Chapter 38
No resistance could be offered. Jewel's blades moved too fast for the eyes. To us they appeared just a blur, meaning that normal people couldn't see movement at all. Jewel used his blades to herd us into a shiny metal box. After a few hours, the box was opened within the cargo hold of an airplane. We were alone.
"This routine again," Iggy said. "Any ideas as to where we are?"
"Cargo hold on an airplane," Fang said. "No windows. Lots of overhead lights."
"What kind of cargo?" Iggy pressed.
"Just us," Fang said. "Nothing to blow up. Max, how's the baby?"
He had been asking that almost constantly for a while. It had become his most regularly spoken phrase for his entire lifetime. "Sleeping," I said. I held her tightly in my arms and sat down in the corner of the cargo hold. "Is this how everything ends?" I wondered.
"Of course not," Fang said. "Nothing is ending."
"It is," I said. "Jewel will kill us all. You've seen him. We can't fight him! It's not possible."
"Everything has a weakness," Fang said. "If we do, then so does he."
"There's optimism and then there's idiocy," I said.
"What happened to despair as our only enemy?" Fang challenged. "That was your bit."
"Hey, if despair is Jewel's weapon of choice it's a good one," I said glumly. "Never mind all the blades and lasers and electro-shocks and—what the hell are you punk kids doing?"
What looked like a golden-brown mop attached to a blond spiky 'do broke apart to reveal Nudge and Iggy. "Hey, if this is the last time we're gonna make out, we may as well do it right," Iggy said.
"Cool," I said. "Yeah… go ahead."
"Hey, we're not gonna die," Fang insisted. "There will be plenty of opportunities to make out."
"Fang, you're wrong," Gazzy whined. "You've seen Jewel. He's… he's so evil."
"Evil," Fang said, smirking. "Like that'll give him the advantage. Hey, we hold EVERY advantage here. We've got Planet Earth backing our move!"
I stared at him. "Okay, Fang, I love you right down to the core of my soul, and our daughter is the greatest thing to ever be born, but you're being fucking insane."
"Planet Earth," Fang said. "And you know what else is backing us? Keegan. Keegan won't let anything happen to us."
The plane was landing. The cargo doors opened. Waiting for us was Mr. Chu, flanked by Brigid and Keegan. Keegan didn't emote—she probably didn't want to raise suspicion. Keegan would get us out of this.