Below her passage, Peter scribbled a brief retort. I am very funny.
“I’m honestly not sure what to think about him,” Mia said. “But if he is who he says he is, if he really does have shelter and safety to offer us, then I’d hate for us to blow our chance because I got a bad message.”
David nodded vigorously. “Exactly. This is an opportunity. I can’t speak for the rest of you, but I still want the answers that Quint and Czerny promised us. Maybe Peter can provide them. On top of that, there’s also the matter of that second Cataclysm. If Peter’s right—”
“—then we’ll be walking right into it,” Hannah griped.
“He didn’t say it was happening in New York,” David replied. “He just said it was happening. He also said we’re potentially part of the solution. Don’t you think that’s worth investigating? Isn’t that a better way to spend our days than aimless wandering?”
Once again, the discussion hit a weary lull. Theo sat cross-legged on the desk, staring out the window at a municipal impound lot.
“Theo?”
He glanced up at Zack. “Huh?”
“You’ve been Johnny Tightlips over there. What are you thinking?”
There was no safe way to answer truthfully. From the moment Mia revealed her surprise cash endowment, Theo’s dark inner demon had snapped awake in its cage. It eyed the money hungrily, calculating the sheer amount of liquid solace that $1,500 could purchase. It would carry Theo for miles, all the way to the next world.
“I don’t know. I mean I understand what David’s saying. I respect it.”
“But?”
“But this is our first day out in the world. We’re still flailing around like newborns. And now you’re talking about crossing the country to help some stranger stop a Cataclysm? That’s not just ambitious. It’s nuts.”
Theo saw David’s eyes narrow to a cool squint. The dark demon smiled. The boy doesn’t like you. He sees you for the burden you are. You think he’s the only one?
“Looks like we’re split down the middle on this,” Amanda said.
David chucked a hand in frustration. “You guys can do what you want. If I have to go to New York alone, I will.”
“Hey, come on . . .”
“David!”
Zack raised his palms. “Okay. Stop. We’ve had enough drama for one day. Can we just agree in the short term that we need to get the hell away from California?” His posit was greeted with soft nods. “Good. Then we can all keep going northeast. Maybe Mia will get more info along the way. Maybe we’ll dig up our own. The point is that we have days to decide.”
Everyone tensed up as the sound of police sirens filtered in from the street. The Silvers sat motionless, fingers extended, until the noise faded away.
Zack sighed exhaustedly. “We also have more pressing concerns.”
Mia’s older self had succinctly explained the scope of their legal problems.
It’s not the cops you need to worry about. It’s the Deps. DP-9 is the federal agency that handles temporic crimes, and they’re very good. They already know what we look like and what some of us can do. They’re extremely eager to meet us, especially Amanda.
The news had caused five stomachs to drop, and sent Amanda to the bathroom with dry heaves. But the warning came bundled with advice, three simple rules for avoiding detection:
1. Stay away from civic cameras. That means no hospitals, no bank machines, and no public transportation of any kind. They’re all heavily monitored. You will get spotted.
2. Don’t get friendly with the locals. The more you talk, the more you expose yourself as foreigners. They do not like foreigners here.
3. No public displays of weirdness, ever. Keep your talents hidden. Even if you think no one’s looking, assume they are. It’s the only way you’ll make it to New York.
David lurched forward in bed, matching Mia’s prone position. He playfully brushed her shoulder.
“Thanks to our invaluable messenger here, we have nearly everything we need to keep ahead of the federal agents. The one thing we’re missing is transport. If we can’t take buses or trains, then we’ll have to acquire a car.”
Amanda eyed him sharply. “I hope you’re not talking about stealing one.”
“I am, actually. Is your objection moral or practical?”
“Both,” she said.
“For the moral objection, I assume they have auto insurance on this world. Anyone we steal from will be reimbursed.”
“Yes, and I assume they have LoJack on this world, or some other high-tech system that makes it easy to track stolen cars. Are you really that eager for another police chase?”
“Well, that’s the practical objection, but—”
David stopped at the sound of Theo’s dark chuckle. For a moment, the boy’s expression turned so cold that Mia felt the unprecedented urge to move away from him.
“I was about to say that we could target an older vehicle, one less likely to have a tracking device. But by all means, Theo, go ahead and mock me. At least I’m offering options.”
“I’m not mocking you, David.”