all night?” she asked.
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to, but yeah … I guess I have been. I kind of got sucked in.”
“Maybe it’s time for a break,” Allegra suggested.
Jack’s eyes darted around at the screens and the relentless noise that was coming out of them, passing itself off as news. He looked at Allegra and waved his arm like he was clearing off a table with one clean swipe. The screens all blinked out, and the sudden silence came as a relief. Watching the NewsNets all night hadn’t helped Jack learn anything new; it had served only to stress him out.
“That’s better,” Allegra said.
“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “Yeah, I think so.”
Skerren took a seat on the arm of Jack’s couch. “So?”he asked. “You watched everything the news has to say. What do you think? Is this for real?”
Jack collapsed into his chair and looked up at his friends. “It’s real,” he said. “I know it is. That’s why I asked you guys to come here.” He stopped and took a breath. Jack knew he had to tell his friends what was going on before they could help him, and thanks to Glave and Obscuro, he needed help now more than ever. That didn’t make coming clean any easier. He could guess how his friends were going to react to what came next. “The thing is …,” Jack began, “I know more than just what’s on the news. I know what’s got the Rogue Secreteer so scared.”
Jack’s apartment reached new levels of quiet as Skerren and Allegra stared at him in disbelief. Skerren got up off of the couch. “What?” he asked Jack. “What do you mean, you
know
?”
Jack put his hands up. “Just … hear me out. I’ll tell you guys everything, but first you have to promise it stays between us. I’m bringing you guys in on this because I need your help, but it has to be
your
help. You can’t tell anyone else. Not yet.”
“Why not?” Allegra asked.
“Because I’m afraid of how other people might react,” Jack said. “What I’m going to tell you is a secret. You have to promise not to tell anyone else. Trust me, you’ll understand.”
Allegra crossed her arms and gave Jack a slightly annoyed look. “We better,” she said. Jack stared at Allegra, waiting for her to say the words. “Okay, I promise,” she said.
“What about you, Skerren?” Jack asked. “In or out?”
Skerren stood there cracking his knuckles with one hand and studying Jack with suspicious eyes. When he was finished cracking the knuckle on the last finger, he made a fist and stared at it for a brief moment. Eventually he looked up at Jack and nodded. “Let’s hear it,” he said.
Jack figured that was about as positive a response as he could hope for from Skerren. “Not here,” he said to Skerren and Allegra. He pointed at the steps going down to his basement. “Down there. In my lab.”
Jack asked the lights in the basement to turn on as his friends followed him down the steps and into his workshop. The fluorescent bulbs flickered on to reveal ano-frills wreck of a computer lab if ever there was one. It was the exact opposite of the pristine, bright white facilities that Jonas Smart used for his experiments across town in SmartTower. Jack’s cramped, tiny lab looked like an auto-body garage run by the greasiest of grease monkeys. Old computer hardware components were stacked up on boxes and crates that were being used for makeshift workstations. Burned-out hard drives, memory chips, and circuit boards were piled high on shelves until they could fit no more. The lab was as untidy, chaotic, and disorganized as they came.
“Ewww,” Allegra said, scrunching up her face as she looked around Jack’s lab. She frowned at the countless old fast-food containers that looked like they should have been thrown out weeks ago. “This place is disgusting.”
“At best,” Skerren agreed, using one of his swords to flick an old slice of half-eaten pizza across the room into an open garbage can. He picked up a
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to, but yeah … I guess I have been. I kind of got sucked in.”
“Maybe it’s time for a break,” Allegra suggested.
Jack’s eyes darted around at the screens and the relentless noise that was coming out of them, passing itself off as news. He looked at Allegra and waved his arm like he was clearing off a table with one clean swipe. The screens all blinked out, and the sudden silence came as a relief. Watching the NewsNets all night hadn’t helped Jack learn anything new; it had served only to stress him out.
“That’s better,” Allegra said.
“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “Yeah, I think so.”
Skerren took a seat on the arm of Jack’s couch. “So?”he asked. “You watched everything the news has to say. What do you think? Is this for real?”
Jack collapsed into his chair and looked up at his friends. “It’s real,” he said. “I know it is. That’s why I asked you guys to come here.” He stopped and took a breath. Jack knew he had to tell his friends what was going on before they could help him, and thanks to Glave and Obscuro, he needed help now more than ever. That didn’t make coming clean any easier. He could guess how his friends were going to react to what came next. “The thing is …,” Jack began, “I know more than just what’s on the news. I know what’s got the Rogue Secreteer so scared.”
Jack’s apartment reached new levels of quiet as Skerren and Allegra stared at him in disbelief. Skerren got up off of the couch. “What?” he asked Jack. “What do you mean, you
know
?”
Jack put his hands up. “Just … hear me out. I’ll tell you guys everything, but first you have to promise it stays between us. I’m bringing you guys in on this because I need your help, but it has to be
your
help. You can’t tell anyone else. Not yet.”
“Why not?” Allegra asked.
“Because I’m afraid of how other people might react,” Jack said. “What I’m going to tell you is a secret. You have to promise not to tell anyone else. Trust me, you’ll understand.”
Allegra crossed her arms and gave Jack a slightly annoyed look. “We better,” she said. Jack stared at Allegra, waiting for her to say the words. “Okay, I promise,” she said.
“What about you, Skerren?” Jack asked. “In or out?”
Skerren stood there cracking his knuckles with one hand and studying Jack with suspicious eyes. When he was finished cracking the knuckle on the last finger, he made a fist and stared at it for a brief moment. Eventually he looked up at Jack and nodded. “Let’s hear it,” he said.
Jack figured that was about as positive a response as he could hope for from Skerren. “Not here,” he said to Skerren and Allegra. He pointed at the steps going down to his basement. “Down there. In my lab.”
Jack asked the lights in the basement to turn on as his friends followed him down the steps and into his workshop. The fluorescent bulbs flickered on to reveal ano-frills wreck of a computer lab if ever there was one. It was the exact opposite of the pristine, bright white facilities that Jonas Smart used for his experiments across town in SmartTower. Jack’s cramped, tiny lab looked like an auto-body garage run by the greasiest of grease monkeys. Old computer hardware components were stacked up on boxes and crates that were being used for makeshift workstations. Burned-out hard drives, memory chips, and circuit boards were piled high on shelves until they could fit no more. The lab was as untidy, chaotic, and disorganized as they came.
“Ewww,” Allegra said, scrunching up her face as she looked around Jack’s lab. She frowned at the countless old fast-food containers that looked like they should have been thrown out weeks ago. “This place is disgusting.”
“At best,” Skerren agreed, using one of his swords to flick an old slice of half-eaten pizza across the room into an open garbage can. He picked up a
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