Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
My mom looked surprised. “With your fist?”
“No. With my head.” Before she could ask another question, I said, “Come on, let’s go upstairs. If any of our tenants see you two looking like that, they’re going to think you’ve lost it.”
Once we were in our apartment, I said, “Why don’t you take Sam to the kitchen and make some tea? I need to call April.”
Julie asked, “Do you think you can trust her?”
“I do. I’ve always felt that way, right from the start. I also think she’s the only person at SPAM who’ll actually listen to me, and who’ll know what to do.”
I went into my bedroom, took a seat on my bed, and let out a long, shaky breath. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, my nerves were kicking in. I had to hold it together, though. If my mom saw I was scared, then she would be, too.
April answered my call on the first ring. When I finished getting her up to speed, she said, “I’m sorry this is happening, Andy. I’m sending someone to keep an eye on your family as we speak.” I could hear fingernails clicking on a keyboard in the background. “I’ll try to figure out what’s happening and why, and in the meantime, I want you and Sam to get out of town. It’ll be a lot easier for you two to stay safe if you’re hard to find.”
“Where are we supposed to go?”
“Anywhere but here. Just lay low and give me a few days to get to the bottom of all of this. The agent I’m sending to watch your family will bring you a go-bag with some cash, burner phones, and a few other essentials. Don’t use your credit cards or cellphones. That goes for Sam, too. You don’t want to leave a trail.”
“Okay. So, who’s this person you’re sending to watch my family?”
“Her name is Marigold Gonzales, code name AW. She’s extremely skilled and powerful.”
“Should I call the police and report the attempted abduction?”
“You can if you want. But if it was me, I’d much rather let the superheroes on SPAM’s payroll handle it.” She was probably right. SPAM was superhero central, and they were able to do things the civilian police force couldn’t.
When we ended the call, I slid off the bed, hugged my knees to my chest, and tucked my head in like a turtle. How could this be happening? I was a librarian, not an action hero. I didn’t fight off attackers or go on the run.
I quickly sat up when Sam came into the room and asked, “What did April say?” After I summed up our conversation, he nodded. “Good. I like the idea of making ourselves hard to find while SPAM sorts this out.”
“I’m nervous about leaving Mom and Julie, though.”
“They’ll be fine. Between your mom’s superpower and the fact that they’re both badasses, they can take care of themselves. Plus, they’ll have a SPAM agent watching their backs.”
“Have you ever heard of an agent with the code name AW?”
A smile spread across his face. “That’s who they’re sending?” I nodded, and he told me, “She’s awesome. Her superpowers are speed and strength, and her signature move is both effective and hilarious.”
“What’s her signature move?”
“It’s called the Atomic Wedgie, and it’s where—”
I raised a hand. “No need to explain. I get it.” I got up and looked around. “I guess I should pack.”
“Yeah, you should. I’ll need to swing by my place too, and I don’t know if you have a car, but I’d like to take mine. It’s an old beater, but it’s reliable and totally analog.”
“Why’s that last part relevant?”
“We don’t know who we’re up against, or what kind of technology they might have access to,” Sam explained. “My car doesn’t have a built-in GPS that someone could hack, or computerized systems that could get knocked offline, or any of that. It’s just steel, glass, and grease.”
“Makes sense.”
It must have been obvious that I was nervous, because he drew me into a hug and told me, “You’ll be okay, Andy. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt you, either.”
He smiled at me when I took a step back. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
As much as I wanted to play it cool, I ended up blurting, “I can’t believe this is happening! Someone just tried to shove me into the back of a van, for fuck’s sake! That’s already scary, but it’s even worse if it’s the same person who broke into the archives. They destroyed everything around them when they couldn’t find what they were looking for, which is hardly the mark of a calm, rational individual. What if they catch us? Then what?”
“Don’t start spiraling, Andy. We need to keep it together.” He was right. I took a deep breath, then another as he said, “That’s good, just keep breathing. I’ll go and keep your family company while you pack.”