C.N. - chapter 55

So we were going somewhere, as Theo just told us, and specifically, that location was 4° 23’ N, 173° 8’ W. I was going to suggest that we should call the window installation company around to come and fix the windows I had exploded accidentally with sonic blast, but since men in black carrying high-powered rifles were flooding into Theo's room and coming at us, I had to put off the window fixing suggestion and maneuver the hovercraft away.
Judging by the speedometer, we were going at fifty kilometers per hour through the air.
After some discussion with Mr. Kent and Dennis which I did not hear, Theo told me to go faster. I looked down to the ground at the receding view of Theo's backyard and saw a number of black armored jeeps speeding up from an underground ramp. They seemed to be coming our way to follow us.
'Why aren't they coming with helicopters?' Theo saw the view too, she asked Dennis.
'I told my buddies at the airfield to disable all the other choppers.' Dennis replied.
'What about the one they brought to you?'
'It's still on the roof, I disabled it, like the rest,' Dennis said, 'Why didn't you tell me you have this getaway? That would have saved my buddies and me a whole lot of busting helicopters.'
'Don't look at me, I didn't know about this.' Theo said, she turned to me and asked with amazement, 'What did you do?'
I told a compressed version of what happened as I drove, 'I ran into the secret passage, just like you told me to, and then I remembered that you told me to go to the roof via the secret passage, but by then I had gotten lost, so I looked for a way to the roof but found this in an awesome underground cavern instead. There were other machines there too, I was awestruck, it's like the Batcave in the Marvel comics!' I paused, and then asked a question that came up just at the right time, 'Is anyone in your family a superhero?'
Theo didn't seem to know how to answer my question at first, she turned to Mr. Kent and raised an eyebrow, 'Can you explain this?' She said.
'Um...well...' Mr. Kent looked uncomfortable, he fidgeted and rubbed his fingers on his tie. Maybe he didn't want to reveal his superhero identity (that would make Mr. Kent the superhero who owns this thing I was flying in, wow!) and was trying to come up with a white lie. If Mr. Kent really was a superhero, I understood why he wouldn't want to reveal his secret identity, it's just like in the Marvel comic books, and I understand that.
The interruption came just in time for Mr. Kent not to answer the question of whether he's a superhero or not. We heard the honking of a klaxon, because stealth mode was still on and the hovercraft was flying silently. I looked outside of the cockpit and found a jeep racing below us on the ground in front of all the rest, which were behind us. The hood of the jeep was rolled back, and driving the jeep was no other than Heathcliff, his face distinctively red. I think he was intoxicated.
As he honked the jeep horn, Heathcliff raised one hand and waved up at us. The hood of the hovercraft was still open, so we could hear what Heathcliff was shouting very clearly.
'Don't leave me! I'm coming too!' Heathcliff was shouting.
Mr. Kent and Dennis, both leaning against the port side of the hovercraft, both did not know what to say. Theo pushed between them and shouted at Heathcliff.
'Go back! Go back before you hurt yourself! GO NOW!'
Heathcliff didn't shout, and we all heard him clearly.
'Nay, I shan't! You are the eternal love of my life, my dear Theodora, and where ever you go, I shall follow 'till death do us apart!' The expression on Heathcliff's face at the moment that declaration was made could not be more genuine, if the language he spoke hadn't been soiled by cliche, it would have been a grand moment. Sadly, Theo did not share my opinion; I think she is probably a more realistic person than an idealistic one, and that's why she didn't buy Heathcliff's gushy declaration of love on a speeding jeep racing next to a speeding hovercraft.
'I SAID GO! THIS IS TOO DANGEROUS FOR YOU! JUST GO! GO AND RUN, DON'T LET KYLE'S MEN CATCH YOU, GO FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!' Despite the lack of droning noises, Theo was shouting at the top of her lungs.
'Everything that is not too dangerous for you is not too dangerous for me, my love!' Heathcliff, proclaimed, throw me a ladder! I shall jump!'
Theo replied with another volley of shouting, but as I was rather deep in thought, I didn't hear exactly what she said.
Just then, I found, conveniently, a button located in the far left corner of the control board, it said 'ladder', I pressed it and a hatch at the left side of the hovercraft opened and a rope ladder unrolled from within and dangled towards the ground next to the jeep. I thought that if Heathcliff wanted to jump, he might want someone to catch him just in case if me misses, and I should probably do that, since I had stuntman experience on a movie set once, I'll tell more about that later.
I tapped Dennis on the shoulder and said, 'Can you steer the ship while I help Heathcliff up?' Without waiting for a reply really, I put his hand on the throttle and climbed out of the cockpit and onto the side of the hovercraft, where I held on to the railings, and then onto the flimsy ladder descending to the ground below. We were speeding out of the huge courtyard of Theo's house, and it was a vast flat field without a lot of obstructions. If I wanted to help Heathcliff up onto the hovercraft, I was going to have to do it quickly, because visibly up ahead was the outer wall that surrounds Theo's house, and there wasn't a gate for Heathcliff's jeep to go through and he was going to crash if he kept going straight ahead. While the hovercraft could fly right over the tall wall (if we adjust the altitude up a notch), a jeep couldn't fly, and Heathcliff was not going to drive away from the hovercraft (like he said, and I think he was very serious when he said it).
I suppose Dennis was not a very skilled aviator, because the hovercraft suddenly lurched and the ladder swung, I almost slammed into the jeep.
'ARE YOU CRAZY TOO!' I heard Theo shout, 'GET BACK UP HERE, CHARLIE!' Oh, she was yelling at me, I think she realized then that I wasn't at the controls anymore. She was yelling something else when a deafening sound blasted through my ears and the hovercraft swayed mightily. Somehow, stealth mode had been turned off, and not far behind us, the other jeeps with the men in black in them were catching up.
I reached out my hand, now that I was at the bottom of the rope ladder, to Heathcliff, who had one hand on the wheel of the jeep and was stepping on the gas pedal with one foot and standing up. The jeep was racing a meter beside where I was dangling on the ladder.
'Reach!' I yelled through the drone of the hovercraft engines.
I didn't hear what Heathcliff said in reply, but he certainly reached.

T.N - Chapter 54

I was glad that I kept the golf club from when Grandfather tried to teach me to play. I had kept it under the bed where it collected dust and was totally forgotten about it until I was knocked over by the sudden blast. When I regained my grounds, there it was laying besides me. It was small yet heavy enough to deal a knockout blow, useful for efficiently dealing with insane and violent older brothers.

I watched as Charlie expertly maneuvered the helicopter over to the window. I was going to have to ask him how he learned to control one of those things. From the little I knew it was a Justice League stealth helicopter, and the most recent model of it to boot.

He got as close as possible to the building without the blades and engines hitting the wall. There was a considerable gap between the end of my window and the edge of the helicopter, but it was jumpable. I motioned for Kent and Dennis to get on ahead of me, and they did. They easily leaped across the gap and moved to the back of the helicopter.

I heard the footsteps outside start to head towards my door. There was a collective murmur, and then pounding came on the door. I knew I had to work quickly. I looked at Kyle, who was still unconscious and flat on his face. I grabbed the sheets off my bed, and ripped a few strips from them. I swiftly used one of the strips to tie his hands together, and another to tie his feet. Then, in case he woke up, I gagged him with the remaining strip. The pounding at the door got louder, and so did the murmuring.

“Open up the door!” someone demanded.

“Before someone gets hurt!” yelled another.

I dragged the prone figure of Kyle into the closet and shut the door. Someone would find him sooner or later. I went over to the window, and being smart, I looked down. The gap suddenly looked larger, and I wavered at jumping. My bedroom door slammed open, and Justice League men started flooding in.

I swallowed hard, and leaped. The floor of the helicopter met my feet to my relief, and I sat down next to Charlie. I buckled myself in, and glanced over at the bedroom. Some of the men were running full speed towards the window frame, while others were pulling out various weapons.

“Go, go, go!” I nearly yelled at Charlie, and he obeyed, He pulled the throttle forward, and the helicopter sped away. I collapsed onto the back of my seat in relief.

“Hey, what’s with the red prints on your neck?” asked Charlie, looking over at me. “Are you al—?“

“I’m fine,” I interrupted. “It’s nothing.” Kent and Dennis didn’t say anything, getting the message that the topic was 100% off-topic at the moment. “Anyways, where’s the notebook?”

“In my pocket,” he said, pulling it out and handing it to me.

“Wait a minute…you were the ones that stole my notebook!” exclaimed Kent, and he opened his mouth to unleash a barrage of scolding.

“Not now,” I said. “It’ll all become clear soon enough.” I opened up Kent’s notebook to the page he had jotted down where Grandfather was. “Head 4° 23’ N, 173° 8’ W, and we have to go fast,” I said. “God knows what kind of trouble will be headed straight on our heels.”

C.N. - chapter 53

So I emerged from the ground at the far end of the field of Theo's backyard. As the hovercraft rose out of the ground, the huge circular sliding panels of the exit shaft begin to close. I looked to my left and could see Theo's house.
There was a helicopter on the roof of Theo's house and a person (very small from where I was) was standing beside the helicopter. He seemed to be gazing in my direction too. I hope I didn't make too big of a racket with the hovercraft rising out of the underground cavern. Just as I thought of this, some twenty people poured out of the back entrances of Theo's house and began running over this way. I guess I was making a whole heck lot of noise and I felt quite guilty.
I looked at the controls and found the throttle. I wrapped a hand around it and pushed it forward, the hovercraft moved forward slowly, parallel to the house. I saw that the people coming out of the house stopped some ten or twenty yards from where I was hovering above the ground in this batman-plane lookalike. I decided to go over there and tell them what I found and then land the craft on the roof if I could so I could give Dennis (who was probably the guy on the roof) the notebook Theo told me to give him. I turned the hovercraft ninety degrees in midair with the throttle and guided it forward towards the house.
Interestingly, the people on the ground below me started to run away in the opposite direction. How strange.
I continued to inch slowly towards Theo's house, I have found a button in the upper left instrument panel of controls labeled 'stealth mode'. I activated stealth mode because I thought the noise was probably what's driving all the people in the backyard away. So I canceled out the noise, that's better.
Then I realized that the hood of the cockpit could be opened while I was moving the hovercraft, so I opened it and it felt like speeding in a sports car with the hood down. Wind gushed mightily around me, stirred by the four engines of the hovercraft, but I didn't hear anything, because stealth mode was on.
I moved as close to the house as I dared without ramming into the wall. An idea came to mind that I should show Theo this cool thing I found below her house before going to Dennis on the roof, so I tried to look through the third floor windows, but the sunlight had tinted all of them, and I couldn't see anything through them.
I wondered if there was a klaxon on the hovercraft; I could alert Theo that way. I didn't find one, but I did find a button on the top right instrument panel filled with buttons. The buttons where all categorized under 'attack', and this particular button was labeled 'sonic blast', which I deduced to be equivalent to a klaxon. I pressed it.
All the windows on the third floor exploded.
I blinks, not registering the shock of it all. What was that?! I thought out loud.
Just so it happens, the window directly facing the hovercraft was Theo's bedroom window. Without the glass or the panels remaining over the wide broken window, I could see Dennis in the doorway, just getting up from the ground (he wasn't on the roof?), I could also see Kyle, flat on his chest and flailing his arms like a fish-out-of-water, and then Theo emerged from behind her bed.
'Sorry!' I stood up and called out.
There was some silence, and then Dennis, Theo and Kyle (who had flipped over onto his back and was staring befuddled at me like Dennis and Theo) rubbed their eyes with their knuckles simultaneously. They finished rubbing and blinked a few times each.
'Holy Crap!' Dennis said.
'Holy Shit!' Theo exclaimed.
'Holy fuck!' Kyle shouted.
'Holy holy holy!' Mr. Kent's head appeared from behind the doorway too, his jaw dropped.
'Sorry, again.' I said.
Theo was the first to break her gaze from the hovercraft I was in. She picked up a golf club silently and crept over to where Kyle lay, still staring trance-like at me. Before I could tell Kyle that Theo was raising a golf club suspiciously behind him, she cracked the club on his head and he was knocked out cold. I covered my mouth with a hand in surprise (this was a whole new level of sibling rivalry!).
Because the hovercraft was still in stealth mode, I could hear rapid footsteps and shouting echoing from the hallway outside Theo's room. Theo ushered Mr. Kent and Dennis into her room and shut the door.
Pausing for a moment, Theo called to me, 'Come closer, we're getting on!'

T.N - Chapter 52

I locked eyes with Kyle, and gave him a little smirk. “What would ever make you think that?” I asked him.

“You’re the only one with a motive in the house right now. Stop playing games, we need that notebook,” replied Kyle just as coolly as usual.

“How would you single me out of everyone that has been in and out of this house?” I asked. “Considering your lack of security, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was stolen by the same people who trashed Grandfather’s den. It could’ve been Wolf’s men, or Vulture’s men. Must I remind you about how if Charlie wasn’t there that the bomber would’ve escaped?”

“And how exactly is that my fault?” he asked.

“You decided to choose the burliest men out of all the Justice League. If you were smart enough, you would’ve chosen strong yet agile agents.”

“You are still so young, you wouldn’t understand my choices. You don’t know a thing about the world. You’re still caught up in the naïve and untainted ideals so many children hold,” he smirked. “Grandfather adores you because you’re an innocent child, so easy to control.”

I could feel the corner of my mouth twitch in irritation. In some ways, I was used to this type of abuse, but this is the first time he’s brought Grandfather into our arguments. It made me surprisingly very angry.

“Jealous, are we?” I sniped, and Kyle’s smirk fell. “Afraid that I’ll steal your rightful inheritance of the company from you?”

Within seconds, Kyle was directly in front of me, his hand gently placed around my neck. There was enough pressure so that I couldn’t move, but not so much that I was choking. It was a threat for sure. Kent coughed, and Kyle turned his head as if he just remembered that he was there. Kyle waved his hand, and Kent left the room quite reluctantly, constantly looking back. As soon as it was just the two of us, my insane brother quickly snapped his attention back to me.

“Don’t be mistaken, my dear sister,” he sneered at me. “You’re a disgrace to the family. You’re too hardheaded to obey Grandfather’s wishes to get married and settle down. You’re too reckless to act like a normal girl, let alone one of good birth.”

He squeezed my neck just enough to cut my air off. Alarm bells started ringing in my head; I had never seen Kyle act like this before. I tried fighting back, but lack of oxygen and panic made me lose concentration. He chuckled at my flailing attempts to free myself, and brought his face inches from mine.

“You know, you’ll never be worthy of the North family name,” he hissed. Kyle dropped me in disgust. I fell onto the floor, trying my best not to wheeze as air flooded into my lungs again. I looked up at him through clouded eyes.

“You’re one twisted bastard,” I spat, and got up to my feet.

“You don’t know half of it,” said Kyle. “Not even close.” He started for me again, and I swung my fist out. He caught it easily, and smirked again. “Too slow,” he remarked. He twisted my arm around my back and I cried out from the searing pain that shot up my arm. He slid his hand up my neck again, and I involuntarily wince.

I heard a mechanical click, and a familiar voice said, “Let her go, Kyle.” He let go of my neck, but kept my arm where it was. I saw whom the voice belonged to. It was Dennis, aiming a gun at Kyle’s head.

“What has the world come to?” asked Kyle melodramatically. “Brothers and sisters go against each other now?”

“Stop the shit Kyle,” Dennis said, the first time I’ve ever heard him use such a dangerous tone in his voice. “Let Theo go and it’ll all work out.”

C.N. - chapter 51

*milestone chapter + 1

Theo told me to run like the wind, so I did. I ran down the secret passage in Theo's closet and kept on running. It was a very nice feeling to run like so, and in near darkness too; I felt like a mole, or James Bond, either sounds like a pretty good comparison.
When there's a diverging path in the passageway, I ran on the spot while I picked which way to go. It was a while before I remembered that Theo told me about bringing the piece of paper and the bound notebook we took from the safe to Dennis, who was supposed to be at the helipad, where I was supposed to be heading.
By then I had gone by five or six splits in the passageway and up and down some narrow stairs, and I stopped in my tracks to think about where I was going. I arrived at the conclusion that I was lost.
I decided to head back the way I came, but by then I had lost track of which was I was facing when I stopped, and the tunnel was especially dark at this place, and I bumped into the wall when I turned around thinking it was the way back to where I came from.
I stood there for some time and decided to keep going forward, whichever way that may be, and just go out of the nearest exit I could find and then go to the helipad. It was a good plan, the best I got; I mean, how big was Theo's house that I'll never find a way out of the secret passages?
The first door in the passageway I came to, I tried the handle but found me handle; it must be sealed on the other side. Then there was a flight of stair and another, and ridiculously another! I thought I must be very deep underground already, but then came the biggest surprise, I stopped where I was in the dim and narrow passage I was running in, because there was a dark and winding staircase in front of me. It was steep and old and quite creaky when I put a foot on it. It went into the gloom, deeper down.
This is impossible! I said to myself, is there a dungeon in Theo's house? Because no room but a dungeon could be this deep underground. In the end, I decided to go on anyways because I already came this far.
I hummed a whistle tune as I jogged down the creaky steps, feeling the air getting cooler around me and also staler. At some stretches of the passageway I had heard voices and sounds of people. Those parts were probably very close to rooms and hallways in the house. This passage, however, was completely silent, and I thought it was getting even quieter as I kept jogging down the stairs. The stairs seem never-ending.
Splash! I stopped, I had stepped into something wet. I bend down and scooped liquid into my hands. It's water. There were puddles of water in the tunnel, but I could barely see, there was so little light in this stretch of the passageway.
I realized the staircase had ended and I was on flat ground again. The floor was concrete and as I've mentioned, wet with groundwater. As I continued, the tunnel widened and the air currents were stronger. I was very underground indeed and exactly where I didn't want to be; the helipad was definitely not here. I could smell an empowering stench of earth. I wondered what is this place?
Then I saw a brightness up ahead, I picked up speed and ran towards it. There was a door and the light was coming through a small glazed window. I felt the doorknob but found it locked. I turned to my pocket for a paperclip.
When I emerged from what turned out to be the end of the tunnel, what I found was so unbelievable, it came straight out of a comic book.  
It was like the Bat Cave from Batman!
An enormous cavern lay before me, it was probably the size of a football field from one end to the other. It was lit by a row of large ceiling dishpan lights hung from the high ceiling. A series of catwalks and platforms crisscross above the ground floor, where huge machines, screens and some awesome looking cars I've never seen before were situated.
On the granite wall to my left, a crest and giant block letters were embedded into the rock surface. The letters say, 'JUSTICE LEAGUE', and above it was the circular crest, ten stars surrounding arm-crossed fists. It was a dream come true, I was in the lair of the Justice League!
'Wow.' I said to myself.
I took a flight of metal stairs down to the ground floor, totally bewildered. I passed the vehicles and the computers, which just by looking I could tell were supercomputers, all look like the ones in superhero comics. I rubbed my eyes and pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and I sure wasn't.
I found five shelves extending to the ceiling of the cavern stocked with knives, guns and I-don't-know-what! It was all too much to describe. I had not been this lost for words since entering that five star hotel for the first time where I met Heathcliff.
I toured to the far end of the cavern, where the coolest thing I could ever hope to see sat, just beckoning for me to get in. It was a hovercraft, quadruple turbine engines, it looked like a cross between a giant F-16 and a more giant harvester, it was painted black with the Justice League crest, and a ladder was propped for direct entrance to the cockpit.
I soon found myself inside the amazing hovercraft, my heart pumping a mile a minute, and I set about figuring out the controls. It turned out, the controls were very simple, just like a harvester back home. Once that was accomplished and the engine was ignited, I noticed a beeping sound emitting from outside, followed by a piercing grind of metal. I looked above and found that the a part of the ceiling of the cavern, so far above, was opening up, revealing the bright sky outside.
As if on cue, the humming of the hovercraft got louder and I found myself being lifted from the ground (I fastened the seat belt), and the lifting continued as the craft made its vertical ascend up towards the circular opening in the high ceiling, and to outside.
So in the end, I found a way to the helipad after all.

T.N - Chapter 50

*we've reached Chapter 50!!! Yay!!!*

So Charlie did end up having to use a paperclip, and I guess he was satisfied with that. If he was anyone else, he would’ve been quite smug, but this was Charlie. I think he would question why anyone would be smug about the whole paperclip and safe thing.

“Got it,” he said, and the second door of the safe clicked open. We both peered in. I picked up the various books and documents on the bottom of the safe and flipped through them. There was his passport, his wallet, old notes in the twelve year old me’s handwriting about how to construct various types of explosives, and a couple of probably classified government letters and documents that would probably get me in a whole lot of trouble. Finally, I found the moleskine notebook that Kent almost always had on him. I guess that he decided to put it in the safe for the moment, since Kyle was now directly in charge of the mission. I pocketed the moleskine while Charlie replaced all the stuff I had taken out into a neat pile. We shut the safe doors, and I was relieved that this had gone much smoother than I thought it would. Of course, it was a little too early to be thinking that.

As Charlie and I were walking towards the closet door, we heard the doorknob to the den move and a collective murmuring start. I quickly grabbed Charlie’s wrist without thinking and dragged him into the closet. I shut the door as quietly as I could, and then leaned against it to hear what the people were saying. “Why are we staying here?” he asked a little too loudly for my comfort, so I placed my arm around his neck, pulled his head down, and clamped his mouth shut with my hand. I started listening intently to what the people in the room were saying.

“Mr. Kyle, sir,” said a muffled voice that sounded like Kent, “If we’re going to wait to see what the kidnappers have in plan for Mr. North, why do you need the information about where the hiding place is located?” There was an interesting (and rather unpleasant) emphasis on the sir.

“Do not ask questions of me, Kent,” said Kyle in a haughty and strict tone that cut clearly through the door. “I am in charge, so instead of wasting time questioning my decisions, just obey my commands. Otherwise, some unpleasant things may happen. You do understand, Kent, right? You’re not dumb.”

“Of course, Mr. Kyle,” Kent replied rather meekly. I grit my teeth in dismay. Kyle would never act like this when Grandfather was around! The new power of position he has is getting to his head.

I heard some noises, and then the robotic voice of the safe giving its approval. I heard the click of the key as Kent opened the second door. Then…silence.

“Kent,” asked Kyle in a low, quieter voice. “Where is the notebook?”

“I’m not sure, sir,” stammered Kent. “I swear I put it in here. And no one knows the password except me. Not even Mr. North knows…”

“I have a feeling I know who it is, though I have little idea on how she managed. Kent, accompany me to my brat of a sister’s room and check if she’s there. It would be impossible for her to know we’re coming, and she can be easily caught off-guard.”

I didn’t wait to hear Kent’s reply. “Charlie,” I hiss. “Do you know the way back?” Since my hand was still over his mouth, he nodded. “Ok, we’ve got to run as fast as we can, so just guide me back to my room!”

We push open the panel in the back of the closet, and he shoots off like a lightning bolt. I follow him as best as I could, and we burst into my room. I nearly trip over him, as he had suddenly stopped in front of me.

“Where’s Dennis?” he asked. “He’s suddenly disappeared.”

I see a dot of yellow on the blue bed cover, and I quickly snatched it up. It was in Dennis’s blocky handwriting. “Go to the helipad,” I read out loud. “Secret passageways wise, it’s one right, up the stairs, then two lefts, and another flight of stairs.”

I heard footsteps approach my door, and a knock resounded. “Theodora,” said Kyle. “I hope you’re decent because we’re coming in.”

“I’m in the middle of changing, idiot! Wait a second!” I yelled back. I quickly shoved the moleskine and the note from Dennis at Charlie. “Quick, take this up to the helipad. The instructions are on that note,” I hissed. “Go before Kyle and Kent get in here! Run like the wind!”  

“Will sure do,” he said, and in a blink, he was already inside the passageways. I managed to shut the door behind him just as Kyle and Kent opened up my bedroom door.

“Well, my darling sister,” said Kyle, closing the door behind him. “We were wondering if you had any secret mischievous behaviour you need to tell us about. Have you seen any notebooks lately?”

C.N. - chapter 49

I thought a bit more about what had happened with Theo and Kyle and arrived at the conclusion that families, regardless of social statuses, all have sibling rivalry. As I was thinking about this, Theo was talking to Dennis so quickly that the words coming out of her mouth were like splints out of a wood chipper back home. When I think about things, I often don't mind where my eyes settle at, so I maintained eye-contact with Theo as she said many things which I didn't hear.
Theo finished her train of thought and said, 'So what do you think?'
Dennis said, 'For lack of a better word, crazy.' He sat into a chair, deep in thought.
Theo sighed, 'I know, Captain Obvious, that's why it has to work. What do you think about it, Charlie?'
I blinked and said, 'You were talking to me too?'
Theo looked at me incredulously, 'OF COURSE I WAS TALKING TO YOU TOO! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!'
'Oh,' I said, 'I'm sorry, I was thinking, so I didn't hear.' I paused, 'Is it important?'
Theo fell back onto her bed mattress and covered her face with her hands. 'Are you always like this, Charlie?'
I didn't think I was like anything else, and by 'this' Theo probably meant myself, so I nodded and said, 'Yes.' I like to be true to myself.
'And has anyone ever, and I stress EVER, told you that your brain is a bit scrambled?'
I thought about this question, I said, 'I used to have an attention deficit disorder when I was in kindergarten, but dad wanted me to play football when I was older, so he took me to a doctor and I did a lot of focus exercises. Now I have a normal attention span like everyone else.'
Theo didn't seem satisfied by this response, but we were both interrupted by Dennis, coming out of his deep thought, 'Okay, I've convinced me, this can work, but we need the coordinates on Grandfather's computer, which is currently rubble, do you have an alternative?'
'Kent has the coordinates in his notebook.' Theo said.
'In that case, we need to take a look in his notebook.' Dennis said, 'Where is it?'
'He keeps it in his study, in the safe.' Theo replied.
'Aw, that safe,' Dennis sighed, he held a hand to his forehead and slid it down his face, looking like he needed a cup of coffee, he said, 'I designed that safe, and I'm telling you it's hard to crack.'
'I can use a paper clip,' I suggested, 'Why are we cracking a safe anyways?'
'No Charlie, I'm sure a paper clip won't do any good,' Theo said, 'It's a password safe.'
'Oh,' I said, 'Why are we cracking it anyways?'
'You missed the why part because you were thinking.' Theo said, she turned to Dennis, 'Does that secret passage go to the study?'
'It does, but you don't know the password, do you?'
'It's worth a try, I'm good at guessing, remember?' Theo smiled at Dennis.
'Okay, I trust you, remember, the keypad gives you three tries for the correct password, I designed it that way because Kent confuses his passwords a lot, after three tries, an alarm activates and the room locks down.' Dennis paused and added, 'While you're at that, I guess I'll ring my buddies at the airfield.'
'Let's move,' Theo said, she got up and told me to come with her.
'Take a left, two rights, and another left and the passage will get you to the closet of Kent's study.' Dennis said. He took out a very small cellphone and started to dial a number. Theo opened her closet and stepped into it, and beckoned me to follow.
We took a left, two rights and another left and arrived at the back of another closet. Theo pressed her ear to the door and heard nothing, neither did I, so very quietly we got out of the closet and found ourselves in a neatly organized room with the smell of air fresheners. Theo immediately went to a painting on the wall and removed it, behind which was the stainless steel door to a safe, with a keypad embedded in the center of the square door, next to a handle.
'Wow, how did you know where the safe is?' I gasped.
'I used to have a hobby of making explosives, Kent found out and confiscated my stash, so I spied on him and found out where he put it.' Theo said, as she stood by the safe, thinking.
'That's cool,' I said, 'Can you teach me?'
Theo paused and the look on her face said something like, darn, shouldn't have said that.
I took the look to be her response, so I said, 'I think we're alike, I know how to make firecrackers, which are kind of like explosives, we can trade notes on it sometime.'
Theo quickly said, 'Yeah, that's neat.' And she went back to analyzing the safe. She typed in something on the keypad, took a deep breath, and turned the handle.
'Password, incorrect.' A robotic voice said following a beep. Theo sighed heavily.
'You know,' I started, remembering the conversation with Heathcliff outside before the bomb exploded, and thought I should tell Theo about it, since I was alone with Theo and Heathcliff probably wanted Theo to know what he thinks, so I said, 'Heathcliff was talking to me outside, and he said he loves you very much.'
Theo didn't reply, I took it as an indication that she was being a really good listener.
I continued, 'He also told me that you don't feel the same way about him, and I think he's a little devastated by that. Um, I'm just wondering now, do you not feel the same way about him?'
Theo turned around and said, plainly and sharply, 'Heathcliff is an overbearing, foolish romantic dreamer who I for one knows just has too much hormones. And what I can't stand most about him is that he keeps on calling me by my full name which I hate, Theodora, I can't stand it!' As she was saying this, she smacked some more keys on the keypad of the safe, I think spelling her name.
'Password, almost correct.' The robot voice said.
'What?' Theo exclaimed in shock, I think she didn't know she had typed her name on the keypad.
'Try spelling your name backwards, maybe that's the password.' I suggested. Usually, if a password guess is almost correct, then the correct password is probably the guess spelled backwards.
'I-how could the computer say...' Theo couldn't finish her thought, so to save time I went over and typed her name spelled backwards into the keypad and the robot voice came on. 'Password, correct.'
'See?' I said, 'I guessed it right.' I pulled the handle and the door of the safe sprang open, revealing another square door behind it, with a plain keyhole at its center.
'ARE YOU KIDDING ME!' Theo shouted.
'I'll use a paper clip.' I said, and reached into my pocket.

T.N - Chapter 48

I sat in my room, with the door locked and no way of escaping. If I tried to leave out of my 2^nd floor window, the men would spot me and just bring me back in. Damn Kyle. This is exactly why I didn’t want him to know about the secret passage. Being the eldest, he had an unfair advantage over Dennis and me. As the heir of the company, he had nearly the amount of power that Grandfather does, and when Grandfather’s away, it’s Kyle in charge. I’m guessing that at that moment, he was abusing his power on everyone downstairs.

There was something strange about what Kyle was saying, and I wasn’t quite sure what it was…things have been all too strange in general to pick out exactly what was bothering me.

Since it was obvious to me that I wasn’t going to get out of the house anytime soon, I changed out of the now dirty dress into more casual clothing. I slipped on a pair of well-worn jeans and found my favourite black button-up shirt.

I was almost finished buttoning my shirt when my closet door creaked. My instincts kicking in, I immediately jumped into action and flung the door open. To my surprise, two familiar figures toppled onto the floor. The one with dark brown hair landed face first, while his blond companion fell on top of him.

“Dennis? Charlie? But how—“ I asked, but my question was cut short by Dennis.

“My dear sister, I think you should finish dressing before I answer questions,” he said drily, and it was only then I realized that my shirt was still half open.

I straightened up abruptly. I calmly buttoned my shirt up, and tried not to blush. “Next time maybe, you should knock first. I wasn’t expecting any visitors in the first place.” I finished doing so, and held out my hand to Dennis. “I had forgotten about the secret passages. I thought Grandfather had holed them up.”

“I think he did block off some of them, but he left yours open. The one in the main hallway closet is also open. I think he meant to keep it as an emergency exit for you to discover,” Dennis said.

“I would’ve gotten out of here by now if that was the case.”

“I think you should help up your friend here…he got the brunt of the fall unfortunately,” Dennis pointed out. Before I could extend a hand, Charlie was already sitting up.

“Dennis is certainly a fascinating person,” Charlie said to me. “And he’s not like my older sister. She’s annoying, always being the all-knowing one who orders me around. Besides, he also showed me the second passageway I’ve seen in less than 2 weeks.”

“Good to hear,” I said. I turned to Dennis. “Don’t let that get to your head,” I told him, and he just smirked. “Now what brings you two here?”

“When Kyle interrupted our conversation downstairs, did you find anything…odd about his actions?” asked Dennis, sitting down on my bed.

I was tempted to say something along the lines of how Kyle is always strange, but I knew that Dennis was being serious. “As a matter of fact, indeed,” I said, and sat next to Charlie. “But I’m not sure what. He’s been busy these past few days with his darling Selene that I can’t think of any suspicious behaviour except for what happened today.”

“Ok, so let’s recount what he said,” said Charlie.

“So first he enters the conversation by saying that the animal names for each of the people mentioned in the notes as pseudonyms,” said Dennis, “to protect their identities from everyone including each other.”

“How would he know that?” asked Charlie.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “To continue, you,” I pointed at Charlie, “told us about how Kyle entered the room that the mole was in without making a sound. That makes him suspicious…”

“And then he grounded you because you withheld information about Grandfather’s disappearance that he really wanted to know. Afterwards, he practically disowned me and then sent off Kent,” added Dennis.

“Why would he really want to know? If I gave Kent the information, then Kyle could just ask him about it since he’s the acting Justice League head.” I paused to think for a moment. “Something’s not adding up, and I can’t think of anything.” I looked over at Charlie. “Have you noticed anything else strange?”

“No…at least, I don’t remember anything odd,” he replied, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

“Well we can all agree that this all seems more than a little suspicious, right?” asked Dennis. Charlie and I nodded our heads in agreement. “I think that’s enough proof for now,” he said. “I think now is the time to act.”

I thought back to the helipad rescue earlier for some reason. I had a little idea. “All right then,” I said. “I think I know what to do.”

C.N. - chapter 47

I didn't have any reservations about Kyle being included in the discussion about the letter (which Theo told me was written in Arabic), but from the faces of everyone else in the room, I detected an air of discontent.
I had no idea the man sprinting off after the explosion was a terrorist, and that he was running away. Back in dad's younger days, he said terrorists strap bombs to their bodies and blow themselves up along with whatever target they're after. I guess things changed now days.
Kyle had something to say to Theo, which he did, walking over to where she sat, 'You knew about the secret passage, why didn't you tell me?'
Theo did not meet his eyes, 'I thought you already knew about it.' She said.
'You're lying.' Kyle said plainly.
I thought about everything that had progressed in the past seventy two hours, now that Kyle knew about Theo's secret about the secret passage, so I no longer had to not tell Kyle about it, which meant now I didn't have to not tell Theo about my conversation with Kyle in the smoking room; the secrets had to be canceled out so it's fair.
'That day Theo and I were looking for the rat or mole or whatever you call it,' I interrupted the silence politely, 'after Theo left, Kyle came into the room very quietly that I didn't even hear him, and we talked a bit about Danforth County where I come from.'
Kyle, Theo's other brother Dennis, Mr. Kent and Theo all narrowed their eyes, and Kyle loosened his pink necktie. 'And Kyle told me not to tell Theo about the conversation we had. But now that Kyle knows about the secret passage which Theo told me not to tell Kyle about, I think it's alright to tell Theo about the conversation I had with Kyle that he told me not to tell Theo about because he thinks she is nosy.'
The four people in the room looked at me expectantly, 'And that's all I have to say about that.' I concluded. Then there was silence in the room as they all contemplated what I had said. Theo glanced at Kyle with suspicion, Mr. Kent looked perplexed and Dennis leaned back into his chair with a frown.
Kyle finally broke the silence, 'Anyway, that is not important. Theo, you should not have withheld this information about grandfather's secret room from me, he is missing and now we've lost a valuable lead that could help us find him, what you've done is very irresponsible, leave this room now so we can clean up this mess you created.' Kyle sounded a lot more mature than I've ever heard him before.
Theo stood up sharply with no intent of getting out of the room and spoke firmly, 'Speak for yourself, who was in charge of the house security when the burglars broke in? And have you gotten any idea who did it before I discovered that letter in the briefcase just now? And what if I had told you about grandfather's room, you wouldn't have a clue what to do!'
Kyle walked up very closely to Theo and they continued to stare into each other intensely. Mr. Kent was halfway to getting up, and Dennis gestured for him to sit back down.
'If I had know,' Kyle said in a low and controlled voice, 'I could at least have gotten my experts to go in and find out about a whole lot more than what you stumbled upon. Never mind that though, thanks to you, the room is nothing but rubble, so why don't you get out before you damage anything else in this investigation-.'
'Kyle, you're not helping this situation.' Dennis spoke.
'Shut up Dennis, you're not in this either.' Kyle replied.
'And how am I not in this when I'm the one sitting here trying to figure something out while you're the one ranting?' Dennis raised an eyebrow at Kyle and regarded him with disdain.
Kyle ignored Dennis' question and turned back to Theo, he said,  'I'm the co-chairman of the Justice League, right now I am commander in the absence of grandfather, and I order you, Theo, to get out of this room.'
'Or what?' Theo retorted.
'Mr. Wayne! Mr. Parker! Escort my little sister to her bedroom!' Kyle shouted, and two clean shaven men with shades and in pink suits came in and took hold of Theo's arms, to much struggling. 'You're grounded.' Kyle said to Theo, and I assumed that was the end of the argument, which Kyle won unfairly.
Mr. Kent got up and shouted at Mr. Wayne and Mr. Parker, 'Let go of her!' The men didn't budge, they still held Theo like shackles of iron.
'You're not the command of this agency, Mr. Kent, I am.' Kyle said simply, 'Go.' He ordered the men, 'Mr. Kent, you are to gather every agent stationed in this household to the meeting hall in the next five minutes, we have a plan to make.'
'This-I...' Mr. Kent stuttered, but could not say anything.
'I am giving you an order, go now.' Kyle watched as Mr. Kent, dejected, left the room after the men escorting Theo. Dennis had sat through this in silence, frowning at Kyle; he remained sitting.
'Dennis, you know what I expect you to do, don't you?' Kyle said, acting very much like a dominant big brother, just like my sister.
'Kyle, if I'm not mistaken, which I know I'm not, I think something's gotten into you, something not quite pleasant.' Dennis said.
'You are mistaken, my brother, go back to your businesses, this does not concern you.'
'It's a family matter, it concerns the whole family.'
'It concerns the family, yes, but you are hardly family to us.'
'You would deny your own brother,' Dennis sighed, motioning for me, he said, 'Come on, lightning-fast young man, I have not properly introduced myself to you, let's leave my brother to his secretive devices.'
I followed Dennis out of the room and the hallway was deserted. Without warning, he capped a hand over my mouth and pulled me into a closet and closed the door quietly. We heard Kyle's footsteps go past.
Dennis whispered to me, 'The back of this closet opens into a passage that connects several rooms in this house, we are going to Theo's bedroom. Something is up, and together we're going to find out what's going on.'
It was the second secret passage I've been in in less than two weeks.

T.N - Chapter 46

“So that’s how it is,” said Dennis, tapping his fingers thoughtfully on the coffee table. We were situated in the living room, while everyone else was still in the garden. I, along with Kent (who I had dragged from the party while briefing him on the situation) and Charlie, had managed to piece together a comprehendible story to tell him. Needless to say, Dennis was somewhat angry at me, and he displayed it by ignoring all of my efforts to apologize for lying to him.

“I guess I should tell you then what these notes say, since I’m the only trustworthy person here who can actually translate these. They’re in Arabic, that’s for sure.” He sighed. “Are you sure there’s nobody else around?”

“As sure as I can be,” replied Kent.

Dennis cleared his throat and picked up the first note. “If you have gotten this briefcase, you are now part of an important mission for the Communion. You, and various others, have been handpicked for your speed, stealth, and agility. Be warned, this briefcase contains four high-tech time bomb, fully paid for by the Dragon.” Charlie and I gasped at the mention of our enemy, and Kent grit his teeth.

Dennis placed the first note down and took the second one off of the table. “Here are your instructions. Our informer has told us that there is a secret passage n the den that Wolf’s men had trashed. Go to the bookshelf in the corner and move the book labeled Kidnapped. The bookshelf should swing open. In this briefcase, you will also find a mould of Theodora North’s fingerprint. Use it to open the set of doors at the end of the hallway.” Dennis raised his head and looked over at the briefcase. I opened it, and found a tiny piece of plastic that had my index print carved in it. I nodded for him to continue. “One of your comrades will trigger the elevator moving. Once you have reached the bottom, go down the hallway and through the door. It will lock behind you, so don’t be alarmed. Your comrade will trigger the room to move, and you will find another pair of doors with a keypad. The password is Omega. Once you have reached in the room, set up the time bombs and find the exit quickly. The bomb has been timed precisely so that it will go off as soon as you are out of harm’s reach. Meet up with your comrades in the den, place the last bomb there, and start mingling with the crowd in the garden. When the crowd starts panicking, run out of the garden and come back to headquarters whichever way you can. The Communion is riding on your success. Do not let any contents of this briefcase fall in their hands. Sincerely, Vulture.” Dennis put down the notes. There was a silence, as all of us pondered over it.

“Either this informer somehow stole a glance at my notebook, which is practically impossible, or the informer was there while we were talking. This is extremely detailed,” said Kent. He took out a notebook from his jacket pocket. “This has barely left my side in the last forty-eight hours, and when it has, it’s been in the securest safe in the house.”

“Well about that,” I said. “I discovered that there was a mole in the next room. He…or she, had cut a small little hole at the bottom of the wall so they could listen in.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Kent, annoyed.

“Because you were busy, and I couldn’t find you. Plus, I had to do all my preparations for Selene’s birthday.” Kent looked at me, and his annoyance made me remorseful. “I’m sorry. But you always have your hands busy, and I just want to help out. I thought I had it under control.”

“Wait, so you were talking about a mole?” asked Charlie. “I thought you said it was a rat.” He was thoroughly confused.

“I didn’t bother to correct you back there,” I told him. “When we refer to ‘moles’ or ‘rats’ in the Justice League, we’re most of the time talking about spies. Not actual animals.”

“Speaking of animals,” said Dennis while Charlie was puzzling this out, “why is it that any use of the perpetrators’ names are animals? Like the Dragon who funded the project, Vulture who wrote the note, and Wolf who initially broke into the den?”

“I believe they are pseudonyms, to protect their true identities from anyone. Even themselves,” said a voice, and we all balked. We looked over at the source, and saw Kyle leaning casually against the doorway. “Now, can I be included in this secret planning? I’ve heard everything that you’ve said.”

T.N - Chapter 45

*note- I liked the change G made, so I decided to go with it. changed any mention of black to pink!*

Momentarily, I had lost sight of the running culprit, and I freaked out for a second, wondering if I had turned a wrong corner. I checked out the other side of the garden, and looked up on the roof, but there was no sign of him. Then I saw the gaggle of burly security guards standing in a circle, and from the expression on some of their faces, something significant had happened. They were blocking my path, so I might as well check out the scene.

I pushed my way past the security guards, and saw what they were looking at. It was Charlie, looking not too ridiculous in his suit (it wasn’t a hot pink, but more of a rosy tone). He was on top of the man I was chasing earlier, who seemed to be unconscious. My face, at that moment, probably was a copy of the security guards around me.

“Uh, Charlie,” I managed to choke out, “did you knock him out?”

“I didn’t mean to. I just meant to stop him from going on a rampage from shock from that explosion, and I kind of just tackled him. I think he knocked himself out or something.” He scratched his head. “I think he was surprised.”

“I’m sure he was,” I said, shaking myself out of my shock. “You left all of us in the dust.” I stuck out a hand to help him up. He took it, and heaved himself up. “Hell, you surprised me,” I said, shaking my head in amazement.

As soon as Charlie was off of the bomber, the security guards quickly leapt into action, handcuffing the unconscious culprit and hoisting him up. They went into the house, while one split off, probably to find Kent.

“Why are they handcuffing him?” asked Charlie, puzzled. “He was a danger to himself, but probably not other people.”

“You probably heard the explosions, right?” I said. He nodded his head. “Well that guy is probably one of the causes. He had a briefcase with him…” my voice trailed off as I looked for the briefcase.

“Here it is,” said Charlie, holding up a ridiculously pink briefcase. He handed it over to me, and I sat down on the ground. I didn’t care about the dress, but I did care about what could possibly be in the briefcase. Charlie crouched down besides me. The briefcase looked like it had been hastily shut, as the lock hadn’t been entirely shut. Therefore, I was able to open it with ease. In the background, there was a chorus of Happy Birthday, and I realized that Selene had probably just arrived on the scene.

One half was made of foam, with an impression of a round object still fresh in it. The other half consisted of hastily scrawled out notes in a foreign language. It tilted to the side, almost like cursive. I traced my finger over it, and thought that it looked like Arabic. I only knew one person who could figure it out for me, and I hoped he wasn’t searching for me in the crowd.

I walked calmly through with Charlie tagging behind, and somehow, Selene and Kyle had emerged unscathed from the house. The guests had settled down, some chuckling over the “clever trick” that Kyle had planned.

Selene was dressed in a floor length asymmetrical white dress sprinkled with small genuine pink roses. Kyle was admittedly rather dashing in a dark cherry rose tuxedo and a single white rose on his lapel. I planned to find Dennis without catching the attention of the two. But as most plans go, and as I was wearing something that stood out so much, it didn’t work.

“Theodora darling!” I heard Selene call out, and before I could brace myself, she had engulfed me in a large embrace. The briefcase ended up awkwardly between us. “You’re not wearing the dress I had made for you,” she noted, giving me a little pout. “But it does suit you.”

“Happy birthday, Selene,” I said. “The dress was too wonderful for me, and I didn’t want to draw attention from you. It was quite the masterpiece,” I lied through my smile.

“Thank you!” she said, giving me a brilliant smile. “I can’t wait to open your present!”

“I picked it out just for you,” I replied. “I mustn’t hog all of your attention. You have many others to greet here, and I have to return this briefcase to Dennis.”

“Of course. You’re always so thoughtful of others,” she said. She turned away from me (to my great relief) and started greeting her other guests. I managed to push past Kyle, who just looked at me weirdly. Probably because of the briefcase.

Somehow, within the sea of pink, I managed to pick out Dennis. I walked up to him, pulled him aside, and showed him the notes. His brows furrowed as he read the notes. I made a move to take them out of his hand, and he quickly moved them out of the way.

“Ok Theo,” he said, as I made frantic grabs to get it back. “Tell me the truth. What trouble have you gotten in this time?”

C.N. - chapter 44

Note: I, the co-author had changed the color of the bomber's suit from black to pink, to fit the scene.

From a bird's eye view, I bet it looked as if the backyard of Theo's house had become a roosting ground for flamingos on the day of Selene's enormous birthday party. Everywhere there was pink. The women were dressed in pink dresses of various tones of the color, and the men were all in hot pink tuxedos. I didn't even know tuxedos come in the color of hot pink, and apparently neither did many of the guests at the party, many of them wore awkward expressions on their faces and their cheeks were flushed pink, just like their dresses and suits. There was so much pink, as a matter of fact, that Heathcliff nearly became blind for a few moments; he had knocked over a punch bowl and table, yelling, 'I'm blind! I'm blind, I see only pink!'
All the food and drinks were pink too, but tasted like what they are, including the pink vegetables. Boy, had food coloring technology gotten advanced these days!
Heathcliff had decided that we've had enough of being in a crowd of pink after going temporarily pink visioned, so with him leading the way and bumping into a lot of people, we made out way to the edge of the crowd of guests and waiters and security officers (who were dressed in pink too, including the signature sunglasses, also colored pink) to get some air. Heathcliff was quite downcast as he had a half-full bottle of champagne in one hand and was periodically taking swings from the bottle. Although I don't think the champagne was alcoholic, Heathcliff was flushed in his face and looked intoxicated.
Selene had not yet emerged from the house and Kyle was in there with her. The rest of us were all told carefully about what will happen once Selene comes out from the main doors; there will be a mighty explosion of fireworks, balloons and confetti (all pink, which led me to worry about Heathcliff, who might become blinded again) and we are to launch into a rehearsed version of Happy Birthday. The event planner had told us that the fireworks will be quite loud, so we ought to brace ourselves for major sonic waves assaulting our ear drums. I wasn't too anxious, because I had gone to the local Fourth of July celebration every year in Danforth County, and no firework or firecracker could get any louder than the ones back home. Danforth County is famous for its wineries like Kyle said, its fight clubs and lastly, the fireworks factories.
As Heathcliff and I stood on the fringe of the pink crowd, him slipping his champagne and me looking around, I noticed that he kept looking in a particular direction towards the house. I stared hard enough and saw a patch of green in the distance midst the pink, I recognized the green belonging to Theo's dress; she was the only one not wearing pink on this occasion, and she was chatting with a slightly taller young man in a pink tuxedo just like us two. I looked back to Heathcliff and saw a sadness in his eyes; an irresistible Prince Charming kind of sadness.
'What's bothering you?' I asked with friendly intentions.
Heathcliff looked at me bearing a forlorn expression, he sighed and said, 'I have been deep in thought, and these thoughts that come across me such days are largely unpleasant ones.'
'What kind of thoughts?' I was interested. I had been under the impression that Heathcliff may be slightly insane, but he was a confident and undaunted man, the expression on his face at that time was not of either those things.
'I have been thinking, thinking deeply regarding the subject of love, you see. I have been thinking, thinking of this marvelous feeling, this jubilation of the mind and heart. I have been thinking, how wonderful this love, yet how tragic. You see, here's to tragedy, when love put forth comes to vain, when love goes forth not returned, when love ventured not accepted. Here's to tragedy indeed, I loved and received no love, I poured out my heart into ocean, not earth, I loved, but is not loved. You know who I'm talking about, right?' Heathcliff concluded his little monologue of poetry.
'I think I do.' I said, 'You should write that down, what you just said, it was very nice.'
'Thank you, my good man, but I prefer to drown in my sorrow in silence, maybe then Theo will come to me.'
'If you drown in your sorrows silently, how will she know you're drowning in sorrows?'
'You do not understand the fruits silence brings to one who conceals?' Heathcliff lowered his voice to a whisper, 'Silence, oh mysterious silence is what draws people to you.'
'You weren't very silent when I first met you.' I pointed out.
'Yes, that was then, this is now, tactics must change.'
'I see, and what happens if silence does not work?'
'IT HAS TO!' Heathcliff shouted, and heads around us all turned, 'he lowered his voice back down to a whisper and said, 'If silence does not work, I will die a tragic and broken death from that third floor balcony.' Heathcliff pointed to a third floor balcony of Theo's house.
'You mean suicide? But suicide is terrible, only people who have given up everything commits suicide!' I exclaimed. It's not possible, Heathcliff could not suicide, he's too handsome to lay himself to waste like that!
'I will have given up on everything by then, my heart will be in pieces each the size of subatomic particles no one can possibly fix, I will have nothing to live for, if my dear Theodora does not accept me!' Heathcliff sighed for the countless time.
'How about finding someone other than Theo as the love of your life?' I suggested.
'Impossible!' Heathcliff said dismissively, 'There is no other!'
'I can introduce you to a friend of mine who is also looking for the love of her life, her name is Louise.' I said, 'There's no point not to try, and even if it doesn't work out, you'll have another friend from my part of the country and another family to lodge with whenever you visit Danforth County in case my house is full, because the hotels where I come from aren't cheap, they always know how to rip off travelers.'
'Haven't you forgotten? I will have lost all will to live by then.' Heathcliff reminded me morosely.
'Like I said, no point not to try.'
'You sound suspiciously like a matchmaker, what does a simply country boy like you know about such deep matters as love?' Heathcliff's eyes narrowed.
'Because like you, I had the same experience back when I was in grade school.' I said, it was a good story and I remembered it vividly.
'What do you-' Heathcliff's eyes widened in surprise but he didn't get to finish his sentence, because at that moment the ground shook and a thunderous crack erupted from the direction of the house. I assumed it was the fireworks, so I started singing, 'Happy birthday to you...' and realized everyone else was on the ground, covering their heads and screaming. I was the only one standing and I saw that a part of Theo's house was going up in smokes.
A man (in pink like everyone else) with a briefcase in one hand was also on his feet, emerging from the smoke blowing from the house, he was running as fast as his leg could carry him across the sea of pink bodies and chanting, or shouting something rather unintelligible as he ran.
I recognized that very possibly, the man was in shock. I guess the fireworks had exploded accidentally inside the house, and the man was probably the firework handler, suffering a mental meltdown from the blast. The scenario was made evident by the incoherent speech he was blabbering as he fled, which also sounded a little like a Middle Eastern language.
If the startled man kept running like that, he might suffer cardiac arrest like some folks back home after heavy drinking at the bar followed by a mad rampage (exactly like what the man was doing). I had to go after him and calm him down, because it looked like no one else was going to do it; some of the security guys were running after him, but they were rather slow and the rampaging man was quick as a rabbit, and Theo was chasing him too.
If there was ever a good simile to describe how fast I can run when I put my mind to it, it would be that I ran like Forrest Gump. Like Forrest, I could 'run like the wind', and like him, I also got to play football because of how quick I was. So I was bounding across the field, after the rampaging man suffering from shock, sprinting past Theo and the security guards, humming Chariots of Fire, the tune I always hum when I run.
Soon, I was fifty paces, twenty paces, and then five paces behind the running man, he looked back and the look on his face was nothing short of disbelief. With another burst of energy I pumped my arms up and leaped into the air at the man just in front of me. It happened in slow motion.
In the next second I had fly tackled the man to the ground, not realizing that there was a garden hose nozzle in the ground, which connected with the man's forehead when he hit the grass and knocked him out cold. The fly tackle was the best method to stop and restrain a rampaging person, I had learned this from dad, who incorporated this move at the fight club too.
The security guys caught up to where I lay sprawled with the man still under me. Their mouths were all open, just like my high school football coach when he saw me racing the school bus (I had missed the bus that day).

T.N - Chapter 43

I was outside, sipping a small flute of champagne, and all I could see was pink, lace, frills, flowers, and more pink. Even the men wore various shades of pink, much to their embarrassment. It was Selene’s birthday bash in the North mansion garden, and I was in living hell. Even though Selene had tried to convince me to wear a frilly pink concoction by disturbing my search for the spy, I decided to go with a short emerald green dress that was hidden deep in my closet. Not much of a rebellion, but enough to make me feel better.

I sat alone at that moment, a great relief from the great amount of attention I had received earlier. Heathcliff had gone to get some more refreshments, Wolfgang was taking a nap, and Charlie was somewhere in the crowd. All my adamant admirers, who were hanging all over me earlier, were with the birthday girl. I smiled a little, finally getting some space.

“Hello Theo,” said someone besides me, and I felt a pat on the top of my head. I looked up and smiled.

“Dennis! Long time no see!” I stood up and hugged my older (and not so obnoxious) brother. Even though he was 3 years older than me, he was only an inch or so taller than me. Many wouldn’t think he was related to Kyle and me. He takes after my mother, with her thin, wispy blond hair and grey eyes. I have nothing in common physically with him. I think I quite like it that way.

“How are you doing, kiddo?” he asked. One of the main differences between Kyle and Dennis: Kyle use condescending nicknames, while with Dennis, any nicknames are used lovingly. I never see Dennis a lot of the time, since he’s either off travelling or working at his company, so it’s a treat to see him. Especially on days like this.

“I’m good. How’s the genius entrepreneur doing with his record company?” I asked, teasingly.

“I’m not merely a genius, I’m a mastermind! And the record company is doing fine, thank you. What trouble have you been getting into lately?”

I thought for a second, wondering if I should tell him about the entire incident. I decided against it, since Kent would probably find out later and scold me. He would tell Dennis all about it, I’m sure.

“Trouble, Mr. Mastermind?” I asked coyly. “What do you mean? I never get in trouble.”

He chuckled. “Let me think. Trying to climb that old, sick oak tree without a safety harness?”

“I was six, Dennis. Six. Besides, Kyle dared me too because he thought I would be too scared.”

“Alright then, how about when you were eleven and tried to make a bomb in the basement? You almost blew up the entire foundation and yourself.”

“It’s not my fault that I got tired of playing with Heathcliff. He always made me the damsel in distress. It’s much more fun to play with explosives.”

“What about that time you almost fell out of the ceiling when you were trying to spy on a Justice League meeting?”

I did remember that. I didn’t get any interesting information, and I got an earful both from Kent and Grandfather about how dangerous and stupid that stunt was. “Fine, fine, so I do get in trouble occasionally.” He laughed at my use of “occasionally.” If only he knew what type of trouble I’ve been getting into lately…

The ground suddenly rumbled, and a muffled boom sounded beneath our feet. There were several successive ones, all from beneath the ground. And then Grandfather’s den exploded.

Many of the women shrieked, and several of the men yelped in surprise. I didn’t move from where I stood, and just watched the remaining glass on the window shatter into sharp rain.

My mind was in a whir. The booms and rumbling must’ve been explosions that were set underground. Why would someone want to bomb underground and Grandfather’s den? Then it hit me.

“Shit,” I swore under my breath. The mole had some friends. Some friends that wouldn’t mind going into the secret passage and destroying the computer. It was relatively easy to get out of the secret chambers; there was a door inside of the computer room that led back to the elevator. I saw someone running out of the garden. It was a man in a pink suit much like many of the guests, but he also carried a briefcase. A briefcase that would make sense if he was carrying bombs into the house.

Not exactly knowing what I was going to do, I started running after the man like all hell was on my heels.

C.N. - chapter 42

I didn't really pay attention to Mr. Kent's conversation with Theo because I finally got a real copy of Kidnapped and I could start reading back from page one again. The last time I had read the book was three months ago; it was about time for a reread.
Then all of a sudden Theo snatched the book from my hands and snapped it close. I was taken aback; if she wanted the book back she could easily have asked me to give it to her, but judging from her facial expression I thought she must have something important to tell me, maybe to pass on whatever information Mr. Kent had given her before he left. 'Charlie, what on earth-' She began and then stopped, she went to the other end of the room and started to inch along the wall feeling with her hands for something.
I was puzzled, while she searched the opposite wall for whatever she was looking for, I contemplated her question, 'What on earth?' It was not a complete question.
'What on earth what?' I asked, Theo didn't hear me.
'Well, appears we have another mole.' She said.
I thought about this and decided that it had nothing to do with her 'What on earth' question, and then it came to my mind to ask, 'There are moles in your house?'
Theo didn't seem to comprehend my question at first, she was about to say something and then changed her mind and said, 'Why yes, why don't you come and have a look?'
I went over to where she was standing and saw a small hole drilled through at the baseboard. I looked at it for another few moments and said, 'I don't thing it's a mole hole, it looks more like rat hole to me.'
'A rat hole? How can you tell?' Theo asked me absently, her ear was against the wall, listening intensively and not making a sound. She was probably listening for the squealing of rats.
'Moles are outdoor animals, they rarely dig into houses, I think, and they usually stay below ground too. That hole is very small, too small for a mole, but perfect for a rat.' I got down onto my knees to see through the hole, I made another discovery, 'Look! The hole is dug all the way to the other side of the wall, it goes into the next room. Though I don't know how rats can dig through cement and plaster, maybe-'
'You're right, I'm sure it is a rat,' Theo said quickly, cutting me off, 'It is an old house, the walls are probably cracked and rotted inside, it would be easy for a rat to dig through.' As she said this, she tiptoed out of the room and out of sight.
What was that all about? I thought, so I followed her into the adjacent room further up the hallway, which was the smoking room, and found her bent over a section of wall on the far end of the room, the other side of the wall in the den. I went over to where she was kneeling and saw a screwdriver on the ground, some plaster dust and a hole near the baseboard.
'I suppose someone has been trying to use the screwdriver to poke the rat out of the hole.' Theo said, her eyes darting around the room, which was empty. She was looking for something.
'Are you looking for something?' I asked.
'I am, can you go around the room and help me look for the rat, I think it may still be here. I had heard it in the other room just now, that's why I came over here.'
'Okay,' I said. With my mouth I mimicked the squeak of a mouse; this was how I caught mice back home. The family house was old, just like Theo's house, only a tenth of the size, and there were sometimes a lot of mice. I became good at mimicking a mouse, and almost always they came to me from their holes, then I would take out the hatchet from behind my back and cleave the mouse to death with a single blow. I was very accurate with a hatchet too, that was why my sister always had me split the firewood.
So I crawled around on all fours and did my rodent squeak.
While my head was under a table cloaked by tapestry, a maid came into the room calling for Theo. I poked my head out from under the table and said, 'She's here, we're looking for rats.' This startled her.
'What do you mean? There are no rats in this house!' She exclaimed.
'Well it appears there are, but never mind that,' Theo came over and said, 'What do you want?'
'Mrs. Selene wishes to speak to you, Miss. Theo.' The maid said.
'Is it so important that I absolutely must see her?' Theo said with obvious annoyance.
'She did not specify, Miss.'
'Then I don't have to go see her.'
'But Miss., it's two days to Mrs. Selene's birthday, Master Kyle has requested for everyone in the house to do as Mrs. Selene tells us to ensure her absolute happiness.'
Theo sighed deeply and said, 'Alright, Charlie, can you stay in this room and keep watch, we don't want the rat to get away.'
'Sure,' I said and got out from under the table, 'Can I have Kidnapped back?'
'Fine, here you go.' Theo gave me Kidnapped and left reluctantly with the maid.
I sat down on a couch and began reading from where I left off, I would read to pass time while I listen for any sign of a squeak made by a rodent. My hearing was good, I wouldn't miss it.
'Well hello there sport, whacha reading?' Suddenly, Kyle was standing in the room, not far from the large cabinets near the door. He must have entered quietly, so quietly, I was startled for a second.
'Kidnapped,' I said, 'Theo finally found a copy for me.'
'Ah, good book,' Kyle walked over and sat on a couch next to mine. 'You don't mind me asking where you're from, do you?' He asked.
'Of course not,' I replied, 'I'm from Danforth County, north of here.'
'I've been there once, they have the best wineries in the province.'
'And fight clubs.' I added.
'Excuse me?' Kyle exclaimed, he must be unfamiliar with country fight clubs.
So I told Kyle about fight clubs, and the more he listened, the more his face contorted into an expression of puzzlement yet at the same time realization of something I was not aware of.
After hearing me talk about fight clubs, Kyle said, 'Fascinating, you have to take me there some time. Now, I just have one last question, how did you meet Theo?'
This was a hard question, I wanted to give Kyle a straight forward answer, but the events leading up to meeting Theo was complicated, so to make a long story short, I said, 'Heathcliff introduced me to her.'
'Oh.' Kyle said thoughtfully, 'I have some business to attend to, I hope I did not disturb you for too long.' Kyle said, getting up from the couch, 'I shall make my leave now, and by the way, can you make sure that Theo knows nothing of this conversation between you and me? She's quite nosy as all little sister are.'
'Sure,' I said, if it was okay for Theo to entrust me with not telling Kyle something, it's only fair for Kyle to entrust me with something that I shouldn't tell Theo; it was a fair and equal agreement.
'My darling Selene's birthday is coming up in two weeks, I'm sure you'll be staying for the party?' Kyle asked, he was at the door.
'I think so.' I said.
'Great! Then I shall catch you some other time, sport.' Kyle said and left.
I went back to reading Kidnapped and listening for the squeaking of rats. I didn't hear any.

? - Chapter 41

“You’re quite the sight on sore eyes,” said the Dragon amiably, seating himself across from his prisoner. The others had left on their own business, and it was now only the two men in the spacious room. “I suppose several punches and a stiletto heel can do that to a man, even one as yourself.” His prisoner spat out blood in contemptuous response.

It was true, however. Damian North was quite the poor sight. His cheekbones were starting to swell; his eyes were slowly starting to turn a deep, ugly purple; and blood dripped and dried from the cut that ran from the top of his eyebrow to his jaw.

“I’m surprised even Ms. Scorpion joined in on the greeting,” continued the Dragon. “But then again, you did essentially kill her father.” He chuckled. “I was definitely not expecting her to use the hidden blade inside her stiletto to slice your face. It is suitable of her; an elegant and discreet way to maim someone.”

“Ever the businessman,” said Damian, for the first time since he was brought into the room. “Charging your own colleagues to beat me up.”

“What can I say? When opportunity knocks, I take the chance.”

“Must you use such cowardly methods to contain me?” He tried the chains and metal binding him. “It appears like the almighty Dragon is frightened of me, so frightened that he won’t let any of my limbs loose.”

“I am no idiot, Damian,” said the Dragon. “I have underestimated you before, I am not repeating the same mistake.” He unsheathed a knife from his pocket, a hunter’s knife, the one used to skin animals. “How easily I could kill you right now,” he mused quietly. “Just slit your throat open, or maybe your wrists? I wonder what would be more pleasant to watch. There’s nothing stopping me from doing it right here and right now.” His smile was cold, his eyes on the verge of madness. “But then, it would spoil all the fun.”

“Well then, if I’m going to die eventually by your hands, I guess you could answer some questions I have,” Damian said. He displayed no fear, not even a slight twitch in his eye.

The Dragon chuckled. “I guess that’ll kill the time. Fire away, my good man.”

“What is your incentive?” asked Damian.
“You’re getting old, Damian,” replied the Dragon. “I would’ve thought you knew that already.”

“I have a hunch, but I’d like to hear it from you.”

“Revenge, old man. Pure, simple, revenge. Next question.”

“Why did you get Theo involved with this? She’s merely a child.” Damian’s rage bubbled to the surface for a moment, and just as suddenly, it disappeared under his cool mask.

“She’s no longer a child, if your eyes haven’t noticed. She’s a young woman 19 years of age. And I didn’t bring her in, my son did. She had plenty of opportunities to escape.” He yawned. “I’m getting tired of 20 questions, but I suppose I have enough energy to answer a few more.”

Damian took a moment to ponder. Then he asked, “Where are you getting your resources?”

“Lots of money from my earlier days, and an interesting sponsor that is quite invested in this.”

“What do you mean, invested in this?”

“Why, this sponsor gave me money in order to kill you. He’s given me all the information I’d ever need to know about you. That way I can kill you as intimately as possible.” He smiled. “I was paid millions of dollar, my dear rival, to finish you off. Who knew that you could create enemies out of people so close to yourself?”

“Who is this man, that has paid you enough to kill me?” He was dreading the name, but he was certainly not prepared for what he would hear next.

The Dragon stood up and leaned in close, his lips nearly touching Damian’s ear. Then, in a whisper no louder than a breath, he uttered the name of Damian’s betrayer.

And all Damian could say in response was, “It can’t be.”