Chapter 53
“THE HOUSE IS huge, ladies and gentlemen,” Agent Judge said to the five of us after a long postmortem on the night’s incredibly hair-raising events. “Pick a bedroom and hit the rack. All of you. Especially you, Daniel.” He had learned that my creative powers get totally zonked when I don’t get to recharge my battery.
I grabbed a bedroom on the second floor. The rest of the gang didn’t really need to find rooms or, for that matter, go to sleep. It was one of the bonus features of being a product of my imagination: when I powered down, they did, too.
I closed my eyes.
When I did, just for an instant, I saw Mel, tied up in that chair.
“Hold on,” I whispered. “I’m coming.”
Right before I drifted off to sleep, my dream girl smiled back and said, “Don’t worry, Daniel.” She playfully jostled her chains. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m sort of tied up at the moment.”
Believe it or not, after all that had happened, I actually fell asleep with a smile on my face.
A smile that disappeared maybe three hours later, when I woke with a start.
My super alien ears had heard a floorboard creak while I was asleep and sent a signal to my brain saying This is not good.
Someone was in the house.
Sneaking around. Trying to not make a sound.
Now the someone was in my bedroom.
Moving closer to the bed.
It had to be Number 2. All that talk about meeting him on his turf? Another trick from the great deceiver, an attempt to lull me into thinking I could lower my guard for an instant and catch some shut-eye.
Well, two could play that game.
I’d trick him into thinking I was still asleep.
I kept my eyes closed and summoned up every ounce of my level-three strength. I was ready to rumble.
I heard another board squeak and my brain did a quick sonar ping. The intruder was very close, almost on top of me.
Fine. This bedroom would be our final battlefield.
I would fight Number 2 to the death, right here, right now!