Arcade Catastrophe
Page 31
“He’s her brother,” Nate said, figuring she would find out eventually. “He knows I was around when Mrs. White went missing. He mentioned it. But he didn’t make a big deal about it. I guess he wasn’t very close to her.”
“He gave me the benefit of the doubt too,” Lindy said. “He knew about Mr. Stott. Jonas connected me to him after I mentioned the Mirror Mints. But Jonas didn’t seem overly concerned that I live with him.”
“He must be pretty confident about his plan,” Nate speculated.
“Or his security,” Lindy said.
“Well, Lindy, I feel a little bad about shutting out Roman, but I’m glad there’s at least one Jet I can trust.”
She smiled. “I’m glad you got the stamp ahead of him. Spying is bad enough without also feeling lonely.”
Nate nodded toward the doors. “Should we go talk to the others?”
“Sure.”
They walked together through the doors and quickly found Trevor loitering, his eyes on an EMPLOYEES ONLY door. Trevor signaled Pigeon, who hurried over.
“Lindy!” Pigeon cried. “Where have you been? Mr. Stott is so worried.”
“I’m sorry, Pidge. I couldn’t handle being ordered to keep out of this. I’m a Jet now.”
“What?” he exclaimed.
“She got the third stamp, I got the fourth,” Nate explained. “Long story, and we can’t talk long. Is Summer already in there?”
“You just missed her,” Trevor said.
“She’s going to meet the owner of Arcadeland, Jonas White. He’s Mrs. White’s brother.”
Pigeon gasped. “Is he here for revenge?”
Nate forced himself not to look at Lindy. “Doesn’t seem that way. He wasn’t very friendly with his sister. But he’s here for a purpose. I can’t say too much. We’re supposed to go practice with Chris and Risa.”
“Practice what?” Trevor pressed.
“I’m not allowed to explain,” Nate said. “You’ll find out soon. Earn the stamps, then you’ll see.”
“You really won’t say?” Trevor asked, looking a little wounded.
“Just to be safe,” Nate continued in a loud whisper. “Jonas set some firm rules about what we can tell others. I’m in no hurry to break them—not yet, and especially not here. Let me see. What can I say? Summer and I won’t be much help with tickets tomorrow.”
Trevor looked even more perplexed. “You can’t come?”
Nate leaned closer. Pigeon leaned in too. Nate lowered his voice more. “I can’t risk mixing magic. Remember how we suspected the stamps would lead to candy? The stamps are the candy. They last about two days.”
Pigeon and Trevor looked sober as they digested the information.
“Summer will be taking off to practice too?” Pigeon asked.
“I guess,” Nate said. “Still, can’t hurt to keep an eye on her. Hey, I’ve got to go. The others are waiting for us. I don’t want to make them suspicious.”
Trevor nodded. “Okay, get out of here. We’ll pass on what info we have.”
“When will we see you?” Pigeon asked, eyes on Lindy.
“Tell my dad I’ll be home tonight,” Lindy said. “Tell him I need him to be understanding.”
“I’ll tell him,” Pigeon promised.
“We’ll talk later,” Nate told Trevor. “This will make more sense after you get your stamp.”
“I hope so,” Trevor replied.
Nate and Lindy backed away, then headed for the door.
Chapter Ten
Training
The training facility turned out to be a few blocks away inside a warehouse Jonas White had rented. Unimpressive on the outside except for its size, the facility contained many surprises inside. An assortment of gymnastics equipment filled one corner of the cavernous room, including parallel bars, a pommel horse, vaulting boards and tables, trampolines of diverse sizes, balance beams of different heights, mats for tumbling, climbing ropes, and a wide pit full of foam cubes. An indoor pool, built partially above ground and encircled by a wooden deck, dominated another corner of the room. A third quadrant held sporting equipment, including weight sets and punching bags, and featured multiple basketball hoops and a miniature soccer goal. The last corner of the huge warehouse was devoted to fighting, with a large wrestling mat and a full boxing ring. Along the walls hung gear for fencing, boxing, wrestling, and martial arts.
“Are we prepping for the Olympics?” Nate asked as he and Lindy entered. His voice echoed slightly in the vast space.
“I couldn’t believe it either,” Lindy replied. “It’s all for us.”
“Just the Jets?”
“All four clubs,” Chris answered, soaring down from above the entrance with Risa. “The other kids don’t come here much. I expect more will show once their clubs fill up.”
“We’re free to fly in here,” Risa said. “We don’t risk it much outside, except at night.”
“It’s pretty awesome,” Lindy told Nate.
“I’m excited to go for it,” Nate said. Ever since hovering in the room with Jonas White, he had let the ability lie dormant, all the while aware that the potential resided within him.
“Watch your speed,” Chris cautioned. “It takes some room to stop or turn. If you’re not careful, you’ll get flattened against a wall.”
Nate willed himself into the air, and up he went. It took no more effort than for a healthy person at rest to start running. The sensation was quite different than with Moon Rocks. Using Moon Rocks, he jumped, and physics controlled his trajectory until he collided with something. Now, he could swerve in any direction as desired.
The tall ceiling in the warehouse allowed Nate to soar high above the floor. The height bothered him a little, but Moon Rocks had helped train him not to freak out in lofty places. He picked up some speed, swooping down, then curved back up. As he changed direction at a greater speed than before, he felt what Chris had meant about turning. Nate could will himself to turn, but his speed limited how sharply. It was like turning while on a bike—the higher the speed, the more gradual the turn needed to be.
Nate also practiced speeding up and stopping. Again, like with his bike, he needed some space to accelerate and decelerate. Nate found that if he turned as he stopped, he could kill his momentum more effectively.
Air whooshed by as Nate soared around the room making lazy figure eights. The sensation was by far the most exhilarating he had ever felt. He extended one arm ahead of himself, partly because it felt natural, partly in case he needed to ward off a collision. As he practiced turning more sharply at higher speeds, he felt g-forces straining his body, like when rounding a curve on a fast roller coaster.
“He gave me the benefit of the doubt too,” Lindy said. “He knew about Mr. Stott. Jonas connected me to him after I mentioned the Mirror Mints. But Jonas didn’t seem overly concerned that I live with him.”
“He must be pretty confident about his plan,” Nate speculated.
“Or his security,” Lindy said.
“Well, Lindy, I feel a little bad about shutting out Roman, but I’m glad there’s at least one Jet I can trust.”
She smiled. “I’m glad you got the stamp ahead of him. Spying is bad enough without also feeling lonely.”
Nate nodded toward the doors. “Should we go talk to the others?”
“Sure.”
They walked together through the doors and quickly found Trevor loitering, his eyes on an EMPLOYEES ONLY door. Trevor signaled Pigeon, who hurried over.
“Lindy!” Pigeon cried. “Where have you been? Mr. Stott is so worried.”
“I’m sorry, Pidge. I couldn’t handle being ordered to keep out of this. I’m a Jet now.”
“What?” he exclaimed.
“She got the third stamp, I got the fourth,” Nate explained. “Long story, and we can’t talk long. Is Summer already in there?”
“You just missed her,” Trevor said.
“She’s going to meet the owner of Arcadeland, Jonas White. He’s Mrs. White’s brother.”
Pigeon gasped. “Is he here for revenge?”
Nate forced himself not to look at Lindy. “Doesn’t seem that way. He wasn’t very friendly with his sister. But he’s here for a purpose. I can’t say too much. We’re supposed to go practice with Chris and Risa.”
“Practice what?” Trevor pressed.
“I’m not allowed to explain,” Nate said. “You’ll find out soon. Earn the stamps, then you’ll see.”
“You really won’t say?” Trevor asked, looking a little wounded.
“Just to be safe,” Nate continued in a loud whisper. “Jonas set some firm rules about what we can tell others. I’m in no hurry to break them—not yet, and especially not here. Let me see. What can I say? Summer and I won’t be much help with tickets tomorrow.”
Trevor looked even more perplexed. “You can’t come?”
Nate leaned closer. Pigeon leaned in too. Nate lowered his voice more. “I can’t risk mixing magic. Remember how we suspected the stamps would lead to candy? The stamps are the candy. They last about two days.”
Pigeon and Trevor looked sober as they digested the information.
“Summer will be taking off to practice too?” Pigeon asked.
“I guess,” Nate said. “Still, can’t hurt to keep an eye on her. Hey, I’ve got to go. The others are waiting for us. I don’t want to make them suspicious.”
Trevor nodded. “Okay, get out of here. We’ll pass on what info we have.”
“When will we see you?” Pigeon asked, eyes on Lindy.
“Tell my dad I’ll be home tonight,” Lindy said. “Tell him I need him to be understanding.”
“I’ll tell him,” Pigeon promised.
“We’ll talk later,” Nate told Trevor. “This will make more sense after you get your stamp.”
“I hope so,” Trevor replied.
Nate and Lindy backed away, then headed for the door.
Chapter Ten
Training
The training facility turned out to be a few blocks away inside a warehouse Jonas White had rented. Unimpressive on the outside except for its size, the facility contained many surprises inside. An assortment of gymnastics equipment filled one corner of the cavernous room, including parallel bars, a pommel horse, vaulting boards and tables, trampolines of diverse sizes, balance beams of different heights, mats for tumbling, climbing ropes, and a wide pit full of foam cubes. An indoor pool, built partially above ground and encircled by a wooden deck, dominated another corner of the room. A third quadrant held sporting equipment, including weight sets and punching bags, and featured multiple basketball hoops and a miniature soccer goal. The last corner of the huge warehouse was devoted to fighting, with a large wrestling mat and a full boxing ring. Along the walls hung gear for fencing, boxing, wrestling, and martial arts.
“Are we prepping for the Olympics?” Nate asked as he and Lindy entered. His voice echoed slightly in the vast space.
“I couldn’t believe it either,” Lindy replied. “It’s all for us.”
“Just the Jets?”
“All four clubs,” Chris answered, soaring down from above the entrance with Risa. “The other kids don’t come here much. I expect more will show once their clubs fill up.”
“We’re free to fly in here,” Risa said. “We don’t risk it much outside, except at night.”
“It’s pretty awesome,” Lindy told Nate.
“I’m excited to go for it,” Nate said. Ever since hovering in the room with Jonas White, he had let the ability lie dormant, all the while aware that the potential resided within him.
“Watch your speed,” Chris cautioned. “It takes some room to stop or turn. If you’re not careful, you’ll get flattened against a wall.”
Nate willed himself into the air, and up he went. It took no more effort than for a healthy person at rest to start running. The sensation was quite different than with Moon Rocks. Using Moon Rocks, he jumped, and physics controlled his trajectory until he collided with something. Now, he could swerve in any direction as desired.
The tall ceiling in the warehouse allowed Nate to soar high above the floor. The height bothered him a little, but Moon Rocks had helped train him not to freak out in lofty places. He picked up some speed, swooping down, then curved back up. As he changed direction at a greater speed than before, he felt what Chris had meant about turning. Nate could will himself to turn, but his speed limited how sharply. It was like turning while on a bike—the higher the speed, the more gradual the turn needed to be.
Nate also practiced speeding up and stopping. Again, like with his bike, he needed some space to accelerate and decelerate. Nate found that if he turned as he stopped, he could kill his momentum more effectively.
Air whooshed by as Nate soared around the room making lazy figure eights. The sensation was by far the most exhilarating he had ever felt. He extended one arm ahead of himself, partly because it felt natural, partly in case he needed to ward off a collision. As he practiced turning more sharply at higher speeds, he felt g-forces straining his body, like when rounding a curve on a fast roller coaster.
