27

The first thing Will noticed about Vanya was his immense size. And then his delicate outstretched hand. It looked all wrong, that hand, stuck on the end of a massive arm, which itself was attached to a slab of a body.

Vanya wore heavy brown hiking boots with fraying laces. Above those were jeans of a bright, almost luminous blue. When his quilted coat and bulging satchel had been cast aside, Will took in the dirty check of his oversized lumberjack shirt. Open at the neck, it revealed a jutting collarbone and an Adam’s apple the size of an apricot. His face was equally as striking. Huge red-veined cheeks, a bulbous nose, and eyes half-closed, as though he was sizing up the world and wasn’t impressed with what he saw.

“He has the look of you,” Vanya said as he grasped Will’s shoulder. “What do you think, Elena? No one could mistake the grandson.”

Will shook himself free. He noticed, as he did so, a sudden twitch distort the pocket of Vanya’s shirt. Could it have been a muscle?

“So!” Vanya clapped his hands. “You ask questions. I bring answers!”

Elena glanced at Will and smiled faintly. “I told you,” she said. “Vanya knows everyone.”

“I know the right people,” he corrected. “It makes all the difference.” He collapsed heavily on the sofa, and Andrew dragged chairs from the dining table so everyone else could sit.

“So what can you tell us?” Will asked.

“Well, first I have a few questions,” Vanya said.

“What questions?” Gaia asked.

“You have come all this way—from London? You have trailed this friend? And you think he is making a new type of weapon.”

“We know it,” Andrew said flatly.

“And you followed him without him noticing you?”

Andrew glanced at Will. Frustration made him want to shout. But perhaps it would be better to humor Vanya than to protest. Andrew could see that Vanya was not the sort to be pushed.

“Will has this flying robot that sends back video,” Andrew started. “It’s called Fly Spy. It’s based on a locust—”

“Yes,” Will interrupted. “Without him seeing us.”

“A flying robot?” Vanya said, one eyebrow raised. He looked disbelieving.

“He made it,” Gaia said quietly. “And other things—like an ultrasound microphone for sending secret voice messages. And a device that lets you rappel up buildings.”

“Or whatever the reverse of rappel actually is,” Andrew said quickly. “We call Will The Maker.”

Will glowered at them. “Don’t call me that.” He wished they would be quiet.

Vanya looked at Elena, who shrugged slightly. “Vanya, you know, is not too bad when it comes to inventions,” she put in. “And in his pocket right now—”

Will ignored her. Didn’t they understand the urgency? Past Vanya’s hulking body, past the lights of the living room, was Caspian. And Caspian’s father. And the Infinity Code. He faced Vanya.

“Look, what can you tell us about a launch site?”

“Ha!” A sharp laugh. Twin red spots of irritation appeared on Vanya’s cheeks. “So you have had enough of getting to know each other?”

Elena frowned. Will was right. “Come, Vanya,” she said. “They are tired. They have traveled a long way. I have made you sound good. So tell them.”

Vanya snorted. “Well, there are a few possibilities. First, tell me what you think this weapon might be.”

“We don’t know,” Andrew said quickly. “But they want to launch it. And they might have a particle collider. So there has to be room for those tunnels. Like we said.” And he glanced at Elena. Could Vanya really be any help?

Vanya nodded. For a few long moments, he said nothing. Then at last he spoke: “I have been talking to a friend, Ivan. He is a spy—at least he used to be. He says there is a facility, fifteen miles from here, outside the city. It is owned by a private satellite company—or at least that is what they say they are. It is surrounded by electrified fences. There are dogs, armed guards. There are large hangars, a launch facility, even a helicopter pad. There is little traffic by road. Helicopters come in, sometimes trucks. No one has much idea what is going on there—it is private and it is well guarded. But there is the space there, and there has been the activity. If there is a particle collider and a launch site close to the city, it could be here. This is the best bet.”

Will felt relief as a little of the tension flowed from his body. So a likely site did exist. Caspian would be there. He’d have to be.

“Your friend is a spy?” Gaia said.

“Retired,” Vanya stressed. “But he keeps an interest, shall we say. Once you are used to playing a part in the world, it is not easy to step down.”

“So you know exactly where this facility is?” Andrew said.

Vanya nodded.

“And there’s still activity?”

“I told you. A few trucks come and go. There are helicopters. A food van.”

Gaia looked up sharply. “This food van—how often does it visit?”

Vanya shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Can we find out, exactly? Would Ivan know?”

“Yes, but why? What good will that do?”

“Somehow, we have to get inside that base,” Will said.

His meaning wasn’t lost on Vanya.

“This is a very serious business,” Vanya said at once. “I told you: There are electric fences, there are dogs. Ivan says two men wandered by late one night, they were drunk. The next morning their bodies were found. What are you saying, you want to try to get in? You children?” He looked at Gaia. “You are a girl!”

“Unbelievable,” Elena said. “Sometimes, Vanya Davydenko, I do not understand why we are friends.”

“So you support this, then, Elena? It sounds to you like a good idea?” Vanya cried. His face flickered, changing shades like a cuttlefish. His skin settled on a blotch of red and white.

Why do you think we asked for the information? Will thought. Why do you think we wanted to find its location?

“Oh God,” said Andrew. His mouth fell open. Blood drained from his face.

Will and Gaia turned to him in alarm. “Andrew?” Will said.

“Oh God,” he said again.

Gaia was closest. She reached out, grabbed his arm. “Andrew? What?” she said urgently.

“I’ve been so stupid. I’ve been so stupid!”

“What are you talking about?” Gaia cried.

“I know,” Andrew answered at last. “I know what the weapon is . . . I know what they’re going to do!”