I said good-bye to Frick and Frack at the gates of the Mars One Center compound on the outskirts of Amsterdam. Their job was done and the mission’s in-house security detail would take over from here. They shook hands with my folks and when Mom and Dad walked in through the gate, the two big bodyguards stood there for a moment, looking at me. Even after all this time I couldn’t read their expressions.
“Thanks,” I said, “you guys have been great.”
Nothing. They stood there just looking at me.
“I . . . guess I’d better go in.” I cleared my throat. “Right, then, okay . . . well . . .” I really had nothing, so I held out my hand, not sure if either of them would take it.
Frick did. He shook it with the hard, dry single pump you’d expect. But then he didn’t let go. And after a second he used our grip to pull me into a hug.
Frack wrapped his arms around both of us and we stood there, the two of them crushing me between them, in the strangest hug I’ve ever had. Or ever will have.
Frick released me first, stepped back, and stood there, a strange expression on his face. Pretty sure he was trying to smile, but it looked like it actually hurt his face muscles. Frack gave me a final squeeze, put his hands on my shoulders, and pushed me to arm’s length so he could look me up and down. He shook his head and he smiled too. His looked a little more human and less like a gargoyle trying to grin with stone lips.
“Off the record,” said Frack, “when we got this gig we thought you’d be some privileged, snotty-nosed little creep who thought he was all that.”
“Um . . . ,” I began, but he wasn’t finished.
“But you’re okay, Tristan. You might actually turn into someone. You got the makings. My guess is that even you don’t know what you got. But I think you’re going to keep on surprising people.”
He released me, clapped me hard on the shoulder, and stepped back. I stared at him and tried to think of some way to respond. But like I said . . . I had nothing. I was too shocked. So I stuck to the basics.
“Thanks.”
Frick and Frack nodded.
“Go be amazing, kid,” said Frick.
“See you in the history books,” said Frack.
And with that they turned and walked away.
I lingered a couple of moments longer, watching them get into their rental car, trying to process what just happened, realizing that you can never really know everything about people. Especially when you don’t bother to look very hard.
Frick and Frack. Henry Kang and Angelo Carrieri.
I had a lot of friends that I was leaving behind. More than I thought.