Starstruck

Chapter 18a: Orbital degradation (part 1)

CHAPTER 18

Orbital degradation (part 1)

The silence following Shim's statement seemed to last forever. Rigel and even his parents looked as stunned as I felt. To my surprise, I was the first to find my voice.

"But I thought . . . you said Martians had this ingrained instinct against killing?" I glanced at Mr. Stuart.

"Yes," he said heavily. "I did say that. But I also said that Faxon has somehow managed to overcome it, for himself and his followers."

"Still, it's possible I overstated the danger somewhat in order to be certain you take this seriously," Shim told me. "While we can't rule out Faxon's adherents attempting to harm you physically, I believe it far more likely they would try to kidnap you, to persuade you to their cause. In any event, they are unlikely to do anything that would draw attention to themselves."

His voice was soothing now, and I relaxed a tiny bit.

But then Mr. Stuart said, "We can't know what they'd risk. Some of his followers on Mars were fanatical. If--"

"Yes, yes, Van, I know." Shim waved him to silence with a look that made me think he didn't want more said in front of me--probably so I wouldn't get even more scared. "But we have little reason to believe he has more than a handful of followers on Earth. Still, we can't afford to be careless. Rigel, Marsha," he continued, "have either of you noticed anyone following you? Anyone watching you?"

I shook my head at the same time Rigel said, "No."

"No suspicious strangers hanging around the school or trying to talk to either of you?"

Again, we both shook our heads.

"Then it's likely I got here first. I'd have called, but I couldn't be sure the line here was secure. At the close of our last visit, we discovered a security breach within our own circle."

"Flynn?" The guess was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

Shim's bushy white brows shot upward. "We clearly underestimated you, my dear. May I ask what Flynn did during your brief encounter to make you mistrust him?"

I felt myself flushing with embarrassment, even though it sounded like I was right. "It was . . . well, I'm not sure. He just creeped me out."

"Then I suggest you trust your instincts in the future," Shim said. "Fortunately, we learned of his divided loyalties before he betrayed your whereabouts. But now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make a call on a line that is secure."

He pulled what looked like a tiny, futuristic cell phone from his pocket and left the room. Rigel immediately turned to his parents.

"How long have you known about this?" he demanded.

"About ten minutes longer than you have," his father said. "Of course, we've always known there could be some risk if Faxon's people discovered M's whereabouts--or existence. But we had no idea they were close to doing so."

Rigel stared at me for several long seconds, a frown furrowing his brow. "We can't let them find her. What do you think we should do?"

Before either of his parents could answer, Shim came back into the kitchen, looking relieved. "I was right," he said. "The man we've been watching--Boyne Morven--has not left Los Angeles. That gives us some breathing space."

"What do you think we should do?" Rigel asked again, his voice urgent. "Should I take M into hiding somewhere?"

Shim gave him a hard look. "You should not take her anywhere, my boy. You are the one most likely to be watched, which means the best thing you can do is to keep your distance from her."