I arrived just fifteen minutes before curfew. The house was dark but my father had the fireplace going in the den. I peered in the doorway and saw his face glowing orange in the light. He smiled when he saw me, his moustache wiggling.
"Maybelle, where have you been?" he asked as he stretched out his arms for a hug. I ran into him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I didn't know whether I should lie or tell the truth.
"The Null King wanted to see me, papa," I said suddenly as I pulled away to see his face. He remained calm and listened. "A soldier took me there and the Null King asked about my research paper I did a month ago."
"Why?" he asked me.
"I don't know but he wanted to know more about Dr. Animo, the guy that I cited in my paper, remember?"
"Oh, yeah I do," he scratched his chin, "That's weird. I'll have to let the others know," he said as he got up and headed for the phone. He meant "others" as in the Resistance against the oppressors, the Null King and his army.
"He wants me to come back tomorrow after school so I can read some of Dr. Animo's papers," I told my dad as I followed behind him.
He dialed a number on the phone as I sat in the wooden chair beside the phone. He waited silently until someone answered and he repeated my story as he ran his hands through his short brown hair.
"Alright, I'll do that then. Thanks Max," my father said before hanging up. He turned to me with a serious look on his face, "Max thinks this might be an opportunity to learn D'Void's weaknesses. I'm going to give you my plumber badge that will allow us to track you. It may be too dangerous to bug you with a mike so I'm going to trust what you say is the truth."
"I'll do my best, dad," I told him.
"Here, keep it safe," he said as he pulled his black and green badge from his pocket and handed it to me. I held it in my hand for a moment with a smile before pocketing it in my jacket. "It also identifies you as a Plumber."
"Thanks dad!" I exclaimed as I hugged him around his waist.
I could not sleep. I held the badge tight to my chest, excited about being dubbed a Plumber like my dad. I began to imagine how it would go tomorrow. How did D'Void get a hold of Dr. Animo's papers? Maybe he was interested in him too, like I am. I would love to meet Dr. Animo and talk to him, ask him where's he's been all this time, what he's been doing. It's like he disappeared shortly after he lost the award but that wasn't entirely true. He was arrested several times, one for armed robbery, charged by the man who won the Verities Award and the others were for breaking out of jail. Dr. Animo must be a vengeful man to have gone after Dr. Kelly repeatedly. I don't blame him. If I was in the same position, I would go after them too. Dr. Animo and I are a lot alike.