The ride back to Slider's place was silent and tense. Jackie, Digit, and Creech had been informed of the situation, and were waiting in Solaria with Dr. Marbles.
"Okay, guys," Slider began carefully, leaning in toward Matt and Inez. "Here's the deal. I'll go back to my home and pick up everything that I forgot and maybe – uh – clean it up a bit. You guys should look for a small hotel that we can stay at."
"Hotels require information, though." Matt mused.
"Besides," Inez spoke up. "We're not leaving you!"
Slider smiled sadly. "The best way for everything to go smoothly is if I go solo, Nez – Reeny."
Inez bit her lip. "But the risk is so high!"
Matt took a deep breath. "I have an idea."
Slider and Inez turned to him.
"Why don't we stay at our place for a while? In Smallsville." Matt suggested nervously. "We've got plenty of space for everyone, and except for the Transportation Center, there's no need for information."
Inez beamed brilliantly. "That's a perfect idea! Yes! Let's do that!"
Slider nodded slowly. "Okay. Yeah, sure. I can see it happening."
"And, Samuel, I can come with you." Matt continued, gaining confidence. "Irene's right, it's not good if you go alone."
Slider opened his mouth before sighing and nodding slowly.
"What about me?" Inez asked. She already knew she wasn't going to be allowed to go with them, Matt realized.
He gave her an apologetic smile. "When we get there, we'll give Kate and Mom a call. They'll come pick you up, and you can go back to Smallsville. Don't forget, you have to get all the information about Drew Marberry for me. I want to know everything."
Inez rolled her eyes, but nodded. "Okay."
Matt bit back a sigh and leaned back in his seat. He didn't like sending Inez away, but he didn't want to place her in any more danger than she was already in.
The second they arrived, Matt excused himself to go to the bathroom, where he quickly called Jackie. After confirming the plan, he returned to Slider and Inez.
"Jessie and Kate are grabbing the first pod back here." Matt explained.
"Mike," Slider spoke up urgently. "Look, there's a play-area got kids. We can leave Irene there until Jessie arrives to get her."
Matt's stomach dropped.
"It's too dangerous. She needs to stay with someone." He answered immediately.
Inez slipped her hand through his and tugged gently. He squatted down so he was eye level with her.
"I'll be fine." She whispered into his ear. "Give me my squackpad – I can call you if I need anything. Matt, please, it's only for a few hours. I can do this."
Matt put his arms around the little girl mechanically. For the last two years, he had trained himself to be completely protective. He had always ignored what Inez or Jackie wanted in favor of keeping them safe. This situation went against his entire relationship with Inez for the last two years. But he already knew what his answer would be.
"Fine." He mumbled. "But please, Inez, be careful. And if anything happens, call me or Jackie. Don't try to do anything on your own."
Inez threw her arms around Matt and hugged him tightly. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise, I'll be careful."
Matt slowly pulled out her squackpad and handed it to her, watching as she tucked it into her pocket.
"Do we need to sign you in?" He asked after a moment.
"No." Inez replied. "Only some people are signing their kids in. Others are just playing."
"Okay." Matt muttered. "Okay."
Inez hugged his again before turning and joining the creaming children in the play-area.
"She'll be okay." Slider placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She's a lot more capable than you give her credit for."
"I know." Matt answered softly. "I know."
They arrived at Slider's place quickly. Slider did a speedy security check to see if anyone had entered while they'd been out. No one had.
Slider went downstairs to get anything that would alert The Hacker to a rebellion, while Matt gathered up the suitcases. He was thankful they had packed light.
Slider threw some of his and Creech's things into a couple of bags, and then he and Matt trashed the place.
Matt had to admit, it was plenty of fun throwing fragile items on the ground and watching them shatter. He stopped short of jumping on the couch and looked around.
Everything was sufficiently destroyed, and it looked like the last people to use the place were some party-throwing teenagers.
"Let's go." Slider said, throwing the door open.
Matt pulled out all their stuff and they moved outside.
The sun was beginning to set, the only indication that they had spent quite a while in Slider's house. Everything else seemed the same, and Matt wasn't wearing a watch to see exactly how long they had been there.
They hurried along, making good time. Suddenly a loud gasp prompted Matt to look behind him.
Hovering over the newly-destroyed safe house, was the Grim Wreaker.
And Buzz and Delete were climbing down to check inside the house.
Matt tightened his hold on his backpack, resisting the urge to call Inez and Jackie and make sure they were okay.