EXTINCTION WARRIOR

Chapter 6

I'm dying to help my parents, somehow,to make this horrible situation better, and plead, "Tell me...what exactly?"

"We need to catch White Wolf," he says with total seriousness.

"What a mitaaqtuq!" I snicker, "you're trying to make me feel better and that's...a good joke!" It doesn't just sound ridiculous, it's dangerous and ridiculous.

"But I am serious." He says.

"Think about it Tuk. Really process that for more than a nano. I'm twelve,and you're an android. Did you process that?"

"Of those factors, I am well aware," he nods and looks at the ceiling again.

"How do you expect us to catch White Wolf?"

He stares at me expressionless. "Simple....masquerade as Red Dragons."

Myeyes go wide, "What?!" I exclaim.

"And of course we must have samples, something to show. Something to offer him."

Sounds like he's talking about paint or wallpaper. "Samples? What kind of samples?"

"Endangereds, of course. We will need one of each; they want African wild dogs, a critically endangered species and the Puerto Rican crested toad,along with the cinereous vulture, radiated tortoise, and snails.White Wolf will definitely meet us when we have what he wants– the most desirable endangereds."

My palms are instantly wet, and my breathing shallow. "What about the tattoo? Every gang member has one."

"I have the design in my data base, but will need your help to mark the tattoo's coordinates with the smartpen that every XH-7 comes with."

The pen? The pen! I have no idea where Dad put it.

"You don't have it in one of your pockets, do you? Maybe in the back?"

Tuk stands, and checks all his pockets.

"I do not have it." He says shaking his head and sits. "The smartpen is a critical tool, and the only means of modifying my smartskin in any way. Perhaps it is here?" He asks and opens Mom's desk drawer.

"It's not in there, I guarantee it."

"You are correct. Nothing here other than letters," he pauses to read a couple quickly, "and from the consistent handwriting, they all appear to be from Frank."

"Dad's love letters to Mom...he wrote her all the time when he went away to get his doctorate."

I open Dad's desk drawer. The pen's right there where he left it, next to his nail clipper.

"It's here." I say, and hold it up with a sigh of relief.

"My pants have a secret pocket with a zipper. Shall I keep it?" He asks, with his hand out.

He stands, pulls a hidden zipper open on his thigh and slides the pencil in and rezips. Then pulls his shirt over his head and spreads his fingers around his arm and chest to show me the size, "The dragon will wrap around my bicep onto my pectoral here..."

It's going to be huge.

"...before my smartskin can generate it," he says, flexing his arm, glancing at his rippled, hairless chest.

"Even if we find White Wolf...I'm way too young to be in the gang. Why would I be with you? I mean, what am I supposed to do?"

He pulls his shirt back over his head, and sits facing me, pushes the hair from his forehead, and says, "We will pretend you are my kid sister, and...." pausing, he stares at the floor, "...although not formally a gang member, you are my unofficial assistant," he says, and for emphasis points his finger in my face.

I'm limp, my heart pounds and my palms so wet I rub them on my thighs to dry off. Thoughts start to race...this is really dangerous....Aana and Taata would never let me go...I've gotto lie...wha tam I going to say?....will they even believe me?...I'm a terrible liar....we'll go after Commander Eetuk calls...I need to call Woka...I don't look twelve, more like fourteen....Tuk looks seventeen, eighteen, nineteen maybe....should we do this...could we really catch White Wolf....we could get killed....

A wall of white cages flares in my mindsight.

"We're way too young...you think White Wolf will believe us?" I ask,shaking my head.

"These criminals only care about one thing," he says, raising an index finger.

I know what he's going to say, and blurt, "Endangereds!"

He shakes his head. "Money. Our age is an advantage. In fact, our very adolescence makes us more believable."

I don't see how. "It does?" I frown.

He ignores me and stares at the ceiling, his pupils dilating rapidly.Then looks straight at me and says, "Our itinerary is clear."

"It is?"

Staring at me, like he's boring a hole in my forehead, he turns super serious and declares, "We need to collect the endangereds as quickly as possible. The most efficient route is to fly south to the montane rainforest of Tahiti for the snails. Then east to Puerto Rico for the toad, across the Atlantic to the Caucasus for the vulture, south to the Serengeti for the wild dog, and east to Madagascar for the tortoise. Unless there is an unforeseen delay, that route should take five days, maximum. Your mindsight can help us locate the endangereds. Since White Wolf is of Chinese heritage, chances are good we will find him on his superyacht in nearby seas. This assumes we have access to the AEV."

I'm thinking about Aana and Taata. I hate lying, but I'll have to, "Yeah..." I answer so slowly, it's like the word comes out in slow motion, like every letter is a syllable. I can't believe I'm really going to do this...am I?

The door opens slowly, my heart skips a beat and Aana pokes her head in.

"Why,hello Tuttuk," she says.

"Hello Aana," Tuk nods.

"Happy to see you two talking," she says with a yawn.

"It's three a.m. Taata and I are going to sleep in our bed." She nods toward her house. "See you in the morning, paniga," she says, and calls me 'my daughter.'

Now's my chance. I stand, walk over, stuff my clammy hands in my pockets.Heart's pounding. I'm shaky. "Mmmm...tomorrow I want to check the AEV's greenwall, um...see if the strawberries are ripe and um...take Tuk for an aerial tour of the Preserve. Maybe see some marine migration. Okay?"

"Oh...those strawberries! What about Commander Eetuk?" She asks.

"I mean after that."

Aana shakes her head. "You never flew solo. Always had your Aanan orTaatan with you."

"Yeah,but Tuk comes programmed to pilot. He's got certification built in.He can fly any AEV."

"From the Dragon Fly to the Thunderbird, and every model between." He says with a grin, puffing his chest, "I am licensed to pilot them all."

"Back by dinner then, and no going higher than fifty thousand feet, or faster than seven hundred miles per hour."

"Quyanaq,"I nod, 'thank you.'

She squints and asks, "Why so nervous?"

"Mmmmm...I don't know..." I shrug, lying again, and lean in to whisper,"Tuttuk," rolling my eyes, surprised by my deviance. Pretty sure she believes me.

"Unnualluataq,"'goodnight' she says, and leans into my face to rub noses, then turns into the hall and through the door into the living room to wake Taata.

Relieved, I try to catch my breath, listen to them walk down the hall, and out the front door, wondering...what am I going to tell them when we're airborne tomorrow, and not coming home for dinner?