EMMET POUNDED ON THE GATE IN FRUSTRATION.

“He’s here. I know it,” he said. “Only there’s no way in. I don’t suppose you thought to bring a ladder, did you?”

“No,” Calvin said. “But I did bring my cell phone. We could call my mom or Stuke’s dad. Somebody could be here in minutes.”

Emmet seriously considered it. He didn’t care about getting in trouble. Apollo was all that mattered. But if they called and Apollo was not there, then they were in huge trouble regardless. Plus, they would have pulled them away from the search. He didn’t know what to do.

“What’s it going to be?” Calvin prodded him.

“Answer a question first. You’re keeping something from me. What was Mrs. Clawson talking about? Something about Apollo and Dr. Catalyst. Please don’t lie to me, Calvin. I need to know,” Emmet said.

Calvin sighed. He punched a couple buttons on his phone and handed it to Emmet. It was a photo of Apollo suspended above the tank of Muraecudas.

“He posted another video. I overheard my mom talking about it. Don’t get mad at her or your dad, Emmet….”

“What? Why? What is he going to do?” Emmet was completely distraught.

“If the governor doesn’t close the beaches and my mom doesn’t close the Everglades and stop hunting the Pterogators by ten A.M., a timer will go off and the floor of the cage will open. Apollo —”

Emmet looked at the time on the phone. It was 9:45.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought they’d find him by now! Honest, I did! Everyone is looking! Off-duty policemen, firemen, volunteers … I thought —”

“There’s no time to call now. How are we going to get in?”

Calvin shrugged out of his backpack and removed what looked like a giant pair of pliers from it.

“With these,” he said. “The chain looks too thick, but it’s all I’ve got.” He slipped the blades over a link of the chain holding the gate shut. Of course the chain was high-quality tempered steel, but these would have to do.

“Who are you?” Emmet asked. “Why do you have bolt cutters?”

“They were my dad’s,” Calvin said as he groaned with the effort. “I have all of his tools. Right now I wish he’d owned a bigger pair of bolt cutters.”

Emmet put his hands over Calvin’s and pulled hard, wedging his feet against the gate and leaning back to gain as much leverage as possible. Using every bit of strength they possessed, they dug in. When the bolt cutters finally snapped through the chain, both of them tumbled to the ground.

“Hurry!” Emmet said, scrambling to his feet.

Pulling the chain from the gate, Emmet and Calvin opened it and charged through. Off to the south they saw the aquarium building, and they headed for it at a dead run. There was a ramped entrance on both ends of the rectangular building. The ramps led to the top of the amphitheater. From there, visitors had to enter the rows of bleachers. They headed left and raced up the concrete walkway, only to find their way blocked by a locked steel door. Emmet wanted to look at the time on his phone but was afraid to.

“Come on!” Emmet said, hurrying back down the ramp. Knowing the other ramp would lead to a similarly locked door, Emmet raced around toward the back of the building. There had to be other ways inside, like a staff entrance or emergency exits.

At the rear of the aquarium, right next to the construction fence, was another door. Just a regular, ordinary locked door. Calvin stepped forward, holding the bolt cutters in one hand, and swung with all his might. He hit the doorknob squarely and knocked it off completely. He jammed the head of the bolt cutters into the opening and, using them like a lever, put his weight into it and yanked on the handles. The door popped open.

Emmet pulled his phone from his pocket. It was now 9:50. They had ten minutes.