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.