Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2)(71)

“Program your destination, or start manual—” the computer suddenly flashes and the display goes blank.

“What—”

The MonRobot is holding its electric prongs to the engine, as though it’s tapped into the car’s database. “Exit the vehicle, Emma Robledo,” it says in that slow monotone, and the car’s computer echoes the same voice.

“Come on! Just turn on the manual option! You know, the one you requested, the one you practiced so hard for, parking your car perfectly every time—”

“Oh, right, I forgot!” Emma says, fumbling in her pocket for her keycard. The card slots neatly into the dashboard, and the engine purrs.

The MonRobot’s arms crackle with electricity again.

Emma accelerates, whizzing them backward. Emma turns the wheel sharply and changes gears, and then they’re zooming down the street.

The MonRobot chases them for a block, and they lose sight of it as they turn the corner.

Emma exhales, trying to catch her breath. “What in the world just happened?”

“We need to get out of here. All of us.” Bells flicks through his DED and calls Jess. The projection shows the rotating swirl, dialing, dialing…

“I don’t know how to get to Abby’s new house without the navigation system; it’s way out on the other side of an Unmaintained zone!” Emma wails.

“Just head east,” Bells says. “I remember how to get there.”

“Hiking! Climbing!” Emma groans. “My MonRobot tries to attack me, then we’re going out in the Unmaintained zone again, then… ugh. At least it’s not raining anymore.”

Bells directs her to the canyons and the new Jones house while calling Abby and Jess. “Head east, out of the city, take the old highway 120, there’s a sign for Blue Diamond, and follow the road for about fifteen miles.”

Abby doesn’t pick up the call, and Jess’ line rings and rings. Finally it connects, fuzzy, as if she’s holding up her wrist unsteadily.

“Jess! We need to—”

Jess appears in the projection, blinking at the screen. There’s a pillow crease on her forehead, and a lock of hair stuck to her cheek. “Bells? What’s up?” she says blearily.

“MonRobots freaking out! The new ones!” Bells blurts out. “Emma’s mom had one of the prototypes and it just tried to attack Emma! It called her a Class Five threat. And wanted to detain her!”

Jess sits up, eyes wide. “Are you guys okay?”

“We’re on our way to Abby’s house. Can you meet us there?”

“Ah…” Jess blushes.

“A Class Five? That’s interesting,” Abby says, popping into frame. “Actually, don’t come here; we can get to you faster.” Her hair is in chaos, and Bells is pretty sure she’s wearing Jess’ T-shirt. Abby tilts the screen; it looks as if they’re in Abby’s bedroom. “We can meet you on the edge of Old Town. What about on East Cameron? Jess, did you see where my—”

Jess buries her face in her hand, blushing fiercely, and then waves at the projection and the call ends.

Bells laughs.

“The light is green, where do I go?”

“Old Town,” Bells says, pointing them past downtown.

They arrive in Old Town twenty minutes later. Abby and Jess should be here by now, but there isn’t a sign of them.

“Wait, isn’t that Abby’s car?”

Parked is a generous word for the way it’s on the curb, smoking and sizzling electricity, with the doors still swinging open.

“Keep driving,” Bells says, “They would have gone down this street; they wouldn’t have gone far.”

“There they are!” Emma says.

In the car’s headlights, they can see at least ten MonRobots, their electric prongs out and sparking, advancing on Abby and Jess at the end of an alley. They’re surrounded with nowhere to go.

Bells blanks; he doesn’t know what to do. He just sees his friends in danger, surrounded. Are the rogue bots going to hurt them? Capture them? Turn them in to the League?

“Assets located,” the MonRobots are chanting. “Abigail Jones Monroe, Jessica Tran…”

It feels as though the bottom has dropped out of Bells’ stomach. If these bots know their names… whatever security they thought they had is long gone.

“No, no, no,” Emma mutters, and the car swivels in a wild turn, almost tipping. It falls back to the street with a loud clang, and then they’re zooming backward.

Emma puts her arm on the back of Bells’ seat, looking back. Her heart-shaped sunglasses fall back onto her nose. The metal of the car exterior screeches as the car barely fits into the alley, and they hit the MonRobots dead on, smashing them to pieces as sparks fly.

Emma stops short of Jess and Abby, who are frozen and staring at them. “Come on, get in!” she says, her voice filled with urgency.

Jess grabs Abby by the hand, pulling her forward. The back door clangs open and they fumble inside.

Emma accelerates before Abby gasps. “Go!”

“We need to get somewhere more secure,” Abby says.

“We have to get Brendan,” Jess gasps. “If the rogue MonRobots think I’m an asset, they’re going to want him too.”