Peter clutched his knees nervously. Waiting was such tiresome work. Tonight was the night the robbers had planned to rob the bank, and it was also the night Kevin and he hoped to escape from the thieves' den and somehow get to California. Yet even as he thought the plan over again, the nagging question of transportation would not go away. How could they get the California?
Planes were rather expensive, and how could they bring the machine on a plane with them?
He sighed. This whole plan of coming to Earth was a total mess. Yet the leader was a wise man; why would he overlook prominent problems in the creating of the plan for this mission?
The answer came to him like a flash; the leader had never been to Earth before. Problems that seemed so out in the open where problems that the leader had never had to experience before, or never knew about. But they had been observing Earth for some time, as the leader had said. Couldn't they have learned about these things from their observations?
Well, that depended on what they had been observing. They might have been taking note of its orbit around the sun, for all he knew. Yet they had come in contact with something human on Earth, for they were always harping on how stupid "Earthlings" were.
Great. So it was he who had been the problem. After all, he knew the problems and didn't mention them to anyone. Why hadn't he mentioned them? Peter kicked the grass irritably.
"I wasn't thinking about them then. I assumed the leader had everything under control, and knew what he was doing. And, I've never been in this situation before, so how could I have comprehended all the trouble I would run into?" he sighed.
But it was too late to think about what he would have done, or should have done long ago. What could he do now?
"Pete!" Kevin interrupted his friend's thoughts. "I say, Pete, what's wrong?"
"Wrong? Oh, every thing's just fine. Don't worry," Peter said hastily. A little too hastily; Kevin detected something other than carelessness in his voice, and scrunched up his brow.
"If nothing's wrong, than why are you sitting here in moody silence?" Kevin queried.
"Sorry," Peter shrugged. "I didn't want to worry you."
"Peter! I'm not a little boy! In fact, I'm older then you! Just tell me what you're worried about, and I'll see if I can help you."
"Maybe I should wait and tell you later," Peter hinted, as he saw a burly robber approaching them.
"Sure," Kevin grinned. "I like hot dogs, too. The ones from the restaurant, MacApple, were really tasty."
"Those were nothing compared to Mixers'," Peter replied, quick to see Kevin's game. The burly robber stopped in front of them.
"You boys ready for the little fun we're going to have tonight?" he chuckled in hid deep voice.
"Yeah, just about," Kevin grinned at him.
"That's good. I'm not!" the robber walked away, laughing like one who has just told a joke that they find humorous, even though no one else sees it as so.
"I'm glad he didn't stay," Kevin muttered. "I can't make a fool of myself by constantly chattering about hot dogs!"
"You're becoming a good actor, that's for sure," Peter smiled. "Do you even like hot dogs?"
"They're good. I can't wait to try pizza, though. Apparently it is very good."
"You'll try some soon enough," Peter smiled again.
The hotel was situated very neatly in the middle of NYC, directly across from a lovely row of small, neat shops. Edmund and his father had only just arrived at the place, and both agreed that it was a rather noisy street due to the traffic.
Ed unpacked his trunk and stuffed its contents into a drawer in the dresser. He gazed out the window with something not short of awe. He had been to several large cities in the past, but they never lost their thrill for him.
"I'm really tired," dad sighed. "Do you mind if I take a short nap?"
"Not at all," Ed turned from the window to smile at his dad.
"What do you want?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't pretend to be innocent; I see your smile. You've got that look again; the look that says you would really like to ask something but you're not sure if you should," dad teased.
"Sorry. I just wanted to - to know if I could go exploring outside."
"I thought so. I guess if you don't lose sight of the hotel, you can. It is easy to get lost in a city you don't know."
"Thank you," Ed grinned. He picked up his sneakers where he had let them fall in a heap on the floor, and put them on again. "Bye, dad!"
"Bye. Be back by 6, okay? We're going to be eating dinner."
"You don't have to tell me; I won't miss dinner for anything!" Ed said cheerfully. He stuck one of the hotel keys in his wallet, placed it in his pocket, and locked the door behind him.
The air outside was thick and stifling with the exhaust of cars and the humidity of summer. Ed picked his way through the crowds, and stopped to look at every shop window and building he could find. Every now and again he looked back at the hotel in order to keep it in sight.
He was standing outside a window displaying fresh cheese party-platters, beginning to think that it would be a good time to head back to the hotel, when he felt something touch him at his side. It was not unusual to bump into someone in the crowd, but he turned towards it anyhow, and saw a figure making off with his wallet!
"Oh, great!" Ed groaned, as he felt his empty pocket. He was considering letting it go, when he remembered that the wallet had contained the hotel key, and he started running after the figure immediately. Getting back into his hotel room would have been no problem; he could simply knock on the door, and dad would let him in. But the key wasn't his. It belonged the the hotel. And supposing the wallet thief took advantage of the key and broke into the hotel? It never occurred to him that the hotel could replace the lock with a new one.
He ran on for what seemed like forever, losing and regaining sight of the thief on a regular basis. And all the while looking for policemen, but none appeared. The crowd was getting larger as time slowly went by; people were getting out of work and starting to look for places to eat at. The street was full of the sound of honking horns and squeaky brakes. Ed stopped running to catch his breath; the thief was quickly getting out of sight.
Ed groaned and glanced at his watch: 6:13. He had to get back to the hotel. He would just have to tell the hotel manager what had happened. He searched the skyline quickly for a glimpse of the hotel to get his direction. Then he realized the horrible mistake he had made in following the thief: the hotel was out of sight. And the worst thing was that in the midst of the excitement over the loss of his wallet and trying to catch the thief responsible for it, he had forgotten to take note of landmarks and directions.
He started walking towards a shop, certain of having seen it before, only to find that the store was anything but familiar as he approached it. This happened again and again, till he began to go in circles, and recognize shops merely because he had passed them while searching for something he knew.
"I knew this was a mistake!" he cried at last. Though what part of his journey had been a mistake was something he couldn't clarify. He was growing hungry and the sun was starting to set. He checked his watch again and found it to be past 8:00. He had no way of getting in contact with his dad. "Maybe I should ask for help?" he thought. But the saying "never talk to strangers" had been so drilled into his head when he was younger that he found it hard to even consider going against it. His head whirled and his legs were growing tired. He sat down on a bench outside a cozy little store and tried to think of his next action.
The robbers formed a noisy group outside by the trucks. More trucks were arriving from distant locations; the Scallions were a huge, widespread gang that came together for certain important missions. By the number of robbers here (60 going on to 90, approximately), the bank was a very rich one and the mission to it could not fail.
Peter tried to stay keep an eye on Kevin in the midst of all the activity. It wasn't an easy ordeal as the large Scallion gang was growing the whole time. He and Kevin had planned to slip out unnoticed as the gang took off. It was important that the two of them not get separated.
At last, the trucks had been loaded with tools and weapons, and the men began to climb on. Peter spotted Kevin and was making his way in that direction, when a large hand clasped his shoulder. He turned slowly around.
"Ha! Scared ya, didn't I?" Henry laughed.
"Ha, ha. Yes, you did," Peter said, trying not to show his despair. Henry would, of course, be sure that Peter was squished in on a truck somewhere. Which meant that plans of escape would be of no use. "Look, Henry, I'm feeling a little sick...." (his stomach was hurting. But that was because he was so nervous). "Do you think I could stay here tonight?"
"What? And miss the big game?" Henry slapped him on the back with a loud laugh. "No, youngster! Ya can't do that."
"Well, what if I were to get sick or something in the middle of the mission? It wouldn't be pleasant for all concerned, and it might leave evidence," Peter said desperately. He had to get out of this somehow. But did he have to lie in order to do it? No, he wasn't lying, he was sure. He could get sick with his stomach all in a knot like it was. It had happened before when he was nervous; it could happen again....
But it didn't matter whether he was sick or not; Henry was determined to have him along. Peter stopped resisting, knowing it was hopeless and might raise suspicion. He looked around for Kevin and signalled to him helplessly.
"What is it, Pete?" Kevin asked, coming up to his friend. "You look sick!"
"I feel sick, but that's not the point. My old 'friend' found me, and won't let me stay behind for anything."
"Couldn't you escape now?"
"No. He's keeping a constant watch over me. I can see him doing it. And when I can't see him, I can feel him. No, I have to go."
"Well, I guess I'll go too, then," Kevin smiled.
"No. I want you to continue with the plan," Peter remarked, to his friend's surprise.
"What?"
"There's no other way, Kev. I'll have to join you later."
"But how? And what can I do alone? And why can't we just plan for another time?"
"Time, time!"Peter sighed miserably. "Something there is a severe lack of at the present! We've got to go on with our mission. And there may not be another chance for escape."
"But-"
"No, listen! The machine has to be slipped out while the gang is gone. Try to get it some where away from this hideout. Then, go on with the plan and find some way to get to California. I'll try to get out of here as soon as possible; maybe even tonight after the robbery. Then I'll follow you to CA."
"No!" Kevin said suddenly. "We can't get so separated! I don't know how to get on in this dismal country without your help. And we may get so separated that we can never find eachother again, let alone the machine. The mission would be a failure then. And there would be no way of duplicating the mission, meaning Andromeda's doomed."
"But the prophecy! It can't be wrong! Andromeda will not perish."
"But Peter, you are one of the ones prophecied about; not me. Who's to say I won't be stuck on Earth for the rest of my life?"
"But who knows if I am the Sperring prophecied about?" Peter said desperatly. "I can't think of any other ways, Kevin! I've thought till my brain is dead!"
"Then it's time to use mine," Kevin grinned. "That's what I'm here for."
Copyright - 12/25/2008 - Curious Cognitive Content (CCC)
Please do not reproduce without permission from the author(ess).
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