A big white BMW pulls up with Ruben at the wheel.
Junebug whistles at the shiny new car. “That’s my kind of upgrade.”
Ruben hops out and the family members load up the back of the car with backpacks of food and bottles of water.
“That’s everything you’ll need for a few days,” Ruben says. “Now, who does the driving in this group? Wild is special, but she has paws.”
“I’m the driver,” Junebug says.
“But you’re a kid,” Ruben says.
“In your face,” Chance says with a grin.
“I’m a young adult,” Junebug says. “Besides, it’s LA. There are kids driving expensive cars all over the place.”
“Good point.” Ruben tosses Junebug the keys.
She hops in the driver’s seat while Chance and I climb into the back.
“Thanks for everything,” Chance says.
“Be careful,” Ruben responds. “Those blue vans are everywhere around the city. Once you leave this neighborhood, you’re on your own.”
“We can deal,” Chance tells him.
Ruben throws us a final wave and heads back into the house with the family.
“What are we going to do now?” Chance asks nervously.
“You said you could deal,” Junebug says.
“I was bluffing!”
“I have an idea,” she says. “I used the Wi-Fi at Ruben’s place to do a little research on BreedX.”
“What did you find?” I ask.
She passes her laptop to Chance. I glance over his shoulder and see the browser open to an article called “The Dog Days of BreedX.”
“Tomorrow’s Dogs Today,” Chance says. “I remember now. That was their motto.”
“That’s right,” Junebug says. “BreedX claimed they were creating hyperintelligent dogs that would be perfect family pets.”
“Hyperintelligence. That explains a lot. Maybe I’m a BreedX dog.”
“Do you recognize this woman, Madeline Pao?” Junebug asks.
I look at the picture of a young woman in a lab coat beaming with pride in front of a pack of dogs. I’m hoping for some flash of memory, but it doesn’t come.
“She was the founder of BreedX,” Junebug says, “but she was discredited by the scientific community.”
“Because the company never delivered a dog.”
“What about me?” I ask.
Junebug shrugs. “The company failed at its mission, and it was dissolved. BreedX doesn’t even exist anymore.”
“But I exist, and I had a BreedX chip inside me. How is that possible?”
“We should just ask Dr. Pao,” Chance says.
“Bingo,” Junebug says. “I did a tax-records search and she’s living in Hidden Hills.”
“That’s in the Valley,” Chance says. “What do you think, Wild?”
I look from Chance to Junebug, their eyes wide and excited at the idea of another adventure.
“I think our next stop is Dr. Pao’s house.”