The Heroes Return Page 9

  “Ah!” Denver nods. “That makes sense. If the green guys can’t jump through space, it makes it a lot harder for them to sneak up on you. When are you getting new gloves?”

  “I don’t know.” I’m sure Denver can hear the irritation in my voice. If there’s one thing this conversation has brought into hyperfocus, it’s the fact that I’m completely defenseless without my gloves. “I think the powers that be are worried that if I have my gloves I might be tempted to use them.”

  “Isn’t that the whole point? You Bounders are the new front line against the Youli.”

  “Not while I’m on the Lost Heroes Homecoming Tour. My value as part of the Earth Force propaganda plan is more important.” I cringe as soon as the words leave my mouth. Sure, Denver seems to be on the same page as me when it comes to all the Earth Force lies, but he’s still one of the highest-regarded Earth Force officers of all time. I shouldn’t risk bad-mouthing the Force to his face, especially now that Admiral Eames reminded him of his responsibilities. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Denver laughs. “Don’t be, kid. You’re exactly right. Your friend Lucy is the face of the greatest propaganda machine in the galaxy. I don’t need level-one clearance to tell you that.”

  • • •

  Despite my stubborn grumpiness, I can’t help feeling happy when the image of Earth fills the front window of the craft. I’m going home.

  Even though it hasn’t been that long in Jasper time, it’s been more than a year in Earth time, and now I can really feel how long it’s been. I feel it in my bones and in my heart. It’s like on some level my body registers the passage of time even though my mind can’t. I hope Jayne got my message to my parents. I want them to know that I’m really okay.

  Once we descend through the cloud layer, the sprawling metropolis of Eurasia East can be seen in the distance. Even closer, though, is the famous Great Wall. It stretches over twenty thousand kilometers and has been around for thousands of years. It’s even visible from space! Everyone in the craft is glued to the window.

  We touch down at the aeroport to the north of the city. Our tour dates and locations have been widely publicized, but our arrival details have been kept under wraps, so there’s not a lot of fanfare when we exit the passenger craft—unless you count all the starstruck ground officers who can’t stop staring at the lost aeronauts. They usher us to a row of waiting hovercars.

  Lucy disappears into the first hover with some of the senior PR officers. Jayne is left to direct the rest of us. She refers to her tablet and waves the old aeronauts into the hover behind Lucy. The rest of the PR staff takes the next hover, leaving Jayne and me behind with the last one in line.

  “Looks like you’re stuck with me,” she says, ducking into the hover. I climb in after her.

  We zoom through the streets of what’s officially called Eurasia East, but which most people call Beijing after the old Chinese city that used to be here. It’s less likely to be confused with Eurasia Central, where Moscow used to be, or Eurasia West, where Paris used to be. In most ways, Beijing looks just like Americana East—tall skyscrapers on a grid, one after the next—but there are also some differences. The gardens in the green blocks have ponds and lots of rocks, and they’ve preserved some of their historic buildings and temples.

  But that’s not the only difference. There are guards strapped with weapons on every corner and armed hovers cruise the streets. It’s nothing like the Americana East I remember, but if what Jayne told me in the pod room is true, it’s probably like Americana East today.

  Now Earth is “officially” at war, and it needs to look the part.

  “I can’t believe I’m here,” I say to Jayne. “I’m not sure about this tour. I don’t feel like much of a hero.”

  “You are a hero, Jasper,” she says. “You took the shield down on Alkalinia. Like I told you before, if you hadn’t done that, Earth Force would have been destroyed. All of the Bounders would have died.”

  “I guess.” I fiddle with the control panel on the hover’s central console.

  “It’s true,” Jayne continues. “Thanks to you, we dealt a huge blow to the Youli and the Alks. Just as important, we wiped out the Alks’ venom stockpile. Without those black-market sales, the Alks are no longer a factor on the intragalactic scene.”

  I hit one of the buttons on the console, and the windows in the back of the hover shade to dark gray. “Admiral Eames put so much stock in our alliance with the Alkalinians. It must have been a big blow to us, too.”

  “True, but the Alks sold us out, Jasper. There was no avoiding that. Plus, we took captives and were able to secure a ton of intelligence.” Jayne hits another button on the console, and a soundproof divider rolls up between the passenger and driver compartments. “You may not know this, but the degradation patch your pod placed on the Youli vessel worked. It caused tons of confusion with the Youli’s organic communications systems, and it drove a wedge within their society. Apparently, they don’t see with one mind anymore.”

  In other words, there’s division within their ranks, just like the Youli told us in the rift. Cole wanted me to question whether that was true, or whether it really mattered. This information is definitely above my clearance level. I’m lucky Jayne is willing to bend the rules. The question is: Why?

  “Oh, look!” She points out the window. “See the crowd? They’re here for the heroes, Jasper. They’re here for you!”

  Up ahead, the entire city block is mobbed with people. The nucleus of the crowd is a tall building bearing the Earth Force Insignia above its main entrance. That must be where we’re headed.

  As our hovers approach, the crowds go wild, cheering and shouting. They push against a blockade manned by rows of guards, all with their weapons drawn. Spectators spill to the sides of the blockade, and as our hovers part the crowd, people slam against the car, pounding on the windows, banging on the hood.

  At first, I instinctively recoil and cover my head. Slowly I lower my hands and stare as desperate faces press against the windows, eager for a glimpse inside our hover. The guards push them back, clearing a path.

  We glide to a stop behind the other hovers in a barricaded area in front of the building. The crowd swarms around us. Lots of people hold placards in the air. Close to half of them are posters of me—the old ones and the new ones. They wave my face in the air and scream at the hovers.

  My hands shake. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

  Jayne grins. “Get ready to be famous, Jasper Adams!” She opens the door and steps out of the hover.

  “It’s Jasper!” A spectator spots me in the hover and jumps the barricade. A guard dives for her, but she’s too fast.

  Shouts rise up and crystallize in a chant: “Jasper! Jasper! Jasper!”

  The guard stops her with an electric pulse and slams her to the ground.

  “Stop!” I shout, hurrying out of the hover, but I can’t even hear myself over the crowd.

  Another girl hops the barricade, even though she must have seen what happened to the first. She lunges for me, throwing her arms around my neck. Guards pulls her off and drag her away, but not before she slips a piece of paper in my hand.

  Earth Force officers take me by the arms and rush me to the building entrance. The noise level never dips until I’m safely inside the Earth Force headquarters.

  Once I’m through the revolving doors, Lucy runs over. “Oh my goodness! This is amazing, isn’t it? I knew the tour would draw crowds, but I never expected quite this amount of hoopla right at the start. What do you think? Are you enjoying being a hero?”

  “It’s kind of intense,” I say. “How did they know we would be here? I thought only our tour dates were released.”

  Lucy winks. “Let’s just say I thought we needed a teaser for the webs to generate buzz. Jayne did an excellent job at letting a little detail of our schedule slip out, don’t you think? Did you see the cameras? I hope they caught some footage of my face. Your face, too, of course.
It was just so crowded. Ha! I never imagined that being too crowded could be a problem.”

  When Lucy moves on to talk to someone else, I unfold the paper the girl slipped me outside. It’s her web address and a handwritten note: Message me. The words are ringed by pink hearts.

  Meanwhile, guards escort a team of cameramen in through a side door.

  I fold the paper back up and stuff it in my pocket. I weave through the lobby to avoid the cameramen and look for Jayne. She’s standing with some of the lost aeronauts. When she sees me, she waves me over.

  She finishes talking to Bai Liu, then traces her finger down her tablet screen. “Here you are, Jasper, room 3217. That’s on the thirty-second floor, just down the hall from me, actually. I’m in room 3210, so feel free to stop by if you need anything. Oh, by the way, I asked Earth Force to provide you with some toiletries and a fresh set of uniforms. The trunk should already be in your room. I’m sorry all your personal effects on Alkalinia were lost.”

  I shrug. Most of what I lost was Earth Force stuff anyway. The only things I really miss are my gloves.

  “A guard will be by with your tablet,” she continues. “It has the schedule for the tour already loaded. You’ll see we have rehearsal tomorrow morning first thing. Don’t be late! The lock for your room should be preprogrammed with your lens signature. See you bright and early!” She points me to the elevator and turns to help the other lost aeronauts, who are waiting for their room assignments.

  The lift dings and opens. I step inside, and the doors close, leaving me pleasantly alone. After the trip from the space station and the crowds outside, I could use some alone time. I exit on the thirty-second floor and follow the hall until I reach room 3217. When I tip my eye to the scanner, the door buzzes open.

  I walk in and look around. There’s a small kitchenette and table in front of me and a room with a couch and a large window to the left. Then I realize someone’s sitting on the couch. Did I get the room wrong?

  I’m about to double-check when the person stands.

  “Hello, Jasper.”

  It takes a few seconds for me to process, and then—

  “Gedney!”

  11

  I PRACTICALLY HURDLE THE COUCH to get to Gedney and give him a hug. He feels frail and familiar. Even though I’m used to seeing him in his lab clothes, he couldn’t look more Gedney than now in an old brown coat that smells of peppermint and old books.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask as we sit on the couch.

  “I came to see you, of course.” He pats my shoulder. “I’ve been worried about you, son.” Leaning close, he adds in a conspiratorial tone, “And you know I couldn’t resist the chance to talk to someone who’s traveled to the rift and back.”

  Gedney was the one who’d theorized that the rift existed. He told us about it in Alkalinia. It’s not a surprise that he wants to hear about the rift from someone who’s actually been there.

  He winks. “Not to mention, I thought you may have a need for these.” Opening his worn leather briefcase, he withdraws a small black sack and hands it to me.

  “What’s this?” I loosen the drawstring and reach inside. “Oh yes!” I’d know that gauzy material anywhere. I pull the gloves from the bag. “How did you find them?”

  “These aren’t your original gloves, I’m afraid,” Gedney says. “Those were lost on Alkalinia. In a thousand years, once that ocean finally detoxifies, some fisherman will be in for a surprise when she pulls those up from the depths. I got to work on the new ones as soon as I heard you were back. I made some for Mira, as well, but I understand she wasn’t so lucky.”

  How much should I tell Gedney about what happened to Mira? He knows about the rift, so he knows the Earth Force narrative is fiction. Even though he definitely doesn’t have the clearance level for the truth, I can’t let him think that Mira is dead. “Well, that’s not exactly true.”

  He raises a hand. “You don’t need to say another word, son. I already had my suspicions, and I certainly didn’t come here to put you in an awkward position.” Leaning back against the couch cushions, he changes the subject. “My blood sugar is a bit low. I snooped around before you arrived and found a fully stocked pantry and refrigerator. How about you pour us a glass of juice and fill me in on the rift?”

  Gedney and I spend the next hour talking. He asks a million questions about the rift. I don’t know the answers to most of them, like what was the temperature? (kind of cool, I guess), was there water? (the air felt damp and it was foggy, so maybe), and did you know while you were there that you were experiencing a different time progression? (yeah, once we found the lost aeronauts, but that’s because they told us they’d only been there two days). No matter how many half answers I give, he always has another question. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him more excited. It must be pretty cool when one of your most out-there theories ends up being true.

  As I’m describing the mushy ground and the all-consuming grayness of the rift for at least the twentieth time, an enormous yawn swallows the last of my words.

  Gedney puts his hands on his knees and slowly stands. I think he’s even more hunched over than the last time I saw him. “It’s best I let you get some rest. I’m sure they have your schedule filled.”

  I roll my eyes. “That’s an understatement. We have rehearsal for the rallies first thing tomorrow morning, and I heard a rumor about a stylist appointment.” I’ve been ignoring that tidbit. The last thing I want to do is be styled. I’m not even sure what that means, but I know it will be awful.

  Gedney laughs. “Better you than me, son.” He holds the edge of the couch for support and lowers his voice. “Jasper, before I go, there’s one thing I want to discuss.”

  I lean closer to him. Whatever he wants to talk about sounds serious.

  “As I said before,” he says, “I don’t want to put you in a compromising position, but there is something you should know.” He waits until he’s sure I’m paying attention before continuing. “Despite the many warnings to the contrary, Earth Force is not currently using a quantum scrambler on the planet’s surface. They’ve been disabled. The Force is hoping to catch the mole red-handed (or red-gloved, if you prefer the literal), and their intelligence just revealed the culprit is likely to be on Earth at the present moment.”

  Why is he telling me this? As I raise my eyebrows, Gedney lowers his gaze to the black sack on my lap.

  “Oh! So I can use my gloves?”

  “Exactly,” he whispers. “There are, however, quantum detection sensors everywhere. That much of the excessive security is the absolute truth, although the reasons have not as much to do with the war effort as they claim. So if you were to use your gloves to travel somewhere discreetly, you would want to make sure you were in a private location, somewhere you could complete your port and bound before you were identified, perhaps somewhere underground where quantum detection sensors can’t quite reach. Don’t spread that last piece of information around. Not many know about the sensors’ limitations.”

  “Okay . . .” What exactly is he trying to tell me?

  “And one more thing: I’m traveling from here directly back to my labs. You remember them, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do.” How could I forget? We stayed at his labs for an entire week practicing with the BPS before our second tour of duty.

  “Good. Then presumably you also recall exactly where they’re located.”

  Before I can reply, Gedney starts for the door. Before he steps out, he turns back to me and places his hand on my shoulder. “It was great to see you, Jasper. Take care of yourself. You are one of a kind. One of the best kind.”

  The door closes behind him.

  I pour another glass of juice and return to the couch. It’s quiet aside from the occasional hum from the lift as it passes by the thirty-second floor. I hold my new gloves in my hands, trailing my fingers across the gauzy fabric.

  What was Gedney talking about? I mean, do I remember exactly where his l
aboratory is located? Why would he ask me that? It must have been a message or have some kind of layered meaning.

  Wait a second . . . that’s it! He must have been asking if I remembered the lab’s exact location so that I’d be able to bound there!

  But why would I need to bound there?

  I’m not sure, but I’m happy to have the option.

  I stuff my gloves safely back into the black drawstring bag. I need to keep these safe. And quiet.

  • • •

  At exactly 0600 the next morning, every light in my room turns on and Florine Statton shouts, “Time to get up! Time to get up, puhleeeze!”

  What on earth? I must be having a nightmare. I squish my pillow over my head.

  “Officer Adams, wake up, puh-leeeze! It’s time to get up!”

  If I’m not having a nightmare, that means Florine Statton is in my room.

  “Get up, Officer Adams!”

  I bolt up in bed and scan the room. There’s no sign of anyone—definitely not Florine.

  “I sense you are still in bed, Officer Adams. I must insist that you get up!” The words seem to come from the room itself.

  No Florine. No whiff of roses (although that could be Lucy these days). But still, that voice!

  Oh! I get it. This must be like Cole’s room. Florine Statton is the voice of the room’s computer.

  I drop my feet to the floor.

  “Officer Adams, get—”

  “Shut up!” I shout. “I’m getting up.” Florine must really be slipping in popularity if she’s stooped to doing voice-overs for guest room computer systems. Lucy has truly taken her place as the face of Earth Force.

  “Very well, Mr. Adams. You are expected downstairs in fifty-four minutes.”

  That means I could have slept for at least another half hour. “Hey, Florine!”