra about it, we know she’ll vouch for us.

My thoughts flash to the guy who attacked Ezra, but I push the anger and curiosity away. This is one thing I can’t investigate on my own. After all, I have no way to get across the Atlantic without Blaze. My only option is to get over this little bump at home and hope Jen calls us in to help. Soon.

44

Mom, Dad, and Denver all converge on the house at the same time. Then it’s a mass of questions and confusion and hugs and lectures and… I don’t even know what. I’ve just got the phrases “I’m sorry,” and “We’re okay,” on repeat.

We get off lighter than I thought we would, with Mom and Dad reminding us to at least leave a note before leaving. Brooklyn gets lunch duty for a week and I wash the cars and rake the lawn, but I figure that’s a pretty easy sentence. We’ll just have to warn Blaze that he can’t just whisk us away.

Denver is a way different story. After Mom and Dad get busy, he corners Brooklyn and me while Maddie’s upstairs. “What’s going on? You two have been acting so weird lately. And it’s not just stress. Even I can tell that much.”

He doesn’t get demanding very often, since he’s usually pretty passive and easy-going. But he’s smart, and it won’t be easy to get around this. I glance over at Brooklyn. There’s no way we can tell him the truth…

Brooklyn sighs. “Denver… it’s kind of a secret. We can’t tell you.”

He crosses his arms. “How did I know you were going to say that? Is it something dangerous?”

“No,” I say before Brooklyn can say anything.

Denver gives me a skeptical look. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better, and I don’t believe you one bit.” He pauses. “Is Ezra in on this secret?”

Brooklyn and I exchange glances. “Yes,” Brooklyn says reluctantly.

He stares at the wall, thinking. I really wish I was in his thoughts right now. “Tell Ezra before you do anything. Hopefully her common sense will beat out your…” He looks at us. “Just please, please be careful. And whenever you’re able to, tell me what’s going on.” I see the worry and fear in his eyes, and I get the feeling he’ll keep thinking about this.

Brooklyn places a hand on his arm. “We will. And don’t worry, there are responsible adults involved.”

I nod in agreement. Jen’s certainly responsible, and an adult, and I guess there are probably some other agents that qualify as that, too. Hopefully that’ll be good enough. Denver relaxes a little, thankfully. “That’s good. Just make sure you stay safe, okay?”

We both nod, and he heads past us upstairs, muttering something about stubborn sisters and stress. But despite his nonchalance, I can tell he’s really worried about us. Does he even suspect that Maddie’s involved, or the international scope of everything? I get the feeling that he’d worry even more if he knew the whole truth.

“We should get Data to talk to him,” Brooklyn says, facing me. Her voice is low, to avoid being overheard. “And maybe Mom and Dad, too.”

I just give her a tired look. “Do you think that she’d actually agree to that?”

She pauses, unsure. “Maybe. I don’t know. She’s a puzzle.”

I shrug. “We can ask. But I don’t think that she’s got very much spare time on her hands right now. I doubt she’d talk to them, anyway.”

The doorbell rings, but Mom calls to say that she’s got it. “We shouldn’t keep this from them,” Brooklyn says, her tone somber. “I want them to know.”

“Girls!” Mom calls. “Your friend Blaze is here!”