PUSHING THEIR LUCK

Max was back on the front page of the New Victoria Chronicle the next morning, but this time he was joined by the other members of the Iron Bridge varsity Round Table team.

Everyone was talking about the results, and the Toad brothers were ready to capitalize. They boarded the Zephyr with oversized duffel bags stuffed with T-shirts, pennants, buttons, and just about anything else that would hold the Iron Bridge Academy team logo. They were sold out of merchandise before they reached the second subway car, but they continued to take orders throughout the day.

Teachers had a difficult time maintaining control in their classrooms. They were all thankful that seventh period had been canceled in favor of a school assembly.

Once the last class filed into the auditorium, Dr. Thistlebrow led the team to the stage as the band played the school fight song. The students in the audience cheered as each member of the varsity team was introduced.

The changelings were sequestered in the balcony with Dean Nipkin, yet they were no less enthusiastic. When Ernie’s name was called, they started calling out, “Thunderbolt!” The other students joined in the chant as Ernie took a bow. He was about to take another when he felt Dr. Thistlebrow’s hand on his shoulder.

“Very good, Mr. Tweeny,” he said. “Now let’s move along.”

Ernie was reluctant to give up the spotlight, but he did—though not before blowing a kiss to the audience. Max, on the other hand, didn’t want to be introduced at all. He hesitated when Dr. Thistlebrow called his name, and he might not have gone forward at all if Hale hadn’t pushed him.

“Now,” Dr. Thistlebrow said, “though it’s a bit unusual, I’ve decided that we shall have two team captains this year, Xander Swift and Stephanie Hale!”

The excitement over the Round Table tournament lasted through the week. Ross and Todd spent long hours every night creating more merchandise to sell at school. Each day they went with overflowing duffel bags, and each day they were sold out by the lunch hour.

When Saturday finally rolled around, the Toad brothers decided to head over to Mad Meriwether’s Gadgetry Shoppe. Between the merchandising and the Toad Reports, they had made a tidy profit, and they were ready to go on a shopping spree. That’s when they spotted Barnabas Glover and Titus O’Shea coming out of a pub called the Burning Boar. Both were known slavers.

“Let’s follow them,” Todd said as he pulled his collar up around his face and the brim of his hat down over his eyes.

“I don’t know,” Ross said. “Maybe we should let Ernie handle it. Remember, we don’t have superpowers like the other Agents of Justice.”

“Just until we know where they’re hiding out,” Todd said. “Then we’ll call it in.”

Ross agreed, and the brothers followed the slavers through the streets of New Victoria and into Bludgeon Town. They did their best to be inconspicuous, but it wasn’t easy. There weren’t many kids running around down there, so they stood out.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” a heavyset woman wearing a dress that looked to be at least four sizes too small said to the boys. Through the meager light from the gas lamp, the Toad brothers could see that her face was plastered with enough makeup that they wondered if she wasn’t an escaped clown from the circus.

Of course, they didn’t bother to say what they thought. It would have been rude, if not dangerous. She looked more like a professional wrestler than whatever she was supposed to be.

“Can I interest you in a bit of entertainment?” she asked.

Todd looked up to see the marquee that hung above the door. It read: THE SPOTTED KILT PROUDLY PRESENTS POLLY KNIGHT’S VAUDEVILLE SHOW.

“Thanks, but, um… well, we have somewhere that we have to be, don’t we?” Todd said as he nudged his brother in the ribs.

“Yeah, we gotta go,” Ross said.

The boys ran across the fog-drenched street before disappearing into the crowd.

“Did you see where Glover went?” Todd asked. He was craning his neck as a man with a patch over his eye bumped into him.

“Sorry,” the man said with a tip of his cap.

“He’s over there,” Ross said, pointing to a man who was standing beneath a gas lamp.

Glover turned to look at Ross, and then he frowned.

“He saw me,” Ross said before ducking into the entry to an abandoned store. The glass had been knocked out of the door, replaced by wood slats with knotholes. Ross looked inside through the window to see a rat creeping across the floor.

“You’re sure?” Todd asked.

“Of course I’m sure.”

Todd ventured a look at the street, but he couldn’t see much through the fog. Then he pulled back before taking a second look. “They’re gone.”

The boys snuck back out to the sidewalk and down to the corner.

“There’s O’Shea,” Todd whispered as he pointed at a man who was walking into a pub. Titus O’Shea was easy enough to spot, even in a crowd. He was a stout man with thick arms and a thicker neck. He always wore suspenders and a derby, but it was his waxed mustache that gave him away.

“And there’s Glover,” Ross said, watching a man walking down an empty street toward an abandoned brick building. “It looks like we found their hideout.”

An hour later, the Agents of Justice had gathered outside the abandoned building. Ernie split them into two teams. He was with Ross, Todd, Yi, and Denton behind a trash bin near the back door. Hale, Geppetto, Nadya, and Tejan were in an alley across the street, watching the front.

“How many others were there?” Ernie asked in a hushed voice.

“We saw two more go in, but we aren’t sure who they are,” Todd said. “They weren’t in any of the reports.”

“What about O’Shea?”

Ross shook his head. “As far as we know, he’s still in that pub.”

“We need to hit them while we know they’re in there,” Denton said.

“I know, I just don’t want any surprises,” Ernie said before speaking into a walkie-talkie. “This is Alpha leader, over.”

“Copy, Alpha leader,” Hale’s voice replied.

“Is there any movement out there?”

“Nothing.”

“What do you think?”

“The longer we wait, the tougher it’s going to get. Bludgeon Town comes alive once the sun goes down… not that you ever get to see the sun around here.”

“Let’s do it.”

Ernie brought his fingers to his lips to remind the Toad brothers to keep quiet. He slipped from behind the trash bin and darted toward the back door of the apartment building. With his back against the wall, he reached over and checked to see if it was locked. The brass handle clicked open, and Ernie gave the signal for the others to follow.

Todd tried to follow Yi and Denton, but he tripped over his pant leg and fell on his face.

“Those two are going to get us killed,” Denton said as Ross ran over to help his brother.

“They’ll be okay,” Ernie said.

The Toad brothers were huffing when they finally reached the wall. Todd’s pants were ripped at the knee, where he was bleeding.

“Sorry,” Todd said.

Ernie shook his head and pushed the door open. The hinges squeaked. His heart started to pound.

Denton dipped his head inside before pulling back. “Nothing.”

After a nod from Ernie, Denton ducked into the building. Yi was right behind him. “You two go next,” Ernie said. He grabbed Todd by the arm and pushed him inside.

“Maybe I should stay out here,” Ross said. “You know, as a lookout.”

Ernie shoved Ross into the building and followed him. When he pulled the door shut, everything went pitch-black.

“I can’t see anything,” Todd whispered.

Yi took the hint. His hands ignited like torches, pushing back the darkness as the others followed him down a long hallway lined with doors.