The Flight of the Silvers (Silvers #1)(153)
Seeing Zack’s grim expression, the boy nodded with understanding. “Something borrowed.”
—
They cut through the rain in long-legged strides. Their closest neighbor lived a half mile down the road, in a humble wooden A-frame that was overdecorated with American flags and crucifixes. The owner’s Dixon Tumbril rested in the driveway, a boxy white minivan filled with clutter.
While David kept a wary eye on the lit windows of the house, Zack reversed the car doors to an unlocked state. They slid into the Tumbril in quiet synch and pulled down their rain hoods.
“Smells like dog in here,” Zack muttered.
“Beggars can’t be choosers.”
“I wouldn’t call this begging. I’m wondering if we should just offer them cash.”
“We don’t have time to broker a sale, Zack, or soothe your criminal guilt.”
“It’s not guilt. I’m just afraid this won’t work.”
“It’ll work.”
During his nine days of power practice, Zack had conducted a few casual forays into temporal duplication, otherwise known as tooping. He learned thirty years after the rest of the world that metal objects cloned better than most, acquiring unseemly patches of rust but keeping most of their structural integrity.
He concentrated on the keyhole until it shimmered with a faint white glow. Soon a splotchy metal construct grew from within, forming the tip of a key, as well as a broken piece of key ring.
Zack marveled at his new creation. “Holy shit. That’s surreal.”
“Closest thing to magic I’ve seen yet.”
“Yeah, I’m the Merlin of car thieves. My mom would be proud.” His face crinkled with disgust as he touched the key’s surface. “It’s slimy.”
“You probably cloned some of the driver’s hand.”
Zack didn’t want to picture the mass of insentient goo that would result from a fully tooped human. He cleaned the key with his sleeve.
“All right. I’m ready. Do your thing.”
David looked to the house. “On my signal. Three . . . two . . . one . . .”
With a flick of his hand, the property was consumed in a booming rumble, a perfect echo of the thunder that had blanketed Nemeth ten minutes ago. Zack started the engine under the loud noise cover, then checked the front window of the house.
“Good job.”
Now it was David’s turn to marvel. “Wow. I’ve never thrown thunder before. That was like something out of Norse mythology.”
On a better day, Zack would share in his godly thrill. All he wanted to do now was scream. The federal posse on their trail kept pushing them into becoming bigger and better criminals, larger and meaner threats. Zack could only imagine the cycle would spin faster and faster, until he and his friends were killing just for the privilege of living.
—
Mia and Hannah waited quietly on the porch swing, their collective belongings stuffed into duffels with little semblance of order. They’d packed their bags in grim silence, refusing to speak for fear of ghost drills, refusing to cry for fear of never stopping.
“The Deps wouldn’t hurt them,” Mia insisted. “I mean they still have rules.”
The actress nodded her head, scrambling for the sunniest scenario. “They’re probably sedated. I bet they’re just sleeping right now.”
Mia cast a dismal glance at the lightning. “She called it a storm.”
“Who?”
“The girl Theo and I met in the library. She said everything that was happening right now was a storm and we just had to weather it. Maybe that means we’ll get them back.”
Hannah hoped to God she was right. She’d just made peace with Theo. She’d finally started getting along with Amanda after ten years of thorny distance. Now the two of them were probably in a government plane, speeding away to some top-secret lab in the middle of nowhere.
Soon the stolen Tumbril pulled into the driveway. The Silvers threw the bags into the back, then sped away in a splashing screech.
The moment he crossed the intersection, Zack glimpsed headlights in the rearview mirror. A trio of ash-gray vans hung a sharp left behind him, speeding toward the lake house. His heart hammered.
Seconds, he thought. We missed them by seconds.
—
Three hours after the dramatic capture of two federal fugitives, the Marietta health fair returned to its normal chaos. A lone Dep remained at the scene, patrolling the grounds as a volunteer organizer. Melissa didn’t think Zack and the others would be foolish enough to come here looking for their friends, but then she’d underestimated their recklessness before.
For all the same reasons, Hannah was not a fan of the current plan. While their stolen Tumbril idled in the library lot, she studied the tempic structures at the far end of the park.
“It’s all right,” David assured her. “I’ll be in and out before anyone can spot me.”
“That’s just what my sister said to you.”
“Yes, well, I plan to be more careful.”
“Just watch out for cameras,” said Zack.
“Watch out for everything!” Mia added. “Please.”
David exited the car, tightened his rain hood, then shined a breezy smile through the window.
“Don’t you fret, Miafarisi. You won’t lose me today.”