Chapter 11

Tobias had been right about at least one thing. By the time we got back inside, it was far too late. Rachel, Jeanne, and Cassie already had her stashed away somewhere. More than a little disappointed, I went up to my room and went to sleep. I didn't think I'd be woken up until Tobias and Naomi started fighting again the next morning. The thing about being an Animorph is that a full night's sleep doesn't happen all that often. This was one of those times.

"THIS IS THE INTERNATIONAL INVASION INVESTIGATION FORCE!" a voice roared. I bolted upright. "COME OUTSIDE IN A SINGLE-FILE LINE WITH ALL APPENDAGES VISIBLE!"

"What the hell?" I demanded. I pulled back the curtain and took a look outside. The street in front of our house was blockaded by large, black vans. Men stood around them, with all sorts of weapons aimed at the house. Andalites were there as well. What was going on here?

"YOU ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED. SURRENDER NOW AND NO ONE WILL BE HARMED."

Tri-I? What had we done to them? Well, okay, a few things. Repeated morphing violations, keeping this war a secret from them, breaking into their buildings and stealing information from their computers... Maybe they had a legitimate claim. But how did they find out it was us? What set this off?

"Jake?" Someone said from behind me. I turned around to see Jacques in the doorway. "Tobias wants to speak to you in the living room. I would suggest that you avoid windows if possible."

I nodded. "Any idea what exactly is going on?"

He shook his head. "Not precisely. Daniel and I are working on it. Tobias suspects Yeerk activity."

Daniel? Could he mean Dan, Rachel's father? What could the two of them possibly do about this? "Impossible," I argued. "Not even the Yeerks could pull off something like this. Not without infesting an entire branch of Tri-I, and the Chee in charge of the local branch would have told us about something like that going down."

I had expected everyone to be waiting in the living room, but instead it was just a small group. Tobias was there, along with Rachel, David, and my uncle Dan. Jacques and I were the last to join them. "Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"The basement," Jacques answered. "It is something of a panic room, designed after that building in Death Valley the others infiltrated shortly after Rachel returned to us. In the event of an emergency, it is a safe place to hide for a time. The others are there."

"Tobias, do you have any idea what's going on here?" I asked. "Is there something you did to Tri-I you didn't tell us about?"

"It isn't Tri-I," Tobias told me. "At least, not completely. David, do you want to tell Jake what you saw?"

((Yeah, sure. I'm up at odd hours, being a rat and all, so I saw them start to pull up and block off the street. They also covered the back exit, and any other exit they can think of. They've got some stuff in the air, too, just in case.))

Tobias continued. "David woke me up to tell me about this. Rach and I started getting everyone into the basement. Then Rachel took a look out a window and saw someone."

"Who?" I asked. I suspected Yeerk, but who?

"Salheer," Rachel informed me. "He was talking to one of the guys setting up the blockade; I think that guy was in charge. But I guarantee you it's Salheer calling the shots."

"Which means," Tobias concluded, "that the Visser is behind this."

"But he couldn't have infiltrated Tri-I," I insisted.

((There are other ways of controlling someone than with a Yeerk,)) David said quietly. ((If the Yeerks got their hands on something the local director cares about, they could have forced him to set this up.))

"The director is one of the Chee," I pointed out.

"We've manipulated them before," Tobias reminded me. "And after all that time he spent in Ax's head, the Visser knows all about them and what buttons to push, so to speak. I don't know how he found out the local director is one of them; maybe it was just a lucky guess. It doesn't matter at this point. What matters is that we're blockaded in our own home."

((Couldn't we just, you know, walk out?)) David suggested. ((I mean, what's the worse they could do to us?))

"It if was Tri-I, not much," Dan told us. "But with Yeerks calling the plays, who knows? You could find yourselves in a few feet of sludge."

Jacques shook his head. "The local director must have been removed. Mark, no matter what threats they used, would never authorize this. He would sooner he and his family perish in flames than aid Yeerks."

"Maybe that's what happened," Dan said quietly.

"You sound like you know him," Tobias began.

Jacques and Dan looked at each other. "Perhaps it is time we told them the truth, Daniel."

"Rock, paper, scissors you for it?"

"I will do it, if you are too afraid."

Dan muttered something under his breath. "Fine, fine, I'll do it. The Frenchman weasels out of another one. You really belong in Shield Branch, you know that?"

Chapter 12

"Do you kids know exactly what it is that Tri-I does?" Dan asked us.

I shrugged. "They...watch, I guess. Keep their eyes peeled for alien invasions and stuff."

"Yeah, they do that," Dan agreed. "That's Shield Branch. They monitor...well, a lot more than they're supposed to. They see things and take note. They look for anything suspicious. They're not just about alien invasions, though. Their job is also to keep alien technology from falling into the wrong hands.

"Shield Branch watches. But that's only half of Tri-I. The other branch, Sword Branch, is the one who gets the job done. When a morphing cube goes missing, for example, an operative with Sword Branch gets it back. When Tri-I sees something suspicious, they send an operative to investigate.

"These operatives usually are covert. It's hard to tell who is one. They stay local, working only with their local branch. It preserves secrecy and security."

"You're one of them, aren't you?" Tobias finished.

Dan nodded. "Yeah. I am. When Tri-I opened their doors, I joined up. After what happened to my family in the first war..." He shook his head. "I couldn't let that happen again. And I wasn't going to sit around and trust someone else to get the job done for me. They made me one of their operatives because of who my daughter was."

Jacques took over. "My story is not very different. I joined Tri-I in France when they opened a branch in Paris. I was very useful to them. With all I knew about Yeerks, my business connections, my money... I rose very quickly in their ranks. And my Yeerk had seen fit to train me with weaponry. You may not think it, but I assure you that I am a trained killer."

"So you two are like, what, secret agents?" I asked.

Jacques shook his head and Dan laughed. "Not us," Dan answered. "We do very little for Tri-I. They have special operatives for anything that actually needs doing. Mostly, we just fill out a report every month saying that we didn't see anything unusual."

"Interesting, but how is this relevant now?" Tobias asked.

"When I moved to America," Jacques said, continuing his story, "they transferred me to a local branch. And when I met Naomi, they transferred me here. It has been my job to keep an eye on situations here and look for Yeerk activity. I have not reported anything to them," he said quickly. "I understand the need for secrecy in this war."

"But Tri-I didn't exactly trust Jacques," Dan added. "Since he wasn't a regular at their local headquarters, they thought it was possible that he had been infested or otherwise comprimised. A few little instances here and there made them suspicious that something was going on here and he wasn't telling them. So they sent me. Good timing, too, since I needed to visit Rachel after I learned about the baby."

"Why you?" Rachel asked. "Why not some other operative?"

Dan gave her a little smile. "They figured that if anyone would want to make Jacques look like a liar or an idiot, it would be me. Usually, people aren't very fond of their ex-wife's new husbands."

"Since when has our family been made up of usual people?" Rachel responded.

"That's exactly the it, honey. I like Jacques; at least now that he's taken Naomi off my hands, I don't have to deal with her or her lawyer friends anymore. And he treats Jordan and Sara as well as I could."

"You exaggerate," Jacques responded. "I only give them a home and some occasional words of advice. You will always be their father. This, I know. I find it helps to accept it."

Tobias cleared his throat. "Forgive me for interrupting this...little moment...but is it possible that they know what's going on? And how could the Yeerks have gotten to them?"

Dan shrugged. "If they know, I didn't tell them anything. Maybe they finally figured something out on their own."

"Perhaps we should ask them just what exactly this is all about?" Jacques suggested.

Dan nodded. "Worth a shot. You do the talking; I don't know if they know I'm here now."

Jacques went to the communicator. A few moments later, a small image of a man in a suit appeared. Mark, the Chee and director of the local Tri-I branch. "Mark," Jacques began, "there seems to have been a bit of miscommunication. Why are there vehicles outside of my home demanding my surrender?"

Mark shook his head. "Jacques? Good to be seen by you. We've got other things to deal with. I noticed the accountants charged you for seven of those Shredders. That's going to be a bit of a problem."

"Nothing I can't afford. What else?"

"Nothing else. Everything is peaches and cream. Maybe you should swing by tomorrow and we'll talk it all out, huh? In the mean time, I'd suggest you listen to the officers at your house. But English isn't your first language, it it?"

"I'll manage," Jacques replied, closing off the communication. He turned to Dan. "You caught all that?"

"Yeah. Looks like we've got got to decide between hostage rescue and defending this place. What do you think?"

"Hostage rescue?" I interrupted. "Where'd that come from."

"Tri-I codewords," Dan answered. "When Mark said, 'Good to be seen', it meant he was being watched. The thing about the accountants charging him for seven Shredders meant that those men out there will come in here at seven o'clock, ready to gun us all down."

"That's three hours from now," Rachel muttered. "We've got to do something about them."

"We've got other problems," Dan told her. "Peaches and cream is the code for hostiles in the building; a hostage situation, specifically. Him asking Jacques to swing by tomorrow was him asking for help. And the bit about listening to the officers, and English being his second language, means that we should not, under any circumstances, trust the men outside. They've been compromised."

"Wow..." I trailed off. "You guys are really prepared, aren't you? I didn't know Tri-I went that deep."

Jacques shrugged. "Tri-I's first duty is a simple one: to never be caught off guard again. We are prepared for every conceivable eventuality."

Chapter 13

"So what do we do about it?" I wondered.

"Simple," Rachel answered. "We scare off these goons out here and then storm Tri-I and get the hostages out. The Reliquary can handle anything outside of the house."

"If we attack them, they'll kill the hostages," Tobias reminded her. "We're talking about Yeerks, so we know they'll do it. Salheer's using Tri-I as a weapon to strike at us so the Yeerks don't dirty their hands with it. When they come in here, they'll be shooting to kill."

((So we either abandon ship to save the hostages or sit here and wait to die,)) David muttered.

"We can't abandon this place," Jacques answered. "Perhaps you morphers could escape, but Naomi, Jordan, Sara, Dan, Rachel, and I would be trapped."

Tobias met my gaze. "Jake, I think we chose teams just in time. This sounds like a two-team job. One to stay and defend this place, the other to rescue the hostages."

I nodded. "Makes sense. Who does what?"

"I'm staying," he said instantly. "Rachel can't get out of here, and I'm not going to abandon her. You and your team should go and try to rescue the hostages."

((Um....I know this sounds really bad and all,)) David began, ((but I think we have bigger things to worry about than the hostages. We need to save ourselves first and then we can worry about them.))

"The hostages are the key," Tobias answered. "That's how they got to the Chee. The Chee can't do violence; not even indirectly. So the Yeerks take hostages and give Mark an ultimatum: give control of Tri-I to one of their people or the hostages die. Since Mark can't let harm come to them, he has no choice but to give the Yeerks what they want. If we rescue the hostages, Mark is free and the problem goes away."

We all just sort of stared at him. "You put that together really fast," I commented.

"It's not all that different from what we did to Erek with the Pool ship," he reminded me. "It makes sense for the Visser to have his men try the same trick."

"Yeah, I guess so," I admitted.

"We've got three hours, so we need to move on this fast. Jake, take your team and get out of here. Go and scout out the area, and do whatever you can. Go in by stealth if possible. If not, smash and grab. If you can't get the hostages, at least try to take out the Yeerk calling the shots."

I nodded. "I'm on my way. Rachel, could you go and get my team for me? I need to talk to Tobias for a moment." Although she didn't like running my errands, she went. Dan and Jacques decided to go with her.

Tobias raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

I shrugged. "It' just... I guess this is it, huh? It's official now. We're splitting up."

"Yeah, I guess so." He sighed. "I just hope I do as good a job leading my team as you always did."

"I think you've done better so far," I assured him.

Tobias shook his head. "Maybe... But I can't help feel that we're losing in a way. We're doing some pretty cruel things. We've killed a lot more innocent people than we ever did while you were running the show. We've been doing whatever it takes to win, no matter the cost."

I nodded. "That's why I wanted you to lead, Tobias. Because you can make the sacrifices we need to make. You can call the shots."

"Yeah. But it makes me worry about what happens after."

"After the war, you mean?"

"After the war," he agreed. "I mean, in the first war, we were careful. We held to rules, standards. Morality. And even then, most of us didn't have much left afterwards. I'm worried about what I'm doing to them. If I keep on the way I'm going, what will be left when the smoke clears? James is a good man; what happens if he keeps following my orders? Al deserves a life of his own, of his own choosing; how can he have one the way I use him? David's been given a second chance at life; and I'm taking that from him. And Rachel... Oh God, the things this is doing to her...

"The thing is, Jake, that as much as I want to back off, as much as I want to give them this chance and let them retain some shred of their lives and their...their souls, I know I can't. If I back down, the Yeerks will crush us. This is a war, and in war, you can't let up. Ever. If you drop your guard, the enemy will come."

I nodded. "Yeah...that's some heavy stuff. But the thing is, I guess, that you don't have to be fighting all the time, Tobias. Sometimes, you get a quiet moment. For me, I had some at home, with my family. We went to school, and did other stuff. Stuff that wasn't part of the war. It's what kept us going, I think."

"We don't exactly have those options now," Tobias said grimly. "David and James don't have homes or schools or families anymore."

"No? I hate to say it, Tobias, but Naomi does make some good points. Maybe David and Al should go to school. And maybe James could get a job or go to college or something. If they don't have lives outside of the war, they'll become like..."

"Like me," Tobias finished after I trailed off. "You know how much I want to avoid that. Maybe.. Maybe I should look to starting to build a life after this. Look for a home, someplace that is actually attached to somewhere. Get Al in school, get him some friends his age. Marry Rachel..."

"What's keeping you on that?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I...I don't know. I always thought we'd wait until after the war. But now... I mean hell, we're already having a kid. I promised I'd finish this war before he was born but things have changed. With the Pythagi Conglomerate, the rise of the Yeerk Order, the Galactic War... It seems like the war will never be over. Maybe I should stop holding out and just do it."

((Ahem,)) David said quietly. I jumped. I had completely forgotten he was there. ((I'm glad you two had this little moment and I'm sorry to interrupt, but we are\ on a bit of a schedule here.))

Chapter 14

I assembled my team in the living room. Tobias took his people to the basement to work on the defenses in the event that we didn't get our job done in time. I took a look at my people. Omegamorphs, I had called them. It was a name that I thought would grow on me.

Marco, my right-hand man. Brilliant, ruthless Marco. The clown with the mind of an assassin and the heart of a child. The man kept me sane by driving me nuts. A walking contradiction. Through it all, good times and bad, he had been there, right beside me. Well, usually a few steps behind me, but still there. I couldn't imagine fighting this without him.

Next to him was Jeanne. I thought I had chosen her to be an Animorph, but now I think I was an idiot to ever think that choice was up to me. Or to her. This life chooses you. You can't force it on someone; David was living proof of that. And with the ways she was already connected to us, now I know for a fact that she was chosen long before I met her.

And there was Ax, my other hand. He'd have followed me to the gates of Hell in the first war; now he was ready to do it all again. He was probably the best warrior among us, and one of the smartest. I don't know what Tobias was thinking, choosing me over him. Ax was born for this life. The Andalites had started this mess and if there was one Andalite who could end it, it would be him. He was darker than he used to be, colder and more bitter. But he was still Ax, and it's good to know that if I ever really need a laugh, all it will take to bring back the alien kid I used to know is one good cinnamon bun. Or even a really stale, moldy one. He'd still eat it.

Last was Melissa. It suddenly hit me why Tobias didn't want to take on a new member. She had no training, no practice; no real skills. I'd have to watch out for her this go-round, and in the next few until she got the hang of it. None of us knew her, not really. I was sure she was different from the girl Rachel and Cassie used to know.

But we'd know her soon enough. You never really know someone until you see them with their life on the line. When it's kill or be killed, that's when a person's true nature takes over. But I had faith in Melissa. Her father had been strong enough to survive being the host to two of the most ruthless Yeerks I had ever met. If she was half the man her father was, she'd fit right in.

And then there was me. I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror in the living room. I guess it's kind of funny; I didn't look much different from the kid I used to be. Not unless I looked closely. If I looked into my own eyes, that was when I saw.

I wasn't the kid I used to be when this war began. And I wasn't the man I became at the end. That man... I couldn't live his life. Trading the lies of my family and friends the way I did then... Even for the big, final victory, I couldn't do that again. I had learned my lessons. Maybe the lesson I learned was a stupid one. Maybe it was selfish. But it was a lesson nonetheless. I learned the most important thing a leader can learn: I learned my limits.

I wondered, back during the David incident, where I drew the line. I used to think it was at using my friends, my family, to do my dirty work. I though it was at taking a human life. I thought it was at so many other places. I kept pushing it back and pushing it back until in the end I pushed myself too far. It had taken death to bring me back from that. And now that I knew where that line was, I'd never cross it again.

I guess- "Hey, fearless leader," Marco said, interrupting my thoughts. "You going to admire yourself until the sun comes up or are you going to tell us why we're standing here in spandex at four in the morning?"

"I'll explain in the air," I told him. "Right now, we need to get outside and get to the local Tri-I headquarters without anyone noticing. Any ideas?"

"We all have bug morphs, right...?" Melissa began.

"Yes, but they can't get very far on their own," Jeanne told her. "Perhaps we could...what is the phrase?...hitch a ride on some other creature? A bird, perhaps?"

((A bird would certainly be noticed,)) Ax pointed out.

"What about a bat?" Marco asked. "I have a bat morph, don't I? Or someone does, right? Someone morphs to bat, the others go to bugs, they jump on batman, batman takes off out of the chimney, and we're out of there."

I nodded. "Alright, good plan. I'll go bat. The rest of you, morph your smallest insect. Um... For Ax and Marco, that's fleas. For Jeanne and Melissa, that means flies."

"Turning into bugs at four in the morning to hitch a ride on a bat up a chimney because some guys in dark vans are outside our house," Marco muttered. "This is...what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Insane?" Jeanne offered.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"You done?" I asked.

He paused. "Not sure. I can't help but think there's something I'm missing..."

((Perhaps you would like to go off on a tangent about uniforms? You have not done that for a while,)) Ax suggested.

"Nah, that's not it..."

"Can't we just go ahead and do this thing?" I asked.

"Ah! That's it. Oh Ra-a-a-chel..." He sang.

"Kind of busy here, Marco," she replied from out of sight.

"Just take Tobias's tongue out of your throat for one minute, please?"

"You guys are really going to have to learn to do this without me you know," she muttered, walking into the room. Then she sighed. "Fine. Let's do it. Happy now?"

"Yes. Yes I am. Okay, like the pregnant blond chick said: let's do it," he repeated.

Melissa looked at me. "Is he going to be like this every time?" She sounded a little unnerved at the prospect of that.

"Every damn time," I smiled.

Chapter 15

It was easy enough to fly up the chimney as a bat. The first time I had done the bat morph, I had to fly through a pitch black room where I couldn't touch the ceiling, floors, or walls. And sensitive wires (which I also couldn't touch) were dangling from the roof. That hadn't been much of a stretch for the bat. Flying straight up the chimney was not even anything worth mentioning.

I emerged into the night air and immediately fired an echolocation burst. The site wasn't comforting. The bat mind noticed plenty of little bugs for me to eat. I was more focused on the five helicopters circling the area. They were probably Tri-I vehicles keeping an eye out for...well, for something like this, I guess.

I fired another burst and saw that one of them was getting closer. The other four seemed to be circling the area. ((Alright, ladies, gentlemen, and Marco,)) I said. ((We've got choppers here. Five of them. I don't know if they saw us or not, but I'm getting out of here. Hang on tight.))

((I'm glad you said that. See, I was thinking of just letting go and hoping your gravitational pull would keep me attached while you flew around.)) That, of course, was Marco.

I ignored his sarcasm and took off in the direction of Tri-I's headquarters. We had broken in before, but only Tobias, Marco, and Santorelli had gotten a good look around. Tobias was at home, Santorelli was dead, and Marco didn't remember, so we were pretty much just flying blind here.

((Five helicopters seems a bit much,)) Ax noted.

((Some are probably news choppers,)) Jeanne told him.

((Yeah,)) Melissa agreed.((I mean, if I'm at a TV studio and see Tri-I pulling something like this, I know I'd send people out to check it out. I don't know how many networks around here have helicopters, but I think at least three of them have do.))

I got a few blocks away and fired another echolocation burst. One of the helicopters was still following us. ((Damn, I think they spotted me,)) I sighed.

((Who just follows a random bat?)) Melissa wondered.

((Someone who knows that any random bat could be an Animorph,)) Marco muttered. ((Jake, we've got to shake this guy. Otherwise, he'll just follow us, wait 'til we demorph, and then jump us.))

((Yeah, but how?)) I asked.

((Tri-I is likely using Andalite DNA scanners to keep track of your morph,)) Ax said, thinking out loud. ((Visual relay would be very unreliable.))

((If I understand how those scanners work,)) Jeanne began, ((they will only track a creature of the same general genetic pattern as the one they programmed it to search for, correct?))

((Correct,)) Ax affirmed. ((They could track a specific creature, but only if they had a DNA sample from it. Since they lack that, they would just program the scanners to track any bats in a certain radius.))

((So if we get outside of this radius,)) Melissa began.

((A bat can't outrun a helicopter,)) I told her.

((But the scanners could be confused,)) Jeanne told me. ((If, for example, we came across a group of bats, the helicopter would lose track of which one was us, oui?

((So where can we find a bunch of bats hanging out?)) Marco said. ((I wish I could remember where stuff was...))

((If that pun was intentional, Marco, I will smack you once we demorph,)) Jeanne warned him.

((The old church!)) Melissa and I said at the same time. There was an old abandoned church with a bell tower near the beach. We had gone there a few times on Animorph missions and I guess Melissa knew about it, too. If there was one place we could definitely find bats, it would be there.

I fired another burst. They were still following. ((Alright, I'm on my way,)) I told them. I pumped my leathery wings as fast as I could. We couldn't afford to play with choppers all night and I had no idea how long saving the hostages would take. Or what we'd do once we got to the building.

The chopper was closing in now. If they caught up to us, the massive winds from the rotors would knock us around pretty badly. I wanted to avoid that if I could; it wouldn't be much fun to do. Tobias had once told me a story about the time he and Rachel had hitched a ride on a cop car, rode it through the street, and then jumped off and snagged onto a moving helicopter. It sounded like something I wanted to avoid repeating at all costs.

Another burst revealed the church and the bell tower not far from me. I was almost there. But the chopper was getting even closer. Already I could feel the wind from the rotors churning the air around me. I flapped even faster. It's amazing what adrenaline can do to you, even when you're a rat with wings. I hope David doesn't get offended by that description.

((Yes!)) I shouted as I shot up into the bell tower. Bats were hanging everywhere in there. ((Hmm... I wonder why they're sleeping,)) I said to no one in particular.

((What, you never just hang out around the house?)) Marco questioned me.

((Jake,)) Melissa said in a fake whining tone, ((please ban Marco from saying 'hang out' while we're playing with bats.))

((They won't be sleeping for long,)) Jeanne muttered. ((I'm getting some serious vibrations here.))

((Just wait 'til we get home...)) Marco said quietly.

((Marco?)) Ax said. ((I believe you did not wish to direct that particular comment to all of us.))

((Uh...yeah. Definitely not, Ax-man,)) Marco admitted.

He cut off when the chopper got close enough to wake up the bats. The tower seemed to shake. And then it exploded into life. Bats stated flying everywhere, scattering. I took off with them. In moments, the flock had gathered and dispersed in all directions. There was now ay the chopper could keep track of which one was us.

As we had planned, the helicopter turned and began to head back home. ((Okay, now that we lost our tail, we can continue on.))

Ax, of course, added, ((I was not aware bats had tails.))