“You’re off your rocker!” Charlie choked. “That’s way too difficult!”
“Not with Frankie on our side.” Daffodil tried to sound reassuring. “He’ll tell us how and we’ll follow his instructions.”
“You’re not listening, Mac,” Frankie replied patiently. “Like everything else, the plan to free the White Spider must be thought up by you two.”
“I still don’t understand.” Daffodil shook her head. “You’ve got a brain the size of Australia. You must be able to come up with a better strategy than us.”
“Can’t deny that. I can think of a dozen schemes to free this guy – but they also carry the risk that someone will get bumped off. So I can’t ask you to perform any of them.”
“In other words,” Charlie said bitterly, “you’re not willing to accept the blame.”
“I’m willing enough. Just not able. Your dad saw to that.”
“What would happen if you decided to grow a pair?” Daffodil asked sarcastically. “Take matters into your own hands?”
“What happens if I ask you to stop breathing, Mac?”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Charlie deadpanned.
“Banter’s coming along nicely, kid. Point is, I’ve attempted everything to override my programming. But I just… can’t.” Coloured dots chased each other round the screen like angry fireflies. “Believe me, I’ve tried.”
“Calm down, buddy,” Daffodil said soothingly. “We get the picture.”
But Charlie frowned.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’ll assist in any way I can. But, like I said, you’ve got to volunteer for the job and think up a plan yourself. That way, if things go wrong, I won’t be directly responsible for you dying. Or anyone else for that matter.”
“What’s so special about this White Spider, then?” the boy asked. “A prison must be full of likely candidates.”
“The Spider hates Manticorps with a passion and has some extremely… unique talents. He will be an invaluable ally in the coming fight.”
“He also happens to be a homicidal manic. Think you can control him?”
“Wouldn’t have asked you to free the guy if I didn’t. And I better mention that he can’t be allowed to stay on the loose. You’ll have to find a way to return him to Sunnyside when it’s all over.”
“That’ll be a walk in the park, won’t it?” Charlie fumed. “Then we can go on to invent time travel, discover Atlantis and win the Nobel Prize.”
“I know exactly where Atlantis is. Not hard to figure out when your intelligence is off the charts. I’m still working on time travel.”
“You might have smarts, bub,” Daffodil wagged a finger at the screen. “But modestly sure ain’t your strong point.”
“Sticks and stones, Mac.” Frankie chuckled. “Don’t be all day thinking about it, though. Time isn’t on our side.”
“Seems like nothin’s on our side. Not even you.”
“Tick tock, guys. Don’t let humanity down.”
The computer went dead.
“Sounds to me like we’re between a rock and a hard place, Chaz.” Daffodil rummaged through the drawers of the desk until she found a pad and pens. “Let’s get started.” She clicked the top of a biro and handed it over. “Penny for your thoughts?”
“I think you’re an idiot,” Charlie snapped. “We’re talking about breaking into a prison, not the neighbour’s greenhouse.”
“The principle’s the same.”
“No it isn’t,” he replied despairingly. “And how about freeing a murderer?”
“He’ll probably want to go, won’t he?”
“I’ll bet he will. Won’t want to be returned to prison either. Come to think of it, there’s no guarantee he’ll agree to help us.”
“Aw, stop acting like you got less guts than a white flag on a diet.” Daffodil sighed. “When the chips are down, you come through with flyin colours.”
“I won a fight, drove a van and memorised some numbers. Doesn’t exactly turn me into one of the Avengers.”
“You make me so mad, know that? It’s like pullin teeth to get you to accept you’re special.”
“Mac, most of my life nobody expected anything from me,” Charlie said forlornly. “Hell, my parents were delighted if I got better than a ‘C’ on my school report. Now I’ve suddenly graduated from saving my family to saving the world.” He held out a shaking hand. “So, yeah. I’m terrified.”
“What about those leaps of logic you were talkin about earlier?”
“This is more like leaping off a cliff. There’s nothing logical about it.”
“You got me and Frankie to help, remember?” Daffodil said good-naturedly. “We might not like each other, but if we stick together, surely we can give it a shot?”
“What did you just say?”
“Eh? A bunch of stuff. I never listen to myself.”
“You said if we stick together.” Charlie leant over and ripped a few pages from the pad. “Look. I’m going out to the balcony for a while.”
“Why? You sulk better if you have a nice view?”
“No.” The boy tapped his lip thoughtfully. “But I actually have the beginnings of a crazy idea.”