‘Bart!’
I lunged for the leotarded belly of my friend as his arms pin-wheeled wildly, but I couldn’t get a handhold.
‘No!’ Oh God, he was going to fall! ‘Jump Bart! Jump for the pterodactyl!’
Bart twisted at the waist and pushed off, hands reaching for the suspended bones dangling from the wires anchored to the ceiling.
I slapped my palms over my face, but through my fingers I could see Bart’s form sailing through the air, fingers outstretched. No! He wasn’t going to make—
Got it! He got it! I clutched my chest as I saw Bart’s hand wrap around the collarbone of the suspended dinosaur, the rest of him swinging below.
‘Bremy! Help!’
‘Grab my hand!’
He reached towards me, fingertips straining while the other hand stayed gripped to the bone. ‘I can’t reach you.’
I heard people screaming below, but I didn’t think those shouts were for us. At some level, I registered smoke, and a flash of light, but none of that mattered right now.
‘Bart!’ I stretched up on my tippy-toes and leaned further out over the drop below, my stomach—almost my hips—resting on the banister. ‘Reach!’
‘Bremy, I’m not going to make it!’
‘Yes you are! Don’t you let go!’ I screamed. ‘Reach dammit!’
Part of me knew he was right … the distance between our fingertips was just too great. ‘Bart! Don’t you die on me!’
‘Not what I want to hear right now!’
‘Help!’ I screamed. ‘Someone!’ I darted a quick glance behind me, but the security guards were gone, probably to see what was happening below.
‘I’m slipping, Bremy!’
My eyes moved from his panicked ones up to his grip. His fingers! They were slipping!
‘Bart! No!’ He let go.
‘No!’
I desperately lunged for him … but my reach … it wasn’t long enough—
But someone else’s was.
A long, muscular arm shot forward, hand snapping shut around Bart’s wrist.
I jerked my head around to see Pierce, lunging forward, chest slamming against the railing as Bart’s weight snapped below.
‘Pierce!’ I clutched his shoulder. ‘You got him! Hold on!’
He hunched lower, planting his feet against the railing, while swinging his other hand over to grab the back of Bart’s outfit. He then struggled to straighten his legs, fighting to lift with every muscle he had. He was hauling Bart up! All dead mime weight of him! ‘Keep going! You’re doing it!’
Sweat broke out over Pierce’s brow, all the fine muscles in his face contorted into something very manly with all the strain, but I swear I never thought, for more than a tenth of a second, about how very hot he looked, all … bulging.
Seconds later, both Pierce and I were reaching over to grab the fabric of Bart’s unitard, and together we heaved him over the ledge. He collapsed into a puddle on the marble floor. ‘Bart,’ I said, leaning down to put a hand on his back. ‘Are you okay?’
He didn’t answer. Instead he gripped Pierce’s pants, then hand over hand clawed his way up his body. I realised he was also saying something. I leaned in, cocking my ear. It was, ‘I love you, man,’ over and over.
When Bart got to the top of Pierce, he collapsed in his arms. ‘I mean it,’ Bart said, pulling back to look Pierce in the face, ‘I love you, man. I said to Bremy, right from the beginning, that you were too good for her … too good for everyone.’
‘Hey!’
Bart peeked at me over his arm. ‘You should have pulled the alarm, Bremy. Why didn’t you pull the alarm?’
‘I—’ I began but was quickly cut off by another explosive crack … then a sizzling sound.
All three of us instinctively ducked.
‘What’s happening?’ I shouted. ‘Are those bombs?’
Pierce straightened, quizzical look on his face. ‘No, I think they’re some sort of fireworks.’
All three of us moved to take in the situation below. There were lots of cringing rich people, lots of smoke, and lots of sparkling. Something caught my attention by the front entrance. A team of big men in suits and sunglasses stood in a line blocking the exits, while a group of women strutted through a break in their formation. Women in jewel-toned sausage dresses. Then he walked in … signature sunglasses and flashy white smile in place.
Big Shot … Ricky.
I should have known.
Whatever this was that my father had planned, I suddenly knew it wasn’t going to be … violent. It didn’t make me feel better though. There were many different ways to hurt a person. And my father knew most of them.
‘What’s going on?’ Pierce asked.
I shook my head. ‘It’s Big Shot.’
Bart looked up to Pierce and asked, ‘What do we do?’
‘Hey! Why aren’t you asking me that question? I’m the one with the superheroing experience.’
‘Do I seriously have to answer that?’ Bart asked.
‘You know, you talk a lot for a mime.’
Pierce cleared his throat. ‘I think maybe we should focus.’
‘Right. Sorry,’ Bart said, in a very serious voice. ‘Did you know that you bear a striking resemblance to Captain America?’ Thankfully, a microphone screeched, stopped him from going any further. ‘Helllooo everybody!’ Big Shot shouted with a staccato, Ha Ha Ha at the end. Suddenly he tilted his head, looked up at me and pointed. ‘Are we having a good time tonight?’
There had to be at least a couple hundred people in the gallery of the museum and not a one spoke a word.
‘I said … Are we having a good time tonight!’
The shout echoed coldly off the museum’s walls.
He looked down and shook his head. ‘Oh, that’s sad … so sad. But that’s why I’m here.’ He threw his arms into the air and leaned back. ‘To bring the fun.’
Big Shot snapped his fingers and one of his tanned girl minions sashayed forward with a book in her hand. ‘You see, I know how boring these events can be, so I thought I’d liven things up,’ he said, raising the book into the air. ‘But, sadly, for all of you, it won’t be free of charge.’
I looked over to Bart to see if he had figured out what was going on, but he shrugged.
‘Does anyone know what this is?’ My gaze snapped back to Ricky.
‘No?’ He swung the book around for all to see. ‘What if I told you it was something you all desperately wanted?’ A confused murmur ran through the crowd.
‘And tonight it will go to the highest bidder!’
‘Wait,’ Bart said abruptly. He dropped his voice so that Pierce couldn’t hear. ‘My brain isn’t exactly at its normal running speed, but he pointed at you. Do you know this guy?’
I nodded. ‘His name’s Ricky. Our … my family’s old pool boy.’
‘Okay,’ Bart said, bloodshot eyes darting over my face. ‘But that doesn’t explain why you look so weird.’
‘This little book, right here, has all your secrets …’
I leaned closer to Bart. ‘I kind of had a thing for Ricky back in the day.’
‘Oh, Bremy,’ he said in a sad, disgust-tinged voice. ‘You had a thing with Mr Aviator Sunglasses?’
‘Oy! You just stop right there,’ I whispered, driving a finger into his chest. ‘I will not be judged by you … you who dates all the beautiful disasters and then becomes one yourself when you get dumped for the first time!’
‘… and I’m wondering who is going to be the highest bidder …’
‘Besides,’ I said, through my teeth. ‘It wasn’t a big deal. Just a kiss or two, and a—’ I caught myself.
Bart smiled. ‘And a what?’
‘Well, he did give me a pretty significant hickey,’ I said, eyeing Pierce to make sure he was still focused on the soon-to-be auction below. ‘Like, seriously, it didn’t heal for weeks. If everybody has a superpower, his is suction.’
‘Gross.’
It wasn’t though. I felt my heart swell a bit. ‘We were kids.’
Pierce leaned in, breaking up our huddle. ‘If you guys are okay, I have to go. My camera man is waving me down.’
‘Go,’ I said with a smile. ‘This could be big. Maybe you’ll get a shot at one of those Periwinkle Surprises.’
His brow crinkled. ‘Peri—oh! Pulitzer. Good one, Bremy.’ He walked a few steps then stopped. ‘Can you two stay out of trouble?’
I nodded, and he trotted away.
Bart cast me a sideways look. ‘You had no idea what it was called, did you?’
‘None whatsoever,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘But don’t you think it’s sweet that he thought I did?’
Bart stared at me a moment, before turning back to the action below.
‘Here’s another little teaser for you! Mrs Winterbalm!’ Ricky shouted, flipping some pages. My eyes scanned the crowd for my favourite octogenarian. She was taking a long sip of champagne. ‘It says here that you have some peculiar tastes in the bedroom!’
From what I could see, Mrs Winterbalm wasn’t showing much concern but her sons had gone deathly still.
‘It seems that somebody likes a little spank under her Spanx. And that’s only the beginning,’ he added, flicking some more. ‘I have pictures to prove it!’
A gasp slash groan ran through the crowd.
My eyes flew back to Mrs Winterbalm. All of her sons were casting pretty aggravated stares down at her, but she just threw them a disinterested shrug. ‘Now, who’s next?’ Ricky asked. ‘Maybe we should take things out of the bedroom and into the boardroom!’
That sent a new ripple through the crowd.
I leaned over to Bart. ‘Don’t you think it’s kind of weird that none of this is, well, about me yet?’
‘Only you,’ Bart said, closing his eyes. ‘Only you could say that sentence.’
I slapped him on the arm. ‘You know what I mean.’
Ricky’s voice interrupted us. ‘You don’t get to be as rich as you guys by always playing fair. Let’s see what dirty tricks I have stowed away in my book.’ He began flipping again.
‘Do you think we should do something?’ I whispered to Bart.
‘Meh. I don’t know. As far as crimes go, this doesn’t really seem like a super bad one. I mean, he’s kind of doing the vigilante thing himself by exposing crimes.’
‘For profit!’ I spluttered. ‘And by holding hundreds of people hostage!’
Bart screwed up his lips and nodded as though considering. ‘But I’m kind of spent after my near-death experience. I just want to watch.’
I backhanded him on the shoulder.
‘Ow! You seriously need to stop hitting me.’
‘Crime fighting is not a pick and choose type of deal.’
‘Jeez,’ he said, rubbing his shoulder. ‘Are you sure this isn’t your father’s plan? For you to humiliate yourself in front of all these people by trying to stop this crime?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘Not evil enough. There’s more coming. I just know it. Besides, this is wrong, and even if it isn’t entirely wrong, it sends out the message that the city really is falling apart and that can only lead to one place.’
‘Where?’
‘Chaos.’
‘Chaos isn’t a place.’
I frowned. ‘You are so not helping. Could you just pretend for a moment that you’re not useless, okay?’
He sighed. ‘Fine. I guess, you could go over to the booth over there, behind the dais, and turn off the sound system. It’s hard to have an auction when no one can hear you. And it would give the cops time to get here.’
‘Good. Good. What else do you got?’
‘Seriously?’
‘Well, I just want a backup plan. Things don’t always work out for me, and—’
‘Would you like to meet my pterodactyl friend up close?’ Bart asked, pointing to the gently swaying dino-bird. ‘Because I’m about to throw you over for a meet and greet.’
‘I’m sorry. It’s been a weird night.’ I started to back away. ‘I’m going to go try the unplugging thing now. Sure you don’t wanna come?’
Bart mimed something very unpleasant.
‘Right. Understood.’ I trotted down the stairs. I was half-expecting a security guard to stop me en route, but everyone was focused on the action. So far no one had started the bidding. Ricky was just teasing them all with tidbits. I made my way through the crowd to the dais subtly positioned behind the giant skeleton of the T-rex Bart had pointed out. The sound system looked a lot like the ones they used in clubs. I scanned the blinking lights and knobs. One of them had to be for power. Like that big red one! That had to be it! But just as my finger was reaching for the button, I noticed the crowd had gone completely silent.
Ricky’s voice shattered the still. ‘What about you Atticus? I might have a thing or two in here about St. James Industries that deserves to be put on blast. Would you like to start the bidding?’ I popped up straight like a prairie dog and craned my head to see what was happening.
Too many people.
I crept around the sound table, eyes still searching the crowd. It didn’t take long for them to settle.
‘I don’t think so, young man. In fact, I think we’ve heard just about enough from you.’
And there he was, my father, standing in the centre of the gallery, facing Rickie.
I felt my heart rate pick up. This was it. Whatever he had planned. It was starting. I just knew it.
‘Now, now, sir. I’m just getting warmed up,’ Ricky replied. ‘Look at all the interested faces around the room. They’re all hungry for trade secrets.’
‘No,’ my father said. ‘I think you are done here. In fact, you could save us all a lot of time by handing over your little book right now.’
‘And why would I do that?’
My father fixed his gaze onto Ricky. I knew that expression. Even though I truly believed the two of them were in on this together, I felt fear prickle over my skin for Ricky. ‘Weren’t you listening? To save time. Or perhaps I should have said to save me the time from asking someone to take it from you.’
I darted forward through the dinosaur’s legs, jumping the velvet rope of the exhibit, to catch Ricky’s expression. He looked confused.
‘No?’ My father took his phone out of his breast pocket and poked it a few times. ‘As you wish.’
I swear not a single person dared to breathe. Nothing happened for a good minute or so. Then I heard it. Helicopter blades.
Yeah, go figure. My father had his own helicopter—a fleet of them, in fact—but I really didn’t see how that was going to help this situation. And since when did my father stage crimes only to stop them? Okay, actually, he had done exactly that with a circus troupe not so long ago, but that was neither here nor there. The helicopter sounded very close. I hopped over another velvet rope to join the crowd and peer up at the glass-domed ceiling of the museum that capped off the fifth floor.
There definitely appeared to be a helicopter flying around up there, but it—
THUMP!
I jolted. A few people screamed. Something or someone had just hit the dome. People scattered back away from the centre of the room.
We all waited again. I didn’t hear it at first, but then somebody asked, ‘Is that a saw?’ Then I caught the buzz of a small motor.
I squinted up to the ceiling. It looked like … like maybe someone was cutting into the glass … wait, no, it was already cut and being lifted up and out. Then someone’s legs dropped through the hole.
‘It’s Dark Ryder!’ a woman shouted.
A few happy cheers rose up in reply, but I didn’t join them. That wasn’t Ryder. Not unless Ryder now wore white. I felt someone come to my side.
‘Bremy,’ Pierce said. ‘Are you okay? Your father …’
I nodded. I wasn’t exactly sure if I was okay or not. Being around my father usually meant a guaranteed not, but there was too much going on to think about it.
‘Any idea what’s happening?’
‘None.’
All of us stared rapt at the figure coming from the sky. They were all probably thinking the same thing I was. How was this person going to get down?
Suddenly the body dropped. Screams ricocheted skywards as the white-clad figure fell from the ceiling. Pierce and I clutched hands. Oh God, I didn’t want to see this! I squeezed my eyes shut. Then I heard a loud Snap!
My eyes flew open.
The falling person had suddenly grown wings! Or a cape! A cape that turned into wings! The figure circled the museum in a slow glide.
A mantra had started up deep in my mind.
It definitely wasn’t Ryder.
Actually not a mantra … a name …
The person swirled lower.
The first name I had ever learned …
Lower still, right above our heads.
Most of the partygoers ducked, but I looked up. ‘It’s …’ I said, turning to Pierce, ‘it’s my—’
‘Jenny.’