Starstruck

Chapter 25b: Absolute magnitude (part 2)

CHAPTER 25

Absolute magnitude (part 2)

There was a startled silence, then I gave a weak little laugh. "Sorry. It's not funny. It's just . . . Well, just before you got here, two different cars drove real slowly past my house, like they were checking it out. One of them came by twice. I can't help thinking it might be related."

Mr. Stuart had already backed out of the driveway and started down the street, but now he stopped the SUV. "What did they look like?" he practically barked over his shoulder.

"One was silver with dark windows--that's the one that went past twice--and the other was green," I answered quickly, a little startled by his tone. "Why? Do you think--?"

"Was it that green car, the one coming toward us?" he asked, nodding ahead.

I looked through the windshield at the approaching compact. "Yes. I'm sure that's it."

"Get down!" Mr. Stuart snapped, even more urgent than before. "You can't be seen. With luck, they'll assume you're still in the house and we can get you safely away from here."

"What? No!" I protested. "My aunt is at home. Rigel told me Smith was going to burn down our house last night! What if they--"

"Marsha!" Mr. Stuart said warningly as the green car drew level with us.

But instead of hunkering down to hide, I sat up straighter and leaned toward my window, then waved as the car passed us. The driver looked right at me and his eyes widened. I'm sure mine did, too, as I recognized him.

"Too late," I said defiantly. "He saw me. It . . . it was the same guy who attacked me a little while ago."

"That was very brave, Marsha." Dr. Stuart looked startled again. "But--"

"But extremely dangerous," Shim finished for her. "Still, it makes our path clearer now."

I glanced at Rigel to find him staring at me with an expression that seemed both admiring and horrified. He hadn't let go of my hand since we'd gotten in the car, and now he tightened his grip.

"So what do we do now?" he asked.

Shim glanced back at us--and past us, out the rear window. "He's turning around now. And that must be the silver car you mentioned, Princess, coming up behind him. Possibly Morven himself. Apparently our capture of his agent hasn't discouraged him as I'd hoped, and he has at least one more. We'll need to do something more decisive. We should still have the advantage of numbers. The question is, where?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, completely confused. I hadn't thought any further ahead than getting the bad guys away from Aunt Theresa. "Decisive how?"

"I'm hoping we can draw Morven and his cohorts to a single place and neutralize all of them at once," Shim explained. "But it must be somewhere remote enough that the locals won't be endangered or alarmed--or spread the word. Nothing good would come of springing the truth of our existence on the general public without preparation. In fact, things could get very ugly."

I totally believed that, remembering how Jewel's residents had practically ostracized our first Iranian family a couple of years ago. I didn't want to think how they'd react to aliens from Mars.

"The cornfield," Rigel said.

They all looked at him--well, except for his dad, who was watching the road, but his head twitched, too. "Which--" his mother began.

"The one by the school," I said. "Right, Rigel?"

He nodded. "It's a big one, and far enough from town that we probably won't be seen. There's a clearing less than half a mile in."