I fell in behind him as we crept down the steps. There didn’t actually seem to be any doors leading off of any of the landings, just places to stop and rest. I suppose if you’re going from your underground laboratory slash garage to a signaling tower, up seven flights of stairs and through a trapdoor, you’d want to take a break every now and then. We reached the bottom. Stenway took in a short breath. He put the tip of his gun against the door and gently pushed it open.

  Directly ahead of us, Dr. Tellivar lay bound to a table. I breathed a sigh of relief as I followed Stenway’s slow advance into the room. “He got away then.”

  “Park. Park.” The groan from the man on the table was barely audible. Stenway rushed to him.

  “What is it, doctor?”

  “He’s got the box. He got away with it.” The man exhaled. “Get it back.”

  “I’m trying, sir.” Stenway looked at me.

  “Park.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “She went to get the device. She’s bringing it here.” His voice tailed off and his eyelids fluttered shut.

  Stenway wiped a hand over his forehead. “So this is the worst case scenario.”

  “Stenway? What’s he talking about? She? Who is she? What’s going on?”

  Stenway began to turn back towards me, slowly. I saw the pistol shaking in his hand.

  “Stenway…” I backed towards the door. Once I felt the hard metal edge against my spine, I stepped behind it.

  “Don’t go, Tyler.”

  “You’re scaring me.” All the little inconsistencies, the lies, the favors… “You took the box. You knew it was gone from the library. And Mr. Left had to get it back from you and your… doctor friend. You’re the one after the technology. I’m not going to let you get it back, if I have to…”

  “Snap out of it.” Stenway’s voice cut off my rant even as he walked towards me. “Look, Tyler, I need you to trust me right now.”

  “Why?”

  “Call it a favor.” Without waiting for an answer he rushed past, grabbing my arm and yanking me along. “We need to stop the device and the box from being in the same place at the same time. You know what will happen if the two get put together. Come on.”

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  “Who is ‘she?’ And why can’t we just tell Mr. Left that someone is coming for his box? He’s a Super, he should know already, shouldn’t he? Use his clairvoyance to see them coming? He can protect it, here, in his house, right? It’d be safe here. Plus…” My voice trailed off and I froze, one foot in the air over a step. Stenway turned back on the first landing to look at me, sliding his gun back into his pocket.

  “Yes, Tyler. He’s the villain.”

  I stared off into space, numb. Faint sounds from the house trickled down into the staircase, and Stenway shifted nervously. I hated how perfectly the puzzle pieces were fitting together in my head, but I couldn’t help a quick laugh. “Wait till the fellows hear about this.”

  “How quickly do you think they can hear about it?” Stenway held his hand out to me and I took it, letting him pull me up the next step. We continued up, taking the steps at the same pace.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure having a band of annoying little boys is better than not having a band of annoying little boys, and I’d be surprised if they hadn’t ferreted out the fact that something is definitely off around here. Can you get them?”

  “What are they gonna do? Tell Mr. Left to take a hike?”

  “That short one might be able to. But look, they’re after the device next. It’s in one of the college laboratories for now.”

  “Why?”

  “Ostensibly for the college to have their fair share in the fame of it all, but realistically it’ll be a lot easier to break into the college than to a highly guarded hospital facility.”

  “Who’s going after it?”

  “Would you believe one of the cats? No? Then…”

  “Ms. Higley. She lied about dessert.” We reached the top of the stairs and I just stood for a minute.

  Stenway pointed up a floor. “Phone the boys. They can harass the old lady. That’s what little boys are good at.”

  I picked up the phone and started to dial. My hand hovering over the dial, I realized that I had no idea what to do. There was no phone book, and the only number I had memorized was my own… no, wait, no, because last night I spent ages staring at that book and heck I even dreamed about Donny’s number. What was it? 3-2… 4-2… 426 yes that was it. I dialed the number as quickly as possible and breathlessly explained to Donny’s mother that I had a homework question for him. It felt like an hour had passed between the time she put the phone down and the time Donny picked it up.

  “T.J.? You know you’re not supposed to be doing this…”

  “Clam up and listen, Donny, I need you to get the fellows out after a lady in a car. This is big, Donny.” Quickly I outlined the whole story to him. “I swear it’s all the truth but I have to go. Please, please believe me, Donny.” I rang off and turned around to face Stenway. “What now?”

  “You’re going to go back to the kitchen and wait. Just… keep doing what you’re doing. I’m going after Left.”

  “That’s not safe.”

  Stenway glared at me and gave me a gentle push out the door. “Go do whatever Ms. H. told you to do. We can't let him realize that anything has gone wrong. Now get going.”

  I wandered back to the kitchen, slowly, trying to calm myself down and act normal. The guests were filing into the drawing room as I passed, and Dad winked at me gently. All of a sudden I remembered the task that Ms. Higley had given me and quickened my pace. I pushed open the kitchen door and hurried across to the stove, flicking on the gas burner under the tea kettle.