EAVESDROPPING

“I don’t get it,” Ernie said as he walked with the other Grey Griffins to their homeroom. “Why did you do that for me?”

“What do you mean?” Max asked.

“It’s just that I’ve been kind of a jerk lately, but… I don’t know. You stood up for me anyway.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Max asked as Sprig padded behind them as a white tiger. “Isn’t that what Grey Griffins are supposed to do?”

Ernie smiled, though not for long. “So does that mean we’re friends again?”

“We never stopped being your friend,” Natalia said as she linked arms with Ernie. “We still love you, even when you act like a jerk.”

“Thanks,” Ernie said. “For everything.”

The second bell had already rung. Dr. Thistlebrow and a few other teachers were on the front lawn wrangling curious students who couldn’t stop watching the airships hovering in the sky.

“Hey, is that Logan?” Harley asked, pointing to a man in a black duster jacket.

“I can’t tell,” Max said.

“It is,” Ernie said, confirming Harley’s suspicion.

“What’s he doing here?” Harley asked.

Max shrugged. “Beats me,” he said, “but I bet it has something to do with those warships.”

“Let’s go find out,” Harley said. He headed toward the door Logan disappeared through.

“What about class?” Natalia asked.

“It’s just homeroom,” Harley said. “All we do is sit there and listen to announcements.”

“I don’t know.”

“You can do what you want, but I’m going,” Harley said.

“Me too,” Ernie said.

“Sorry,” Max said, before following the other two.

“Fine,” Natalia said. “Wait for me.”

They followed Logan into the building until they came to a set of double doors that led to an off-limits area controlled by the Sciences Council. Even though most of it was still under construction, some of the teachers had offices there. It was also home to a research facility, a small publishing house for academic books, and, from what Max had heard, a library that rivaled the Templar Library off the coast of Iceland.

“They’re not going to let us in there,” Max said when he saw armed guards stationed at the doors.

“Can’t you call Logan?” Harley asked.

“If he wanted us in there, he would have told us about it.”

“I might be able to help,” Ernie said. He reached into his pocket to pull out a small brass mechanism with dials and a lever.

“What is it?” Harley asked.

“It’s called an Interdimensional Phase Adjuster,” Ernie said.

“Wait, that’s an IPA?” Harley said, a smile creeping across his face. “How did you get one?”

“Are you two going to let us in on your little secret, or are we just going to stand here?” Natalia asked.

“Those things make you invisible,” Harley said.

“Actually,” Ernie said, “it vibrates your molecules so you can be in two dimensions at the same time. It’s kind of like being invisible, but you can walk through walls and stuff like that. You can even scream and nobody will hear you.”

“That’s what you did to escape the slavers’ net, isn’t it?” Harley asked.

“Yep.”

“Why didn’t you tell us about it before?” Natalia said.

“I couldn’t,” Ernie said.

“Where’d you get it?” Max asked.

Ernie hesitated. His eyes went from Max to the floor, but eventually they landed back on Max. “Look, I shouldn’t say anything, but… well, Obadiah gave it to me.”

“He just gave it to you?”

“I guess,” Ernie said. “He told me it was a late Christmas present.”

“That’s some present,” Harley said. “I’m pretty sure they don’t sell them to civilians.”

“Anyway,” Ernie said as he fumbled with the IPA in his hands, “I was thinking that we could use it to sneak in there and find Logan.”

Max smiled. “Will it work on four people?”

“As long as we stay close,” Ernie said.

“Is it safe?” Natalia asked.

“I guess,” Ernie said. “I mean, it feels kind of weird at first, but you get used to it.”

“What do you think?” Max asked, looking at Harley.

“I’m in.”

“Me too,” Ernie said.

“We all go or none of us do,” Max said, turning to Natalia.

“No pressure or anything,” she said.

Max smiled.

“Fine.”

Ernie twisted a few of the dials before pulling the lever. The scene around them dissolved until the Grey Griffins were all that remained in focus. Everything around them went pale. It looked like an X-ray—once-solid objects were now vague outlines.

“This is awesome,” Harley said.

“We can actually walk through walls?” Natalia asked as she studied her translucent hand.

Ernie nodded.

Max walked over to the doors, but he stopped short, waiting for the guards to spot him. When they didn’t move, he turned back to the other Griffins. “Here goes nothing,” he said. There was a slight tug on his skin as he put his foot through the door, but he still passed right through. A moment later the Griffins were standing together in an unfamiliar hallway.

“Which way did he go?” Harley asked.

“I can hear them,” Ernie said, using his advanced changeling senses.

They followed Ernie into a room where at least twenty irate Templar officers in full uniform were sitting around an oval table arguing.

“You’re sure they can’t see us?” Max asked when he spotted Logan, who sat back in his chair with his arms crossed. He was the only person who wasn’t shouting.

“Watch,” Ernie said. He hopped up on the table, and then he started to dance. Max held his breath as he watched Ernie bend down to wave at an officer with a pointy beard and a shiny bald head.

“See what I mean?” Ernie said. “We’re perfectly safe.”

“At least as long as that thing doesn’t short out,” Harley said.

Ernie shrugged. “It hasn’t yet.”

Natalia walked over to pick up a pen, but her hand passed right through it.

“It takes some practice, but you can do it,” Ernie said.

She tried a few more times but gave up as a short man with a waxed mustache stood at the head of the table, attempting to talk over the other officers as they shouted. He finally gave up. “This is Colonel Hazard,” he said after a sigh. His face was red as he raised his voice. “She’s the chief strategist for this joint operation, so perhaps you’ll show her some courtesy.”

One of video screens on the wall flashed to show a map of Switzerland as Hazard walked to the head of the room. She was tall and slender, with hair like corn silk that was pulled back into a bun.

Instead of trying to talk over them, the colonel simply stood there waiting for everyone to stop talking. When the room was finally silent, she spoke. “Thank you, General Upton,” the colonel said with a nod. “And good afternoon, gentlemen. The Paragon Engine is located here, near the borders of France and Italy.”

The map tightened to reveal a large complex of buildings nestled in the green countryside.

“It used to be a government research facility, but according to our records it was acquired by someone representing Von Strife nearly twenty years ago,” she continued. “His fusion generator produces enough power to run the Paragon Engine as well as an energy shield that could repel our entire fleet.”

“What’s left of it,” a heavyset admiral said as the map rotated and zoomed in. He had been the most boisterous of the crowd when General Upton held the floor.

Hazard ignored the comment. “This joint operation will consist of two stages,” she said. “The first will be an effort to deactivate the shield. Once that has been completed, our fleet will move into a position where we’ll bombard the facility.”

“What if we fail?” the admiral asked. His comment was met with general agreement from the others assembled at the table.

“We can’t afford to fail, Admiral Lennox. If Von Strife opens a gateway to the Shadowlands, there is no limit to the number of monsters and other dark creatures that will pour into our world. At worst, we calculate that within forty-eight hours, more than half of the human population would be destroyed. Within the week, our species will be wiped from history.”

“You’re telling us there’s nothing that can be done?” Admiral Lennox said.

Colonel Hazard’s face was grave. “We have an evacuation plan for major population centers, but that will only put off the inevitable.”

“Evacuate? We have nowhere to go!”

Colonel Hazard stood with her hands behind her back as she waited for the outbursts to subside. “I have every confidence that we’ll succeed despite the odds,” Hazard said once the quarreling stopped. “In fact, we’ve just learned that Von Strife is at the facility as we speak. Once he’s been neutralized, the clockworks will fall.”

There was a rush of angry whispers.

“Are you speaking about an assassination?” Admiral Lennox asked. “Certainly we are better than that!”

“Perhaps,” Hazard said, “but we’re in desperate times.”

“This is outrageous!” Lennox said.

“I’m sorry, Admiral, but I’ve been given command of this engagement, and my decision is final,” Hazard said. She turned to Logan. “Brief your men. We’re about to go on full alert. You’re scheduled to make the jump in ten minutes.”

“Wait, what’s she talking about?” Max whispered.

“It sounds like they’re sending a team of THOR agents to assassinate Von Strife,” Harley said.

“You heard what she said about that place,” Max said. “It’s a suicide mission.”

Natalia put her hand on Max’s shoulder. “He’ll be fine.”

“I’ve got to talk to him before he goes,” Max said.

“What are you going to say?” Harley asked.

“I don’t know, but I’ll think of it when I get there.”