“Hey, guys.”
Oh no, Hank’s back. “What’s up, Hank.” I think that’s T.J.
There’s a coughing noise. “Not much, T.J. I was just catching up with Simon.”
“Oh, yeah? What’d he have to say?”
“Not much. Mostly, we talked about what he’s been doing while I was gone.”
Another throat clears. “Well, Hank. We’ve got to go. Catch you later.”
The sound of footsteps grows quiet, but still we wait. My head swims. What’s it mean to be handled and neutralized?
We sit here, barely breathing, and I realize a little too late, that my focus has shifted from rescuing my aunt-y to rescuing myself. The door handle jiggles, and we all lean back as the door opens. I breathe a little easier when I see Hank’s giant feet in front of me. The three of us stand up and walk out wordlessly. I don’t know what to say, so I wait for Austin and Hank.
Austin stares at Hank, who stares back at him. Austin rushes to the door and peeks out into the hall before shutting the door. He comes back to Hank and gets in his face. “They’re conspiring against you, Hank. You and your father.”
Jenni’s eyes are on Hank as she nods her head. “Yeah, and T.J.’s in on it.”
Hank’s eyes get big. “No way. We’ve been friends since we were kids. T.J. wouldn’t do that to me.”
Austin taps a desk impatiently. “He would and he is, Hank. The three of us just heard them plotting your father’s downfall. After they get him, they’ll go after you.”
Hank puts his hands on his hips. “But why? What’d my father do to them?”
Austin stares back at him, incredulous. “Besides steal all their money and the hottest women?”
Hank scowls. “Look around you, Austin. My father practically built all this. This was his vision!”
Austin leans back against a desk. “He built it with their money, and he probably copied it. This isn’t the first multimillionaire dollar doomsday compound for the elite, Hank. It’s not exactly original thinking. They’ve got these in New Zealand and other places.”
Hank’s eyes narrow on Austin. “And how would you know?”
Austin makes another face. “I can read.” He raises his eyebrows. “Plus, there’s this thing called the T.V. and the internet and it has channels which provide you information about the world we live in. It’s called the News.”
I swat at Austin. “Focus, guys. We’ve got to have an escape plan.”
Austin shakes his head at me vigorously, and I realize I should not have said what I did. Hank turns on me. “But we just got here. I thought once you got here, and saw how wonderful it all was, you’d…”
Panic strikes me like an arrow to the heart. “I’d what, Hank?”
He ducks his head sideways. “You’d forget all about your aunt and stay here. With me.”
Austin harrumphs loudly, and I step between him and Hank. I have to know. “Hank. Is my aunt even here?” He nods his head as an answer. I take a deep breath. “Is she alive?”
His eyes dart around nervously before he looks back at me. “I don’t know.”
I shove hard on his chest. “What do you mean you don’t know? How could you not know?”
His eyes dart back and forth. “She was alive when I left, Amy. But she wasn’t doing very well.”
“What does that mean? Don’t you have some sort of infirmary with doctors and nurses?”
The door flies open. Hank’s dad is back, and he doesn’t look happy. “Hank! I told you to separate them and show them to their rooms.”
“Yes, Father.” Hank turns on Austin. “We shall play games another day.”
Austin stares back at him, unblinking. “Lookin’ forward to it.”