Silent Planet

Chapter 2: Aloft

When Neal arrived at Henry's loft in NoHo that evening, he heard shouts coming from inside. What had the puppy done now? Splash was a month older than the last time he saw her, and her capacity for mayhem was growing exponentially.

A blood-curdling yell which sounded like Eric made him flinch. Not bothering to knock, Neal fished out a key to the loft from his pocket. He didn't have a gun, but he might be able to distract the thugs. A tap of a button on the side of his watch would send a signal to the Bureau.

He silently opened the door and burst into a laugh. Henry and Eric were charging around the loft, brandishing foam swords, while Splash darted between their legs in an apparent effort to trip them.

"Where's my sword?" Neal demanded. "I'll take down both of you blaggards!"

"No swords for you," Henry admonished, dropping his sword. "You'd whip us both."

"Is this the latest exercise craze? I thought you'd have had enough after skiing all weekend."

"This is Angela's fault," Eric insisted with a laugh.

Neal crossed his arms. "Our cousin would protest and with due cause. Need I remind you that Henry, Sara, and I were the buccaneers last summer, not Angela."

"Eric's right," Henry insisted. "She called us yesterday with a new props project." He paused for a moment and frowned. "Come to think of it, Eric's the one responsible, not Angela. She said the Captain Hook costume he wore to the speakeasy party at Halloween inspired her to create a new children's musical based on Peter Pan."

"And since Eric provided the spark, you're now required to build the props," Neal guessed. For his cousin, that would be completely logical.

Henry shrugged. "We owe her. She and Michael took care of Splash for us while we were in India."

"But we would have agreed anyway, Eric said as he gathered up the swords. "Who could resist building a pirate ship?"

"Or playing pirates," Neal added. "Now you know why I took up fencing. If you need help with designing the right dimensions for kiddos, Jones's nephew Ethan would love to be your tester. He's eight and adores fencing."

"Or we could simply have Diana send you back in time like she did in Time Crystals," Henry suggested.

"Funny you brought that up. Arkham Files came up at work."

Over a pirates' banquet of fajitas, Neal reviewed the afternoon discussion with Tricia and Diana.

"It's about time they included me in the Round Table," Henry grumbled.

Neal chuckled. "Diana predicted that would be your reaction. She also told me to tell you she's only putting the official stamp on what you've been doing for months. Now that Sara and I are a success story, you need to expand your horizons."

"You must be enjoying this," Eric told Neal. "In the future, Henry will manipulate his own character rather than Arkham Neal and Sara. What's the goal?"

"I'm to toss down the gauntlet, right?" Henry guessed.

"Yeah, and don't get too smug about it. With your participation, the Arkham Files team will be stronger than ever. Mozzie has also designed some interesting power-ups for me. As our characters take it to Azathoth and his minions, Tricia predicts that Rolf and anyone who may be working with him won't be able to resist showing what they're capable of. We were able to lure them out of the shadows before. If Rolf does have a silent partner, he may finally start talking."

Eric winced. "They may not restrict themselves to words. If you're not careful, you could goad them into attacking you personally."

Henry shrugged. "Not likely, at least not at first. Rolf's been defeated by the good guys already. If he's involved in any revenge scenario, it's more likely he wants to taunt us. He craves an audience. The dude's such an egomaniac, he'll do anything he can to snatch the spotlight."